DP Andreas Johannessen FNF harnessed KODAK 2-perf 35mm to deliver a haunting atmosphere for Bryn Chainey's supernatural drama 'Rabbit Trap'

Set in the late 1970s, the supernatural Welsh folklore drama, Rabbit Trap, follows Darcy (Dev Patel), a sound recordist, and Daphne (Rosy McEwen), an experimental musician, who move to an isolated cottage in the countryside seeking inspiration for a new album they are creating using synthesizers, theremins and otherworldly audio samples.

While out collecting the sounds of nature, Darcy inadvertently disturbs a fairy ring – a naturally occurring circle of mushrooms – heralding the arrival of a mysterious, nameless child (Jade Croot), who is adept at trapping rabbits and keen to teach them more about the local area, including mythological woodland creatures, known as the Tylwyth Teg.

As Darcy and Daphne welcome the young stranger into their home, unspoken and unresolved traumas emerge, forcing them to confront suppressed secrets about their marriage, parenthood and past abuse, all in an atmosphere of psychological foreboding.

The sub-$3-million film was written and directed by Bryn Chainey, making his full-length feature debut, and shot on KODAK 35mm in 2-perf by Norwegian DP Andreas Johannessen FNF, making his English-language feature entrée, following long-form projects in Scandinavian TV series and indie features.

Rabbit Trap premiered in the Midnight section of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, earning praise for its strong performances and the way in which Johannessen's visual imagery combines with rich sound design, composed by Lucrecia Dalt, to convey the haunting drama.

"I didn't know Bryn at all until he reached out to me about shooting this film for him. I think he and the producers found my profile on their Instagram feed," says Johannessen, who served as camera operator on the 35mm-originated The Worst Person in the World (dir. Joachim Trier, DP Kasper Tuxen DFF) and has shot analog film on many music videos, commercials and shorts.

"When I received the script, I initially planned on just reading the first few pages before bedtime, but I actually couldn't put it down. I had been searching for a story that would explore raw human emotions and vulnerabilities, and it really drew me in. It was different to anything I'd read before — highly audio/visual, instinctual and personal.

"When I met up with Bryn on a Zoom call a few days later, we talked for several hours about the characters, about hidden trauma and neglected emotions from one's past and how they affect relationships.

"Bryn's vision about the visual storytelling, which I shared, was about not descending into typical tropes but to keep things grounded and as natural as possible. The idea was to blend the supernatural into reality, to treat the mythology surrounding our characters in an honest and believable way. We agreed that the sincerity of this film was dependent on the audience viewing the supernatural as natural and true to the protagonists."

Johannessen joined the production before the final cast had been confirmed. This gave the DP and the director plenty of time to consider creative inspirations.

"We went on a week-long circular tour around Wales, in his green Mini Cooper, called 'Toad'," Johannessen recalls. "It was first time we'd met in-person, and we spent time absorbing the local mythologies and the landscapes while we talked the film's visual language.

"As we got deeper into our discussions, we spent time watching films like Andrei Tarkovsky's Mirror (1975, DP Georgy Rerberg) for the way in which things like clothes, walls and skin texture were portrayed, along with the landscapes and the immersive, subconscious experience overall.

"We also looked at Tarkovsky's Solaris (1972, DP Vadim Yusov) for the slow and meditative approach of its cinematography, plus the luscious, natural Earth scenes that dwell on the environment and the psychological and emotional states of the characters."

Helping to inform moments when the characters experience heightened states – such as Darcy and Daphe's lovemaking on magic mushrooms, hypnotized by sounds of the fairy circle in their studio – were the abstract and psychedelic portraitures by Americanphotographer/filmmaker, Ira Cohen, of hipsters such as William Burroughs and Jimi Hendrix, shot using sheets of reflective Mylar, giving surreal distorted imagery.

"For that sequence in the film, Lucie Red, our production designer, and Ben Manwaring my gaffer, made a large horseshoe-shape space of flexible mirrors that had handles on the back, which Bryn could operate to distort the reflections. This sequence was shot with an intimacy coordinator and, along with preserving the modesty of the actors, I had to take great care to avoid filming myself with the camera. We filmed handheld and the results were like a fever dream, with some really surreal, gritty and claustrophobicimages."

Although the team went to Wales for inspiration, Rabbit Trap was actually shot in North Yorkshire, UK, over the course of just 20 days in July and early August 2023. Locations included Skipton, The Duke of Devonshire's Estate, Bolton Abbey and the stalactites, stalagmites and tunnels deep inside Ingleborough Cave.

"Some of the locations were pretty remote and we had to trek there in 4x4s," Johannessen explains. "We had a little bit of panic during prep, as it was one of the warmest and driest pre-summer periods that Yorkshire had seen – just blue skies and green grass. Thankfully, there was a dramatic shift in the conditions when we started to shoot, and that helped give the film the atmospheric looks that it needed."

Johannessen says the decision to shoot on 35mm film in 2-perf was arrived at mutually. "As we chatted about analog synthesizers and 1970s-era recording technology, it just felt right to shoot this on film, and we rapidly honed-in on shooting 2-perf 35mm."

2-perf 35mm (or Techniscope) is a motion picture format that uses two perforations per frame, instead of four, creating a native 2.39:1 widescreen aspect ratio, with spherical lenses used for the widescreen look. It was introduced by Technicolor Italia in the early 1960s so that Spaghetti Westerns could be shot economically in widescreen.

2-perf 35mm reduces film consumption and processing costs by 50% compared to 4-perf, while offering a larger area for capture than Super 16mm. A 400-ft magazine of film provides 8 minutes and 50 seconds of shooting time.

"I had shot 2-perf before on a few short films," says Johannessen. "I love it because the smaller 2-perf frame size has a gritty textural quality, an element of magic, that I knew would automatically help us travel into another world and time. And it's also great for soft, atmospheric landscapes."

Johannessen's shooting package comprised of an ARRICAM LT 35mm camera, with Master Prime and prototype ARRI DNA lenses. The DP also brought along an ARRIFLEX 235, borrowed from a friend, which he used on weekends to film additional landscapes and shots of nature.

"The ARRICAM LT is a great workhorse, so that was an easy choice," he says. "Of much greater importance were the lenses. After quite a lot of testing at ARRI Rental in London, including some expressionistic optics, I went with Master Primes, as they are sharp with rich contrast and a really interesting character in the fall-off that would help to carry the visual storytelling. Nature needed to look natural, without much distortion, and they really fitted the bill.

"During our time at ARRI, I came across some prototype DNA lenses with interesting properties – an amazing swirly bokeh, circular rainbow flares, and intense focus fall-off on center-punched compositions. I knew they would be good transport our characters into the magical fairy realm, or to help punctuate the imagery to show the heightened state of the characters.

The DP shot Rabbit Trap using KODAK VISION3 200T 5213 and KODAK VISION3 500T 5219 Tungsten filmstocks, filming uncorrected, switching to KODAK VISION3 250D 5207 for the film's third act. Film processing and 2K scans were done at Cinelab in the UK, with the final DI conducted by Johannessen's longtime colorist Nicke Cantarelli.

"We landed on using the 200T and the 500T early on and decided against using correction filters so as to bring a little coldness into the image, especially the greens in daylight, and to amplify the magical traits of nature.

"However, for the third act of the film, when the interior of the cottage becomes a kind of crazy fairytale forest, we switched to the 250D and embraced the way it captured the warmth and the richness of color the set designs. I tested pull and push-processing but found the look and overall contrast ratio were most appropriate with straight, normal processing, and the 2K scans helped retain a pleasing softness to the image."

Johannessen operated the camera for the mainstay of the production, with Tom Williams and Andrew Bainbridge stepping in for Steadicam-based scenes. The 1ACs were Ralph Messer and Sindri Tyr, with Nina Mangold and Rico Bam working as central/clapper loaders, supported by camera trainees Eve Gab and Frankie Cilia. The key grip was Dan Lake.

"Bryn and I decided to restrain the camera movement and allow the visuals of nature and the soundtrack envelop the characters," says Johannessen. "We decided against locking into one way of moving the camera – such as handheld or static shots – but did want to make deliberate shifts in the visual language in tune with the characters' movements and emotional states. So there was a mix of camera movement, such as handheld for the breakfast scenes, Steadicam in the forest, static shots for close-ups, and very slow subtle push-ins for contemplative moments."

The lighting package was supplied by Panalux, UK. Speaking about his collaboration with gaffer Ben Manwaring, Johannessen remarks, "I needed someone who would be able to work within the confines of our small budget, someone who would be excited at the challenges of our locations. I had been blown away by Ben's previous work on films such St. Maud (2019, dir. Rose Glass, DP Ben Fordesman BSC) and True Things (2021, dir. Harry Wootliff, DP Ashley Connor), and I really connected with him and his team from the start."

For the day interiors of the cottage, Johannessen says the aim was to keep the characters connected to nature outside by having the keylight coming through the windows. This was achieved by using HMIs, plus Tungsten fixtures including a Mole Beam 10K to usher in the feeling of warm or late afternoon sunshine in various scenes. Nighttime interiors were lit using practicals, with ARRI Sky Panel 360 and 120 LEDs, tuned to emit blue and green hues, used push-in moonlight through the windows.

"On the exteriors, we used very little lighting and didn't really control anything either. It was more about tracking the sun and doing light studies in different weather situations at different times of the day. Working this way, it proved our good fortune to take advantage of many different conditions – blue and golden hours, dramatic clouds and downpours – which all added real atmosphere."

The movie's cave sequence came with its own challenges. "Our main location was filmed about 500m underground. While it was a wonderfully atmospheric place, it wasn't easy to access with the lighting and camera gear, plus mobile phones and walkie talkies don't not work down there. So we had to be well-organized and came up with a schedule, so everybody knew where they needed to be at specific times.

"We had a half day for the rigging and pre-light and shot over the course of a day. Ben proved a really good rock climber and even used his own climbing gear when mounting the lights around the walls and cavernous spaces. We started filming at the furthest point and worked our way back to the entrance. It was a relief when we emerged from the dark, echo-filled caves after 12 hours, but the payoff was a really memorable sequence."

Reflecting on his experience of shooting Rabbit Trap, Johannessen says, "Despite only having 20 days and contending with some difficult locations and weather conditions, there was never a sense of panic or stress. It was more about staying true to shooting an intentional set of frames, scenes and sequences.

"I have the fondest memories of collaborating with Bryn and the crew, who understood the demands of the job. I'm very happy that I got to shoot it on analog film too. 2-perf 35mm went a long way in shaping the underlying realm of the film, its mythologies and the supernatural atmosphere."