Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Cinematographers Darren Tiernan, ISC and Peter Deming, ASC are the DPs of Spider Noir, the new MGM Plus and Amazon Prime series starring Nicolas Cage as the hard-boiled 1930s New York detective version of Spider-Man. The character is based on Marvel Comics featuring Spiderman Noir, and first introduced in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Tiernan and Deming created a series that looks like a classic film noir using vintage lights, custom LUTs and a “noir vocabulary.”
Key podcast highlights:
-How the production created a dual release simultaneously in both black and white and color.
-Lead DP Darran Tiernan worked for months on LUT development and a workflow that kept every department aligned on both versions from day one. Monitors on set showed what the scenes would look like in black and white.
-Why both Darren and Peter used old tungsten lights with Fresnel lenses instead of LEDs whenever possible. Not out of nostalgia, but out of necessity for getting the hard light that defines film noir.
-How rigorous preparation, from shot decks before the first meeting to photo boards and green screens on location, allowed creative freedom to take risks in the moment when the cameras were rolling.
-Why the goal was never to recreate classic noir but to absorb its philosophy of shadow, composition and expressionistic light and apply it to this specific story. That distinction is what makes Spider Noir feel fresh rather than like a period piece.
Find Darran Tiernan: darrantiernan.net
Instagram: @dazt
Find Peter Deming: Instagram @peter_deming
Spider Noir is now streaming on MGM Plus and Amazon Prime.
SHOW RUNDOWN:
03:10 Close Focus
Backrooms has grossed $144 million globally, and Obsession has grossed over $140 million worldwide. Obsession rose 10% from the previous weekend, proving that Gen Z will go to the movies if it interests them.
14:42-01:06:55 Darran Tiernan interview
**see show notes and links at camnoir.com/ep360 **
01:06:58-01:39:36 Peter Deming interview
**see show notes and links at camnoir.com/ep360 **
01:40:40 Short ends
Ben’s short end: “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys was made into a frame-by-frame music video in stop motion by @cordoroyframes on Instagram and YouTube.
Illya’s short end: Hell Grind, an entirely AI film claimed to be at the Cannes Film Festival, but was in fact only playing in a theater in Cannes.
01:53:43 Wrap up/Credits
Host and editor in Chief: Illya Friedman
Instagram: @illyafriedman @hotrodcameras
Host: Ben Rock
Blue Sky: @benrock.com
Instagram: @bejamin_rock
Producer: Alana Kode
All web and social media content written by Alana Kode
Composer: Kays Al-Atrakchi
Check out Kays’ new YouTube Channel, Kays Labs, where he repairs old synthesizers.
Editor: Alana Kode
The Cinematography Podcast website: camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social
Cinematographers Darren Tiernan, ISC and Peter Deming, ASC are the DPs of Spider Noir, the new MGM Plus and Amazon Prime series starring Nicolas Cage as the hard-boiled 1930s New York detective version of Spider-Man. The character is based on Marvel Comics featuring Spiderman Noir, and first introduced in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Tiernan and Deming created a series that looks like a classic film noir using vintage lights, custom LUTs and a “noir vocabulary.”
Key podcast highlights:
-How the production created a dual release simultaneously in both black and white and color.
-Lead DP Darran Tiernan worked for months on LUT development and a workflow that kept every department aligned on both versions from day one. Monitors on set showed what the scenes would look like in black and white.
-Why both Darren and Peter used old tungsten lights with Fresnel lenses instead of LEDs whenever possible. Not out of nostalgia, but out of necessity for getting the hard light that defines film noir.
-How rigorous preparation, from shot decks before the first meeting to photo boards and green screens on location, allowed creative freedom to take risks in the moment when the cameras were rolling.
-Why the goal was never to recreate classic noir but to absorb its philosophy of shadow, composition and expressionistic light and apply it to this specific story. That distinction is what makes Spider Noir feel fresh rather than like a period piece.
Find Darran Tiernan: darrantiernan.net
Instagram: @dazt
Find Peter Deming: Instagram @peter_deming
Spider Noir is now streaming on MGM Plus and Amazon Prime.
SHOW RUNDOWN:
03:10 Close Focus
Backrooms has grossed $144 million globally, and Obsession has grossed over $140 million worldwide. Obsession rose 10% from the previous weekend, proving that Gen Z will go to the movies if it interests them.
14:42-01:06:55 Darran Tiernan interview
**see show notes and links at camnoir.com/ep360 **
01:06:58-01:39:36 Peter Deming interview
**see show notes and links at camnoir.com/ep360 **
01:40:40 Short ends
Ben’s short end: “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys was made into a frame-by-frame music video in stop motion by @cordoroyframes on Instagram and YouTube.
Illya’s short end: Hell Grind, an entirely AI film claimed to be at the Cannes Film Festival, but was in fact only playing in a theater in Cannes.
01:53:43 Wrap up/Credits
Host and editor in Chief: Illya Friedman
Instagram: @illyafriedman @hotrodcameras
Host: Ben Rock
Blue Sky: @benrock.com
Instagram: @bejamin_rock
Producer: Alana Kode
All web and social media content written by Alana Kode
Composer: Kays Al-Atrakchi
Check out Kays’ new YouTube Channel, Kays Labs, where he repairs old synthesizers.
Editor: Alana Kode
The Cinematography Podcast website: camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social
