ITV · BritBox · HTM Television · 2023
From Jed Mercurio’s HTM Television, the makers of Line of Duty, Payback stars Morven Christie as Lexie Noble, a widow dragged into a police operation against crime boss Cal Morris (Peter Mullan) after discovering her husband’s secret life laundering his money. The six-part thriller was filmed across Glasgow, Edinburgh and the surrounding area in 2022, and the camera package came from Progressive.
The camera: ARRI Alexa 35
Payback moves between polished city offices, grimy back streets and tense night-time stake-outs. The Alexa 35’s huge dynamic range and natural colour handle all of it, holding detail in bright glass offices and dark Glasgow lanes alike.
→ ARRI Alexa 35
The zooms: Angénieux Optimo 15–40mm and 45–120mm
A thriller shot across two cities, against the clock, needs lenses that keep up. Between them, the matched Optimo pair covers 15mm to 120mm. Wide for locations and action, long for surveillance shots and close-ups, all without stopping for lens changes.
→ Optimo 15–40mm · Optimo 45–120mm
Directors: Jennie Darnell, Andrew Cumming · Directors of Photography: Alfie Biddle, Nick Gillespie