Dynamic duos: J Blakeson & Philipp Blaubach
Posted on Apr 9, 2025 by Admin
Director J Blakeson and DOP Philipp Blaubach, BSC reflect on their working relationship, revealing the secret ingredients to successful collaboration
Interview Katie Kasperson
Definition: Tell me about the first project you worked on together…
J Blakeson: The first thing we did was The Disappearance of Alice Creed, which was my first feature. I think the producers wanted to get somebody in who had more experience to shoot the movie with me. I didn’t know Philipp at the time.
Philipp Blaubach: We were introduced through the producers. What’s nice, when you’re meeting early in your career, is that it feels like you’re inventing together. We did things in a way I hadn’t done them before. It’s exciting when you inspire each other.
JB: Early on, we bonded over wanting to not be restricted by the low budget and make something that was bold, cinematic and distinctive. We wanted to do something that was composed, colourful and deliberate in the 24 days we had. The fact that we had no money and little time meant we gave ourselves freedom to push ourselves as much as we could. We had nothing to lose, really.
Def: What else have you collaborated on since then, and how has your relationship with each other evolved over time?
JB: Gunpowder was a nice challenge for both of us. We got to play with these very grand locations. After Alice Creed, when we spent the shoot in one room, we were instead in abbeys and building a whole block of Elizabethan London.
That was a lot of fun because we were getting back to our roots – running and gunning – but making it look like we had all the time and all the money in the world, even though we had no money and no time. I think that’s something we do quite well together.
Segueing into Culprits – which is the biggest thing we’ve done together – that was more of a marathon, whereas what we’d done before had been sprints. The hard slog was trying to keep the vision and enthusiasm all the way through, as well as being as careful at the end as we were at the beginning. That’s where it really helps to be such good friends.
PB: Trust grows over time. You don’t immediately know whether you are going to be able to work well together. Sometimes, you’ll meet someone for coffee, talk and it’s all fine, but once you’re on-set it’s a nightmare.
J actually told me that, when we first met, I was perhaps a bit subdued and not that talkative, and he almost wasn’t going to hire me. Now, we obviously have this trust, but it takes me a bit of time to develop a good relationship like that. First impressions can be deceptive.
JB: Philipp seems calm and rational, and almost introverted, but he works so hard and is so passionate when he’s working, in his own way, that I think he sometimes takes people by surprise.
Def: What makes you such a great TEAM?
JB: We’re now friends, and it’s nice to work with friends. The basis of our working relationship is that we enjoy it, we have fun and we push each other to do things that are more interesting, that will make the other one smile.
At the end of the very long days, still being in love with the magic of making films – capturing a beautiful shot or telling a story really well – and getting to do it in a calm, friendly way where it’s fun, I think that’s so nice.
PB: I agree completely. We like to have an intimate set.
I always like to operate the camera myself and have that direct communication with J. The actors are in front of us, and we sort of work it out right there on the spot.
Whether Alice Creed, which was a small set, or our last project, where we had a whole army of crew, keeping it largely between us and two or three immediate collaborators is fun.
JB: We’ve known each other for such a long time that I can tell when Philipp’s getting a bit frustrated, and Philipp can tell if I’m getting a bit frustrated, so we can manage that well. We are both cheerleaders for each other.
Def: Have you ever faced a major creative difference or disagreement, and how did you handle it?
JB: I can’t think of us having any big arguments. The only thing is that I’m more responsible for justifying decisions to the producers. Not that it’s an argument – usually it’s Philipp saying, ‘Can we just do one more take of this?’ and me replying, ‘We have to move on.’
PB: I can find it hard to compromise sometimes. J sees the bigger picture and how everything comes out in the wash, while I’m more focused on the specific task at hand.
JB: I have to be the buzzkill, but that’s part of the job. But there’s definitely a reason I keep coming back to Philipp, and that’s because we both get excited. When we flip through photography books, we stop at the same photographs because we both like the same kind of thing, and that’s rare. People talk about shorthand too – we haven’t got a code or shorthand, but I have faith that when Philipp is onto something, he’ll find it.
Def: Do you have any upcoming collabs in the works?
JB: We have a few things in various stages, but there’s one that looks like it might happen, which is a feature I’ve written. It looks like we’ll be shooting it this summer, so I’m excited about that because we haven’t made a film together since Alice Creed. Watch this space; hopefully we’ll be able to tell you more about it soon.
This article appears in the March 2025 issue of Definition
