06/22/2026
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Cinematographer John Brawley, ACS, talks about his experience on the acclaimed series "Shrinking." Brawley shares insights into joining the show in its second season, discussing the collaborative process with showrunners and writers to maintain and evolve the series' unique comedic and emotional tone. He details his approach to naturalistic lighting and multi-camera setups, emphasizing techniques that foster actor improvisation and enhance narrative depth.
00:00 Introduction to John Brawley
00:54 Shrinking" Evolution & Tone
06:23 Bill Lawrence's Influence
08:46 Tone Meetings & Collaboration
10:10 Filming Techniques & Actors
20:37 Blackmagic Ursa Camera Workflow
26:30 "Shrinking" Therapy Themes
28:59 John Brawley's Passions
30:18 Concluding Remarks
John Brawley ACS’s credits include such hit series as Apple TV’s “The Morning Show” with Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell; Bill Lawrence’s “Bad Monkey” starring Vince Vaughn and Michelle Monaghan; the Emmy-nominated period dramedy “The Great” starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult; the true-crime limited series “The Thing About Pam” starring Renée Zellweger; and the upcoming series “Scarpetta” starring Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Brawley’s recent feature credits include the Peter Farrelly-directed comedies “Balls Up” starring Mark Wahlberg and “Rickey Stanicky,” starring John Cena, Zac Effron, and William H. Macy; Tim Sutton’s indie feature “Taurus,” starring Machine Gun Kelly, which premiered at Berlinale 2022 before its theatrical release; and Phillip Noyce’s indie thriller “The Desperate Hours” starring Naomi Watts, which had its premiere at TIFF in 2021.
In 2017, Brawley arrived in the U.S. to shoot the drama series “Queen of the South” starring Alice Braga. The first-year medical drama “The Resident” immediately followed, and he also shot season two and made his directorial debut on the series. Other credits include the pilot “Gone Baby Gone” for director Phillip Noyce; the series “Hunters”; and “The Beautiful Lie,” a contemporary retelling of Anna Karenina, starring Sarah Snook, which received considerable critical and audience acclaim and earned him an AACTA nomination for Best Cinematography in Television.
Brawley began his career shooting many of Australia’s most beloved series and graduated with an MA from the prestigious Australian Film Television and Radio School.
He is a member of the DGA and ACS (Australian Cinematographers Society).
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