Larkin Seiple: "Weapons" Cinematographer on Life, Career, Shooting Horror, and "This is America"

"Cinematographer Larkin Seiple (Weapons, Everything Everywhere All at Once, This Is America) joins Bonfire Conversations to discuss his creative process, building emotion through light, and crafting the haunting “woman with the scissors” scene in Weapons. Hosted by Hamidreza Nikoofar."In this episode of Bonfire Conversations, I talk with award-winning cinematographer Larkin Seiple, the creative eye behind the horror hit "Weapons", "Everything Everywhere All at Once" (Oscar Winner for Best Picture), "Swiss Army Man", and Childish Gambino’s iconic "This Is America".Larkin talks about his journey from shooting low-budget music videos to crafting some of the most inventive visuals in modern cinema. He shares the story behind his collaboration with director Zach Cregger on Weapons — one of the year’s most talked-about horror films — and breaks down the now-famous “woman with the scissors” scene that left audiences breathless.We also discuss how he builds emotion through light and movement, what makes a strong director-cinematographer partnership, and his creative philosophy when balancing beauty and tension on screen.🔔 Subscribe to Bonfire Conversations for more in-depth talks with the artists shaping film, games, and storytelling.📺 Watch on YouTube → youtube.com/@BonfireConversations🎧 Listen on all major podcast platforms.Chapters:0:00 – Intro1:05 – How Larkin Seiple got into movies2:50 – Early inspirations and film school in Boston4:30 – Choosing cinematography over directing5:25 – Starting out in L.A. and climbing from small projects7:10 – The mindset behind career growth7:20 – Transitioning from music videos to feature films9:25 – The director–cinematographer dynamic in music videos11:50 – Working with Daniels and Hiro Murai12:00 – Shooting This Is America by Childish Gambino13:45 – Location scouting and building the visual language16:45 – Why This Is America feels so unsettling and real16:46 – Talking Weapons and the “woman with the scissors” scene18:07 – Designing and executing the sequence20:00 – Lighting challenges and audience reaction22:04 – How Larkin met director Zach Cregger and joined Weapons24:30 – Shot listing, visual collaboration, and prep25:35 – The importance of location scouting in cinematography25:18 – Penny for Your Thoughts segment begins25:36 – An image from childhood26:27 – A film that changed his view on storytelling29:11 – One frame to preserve for humanity31:12 – Top 5 favorite films33:53 – The hardest emotion to capture on camera34:40 – The best phone camera and shooting on phones36:13 – Dream collaboration with a director37:06 – Favorite video games and storytelling in games38:26 – Simplest wisdom learned behind the lens39:25 – Thoughts on AI and the human element in art40:19 – Closing and farewell#Weapons #cinematography #filmmaking