How Camera Filters Shaped the Look of Nosferatu (2024)

Do you remember the Oscar-nominated Nosferatu (2024)? Directed by Robert Eggers and shot by Jarin Blaschke, the movie created a striking visual world of blue and orange tones that left audiences floored and Blaschke with an Oscar nomination. I’ve been fascinated by how they achieved this look and went on a mission to find out more about the tech behind the visual world of the film.

Luckily, living in Los Angeles gave me the chance to attend a class at the Sony Digital Media Production Center all about camera filters. The session was led by Ron Engvaldsen, who worked directly with the Nosferatu creative team to develop the unique filter used in the film.

What Are Camera Filters?

Camera filters are pieces of glass placed in front of a lens to create a specific look or aesthetic. A Cinematographer will request a filter, and it is the Camera Assistant’s job to drop them into the filter tray of a Matte Box and affix it back onto the lens for the Director of Photography (DoP) to review. Usually, filters are used for specific reasons; in this case, on night scenes with heavy moonlight and fire in the frame. Unlike post-production color grading, filters layer the effect directly onto the captured image, giving the footage distinctive characteristics that shape the story’s visual world.

The Custom Filter for Nosferatu

The creative team wanted the film to look almost black and white, while still allowing certain colors—especially orange—to shine through. Ron’s solution was a custom mesopic filter. Mesopic vision, sometimes also called twilight vision, is a combination of photopic and scotopic vision under low-light conditions. This is a highly specialized optical filter that diminishes the yellow & red colors, creating a washed palette of blue, black, and gray. The result allowed firelight and torchlight to retain their orange glow while removing the deeper reds, giving night scenes a stylized, otherworldly atmosphere.

Here’s what I noticed when testing the filter myself:

• Red tones disappear — flames lose their deepest reds.
• Orange is preserved — torchlight cuts through the darkness.
• Blue-gray wash — a cool tone defines the mood, especially highlighted in moonlit setups.

This was a very stylized look, one that tied the film’s Gothic atmosphere together beautifully.

A Look at Similar Work

Interestingly, Jarin Blaschke used a similar filter approach on The Northman (2022), once again heightening mood and storytelling through carefully controlled color. If you’re drawn to the creative look of these projects, it’s worth noting that this is just the latest in a long series of collaborations between Blaschke and director Robert Eggers. Other notable films include The Tell-Tale Heart (2008), The Witch (2015), and The Lighthouse (2019).

Final Thoughts

Seeing this filter in action deepened my appreciation for the careful thought and artistry that goes into shaping a film’s visual language. I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn directly from Ron Engvaldsen of Birns & Sawyer, who hosted this class for Women in Media members and shared his role in bringing Nosferatu’s striking palette to life. Experiences like this remind me how valuable hands-on learning and collaborative spaces are for our growth as artists. If you ever get the chance to attend a workshop, class, or demo, I can’t recommend it enough — you never know when a single tool, like a filter, might completely change the way you see a film.

What did you think of the cinematography in Nosferatu (2024)?