Mitchell Baxter and the Art of ‘Timeless Cinematography’

Let there be no doubt about it: Mitchell Baxter is “definitely a nerd”. It’s the first confession he makes, right at the top of our interview. But, as far as self-deprecating comments go, this one lands with a hint of pride. 

After all, the truth is that he probably owes his rapidly growing career to that innate nerdiness. Growing up, the DP was “quiet, and often more interested in the world around me than school or team sports”. That curiosity for his community took him to a place where, perhaps against the odds, he fell in love with film craft: His local skatepark. 

“As I was learning tricks, I discovered that it helped to have a frame-by-frame guide to watch back and see where you messed up”, he recalls. “So filmmaking became this necessary component of learning to skate”. 

Eventually he was filming skate videos for his friends and, not long after, Mitchell started to think bigger. At this point, he was building up essential skills as a 1st AC and camera operator in the local industry of Vancouver. “There’s no doubt in my mind that these were the building blocks that gave me the technical know-how to become a DP”, he says.

Ever since, Mitchell has been sinking his teeth into a number of ambitious projects. Take season one of Hulu’s Big Sky, for example, a crime thriller which saw Mitchell step behind the camera as the 2nd Unit cinematographer.

Above: Big Sky tells the thrilling story of a kidnapping investigation based in Montana. 

“Jon Joffin, ASC were incredibly generous and put my name forward for the 2nd Unit work. I was blessed with an incredible crew that really took my work to another level at the time”, says Mitchell. “I learned so much about managing people and communication on a show of that size. It was humbling to be trusted with that responsibility at an early point in my career”. 

It also provided Mitchell with the chance to reflect on a topic which has become more prominent in his creative thinking as time has gone by: The art of ‘Timeless Cinematography’, and how it can make work much more impactful. 

“I’m still entirely obsessed with this idea of what “timeless cinematography” is”, he says. “Trends nowadays are easy to conform to. I’m often much more drawn to work that holds space for some sort of discipline in its visual dogma that’s anchored to its narrative”. 

In other words, Mitchell wants to chase a visual style that makes sense for the story it’s seeking to portray. Too often, he tells LBB, there’s a schism between a film’s visual style and its narrative themes which can create a jarring effect - a visual distraction, he believes, that can be remedied through closer collaboration between stakeholders in the production process. “In my mind, timeless cinematography is something that exists in service to the central creative idea, and not something that you feel you should be doing because it’s adhering to an external aesthetic trend”. 

Pressed for an example of this approach in action, Mitchell replies almost instantly. “I think one of the first times this really clicked with me was watching Jordan Cronenweth’s work in Blade Runner”, he recalls. “I remember being simultaneously blown away that a film could look both visually breathtaking and feel so ‘right’”. 

Above: The distinct visual style of the original Blade Runner - and Roger Deakins’ work in its more modern follow-up - have inspired filmmakers for decades. 

Naturally, Mitchell has practised what he preaches in his own work. In 2018, he collaborated with now-fellow GOOD-IDEA founder Mack Stannard on This Ink Runs Deep, a portrait of indigenous tattoo artists across Canada. “I remember being super impressed with Mack’s hunger for storytelling and ability to accommodate myself and the director’s vision with the limited budget we had”, says Mitchell. 

Above: This Ink Runs Deep, from director Asia Youngman, picked up a CSC nomination for Mitchell in the short documentary category, and was featured in the Short Cuts Programme at TIFF. 

Not long after that project, Mitchell met the third GOOD-IDEA co-founder, director Ross Allen. “We both latch on-to honesty and emotion, and ask how we can capture what we’re feeling with integrity. Film-making can often require you to wear your heart on your sleeve, and I think we both recognized that strength in each other”. 

Following the success of that commercial project together, Mitchell recommended Mack to Ross and the nucleus behind GOOD-IDEA had suddenly taken shape. The immediate result of the trio’s collaboration was ‘The Limit of Love’, a short film exploring the concept of pain between two people in love. The artful premise was the perfect stage on which Mitchell’s ‘timeless cinematography’ theory could be put to the test, with visually stunning results that play with light and colour. 

Above: The Limit of Love, in the words of director Ross Allen, “explores the subconscious paradox of loving eternally whilst fearing the end”. 

That filmmaking formula has also delivered captivating results for household name brands, not least including Audi. And over the course of all this work, Mitchell has built up some instinctive experience that he’s keen to build on. “I’ve learned to take a step back and look at the bigger picture more often. When I was first starting out, more often than not when I was deep in the creative process, I was easily caught up in the details rather than the whole”, he reflects. “Having that gentle reminder might have saved a few projects when I was first learning to shoot”. 

Armed with that hard-won perspective, Mitchell is looking to continue diversifying his experience as he continues to chase that lofty goal of ‘timeless cinematography’. “All I can ask for in the future is new opportunities to grow, connecting with unique collaborators, and pushing myself to new creative places”, he says. “I hope that we’ll be able to discuss a diversity of projects - a feature, some more commercial car work, perhaps a series”.

But, on top of that, Mitchell feels a responsibility to pass along his filmmaking passion and knowledge - ensuring that the ladder remains available for another generation. “I have greatly benefited from so many incredible mentors throughout the years and feel it's my duty to give back”, he says. “It's a major goal of mine over the next couple years”. 

Mitchell's passion for supporting imagery that is deeply entwined with its narrative has allowed the cinematographer to develop his own authentic visual style. Maybe, deep down, that fixation is another example of his aforementioned ‘nerdiness’. 

If so, there’s a lot to be said for it. When ‘timeless cinematography’ is the result, who wouldn’t want to be a nerd?