Twinning: Cinematographer Laura M. Gonçalves on Capturing the Double Realities of TV’s Dead Ringers

Filmmaker: When did you start on Dead Ringers?

Gonçalves: I met with Alice Birch and Sean Durkin on Zoom right after Generation, so probably May 2021. I was really into the scripts they sent me. I had just finished watching Alice’s Normal People, and I loved Sean’s The Nest. They were people I really wanted to work with, and the show was aligned with many things I’m fascinated with.

Jody [Lee Lipes] was already attached; he shot the first two episodes. He had worked with Sean on Martha Marcy May Marlene. I love Jody’s work, which is really important as a DP going into a series that someone else has started.

Filmmaker: My big question is, how did you handle one person playing two roles?

Gonçalves: “Twinning,” creating an illusion in camera, is a great example of movie magic. What I found interesting is how quickly the audience fills in the blanks. When you study twinning films, if the performance is good you don’t need to use the effect a lot. Rachel’s performance is so strong that viewers don’t need to see the Mantles together all the time. I had to stop myself from being greedy with twinning.