‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ brings back the ’90s cinematic look with the Cooke S7/i

The Power Book III: Raising Kanan series (Starz) used Cooke S7/i lenses to emulate the cinematic look used in the 1990s.

In the ‘90s, numerous New York cinematographers used the Cooke Optics S4/i for commercials, music videos and independent feature films. This is conveyed by Aaron Medick, one of the cinematographers on Power Book III: Raising Kanan, as well as principal cinematographer on the second season of Power Book II: Ghost. To recreate that visual universe, Medick decided to shoot the last season of the fiction with a set of Cooke S7/i composed of different focal lengths on two Sony Venice at 5.7K.

Power Book III: Raising Kanan chronicles the early years of Kanan Stark, the character first played by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson in Power. All three series in the Power franchise are available on Starz.

Same universe, different solutions

The different series in the Power Book universe have a specific look, which ends up being reflected in the type of lenses used for each fiction. Medick elaborates: “Power is current time with a more saturated and hyper real look to show off the wealth of the city’s elite. Ghost continues on that theme, but with a younger feel as Ghost’s son goes off to college. But Raising Kanan is a throwback that stays true to the feel of the early 1990s.”

Specifically, for the Raising Kanan production, Medick uses a selection of lenses spanning 25mm, 32mm, 40mm (the creative’s preferred choice given its ease of use), 50mm, 75mm, 100mm and 150mm. However, in episode 4 of the fiction, the director also decided to use the classic 180mm Cooke S4/i, which “matches perfectly with the S7/i”.