Jason Oldak Picks Zeiss Master Primes And Standard Speeds

Cinematographer Jason Oldak (Lessons in Chemistry, Doin' It, Minx) has reshaped the visual language of Apple TV+ comedy Loot for Season 3, opting for a brighter, more colourful palette and a cleaner, character-led aesthetic.

Pairing ZEISS Master Primes with ZEISS Standard Speeds on Sony’s Venice, he aimed to mirror the show’s evolution and Molly Wells’ personal growth, shifting away from the darker, higher-contrast feel of earlier seasons.

Loot follows billionaire Molly Wells as she learns to navigate extreme wealth, philanthropy and relationships. In Season 3, she reaches a turning point, defining her values and distancing herself from the selfish tendencies of her former social circle, while moving beyond the baggage of her marriage from Season 1 and a misjudged workplace infatuation in Season 2. Oldak said his visuals needed to reflect that focus. "When I get involved in a lensing project, I ask myself, 'what is the story? How can my photography balance what’s happening with the characters at hand?'" he explained. "It felt that Molly Wells was becoming more defined with a cleaner, clearer outlook. So, maybe we needed to change the look slightly to reflect that."

Oldak's affinity with ZEISS stretches back nearly a decade to Hulu's Casual, where he first turned to Master Primes. "From then on, I just fell in love with Zeiss, but I also specifically fell in love with that lens," he recalled. To establish Season 3's refreshed direction, he collaborated with rental house Cam Tech for comprehensive tests on the Sony Venice, a camera he already knew well.

Those tests put Master Primes firmly in front. "We were dealing with Maya Rudolph and other actresses so how the lens captured a face became very important," Oldak said. "I found that at a 1.3-2 split, even though it's a sharper lens, the falloff is really beautiful. It adds nice texture to the colour. The contrast balanced nicely—it wasn't too much and allowed us to light in a way where we created a level of ratios, but everyone still looked pretty beautiful." Maintaining the cinematic separation prized in Season 2, the T1.3 capability again proved key.

With an ensemble often placing up to five performers in a single frame, the Master Primes' focal range was crucial. "The 21mm is a gorgeous lens, and that it doesn't have any aberrations or fisheye. We use that lens a lot," Oldak noted. "The 27mm was also a really great lens for group shots. I think overall, it was about control with the Master Primes. Getting a clean image, with colour consistency and flare I could count on was important to me," he recounted. "It was about having a consistent approach throughout the season."

Season 3 also let Oldak vary the look for specific storylines. Episode 5 flashes back to 2011 to chart the beginnings of Molly's friendship with Nicholas, shortly after her husband’s IPO catapulted them into sudden wealth. "I wanted a lens that felt a little more unrefined. Maybe the flares are a little messier, more low contrast, just something that truly changed the look," Oldak explained. Working with Kavon Elhami at Cam Tech, he found a complementary option in ZEISS Standard Speeds.

"I thought it would be interesting to see what would happen if we used older design lenses from the same manufacturer," Oldak wondered. "Would it give us a different approach?" The Standard Speeds offered the less polished rendering that suited Molly's early, uncertain phase. "We matched those together, and I thought it was a really great fit. We also added some things in post with grain and structure, but the lenses really helped convey the change in time periods," he added.

Rejecting the recent trend toward large-format capture, Oldak chose Super 35 for both creative and practical reasons. "For a long time, the fad was to shoot large format," he explained. "I do love that shallow focus, but I also wanted to change it up." Given Master Primes are designed for Super 35, he still achieved the shallow depth of field and strong subject separation he wanted. "It was nice to be back in the familiar Super 35 world," he concluded.

Across the run — which even includes faux Super Bowl ads and a Korean drama-within-the-show — Oldak prioritised crafting looks in-camera, leaning on the ZEISS glass for reliability. "I know there's lots of post possibilities at this point, but what if I'm on another job? I wanted to create as much of a stamp as I could." That philosophy helped him build distinct textures for individual storylines while keeping the overall visual thread cohesive.

For Oldak, optics sit at the heart of image-making. "I truly think that the lens defines the look. It’s the paintbrush. It creates the level of contrast, the level of colour, the kind of flares you’re creating. What time period of lens you choose should be indicative of the conceptualization of the show that you’re working on."

Season 3 of Loot was filmed entirely in Los Angeles, using stages at Universal and extensive locations — often in Malibu’s billionaire homes. The team benefited from a seven-day schedule per 30-minute episode, giving time to refine each scene with a top-tier local crew. "It was a great thing," Oldak reflected on working locally with a top-tier crew. "I am very thankful to work in this town."