The Cinematography of "When I'm Ready" with DP Rachael Kliman
Friday, February 14th, 2025
Written, produced by, and starring Andrew Ortenberg, "When I’m Ready," the feature debut of DP Rachael Kliman and director Andrew Johnson, is a young adult love story through the lens of the pre-apocalypse. Half road movie, half end of the world slice-of-life, the film follows Rose (June Schreiner) and Michael (Ortenberg), young lovers in a burgeoning romance, as they travel across the country to visit Rose’s elderly grandmother in the final days before an asteroid strike will destroy the planet.
Before the film’s streaming premiere, we linked up with cinematographer Rachael Kliman to talk all things “When I’m Ready.”
by Ryan Rosenblum
"When I'm Ready" is mostly set in the elements and in nature. A lot of the characters spend time camping, feeling a sense of normalcy, until those moments when they’re suddenly reminded that the world is about to end. This contrast carries through visually as well. Much of the film is on the road and the outdoors, but then you have these indoor moments, like the laser tag scene or the diner scene. On a story level, there are these blissful moments interrupted by an underlying sense of gloom. What was your approach to achieving that visual balance?
Rachael: Our plan was to always do everything handheld, to keep things within Rose's narrative POV. It also helped us budget-wise, as we had a really small crew. So those things were factored in as well, and then we made it work for the visual language that we were building. We wanted those moments to still be a little heightened and saturated, while still feeling beautiful, because that's everything that the world is. There's horror and there's beauty, existing at the same time, and we all experience it, so we didn't want it to feel too different in between. We still wanted it to feel anchored in that world.
When you first got the script, what visuals stood out? Was there anything where you were like, 'this is an image that I need to capture in this specific way?'
Rachael: When I first read the script, I was immediately drawn to the character arcs, in terms of, ‘what if this is the last time you see someone walking away from you in a gas station?’ ‘What if this is the last sunset you see?’ So all the sunsets in the film, we realized each one has to be more beautiful than the next, because it might be the last one.
Then in my head of course, the logistics are kicking in. Before I even get a job, I do a breakdown. So I was like 'okay, seven sunsets, five dusk scenes, one of them seven pages long.' We only had one camera, it's not as if we had a B-camera operator to help cover those scenes.
We had 19 days and one pickup day for 28 locations. Every day we had a company move, or two. We were in the diner for two days, so I actually got to really light that and do that right. I’m happy with how that scene came out. And we had a dolly that day, which was great!
We picked two moments where we wanted the camera to be still. These were the pivotal moments for the two of them in their journey. One was that scene in the diner; we felt we had earned those moments to take a break, calm down. Then, in contrast, everything else would feel fluid and handheld.
In terms of shooting in the elements with a low budget, what were some of the challenges?
Rachael: The challenges mostly came with the night sequences, but my amazing gaffer, Brandt Hackney, who's a phenomenal DP in his own right, was amazing. Lighting is what I get the most nervous about, because I came up through camera. So when you only have a stand that goes as high as a triple riser, and you have one M18, my worry was that the light would feel really sourcey. We couldn't get up on a cherry picker, or throw up a couple 18ks, or a helium balloon, or anything like that. So that definitely informed my framing, how much of the world could we get away with seeing? And we weren't in a soundstage, it was all really out in Malibu Creek State Park. We only had four lights, so it was whatever we could get away with.
We used Astera tubes for most of the fire stuff. Luckily with the cameras and how amazing the sensors are, and how fast the lenses are, it set us up for success. Even in the laser tag, we just put Lekos and some other things around the space, and were able to get those pockets of light, and even if things fall into shadow, that's okay.
Whenever we had equipment break down, we were able to get a replacement from Keslow that same day. We never would have been able to afford all of that without the support of Keslow.
I can't thank Dennis McDonald (Keslow Camera COO) enough. When I was introduced to Dennis, I hadn't even shot this feature yet, I was a nobody. But Dennis was so supportive from the beginning. There's no hedging from Keslow in terms of, 'well, this feature is going to get seen on this many screens, with these big crew members.' They were just supporting me and what I needed. I told Dennis what budget we were working with, and he said ‘no matter what you ask for, we'll keep it at that.’ Just knowing we had your guys' support was a huge relief during production.
When I say we couldn't have done it without Keslow, I mean it! I just love Keslow, I can't say that enough. No matter what stage you are in your career, Keslow wants people to succeed.
You mentioned the cameras and lenses. What were you looking for when you were testing? How did your specific lens choice inform the look of everything else?
Rachael: We did a few tests, and Keslow let us test with everything we wanted, which was a dream come true. We landed on the Leitz Summilux C Primes and ARRI Alexa Mini. I knew I wanted creamier highlights and a softer image, and I also liked the older glass.
We were between that or the Zeiss Super Speeds, which are also really nice older glass, but we wanted to keep that look that had a nice soft curve through it.
The Summilux’s were perfect; It wasn't too digital looking, and then I could build in the rest of what we wanted with the LUT. The lenses got us three quarters of the way there, so we were looking for locations and equipment that did most of the work for us, since we didn't have the money, time, or crew to do otherwise.
You shot a lot of driving sequences, including some shots utilizing a process trailer. What was that like?
Rachael: For the night driving, we got a process trailer, because June was climbing out of the car, and there was no way to do that otherwise. Due to a miscommunication, the process trailer ended up being about five hours late. It was already dark by the time my crew could get on there to build the lights, so we only had time to rig from one side.
Luckily, my friend, Dave Baldwin, who's an amazing steadicam operator, came out and did me a favor and spent half the night with us. So that actually was steadicam, and it actually worked better for her getting out of the car.
My only requirement, was a truck with a backseat, so that I could have the camera back there. We did French overs, and it was me sitting in the back with the camera, or me lying down and riding the iris as we're driving. I spent a lot of time tucked down in the back of the truck while we were shooting in there. Andrew, the director, would also squeeze in the back with me.
In terms of learning experiences, what are the big lessons that you took out of this as your first feature?
Rachael: The biggest lesson for me, was that as much as you plan, things are gonna go haywire. Andrew, the director, was amazing; it was his first feature too, but he was able to just stay calm and collected.
There's a scene where our leads are driving, and Rose gets out of the car and they have an argument while the sun is setting. That was supposed to be at a completely other location. But we were four hours late, so we basically had half a day to do this scene. We were scrambling, and found the location around the corner. And it ended up being one of my favorite scenes.
That's sort of what it comes down to, ‘this is what the problem is now, it's our job to solve it and still stay true to the story.’ What is this scene really about? The audience is never gonna know the location we wanted to shoot it at. So just keeping that in mind was a huge lesson. Just learning how to focus on the problem solving and not get stressed about what's going wrong is something I'm still learning and working on.
I had the best crew. They wanted me to succeed and they made me look good, better than I probably am. The crew was incredible and it was honestly a beast of a shoot. My first AC, Matty Von Arx, who I'd worked with a few times before, said, ‘this isn't a crazy shoot but it's the hardest shoot I've ever done.’ I said, ‘I know, Matty, I'm sorry. I'm putting you through the ringer.’ Still, everyone had a blast on the shoot. People are still friends, and I love that.
Brandt Hackney, our gaffer, was amazing. Adrian Ramirez, my key grip, was incredible. Basically the whole thing was like grip world; it's not like we had 20x20s. It was a lot of moving the 12x12 around as the sun moves, and running around with the mirror boards.
Liam Finn, who was our line producer, did every job ever, and he did it with a smile on his face. He's great. This wouldn't have come together without him. And June and Andrew, I mean, absolutely phenomenal.
What would you say most impacted your creative process for your future projects after wrapping "When I'm Ready"?
Rachael: You have to be confident about putting yourself out there. Be as prepared as you can be. Prep, prep, prep, prep, prep... I prepped for about nine months before we shot. The project was my main focus, even through other smaller jobs.
When people feel like they're contributing, they do your best work for you. I am the biggest fan of, ‘there are no sides.’ I send all of my breakdowns out to everybody, my entire team and all department heads. When all the department heads know what you're going for, they're gonna see things you're not gonna see, and they're gonna make it even better in ways that you couldn’t even anticipate.
What about aspiring DPs that are looking to get into their first feature? What are some things that they could do to help create those opportunities?
Rachael: The key is to just be prepared for those moments. You never know who you're gonna meet. I know people hear different advice all the time, like, ‘don't take every job,’ or ‘take every job.’ Ultimately, you're always going to learn, you’ll never lose. You either win, or you learn something. You also never know who you're going to meet. Maybe you meet that future collaborator who's a PA, and you guys hit it off. You never know where opportunities are gonna come from, so if you shut yourself off, just know that that might be closing a door somewhere else.
Kind of like removing your ego from the equation, right?
Rachael: Yes, definitely removing your ego from it. Because none of this is deserved. Look at it as an opportunity, even if it's learning how to work with a certain personality type. And then maybe you get to the point where you're lucky enough where you can curate your career and curate your projects. But you won't be getting those opportunities if you say no in the beginning.
The beautiful thing about film is that it's the vernacular of our day and everyone can participate in it. There's one world, and what we have to offer as artists, is how we see it. And if you have something to say, then say it. Go out and make something.
It comes down to trying to create your own opportunities, seeing what the industry responds to, and you might be surprised. As a DP, the best thing isn't waiting for someone else to find your work. Shoot the thing that you want to shoot. Go out and do it. You’ll hear stuff like ‘oh I wish I had a dusk scene on my reel,’ then okay, ask a friend, grab a camera, and go shoot it. Always exercise that creative muscle, because maybe you'll discover something that's really special. [x]