ZEISS Supreme Primes Shine in Star-Driven Short “Dr. Sam”

Chloe Smolkin is a bicoastal cinematographer with work spanning comedy, magical realism, commercials, and narrative films. A former animation student turned director of photography, she employs a prepared, design-forward approach to her work on “The Late Show,” “The Chris Gethard Show,” “Kidz Bop,” and more. Smolkin stands out for her expressive visual style and her collaborative, storytelling-focused approach to filmmaking.

Directed by Danielle Beckmann and written by and starring Raji Ahsan, the short film “Dr. Sam,” co-stars Alec Baldwin and Lucie Arnaz. Shot between Los Angeles and New York, the heartfelt comedy follows a down-on-his-luck aspiring singer. While increasingly fruitless sessions with his therapist (Baldwin) leave Sam (Ahsan) feeling stuck, he is thrust into the position of helping others to help himself.

To start off, tell me a bit about your background. What led you to cinematography?

Chloe Smolkin: I originally wanted to be a Disney animator, which is what brought me to NYU, and I worked very hard to get an assistant job at an animation company right away. But once I was there, I hated it—it wasn’t as collaborative as I’d expected. At the same time, I was completely enamored with my required film classes, where we got to shoot on film stock. So I pivoted.

I worked my way up the camera department—ACing, then operating, and eventually DPing. Now I do all kinds of formats and genres: a lot of commercials, films with kids, magical realism, comedy, stand-up, late-night TV. I’m also bicoastal, so I bounce between work in LA and New York pretty evenly. This all keeps the work creatively energizing.

How did you first get involved with “Dr. Sam” and director Danielle Beckmann?

Danielle and I first met when she starred in a short comedy I DPed for director Aubrey Smyth—Aubrey and I had already done a lot of commercials together. That short was written specifically for Danielle, and everything just clicked. People kept saying how well the whole team worked together, which really came from the fact that me, Aubrey, and my crew already had a shared visual language and workflow from having done so many commercials as a unit. It was an ambitious shoot, but to us, it just felt like one of our commercials—only with complete creative freedom.

When Danielle decided to make her directorial debut, she said, “I’ve got to have Chloe. I need someone I’ve been in the trenches with.” It felt like a natural next step for her, and an easy yes for me.

How did working with a first-time director influence the film’s prep?

We knew preparation was key. We wanted Danielle to feel completely comfortable and confident in the process. Danielle and I did an extensive lens test at TCS—they really took amazing care of us—and we shot-listed the whole film together. We scouted locations, made photo storyboards, and I drew some myself. By the time we got to set, we had an extra level of creative trust at our foundation—we were extremely prepared, which made everything run smoothly.

How would you describe the story of “Dr. Sam” in your own words?

“Dr. Sam” is about a down-on-his-luck millennial named Sam, who’s struggling to make money. He goes to a therapist—played by Alec Baldwin—who’s not good at his job and barely listens. Then one day, Sam gets mistaken for a therapist himself. Because he needs the money, he plays along and impersonates one, using Alec Baldwin’s office.

Sam is empathetic and a genuinely great listener, so he does a surprisingly good job. The short sets up what could easily expand into a feature or series, where he keeps getting new clients, keeps almost getting caught, and the hijinks escalate.

What were the early conversations about the visual style?

Danielle came in with a couple of key shots already in mind. One was the confrontation between Raji and Alec Baldwin, which is now the film’s poster—them facing off in a small room. That needed a very wide, very rectilinear lens so all the perspective lines would point straight at the two actors. We landed on the Zeiss 18mm, which was perfect for that.

Another early idea, inspired by the show “Laid,” was a very tight close-up where the background completely melts away. We shot that on the 135mm, which gave us that sense of intimacy and separation from the background.

In terms of lighting, we were really inspired by “Shrinking” and “Hacks.” Both shows do this great thing where there’s hard sunlight coming through a window, but the shade diffuses what’s hitting the actor’s face. It’s hard on the body, soft on the face. When we scouted the therapy office, it already had that exact curtain setup. A perfect bit of serendipity. 

What lenses did you use for the project?

We had the Zeiss Supreme Primes: 18, 25, 40, 100, and 135mm. The close-up I mentioned was on the 135mm, and of course the big confrontation shot was the 18. We shot full frame on the ARRI Mini LF.

There’s a big Steadicam sequence in the restaurant early in the film. How did you approach that?

That was a big one. My Steadicam operator Ryan Toussieng, SOC—who I’ve been working with for about 10 years, so we were able to snag him between his big TV shows—did that shot beautifully. The Supremes were great there—they open very wide, so we didn’t have to re-light for a higher exposure; we could light purely for emotion. The shot itself was a huge dance between the camera, the actors, and a ton of extras. It took a lot of coordinating, but it was worth it to lead us into Sam’s world and express his struggles.

What is your history with Zeiss as a company and with their lenses?

The first time I used Zeiss was back in film school, where their Super Speeds felt like such a big step up from the still lenses I’d used before. Since then, Zeiss has always been incredibly supportive. I’ve worked a lot with Snehal Patel before and now with Jean-Marc Bouchut and Emily Miele—they’ve let me test new lenses whenever something comes out.

I had the chance to test the Supreme Prime Radiances right when they were released—I was very excited about those precise beautiful flares. And I was thrilled to use the Supremes here in their full frame glory. They gave the film the clarity and elegance we were looking for, while still feeling dimensional and letting the characters have room for natural comedy.  

What stands out to you about the Supreme Primes?

Talking about lenses is hard—so much of it is intangible. You can measure resolution, but not how a lens renders a face, which to me is the most important part.

We wanted the film to feel glossy but grounded. Nothing as stylized and “this isn’t real” as anamorphic can feel. The Supremes render faces beautifully without distortion, and they render architecture with really clean, straight, perspective lines. They gave us that subtly heightened reality without ever pulling you out of the world.

Alec Baldwin co-stars in the film. How did he get involved, and what was it like shooting with him?

Raji Ahsan, our writer and star, was Alec Baldwin’s student at NYU. Raji made a short iPhone sketch where he played a therapist for Apple’s Siri. He sent it to Alec, who loved it and told him, “You should write something else about a therapist.”

Raji took that seriously. He wrote Dr. Sam, sent it to Alec, and asked if he’d play the therapist. Alec said yes. On set, Alec was very easy to work with—very generous with his time. We had a stand-in, but we barely used him because Alec always wanted to be there for Raji.

Lucie Arnaz also appears in the film.

Yes—she plays Sam’s mom Joyce. We shot her scenes in Los Angeles. She was incredibly generous too—both with her time, and in supporting the film itself. She even hosted fundraising events for the film. At one, she screened her documentary about her parents [Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz], and the ticket sales funded a big part of the production. 

What was the shooting schedule?

Four days in New York and one day in Los Angeles. Shooting on two coasts could have been a challenge for some, but it was actually very smooth. Danielle and some of the producers had lived in both cities, and I’m bicoastal. Our Los Angeles 1st AC, Kirk Nakamura, and our New York gaffer, Ryan McCluney, had also worked on the short comedy where I first met Danielle, so it was like a little reunion—and that familiarity made the whole thing flow naturally.

Did full frame format factor into your creative decisions?

Absolutely. We chose full frame specifically because we wanted to shoot wide on the actors’ bodies—for comedy—but still have the background pushed away and out of focus. Full frame let us get that combination.

Do you have a philosophy around lens choice?

Some people stick to a favorite lens set they love and use on every project. But I really like having different palettes for different projects. Some projects call for lenses that feel cozy, some for more clinical perfection, some call for something magical, or old-timey.
I enjoy being able to choose the exact right brush, with the right paint, for each project.

You’ve shot a lot of comedy—do you have a favorite genre?

I have shot a ton of comedy—field segments for “The Late Show,” “The Chris Gethard Show,” and three features that were mixes of comedy, dark comedy, or supernatural horror comedy—and I do love it.

But my favorite is magical realism. You have extra room to be more expressive and impressionistic with the visuals, and less strictly realistic. With “Dr. Sam,” we got to do a kind of heightened reality, which I really love. And yes, that probably ties back to loving animation. 

Any final thoughts or standout memories from production?

It was just a great shoot, with a great team that already had strong working relationships and a foundation of history and trust. The extensive prep—especially our lens tests—really set us up for success.

And overall, it was a project where everyone was generous, excited, and fully invested in telling the story together. That’s rare, and it made the whole experience special.