‘Severance’ Cinematographer Jessica Lee Gagné on Cinematography and Directing | The PetaPixel Podcast

Apr 25, 2025

Jeremy Gray

On this week’s episode of the PetaPixel Podcast, we sit down with the acclaimed cinematographer-turned-director behind Apple TV’s hit series Severance, tackle tariffs, and discuss the biggest news in the photo space, including Fujifilm’s newest teaser.

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Jessica Lee Gagné is an extremely accomplished cinematographer who has been instrumental in establishing the celebrated look and feel of Severance since its premiere in 2022. Returning for the show’s second season, which just finished, Gagné took on a larger role, earning producer credit and making her directorial debut in the incredible seventh episode, “Chikhai Bardo.”

We spend a lot of time discussing this move from cinematographer to director, and how it impacted Gagné’s approach to Severance. Some key sequences of the episode were shot on film, delivering an incredible look and offering some interesting challenges. Gagné has been bit by the directing bug and is already working on her first feature film, which Jordan is very excited to see.

With a rich education in photography and filmmaking, the Quebec-born Canadian cinematographer brings a unique look and feel to her work. Listen to the entire interview in this week’s podcast episode to learn more about how Jessica Lee Gagné works, how she and showrunner Ben Stiller achieved Severance‘s trademark aesthetic, and so much more.

Alongside our podcast interview with Jessica Lee Gagné, Jeremy Gray spoke to her separately for an in-depth written interview that covers different topics, including Gagné’s photographic inspirations, a chaotic anecdote from her directorial debut, bringing Severance‘s mood to new locations in season two, and much more.

We also hit the biggest news topics in the photo world this week, including Insta360’s brand-new 8K 360-degree X5 camera, a fascinating vintage-inspired Light Lens Lab prime, the ongoing tariff chaos, Fujifilm’s brand-new camera teaser, and more.