Cinematography Salon

When Tari Segal, ASC, took over the Las Vegas block of Margo's Got Money Troubles, the A24 series for Apple TV adapted by David E. Kelley from Rufi Thorpe's novel, she had three days and a working casino floor on which to extend a look someone else had established. It is the episode that earned her an ASC Award nomination, and in this conversation with host Jared Levy she is candid that the shoot ran closer to triage than choreography.
She walks through the problems in order. Faking a dead chandelier with PAR cans on the floor of a heavily tinted steakhouse when the circuit blew near sunrise. Building a full WrestleCon arena in a day and a half for Nicole Kidman's first day on the show. Putting Margo full frame through the then new ARRI Hero lenses so the world melts around her during the OnlyFans sequences. Negotiating a single 30 minute rotation of the High Roller observation wheel, its camera synced to a second unit shooting Nick Offerman a block below.
It is an hour on solving the unsolvable to a television schedule, and on the crew that made it fun, espresso martinis after wrap included.
CREDITS
Tari Segal, ASC
Instagram · Website · IMDb
Jared Levy, host
Instagram · Website · IMDb
David Kruta, producer
Instagram · Website · IMDb
Topher Hammond, producer
Instagram
MUSIC
Original music by One Wave.
THE SALON
Episode page and full gallery: https://cinematographysalon.com/podcast/tari-segal-asc-margos-got-money-troubles
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Against the backdrop of industry upheaval and the rise of AI, Nicholas Lam joins hosts Ava Benjamin Shorr and David Kruta to explore what it means to future-proof creativity. Lam critiques performative diversity initiatives, warns against chasing trends, and makes a case for human, low-fi storytelling as the antidote to algorithmic content. Taking a personal turn, Lam recounts losing his home in the Los Angeles fires of January 2025, and shares how the filmmaking community rallied to support him, reshaping his priorities and reinforcing the importance of showing up for others. That experience reframes his view of work, stripping away the false urgency of the industry and grounding him in relationships over accolades.
Nicholas Lam’s Instagram | Website
Ava Benjamin Shorr’s Instagram | Website
David Kruta’s Instagram | Website
This episode is sponsored by Fujifilm, Sandisk and TCP Insurance.

Director Mike Pecci joins host David Kruta to dissect the chaos of post-COVID Hollywood, the false promises of AI disruption, and the suffocating gatekeeping of the studio system. Pecci lays bare the existential challenges of trying to create authentic work in an industry gripped by fear, algorithmic control, and vanishing opportunities. In a world where pitching feels like shouting into a void, Pecci finds power in simply continuing to create, and the filmmakers who will survive are the ones who know how to make something out of nothing—and do it with heart. For him, AI is not the enemy. Mediocrity is.
Mike Pecci’s Instagram | Website | Watch 12 Kilometers
David Kruta’s Instagram | Website
This episode is sponsored by Fujifilm, Sandisk and TCP Insurance.

As fears mount over AI’s impact on creative labor, cinematographer and technologist Jim Geduldick joins host David Kruta to dissect the frenzy surrounding artificial intelligence and its encroachment into the film industry. As AI-generated imagery floods social media and marketing departments chase cost-cutting automation, Geduldick challenges the doom-and-gloom narrative with a nuanced, insider perspective—arguing that while jobs may shift, human storytelling will remain irreplaceable. However, decades of tech disruption, from DVX100s to LED volumes, won’t change the fact that great filmmaking has always been—and still is—about the people behind the lens.
Jim Geduldick’s Instagram
David Kruta’s Instagram | Website
This episode is sponsored by Fujifilm, Sandisk and TCP Insurance.

This week, we’re joined by Matt Workman—filmmaker, developer, and creator of Cine Tracer—for a candid look at the shifting landscape of cinematography. We explore how filmmakers can better communicate, justify resources, and protect their creative choices in a rapidly evolving industry, and why futureproofing your skillset now means knowing both a light meter and a game engine. From the emergence of virtual production to the democratization of 3D previsualization, Workman unpacks how technology like Unreal Engine, once reserved for high-budget productions, is becoming a daily tool for working DPs.
Matt Workman’s Instagram | YouTube
Peter Pascucci’s Instagram | Website
Lauren Guiteras’s Instagram | Website
This episode is sponsored by Fujifilm, Sandisk and TCP Insurance.