Us Films breaks down the design-heavy process behind its tear-jerker Black Mirror episode, Eulogy
The physics-bending episode from the celebrated sc-fi series’ latest instalment takes photographic artistry and distortion to whole new planes.
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Chris Barrett and Luke Taylor are the directing duo behind the studio Us Films. One of the pairs most recent directorial endeavours is Eulogy, a gripping TV episode on memory, desire, and acceptance, from the seventh instalment of Charlie Brooker’s hit TV show, Black Mirror. The episode’s main character, Phillip, portrayed by Academy award-nominee Paul Giamatti, seemingly lives in self-imposed isolation, before his world is ruptured by a system that allows users to travel into old photographs. The episode follows Phillip as he confronts past emotions and memories he’s buried deep within, and he steps into the role of detective in the case of his own life.
This isn’t the first time Chris and Luke have dipped their toes into narrative work, they’ve worked on a short film, Cautionary Tales, and they’re currently working on a feature film script. The pair are also well versed in creative visual worlds for musicians, working on music videos for the likes of The Rolling Stones, Radiohead, and Harry Styles. Chris admits that “it’s obviously a big jump from 5 minutes to 1.5 hours”, but the duo have taken it in their stride.
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“I believe that we are in service of the idea, whether that’s characters, story, or the concept.”
Chris Barrett
The jump from short-form to long-form is surprisingly not a massive difference in thinking, with many of the same focuses translating, as Chris summarises: “I believe that we are in service of the idea, whether that’s characters, story, or the concept.” Though, such a switch up does come with some challenges. “I think we feel like at some point, we are going to get called out, like we are faking it, and so that keeps us on our toes,” Chris says. Hearing Chris and Luke touch on feelings of imposter syndrome is surprising. Their masterful weaving of narrative through innovative design choices affirms their talent; their attitude to their craft is dedicated, nonetheless, curating a distinct tone. Luke says: “I think if we have any style, it’s more in our tone. We always want whatever we create to have heart, emotion, and with a little smile in the mind.”
Chris Barrett & Luke Taylor (Copyright © Us, 2024)
Chris Barrett & Luke Taylor (Copyright © Us, 2024)
Netflix (Copyright © Netflix, 2025)
Chris Barrett & Luke Taylor (Copyright © Us, 2024)
Netflix (Copyright © Netflix, 2025)
Netflix (Copyright © Netflix, 2025)
When creating the episode’s narrative world, creating a sense of realism was key to suspend audience belief that the physics we believe to be so concrete could be bent and distorted in the service of memory exploration. Bringing on production designer Robin Brown, realism was locked in as a vital pillar of the episode. “We all agreed that if any of the elements from the past didn’t look 100 per cent accurate, we would fail,” says Luke. “It’s the worst thing when you are watching a film and a photo is clearly not real. It just pulls you out of the film.”
Likewise, close attention to detail in the space, setting and props of the episode was paramount. All the photos use throughout the scenes were shot considering the specific camera and stock, using 35mm across point-and-shoots, as well as Polaroids, and medium format. “We even thought about what cameras Phillip would have had at that point in his life.” This helped the pair develop and emotional connection to the lead character. What would it feel like for him to look down at these photos? Will the audience believe that he took these photos himself, not props department? Even greater lengths were gone to to maintain audience belief in this curated reality. “When we couldn’t find something, the art department and props department meticulously designed and made them,” explains Luke.
Bigtooth Studios / Netflix (Copyright © Bigtooth Studios / Netflix, 2024)
Alongside Phillip, the audience is pushed to examine the photographs closely, becoming the detective and historian all wrapped into one. It’s a relatable feeling for Chris: “I live in Los Angeles, and I take my son to visit the Natural History Museum where they have the huge lifelike dioramas,” a memory he used as a jumping-off point during the episode’s creation. During the process of coming to an understanding through a given image, you often sit and almost wait for thoughts to arrive in your head. Luke calls likens this process to a photograph “thawing out” – it melts, changing state as time stretches on.
Nick Wall / Netflix (Copyright © Nick Wall / Netflix, 2024)
“It’s the worst thing when you are watching a film and a photo is clearly not real.”
Luke Taylor
With such a complicated vision, planning and pre-visualising was a vital; a core part of the process was keeping as much as possible in-camera and utilising VFX as embellishment. Many of the moments where people are static in photo moments are actually professional dancers standing very still, with movement director Polly Bennett helping to realise this feat of endurance. From the start of pre-production, VFX producers James MacLachlan and Josie Henshaw worked with Chris and Luke to build and trial concepts. “It just meant that everyone understood the idea, and we were going into the shoot knowing what does work and what doesn’t rather than wasting vital time on the day,” Luke says. This sort of meta-visualisation created a model for scenes, keeping everyone on board with despite the complex concept.
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Chris Barrett & Luke Taylor (Copyright © Us, 2024)
A burning question that comes to mind when watching the episode is how the photographic damage is visualised. Like the rest of the project, it was a pretty long and laborious process – the art department printed numerous photos, going through the task of exploring the many ways ageing could impact the image. “We had to really think about how the damage on the photo would translate to the physical memory,” Chris says. “Some would look really cool, but then when you imagined that brought to life, it would be too much or interfere with the scene.” Luke continues: “You don’t know what you’re going to get. The artefacts of a photo, like a light leak, motion blur, or haze, were crucial in this idea.” It’s clear that for Eulogy – unlike many of your typical TV episodes – dedication to design and art direction was the cornerstone.
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Sudi Jama (they/them) is a junior writer at It’s Nice That, with a keen interest and research-driven approach to design and visual cultures in contextualising the realms of film, TV, and music.