Diana Olifirova's creative composition

They say all artists must suffer for their art, and cinematographer Diana Olifirova is living proof.

Most fans of Netflix’s Regency blockbuster Bridgerton will remember Season Three for that satisfyingly steamy carriage scene, where erstwhile pals Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton finally lock lips, but Olifirova has a rather more painful – and lasting – memory: “The space inside the carriage was so tiny that I had to squeeze in behind the actors – and I actually have a scar on my hand from where I got too close to the focus puller ring,” she says ruefully.

I deeply believe in every project that I do. I completely, devotionally, go there.

That single-minded dedication to the craft has become one of the Ukraine-born, London-based DP’s hallmarks: whether it’s a micro-budget music video, a big-brand commercial or a blockbuster TV series, Olifirova is committed: “I deeply believe in every project that I do. I completely, devotionally, go there.”

Coupled with her willingness to adapt, improvise and play with the confines of a project, the result is an impressive and varied reel. It spans short and long-form – from commercials for the likes of Nike and Lego (below), to acclaimed TV series (Channel 4 comedy We Are Lady Parts; Netflix’s Emmy-nominated Heartstopper and Bridgerton) – as well as winning Olifirova a slew of accolades including the British Society of Cinematographers’ Emerging Cinematographer award and a 2022 BAFTA Breakthrough.

Uniting her diverse body of work are three red threads: a love of light (and letting it be the storyteller); strong compositions; and a bold approach to colour. In Olifirova’s hands, colour becomes a kind of visual shorthand – green, for example, could stand for warmth or cosiness, or equally disgust and loneliness – that subtly permeates the film

I decided to go crazy and gel the [the lights] all blue and purple – then I remembered those where the colours of the bisexual flag, and it actually came together in a very coherent way.

Constantly exploring ways to support the narrative through colour in lighting, she often uses gels to augment or contrast the tone of the set. In one scene set at a beach house in We Are Lady Parts, Channel 4’s brilliant comedy about an all-female Muslim punk band, the colour palette morphs from day-time sun into pink and orange, culminating in fantastical colours for the musical finale.

Olifirova's short film Intrance (above and main image) is a kind of self-portrait and was shot between London and Kiev just prior to the Russian invasion.

While in Heartstopper, the bowling alley scenes are lit in dreamy tones of pink, blue and purple to echo the schoolboys’ blossoming relationship. “It was a really bad location – a Hollywood Bowl in High Wycombe – and we didn’t have time to dress it at all. There were low lights everywhere, and they were all different shades of white,” Olifirova remembers. “So I decided to go crazy and gel them all blue and purple – then I remembered those where the colours of the bisexual flag, and it actually came together in a very coherent way.”

I fell in love with the challenge of moving image.

Interestingly, given her emphasis on colour, Olifirova’s background is actually in black-and-white photography. She first picked up a camera to experiment with her father’s – a chemistry engineer – dark room materials, before joining various photography clubs around Kiev.

At the time, in 2007, there was no option to study photography professionally, so she opted for a BA in cinematography at Ukraine’s Kary Film University instead “and fell in love with the challenge of moving image.”

Olifirova's experimental film In takes cinematic glass to the limits using various cameras at every focal length and t-stop.

Five years later, impatient for more experience and larger-scale projects, she left her home country to study for a Masters at London’s NFTS. “I didn’t learn that much technical stuff at film school in Ukraine… it was quite limiting,” she admits. 

Composition is key: it’s so important to keep the quality of the image as high as you can.

But those limitations taught her a kind of resourceful creativity: “If you only have shit lights and shit cameras, you learn to make something out of nothing.” These days, as a professional freelance DP, Olifirova’s rather more specialist and sophisticated kit facilitates, rather than limits, her creatively experimental approach. 

She loves to “mix things up” with different lenses for each project: opting for Canon K35s spherical lenses for a quirky, vintage feel on Season One of Heartstopper and Cooke’s anamorphic lenses on Lady Parts, with the wider format perfect for ensemble pieces and being able to show all the band together in a single frame.

A still from Olifirova's short film Quadrality, which was shot during lockdown in London. 

For handheld shooting and movement, Olifirova is rarely without her custom-made Easyrig vest, which spreads the camera’s weight around the hips and core, and is specially adapted for a smaller female frame. “Normally, when [the camera] is on one shoulder, you have to do everything from one side, but here, it hangs in front of you, so you can be much more dynamic,” she explains. 

I like the challenge of handheld; some scenes need for you to be right there with the actors, and it really helps the emotion to come through on the screen.

“As much as I like solid compositions, I like the challenge of handheld; some scenes need for you to be right there with the actors, and it really helps the emotion to come through on the screen.” Such was the case when she was up close and personal in the rugby scenes in Heartstopper and for Bridgerton’s carriage clinch, handheld was the obvious choice for capturing a deeply intimate moment. 

[Ukrainian DP] Serhii Lysetskyi taught me to question every decision.

Despite her love of handheld, solid compositions are what Olifirova is known for. Her knack for creating classic wide shots, full of meaning, which subtly lead the viewer’s gaze to a point of importance, was heavily influenced by her former tutor Serhii Lysetskyi, one of Ukraine’s most esteemed cinematographers. 

“He taught me to question every decision,” she explains. “So now I always ask myself: what is the point of this element, and this shot? Composition is key: it’s so important to keep the quality of the image as high as you can. Even if you don’t have much time, focus on what you can do most effectively in the frame.”

That steamy kiss in UK series Bridgerton.

Those trademark compositions and knack for finding single shots to tell the story certainly helped Olifirova make her mark on Bridgerton, where the imposing architecture created multiple opportunities to frame the action in visually interesting ways – despite the usual complications with shooting in heritage buildings (restricted access caused by roosting bats was a real issue).

I wanted Penelope to stand out in the scene; her dress was bright blue, so we put some really strong blue lights through the windows.

In one standout scene at the Innovation Ball, Penelope goes off to dance with her new admirer and Colin is left standing forlornly in an archway. Olifirova chose to capture the shot from behind: “It tells the story from the visual, which I really like. I wanted Penelope to stand out in the scene; her dress was bright blue, so we put some really strong blue [lights] through the windows and made the field light very warm, like candles. Then we took these big wide shots from the top on the crane, and thankfully it worked.”

Alongside her long-form work, Olifirova has built a thriving commercials career. DP’ing spots for Leibnitz, Hilton and Lego x Nintendo in various locations across Europe, she also recently shot second unit on Nike’s Flip The Game with Dune cinematographer Greig Fraser. Shot on film, in super slow motion (400 fps), it was one of her more challenging jobs – not least the nail-biting wait overnight for the film to develop.

Olifirova worked with Dune DP Greig Fraser on this Nike spot, Flip The Game.

Does she prefer shooting on film, or digital? “I’m open to any format, it really depends on the job. But I do like the way film makes you concentrate on the actual take.” Having signed to ArtOfficial for Scandinavia and Germany, she’s looking forward to more ad work coming her way. “I like commercials, because you’re able to really focus on the image, with time and tools,” she says, “but also it’s great to work in different countries, meet new gaffers and dip into the unexpected.” 

I feel I will discover that [directing] side of my career side by side with cinematography, rather than either/or.

As a self-confessed “restless over-achiever” who likes “to dip into everything”, it’s no surprise to learn that Olifirova has directed over 40 short art films, including 2022’s Intrance, currently on show at London’s Bomb Factory as part of the One Nation Under a Groove exhibition. Shot between London and Kiev (just prior to the Russian invasion), it’s a self-portrait of sorts, in which Olifirova explores themes of identity, culture, memories and future through the medium of dance.