It was nearly 1am and Jake Polonsky, on the 24th floor of Tower 42 in central London, was three hours away from the end of his day. The director of photography, who has worked on shows including Black Mirror and Billions, had spent the day preparing for a night shoot.
His shooting schedule for season two of the Apple TV show Surface was running over three nights, from 5pm to 4am. “We were filming a big engagement party for two of the characters, Quinn and Grace. During a break I noticed these extras waiting to go on. I don’t know if the lady on the left found the towel on set – maybe she brought it from home.”
He didn’t disturb them to ask their names, and says the position of the cup, obscuring the male extra’s face, was purely coincidental. “The lighting was flat, the composition odd, but it worked. I like the contrast of the expensive booth and the people collapsed on it,” he says. “The image reminds me how unglamorous the film industry can be, but it makes me smile, too – it shows the resilience of people on a film set trying to get some rest.”
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