A cinematographer who also directs, Gonzalo Amat helps make Outer Banks feel inviting and its teenagers’ freedom believable. We rate his visual judgement; we are more cautious about calling him a distinctive director.
Fi1m perspective
The coast in Outer Banks (2020) looks inviting enough to distract us from the treasure hunt. Gonzalo Amat, one of its cinematographers as well as a director, is good at making a place worth spending time in. We felt the appeal of the teenagers’ freedom because the sunny images made their days by the water look so tempting. His contribution helps an enjoyable, sometimes implausible adventure keep us on its side.
His move into directing came through SEAL Team (2017), with an episode in 2018, after he had photographed its pilot and early episodes. He also shot four seasons of The Man in the High Castle (2015), adapting to an established visual style. By the third season of Outer Banks, he was both shooting episodes and directing one. We value that ability to work within a programme’s existing look. It gives us a reason to follow his move into directing without pretending that every series he joins becomes his personal creation.
That collaborative work is clear in Outer Banks. Alongside cinematographers including Itai Ne’eman, Amat supplies the coastal brightness, while Daniel Novotny’s production design keeps differences in wealth readable. The trouble is that hardship becomes rather easy on the eye, and the series does too little with the class resentment driving its adventure. We like the friendships enough to forgive some strained plotting, but the later stretch needs more social friction before adding another complication.
His preparation draws on painting and photography, with room for intuitive decisions on set. That makes sense of the confidence in the images, though it tells us little about how he shapes a performance or paces a scene. We would want more evidence of those skills before giving him credit for a whole programme’s success. Start with Outer Banks if teenage treasure hunts appeal, and expect to forgive a few decisions.
Biography
Gonzalo Amat is a Mexican cinematographer and director. Born in Mexico City to Spanish immigrant parents, he grew up between Mexico and Spain. He studied fine art photography in Mexico City, completed a BA in Communication Sciences, and earned an MFA in cinematography from the AFI Conservatory after studies at the London Film School.
Amat has worked as director of photography on the television series Fargo (2014), The Man in the High Castle (2015–2019), Outer Banks (2020–2023) and Under the Banner of Heaven (2022). His feature credits include The Devil Inside (2012), Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014) and Carrie Pilby (2017). He joined the American Society of Cinematographers in 2020 and has received an Emmy nomination for his work on The Man in the High Castle.
Amat has also directed episodes of series including SEAL Team (2017) and Fire Country (2022).
