When world-renowned photographer Tyler Shields set out to direct his feature “Chapter 51,” he didn’t just want to make a movie—he wanted to build a living, breathing cinematic encyclopedia. In an exclusive conversation with AMFM Magazine’s Paul Salfen, Shields pulls back the curtain on the wild, obsessive journey behind this stylish Hollywood-set comedic thriller starring Colman Domingo, Abigail Breslin, Emily Alyn Lind, Charlotte Lawrence, and Connor Paolo. Releasing on demand and all digital platforms June 23rd from Cineverse, the film follows three actresses murdered by a shadowy “Hollywood Killer” during the chaotic production of a $500 million movie. Yet what’s truly unforgettable is how Shields and his team achieved it: shooting in every existing film format, inventing an entirely new one—anamorphic IMAX—and proving that the most groundbreaking art often begins with Sharpie markers, duct tape, and unshakable belief.
Tyler Shields has spent years hearing the same comment about his photography: “Your pictures look like stills from a movie.” With “Chapter 51,” that observation became literal. “It was always funny because people would always say to me, your pictures look like a still from a movie. And now they actually are,” Shields tells Salfen. Every IMAX screening seems to end the same way—audience members rushing up afterward begging for a book of stills. Shields smiles at the memory: the idea was always there, but the passion of viewers made it inevitable.
What those viewers don’t see are the 140-plus lenses that made those frames possible—many of them custom-built or radically modified on the spot. “About 40 of them were never used for anything,” Shields says, holding up one example covered in Sharpie notes and gaffer tape. “This lens didn’t exist. We’re constantly tuning and changing the lenses.” The production didn’t just use every format imaginable; it created a new one. “We filmed in every format ever. And then we made a new format which is anamorphic IMAX, and this was the first movie ever to do anamorphic IMAX.”
The technical audacity earned rare praise from Lol Crawley, cinematographer of “The Brutalist,” who called the finished film “a cinematic encyclopedia.” Shields lights up recalling the conversation. “I just thought, what a compliment that is… That’s what I wanted it to be.” Working alongside collaborator Giovanni and other lens builders, Shields pushed every boundary until the image itself became part of the storytelling.
At the center of that storytelling is Colman Domingo, a longtime friend and one of the most electric performers working today. “Colman is a dear friend of mine… one of the most unique, talented, sweetest individuals you’ll ever meet,” Shields says. “If you meet him or you hang out with him for five minutes, you’re like, oh my God, this guy is going to be a legend.” (An unreleased scene of Domingo simply reading from “Moby Dick” is, according to Shields, “a masterpiece” that could stand alone as a short film.) Domingo’s presence anchors the film’s exploration of ambition, ego, and the dark glamour of Hollywood sets—exactly the world “Chapter 51” interrogates.
Some of the most visceral memories came on day one with the new anamorphic IMAX lens. In a helicopter chase sequence, an actor sprints past the camera as the aircraft bears down. “He runs right past the camera, right past all of us. And that was our first day with the anamorphic IMAX lens,” Shields remembers. Afterward the actor returned, eyes wide: “Did you feel the helicopter lifting you off the ground?” The look on his face said everything. Another unforgettable experiment involved one of the original Paramount VistaVision cameras once used by Hitchcock. Shields and his team duct-taped lenses together and slammed the rig onto the vintage camera. When the footage came back, they knew they had something historic.
Shields’ advice to anyone dreaming of following his path is refreshingly direct: stop trying to be someone else’s version of a filmmaker. “If you’re comfortable on an iPhone, then cool. Make your movie on an iPhone. If you’re on film, make your movie on film. Take your time and do it how you know how to do it.” The biggest mistake, he warns, is forcing yourself into a format that doesn’t match your instincts. “Make it small, keep it all and make it how you know it.”
That philosophy powered the entire production. With a tiny crew and even smaller budget, Shields often found himself operating two cameras, running between them, and holding the boom mic at the same time. “There was a lot of doubt as to how this would work,” he admits. Yet he never wavered. “I am crazy and I just have this thing where I believe that I can do anything.” From the moment he wakes until he sleeps, his life is creation. Right before the interview, he was already tinkering with a new lens for an upcoming photo. That same hyper-focused obsession drove “Chapter 51.”
When asked what he hopes audiences carry away, Shields quotes Tarantino’s famous advice: make the movie you wish existed. “This is the movie I wish existed,” he says simply. “I just personally find this movie to be so funny, and I just enjoy watching it.” After countless IMAX screenings, that joy remains undiminished. “If you make the movie that you want to watch, you’ll enjoy it.”
“Chapter 51” arrives June 23rd on demand and digital—exactly the kind of bold, format-defying experience that demands the biggest screen you can find. And if you’re in Dallas this October, keep an eye out: Tyler Shields is coming back to town.
First trailer for CHAPTER 51, starring Colman Domingo & Abigail Breslin.
• Follows a FBI agent investigating the 3 girls’ murder in Hollywood
• The film is shot in multiple formats including hand-held cameras, VistaVision, Ultra Panavision, IMAX & a new anamorphic IMAX format pic.twitter.com/PG59gZxSNm
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) June 8, 2026
