DECEMBER 2010
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Bruce Logan, ASC
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wasn’t allowed to see a movie until I was 10 years old, and when I finally saw 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea , Sea , the forbidden fruit was was beyond delicious. I suppose watching Journey to the Center of the Earth , Earth , In Search of the Castaways and The Time Machine steered Machine steered me down my own career path, which has included the films 2001: A Space Odyssey , Tron , Star Wars and Airplane! and Airplane! “American Cinematographer was my window onto the souls of my fellow artists, because I never really had any contact with other directors of photography until I joined the ASC. I still look look through that window today to see all the innovative ways my peers solve the same problems I am faced with. with. AC is an invaluable tool for staying current in my chosen profession.” — Bruce Logan, ASC ASC
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The International Journal of Motion Imaging
On Our Cover: A ballerina (Natalie Portman) suffers a terrifying psychological psychological breakdown in Black Swan, shot by Matthew Libatique, ASC. (Photo by Niko Tavernise, courtesy of Fox Searchlight.)
FEATURES
30 50 64
Danse Macabre Matthew Libatique, ASC attempts an audacious jeté with the unnerving drama BlackSwan
Up Against It Anthony Dod Mantle, BSC, DFF and Enrique Chediak Chediak serve as co-cinematographers on Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours
Romantic Chemistry Steven Fierberg, ASC brings soul mates together in Love and Other Drugs
76 A Big-City Dream Dream DEPARTMENTS 8 10 12 18 88 92 94 96 102 104 104 105 112 114 116
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64
Bojan Bazelli, ASC captures glitz and glamour for the musical extravaganza Burlesque
Editor’s Note President’s Desk 76 Short Takes: “Dot” Production Slate: The King’s Speech • I Love You Phillip Morris Post Focus: 3-D Workflow at Company 3 Tomorrow’s Technology Technology Filmmakers’ Forum: Michael Grady New Products & Services International Marketplace Classified Ads Ad Index 2010 AC Index ASC Membership Roster Clubhouse News ASC Close-Up: Close-Up: Frank B. Byers
— VISIT WWW.THEASC.COM TO ENJOY THESE WEB EXCLUSIVES — Podcast: Edward Lachman, ASC on Howl DVD Playback: The Exorcist • Breathless • Troll 2
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The International Journal ofMotion Imaging
Visit us online at ww w ww.theasc.com ———————————————————————————————————— PUBLISHER Martha Winterhalter ————————————————————————————————————
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American Cinematographer (ISSN 0002-7928), established 1920 and in its 90th year of publication, is published monthly in Hollywood by ASC Holding Corp., 1782 N. Orange Dr., Hollywood, CA 90028, U.S.A., (800) 448-0145, (323) 969-4333, 969-4333, Fax (323) 876-4973, direct line for subscription inquiries (323) 969-4344. Subscriptions: U.S. $50; Canada/Mexico $70; all other foreign countries $95 a year (remit international international Money Order or other exchange payable in U.S. $). Advertising: Rate card upon request from Hollywood office. Article Reprints: Requests for high-quality article reprints (or electronic reprints) should be made to Sheridan Reprints at (800) (800) 635-7181 ext. 8065 or by e-mail
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American Society of Cine matog matogra raphers phers The ASC is not a labor union or a guild, but an educational, cultural and pro fes sion al or ga ni za tion. Membership is by invitation to those who are actively en gaged as di rec tors of photography and have dem on strated out stand ing ability. ASC membership has be come one of the highest honors that can be bestowed upon a pro fes sional cin e ma tog ra pher pher — a mark of prestige and excellence.
OFFICERS - 2010/2011
Michael Goi President
Richard Crudo Vice President
Owen Roizman Vice President
John C. Flinn III Vice President
Matthew Leonetti Treasurer
Rodney Taylor Secretary
Ron Garcia Sergeant At Arms
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD
John Bailey Stephen Burum Curtis Clark George Spiro Dibie Richard Edlund John C. Flinn III Michael Goi Stephen Lighthill Isidore Mankofsky Daryn Okada Robert Primes Nancy Schreiber Kees Van Oostrum Haskell Wexler Vilmos Zsigmond ALTERNATES
Fred Elmes Rodney Taylor Michael D. O’Shea Sol Negrin Michael B. Negrin MUSEUM CURATOR
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Steve Gainer
Editor’s Note I first met Matthew Libatique, ASC and Darren Aronofsky at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, shortly after their debut film, Pi , won the directing award in the Dramatic category. As they celebrated, I noticed their easy rapport — close friends who were excited to see the future opening up for them. We stayed in touch as they continued taking creative risks with Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain. Their latest effort, Black Swan , generated immediate buzz after it opened this year’s Venice Film Festival. The movie’s dark, experimental tone makes it a must-see for cinephiles who prefer material that transcends established genres — in this case, drama, dance and horror. As Libatique told me during our interview, “When I read the original script years ago, it seemed like a genre film, but on every project I’ve done with Darren, the script is just 25 percent of what the film’s eventually going to be.” You can read much more of his analysis in our Q&A (“Danse Macabre,” page 30), along with Aronofsky’s own reflections on the project (“Directing Black Swan,” page 34). Also testing themselves were Anthony Dod Mantle, BSC, DFF and Enrique “Quique” Chediak, who served as co-cinematographers on Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours . The movie tells the true story of Aron Ralston, a young climber who was forced to amputate his arm after it became wedged between a dislodged boulder and a canyon wall. In addition to working as a duo, Dod Mantle and Chediak had to dramatize a unique dilemma. “With the film’s single character stuck in a canyon for most of the movie, Danny thought it would be interesting to add a bit of chaos by shooting through two sets of eyes, and that started to make sense to me,” Chediak tells Mark Hope-Jones (“Up Against It,” page 50). “It was a real challenge for Quique and me on every level, including operating, lighting and communication,” Dod Mantle adds. “Our job was to help Danny find new ways of keeping the story alive in a very limited space.” Romantic comedy might seem like a conventional form, but Steven Fierberg, ASC and director Ed Zwick mixed things up on Love and Other Drugs , in which a randy pharmaceuticals rep experiences the surprising urge to settle down with a free-spirited artist suffering from Parkinson’s Disease. While the film offers romance and laughs, it also acknowledges the potentially tragic future of the characters’ relationship, so Fierberg took a path that balanced these elements. “We wanted to sculpt their faces in a way that made them appear their most attractive,the strongest version of themselves,” he explains to Michael Goldman (“Romantic Chemistry,” page 64). “That meant lighting faces from a precise angle and not putting much light anywhere else. There are a lot of dark areas in the frame. So even though the movie is largely a comedy, I’d say we lit for drama.” Whereas Black Swan takes a stripped-down approach to dance, Bojan Bazelli, ASC pulled out all the stops on Burlesque, the story of a small-town girl (Christina Aguilera) trying to make it big in a Los Angeles cabaret show.“ Burlesque is the kind of movie every cinematographer dreams about — it’s eye candy,” he tells Iain Stasukevich (“A Big-City Dream,” page 76).
Stephen Pizzello Executive Editor 8
. C S A , n a m z i o R n e w O y b o t o h P
President’s Desk Inspiration is difficult to quantify and impossible to predict. It happens at unexpected times and affects our lives and careers in unexpected ways. Yet it is the one element that drives us to do the things we do, regardless of reason, logic or common sense. Years from now, I’ll be able to say I was there when my 3-year-old son, Michael, got his first big jolt of inspiration. Sure, he’s always been happy mixing his food together after watching a cooking show, or marveling at the way a hummingbird flies, but this was different. Gina gave birth to our second son, Ryan, two weeks ago. Michael has been protectively supportive of his little brother, so we wanted to do something special for him. We decided to take him to Disneyland for the day. As we were preparing to leave the park in the evening, we stopped by the Nickelodeon Theater on Main Street, where they run six different black-and-white Mickey Mouse cartoons on six screens in a circular setup. The moment we walked into the dark room, I could see it hit him; Michael stopped in his tracks and slowly looked around the room at the six screens. He has certainly seen movies and cartoons before, and he has been to numerous theaters, but this was different. He stood in one spot for a good five minutes, taking in the surroundings, then sat on the floor in front of one screen and watched the six-minute cartoon ( Traffic Troubles) twice. Then he shifted over and watched the next screen’s cartoon twice, and so on, all around the room. He is a talkative boy, but he never said a thing during during the experience — not a laugh nor a question. question. I watched his face aass he scanned t he screen and the environment. I could see him thinking. When we had watched all the cartoons twice, he simply got up and walked out the door with us. It reminded me of the time I was 7 years old and went to a friend’s birthday party, where he was showing 8mm films of Frankenstein and Dracula on the wall with a projector. Watching the strip of film with little pictures disappear into the machine and seeing the moving pictures on the wall jogged jogged something in my brain; suddenly, it was like random thoughts thoughts had focus, and I fel t like I understood more. It also freed my mind to truly explore and fantasize. I see that change in Michael now. He’s still the same kid, but he’s different. I sense it in the way he speaks and the manner in which he plays. He’s looking at the world in a different way, and I can’t pretend to fully understand why. I don’t ask him about it because because I don’t don’t think he he would be be able to explain explain it, it, and I also also don’t want want to disrupt disrupt the the thought thought process process he’s going going through through b y asking him to analyze it. But it’s there. Who can say how that moment of inspiration will affect the rest of his life? Inspiration is necessary for all of us to get through the day, let alone our lives. If we don’t find it, we somehow become hollow representa representations tions of of ourselves, ourselves, shadows shadows of of the people people we really are. For a few years, years, I thought thought I had had lost the the ability ability to be insp insp ired. Then, typically, I found itit again in an unusual unusual way. My wife snapped this photo of Michael Michael and me on her phone. It’s out of foc us, compositionally crooked, and you can’t see our faces, yet it is my favorite photo. It inspires inspires me — to be a loving husband, a d ecent father, a dedicated teacher, a selfless mentor, a tireless artist and a compassionate leader. My wife jokingly says of Michael’s introspective observations, “Oh, boy, now he’s going to be just like his daddy. He’s going to want to save the world.” I hope for nothing less. Happy holidays, and best wishes for an inspiring new year. . C S A , n a m z i o R n e w O y b t i a r t r o P
Michael Goi, ASC President
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December 2010
American Cinematographer
Short Takes Tiny puppets attached to thin wires star in “Dot,” a stopmotion Nokia spot created by Aardman Animations.
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Aardman Animates With Nokia’s N8 By Iain Stasukevich
University of California-Berkeley professor Daniel Fletcher created the CellScope with the idea that a user could transform a cell-phone camera into a diagnostic-quality microscope by attaching a 5-50x lens with a custom mount that clamps onto the phone body. The goal was to enable medical professionals working in remote locations to visualize, capture, organize and transmit images of biological samples for diagnosis. Creatives at Wieden+Kennedy advertising agency in London decided to pair Fletcher’s creation with a high-end smartphone, the Nokia N8. The agency approached Aardman Animations with an open brief: create a microscopic film with the CellScope and an N8. Animation directors Ed Patterson and Will Studd, collectively known as Sumo Science, and cinematographer Mark Chamberlain all jumped jumped at the the opport opportuni unity. ty. Early on, the filmmakers considered medical concepts, like animating blood cells, but scrapped them in favor of “Dot,” a sidescrolling adventure about a microscopic girl who falls into a Wonderland-like world constructed of textiles, loose change and pocket lint. Chamberlain’s first task was to have Lew Gardiner, Aardman’s senior mechnical engineer, construct a CellScope lens that would perceive depth — CellScopes are designed to focus on a single plane of glass, and Chamberlain needed to know how much depth-of-field he could get. Gardiner consulted with optics professors at the University of Bristol to modify the lens design and brought the new elements back to Aardman, where he built the final assembly. Meanwhile, Studd and Patterson got to work figuring out how to animate 12
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their film. Manipulating a 9mm-tall puppet was out of the question, so, in consultation with Aardman’s head modelmaker, Chris Entwhistle, they decided to do replacement animation: a resin-based rapid prototyping machine would create a microscopic Dot model for every frame of movement. “It’s worth noting that we actually planned to go a lot smaller than we did,” says Patterson. The directors wanted the puppet to be 4mm tall, but the rapid prototype machine couldn’t physically print the character that small. Gardiner’s work on the modified CellScope lens was already complete, so the lens angle was widened to accommodate a 9mm character. A total of 150 puppets — 50 poses, three puppets for each pose — were attached to thin wire, painted and positioned in front of the camera lens while the meter-long background scrolled from right to left on the base of an old Rostrum camera. The motioncontrolled animation stand was programmed for a continuous 60second shot, Chamberlain explains. “Lew modified the platform’s stepper motors so we could work in increments of half a millimeter. That’s how precise we had to be.” The Nokia N8 turned out to be an excellent animation 1.83" image sensor, 5.9mm Carl camera, with its 12-megapixel 1 ⁄ 1.83 Zeiss lens and HDMI-out capabilities. (It also captures 720p HD video at 25 fps.) “The image has virtually no noise,” says Chamberlain. “For what we were doing, and the size at which we were doing it, there was no margin of error when it came to getting the image as clean as possible.” A specially modified prototype N8 helped circumvent certain production-model issues, such as shifting color temperatures and an auto-shutdown function. Chamberlain looked at locking the expo-
American Cinematographer
. y d e n n e K + n e d e i W d n a s n o i t a m i n A n a m d r a A f o y s e t r u o c s o t o h P
“THERE’S A TOUCH OF AGITATION AGITATION IN ROBERT ELSWIT ’S CAMERAWORK, ENOUGH TO LEND AN EDGE OF AU TH EN TI CI T Y T O TH E PR OC EE DI NG S.” AMY BIAN COLLI, S AN FRANC ISCO CH RONICLE
BEST CINEMA TOGRAPHY BEST CINEMATOGRAPH CINEMATOGRAPH TOGRAPH Y
ROBERT EL SWIT, ASC ROBERT
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Top: Dot hitches a ride on a bumblebee. Middle: The portion of the small set used for the bumblebee ride. Bottom: The puppets are laid out with sketches depicting their specific movements.
sure manually, “but it turns out that you can’t actually do that,” he says. “We did some tests and realized that by the time you’ve lit the shot and animated the set and the character, the camera’s sensor has settled to the point where every exposure is relatively constant.” The modified N8 also 14
December 2010
provided the team with a live HDMI feed so they could watch low-resolution live-view images overlaid onto the stored images in Stop Motion Pro. Because the end of the CellScope lens was never more than a couple of centimeters from the subject, and the set American Cinematographer
moved in every frame, Chamberlain’s biggest concern was figuring out how to light the whole setup. “We mounted two lamps, an Arri 650-watt key light bounced onto a 6-by-4-inch poly and an Arri 350watt fill with F1 [Rosco 216] diffusion,on a goalpost lighting stand above the set,” he says. “We also had a 50-watt fiber-optic light attached to the top of the camera so that as we moved the set, it was consistently toplit. It worked brilliantly.” Studd and Patterson wanted to contextualize the film’s scale by setting it in a tiny Edwardian world of keys, pencil shavings and Liberty Fabrics. Dot must outrun a tidal wave of frayed edges as the patchwork landscape begins to unravel at her heels. Almost every effect onscreen was accomplished in-camera as hand-manipulated animation, which kept the two animators busy for four weeks. In addition to the painstaking task of moving his leading lady with a pair of tweezers, Patterson had to remember to press three buttons every setup. He explains, “I had to take my frame in Stop Motion Pro, then the frame from the Nokia phone, and then move the set.” Although the set was motion-controlled, the image was so magnified — approximately 15x with a modified field of view — that even the smallest shift in an object’s position was noticeable. “We were dealing with such fine increments,” says Chamberlain. “If we’d been on a Milo motioncontrol system shooting 35mm, we could have gone back to any exact frame, but nothing has been engineered to work under a microscope and repeat the moves perfectly.” “It was a bit of an issue at first, because we didn’t want to have to touch the phone every time we took a frame because we were afraid it would move,” adds Patterson. “So we connected an Apple wireless keyboard to the phone. Hitting ‘return’ captured the image with the phone.” As the set unravels, Dot flees across the edges of coins, through crystal caves and even atop a fuzzy bumblebee. The set is a relief from which the elements rise toward the camera; at one point, Dot runs behind one of the crystals, and the foreground element is so close to the CellScope lens that the two almost scrape across each
other. The densely layered crystals also caused depth-of-field concerns. “Even with Lew adjusting the arrangement of the lenses in the microscope attachment, we were pushing the edges of our focus,” notes Chamberlain. The unraveling effect that pursues Dot was accomplished in two ways: The boiling mass was made up of extra materials from each sequence in the film — fabrics, metal and scraps. Studd and Patterson animated the threads to push the righthand side of the screen, followed by a strip of white card to simulate a featureless void. “The other method was to rip the set apart as we went along, which was a scary thing to do,” says Studd. “It’s only when we got to the forest, in the last sequence, that we actually had to rip it up by hand.” “With this sort of animation, once you’ve committed to it, you have to go for it,” asserts Chamberlain. “You have to prep everything carefully, and if you knock it down, you have to build it back up before you can do it again. And you don’t have the time to do those two seconds over again because capturing them took an entire day!” Some visual effects were needed to complete the spot. Studd used Adobe AfterEffects to realign the background plates and remove Dot’s wires, and the bee called for a few touch-ups as well. (The animators used a dead bee, but used a computer to simulate its flapping wings.) “Animating on this scale hadn’t been done before, but we knew we could do it — we’re all experimenters,” says Patterson. They were also gunning for a world record, and they got it: Guinness confirms that “Dot” contains “the world’s smallest stop-motion character animation.” “I love the jobs where someone says it’s impossible to do, because I know I can find a way of doing it,” says Chamberlain. “Will, Ed and Lew have exactly the same spirit, and that’s why we could achieve what we did.” ●
Top: Dot scampers across the edge of a coin. Middle: A wider view of the coin set. Bottom: One of the puppets provides scale in this photo of the CellScope lens attached to a modified Nokia prototype.
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Production Slate In The King’s Speech, Albert Frederick Arthur George (Colin Firth, left), soon to become England’s King George VI, undergoes speech therapy with Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush).
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A Future King Finds His Voice By Jean Oppenheimer
Thunderous applause erupted inside the Chuck Jones Theater after the Telluride Film Festival’s first screening of The King’sSpeech — and after the second screening, and the third. Two weeks later, the period drama about the unlikely friendship between a future king of England (Colin Firth) and an eccentric Australian speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) won the Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. And on top of everything, the story is true. Unlike Henry VIII or Elizabeth I and II, George VI doesn’t have a high profile outside the United Kingdom. Christened Albert Frederick Arthur George — and known as Bertie within the family — George VI reluctantly ascended to the throne in 1936, when his brother abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson. He had developed a debilitating stutter in childhood, and that, coupled with his father’s constant disparagement, stripped him of all confidence. Speaking in public, part of his duties as Duke of York, was excruciating for him and his audience. It wasn’t until Bertie stumbled upon Lionel Logue, an Australian speech therapist, that he learned to control his stammer. The two men became close friends, something unheard of between royalty and commoners. The King’s Speech begins shortly before the two men meet and ends with the king’s first wartime speech to the nation. Director of photography Danny Cohen, BSC, whose recent credits include This isEngland and HBO’s John John Adam Adamss, reports that 18
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director Tom Hooper had a very clear vision of how he wanted the story told: hard light, wide lenses and short-sided framing. “Period films usually employ soft light, but Tom believes that to make history come alive, you must give it an emotional power that feels current,” says Cohen, who also collaborated with Hooper on Longford and John John Adam Adams. s. (On the latter, Cohen handled the European shoot while Tak Fujimoto, ASC handled the U.S. shoot.) “Part of that is making [events] look as if they could have happened two days ago. Hard light coming through windows gives the images a slightly more contemporary feel.” Most of The King’s Speech was shot on location, including scenes set in Logue’s consulting room. The filmmakers originally planned to build the room onstage at Elstree Studios, but changed their minds after Hooper and production designer Eve Stewart found a beautifully preserved Georgian house that offered an ideal space: a large back room that featured dark wood and a leadedglass ceiling. “We built a scaffold on the roof and rigged 14 4K and 6K Arri X Lights,” recalls Cohen. “We added a few [Kino Flo] WallO-Lites and 2.5K [Arri HMI] Compacts, then covered the entire roof with a huge blackout tent. No matter when we were shooting, day or night, we were able to maintain consistent light.” “To achieve the kind of light Tom wanted coming through the windows, Danny tended to use bigger lights and soften them,” says Paul McGeachan, Cohen’s longtime gaffer. “We used 18K HMI and 6K MSR units with no-color straws or 1 ⁄ 8 CTOs, or put a 1 ⁄ 4, 1 ⁄ 2 or Full Spun on barn doors and either [directed the light through] a
American Cinematographer
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THE MUTED TONES AND PROWLING CAMERA MAKE THE FILM A NEO-NOIR, STALKING THE TRUTH.
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RICHARD CORLISS,
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Right: The future king meets with Logue in the therapist’s consulting room. Below: Prepping a shot of Logue’s son (Dominic Applewhite) in the consulting room are (from left) boom operator Mike Reardon, focus puller Peter Byrne, camera operator Zac Nicholson and director of photography Danny Cohen, BSC.
couple of frames of silk or bounced it into poly [through] a frame of silk.” At Lancaster House, which doubled for Buckingham Palace, Cohen’s crew rigged 30 4K HMI Pars outside the windows on scaffolding that a construction crew had already erected. (The mansion was undergoing renovation). This light was softened by Egyptian cotton, 300 meters in all. At Ely Cathedral, whose interior doubled for Westminster Abbey, the crew covered the windows and placed a row of 20
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4K Pars, aimed through 1 ⁄ 8 CTO and Lee 251 diffusion,on a balcony that ran along one side of the nave. The fixtures, all wired to dimmers, were aimed at the floor, where white sheets and unbleached muslin served as bounce. Most of the abbey scenes are set in the crossing, a large, octagonal space close to the center of the church. To light the crossing, an Airstar 8.4K Hybrid Ellipse balloon light (holding four 1.2K MSR bulbs and four 1K tungsten bulbs) was floated overhead, and a 4K tungsten balloon was American Cinematographer
floated off to one side. A mix of other units — 2.5K Compacts, 4K Mole Beams and 6K Pars, most gelled with 1 ⁄ 8 CTO — were scattered throughout the church. “Tom was very keen on using wider lenses, typically 14mm, 18mm, 21mm, 25mm and 27mm, and often with the camera very close to the actor,” notes Cohen. The slight distortion of the image serves to underscore Bertie’s intense anxiety and discomfort. “If you put a lens 6 inches from somebody’s face, you get more emotion than if you’re on a long lens 20 feet away,” observes Cohen. Early in the film, Bertie has to give a speech at Wembley Stadium. Acamera/Steadicam operator Zac Nicholson and focus puller Peter Byrne, both part of Cohen’s regular crew, recall the scene: “The intention was to shoot Bertie’s walk up the stairs and out onto the stands, and then capture as much of the speech as one 400foot mag would allow, in one Steadicam shot,” recounts Nicholson. “[That entailed] squeezing through a very narrow gap as we came out into the stadium and onto the rostrum, [where Bertie steps] in front of the microphone, and then holding a static frame for what felt like ages.” Byrne picks up the story: “The Steadicam was on a 21mm lens.
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Above: Nicholson, Byrne and Reardon follow Firth and Rush for a key walkand-talk in foggy Regents Park. Below: The crew prepares a scene in which Bertie, accompanied by his wife (Helena Bonham Carter), delivers a disastrous speech.
Danny gave me a stop pull to incorporate between T1.4 and T2 as we were tracking backwards up the steps. At times, Colin gets very close to the lens, [which was at] absolute minimum focus. We shot without the matte box because it would have thrown a shadow on his face.” Hooper’s third stylistic imperative involved some unusual framing. “If somebody is looking off-screen to the right, you’d normally put them in the left of frame, leaving space on the right — that’s what is generally conceived as a comfortable image,” explains Cohen. “But if you put that same face very close to the right-hand side of the frame, it feels kind of jagged. It’s not an easy watch, and putting people in uncomfortable positions worked for this story.” A turning point in the film comes when a thoroughly demoralized Bertie 22
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finally listens to a recording that Logue made of him speaking — at Logue’s insistence, Bertie had worn headphones that prevented him from hearing his own voice, and he didn’t stutter. Upon hearing the recording, Bertie breaks into sobs, and his wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), approaches from a doorway behind him. The scene is bathed in a warm light that Cohen reserved for scenes in which Bertie is alone with his wife. The Chinese lanterns, 650-watt Fresnels and 150-watt Peppers that illuminate the scene were all dimmed down to a golden glow. Cohen shot The King’s Speech in 3-perf Super 35mm for a final aspect ratio of 1.85:1, using two Arricam Lites and Arri Master Primes (provided by Take Two in London). “You get a bit more height in the frame with 1.85, and we were filming in these old, beautiful buildings American Cinematographer
with fantastic ceilings, so we wanted to see as much of them as possible,” notes the cinematographer. The picture was finished with a digital intermediate at Molinare, where Cohen worked with colorist Gareth Spensley. The negative was scanned at 4K on a Northlight, and the color correction and Arrilaser filmout were done at 2K. “It wasn’t a particularly complicated grade — our biggest task was removing modern cars from wide shots,” Cohen recalls. “We also had to add some soot to the buildings. Once London passed the Clean Air Act, people stopped burning coal at home.” In fact, creating smog and fog on the set “was a fun thing to try and do,” he continues. For a scene showing Bertie’s wife riding in a car in dense fog, “massive smoke machines were positioned up and down Harley Street, much to the neighborhood’s annoyance. There was so much smoke it set off the fire alarms in a nearby hospital, so we had to move down the street.” In another scene, Bertie and Logue walk through a foggy Regents Park, and as the scene progresses, the skies clear and the sun emerges. “We were incredibly lucky that day,” recalls Cohen. “It was the end of of the day, and as they walk, they’re backlit by the sun, which is very low in the sky at that time of day in late November/early December. They argue, and then Bertie walks away, and Lionel turns and walks back in the direction he came from. He’s now frontlit by the sun, which, due to its angle, gives him an unusually long shadow. A horseman trots by in the opposite direction, casting an equally eye-catching shadow.” Cohen was delighted by the enthusiastic response The King’s Speech received in Telluride and Toronto. “The story is 80 years old,” he muses, “but it hasn’t lost its impact.” TECHNICAL SPECS Super 1.85:1 3-perf Super 35mm Arricam Lite Arri lenses Fujifilm Eterna Vivid 500 8547, 160 8543 Digital Intermediate Printed on Kodak Vision 2383 ➣
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Colorful con man Steven Russell (Jim Carrey) finds true love in prison with Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor) in the comedy I Love You Phillip Morris , shot by Xavier Pérez Grobet, ASC, AMC.
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A Daring Romance By David Heuring
I Love You Phillip Morris marks the directing debut of writing team Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, and cinematographer Xavier Pérez Grobet, ASC, AMC recalls that when he asked them why they wanted to direct, they said, “We’ve repeatedly watched other directors destroy our vision. Now it’s our turn to destroy our vision.” Sharp humor is an important 24
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element of I Love You Phillip Morris , a comedy based on the true story of Steven Russell (Jim Carrey), a closeted homosexual whose life is changed by a car accident. After coming out of the closet and leaving his wife (Leslie Mann), he becomes a con man and lands in prison, where he falls in love with a fellow inmate, Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). Once Morris is released, Russell escapes from prison four times in order to be with him. “This is essentially a love story about American Cinematographer
two people who will do almost anything to be together,” says Grobet. The visual style, which he describes as “free, open and unrestrained,” often dictated a handheld camera. (Grobet usually operated the A camera, while Brian Nordheim was on the B camera.) A handheld camera was also well suited to Carrey’s improvisational style, which kept the camera crew on their toes. Grobet recalls, “Jim usually did two or three takes along the lines of what he’d discussed with the directors, but then he would do as many as 10 takes going off in completely different directions, and we had to be prepared to capture all that.” The filmmakers’ spontaneous approach was a key factor in their decision to shoot on film. “Glenn was initially interested in shooting digital, and we tested some high-end digital cameras, but with the style we had in mind, I knew I would want the camera to become an extension of my body,” explains Grobet. “We had a tight schedule, and I was afraid of spending a lot of time with cables and in tents — all the stuff that comes with digital. This film had a lot of scenes that required mobility and freedom. “I also felt that the texture of film was better suited to the emotion in the
. s n o i t c a r t t A e d i s d a o R f o y s e t r u o c , n o s t a W n e l G d n a t e r r e P i t t a P y b s o t o h p s
i r r o M p i l l i h P u o Y e v o L I
. s k r a m e d a r t e r a n o i s i V d n a k a d o K . 0 1 0 2 . k a d o K ©
Right: After coming out of the closet and leaving his wife, Russell takes up with Jimmy (Rodrigo Santoro) and lives large in Miami Beach. Below: Russell is apprehended by the authorities for his latest scam.
story, and would allow for a more organic approach to lighting,” he adds. “So I pushed to shoot on film, and I’m glad I did.” Grobet shot most of the picture on Kodak Vision2 500T 5218; he used another Vision2 negative, Expression 500T 5229, for some flashback scenes to achieve a lower-contrast look. An Angenieux Optimo 15-40mm or 28-76mm zoom was usually on the camera, a Panaflex Millennium XL. “Those lenses were the right choice for this project,” observes Grobet. “Compared to a prime 26
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lens, they have a bit of distortion, and they’re not as precise at the frame, so they helped make the movie feel a little more loose. I could subtly use the zoom capability within scenes, and that was very helpful at times.” To give the flashbacks a different feel, he shot those scenes with an Optica Elite 25-80mm zoom lens and Kowa 25mm, 32mm and 50mm prime lenses. “With Panavision’s help, I chose those lenses because they created great flares,” he notes. “We wanted a slightly different look that wouldn’t feel sharp and new, but American Cinematographer
wouldn’t look too old, either.” Working with two directors did not complicate the filmmaking process, according to Grobet. “It always felt like working with one person,” he says. “There was a slight division of labor that made their relationship very complementary — John was focused on taking care of the actors, whereas Glenn is a bit more technically inclined, so he paid more attention to those details. But they were both involved in everything.” Most of the movie was shot on location in and around New Orleans, with additional work in South Beach, Fla. In a warehouse on the outskirts of New Orleans, sets were built for a prison cell and hallway that play an important role in the action. “Our approach to the lighting was naturalistic,” says Grobet. “We tried to stay in tune with the fact that the film is based on a true story, so we tried to work with the light that existed at our locations. In some situations, the fixtures were very old, and in other situations, we weren’t allowed to make alterations, so we had to accept things and make them part of our look. When we got to our jail-cell set, I lit with fluorescent sources and kept the greenish look for the sake of consistency. The grittiness and mixed color temperatures look great. In the
Grobet (left, with light meter) fine-tunes a setup on location in Louisiana.
old days, we would have corrected everything, but I think it’s fun to play with those elements and integrate them into the overall image.” For night interiors, Grobet often used Kino Flo Image 80s and Lowel Rifa lights in
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a range of sizes and configurations. “The Rifas are a great soft source, easy to set up and control,” he says. “In the Kinos, we used the type of bulbs you’d typically find in settings such as prisons or supermarkets. For the romantic scenes, I was gentler in
handling the different color temperatures. In keeping with the arc of the story, I lit with softer contrast in the beginning and gradually increased it. After Jim’s character comes out, we made things more colorful and joyful joyful,, and and furthe furtherr alon along, g, as as thin things gs become become tense and frantic, we heightened the contrast and color saturation through the choice of film stock and in the digital intermediate.” Sunny, slightly blown-out highlights are another aspect of the look. “We created that with a combination of lighting on set and DI tools,” says Grobet. “I like highlights to pop a little because it makes the images more vibrant and realistic. With today’s film stocks and DI technology, you can stretch it a long way, and they will hold.” The production’s negative was processed at Miami’s Cineworks Digital Studios, which also provided high-definition-video dailies. The final 2K scan and color-correction were done at LaserPacific in Hollywood, where colorist Mike Sowa did the timing. Release prints were made at FotoKem in Burbank.
“This movie was released around the world to positive response after it premiered at Sundance in 2009, but it struggled to find a distributor in the United States, even though it has two major movie stars,” muses Grobet. “I suspect it’s because of the homosexual subject matter, and I find that depressing and difficult to understand. Thanks to Roadside Attractions, American audiences can now see and appreciate the film for what it is: a romance with dramatic and comedic elements. I hope audiences here will connect with it the way others have.” TECHNICAL SPECS 1.85:1 35mm Panaflex Millennium XL Angenieux, Optica Elite and Kowa lenses Kodak Vision2 500T 5218, Expression 500T 5229 Digital Intermediate Printed on Fuji Eterna-CP 3513DI ●
ASC to Honor Deakins, Seale, O’Shea, Kirkland The 25th Annual ASC Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography will include four honorary awards for visual artistry: Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award; John Seale, ASC, ACS, the International Award; Michael D. O’Shea, ASC, the Career Achievement in Television Award; and stills photographer Douglas Kirkland, the Presidents Award. Deakins won ASC Awards for The Man Who Wasn’t There and The Shaw shank shank Redemp Redemptio tionn , and was also nominated by the Society for The Reader (a shared credit with Chris Menges, ASC, BSC), Revolutionary Road , The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford , No Country for Old Men , Kundun, Fargo and O Brother, Where Art Thou? Seale won ASC and Academy awards for The English Patient , and he also earned ASC nominations for Cold Moun-
tain, The Perfect Storm and Rain Man. O’Shea won an Emmy Award for CSI: Miami and also earned Emmy nominations for the series Doogie Howser, M.D. and Relativity and the telefilms The ’60s and To Love, Honor and Deceive. Kirkland, an associate member of the ASC, has worked as a special photographer on numerous film productions, including 2001: A Space Odyssey , The Sound of Music , Titanic and Moulin Rouge! At press time, the ASC had not announced the recipient of its Board of Governors Award, which is presented to an individual who has made significant contributions to advancing the art of filmmaking. The ASC Awards will be held Feb. 13 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. For ticket information, call (323) 969-4333.
“PURE PLEASURE. By the end of this funny,, touching and acutely observed funny film, shot in Georgia by the gifted cinematographer David Boyd, Felix Bush reveals his secret heart.” -Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY David Boyd, A.S.C.
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Danse Macabre
Matthew Libatique, ASC and Darren Aronofsky renew their collaboration with the darkballet drama Black Swan. By Stephen Pizzello •|•
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. t h g i l h c r a e S x o F d n a r o l o c i n h c e T f o y s e t r u o c s b a r g e m a r F . t h g i l h c r a e S x o F f o y s e t r u o c , s i w e L y a R d n a e s i n r e v a T o k i N y b s o t o h P
Opposite: Nina (Natalie Portman), a New York ballerina under heavy stress, begins experiencing bizarre hallucinations in Black Swan . This page, top and middle: Nina commands the spotlight as the White Swan in a daring interpretation of Swan Lake . Bottom: The ballet’s artistic director, Thomas (Vincent Cassel), initially feels that Nina is too repressed to play the darker role of the Black Swan.
focuses its lens on Nina (Natalie Portman), a New York City ballerina vying for the lead role in a postmodern interpretation of Swan Lake helmed by demanding artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel). Having dismissed his previous prima ballerina, Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder), Leroy seeks a lead dancer who can embody the innocence and grace of the White Swan and the eroticism and cunning of the Black Swan. Though impressed with with Nina’ Nina’s move movess as as the the White White Swan, Swan, Leroy feels she is too guileless and repressed to capture the nuances of the darker part, and his eye falls on a new dancer, Lily (Mila Kunis), whose overt sensuality makes her Nina’s main competition. Strangely drawn to her rival, Nina forms a risky friendship that agitates her neurotic mother (Barbara Hershey), a former ballerina. Nina’s stress causes her to experience terrifying hallucinations that send her into a psychological tailspin. To real realize ize this dark story, story, direcdirector/writer Darren Aronofsky reteamed with Matthew Matthew Libatiq Libatique, ue, ASC, ASC, his his collaborator on Pi ( AC AC April ’98), ’98),
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lack Swan
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Danse Macabre
Top left: Nina’s main rival for the starring role, Lily (Mila Kunis), gives free rein to her sensual side. Top right: Nina endures angst-filled solitude while awaiting the director’s casting decisions. Bottom: Mirrors are used throughout the story to convey the fractures in Nina’s psyche.
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Requiem for a Dream ( AC AC Oct. ’00) and The Fountain ( AC AC Nov. ’06). Libatique recently met with AC in Los Angeles to discuss Black Swan. American Cinematographer: Cinematographer: When did you and Darren begin discussing this project, and how did it evolve? This Matthew Libatique, ASC: This property was around for awhile. It was originally called The Understudy , and it was set in the theater theater world. world. Someon Someonee approached Darren about it after Requiem for a Dream , but at the time, it didn’t seem as exciting to me as some of the other projects he was being offered. It wound up on the back burner, but it stayed in his mind, and when he started to get interested in ballet, he thought he could resuscitate the project and set it in that world. How has your relationship with Darren progressed? Libatique: I think we respect each other a lot more now. We used to abuse each other a little bit because we knew each other from film school. When When we’re we’re shooti shooting, ng, our rela relatio tionshi nship p is a professional one, not a friendship, and it should be. Luckily we’ve always been able to draw on similar references, which which helps helps to to focus focus us in the the same same place. Did it feel strange to move from big Hollywood projects like the Iron Iron Man films back to an indie? Libatique: That was probabl probably y the best part of the process. I liked that
Left: Nina’s mother (Barbara Hershey), a former ballerina, exhibits an unhealthy obsession with her daughter, over whom she exerts suffocating emotional control. Below: A combination of small fixtures and practical sources light the apartment Nina shares with her mother, a real location next to Prospect Park. “We moved the camera in as though we were documenting real people’s lives,” Libatique says. “We made it a point to travel from kitchen to hallway to foyer to bedroom to bathroom, but the space really dictated the kinds of moves we could make.”
I could come off something as big and Iron Man Man 2 to do something chaotic as Iron like Black Swan , which was a 40-day shoot. You can take some of the techniques you’d apply on a bigger film and simplify them. On Black Swan , I knew we’d be deali dealing ng with with small small spaces, spaces, and that I’d probably have to provide 360 degrees of coverage. A beautiful thing about working with Darren is that he has a visual style in mind, and he’s very clear about what he’s trying to do — there’s no coverage ambiguity. In fact, I wouldn’t wouldn’t even call what he does covercoverage. His style is more like the European style: you only have a few bites of the apple, so you make them all count. What were were some some of of the the influinfluences on the film’s look? Libatique: One of our early reference images came from our collaboration with Rodarte, the fashion designers who created the movie’s costumes. The image was a cube that was pristin pristinee on on the the outs outside, ide, but had all of these spikes within it. That provided the central metaphor for the movie: a beautiful ballerina who’s holding this pain inside her. There was a yin-yang to the concept that’s reflected in the
movie’s black-white chiaroscuro. by director Donya Feuer called Polanski’s Repulsion was also also a ), which has a lot Dansaren (The Dancer ), reference, but Darren and I have talked of the long-lens, ‘camera in the corner’about that film many times, so it’s style camerawork we wanted to employ. always been an influence. We talked At the beginnin beginningg of of Black Swan, there’s about The Red Shoes , of course. I looked a scene that shows Nina scuffing up her at a lot of Kieslowski in terms of the shoes, and that image came straight out atmosphere and tone, mostly the Three of The Dancer . Colors trilogy [ Blue, White and Red ]. ]. What was your your prima primary ry focus focus during prep? We also also looked looked at a lot lot of of dance dance films. films. Darren sent me a foreign documentary most subst substanti antial al Libatique: The most ww.theasc.com w
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•|• ven before before this this proj project ect came came arou around, nd, I was very interested in doing a movie set in the ballet world. My sister was a danc dancer er when when we we were were kids, kids, so I grew up with it in the house. I’ve always been interested in unique, interesting worlds worlds,, and and the ballet ballet wor world ld definit definitely ely felt different. Few filmmakers have dealt with it in a serious way, so I started looking into it. At the same time, I was working on a film version of Dostoevsky’s The Double , about a man who wakes up to discover that his doppelgänger is taking over his life. Then I went to see Swan Lake , which which involv involves es a blac blackk swan swan and a white white swan swan play played ed by the same same danc dancer, er, and that’s when everything came together in my head. Swan The original original ball ballet et of Lake is a very Gothic tale, as it’s about a woman who actually transforms into a swan — by night she’s half-swan, half-human. So very early on, I knew this would be a type of werewolf movie. That concept motivated all the Gothic overtones we eventually incorporated into the look. We weren’t really paying homage to anything specific, but Matty and I definitely drew on a lot of our influences: Roman Polanski’s Repulsion and The Tenant , David Cronenberg, the Dardennes for the camera style, and, of course, The Red Shoes . We wanted wanted to update update Swan Lake and make it more modern, and we were worki working ng with with chor choreog eograp rapher her Benjam Benjamin in Millepied of the New York City Ballet. I would explain to him what I wanted, especially in terms of the emotions I was trying to draw out of the actors, and he would would turn turn thos thosee emo emotio tions ns into into move move-ment. Natalie Portman danced till she was 13, which was was actually actually pretty important, because early training allows your your body body to sort sort of of get get back back to to it. it. A lot lot of professional dancers have been doing it since they were 5 years old, and their bodies actually transform. If Natalie hadn’t had that background, and then a
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Directing Black Swan year year of of trai trainin ningg befo before re we starte started, d, she could never have done it. The I used Super 16mm on Jan. ’09] 09] becaus becausee I wanted wanted Wrestler [ AC Jan. to use a cinema vérité feel to tell a story about a pro wrestler, and I really enjoyed
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inventions of the 20th century; it allows an audience to sit in a dark room and stare into the eyes of a person who’s emoting without being self-conscious. I’m always about getting close to the actors and feeling their emotions and their presence. Mirrors are omnipresent in the film, as they are in the landscape of the dancer. When dancers are training, they’re constantly observing themselves in mirrors, so I knew that would be a big visual motif. People have used mirror gags in all kinds of movies, so we tried tried to figure figure out creepy creepy and weird weird ways to use them in new ways. ways. Sometimes those shots involved visual effects; there are almost 300 effects shots in the movie. The visual-effects supervisor, Dan Schrecker at Look Effects, has worked on a bunch of my films. We were actually college roommates, and we used to run an effects company, Amoeba Proteus. Now I collaborate with him through Look Effects, and it’s worked out really well. I don’t think my relationship with Matty has changed that much over the years. years. We’ve We’ve both both beco become me so busy busy that that there’s less time to just hang out, but our work relationship is very similar to the way it’s always been. We clicked in the long, sweeping takes that were film school; we were among the possible when we just had a man with a younge youngest st kids kids in in the the school school and came came camera following the actors. I thought it from similar backgrounds, so we had a would be interesti interesting ng to bring that very very easy easy rap rappor port, t, and that’s that’s contin continued ued approach to the ballet world because it through all of our films together. We would would really really captur capturee the the energy energy onstag onstage. e. now have more experiences together to We wanted wanted to bring bring the camera camera right right draw upon, so we can say, ‘Let’s try to do onto the stage and make it dance along what what we we did did with with that that other other thing, thing,’’ or or with with the the dancer dancers. s. We were very very nerv nervous ous ‘Let’s not screw this up like we screwed about mixing a vérité approach with that up.’ We have a lot of common referthe horror aspects of the film, because ences. we though thoughtt the the docume documenta ntary ry feel feel migh mightt I think both of us have found that destroy the suspense of those scenes. as you become more experienced, you We tried tried to find find othe otherr film filmss that that had get more relaxed, and that allows you to taken a similar approach, but we accomplish more. There’s less adrenacouldn’t, so we just decided to roll r oll the line, and you’re more present. dice. — Darren Aronofsky We used used a lot of closeclose-ups ups.. For For me, the close-up is one of the great
American Cinematographer
Toplight aimed through overhead diffusion illuminates the dancers’ rehearsal space. All of the movie’s ballet scenes were filmed at State University of New York Purchase College. “It had everything we needed, including dressing rooms, cinderblock corridors and the large rehearsal space,” says cinematographer Matthew Libatique, ASC. He adds that the rehearsal space was the setting for Joe Gideon’s death scenes in All That Jazz . “That movie was a big influence on Requiem for a Dream, so the place had good mojo. The only problem was that we were living in Manhattan and driving 45 minutes to Westchester County every day.”
work I did did in prep was to spend spend time time planning out the dance sequences with [choreographer] Benjamin Millepied, Natalie and some other dancers. I shot all of that rehearsal footage with the Canon 5D Mark II, which gave me references for the shots we wanted to make. I also figured out a lot of the mirror shots during prep,because we were rehearsi rehearsing ng in a room with a three three-sided mirror. We worked out how to transition from Vincent to Natalie, or how to do a Texas switch with Natalie — we’d shoot her double from far away and then come around Vincent’s face to reveal Natalie, or we’d have Vincent in focus in the foreground watching Natalie’s double, who was in soft focus dancing in the distance, and then we’d transition over to a closer reflection of Natalie dancing. It’s called a Texas switch because in old Westerns,they’d have a stuntman do a stunt and then pop John Wayne into the frame. Where Where did did you you shoo shoott the the danc dancee sequences? ballet Libatique: All of the ballet performances were done at State ww.theasc.com w
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Danse Macabre
Mirrors show the progression of Nina’s anxieties as she prepares for the role of her life (top), examines a strange rash on her back (middle) and sees her reflection take on a life of its own (bottom).
University of New York Purchase College, which had everything we needed, including dressing rooms, cinderblock corridors and the large rehearsal space. We didn’t have the ability to use moving lights there, so we basically used what they had: spotlights, cyc strips, Source Fours [Lekos] and Par cans. Mo Flam was the first gaffer on the show, but he had to leave to do another movie, so John Velez took over. How did Super 16mm fit your creative agenda? Libatique: Darren likes 16mm because it’s small, he can do handheld, and he doesn’t have to wait around for camera setups. We were using real locations, so it helped in that regard, too. The apar apartme tmentN ntNina ina shares shares with her mother was right next to Prospect Park, and we moved the camera in as though we were documenting documenting real people people’s ’s lives. We made it a point to travel from kitchen to hallway to foyer to bedroom to bathroom, but the space really dictated the kinds of moves we could make.I think 16mm creates interesting texture, especially if you expose it correctly. Harris Savides [ASC] is probably the master of it; he’s always 36
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Danse Macabre
Right: Lily urges Nina to relax and have more fun during dinner and a night on the town. Below: Libatique reflects on his approach to one of the film’s many mirror shots.
for this one because of the costume colors and our overall palette, which included green, pink, white and black. It was a single-camera shoot except for maybe one day, and our main camera was an Arri 416, which we used with Arri Ultra Ultra Prim Primee 16 16 lenses lenses.. We We used a Canon 7D or 1D Mark IV for all the subway scenes; I could just carry a 7D and shoot on the subway all day with a very very small small crew. crew. I did some some test testss with my wife beforeh beforehand and to figure figure out my ASA, my stop, and how I was going to deal with the focus. I didn’t use any rigs with it because I wasn’t trying to shoot in the traditional way. I tested a bunch of different exposures and then brought the footage to Charlie Hertzfeld at Technicolor, who put it in the system so I could look at the highpushing the negative so you can see it in Fuji Eterna Vivid 500 [8647] and 160 lights, the moiré and the resolution. a perfect way. One of my goals was to [8643]. I liked how both stocks looked Then Then I went back to the drawing drawing board board show the grain in a way that was crafts- at their box rating in terms of grain and to do more tests. The 7D has more manlike. I didn’t want it to look under- color separation. I had used Fuji on My depth of field than the 5D, but I Own Love Song , and I liked its color exposed;I wanted it to look like it was needed that because I didn’t have a a choice, and I think that comes across. properties, so it was really my first follow-focus unit and needed to work I considered shooting on Kodak choice, but I just had to find out what it really fast. I shot everything documen[Vision2 200T] 7217with a rating of would would look look like like in in 16mm. 16mm. Every Every movi moviee tary-style. I did all the focus pulls by 400, but after tests I opted to go with is different, and Fuji just worked better hand, and we’d just look at it on the 38
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Danse Macabre
Top and middle: Nina lets herself go on the dance floor while tripping on a hit of Ecstasy provided by Lily. Bottom: The nightclub scene was shot at Santos Party House, where the crew set up three walls made of Mylar mirror. Illumination was provided by green Kino Flos and Paparazzis fitted with magenta gels. “We just mixed up the rhythm,” Libatique says.
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camera’s monitor. I ended up shooting on a Canon 24mm lens at 1,600 ASA to get as much depth of field as possible at a stop of T8 1⁄2. What What was was your your lens lens range range on on the the show? Libatique: Darren wanted to shoot everything on a 12mm lens,like he did on The Wrestler [ AC AC Jan. ’09], ’09], but I didn’t think we could do everything on that lens. When we started testing, we looked at a 12mm, a 16mm and a 25mm. We wound up using all three, but mostly the 16mm. We used the 12mm for some of our traveling shots to take the bumpiness out and show more of the surroundings. How did your lighting philosophy take shape? Libatique: The beautif beautiful ul thing thing about Black Swan was that that I could could apply what I’d learned on independent films and what I’d lear learned ned on studio studio films. From a craft perspective, this is probably the most satisfying movie I’ve ever done, because it had some bigmovie situations, like the ballet, but in real settings. Before we started the movie, Darren and I went to some stage plays in New York to see how theatrical-lighting designers dealt with live performance. In one off-Broadway play starring Scott Glenn, there was a scene where he walked up to a doorway and this fluorescent glow came on; I was struck struck by how how simple simple and effecti effective ve the lighting was, and I tried to apply that kind of approach to this movie. The main main less lesson on I took took awa awayy was was that that it doesn’t really matter whether you see the source— the audience will get an idea of where the light’s coming from. Because this movie had a theatrical edge, I decided I could take more liberty with the lighting. I took a naturalistic approach, but didn’t try to justify every source. Most of our fixtures were practical globes, China balls and covered wagons [batten strips with diffusion wrapped around them]. The units we used contained 75-watt EDTs and sometimes clear globes. Practical globes have become really prevalent in cinematography. You can work in a
small space and let the light play practi- scenes in All That Jazz. Luckily,it had all kinds of options in the other dance cally without using Fresnels. I hardly balconies, so we just put four spots on scenes. I had nowhere else to go! ever use Fresnels any more. four corners. We rehearsed the dance Mirrors are a big visual motif. How much interaction did you with with the the spot spot ope operato rators, rs, and I would would Did you avoid camera reflections prachave with the production designer, cue them on the walkie. The direct tically or digitally? Thérès Thérèsee DePre DePrez? z? Libatique: We Libatique: We did as much reference for that scene was a 1957 much as we Libatique: In prep, our offices Soviet film version of Swan Lake . For a could practically, but we knew there were right right next next to each other, other, so we had had long time,I thought it was too simple would would be moments moments when we wante wanted d to a lot of conversations, and she’d always an approach to the scene, but we actucreate seemingly unachievable shots, show me samples of what she had in ally shot that toward the end of and for those we just removed the mind. Darren likes a designer to pitch production, and I’d already exhausted reflections digitally with the help of an idea for a limited palette, and then we all agree agree on differen differentt colors colors.. We We assigned some symbolism to the various www.sylvania.com/entertainment colors: black represents the darker side
I wanted the film to have a balletic quality but still be as naturalistic as possible. “
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of Nina’s character, white is her innocent side, pink represents her childhood, and green conveys envy and ambition. For example, the pink bedroom with all the stuffed animals shows that her mother never let her grow up, and the apartment’s green walls walls under undersco score re the the comp competit etitive ive nature nature of their relationship. Darren makes bold choices, and I ask myself if it’s too much sometimes, but I trust his instincts. The film’s film’s firs firstt scene scene is very very strikstriking, with Nina dancing in a limbo-like space that’s illuminated by a single spotlight. Libatique: The Libatique: The goal was to make make it look like one spotlight, but we actually had four operators choreographing four spotlights. We would switch from a backlight to a frontlight, and so on. It was a square square room, room, all all black black — it’s it’s the space they used for Joe Gideon’s death
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Danse Macabre
Top: Libatique used strategically positioned lighting units to create hard shadows of the dancers on various theatrical backgrounds. Middle: Handheld camerawork places viewers amid the dancers. Bottom: The cinematographer positions Portman for a soft-lit overhead angle.
Dan Schrecker, our visual-effects supervisor at Look Effects. A good example of Look’s work is the scene where where Nina Nina is is rehear rehearsing sing in front front of a mirror, the lights go out,and her reflection starts moving independently; the camera was right where you see the reflection, but Darren wanted to get tight eyelines, so we had to paint ourselves out in post. For other scenes, it was easier to just hide the camera or shoot from angles where you couldn’t see it. We also used one-way mirrors to get a shot where we created an ‘infinity reflection’ of Nina sitting in front of a dressing-room mirror. We positioned Natalie between two one-way mirrors and just shot from behind them. We wanted wanted the the film’ film’s horror horror beats beats to be a bit more stylistic. Did you depart from the documentary approach and relight for close-ups? Libatique: Not that much. If we were doing a wide shot in Nina’s Nina’s bedroom, we might have a practical light hitting the bed, and when it was time to do Natalie’s close-up, the light would would be motivate motivated d by the practic practical al in in the wide shot, but I’d just add a bit of diffusion. It was usually that simple. I wanted wanted the the film film to have have a ballet balletic ic qualqual42
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ity but still be as naturalistic as possible. That’s why I kept looking at Kieslowski’s Three Colors trilogy. In those movies, everything’s lit, but things still look naturalistic. It’s sort of a stylized reality. The restaura restaurant nt and nightclub nightclub scenes involving Nina and Lily were a bit more glamorous-looking. Libatique: In working within a color palette, I naturally play a lot of color contrast. I might combine white light with a background color from our overall palette. In the restaurant, I lit the actresses with a table lamp and carefully positioned China balls, but
Every performance was covered in long master shots, and we just augmented with other moves as necessary. “
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there’s a lot of green/cyan in the background provided by compact fluorescent tubes that Mo Flam hid here and there. In any space, if I know I’m going to neutralize the actors’ faces, I’m going to put a color in the background. I didn’t do a lot of filtration, so it was all based on color temperature. That’s harder to do these days, because a lot of the film stocks are designed to balance everything out for the digital intermediate. The nightc nightclub lub scene scene was was shot shot in Santos Party House in Chinatown. It was a big big space space,, and and insid insidee we we basic basically ally set up three walls made of Mylar mirror and then crammed in all of our dancing extras. I surrounded the set with green Kinos and four Paparazzis with magenta gels on them, and we just
mixed up the rhythm. I would keep the green really down and we’d add flashes of magenta, or turn the green off altogether. It was fun. Technico Technicolor’ lor’ss Sam Sam Daley Daley preprepared DVD dailies for us, but digital dailies don’t really tell me where I am with with my my expos exposures ures.. To To chec checkk the the expoexposures, Joey Violante, the head timer at Technic Technicolo olorr New New York York,, would would put the footage up on an analyzer for me.
Did you bring in any outside experts to help with the ballet sequences? Libatique: We didn’ didn’tt have have any consultants for our theatrical lighting because I didn’t really have enough lights to justify it! I also didn’t have enough time to collaborate with somebody else; I didn’t want to get into a situation that would involve a lot of back-and-forth. When we got to those
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Danse Macabre scenes, I’d literally be shooting something in the dressing rooms with the actors, and then, between takes,I’d run up to the stage area, look at what the crew had put together, and start changing a few of the colors and cues. For the dancing, in addition to our choreographer, Benjamin Millepied, we had the Pennsylvania Ballet come in to work with us — they were between between seasons seasons at the the time, time, and we were fortunat fortunatee that that their their hiatu hiatuss worked worked for for our time time frame. frame. They They did did all the choreography for us onstage while while I was playing playing around around with with the lighting. While we were shooting all the scenes surrounding the Swan Lake performances in the third act, Benjamin and the Penn Ballet were rehearsing the performances in detail with with the the idea idea that that Natal Natalie ie woul would d be inserted into the performance. As our crew pre-rigged around rehearsals, we kept a constant eye on the ballet they were creatin creatingg so so that that we’d we’d have have a place place to begin when I was ready to start setting lighting cues. I wish I could say we did that that effic efficient iently, ly, but we did did not; in typical fashion, the lighting was created and finalized on the day of [shooting], but a great deal of preparation was done to lay the groundwork for meto be able to work with the guys creatively. Because I was shooting and there was no money for prelighting, I decided I wasn’t going to chase what the ballet company was doing; instead, I listened to the music for cues. The main main ligh lighting ting source source was the cyc strips above the dancers’ heads; we had about about eight eight rows of 1K cinema cinema globes running 60 feet across the stage. We just used differen differentt gels gels and put the lights on different channels; we’d go from a green gel to white to magenta, and we also started to mix them, which which was nice. nice. It It was was less less compli compli-cated than using moving lights.For one sequence, we combined a moon backdrop with a rain effect that we created by filling a pool of water with broken glass and placing it at the base of the background. We just powered Source Fours into the pool and modu-
Top: One of the show’s camera operators captures a shot of Portman performing in a spotlight. Middle: Nina prepares to make her big entrance. Bottom: As the performance approaches its climax, an ominous figure looms up behind the White Swan.
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lated the water movement with fans. In the climactic dance routine with with the the black black swan, swan, we we had had a big sun piece as our backdrop, and we used 2K nook lights in the footlights on the stage. Those came in handy for an earlier scene that shows the dancers rehearsing the number; we didn’t have the set completely built at that point, so I used the nook lights to create nice, hard shadows of the dancers on the back wall. I knew we’d lose those shadows in the full-costume performance of that routine, so I decided to back-
“It was important to Darren to capture Nina’s internal struggle, and Natalie definitely nails those emotions.”
light Natalie to make her a silhouette in the middle of the sun, and let all the other dancers have the frontlight. I kept her in the shadow of two light sources to create that symbolic element of light and darkness. The work of the the artist artist Olafur Olafur Eliasson also influenced the look of our ballet scenes. He did an installation at the Tate Modern in London calledThe Weather Project that was a great inspiration in terms of our stage design; we were impress impressed ed by by his his use of reflect reflection ion and scale. The handheld camerawork really takes the viewer inside the dancing onstage. Libatique: Every performance was covered covered in long long master master shots, shots, which which we just just augmente augmented d with with other other
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Danse Macabre
Libatique uses a small handheld light to illuminate a subway reflection captured with the Canon 7D.
moves as necessary. To Natalie’s credit, we rare rarely ly did did more more takes takes for her; if we required additional takes, it was usually for us. She trained for three or four
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months beforehand, and she did a phenomenal job. We knew we’d be shooting her from the chest up most of the time, but we knew we’d be in great
shape, performance-wise, as long as we could see her face and arms. For wider shots, we could just use her dance double. Darren wanted Natalie doing as much of the performance as possible, so he would often stay on her face or torso instead of going to those wider shots. It was important to him to capture Nina’s internal struggle, and Natalie definitely nails those emotions. We did alm almost ost everyth everything ing handhel handheld. d. The only only Stead Steadicam icam shot shot is at the climax of the final dance number. Who were were your your camer cameraa operaoperators? beginningg of of Libatique: At the beginnin the film,I had Joey Cicio, whom I’d Iron Man Man movies. We were met on the Iron looking for somebody who was close to my height and Natalie’s height, because we knew knew we wante wanted d to to be subject subjective ive with with the the came camera ra with without out lookin lookingg down down at her. Steve Constantino, whom I’d worked worked with with on Spike Spike Lee projects projects,, finished the more dramatic sections of
the film— the apartment scenes and I did two sessions with Tim at so forth. I did some of the operating Techni Technicolo color’s r’s facilit facilityy in L.A. L.A. while while he myself, but very little. Sometimes I’d and Darren were in a Technicolor New shoot the rehearsals just to show every- York York suit suite.T e.They hey were able to patch patch the one how we wanted the shots to play. image into the L.A. suite so we could all What were were your your goals goals in the DI? look at the same image in real time, and I was able to give Tim my corrections Libatique: I worked with Tim Stipan at Technicolor New York, and over the phone. It was probably the best we spent spent most most of our time time fines finessing sing DI experience I’ve ever had. ● specific colors. It was hard to get some of the colors just right. For example, we really worked on the red for the sequence in Act 2 when Nina is onstage by herself with the moon behind her. We also did a lot of cosmetic fixes here and there. One of my main goals was to get on the same page with Tim to determine the contrast levels for the entire film. I didn’t want the image to be too contrasty, and if the cinematographer doesn’t sit in on those sessions, most colorists will give the images more contrast because it looks sharper. I was actually in L.A. during that process, but
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Co-cinematographers Anthony Dod Mantle, BSC, DFF and Enrique Chediak capture an incredible true story for Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours . By Mark Hope-Jones
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ne of the key challenges in making 127 Hours was that that the story builds up to and is centered on a single, shocking act, and most viewers already know what it is. Danny Boyle’s new film tells the true story of Aron Ralston (James Franco), a young mountain climber who amputated his right forearm with a blunt knife after spending five days trapped between a dislodged boulder and the wall of Utah’s Blue John Canyon in 2003. Boyle first became interested in bringing the harrowing harr owing story to the screen when he read Ralston’s book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place , in 2006. The success of Slumdog Millio Millionair naire e ( AC AC Dec. ’08) gave Boyle and his team the freefr eedom to tackle what they readily admit was a difficult pitch. “In all seriousness, it’s one of the most impossible ideas to market,” observes cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle,
American Cinematographer
. e l t n a M d o D y n o h t n A y b h c t e k s d n a s o t o h p l a n o i t i d d A . t h g i l h c r a e S x o F f o y s e t r u o c , k c i n t o l Z k c u h C y b y h p a r g o t o h p t i n U
BSC, DFF, who won ASC and Academ Academyy award awards, s, along along with with a bevy bevy of of other accolades, for his work on Slumdog Millionaire . Althou Although gh 127 Hours marks Dod Mantle’s sixth collaboration with Boyle, it was a first in the sense that he shared the cinematography duties equally with another director of photography, Weeks Later Later ; AC Enrique Chediak ( 28 Weeks May ’07). The reasons for this were multifarious and evolved during the shoot. Boyle explains, “We decided to make the film without a break, so we built in this idea that we could just keep shooting by using two crews, and that led us to two cinematographers. It must Opposite page: Aron Ralston (James Franco) calls for help in vain after becoming trapped in have been very odd for both of them to a narrow pass in Utah’s Blue John Canyon. This page: Ralston’s adventure in the canyon starts enter into it —Anthony because I’d with a pleasant encounter with two fellow hikers (Kate Mara, left, and Amber Tamblyn), previously had a solo relationship with after which he sets out on his own. him, and Enrique because he somehow had to fit into that. But I told them two directors of photography might started to appreciate the value of a little what what I had in mind mind and and that that itit woul would d be be bring to the production. “With the bit of chaos!” absolutely equal in every conceivable film’s single character stuck in a canyon The The twotwo-uni unit, t, sevenseven-day day-a-w -a-week eek way, way, and, and, God bless bless them, them, they they went went for most of the movie, Danny thought it shooting schedule suited Boyle’s restless along with it.” would would be interes interestin tingg to to add add a bit bit of zeal — Dod Mantle describes him as After After receiv receiving ing this this assu assuran rance ce at chaos by shooting through two sets of someone who “just cannot gas down” — his first meeting with Boyle, Chediak eyes, and that started to make sense to but its primary function was to invest (known to everyone as “Quique”) talked me,” recalls Chediak. “Danny said that the film with unabated energy. “You further with the director about what after working in India [on Slumdog ], ], he could make this film in a European artww.theasc.com w
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During prep, co-cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, BSC, DFF sketched a trajectory for the film’s visuals, a diagram he likens to sheet music. Also pictured are some of the low-res stills he shot for inspiration.
house way, emphasizing how long it length. “Every crack and curve was as the confines of the set were also the key takes for the time to pass, but I thought close to the real thing as you could determining factors in choosing camera that would be unwatchable,” says Boyle. possibly get,” says Dod Mantle. “The systems and formats. Having shot “So we drove everybody mad, and the sets were actually physically harder to portions of Slumdog with a highly scheduling was a nightmare. There was work work in in than than the real real cany canyon on becaus becausee mobile configuration of Silicon almost no time off for the key people.” they were slightly smaller and were just Imaging’s SI-2K Mini, Dod Mantle This This intens intensity ity was vital vital to the direct director’ or’ss as inaccessible.” began prepping 127 Hours by investioverall approach, which was to make the The The logi logicc behi behind nd Boyle’ Boyle’s refu refusal sal gating how far compact digital systems film as experiential as possible. “We to cheat the sets or make them easier to had advanced since then. Though wanted wanted to stay stay trap trapped ped with with Aron Aron for work work in in was was twofol twofold, d, he contin continues ues.. briefly intrigued by some even smaller the whole time, so that when we finally “Danny felt that if the set walls split digital cameras, he ultimately decided to get to the decisive act, you will be able to open and James could get in and an d out too use SI-2Ks as his primary cameras. tolerate it,” says Boyle. “You’re not going easily, then that would be reflected in (These were supplied by HD Camera to love it, but you will at least appreciate his performance. When you’re shut into Rentals, which also assisted with the that it has to be done. That’s the whole that set with the cold and the silence, preliminary digital-camera build.) He deal: it’s a first-person film.” you really really believ believee you’ you’re re in the canyon canyon.. also brought in Stefan Ciupek, a longSome filming took place at the It would have been nice to slip out for a time collaborator and digital-imaging real location in eastern Utah, but practi- cup of tea now and then, but when I expert, to act as the digital-camera cal considerations made it impossible to look at the film now, I’m pretty sure supervisor. Together, they chose digitalshoot the bulk of the film there. Instead, Danny was right; the content is intense imaging technician Chris Cavanaugh to Blue John Canyon was LIDARbecause James, Quique and I were work with with Chediak’s Chediak’s crew,while crew,while scanned by the design department (led locked in there, and it was really quite Ciupek worked with Dod Mantle’s. by production designer Suttirat Anne difficult. “During prep for this movie, Larlarb) and re-created as two sets in an “It was a real challenge for there was an evolution going on with old granite factory in Salt Lake City, Quique and me on every level, includthe SI-2K,” says Ciupek. “We commu where where the pro product duction ion was based. based. One ing operating, lighting and communinicated a lot with Ari Presler [at Silicon set was built for vertical shots looking cation,” he continues. “Our job was to Imaging] to get some improvements either down into or up fr from om within the help Danny find new ways of keeping made to the camera, including latitude canyon, and the other was optimized for the story alive in a very limited space.” and, even more important, sensitivity. lateral shots looking along its horizontal Boyle’s experiential approach and On Slumdog , we found that night shoots 52
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were were very very diffic difficult ult becaus becausee the the camera camera was only only abou aboutt 200 200 ASA. ASA. For 127 Hours , we changed our whole setup to record uncompressed instead of using the Cineform compression. We recorded 12-bit raw data and gained about half a stop, which isn’t a lot, but it helped. We also had the software customized to allow us to shoot with a 360-degree shutter when we needed a bigger exposure range. That gave us another stop.” Each unit carried several SI-2K Minis, covering two slightly different handheld gyrostabilized configurations. The first first configuratio configuration, n, used used when space allowed, incorporated a PLmount and was used with Zeiss Ultra Primes at the wide end and lighter Cooke Speed Panchros at longer focal lengths. The second configuration, designed for the tightest shooting conditions, utilized a C-mount that accepted very small Schneider Kreuznach and Fujinon lenses, allowing the cinematographers to position the front element within 1½"of Franco’s face. This was especially helpful for scenes that took place under a rope bag that Ralston covered himself with to
keep warm. “There’s an extraordinary intimacy to these smaller cameras,” notes Dod Mantle. “We could get right inside that rope bag with James, close enough to see the dirt on his fingers. It’s very very hard hard to do anythi anything ng like like that that with with normal gear. “I always shot with the Mini either on gyros or on a bungee-cord rig, as I’ve learned on many different projects that the camera’s innate vibration is always noticeable on the big screen when you shoot handheld without them,” he adds. Film cameras were never used inside the canyon sets, though both units carried a Moviecam Compact MKII (from Clairmont Camera) as backup and took advantage of the resolution and sensitivity of 35mm film for landscapes and plate shots. Further adding to the eclectic mix of camera systems, Dod Mantle and Chediak both carried a selection of Canon DSLRs. “Canon and I help each other develop technology,” notes Dod Mantle, “but I don’t choose lots of cameras for the sake of having an orgy of formats. The physical restrictions of this shoot meant we had to find methods of image capture ww.theasc.com w
that would help us explore the space at hand.” The Canon Canon camera cameras, s, a mix mix of EOS-1D Mark IV, 5D and 7D models, were often often used used in a burst mode, capturing high-resolution still images at a rate of around 11 fps. Chediak explains, “We used them for specific moments, such as the moment when Aron Aron carv carves es his name name on on the the rock rock wher wheree he’s trapped, and they formed part of the language of the movie. We also used them to shoot a big sequence where we follow all the routes he took to get into the canyon.” For Boyle, the mix of cameras made perfect sense. “I think that language is really appropriate to a world where where just just abou aboutt ever everybo ybody dy is carryi carrying ng around cameras and phones that shoot video, video,”” he he obse observe rves. s. “It’s “It’s also also a langua language ge that has developed through YouTube. Rather than being locked into the liquid beauty and smoothness of celluloid, people are prepared to see an image fractured by a mix of formats. I love that, because it’s very dynamic to work with.” with.” Chediak had never shot a digital feature, so he spent the first three weeks December 2010
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Up Against It of prep getting a crash course from Dod Mantle. “I felt like Anthony’s younger brother until about week three in preproduction, when there was a very healthy little rupture between us and I somehow left the younger-brother role to become the co-cinematographer,” recalls Chediak. “I learned what I needed to learn, and then we came to a point where we just needed to be ourselves. It was a break, but a very beautiful and necessary one.” Dod Mantle adds, “Quique had to adapt to shooting digital in record short time, and this wasn’t conventional digitalcamera technology by any means, but the freshness of his appreciation was undoubtedly a force in his work once he and his crew began to feel comfortable with with the the rather rather unusua unusuall came cameras ras we’d we’d built for the production. [This aspect of the shoot] was the biggest hurdle for us to cross over together, and succeeding in that is the main reason the material cuts seamlessly, technically speaking.” Indeed, Boyle initially thought each cinematographer might bring his
Dod Mantle and cocinematographer Enrique Chediak were able to find a variety of angles in the narrow set with a mix of small cameras, mainly Silicon Imaging’s SI-2K Mini and Canon stills cameras.
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own look to the material, but he now believes “you can’t differentiate Anthon Anthony’s y’s and Quique Quique’s ’s work; work; the film film developed its own language. I first thought that with so much focus on one character, two cinematographers with contrasting styles would provide the variat variation ion we lose lose by by the the lack lack of of othe otherr characters. But, of course, none of that panned out. There’s a fluency that enforces this idea of it being first-person and of going through the experience with with Aron Aron.” .” The ferocio ferocious us moment momentum um of the shoot meant that changes were constant, with scenes frequently being rescheduled. “The schedule was always going to change incessantly because of practical reasons having to do with James’ James’ fragil fragilee turna turnarou round nd time,” time,” notes notes Dod Mantle. “I knew that James’ turnaround and Danny’s intuition would stipulate which scene went to which cinematographer, and I refused to allow myself to focus on who was shooting what. what. What What I insist insisted ed on was avoidi avoiding ng competition of any kind; that would have been fatal.” Chediak recalls, “Some scenes I was to shoot ended up going to Anthon Anthony, y, and vice-v vice-vers ersa. a. For exampl example, e, I was initia initially lly schedu scheduled led to shoot shoot Aron Aron cutting off his arm, and in the end, Anthon Anthonyy did did that. that. I alwa always ys had a very very
Top left: Dod Mantle (front), Boyle (middle) and Babak Mansouri eyeball the canyon set. Mansouri assisted the team with some preliminary builds for the Mini. Top right: Chediak (wearing purple) and 1st AC Nino Neuboeck prep an underwater shot with gaffer Justin Andrews. Right: Ralston rejoices in a sudden rainstorm, unaware that a flash flood will soon follow.
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Up Against It Right: Climber and additional camera operator Mike Call preps a high-angle shot of Ralston’s rappel point on location in Utah. Below: Dod Mantle fine-tunes the lighting in the canyon set.
particular idea for the separation scene, and when I learned that Anthony was going to shoot it, I told him how I had envisioned it, and I think he respected r espected that. Then, when I had to do the shot when when Aron Aron eme emerge rgess from from the canyon canyon into the sunlight, Anthony told me how he was thinking of shooting it, and, of course, I reacted to that. We were communicating very well at key moments. I saw the collaboration as something like a rock band with two guitar players; it worked beautifully.” Ralston had a camcorder with him in the canyon and began recording farewell messages to his family when he realized that his chances of survival were slim. Ralston showed this footage to Franco, Boyle and both cinematographers, and it informed their creative approaches. Ralston had secured the camera in front of his face and addressed it periodically as he struggled to free himself. This introduced ideas such as locked-off camera angles and breaking the fourth wall, which the filmmakers explored for dramatic effect. “We used this camera that Aron had with him as a tool,” says Dod Mantle. “It’s a lock-in, a stylistic change, and you really feel like you’re there with him. Over and above that, we locked other cameras in place to give Danny punctuation points for the acting. As hard as it was to hide cameras in a space 58
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16Digital SR Mag
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SKATER Dolly
PRO35
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Up Against It
“Danny wanted to put us in the same situation as Aron and push us to work The canyon sets with those those constrai constraints, nts, to find find the the were built in an angles within that confinement. A lot old granite factory of the time, I was breathing right in in Salt Lake City. “Every crack and James’ James’ ear; ear; itit was was real really ly very very inti intimat mate. e. If curve were as he moved even a little bit, then the close to the real camera had to move as well. It puts the thing as you could get,” recalls Dod audience right in there with him.” Mantle. Right: Dod Having created such a restrictive Mantle and environment, Boyle could not direct the Chediak confer during the shoot. action in any conventional sense. “We were were in in this this hole hole with with this this litt little le speake speakerr through which you could sometimes hear Danny very close, like the voice of the size of a public lavatory, it was also a with with some somethi thing ng like like a rodent rodent,, but but Aron Aron God!” recalls Dod Mantle. Often, great advantage; the cameras were so develops that relationship with the however, neither actor nor cinematogsmall that we could shoot simultanecamera. Sometimes I would tell James rapher could actually hear Boyle’s ously with three or four of them without to look directly at our cameras, not instructions, and they instead had to getting them in shot or interfering with because he was directly addressing rely on instinct through takes that could the lighting.” them, but because it just felt right. We’re last up to 20 minutes. “Just as being Directing from behind monitors watchi watching ng him, him, and and it feels feels like like he he can can locked in that space influenced James’ outside the set, Boyle became acutely look at us. The cameras became his performance, it influenced us,” says aware of Franco’s relationship with the companions.” Dod Mantle. “Eventually, we began to cameras around him. “The cameras As an extens extension ion of Franco Franco’s ’s relarelado things instinctively, even irrationally, become like creatures with him,” says tionship with the cameras, his relationbecause the camera was emotionally the director. “In most movies, a trapped ship with Chediak and Dod Mantle was involved.” character might develop a relationship extremely close. Chediak explains, Though Though much much of of the the cameracamera60
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work work was was instin instincti ctive, ve, it had to wor work k within within the overal overalll stru structu cture re of the film’s film’s emotional journey: a gradual descent to the point where both Ralston and the audience can confront the amputation. The The film film was largely largely shot shot in in sequ sequenc ence, e, which which helped helped,, but but Dod Mantle Mantle also also drew and referred to diagrams that he likens to sheet music, visually scoring the film. (See diagram on pp. 52-53.) He explains, “The slow disintegration of this young man was the guiding line for whethe whether, r, how and why we moved moved the camera. I found it useful to draw Aron’s descent, with the angles, critical points, ups and downs, like a piece of music. As we follow follow that that desc descent ent,, Dann Dannyy thro throws ws out tangents, brief cerebral exits from the canyon that show what Aron’s thinking about. These dreams and vision visionss are are relate related d to to stor stories ies Aron Aron told told Danny, and our job was to visualize them in a way we thought appropriate for the film.” To link link the physic physical al realit realityy of of Ralston’s situation with his memories and hallucinations, Boyle suggested occasionally splitting the frame into a triptych, an idea Dod Mantle embraced. “I saw an exhibition of Bill Viola’s work in London years ago and never forgot it,” says the cinematographer. “It was an extraordinary video triptych showing his grandmother dying, a child being born and, between them, a man floating in fluid. You could look at death, at life or at the limbo in the middle. When Danny and I had our very first meeting about 127 Hours , we talked about using triptychs for key emotional moments; I thought the storytelling potential would be enormous if we could get it right. When When I could, could, I woul would d tilt tilt the camera camera over on its side for [those] shots to get as much resolution as possible.” Water Water is a stro strong ng theme theme in the story, as it was dehydration that would have killed Ralston had he not taken action, but he felt the lack of light almost as acutely. On each of the five days of his entrapment, he was exposed to direct sunlight for only 15 minutes, and only on part of one leg. To achieve the effect of the sun moving through the
canyon, Thomas Neivelt, Dod Mantle’s Ralston was in shadow or darkness, long-time gaffer, set up a 4K lamp on a which which pre presen sented ted a cons conside iderab rable le chalchalmoving head. “We built a track all the lenge to the two cinematographers. way along along the top of the canyon canyon set,” set,” he “Lighting that godforsaken hole was says. “The head was pulled manually, actually harder than operating in it!” but the light was moving at the same says Dod Mantle. Justifiable natural time in a programmed pattern. Of light had to come from above, so 100 course, we sped up the movement of the Kino Flo Image 80s were rigged above sun to make it a bit more visually each set and diffused with silks to create cr eate dramatic.” a large, even toplight. “We also created Aside Aside from from thes thesee brie brieff mom moment ents, s, some background highlights with small
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Up Against It
1st AD David Ticotin (left), Boyle and Dod Mantle check the frame as other crew look on.
Pars, such as 200-, 400- and 800-watt Joker-B Joker-Bugs ugs,” ,” says says Neiv Neivelt elt.. “Ins “Inside ide the canyon, we used Rosco LED LitePads, which which we either either rigged rigged or handhe handheld ld very very clos closee to to Jame James. s. Often Often I was was sittin sittingg almost between his legs, reaching up and trying to get a little bit of light into his eyes. I’m very familiar with Anthon Anthony’s y’s ope operat rating ing,, so so I could could work work
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quite close to the edge of the frame.” fr ame.” Scenes under the rope bag were even more difficult. Chediak, who worked worked with with gaff gaffer er Justin Justin Andrew Andrews, s, notes, “I was operating the camera with my right hand and holding the LED with with my my left left hand hand so so I could could regula regulate te it myself. I also had a bit of backlight outside the bag to give it some texture.”
Neivelt recalls that for night scenes, “We stopped down and used a similar approach, but switched off some of the overhead lamps. Then we worked with the headlight James was wearing, bouncing it back at him and continuing to use the LitePads.” Since there was not enough room for recording devices in the sets, the Minis were tethered to Cinedecks positioned near the video village. “We were after small, mobile, high-performance recording units, and the Cinedecks had been announced but not released,” says Ciupek. “We probably had the four or five Cinedecks available at that time. They’r They’ree good good becaus becausee they they have have a touchtouchscreen and work quickly and intuitively with with the the new Silico Silicon n DVR DVR softwa software. re. At the same time, they were fast enough for us to record uncompressed. I also used them to create different look-up tables and pre-grades with Anthony.” The first first portion portion of of the post workfl workflow ow was handle handled d by by Colo Colorr Mill Mill in
Salt Lake City. “We actually did the first and ‘dry pictures,’ but we had to find a QC on set,” recalls Ciupek. “When we way of drying drying images images with with shar sharpen pening ing were shooti shooting ng onstag onstage, e, we had a wran wran-tools and contrast ratios. To visualize a gler copying the data at 1 Beyond dehydrated feeling, you’ve got to desat Wrangl Wrangler er Dude Dude work work statio stations. ns. We kep keptt urate, which is not my favorite occupathe original camera data on set and sent tion, and you’ve also got to lift the shuttle drives to Color Mill, where more whites whites and mid-to mid-tones nes,, whic which h is is not not any copies were made. When we got a QC cinematographer’s favorite occupation.” report back and a green light from the Despite this counterintuitive post house, we reformatted the SSD work work in the grade grade and the challe challenge ngess of of drives and brought them back on set to the shoot, Dod Mantle believes the be reused.” result captures the spirit of Ralston’s For the digital grade at story. “I look at the material now, analyt Technicolor Technicolor London, London, Dod Mantle, Mantle, ically, and I can feel the imprisonment,” Chediak and colorist Jean-Clement he says. “There’s a stubborn ruggedness Soret utilized sharpening tools to to the way Quique and I were able to improve the SI-2K image, and to light and access James’ face in different create a feeling of dryness that increases moods and impossible situations.” as Ralston’s condition deteriorates. As for the pro projec ject’s t’s ground groundbre breakak“Normally in the grade you’re talking ing collaboration between two directors about color, effervescence and saturaof photography, Dod Mantle concludes, tion, but on this film we were talking “It challenged and diffused somewhat about dryness and wetness,” says Dod the ego element that is very evident in Mantle. “It was the first time I ever sat some director/cinematographer relain a grade and talked about ‘wet pictures’ tionships, and it reminded us both, I
hope, that it isn’t the cinematographer who owns owns the the film, film, but rather rather the film film and its story that own the cinematographer. The rest is all down to management!” Chediak concurs, “I couldn’t put it any better than that.” ● TECHNICAL SPECS
1.85:1 Digital Capture and 3-perf Super 35mm Silicon Imaging SI-2K Mini; Redlake Y5;Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 5D, 7D; Moviecam Compact Mark II Zeiss, Cooke, Angenieux, Schneider Kreuznach and Fujinon lenses Kodak Vision3 500T 5219, 250D 5207;Vision2 50D 5201 Digital Intermediate
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Romantic
Chemistry
Steven Fierberg, ASC helps Ed Zwick visualize Love and Other Drugs , the story of a pharmeceuticals salesman who finds his soul mate. By Michael Goldman
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ove and Other Drugs is a romantic tale about a relationship between a free spirit, Maggie (Anne Hathaway),and a Pfizer pharmaceuticals salesman, Jamie (Jake Gyllenhaal). With With its its close close focus focus on an intim intimate ate story story,, it’s a far far cry from from the movies director/writer Ed Zwick has made in recent years, AC Jan. Blood od Diamon Diamondd and The Last including Defiance ( AC Jan. ’09) 09) , , Blo Samurai ( AC AC Jan. Jan. ’04), ’04), but he maint maintain ainss the he has has “alw “always ays bee been n interested in relationships in my movies, even in the more muscular ones.” Producer Pieter Jan Brugge recommended Zwick meet with with Stev Steven en Fierbe Fierberg, rg, ASC ASC abou aboutt Love and Other Drugs , and the director and cinematographer quickly discovered they
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Opposite: In Love and Other Drugs , pharmaceuticals sales rep Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) falls hard for Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway), a young artist with Parkinson’s Disease. This page, top: Jamie implores a reluctant doctor to write prescriptions for Pfizer products. Below: Cinematographer Steven Fierberg, ASC (left) and director Ed Zwick frame an angle.
. g r e b r e i F n e v e t S y b s o t o h p l a n o i t i d d A . x o F y r u t n e C h t 0 2 f o y s e t r u o c , P S P M S , s e m a J d i v a D y b y h p a r g o t o h p t i n U
shared many of the same beliefs about how to realize a romantic-comedy aesthetic. Fierberg describes the approach as “heightened realism,” noting, “That’s how Ed’s partner, Marshall Herskovitz, described it, and I think it fits. This script has tremendous dialogue, some of the best I’ve ever read. With With great great writi writing ng and chara charact cters ers,y ,you ou want want to shoo shoott in in a way that that allows allows viewviewers to perceive what they’re seeing as real and organic to the drama, so the lighting has to have some connection to reality and not be completely abstract.” The The vis visual ual app approa roach ch also also had to work work with within in the pro produc ducti tion’ on’s lean lean 49day shoot, which took place in Pittsburgh, Pa. “My crew and I strive to be nimble so that changes can happen quickly and fluidly,” says Fierberg. “It was import important ant to be able able to give give Ed the time he needed with the actors, and to facilitate any spontaneous ideas he might have.” At the same same time, time, light lighting ing the two leads “like old-time movie stars” was key, continues the cinematographer. “We wanted wanted to sculp sculptt thei theirr face facess in in a way that that made them appear their most attractive, the strongest version of themselves. That
meant lighting faces from a precise angle and not putting much light anywhere else. There are a lot of dark areas in the frame. So even though the movie is largely a comedy, I’d say we lit for drama.”Zwick calls this approach “beautiful but not overly romantic. There There’s ’s one one scho school ol that that says says comi comicc fil films ms have to be overlit and frontlit, but Gordon Willis [ASC] and Woody Allen pretty much smashed that idea long ago. So we knew we wouldn’t be going in that particular direction.” “For direct light on Anne or Jake, we’d usua usually lly key key wit with h a nine-l nine-lig ight ht Fay, Fay, a 5K or a 10K through 6-by-6 or 8-by-8 Full Grid with Lighttools [Soft Egg Crates], sometimes with an intermediate [Lee] 250 or Half Grid frame as well,” explains Fierberg. “When the space and the distance to the background were more appropriate, the grip department carried standard rags, loose pieces of bleached muslin and even white bed sheets, which we used to bounce a Blonde or Source Four [Leko].” Fierberg also has a specific philosophy about lighting for two cameras, which which was impor importan tantt to to Zwic Zwickk on such such acharacter-driven piece. The cineww.theasc.com w
matographer shot most of the picture with zoom lenses, lenses, the Angenieux Angenieux Optimo 15-40mm and 28-76mm and the Panavision Primo 11:1 24-275mm, and he chose “to light for the A camera as if there was no B camera,” he says. “I’m not one to light in a general way; I light very specifically for the A camera, but in a way that leaves room for the B December 2010
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Romantic Chemistry
Right: A fan of the “proscenium” strategy favored by fellow ASC member Gordon Willis, Fierberg used an archway to frame a familydinner scene. Below: While lounging in the Pfizer lobby, the oversexed Jamie and a fellow salesman, Bruce (Oliver Platt), ogle an attractive blonde rep.
camera to get something really good if that opportunity is there. [A-camera operator] Chris Hayes, assisted by Patrick McArdle, would capture the perfect shot for the main melody of the drama, usually with the 28-76mm Optimo on our Panaflex Platinum, and then [B-camera operator] Rick Davidson, with the longer reach of the 11:1 Primo and our Millennium XL, would would captur capturee the the ‘jazz ‘jazz,’,’ so to speak speak.. 66
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because it afforded the B camera more creative freedom than is customary. He recalls, “On the first day, after the first team had rehearsed and A camera was setting up their shot, I asked Steve if it would would work work for his light lighting ing if we found found a tighter shot. He said, ‘Just find me a cool shot.’ He just wanted something interesting. So with my focus puller,Jeff Graham,and dolly grip,Brian Buzzelli, I was able to do just that. I’d say we worke worked d that that way about about 90 per percen centt of the time on this show, just looking for little moments in scenes to accentuate what the A camera was doing.” All All thes thesee cons conside iderat ratio ions, ns, plu pluss the project’s short shooting schedule, led the filmmakers to extensively test not only film stocks and lights, but also all sorts “When setting up, I picked stand- of minute details. Zwick recalls, “We ins who closely resembled Anne and spent hours looking at photographs of Jake Jake in in term termss of facial facial struct structure ure and then, then, Jake Jake and and Anne Anne and analyz analyzing ing specif specifiiusing big soft sources, worked to make cally how to utilize them best. It’s a the center of the light falling on them process of working to capture intimacy come from a specific angle,” he continthat I associate more with European ues. “When Jake and Anne came in, I’d films than American films.”In fact, the make any necessary adjustments. If the team spent a great deal of time choosing angle of the key is correct, it doesn’t walll colo wal colors, rs, photog photograp raphin hingg stan stand-i d-ins ns require much fill.” Davidson notes that and the actors in front of some 30 differhe found this approach refreshing ent colors to determine which would American Cinematographer
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Romantic Chemistry
Top and middle: Fierberg lent a splashy look to a song-and-dance extravaganza Pfizer stages for new sales recruits. Christie LX120 projectors were used to create sexy, backlit images on the screens. Bottom: Colorful interior and exterior lighting creates enticing ambience for an orgiastic pajama party Jamie attends with his brother.
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look the most flattering in tandem with the chosen film stocks, Kodak Vision2 5217 and Vision3 500T 5219. Formal and informal tests continued during production,whenever there was an opportunity. Much of the movie was shot on sets built at various locations around Pittsburgh. Some of these, including Maggie’s large loft apartment (built inside a former factory), were fairly large and required extensive pre-lighting. Gaffer Steve Mathis recalls that after finishing the day’s shooting, he and Fierberg often went to various sets that would would be used used in in the the near near futu future re and “turned lights on and looked at it for ourselves. We’d take the key grip, Bart Flaherty, and meet [rigging gaffer] Kevin Tiesiera and a small rigging crew, and we’d study the wall colors and try different ideas. Then, we’d give the riggers our notes and come back another night,after the changes were made. That way we could could try things things when when ther theree weren’t a hundred hundred people people standing standing around waiting for us.” From the outset, Zwick mandated that Love and Other Drugs would would be shot on 35mm. “I felt we could get a kind of luminosity on film that was just right for this material,” he explains. After After a wide wide range range of tests tests,, Fie Fierbe rberg rg opted for 5217 and 5219 largely because he felt they would render a romantically lush image. He notes, “Anne has perfect
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Romantic Chemistry
porcelain skin, but we also needed her hair, which was darkened for this movie, to lushly frame her face. “When I shot a test with both Anne Anne and and Jake, Jake, the Kodak Kodak stock stockss made made them look perfect next to each other,” he continues. “With some other stocks, we could get one actor or the other to look great, but not both of them. So, when we had enough light, I shot 5217, which made the actors’ skin tones look especially radiant, and when we were in low light, we went went with with 5219. 5219. In releas releasee prin printin ting, g, we found found that that Kodak Kodak Visi Vision on [2383 [2383]] was was best able to capture Anne’s skin and the deep brown tones in her hair.” Of all the movie’s lighting challenges, Maggie’s loft apartment, where much of the story takes place, was the most complex, according to the filmmakers. A large, open space that featured huge windows, the apartment required a constant stream of natural light. Fierberg worke worked d wit with h his his crew crew to desig design n area areass that that would would look look a bit bit too too brig bright ht or a bit too too dark. “I wanted to create an image that would would mimi mimicc what what you you enco encount unter er when when you’r you’ree film filming ing on a real real locati location, on,”” he says. says. “If you balance all the values too well, it screams ‘stage.’ We let areas outside the windo windows ws burn burn out, out, and allowe allowed d othe otherr areas to go too dark, to sell that we were in a real location.” location.” Zwick and Fierberg analyzed the script to strategically plot changes in light and camera angles in order to enliven certain loft sequences. These departures included shots from outside the windows, and perspectives that showcased a skylight during weather that included snow and rain. One key sequence in the loft occurs when Jamie brings Maggie dinner in the afternoon and then stays
One of the film’s key settings is Maggie’s loft apartment, which was created on stage. This sequence of photos shows the set at various points during prep. The still at the upper right shows a cardboard model of the set.
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Romantic Chemistry
Fierberg strove to create a variety of different “natural light” looks to reflect the passage of time in the loft set, a challenge that required his crew to devise a lighting rig that would allow maximum flexibility. “On location, it would have been hellish to try to control the moving sunlight,” he notes.
through the next morning. This required lighting that would move from early afternoon into dusk and then night, and then into overcast dawn. “On location, it would would have have bee been n hell hellish ish to try to contro controll the moving sunlight and also elicit sensitive performances in dusk and the middle of the night. Shooting on a set allowed us to film the entire sequence during the day and use color and light72
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ing angles to create the various times of day.” The The sto story ry takes takes place place over over severa severall months, with certain times of day presented in different seasons, so the lighting rig for the apartment had to facilitate maximum flexibility. Built outside the windows was a practical rooftop set that included air-conditioning ducts, stairs and brick structures, and American Cinematographer
behind that were 100'x40' TransLites showing a view of Chicago. (The production used two TransLites, one for day and one for dusk/night.) To partially obscure some of the view from inside the loft, several windowpanes were covered with colored colored gels gels or painted painted with translucent paint. For ambient skylight, Mathis’ crew rigged space lights (six 1K globes in silk bags) on 10' centers outside the windows, and for sunlight, they rigged 20Ks and MoleBeams gelled with with ¼ CTS CTS or or Lee Lee 152 152 Pale Pale Gold Gold on a truss. “They were rigged on rollers so we could easily slide lights along the truss to move the sun as needed from shot to shot,” notes Mathis. Skypans with 2K globes softened with Full Grid backlit the TransLite. “For night, we came up with with a few few differ different ent look looks, s,”” says says Mathi Mathis. s. “Sometimes we’d turn off exterior lights on buildings outside the set, tape off windo windows ws seen seen thro through ugh the TransL TransLite ite,, or or add streaks across walls to vary the look.” In small areas and corners of the loft, soft toplight was created with 3'x6' custom-built softboxes holding 250 watt watt Pho PhotoF toFloo loods. ds. In more more open open areas areas of the set, the toplight was created with 6K space lights (without silks) hung
above 8'x8'and 12'x12'frames of Half Grid, with Lighttools Soft Egg Crates and blacked-in sides controlling the spill. “In retrospect, we could have gone with 2K space lights, as we only used one or two globes in each,” adds Mathis. Anothe Anotherr ligh lightin tingg chal challen lenge ge in volv volved ed an extra extravag vagant ant songsong-and and-da -dance nce performance at a special event for new recruits at Pfizer. The sequence is set in Chicago’s United Center, but it was shot at Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena, which the production could only shoot in for a single day. In the sequence, an announcer starts speaking in darkness as backlit images projected by four Christie LX120 projectors hit big screens skinned with what Mathis Mathis calls “shower “shower curtains,” hanging from a truss. A song starts, dancers take the stage, and a dance number ensues. The The film filmma maker kers’ s’ origi original nal plan plan was was to rig the arena on a Sunday in time to rehearse lighting for the dance number, but that didn’t work out. So on Monday, after shooting in a different location all day, Mathis and board operator Kevin Hogan worked into the night to finish the arena lighting. Theatrical-lighting rigs provided by Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Entertainment were central to making the whole thing work.“Luckily, Steve Mathis was well suited for this Moulin Rouge Rouge challenge — after all, he lit Moulin [for Don McAlpine, ASC, ACS],” says Fierberg. “He brought enormous creativity and skill to the scene. In order to make it work, he had to delegate gaffing the end of Monday’s work to his best boy, Chris Milani, so he could spend some of that time at the arena preparing the lighting. I then joined him after we wrapp wra pped, ed, and we contin continued ued to work work until about 3 a.m. I’d suggested that we use Daniel Ezralow to choreograph the dance, and our thinking evolved from having the dancers silhouetted in front of simple, colored, backlit panels to also having the dancers silhouetted within rotating,custom-made gobos in the shape of medication pills. The gobos could be flipped in by our Vari-Lite backlights, colored, rotated, zoomed, and then flipped out for later parts of the
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He also has high praise for Three Rivers color in the film” was fully executed. She Entertainment’s director of lighting, explains, “As Jamie and Maggie get Wade Wade Sha Shaner ner,, for helpin helpingg to execut executee the the closer, there’s a warmth that increases. lighting on a rigorous timeline. Three Scene to scene, as the two characters Rivers supervised the truss, took care of spend more time together, the warmth overhead rigging, and provided a mix of develops, until it plateaus and stops in a Vari-Lite 3000 and 3500 spots, Coemar certain scene. Then the image takes on a iWash Halos and Coemar Parlite LED crisp coolness because of the distance truss warmers, among other instrubetween them. Steven did all this ments. (The balance of the lighting and in-camera, but I was able to enhance it grip equipment came from Cinelease in at certain points.”Fierberg adds, North Carolina and Intergalactic “Throughout the shoot, we used CTS, Illumination in Los Angeles.) “To do Lee 152 and dimming lights to warm that all in one daywas pretty impresthem as techniques to control the sive,” says Mathis. “When you’re workamount of warmth in the image.” ing on location, finding skilled local The The cine cinema mato togra graphe pherr not notes es that that people is so important to your success, EFilm’s proprietary EWorks colorand Pittsburgh is filled with talented correction systemis designed to mimic crewmembers.” the traditional photochemical-timing Fierberg’s work in the digitalprocess. “Their first goal is to maintain intermediate suite at EFilm was subtle. the contrast curve of the film, like In particular, colorist Natasha Leonnet normal [photochemical]film timing, to focused on smoothing out skin tones make uniform color changes,” he says. and balancing the two leads. She also “Then, they adjust as they need to. In my made sure that the “progressive arc of years years of telec telecine ine,, they they would would usuall usuallyy set set
the black level, the highlight level, and then adjust mid-tones generally for lightness and darkness, continually manipulating contrast. At EFilm, it’s more like conventional printing. They make sure the photography is left as it was inten intended ded,, unle unless ss they they are speci specific ficall ally y asked to change it.” ● TECHNICAL SPECS
Super 1.85:1 3-perf Super 35mm Panaflex Platinum, Millennium XL Angenieux and Panavision lenses Kodak Vision2 200T 5217, Vision3 500T 5219 Digital Intermediate Printed on Kodak Vision 2383
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A Big-City Dream Bojan Bazelli, ASC lends a glamorous look to the musical extravaganza Burlesque . By Iain Stasukevich
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December 2010
“B
urlesque is the kind of movie every cinematographer
dreams about — it’s eye candy,” says Bojan Bazelli, ASC. ASC. Direc Directed ted by Stev Steven en Antin Antin,, the the movie movie tells tells the the story of Alice (Christina Aguilera), a small-town girl who moves moves to Los Angeles Angeles to become become a singe singer. r. Her Her firs firstt gig gig is a waitressing job at the imperiled Burlesque Lounge, an old cabaret run and headlined by Tess (Cher). Alice quickly becomes infatuated with the glitz and glamour of the stage, and makes it her dream to sing from it one day. The subject subject matter matter presente presented d the the film filmmak makers ers with with
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y n o h f t o n A y s e f o t r y u s e o c t r , u n o a h c g m u a a r g V a i n e d h g p n e i t t S h g y i b L . y c h n p I . a r , j g s y n m o t e o h c h G e n p n o t e i e k n r c a U S N
Opposite: Alice (Christina Aguilera) realizes her dreams and takes center stage in Burlesque , directed by Steven Antin and photographed by Bojan Bazelli, ASC.This page, top: Tess (Cher) serves as the Burlesque Lounge’s proprietress and headliner. Middle: Nikki (Kristen Bell) competes with Alice for the top spot in the club’s lineup. Bottom: A-camera operator Patrick Loungway (top left), key grip Joseph Dianda (bottom left) and Bazelli frame a scene.
more than a few stylistic options, and in prep, they watched films that took different approaches to presenting dance onstage. “Ultimately, Bob Fosse’s Cabaret and Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, together with the chiaroscurostyle lighting found in Caravaggio’s paintings, were our top inspirations,” says Bazelli. “Steven and I wanted all that, but with a modern feel. The idea was to update update Cabaret ’slook ’slook to suit our storyline.” Very early in the show’s 15-week prep, the creative team, which included ww.theasc.com w
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choreographers Denise Faye and Joey Pizzi, realized that a -sized Cabaret -sized stage would not be large enough to accommodate all their dancers and very complex complex musical musical numbers, numbers, so production designer Jon Gary Steele designed a set for the Burlesque Lounge that was about the size of a small hockey rink. “It’s bigger than it would would be in real real life, life, but the extra extra size, size, and Gary’s attention to the smallest detail, helped us photograph all those numbers in a fresh and non-repetitive way,” way,” says says Bazelli Bazelli.. The Burlesq Burlesque ue Lounge Lounge was built built in its entirety — two floors that included the stage, backstage area, bar, dressing rooms and offices — on Stage 23 at Sony Studios in Culver City. “When you walked in, you could believe you were walking into a real club, except for the hundreds of lights on the grid above,” continues the cinematographer. “Gary, Steven and I had long talks about the types of fabrics, wallpaper, lampshades and sconces we’d use. use. We We also also chose chose the colors colors and degrees of sheen and aging for the walls walls and and mirro mirrors. rs. We used used materia materials ls that would bounce light rather than absorb it; all surface paints were 35-to65-percent reflective.” Before the first flat went up, gaffer Anthony “Nako” Nakonechnyj and rigging key grip Chris Leidholdt built a speed-rail truss that ran the length of the set. When fully rigged, the overhead lamps were operated via a dimmer board. Nako’s crew installed hundreds of practical lamps and accents in addition to the 200 film lights on the truss, and the theatricallighting crew added roughly 200 moving lights to the stage area. Beauty lighting for the film’s two leads was essential. Cher had not been in a feature film since 2003 ( Stuck on You You), and Bazelli “wanted her to be comfortable in front of the camera and know that she’d look great on film,” he says. “Gaining Cher’s trust was my goal, and it was my pleasure to light her.” Her scenes, including her musical numbers, were rehearsed and blocked
Top (left to right): Aguilera, Chelsea Traille and Paula Van Oppen strike a pose during the song “Tough Lover.” Middle: Bcamera dolly grip Dwayne Barr (far right) guides Steadicam operator Colin Hudson through the musical number. Bottom: The crew prepares another setup with the cameras on dollies.
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to accommodate a classic portraitlighting arrangement. The key, usually a 5K or 10K tungsten unit, or the spotlight onstage, was positioned above and behind the camera, pointing down at the actress at a 45-degree angle. A snoot with Lee 250 diffusion softly illuminated the front of her face while everything around her fell into darkness. “Tess represents the club, and the club’s dominant color is red, so we decided to give red a theatrical presence in all of Tess’s scenes, even when she’s not performing,” adds Bazelli. Aguilera always had to look beautiful but also natural. “Alice has many looks throughout the movie,” says the cinematographer. “At the beginning, the direction of light is less flat to camera; she’s more sidelit, presented in dramatic lighting that was often created with a 3-Lite or 6-Lite Barger Lite.When she becomes a dancer at the club, her lighting becomes softer and more glamorous. It all comes together beautifully in Alice’s solo (“Bound to You”), where she’s backlit, standing against a pale-blue backdrop, wearing an acid-green dress. This This ballad ballad has a great great visual visual impact. impact.”” For the wide shots and dialogue scenes, keylight was provided by large softboxes Nako had originally designed AC Aug. for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice ( AC Aug. ’10). Each box contained JT 1000 1,000-watt quartz halogen globes in 4x8 (eight globes), 4x4 and 2x4 (four globes), and 1x2 (one globe) arrangements, diffused by Half Grid or bleached muslin, as well as black/white Rosco Cinebounce. Bazelli wanted to soften the image without using heavy diffusion in front of the lens. “We loved the soft, painterly feeling of Barry Lyndon ,” he notes. After much testing, the filmmakers decided that the set should be filled with smoke for the run of the 65day shoot. “Smoke is a great tool,” says Bazelli. “It’s an element between the lens and the actor, and it’s very organic and friendly to the eye. As a slight diffuser, it makes every light around the set softer, and the tonalities smoother.
Top: The Burlesque Lounge was built in its entirety onstage at Sony Studios and fitted with hundreds of practical lamps in addition to 200 film lights on an overhead truss and 200 moving theatrical fixtures around the stage.Bottom: Georgia (Julianne Hough, center)takes the lead role in “Diamond”;Bazelli and company lent the song a silvery blue palette. ww.theasc.com w
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Left, top and bottom: Alice breaks into the song “I’m a Good Girl.” Above (front to back): C-camera 1st AC Justin Chefe, C-camera operator Paul Sanchez, Loungway, B-camera 1st AC John Szajner and Hudson capture the glamour.
It also carries the ambient light into the shadows, so the blacks are more transparent, more like a painting. And it looked great with the moving lights we used as part of the stage lighting.” The cinemat cinematogr ograph apher er shot shot closecloseups with 75mm or 100mm Cooke Panchro lenses, “an older, smokier glass,” and he decided to do without filtration on the lens, apart from ND filters. “We could stack five Double Fog filters in front of the camera and the faces would look amazingly soft, but it wouldn’ wouldn’tt look look real or be be approp appropriat riatee for for a modern story,” says Bazelli. “If you put diffusion in front of the lens, the 80
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light that comes onto the lens is scattered by the filter, decreasing its capability to handle the flare.” Bazelli prefers to use a thin net or stocking on the back of the lens to knock down the sharpness of the image. “We tried many nets until we found the ones we liked. I like Fogal, a French stocking that’s very smooth and not so thick.” Many effects are possible, from chromatic aberrations in colors to geometric artifacts in lens flares. “How you stretch stretch it on the lens, lens, how how tigh tightt or or loose it is, and how dark the material is will will affect affect your image. image. If it’s it’s very very light light and you stretch it all the way, the loss by American Cinematographer
your your meter meter is 1⁄3 of a stop. If you stretch it less, you lose more light and the image becomes more diffused.” Shooting Burlesque on film was never in question. “It would be very hard to shoot this movie with anything but film,” asserts Bazelli. “When beauty is of the essence and you have strong lights tearing through the smoke and a wide contrast between light light and shadow, I think a digital camera would totally freeze.” The filmmakers initially considered shooting scenes set in the Burlesque Lounge on one film stock and the rest of the picture on a different film stock, but Bazelli ultimately decided to use one negative, Kodak Vision3 250D 5207, and change the color and tonality of his lighting to achieve the different looks. “The decision to use a daylight-balanced film stock had to do with the flesh tones, and all the moving lights are daylightbalanced,” he says. “5207 has a softer
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rendering of flesh tones, which helps with with beauty beauty shots. shots.”” Though he was shooting shooting a daylight-balanced negative, Bazelli lit with mostly mostly tungsten tungsten sources sources and corrected for the difference in the dailies, which were handled by colorist Willie Lawton Lawton at FotoKem. FotoKem. “Whenever you do that much correction on a film stock, certain lights will come out very blue and shift toward green,” notes Nako. “We anticipated that shift with gels on the lights.” Each of the film’s 15 dance numbers is two to four minutes long, and they were all photographed in complete takes. Routines were divided into four sections: wide shots, medium shots, close-ups and specialty setups; the wide wide and and medium medium shots shots cap captur tured ed the whole whole per perfor forman mance, ce, wherea whereass clos close-u e-ups ps and specialty setups were planned in advance. In this fashion, a single musical number took one to three days to complete, depending on its complexity. Each number has its own point of view view and and was design designed ed to convey convey a certain emotional idea. Bazelli calls it “positioning ourselves dramatically.” The first first number, “Welcome “Welcome to Burlesque,” is an elaborate, sensual come-hither that emphasizes Alice’s point of view. “When Alice sees Tess performing this number, she is instantly seduced by the beauty of it,” says Bazelli. “With that, we set the tone for these glamorous and colorful performances. It’s a strong introduction to the style of the movie.” The main camera camera crew crew comcomprised A-camera operator Patrick Loungway, B-camera/Steadicam operator Colin Hudson, A-camera 1st AC John John Holm Holmes es and B-came B-camera ra 1st AC John John Szaj Szajner. ner. For musica musicall numb numbers ers,, “we “we used four cameras,” says Bazelli. “Typically, the A, B and C cameras would would be on dollie dollies, s, and the D came camera ra would would be on the 30-foo 30-foott or or 50-f 50-foot oot Techno Technocra crane ne with with a Libra Libra head. head. I thin think k we shot shot abou aboutt 10 10 perc percent ent of the film film with the Steadicam, Steadicam, and maybe maybe 5 percent handheld.” Arrica Arricam m Lites Lites were were used used for dolly, dolly,
“Alice has many looks throughout the movie,” notes Bazelli. “At the beginning [top], she’s more sidelit, presented in dramatic lighting. When she becomes a dancer at the club [middle], her lighting becomes softer and more glamorous. It all comes together beautifully in [“Bound to You,” bottom], where she’s backlit, standing against a pale-blue backdrop, wearing an acid-green dress.”
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crane and Steadicam work, and Arri 235s were used for handheld work. “The camera is always moving, and we’re we’re always always expres expressin singg som someon eone’s e’s point point of view by doing that,” he says. “We didn’t want to take your attention away from the performance, so the moves aren’t radical or disturbing, but you can feel the change of the shot.” His main lenses were Cooke S4 primes ranging from 12mm to 150mm. “S4 lenses are wonder wonderful ful,” ,” he observ observes. es. “They “They handle handle strong lights and backlit smoke beautifully, and I knew I was going to have a lot of strong lights pointed at the camera.” The pro proces cesss for for lighti lighting ng dance dance numbers “was both creative and challenging,” he continues. Onstage, Antin, Bazelli and theatrical-lighting designer Peggy Eisenhauer worked with the choreographed dancers to adjust their blocking to the stage lighting, which could change dramatically with each number. Some routines were so complex that they had to be programmed in sections from different parts of the stage in order for Eisenhauer and console operator Harry Sangmeister to see what they were doing. One example is “Express,” which starts in a conventional way before the scenery blasts apart. “It becomes a wild lighting situation, almost a departure from theatrical — it actually goes into concert lighting,” says Eisenhauer, whose whose motio motion-p n-pict icture ure credit creditss incl include ude Dreamgirls ( AC AC Dec. ’06). Her crew deployed Martin Atomic strobes that fired on the beat and then went fullblast with an arsenal of robotic 1.2K Vari-Lite VL3000 and VL3500 spots and washes controlled through a Virtuoso console. “We usually shot a number in one or two days, and then moved to another scene to give the art department some time to redress and Peggy’s crew time to set the theatrical lighting,” says Bazelli. “We’d tech-rehearse and finalize lighting over the weekend. Nako and I would walk through the number step-by-step, adjusting the cues and exposure and tweaking the lights
Top: The filmmakers employed an insert car and trailer for a scene in which Marcus Gerber (Eric Dane) drives Alice to a party at his home. Middle: A crane captures a shot looking inside Marcus’ house. Bottom (from left): Acamera 1st AC John Holmes, Loungway and Bazelli prepare a shot of Aguilera inside the location.
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Despite Tess’ cold shoulder, Alice is determined to prove herself at the Burlesque Lounge.
for the camera positions. That included the follow spots, Super Troupers, whose operators had to do very complex and challenging work. They were amazing — some numbers had more than 150 cues.” “Restraining the palette is our big
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quality of light that can be translated correctly to film color space,” cautions Bazelli. “Each number was designed and lit with a specific color palette in mind. We wanted red to be especially strong and vibrant. “We know that print stocks can’t handle some colors at all,” he adds. “For instance, a certain shade of purple doesn’t exist on color positive because [the stock] has been designed to replicate flesh tones in the most accurate way, subduing other colors.” “There are colors you can get in Rec709 that you can’t get on print, and vice-versa,” vice-versa,” confirms confirms colorist colorist Trent Trent Johnso Johnson, n, who wor worked ked with with Baze Bazelli lli on Burlesque ’s ’s final digital grade at Sony challenge because we want to work with ColorWorks. “You can only get true brightness,” Eisenhauer remarks. turquoise on print stock. On video, it’s “When we squeeze the brightness going to swing either green or blue.” down into the middle range, it becomes Bazelli emphasizes the imporharder to tell the differences between tance of maintaining good communicachanges.” tion with the lab. The cinematographer “It’s important to generate the was in consta constant nt contac contactt with with Lawton Lawton
and Mark Van Horne, FotoKem’s director of production services, throughout principal photography; the trio often met in the pre-dawn hours to review the previous day’s work. “Bojan is very involved,” notes Van Horne. “We’d talk four or five times a day, and he was always shooting tests and coming to double-check his work.” At Sony Sony Colo ColorWo rWorks rks,, the the neganegative was scanned at 4K on a Scanity film scanner, and for the color correction, Johnso Johnson n used used the dailie dailiess for for referen reference, ce, viewin viewingg them them as an Avid Avid outp output ut of the locked sequences on a calibrated monitor in the digital-intermediate theater. He spent the first few weeks evening out the exposure from shot to shot, a process affected by the varying levels of smoke in each take. “Too much smoke diffuses the light and increases the general exposure,” notes Johnson. “Adjusting the exposure pretty much solves the issue. It’s like reaching out and adjusting the f-stop on the lens.”
The smoke smoke and the the netting can be with your creativity and decisionserved their purpose in the end, in that making during preproduction and the actors required minimal polishing. shooting, the better off you’ll be in post, The detail detail work work was was in shadin shadingg the the because then you’re sweetening someframe and maintaining an authentic thing that’s already good.” ● color palette. Working on a Baselight, Bazelli and Johnson were careful to preserve detail in the blacks with a great deal of transparency in the shadows. “We used windows to darken or lighten areas of the frame, giving the image depth,” says Johnson. “Bojan wanted the club to be dark and moody but alive TECHNICAL SPECS with with text texture ure,, wher whereas eas when when the the girls girls are 2.40:1 onstage, it’s an explosion of color and light. In the routines, Bojan’s lights are 3-perf Super 35mm so strong and colorful the image was bulletproof.” (Kodak Vision3 5254 Arricam Lite, Arri 235 intermediate stock was used for the 4K Cooke lenses filmout.) The ability ability to to create “bulletKodak Vision3 250D 5207 proof” images stems from extensive preparation and, in turn, the ability to Digital Intermediate adapt to the situation at hand, according Printed on Kodak Vision 2383 to Bazelli. “The more disciplined you
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Post Focus
On Fright Night , cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe, AEC (background) collaborated on set with Company 3 colorist Alex Bickel (foreground) to color-correct the 3-D footage shot with Red One cameras.
I
Company 3 Brings 3-D Post to Set By Simon Wakelin
Company 3, a member of Ascent Media’s creative services group, recently found itself reinventing its dailies pipeline to accommodate three very different 3-D productions, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides , Fright Night and Transformers: The Dark of the Moon . On all three, the filmmakers used the company’s services on-set to gauge how their final 3-D images would appear. Jackie Lee, vice president of feature sales at Ascent Media, notes, “We’re now seeing post workflows being integrated directly on set. The expectation is to have final sequences ready for delivery as quickly as possible.” For example, on the visual-effects-heavy fourth Pirates film, “the visual-effects team needed to see sequences as soon as possible, and in context, so they could begin their work immediately,” says Dylan Carter, Company 3’s director of visual workflow. To help streamline the transition from set to post, Pirates’ camera crew included a stereographer who adjusted convergence, or the focal point in relation to the screen plane, either toward or away from the audience to minimize eye strain across edits and guide the eye to specific parts of the frame. “Each shot has a certain amount of depth, and the position of the characters and props also need to roll 88
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comfortably from cut to cut,” says Carter. “The size of the screen is an important factor in setting the correct convergence. Since the Pirates stereographer was watching 3-D dailies projected at 2K, he could continually calibrate and refine the look on set the next day.” Plasma screens were also used on the Pirates set to give the team an idea of how depth effects will play on smaller screens when the film is eventually released on home video. “Moving from an image 50 feet across to inches across can require some tweaking,” observes Anthony Davis, Ascent Media’s director of on-location services. Throughout the Pirates, Fright Night and Transformers shoots, Company 3 was delivering “both flat and 3-D dailies to the editing houses so they could cut in 2-D and review in 3-D,” says Carter. “Most of the time, they’re not editing while wearing 3-D glasses; they’re cutting 2-D, and then checking to make sure it works in 3-D.” Fright Night on-set colorist Alex Bickel elaborates, “They’re editing with a single stream of Avid 125 DNX 1080 media that has left and right eye, side by side. They typically scale the image to look at only the left eye while cutting, but remove the scale and screen it almost exclusively in 3-D.” The Transformers film mixed 35mm with digital capture (courtesy of the Sony F35 and Arri Alexa), but both the Pirates film and Fright Night were shot digitally with Red One cameras. Through
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its work on the latter films, Company 3 helped Red develop a new color space that Red is, at press time, about to release publicly, according to Carter. Cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe, AEC signed on to Fright Night after meeting director Craig Gillespie and warming to his energy and enthusiasm. Although the project was not Aguirresarobe’s first vampire film — he previously shot the Twilight films New Moon and Eclipse — Fright Night marked his first venture into digital and 3-D cinematography. “I was apprehensive at first, but soon felt very comfortable going through the Red workflow at Company 3,” says Aguirresarobe. “The 3-D in the movie is not about fancy effects; the story called for something that was more real and less spectacular. I really wanted to see how dark I could shoot everything while still maintaining detail.” Fright Night follows Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) in his quest to destroy the vampire next door. Aguirresarobe framed for 1.85:1, shooting with Arri Master Primes and rating the Red at 640 ASA in dark, smoky environments. This allowed Bickel to lift the blacks without revealing the noise floor, thereby creating milky blacks and a soft, low-contrast look. He worked with Assimilate’s Scratch, one of a few DI solutions that enable 3-D screening capabilities from Red files without additional processing. “One of the challenges was choosing the platform that would grade and output two streams of Red in real time,” says Bickel. “We built a fullfledged Scratch DI at a central location near the soundstages using a 50-inch 3-D Panasonic plasma screen with active glasses to monitor images in 3-D, and a Sony BVM Series reference monitor and Black Magic Ultra Scope for color-critical tasks.” Before matching the left- and righteye streams, Bickel first graded in mono. “With Scratch, you first color in 2-D and then translate that grade to 3-D space,” he says. “We colored everything with the right eye and then matched the left. Having the dailies color suite on location was very productive for us. Javier and Craig were able to work directly with a colorist and see exactly how the image looked before going back to the set.” Aguirresarobe adds, “It gave me the freedom to take more risks.” 90
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The video for School Gyrls’ “Something Like a Party” was color-corrected at Digital Jungle’s recently launched Digital Jungle Music Video division.
Facility News Digital Jungle Creates Music-Video Division Following the success of several music videos finished at Digital Jungle, the post house recently announced a new division focused solely on music-video post: Digital Jungle Music Video. “We’ve learned through extensive experience how different the needs are between music videos [and] film or TV projects,” says Dennis Ho, company president. “In music videos, the color grading is a central key to holding the audience’s attention, whereas with film and TV projects, color is more supplemental to the narrative.” Color grading for DJMV takes place in Digital Jungle’s screening room, which is powered by a Quantel Pablo system projected from a Barco 2K Digital Projector onto a 21'x8' screen. Colorist John Scheer handles the coloring process. For additional information, visit www.digijungle.com. Rhino Re-Launches as Gravity Visual-effects company Rhino has rebranded itself as Gravity, an international creative, content and brand-communications company. Gravity’s expertise is in pairing creativity with technological tec hnological innovation to achieve engaging experiences for brands; the company has made a significant investment in management talent for its commercial, digital and technology offerings, which are now fully integrated across the American Cinematographer
company’s three business groups: Features, Commercials and Digital. The re-launch establishes Gravity as a generator of high-end visual effects, creative content, motion graphics, animation and digital strategy capable of living on any media outlet. The company has offices in New York, Los Angeles and Tel Aviv. For additional information, visit www.gravityworld.com.
Origami Digital Expands in New Location Visual-effects company Origami Digital has moved into an 8,000-squarefoot facility near Los Angeles’ Hawthorne Airport. The space includes an expanded performance-capture stage, a large studio and a state-of-the-art infrastructure. “We’ve always had a full-service approach to our work, and in this new space we can offer our whole range of services more efficiently,” says Oliver Hotz, Origami Digital’s founder and visual-effects supervisor. “We have invested a great deal in the development of our mo-cap pipeline, and we now have a dedicated 50-by-50 mo-cap volume so we can really put the system to work.” The visual-effects pipeline is based on a suite of in-house tools for project tracking and asset management, which enable the facility to handle large projects with a minimum of internal bureaucracy. Artists have access to all assets for their shots, and they can easily evaluate their work in the context of the edit. The work-
. e l g n u J l a t i g i D f o y s e t r u o c b a r g e m a r F
Origami Digital’s new 8,000-square-foot facility.
flow allows artists to work more independently. “Our flat hierarchy allows us to complete a lot of work in a short time,” explains Matt Rubin, a producer at the company. “The primary benefit for our clients is the freedom it gives them to explore ideas. We can offer this because of our fast turnaround.” Loco, a technology developed at Origami, serves as a development platform for a number of the facility’s in-house tools, including the proprietary motion-capture system Loco MoCap, which uses PhaseSpace cameras and an active optical system. Each marker in Loco MoCap has a unique ID, which enables artists to quickly repair any occlusion errors. “The accuracy 10 of a millimeter, of the system is within 1 ⁄ 10 which means it is virtually noiseless,” says Hotz. “As long as we can see the marker, there’s no cleanup required and no need to smooth the data. That allows us to work faster.” Loco MoCap’s active optical system also allows it to work outdoors in daylight using the infrared spectrum. Another system developed on the Loco platform, Loco DVR, records the video-assist feeds from all of the cameras on set along with notes from the visualeffects supervisor, giving artists access to the cameras’ video taps during post. Loco DVR can also be used to stream live from the video-assist feed over the Internet, enabling two production units to coordinate their work, or allowing the director and cinematographer to remotely keep in touch with a second unit. Origami Digital, 3349 Jack Northrop Ave., Hawthorne, Calif., 90250. For additional information, visit www.origamidigi tal.com. ●
Tomorrow’s Technology I
3-D, New Camera Assessments on Technology Committee’s Agenda By Simon Wakelin
The industry has seen rapid developments in digital-capture technologies and digital-intermediate workflow practices since the ASC Technology Committee was founded in 2003, and the committee continues to monitor the industry’s shift from analog to digital with the fundamental objective of understanding how these developments affect the cinematographer’s craft. “The ASC Technology Committee continues to focus on the hybrid digital/film motion-picture imaging chain because it’s becoming increasingly complex to manage as each new technology is introduced,” says Curtis Clark, ASC, chair of the committee. “We are in the midst of a radical transformation that is affecting workflow standards,” he continues. “Digital tools are evolving rapidly, and the committee’s job is to recommend the best practices for cinematographers to better manage new workflows and achieve consistent results. We’re recalibrating our focus and analyzing an array of specific workflow issues, but with a clearer ‘big picture’ vision of where we’re headed with our work, which includes the implementation of the Academy’s Image Interchange Framework and Academy Color Encoding Specification.” IIF-ACES was developed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with members of the ASC Technology Committee and other industry collaborators.“Our interaction with the Academy was fruitful this year,” says David Stump, ASC, who chairs the Society’s Camera Subcommittee. “We’re well down the road in understanding metadata, workflow and color management. We’re also examining next-generation workflows for the DI that will ultimately resolve many challenges and difficulties, such as transforms between log and linear. In essence, we’re finding a way to effectively standardize the process.” Past ASC Technology Committee initiatives and achievements have included working closely with Digital Cinema Initiatives, LLC, to produce the ASC-DCI Standard Evaluation Material, which is now used to evaluate the performance of digital projectors and digital-cinema systems. In 2009, the committee partnered with the Producers Guild of America on the Camera-Assessment Series, carefully comparing images captured by seven leading digital-motionpicture cameras to images captured on 35mm( AC June ’09 and Sept. ’09). And the ASC Color Decision List has been embraced by most major color-correction systems. Another camera-assessment series is in the works for 2011, says Clark, and among the new cameras that will be tested using the IIF workflow will be Arri’s Alexa, Red’s Epic, and Sony’s next-
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generation higher-resolution digital motion-picture camera. 35mm film will again be used as the basis for comparison. “Discovering what various digital motion-picture cameras are capable of capturing will open up huge possibilities for cinematographers, who will be able to more confidently manage a project’s look,” says Stump. “Variances in film development are trivial compared to what needs to be known about digital media.” CAS II is expected to be finished in a 4K IIF workflow, and will include the ASC CDL to allow interchange and interoperation of basic primary color corrections. Stump notes that the Camera Subcommittee also plans to explore a similar evaluation of 3-D image-capture devices. Another area of change has been the increased use of post processes during production, which has led to more display technologies being used on set. The Digital Display Subcommittee continues to look at new displays as they are introduced, specifically analyzing how such devices are calibrated. “The careful management and due process required to capture the image during production needs to keep its integrity through the entire process,” says Clark. “With so many display devices in use, discrepancies can be so extreme in contrast, color and brightness that the image no longer possesses its original characteristics. It’s an awareness issue as much as anything else, and it’s one of the biggest challenges we currently face.” The recent increase in 3-D production is also an area of scrutiny. “The Technology Committee’s Stereoscopic Subcommittee has been integrated into our Camera Subcommittee and will address issues related to production, post and exhibition by coordinating closely with our Digital Intermediate and Digital Display subcommittees,” says Clark. “3-D has accelerated the expansion of digital projection, and it’s reaching critical mass. One discerning issue that isn’t widely understood is the impact of silver screens installed in theaters. They can be a curse if regular 2-D films are shown on them, displaying an image with high gain and hot spots. 3-D is suddenly mainstream, and we need to adapt the same imaging standards we’re establishing in the 2-D world to the 3-D world, which poses additional challenges. “I fully expect our work to become more complex and challenging in the coming years,” he concludes. “However, we will continue to implement a new foundation for cinematographers to get a consistent handle on digital processes. At the end of the day, we want to maximize the creative potential of all these technologies.” ●
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Filmmakers’ Forum I By Michael Grady
The Rubber Hits the Road on Faster
Faster , my latest collaboration with director George Tillman Jr., stars Dwayne Johnson as Driver, an ex-con who steps out of prison ready to avenge the murder of his brother. Over the course of the film, Driver is pursued by a cop who’s ready for retirement (Billy Bob Thornton) and a young hit man (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). It’s a modern-day noir that recalls some of Charles Bronson’s great 1970s films. With a title like Faster , you know there will be a lot of highspeed car chases to go along with the guns. Our principal cars included Driver’s 1970 Super Sport Chevelle, a muscle car with an upgraded engine and nitro booster, and the hit man’s car, a silver Ferrari GT. Because of the amount of action and smash-ups, there were four Chevelles and three Ferraris on set. From the beginning, George wanted to avoid a lot of CGI. He preferred the realism of “old school” car chases, and wanted to use practical methods to bring the audience closer to near misses and collisions as much as possible. He also wanted each character to be shot using a certain style and palette. It’s a mostly rural story, and for Driver, who grew up in a remote desert location, the look is almost sepia, with a harsh, skip-bleach feel and deep blacks. For the hit man, we used cleaner light and colder tones, and a lot of reflective surfaces. The cop’s look shifts between the harsh desert and the harsher city, which has almost no color. Shooting with two Panaflex Millennium XLs, two Arri 435s and an Arri 235, we used Fujifilm Eterna Vivid 500 8547 and Vivid 160 8543 and Kodak Vision 500T 5218. We used 5218 mostly for a climactic scene in which the three central characters meet, to show the nature of collision and explosion in their different worlds, and for a night sequence set on a fairly isolated stretch of road involving stunts with a tractor-trailer. For the night sequence, we pushed 5218 one stop and used very minimal lighting, augmenting the existing streetlight with Kino Flos, LitePanels and LED lights rigged on and in the vehicles. 94
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For lenses, I like all the Panavision Primo primes and zooms. To recall that ’70s style, we did a lot of zooms. We created the skip-bleach look in the digital grade, going for heavy blacks and warm tones. I did the color correction at Company 3 with colorist Siggy Ferstl, an incredible talent. We’d done some tests beforehand to establish our visual concept, and Siggy and his team did a great job managing our dailies, keeping our concept in mind and letting us know what we needed to do on set in order to be able to go so harsh with the color correction on the back side. It’s rare for a first unit to get the opportunity to shoot a lot of the stunts — the fun stuff. Most of the time, this work goes to the second unit. For Faster , first unit covered a tremendous number of the stunts on a tight schedule; we only did eight or 10 second-unit days. It was probably the only chance I’ll ever get to play with so many toys! Stunts and stuntmen always amaze me. Their work is controlled chaos. Stunt coordinator Darrin Prescott is the best, with a huge Public credit list that includes Enemies and The Hangover . He made sure we never got stupid. Putting the camera in dangerous places needs to be thought out very well beforehand. George had pretty specific ideas for the action, and Darrin’s team would tweak them based upon their expertise and knowledge. For many driving scenes, we used traditional process trailers, which were pulled behind a vehicle to give us enough of a platform for lights and dollies. We used these for close-up work with Dwayne or Billy Bob. We also used ATVs outfitted with arms. But for the sequences that were fast or that had to feel fast, we used the Biscuit, a super-fast version of a process trailer, like a race car, with everybody strapped in and wearing helmets. The Biscuit’s driving platform can be moved to any space— in front of, behind or to the side of the prop car. For instance, there are several shots of Driver speeding in reverse during a chase following a bank robbery. An empty Chevelle chassis, including a full interior, was fastened onto the Biscuit. The driver of the Biscuit was facing forward, while it appears Dwayne is driving in reverse. The Biscuit gave us whatever
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angle we wanted. It careened around corners or pulled 360s. It also has a very low profile. For other shots, we used Allan Padelford’s Moto Arm, which extends out of a Cadillac Escalade about 14'-20'to position the camera using a 4:1 zoom mounted on a stabilized head. The arm can be operated completely from within the Escalade. Allan drives the Escalade, and for us he hit speeds of up to 75 mph. His partner operates the Moto Arm. George and I were also in the Escalade, watching the monitors, along with my first AC, Brian Morena. Our vehicle stayed right on the bumper of the Chevelle, with the Moto Arm closely following Dwayne’s driving stunt double, Tanoai Reed. At the right moment, Allan would slam on the brakes while his operator retracted the arm, allowing us to capture many near misses. The stunt drivers were great. They know their speeds, and they were always calm, sometimes even joking around. Only once did I see Allan flinch, and he quietly said, “Oh, that was close.” The rest of the time, it was like, “When’s lunch?” Brian is an incredible focus puller, and I pushed him with longer lenses. We’ve literally made it a game over the years. I’ll go longer, thinking he can’t possibly get it all, but even if he gets half of it in focus, there’ll be some really cool moments on super long lenses. So I always challenge him. For lighting in daylight shots, we used battery-operated Nila LEDs, which my gaffer, Michael Karasick, recommended. It was a good call. The only drawback was that on some big stunts, or if we hit a curve really hard in one of the stunt vehicles, the batteries failed. But batteries and batterypowered lights perform far better than onboard gas generators with HMIs. Faster taught me a great deal about what you can and cannot do with cars. One of the great aspects of working repeatedly with the same people is the knowledge you share. Michael Karasick and my grip, Aubrey Husar, have worked with me for 10 years, but they have also worked with other cinematographers, and they bring all that experience with them. When you work with good people, you do better work, because it’s much more collaborative. ●
New Products & Services ASC, Chemical Wedding Release Toland App Chemical Wedding, in partnership with the ASC, has introduced the Toland ASC Digital Assistant for the iPhone and iPod American an Cine Cinemat matogra ographer pher Touch. The app takes portions of the Americ Manual and provides instant solutions to technical concerns. Integrated features include a comprehensive database of cameras and lenses; an exposure calculator covering camera speed, shutter angle and filter factor; a running time and footage calculator; a flicker-free warning indicator; a depth-of-field calculator with focus marks; an angle-of-view indicator; and full camera data logging, which can be exported and e-mailed. The Toland ASC Digital Assistant is named after the late Gregg Toland, ASC, whose innovative lighting and camerawork on such films as Citizen Kane made him a legend among cinematographers. ASC President Michael Goi notes, “It is entirely appropriate to name this application in honor of Gregg Toland, one of cinema’s most groundbreaking artists. “While researching the right tech company to partner with on this project, Chemical Wedding’s intelligent design of Helios and Artemis resonated with our members as having the kind of quality and craft people have come to associate with the ASC,” Goi continues. “With this venture, we are expanding the ASC’s outreach by creating tools that reflect how we work today.” Fred Elmes, ASC played an important role in testing the Toland app and providing feedback to its developers. He notes, Manual into your pocket. When a shot gets “Toland puts the AC Manual complicated and you need to make a quick change, it’s wonderful to pull out Toland and be certain you’re doing the right thing. Other programs do similar things, but Toland does it best because it’s all under one roof.” “Rather than having to enter specific data to answer questions, Toland is designed to track your choices as you make them,” explains cinematographer Nic Sadler, the lead product designer for Chemical Wedding. “As you change the camera speed, you will instantly get feedback on how this affects running time and exposure. When you change lenses, you will see the depth-of-field and field-of-view update in real time. Toland then allows you to log all this information to build comprehensive camera reports.” The Toland ASC Digital Assistant is available worldwide through iTunes. For more information, visit www.theasc.com and www.chemicalwedding.tv.
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Dolby Unveils LCD Reference Monitor Dolby Laboratories, Inc., has released the PRM-4200 Professional Reference Monitor. The LCD-based display accurately reveals true black levels with exceptional dark detail and higher contrast across the entire color gamut. The PRM-4200’s backlight consists of 1,500 RGB LED triads, with the light from each R, G and B element independently controlled frame-byframe to create a full-color backlight image on the 42" LCD flat-panel display in real time. The combined LED backlight and LCD screen produce a final image with true blacks, exceptional dark detail, high dynamic range and a wide, accurate color gamut. Additionally, the monitor goes beyond 10 bits with support for emerging 12-bit formats. Other features include 1920x1080 pixel resolution with a 120 Hz refresh rate and a spacious, wide-angle viewing area of plus or minus 45 degrees. The PRM-4200 features DCI/P3 color-gamut support, enabling color-critical grading without the use of a digital cinema projector. Support for 3-D LUTs allows the PRM-4200 to be calibrated to perfectly match digital screening environments and to emulate the response of film print stocks during the DI color-correction process; on the set, the PRM-4200 displays color looks and previsualization with 1-D and 3-D LUTs. The monitor’s ability to emulate any other display device allows all content preparation and quality evaluation to be done on one monitor. An included external remote controller handles all of the PRM-4200’s functions, so no onscreen displays interfere with the image on the monitor. The remote gives users immediate, intuitive access to all features, functions and parameters via simple, easy-touse menus, and it can be rack-mounted or used on a desktop. For additional information, visit www.dolby.com.
Zeiss Adds Lightweight Zoom Optics specialist Carl Zeiss has introduced the Lightweight Zoom LWZ.2, which features interchangeable mounts — PL, EF and F — that allow the lens to be used with a wide range of cameras, from traditional cine cameras to HDSLR systems. The LWZ.2 covers the ANSI Super 35 image area. Weighing approximately 4½ pounds, the LWZ.2 is especially well suited to handheld and Steadicam work. The lens features radically shaped spherical glass surfaces with a very strong curvature, guaranteeing high optical performance. Large-diameter aspherical
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lens elements keep the lens light while reducing spherical aberrations and keeping the image free of distortion. Additionally, Zeiss’ multi-layer antireflex coating reduces flare and internal reflections, resulting in pleasing and gentle colors, high contrasts and deep blacks. For additional information, visit www.zeiss.com/cine.
Cartoni Introduces 3-D Lambda Cartoni has released the Lambda Twin 3D Head, a professional, nodal panand-tilt support for both parallel and beamsplitter stereoscopic rigs. Designed to support full-size digitalcamera rigs weighing up to 200 pounds, the Lambda Twin 3D Head features a “U”
shaped swinging platform and a sliding base. The head can be fitted to a range of supports, including heavy-duty tripods, dollies, cranes and camera cars. Additionally, the Lambda Twin 3D can be inverted in an under-slung position for low-angle shots that position the 3-D rig at nearly ground level. The Lambda Twin 3D employs a patented Cartoni fluid-drag control system, micro-metric sliding vertical plates and positive locks on all movements. Several rosettes and 3 ⁄ 8" threads are easily accessible in multiple locations on the head for attaching the pan bar, counterweights and other accessories. For additional information, visit www.cartoni.com.
ISee3D Offers Stereo View in One Lens ISee3D, Inc., has released its singlelens 3-D technology. The system removes the cumbersome equipment, calibration issues and complex post workflows presented by traditional two-lens 3-D systems, allowing users to capture 3-D digital motion pictures through one lens. The technology can scale across device sizes, meaning the optical switch can work within any device, including digital cameras and even cell phones. “Most 3-D approaches have focused on improving existing post techniques,” says Dwight Romanica, CEO of ISee3D. “We’re bringing the advancement to the camera, not the computer. Our single-lens process streamlines the entire process and provides the most effective way to bring real-time 3-D to the present.” The company’s single-lens system captures stereoscopic images by occluding in sequence the left and right portions of the lens, essentially moving the center of the lens. This shifting center then allows the capture of different perspectives through a single lens, and the separate perspectives can be fused together to create a stereoscopic image. Because both images are coming through one lens, the image pairs are always perfectly matched; vertical, horizontal or rotational misalignment are nonissues, and focus and zoom operations are no different than in 2-D shooting. For additional information, visit www.isee3d.com. Vinten Bridges Vector, Vision Ranges Vinten, a Vitec Group brand, has introduced the Vector 430 pan-and-tilt head. Developed in collaboration with customers, the Vector 430 bridges the gap between Vinten’s Vision and Vector ranges, and is ideal for the growing number of applications that use both compact box lenses and large EFP barrel lenses. The lightweight Vector 430 incorporates Vinten’s Perfect Balance Technology and smooth TF drag technology, and boasts an extremely large capacity range of 2294.8 pounds, making it a perfect choice whether shooting in the studio or in the field. The head’s compact design also makes
it simple to rig and transport. The Vector 430 controls were ergonomically designed to ensure ease of use in any situation, whether in the studio or during an outside broadcast. The controls include a retractable counterbalance adjuster, backlit drag knobs and an illuminated LCD display for low-light situations. The base of the Vector 430 includes an integral Quickfix groove for fast and secure attachment. All of these features, combined with a Quickfit wedge adaptor, make the Vector 430 the perfect choice for busy multi-camera productions. The Vector 430 is also available in a 430i configuration, featuring a high quality, highly accurate encoder output to meet demand for virtual- and augmented-reality applications in outside broadcast and studio environments. The 430i incorporates an Intelligence Module to provide precise, realtime digital electronic positioning of pan and tilt, enabling graphics to be placed perfectly onto the live environment. The 430i also includes a unique optional inclinometer feature developed to solve the challenge of platform movement. For additional information, visit www.vinten.com. Panther Expands Dolly Line Camera-support company Panther has introduced an updated Panther Classic Dolly and an all-new Tristar Dolly. The new Panther Classic Dolly boasts a patent-pending High-Low Turnstile; this innovative camera support gives users the freedom to employ low camera positions while maximizing the ergonomics for the operator. When changing the height of the 98
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camera, only one clamping needs to be opened, and the camera can be swiveled in each direction via the 80mm Euromount tube without any waste of time. Additionally, a new software package lets users quickly and easily store limit positions, and a new column measuring system with a magnetic switch replaces the rotary encoder and offers maximum reliability. The Tristar Dolly builds on Panther’s decades of experience in designing and manufacturing electromechanical dolly systems. At the heart of the Tristar Dolly is a three-stage column, which gives the dolly a very low starting position, enabling camera movements that frame an actor at eye level from a seated to a standing position without any further conversion of the dolly; the column boasts a magnetic-switch measur-
ing system for maximum reliability. Also, as with the Classic Dolly, the Tristar features a High-Low Turnstile, an electronic drive train and wheel system, and a software package for storing limit positions. The Tristar’s platform system makes it possible to mount the platform at standard height or in low-mode position by simply turning it around. Three different steering modes — crab, steer front and steer rear — make it easy to maneuver the dolly; a single knob on the wheel arm adjusts the steering mode. Batteries and most of the accessories introduced for previous Panther dolly systems can be used with the Tristar. For additional information, visit www.panther.tv.
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Straight Shoot’r Goes Mini Straight Shoot’r Cranes, Inc. has introduced the Mini-Me three-axis jib arm. The one-piece Mini-Me is a 7' version of the company’s 10' Straight Shoot’r. Like the classic Straight Shoot’r three-axis jib, the Mini-Me offers cinematographers a unique Z-axis “slider” gliding camera mount in combination with a rock-solid jib arm with smooth three-axis camera movement capabilities. Unlike the classic jib arm, though, the Mini-Me can be used in tighter locations. “I’m in constant touch with the cinematographers who use my equipment, and one of the most frequent [notes] they had was that they found the classic Straight Shoot’r to be too large at times,” says Andy Coradeschi, president of Straight Shoot’r Cranes. “I manufactured several smaller prototypes, and the 7-foot model was the one that cinematographers agreed best enabled them to benefit from the creative freedom and production efficiencies the Straight Shoot’r system offers, even while shooting in cramped quarters.” Straight Shoot’r three-axis jib arms are available for rent through the company’s headquarters in Los Angeles and selected grip-rental houses across the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan. For more information, visit www.straight shootr.com. Illumination Dynamics Opens North Carolina Camera Division Illumination Dynamics has established a camera division at its North Carolina rental facility. The camera division will complement Illumination Dynamics’ rental of lighting, grip, generators and power distribution to the entertainment, live-broadcast and special-event industries. The new department will be fully supported by parent company Arri CSC, and will start with an inventory that includes Arricam Lite and Arriflex 435, 235 and D-21 packages. “This expansion is part of our continued commitment and support to the
film community in North Carolina and the surrounding region,” says Jeff Pentek, Illumination Dynamics’ chief operating officer. Additionally, Rory Holder has joined Illumination Dynamics’ staff to provide both camera rental and prep-tech services. Holder has worked as a camera operator and has received extensive training from Arri CSC. For additional information, visit www.illuminationdynamics.com. AJA Shrinks Ki Pro
AJA Video Systems has introduced the Ki Pro Mini, a smaller, lighter version of the company’s Ki Pro portable tapeless recorder, which captures to the Apple ProRes 422 codec directly from camera. The highly portable Ki Pro Mini flash-disk recorder mounts easily to digital cameras and accessories, enabling it to fit unobtrusively in small spaces for on-set capture of 10-bit 4:2:2 files that are immediately ready for editing. Supporting SD/HD SDI and HDMI I/O connectivity, the Ki Pro Mini offers full-raster recording to Compact Flash cards in Apple ProRes 422 SD and HD formats, including HQ, LT and Proxy; the native QuickTime files require no log and capture for editing in Final Cut Pro. Flexible control options include familiar front-panel and Webbrowser interfaces, and optional Ki Pro Mini Mounting Plates attach to hot shoes, battery plates and virtually any other accessory bracket. Other features include two channels of balanced XLR audio with
switch-selectable line/mic levels and eight channels of embedded digital audio over SDI and HDMI. “Anywhere a camera can go, Ki Pro Mini can follow,” says AJA President Nick Rashby. “It’s smaller than some battery packs and mounts to virtually everything. We designed Ki Pro Mini for any sized
production that needs seamless 10-bit filebased acquisition — it’s about extreme portability and going from lens to post in a flash.” Constructed from aircraft-grade aluminum, the lightweight, rugged Ki Pro Mini sells for a recommended price of $1,995. For more information, visit www.aja.com. Red Giant Upgrades Colorista Red Giant Software has introduced Magic Bullet Colorista II color-correction software, which brings the professional power of high-end color systems directly to the desktop. Colorista II’s easy-to-use interface is equally good for making quick adjustments on a deadline or finessing footage without limitations, all from within the user’s favorite editing applications. “When I created Colorista three years ago, there was no such thing as professional color correction on the desktop,” says Stu Maschwitz, creative director
at Red Giant Software. “Since then, some amazing color tools have become widely available. The problem is that they require you to change your workflow, learn a new application and draw a firm line between the editorial and finishing phases of your production. With Colorista II, my goal was simple: put every ounce of professional color-correction power right in your editing application of choice, so you don’t have to change a thing about your workflow to start using it.” Colorista II features three-way color wheels for easy adjustment of shadows, midtones and highlights; a Pop control for adding or reducing visual clarity; two animate-able Power Masks; highlight recovery, which intelligently rebuilds blown-out highlight detail; and eight channels of Hue, Saturation and Luminance control across 100 100
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nine color ranges, which offer an intuitive, visual method of adjusting individual colors. Additionally, a keyer allows users to adjust the individual color or ranges of colors; intuitively create color keys with a direct sampling interface; and soften, choke or invert the matte, and use it in conjunction with Power Masks for ultimate control. Colorista II is available for $299; current Colorista users can upgrade for $99. For additional information, visit www.redgiantsoftware.com. Synthetic Aperture Finesses Colors Synthetic Aperture has introduced Color Finesse 3.0, the latest version of the company’s color-correction plug-in for Adobe After Effects and Apple Final Cut Pro. Color Finesse 3.0 adds a 64-bit plugin to support Adobe’s CS5 64-bit applications, in addition to supporting the 32-bit version; migrating to 64 bit significantly reduces the possibility of out-of-memory errors occurring during effects rendering. Version 3.0 also adds a native FxPlug-style plug-in to support Apple Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express and Motion; the plug-in enhances overall performance and reduces pixel format conversions. Other new features include Auto Color and Auto Exposure buttons, which provide one-click access for beginning a creative color grade; Vibrance control, which refines control over image saturation; HSL curves, which let users control image saturation and lightness based on hue; a Highlight Recovery tool for recovering overbright areas of the image; the ability to export color-correction settings as a 3-D LUT in a variety of formats, including Autodesk Lustre and Smoke, Academy LUT, Assimilate Scratch, Pogle, Truelight, Cine-tal and LUTher; preview displays, which automatically adjust to footage pixel aspect ratio, giving users a correctly formatted preview when working with anamorphic footage; an enhanced Vectorscope with zoom capability, making it easier to see detail when white- and black-balancing; and support for the Tangent Wave control surface. Color Finesse 3.0 is compatible with both Intel- and PowerPC-based Mac systems running Mac OS X 10.5 or later. For American Cinematographer
Windows users, Color Finesse 3.0 is compatible with Windows XP, Vista 32/64 and Windows 7 32/64. Color Finesse 3.0 supports Adobe After Effects 7.0 and CS3 through CS5, Premiere Pro CS3 through CS5, Final Cut Pro 6 and 7, and Motion 4.0. The plug-in is available for $575; upgrades from prior versions of Color Finesse are available for $149. For additional information, visit www.synthetic-ap.com. CoreMelt Locks, Loads Editing Plug-in CoreMelt has released the Lock & Load Express plug-in for videographers using DSLR cameras and working with Apple’s Final Cut Express. Lock & Load Express harnesses much of the key functionality found in CoreMelt’s Lock & Load X software application — including image stabilization and rollingshutter reduction — but in a simplified version. Roger Bolton, CoreMelt’s founder,
notes, “Lock & Load Express addresses the everyday challenges facing videographers — especially event videographers that shoot on DSLR cameras — to give handheld footage a [steady] quality instantly without the need to set tracking points. Using the rolling shutter reduction functionality … helps lessen image distortions and lets digital content creators get on with the business of creating and meeting tight deadlines.” The intuitive and easy-to-use Lock & Load Express boasts tremendous speed, a streamlined workflow and even background tracking, allowing users to work on their project while the software tracks. The plug-in runs on Mac OS X 10.5.4 or later in Final Cut Express 4.0 or later; it is available now for $79. For additional information, visit ● www.lockandloadexpress.com.
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Classifieds RATES All classifications are $4.50 per word. Words set in bold face or all capitals are $5.00 per word. First word of ad and advertiser’s name can be set in capitals without extra charge. No agency commission or discounts on clas si fied advertising. PAYMENTMUST AC COM PA NYORDER. VISA, Mastercard, AmEx and Discover card are ac cept ed. Send ad to Clas si fied Ad ver tis ing, Amer i can Cin e ma tog ra pher, P.O. Box 2230, Hol ly wood, CA 90078. Or FAX (323) 876-4973. Dead line for payment and copy must be in the office by 15th of second month preceding pub li ca tion. Sub ject mat ter is lim it ed to items and ser vic es per tain ing to film mak ing and vid eo pro duc tion. Words used are sub ject to mag a zine style ab bre vi a tion. Min i mum amount per ad: $45
CLASSIFIEDS ON-LINE Ads may now also be placed in the on-line Classifieds at the ASC web site. Internet ads are seen around the world at the same great rate as in print, or for slightly more you can appear both online and in print. For more information please visit www.theasc.com/advertiser, or e-mail:
[email protected].
EQUIPMENT FOR SALE SONY PMW-EX1 Camcorder XDCAMX Complete Package, used less than 20 hours. MustSell. 305-302-1057 USED EQUIPMENT. PRO VIDEO & FILM EQUIPMENT COMPANY. (972) 869-9990. Arri 435ES very complete package plus 18-100 Zoom lens, Arri Varicon. Excellent prices Contact
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Advertiser’s Index 16x9, Inc. 102
Eastman Kodak 25, C4
Rosco Laboratories, Inc. 63
Abel Cine Tech 55 AC 1, 111 Aja Video Systems, Inc. C3 Alan Gordon Enterprises 102 Arri 37 AZGrip 102
Film Gear 45 Filmtools 91 Five Towns College 91 FTC West 103 Fujji Motion Picture 32a-d
Backstage Equipment, Inc. 6 Band Pro Film & Digital 103 Bron Imaging Group - US US 28 Burrell Enterprises 102
Gekko Technologies 75 Gemini 3D Camera, LLC 4 Glidecam Industries 27
Schneider Optics 2 Shelton Communications 102 Sony Pictures Classics 29 Sony Pictures Entertainment 19 Stanton Video Services 95 Super16 Inc. 103 Sylvania 41, 43
Camera Essentials 103 Canon USA 21 Cavision Enterprises 71 Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment Inc. 85 Chapman University 97 Chemical Wedding 89, 89 , 101 Cinematography Electronics 91 Cinekinetic 102 Cinerover 103 Cinevate 57 Clairmont Film & Digital 83 Codex Digital Ltd., 39 Cooke Optics 23, 23 , 59 Deluxe C2 Denecke 103 Duclos Lenses 97
Hollywood Post Alliance 99 Innoventive Software 95 Interlochen Center for the Arts 73 JMR Electronics Inc., 69 K5600 67 Kino Flo 47 Kobold 28 Laffoux Solutions, Inc. 102 Movie Tech AG 103 M. M. Mukhi and Sons 103 New York Film Academy 81 O’Connor 6 Oppenheimer Camera Prod. 102 P + S Technik 59 Panther Gmbh 46 Paramount Studios 7, 11, 15 PC&E 62 PED Denz 45, 103 Pelican Products, Inc 87 Photon Beard 102 Pille Film Gmbh 103 Pro8mm 102 Production Resource Group 61, 74
PRO VIDEO & FILM USED EQUIPMENT LIST: LIST: www.UsedE quipmentNewsletter.com. NEED USED EQUIPMENT? PRO VIDEO & FILM EQUIPMENT. (888) 869-9998. www.UsedEquipment Newsletter.com PRO VIDEO & FILM EQUIPMENT COMPANY. USED EQUIPMENT. (888) 869-9998.
SERVICES AVAILABLE STEADICAM ARM QUALITY SERVICE OVERHAUL AND UPDATES. QUICK TURNAROUND. ROBERT LUNA (323) 9385659.
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Technicolor 48-49 Technocrane 6 VF Gadgets, Inc. 102 Visual Products 73 Vitec Group, The 6 Warner Bros. Pictures 5, 9, 13, 17 Welch Integrated 93 Willy’s Widgets 102 www.theasc.com 86, 99, 111 Zacuto Films 103
American Cinematographer Cinematographer 2010 Index Compiled by Christopher Probst Indexed by Author, Cinematographer, Format, Subject and Title
2-PERF Carlos , Nov. p. 42 3-D “3-D on a Shoestring,” Oct. p. 24 Alice in Wonderland , April p. 32 “Assimilate, Telairity Collaborate for Remote 3-D Post,” Oct. p. 75 Avatar , Jan. p. 32 Cane Toads: The Conquest 3-D , April p. 83 “Company 3 Brings 3-D Post to Set,” Dec. p. 88 “Digital Jungle Creates Music-Video Division,” Dec. p. 88 “Fairburn Aligns 3-D Rig,” Nov. p. 86 Hubble 3-D , April p. 60 “Origami Digital Expands in New Location,” Dec. p. 88 “Rhino Re-Launches as Gravity,” Dec. p. 88 “Visual Data Debuts 3-D Workflow,” Oct. p. 74 3-PERF 127 Hours , Dec. p. 50 Animal Kingdom , Oct. p. 66 Boardwalk Empire , Sept. p. 34 Brooklyn’s Finest , April p. 26 Burlesque , Dec. p. 76 Centurion , Sept. p. 74 Expendables, The , Sept. p. 50 Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The, May p. 56 Glee , March p. 52 Green Zone , April p. 48 Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The, Jan. p. 24 Killer Inside Me, The , July p. 22 King’s Speech, The , Dec. p. 18 Love and Other Drugs , Dec. p. 64 Micmacs , June p. 52 Oceans, May p. 40
Prophet, A, March p. 18 Shutter Island , March p. 30 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps , Oct. p. 42 White Ribbon, The , Jan. p. 18 8-PERF (VISTAVISION) Inception , July p. 36 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World , Aug. p. 42 16MM — SUPER 16MM Black Swan , Dec. p. 30 Enter the Void , Oct. p. 18 Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The , May p. 56 His & Hers , April p. 77 Lebanon , April p. 20 Life on Earth , May p. 12 White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights, The , June p. 64 35MM — 1.33:1 Fish Tank , Feb. p. 18 35MM — 1.85:1 Eat, Pray, Love , Sept. p. 18 I Am Love , July p. 50 I Love You Phillip Morris , Dec. p. 24 Kids Are All Right, The , The , Aug. p. 22 Land and Bread, June p. 12 Milk of Sorrow, The , Sept. p. 28 35MM — ANAMORPHIC 2.40:1 Brooklyn’s Finest , April p. 26 Get Low , Aug. p. 68 Hereafter , Nov. p. 54 History of Aviation, The , April p. 14 Inception , July p. 26 Let Me In , Oct. p. 54 Nowhere Boy , Sept. p. 64 NY Export: Opus Jazz , March p. 24 Suspiria , Feb. p. 68 35MM — SUPER 35MM (1.78:1) Boardwalk Empire , Sept. p. 34 Glee, March p. 52 Hyundai Sonata, Jan. p. 12
Lady Gaga, “Telephone,” July p. 12 Pacific, The , March p. 46 35MM — SUPER 35MM (1.85:1) 127 Hours , Dec. p. 50 Alice in Wonderland , April p. 32 Love and Other Drugs , Dec. p. 64 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World , Aug. p. 42 Wolfman, The , Feb. p. 32 35MM — SUPER 35MM (2.40:1) Animal Kingdom , Oct. p. 66 Brooklyn’s Finest , April p. 26 Burlesque , Dec. p. 76 Carlos , Nov. p. 43 Centurion , Sept. p. 74 Enter the Void , Oct. p. 18 Expendables, The , Sept. p. 50 Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The, May p. 56 Green Zone , April p. 48 Inception , July p. 26 Iron Man 2 , May p. 24 Killer Inside Me, The , July p. 22 Last Airbender, The , July p. 40 Lovely Bones, The , Jan. p. 48 Micmacs , June p. 52 Oceans , May p. 40 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time , June p. 42 Robin Hood , June p. 30 Salt , Aug. p. 28 Secretariat , Nov. p. 30 Sorcerer’s Apprentice, The , Aug. p. 56 Shutter Island , March p. 30 Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps , Oct. p. 42 65MM Hubble 3-D (Imax), April p. 60 Inception , July p. 26 Shutter Island , March p. 30 127 Hours , Dec. p. 50 Ackroyd, BSC, Barry, April p. 48 www.theasc.com
Adams, Marshall, March p. 46 Adefarasin, BSC, Remi, March p. 46 Alice in Wonderland , April p. 32 Amélie , Aug. p. 16 American Beauty , Aug. p. 20 Animal Kingdom , Oct. p. 66 Arkapaw, Adam, Oct. p. 66 ASC CLOSE-UP Byers, Frank B., Dec. p. 116 Cameron, Paul, Feb. p. 96 Del Ruth, Thomas A., July p. 88 Denault, Jim, Oct. p. 92 Dickson, Billy, Jan. p. 104 Elmes, Fred, May p. 88 Georgevich, Dejan, Sept. p. 112 Minsky, Charles, Aug. p. 96 Ohashi, Rene, April p. 104 Papamichael, Phedon, Nov. p. 100 Schwartzman, John, June p. 100 Totino, Salvatore, March p. 96 Avatar , Jan. p. 32 Baffa, ASC, Christopher, March p. 46 Bakshi, Benji, May p. 12 Barratt, Will, June p. 72 Bazelli, ASC, Bojan, Aug. p. 56, Dec. p. 76 Bejach, Giora, April p. 20 Berger, AAC, Christian, Jan. p. 18 BLACK-AND-WHITE White Ribbon, The , Jan. p. 18 Black Swan , Dec. pp. 30, 34 Black Tulip , Sept. p. 90 Boardwalk Empire , Sept. p. 34 Bowman, Chase, June p. 78 Boyd, ASC, David, Aug. p. 68 Braier, Natasha, Sept. p. 28 Brooklyn’s Finest , April p. 26 Brooks, Alice, Nov. p. 18 Bryan, Chris, Aug. p. 12 Burlesque , Dec. p. 76 Byers, ASC, Frank B., Dec. p. 116 Cady, Patrick, Sept. p. 86 Cameron, ASC, Paul, Feb. p. 96 Cane Toads: The Conquest 3-D , April p. 83 December 2010
105 105
Carlos , Nov. p. 43 Centurion , Sept. p. 74 Chamberlain, Mark, Dec. p. 12 Charlone, ABC, César, Aug. p. 20 Chediak, Enrique, Dec. p. 50 Children of Men , Aug. p. 16 Christensen, ASC, T.C., Dec. p. 114 City of God , Aug. p. 20 Clark, ASC, Curtis, Jan. p. 12, Dec. p. 92 Cohen, BSC, Danny, Dec. p. 18 Cohn, Mariano, May p. 16 COMMERCIALS Hyundai Sonata, Jan. p. 12 Nokia N8, “Dot,” Dec. p. 12 Quiksilver, Aug. p. 12 Cronenweth, ASC, Jeff, Aug. p. 18, Oct. p. 28 CSI: NY , March p. 46 Dark Knight, The , Aug. p. 18 De Lumen, Paul, April p. 80 Deakins, ASC, BSC, Roger, Aug. p. 17 Debie, AFC, Benoît, Oct. p. 18 Del Ruth, ASC, Thomas A., July p. 88 Delbonnel, ASC, AFC, Bruno, Aug. p. 16 Denault, ASC, Jim, Jan. p. 102, Oct. p. 92 Deschanel, ASC, Caleb, Jan. p. 72 Dickson, ASC, Billy, Jan. p. 104 DIGITAL CINEMATOGRAPHY 2K CAPTURE 127 Hours , Dec. p. 50 Cane Toads: The Conquest 3-D , April p. 83 4KC APTURE Alice in Wonderland , April p. 32 Black Tulip , Sept. p. 90 Deftones, The, “Sextape,” Nov. p. 12 Hereafter , Nov. p. 54 Lakairomania , Oct. p. 12 Lebanon , April p. 20 Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, The , Nov. p. 18 Lovely Bones, The , Jan. p. 48 Mother and Child , May p. 50 Obselidia , April p. 72 106 106
December 2010
Première, La , March p. 12 Social Network, The , Oct. p. 28 Southern District , April p. 80 Winter’s Bone , June p. 16 “Working With the Red,” Feb. p. 56 DIGITAL VIDEO Man Next Door, The , May p. 16 Oath, The, April p. 74 DSLR 127 Hours, Dec. p. 50 Black Swan , Dec. p. 30 House, M.D., July p. 72 “How Digital SLRs Can Change the Way We Make Movies,” Jan. p. 88 Lakairomania , Oct. p. 12 Nokia N8, “Dot,” Dec. p. 12 Première, La , March p. 12 Secretariat , Nov. p. 30 HIGH-DEFINITION VIDEO “3-D on a Shoestring,” Oct. p. 24 Alice in Wonderland , April p. 32 Arri Alexa Demo, Sept. p. 12 Avatar , Jan. p. 32 CSI: NY , March p. 46 Dollhouse , Feb. p. 24 Harry Brown , June p. 24 Hubble 3-D , April p. 60 Inception, July p. 26 Lie to Me , July p. 16 Lovely Bones, The , Jan. p. 48 Monsters , Nov. p. 24 Mother and Child , May p. 50 Oceans , May p. 40 Quiksilver commercial, Aug. p. 12 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World , Aug. p. 42 Secretariat , Nov. p. 30 Sherlock Holmes , Jan. p. 60 Shutter Island , March p. 30
Tudors, The , July p. 58 What’s in the Box? Feb. p. 12 White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights, The , June p. 64 DIGITAL INTERMEDIATE 127 Hours , Dec. p. 50 Alice in Wonderland , April p. 32 Animal Kingdom , Oct. p. 66 Avatar , Jan. p. 32 Black Swan , Dec. p. 30 Brooklyn’s Finest , April p. 26 Burlesque , Dec. p. 76 Carlos , Nov. p. 43 Centurion , Sept. p. 74 Eat, Pray, Love, Sept. p. 18 Enter the Void , Oct. p. 18 Expendables, The , Sept. p. 50 Fish Tank , Feb. p. 18 Get Low , Aug. p. 68 Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The, May p. 56 Green Zone , April p. 48 Harry Brown , June p. 24 Hereafter , Nov. p. 54 His & Hers , April p. 77 History of Aviation, The , April p. 14 Hubble 3-D , April p. 60 I Love You Phillip Morris , Dec. p. 24 Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The , Jan. p. 24 Inception , July p. 26 Iron Man 2 , May p. 24 Kids Are All Right, The , The , Aug. p. 22 Killer Inside Me, The , July p. 22 King’s Speech, The , Dec. p. 18 Last Airbender, The , July p. 40 Lebanon , April p. 20 Let Me In , Oct. p. 54 Lottery Ticket , Sept. p. 86 Love and Other Drugs , Dec. p. 64 Lovely Bones, The , Jan. p. 48 Man Next Door, The , May p. 16 Micmacs , June p. 52 Mother and Child , May p. 50
American Cinematographer
Nowhere Boy , Sept. p. 64 Oceans , May p. 40 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time , June p. 42 Prophet, A, A, March p. 18 Robin Hood , June p. 30 Salt , Aug. p. 28 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World , Aug. p. 42 Secretariat, Nov. p. 30 Sherlock Holmes , Jan. p. 60 Shutter Island , March p. 30 Social Network, the , Oct. p. 28 Sorcerer’s Apprentice, The , Aug. p. 56 Southern District , April p. 80 Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, Oct. p. 42 White Ribbon, The , Jan. p. 18 Winter’s Bone , June p. 16 Wolfman, The , Feb. p. 32 DIRECTOR INTERVIEWS Arnold, Andrea, Feb. p. 18 Aronofsky, Darren, Dec. p. 34 Audiard, Jacques, March p. 18 Bell, Diane, April p. 72 Boyle, Danny, Dec. p. 50 Burton, Tim, April p. 32 Cassaday, John, Feb. p. 26 Chu, Jon M., Nov. p. 18 Cluzaud, Jacques, May p. 40 Cohn, Mariano, May p. 16 Duprat, Gaston, May p. 16 Edwards, Gareth, Nov. p. 24 Evans, Ty, Oct. p. 12 Favreau, Jon, May p. 24 Fincher, David, Oct. p. 28 Forrest, Zak, Nov. p. 12 Gilliam, Terry, Jan. p. 24 Granik, Debra, June p. 16 Greengrass, Paul, April p. 48 Guadagnino, Luca, July p. 50 Jackson, Peter, Jan. p. 48 Jeunet, Jean-Pierre, June p. 52
Kenyeres, Balint, April p. 14 Liebenguth, Chad, Nov. p. 12 Lipes, Jody Lee, March p. 24 Lewis, Mark, April p. 83 Malloy, Emmett, June p. 64 Maoz, Samuel, April p. 20 Morgan, Curt, Aug. p. 12 Newell, Mike, June p. 42 Noé, Gaspar, Oct. p. 18 Nolan, Christopher, July p. 26 Oplev, Niels Arden, May p. 56 Patterson, Ed, Dec. p. 12 Poitras, Laura, April p. 74 Polanski, Roman, Nov. p. 74 Reeves, Matt, Oct. p. 54 Regalbuto, Michael, March p. 12 Regalbuto, Nick, March p. 12 Ritchie, Guy, Jan. p. 60 Schneider, ASC, Aaron, Aug. p. 68 Shyamalan, M. Night, July p. 40 Smit, Tim, Feb. p. 12 Stallone, Sylvester, Sept. p. 50 Stone, Oliver, Oct. p. 46 Studd, Will, Dec. p. 12 Valdivia, Juan Carlos, April p. 80 Wallace, Randall, Nov. p. 30 Winterbottom, Michael, July p. 22 Zwick, Ed, Dec. p. 64 DOCUMENTARIES Cane Toads: The Conquest 3-D , April p. 83 His & Hers , April p. 77 Hubble 3-D , April p. 60 Oath, The , April p. 74 Oceans , May p. 40 White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights, The , June p. 64 Dod Mantle, BSC, DFF, Anthony, Dec. p. 50 Dollhouse , Feb. pp. 24, 26 “Dot,” Nokia N8,Dec. p. 12 Drion,Luc, May p. 40 Dryburgh, ASC, Stuart, Sept. p. 34 Du Pont, ASC, Lex, Feb. p. 94
Dunning, Giles, June p. 64 Duprat, Gaston, May p. 16 Eat, Pray, Love , Sept. p. 18 Edwards, Gareth, Nov. p. 24 Ekberg, Par, July p. 12 Elmes, ASC, Fred, May p. 88 Elswit, ASC, Robert, Aug. pp. 17, 28 Enter the Void , Oct. p. 18 Erdely, Matyas, April p. 14 Expendables, The , Sept. p. 50 Fairburn, Sean, Nov. p. 86 Faster , Dec. p. 94 Fierberg, ASC, Steven, Aug. p. 80, Dec. p. 64 Fight Club , Aug. p. 18 FILMMAKERS’ FORUM “Capturing an Episodic Drama With a DSLR,” July p. 72 “Consider ‘Red’ Another Paint in Your Palette,” Aug. p. 80 “How Digital SLRs Can Change the Way We Make Movies,” Jan. p. 88 “Shooting Black Tulip in Tulip in Afghanistan,” Sept. p. 90 “Strengthening Crucial Ties With Collaborators,” April p. 88 “The Rubber Hits the Road on Faster ,” ,” Dec. p. 94 Fiore, ASC, Mauro, Jan. p. 32 Fish Tank , Feb. p. 18 Flinn, ASC, John C., March p. 62 Fontaine, AFC, Stéphane, March p. 18 Forrest, Zak, Nov. p. 12 Fraker, ASC, BSC, William A., Nov. p. 64 Fraser, Greig, Oct. p. 54 Freeman, ASC, Jonathan, Sept. p. 34, Dec. p. 114 Frozen , June p. 72 Gallagher, Joe, July p. 16 Georgevich, ASC, Dejan, Sept. p. 112 Get Low , Aug. p. 68 Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The , May p. 56 Glee , March p. 46 Goi, ASC, Michael, April p. 88 Grady, Michael, Dec. p. 94 Green Zone , April p. 48 Grobet, ASC, AMC, Xavier Pérez, May p. 50, Dec. p. 24
Hall, ASC, Conrad L., Aug. p. 20 Harry Brown , June p. 24 Hereafter , Nov. p. 54 Heuzey, René, May p. 40 His & Hers , April p. 77 HISTORICALS Suspiria , Feb. p. 68 History of Aviation , The , April p. 14 Houghton, ASC, Tom, Feb. p. 94, Nov. p. 98 House, M.D., July p. 72 Hubble 3-D , April pp. 60, 68 Hurlbut, ASC, Shane, Jan. p. 88 Hyundai Sonata commercial, Jan. p. 12 I Am Love , July p. 50 I Love You Phillip Morris , Dec. p. 24 Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The , Jan. p. 24 IMAX Hubble 3-D , April p. 60 In the Gravest Extreme , Oct. p. 24 Inception , July pp. 26, 30 IN MEMORIA Fraker, ASC, BSC, William A., Nov. p. 64 Malkames, ASC, Karl, July p. 86 Martinelli, ASC, Vincent, July p. 86 Reshovsky, ASC, Marc, Feb. p. 92 INSTRUCTIONAL “Creating a Virtual New York for 24 ,” ,” May p. 74 “Fairburn Aligns 3-D Rig,” Nov. p. 86 “Sebaldt Explains Coved Bounce,” Nov. p. 86 “Using Red’s False Color,” June p. 78 “Working With the Red,” Feb. p. 56 Iron Man 2 , May pp. 24, 32 Jadue-Lillo, Igor, Aug. p. 22 Johnson, ASC, Shelly, Feb. p. 32 Johnson, Kirsten, April p. 74 Kaminski, Janusz, Aug. p. 17 Kids Are All Right, The , Aug. p. 22 Killer Inside Me, The , July p. 22 Kimball, ASC, Jeffrey L., Sept. p. 50 King’s Speech, The , Dec. p. 18 Klein, ASC, David, Feb. p. 94 www.theasc.com
Kress, DFF, Eric, May p. 56 Lakairomania , Oct. p. 12 Land and Bread , June p. 12 Last Airbender, The , July p. 40 Lavelle, Michael, April p. 77 Le Saux, Yorick, July p. 50, Nov. p. 43 Lebanon , April p. 20 Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, The , Nov. p. 18 Lenoir, ASC, AFC, Denis, Nov. p. 43 Lesnie, ASC, ACS, Andrew, Jan. p. 48, July p. 40 Let Me In , Oct. p. 54 Libatique, ASC, Matthew, May p. 24, Dec. p. 30 Lie to Me , July p. 16 Liebenguth, Chad, Nov. p. 12 Life on Earth , May p. 12 LIGHTING DIAGRAMS Avatar , Jan. p. 32 Boardwalk Empire , Sept. p. 34 Burlesque , Dec. p. 76 Inception , July p. 26 Iron Man 2 , May p. 24 Première, La , March p. 12 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time , June p. 42 Social Network, The, Oct. p. 28 Sorcerer’s Apprentice, The , Aug. p. 56 Wolfman, The , Feb. p. 32 Lipes, Jody Lee, March p. 24 Londono, Mateo, Nov. p. 82 Lottery Ticket , Sept. p. 86 Love and Other Drugs , Dec. p. 64 Lovely Bones, The , Jan. p. 48 Lubezki, ASC, AMC, Emmanuel, Aug. p. 16 Malkames, ASC, Karl, July p. 86 Man Next Door, The , May p. 16 Martinelli, ASC, Vincent, July p. 86 Mathieson, BSC, John, June p. 30 McCullough, Kate, April p. 77 McCurdy, BSC, Sam, Sept. p. 74 McDonough, Michael, June p. 16 McFarland, David, Sept. p. 90 McGarvey, ASC, BSC, Seamus, Sept. p. 64 Medencevic, ASC, Suki, May p. 87
December 2010
107 107
Menges, ASC, BSC, Chris, Feb. p. 46 Micmacs , June p. 52 Milk of Sorrow, The , Sept. p. 28 Milliss, Kathryn, April p. 83 Minsky, ASC, Charles, Aug. p. 96 Miranda, ASC, Claudio, July p. 87 Miss Nobody , Nov. p. 82 Monsters , Nov. p. 24 Morgenthau, ASC, Kramer, Sept. p. 34 Mother and Child , May p. 50 Mulligan, Zak, April p. 72 Murguia, AMC, Patrick, April p. 26 MUSIC VIDEOS Deftones, The, “Sextape,” Nov. p. 12 Lady Gaga, “Telephone,” July p. 12 Nagata, AFC, Tetsuo, June p. 52 Negrin, ASC, Sol, March p. 72 Neihouse, James, April p. 60 NEW ASC ASSOCIATES Bianco, Robert, March p. 94 Condon, Michael, July p. 87 Karahadian, Marker, March p. 94 Kucinsky, Chuck, Oct. p. 90 Leighton, Doug, April p. 102 Lukk, Howard, Jan. p. 102 McDonald, William, March p. 94 Snyder, Kim, Nov. p. 98 Tiffen, Steven, Dec. p. 114 NEW ASC MEMBERS Christensen, T.C., Dec. p. 114 Denault, Jim, Jan. p. 102 Du Pont, Lex, Feb. p. 94 Freeman, Jonathan, Dec. p. 114 Houghton, Tom, Feb. p. 94 Klein, David, Feb. p. 94 Medencevic, Suki, May p. 87 Miranda, Claudio, July p. 87 Parker, Larry (Honorary), April p. 102 Nichola, Paul, April p. 83 Nicholson, ASC, Sam, Sept. p. 12
108 108
December 2010
No Country for Old Men , Aug. p. 17 Nowhere Boy , Sept. p. 64 NY Export: Opus Jazz , March p. 24 Oath, The , April p. 74 Obselidia , April p. 72 Oceans , May p. 40 Ohashi, ASC, CSC, Rene, April p. 104 Oliver, ACS, Toby, April p. 83 Pacific, The , March p. 46 Papamichael, ASC, Phedon, Nov. p. 100 Parnell, Feliks, March p. 46 Patterson, Chris, July p. 30 Pecorini, Nicola, Jan. p. 24 Pfister, ASC, Wally, July p. 26, Aug. p. 18 Poitras, Laura, April p. 74 Pope, ASC, Bill, Aug. p. 42 POST FOCUS “A Star is Born RestoraBorn Restoration Starts With 8K Scan,” May p. 72 “Adding Chills to Frozen ,” ,” June p. 72 “ADS Advances a Different Side of Post,” Oct. p. 72 “Assimilate, Telairity Collaborate for Remote 3-D Post,” Oct. p. 75 “Autodesk Unveils 2011 Lineup,” June p. 74 “Cinemascan Streamlines Shutter Island ,” ,” March p. 78 “Cinesite Expands with Nuke,” Aug. p. 78 “Company 3 Brings 3-D Post to Set,” Dec. p. 88 “Creating Summer Sizzle for Lottery Ticket ,” ,” Sept. p. 86 “Electric Picture Solutions Opens Santa Monica Facility,” March p. 80 “FilmLight Offers LowCost Baselight, Streamlines HDCamSR Workflow,” June p. 76 “HPA Honors Post Professionals,” Jan. p. 86 “Inside Technicolor’s New Hub,” Jan. p. 84 “LightIron Commits to File-Based Post,” March p. 78 “MTI Film Automates Hollywood Facility with ContentAgent,” Aug. p. 78
“New Hat Finishes Miss Nobody ,” ,” Nov. p. 82 “Oasis Imagery Opens Hollywood Facility,“ Oct. p. 73 “Offhollywood’s Digital Perspective,” Feb. p. 78 “Pro8mm Adds 4:4:4 Workflows,” Aug. p. 78 “Restoring Fassbinder’s World on a Wire ,” Wire ,” July p. 68 “True Blood Workflow Blood Workflow Becomes File-Based,” Aug. p. 76 “VCL Builds Home in Hollywood,” March p. 79 “Visual Data Debuts 3-D Workflow,” Oct. p. 74 Prèmiere, La , March p. 12 PRESERVATION /RESTORATION Star is Born, A, A , May p. 72 World on a Wire , Wire , July p. 68 Prieto, ASC, AMC, Rodrigo, Oct. p. 42 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time , June p. 42 Probst, Christopher, Feb. p. 56 Prophet, A, March p. 18 Quiksilver commercial, Aug. p. 12 Rawi, BSC, CSC, Ousama, July p. 58 Reshovsky, ASC, Marc, Feb. p. 92 Richardson, ASC, Robert, March p. 30, Sept. p. 18 Ritzema, Marc, Oct. p. 12 Road to Perdition , Aug. p. 20 Robin Hood , June p. 30 Ros, Philippe, May p. 40 Rousselot, ASC, AFC, Philippe, Jan. p. 60 Ruhe, Martin, June p. 24 Ryan, BSC, Robbie, Feb. p. 18 Salt , Aug. p. 28 Sarfati, Isi, June p. 12 Saving Private Ryan , Aug. p. 17 Schwartzman, ASC, John, June p. 100 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World , Aug. p. 42 Seale, ASC, ACS, John, June p. 42 Sebaldt, ASC, Christian, Nov. p. 86
American Cinematographer
Secretariat , Nov. p. 30 Semler, ASC, ACS, Dean, Nov. p. 30 “Sextape,” The Deftones, Nov. p. 12 Shannon, Garrett, May p. 12 Sherlock Holmes , Jan. p. 60 Shulkind, Andrew, Oct. p. 24 Shutter Island , March pp. 30, 78 Sidell, Sidney, July p. 16 Smit, Tim, Feb. p. 12 Social Network, The , Oct. p. 28 Sorcerer’s Apprentice, The , Aug. p. 56 Southern District , April p. 80 SPECIAL LAB PROCESSES Get Low , Aug. p. 68 Suspiria , Feb. p. 68 SPECIALIZED CINEMATOGRAPHY Avatar , Jan. p. 32 Cane Toads: The Conquest 3-D , April p. 83 Hubble 3-D , April p. 60 Star is Born , A, May p. 72 Stern, ASC, AFC, Tom, Nov. p. 54 Stump, ASC, David, Dec. p. 92 Suspiria , Feb. p. 68 Tattersall, Gale, July p. 72 Taylor, ASC, Jonathan, May p. 32 ”Telephone,” Lady Gaga, July p. 12 TELEVISION ASC Career Achievement in TV Award, March p. 62 Boardwalk Empire , Sept. p. 34 CSI: NY , March p. 58 Dollhouse , Feb. p. 24 Emmy Nominees, Nov. p. 80 Glee , March p. 52 Lie to Me , July p. 16 NY Export: Opus Jazz , Jazz , March p. 24 Pacific, The , March p. 46 Tudors, The , July p. 58 There Will Be Blood , Aug. p. 17 Totino, ASC, Salvatore, March p. 96 Tovoli, ASC, AIC, Luciano, Feb. p. 68, May p. 40 Tudors, The , July p. 58 VISUAL EFFECTS 24 , May p. 74 Alice in Wonderland , April p. 32
Avatar , Jan. p. 32 Frozen , June p. 72 Hereafter , Nov. p. 54 Iron Man 2 , May. p. 24 Monsters , Nov. p. 24 Nokia N8, “Dot,” Dec. p. 12 Salt , Aug. p. 28 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World , Aug. p. 42 Sherlock Holmes , Jan. p. 60 “Strengthening Crucial Ties With Collaborators,” April p. 88 What’s in the Box? Feb. Box? Feb. p. 12 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps , Oct. pp. 42, 46 WEB PRODUCTIONS Nokia N8, “Dot,” Dec. p. 12 Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, The , Nov. p. 18 What’s in the Box? Feb. p. 12 What’s in the Box? Feb. p. 12 White Ribbon, The , Jan. p. 18 White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights, The , June p. 64 Wiegand, Lisa, Feb. p. 24 Windon, ACS, Stephen, March p. 46 Winter’s Bone , June p. 16 Wise, Matt, March p. 12 Wolfman, The , Feb. p. 32 Wolski, ASC, Dariusz, April p. 32 Zyskind, Marcel, July p. 22 Index by Author Argy, Stephanie ”Strengthening Crucial Ties With Collaborators,” April p. 88 Aronofsky, Darren “Directing Black Swan ,” ,” Dec. p. 34 Bankston, Douglas “A Passion for His Craft,” March p. 62 “Creating a Virtual New York for 24 ,” ,” May p. 74 “Fairburn Aligns 3-D Rig,” Nov. p. 86 “Sebaldt Explains Coved Bounce,” Nov. p. 86 Bergery, Benjamin “A Self-Made Man,” March p. 18
“Aaton Introduces Penelope-Delta,” June p. 80 “Arri Unveils Alexa Prototype,” April p. 92 “Camerimage’s Golden Lebanon ,” ,” April p. 20 “Contemplating a Colorful Afterlife,” Oct. p. 18 “Super Sleuth,” Jan. p. 60 “The World’s Most Wanted Man,” Nov. p. 43 “Very French Revenge,” June p. 52 “Wonders of the Sea,” May p. 40 Birchard, Robert S. “A Star is Born RestoraBorn Restoration Starts with 8K Scan,” May p. 72 Bosley, Rachael K. “AC Poll AC Poll Names 10 BestShot Films of 19982008,” Aug. p. 16 “Lost and Found Families,” May p. 50 Calhoun, John “The Return of Jerome Robbins,” March p. 24 Clark, ASC, Curtis “Launching the 2011 Hyundai Sonata,” Jan. p. 12 Crudo, ASC, Richard P. “A Personal Remembrance,” Nov. p. 66 Frankel, David “A Lawman Gone Wrong,” July p. 22 Goi, ASC, Michael President’s Desk: Jan. p. 10, Feb. p. 10, March p. 10, April p. 10, May p. 10, June p. 10, July p. 10, Aug. p. 10, Sept. p. 10, Oct. p. 10, Nov. p. 10, Dec. p. 10 Goldman, Michael “A Modern Romance,” Nov. p. 54 “Adding Chills to ,” June p. 72 Frozen ,” “Crowning Achievements,” July p. 58 “Desert Storm,” June p. 42 “Down the Rabbit Hole,” April p. 32
“Inside Technicolor’s New Hub,” Jan. p. 84 “Redesigning Doll- house ,” ,” Feb. p. 24 “Romantic Chemistry,” Dec. p. 64 “True Blood Workflow Blood Workflow Becomes File-Based,” Aug. p. 76 “True Colors,” Aug. p. 68 “War Horses,” Sept. p. 50 “With Friends Like These …,” Oct. p. 28 Gollish, Joshua “Home-Screen Hits,” March p. 46 Grady, Michael “The Rubber Hits the Road on Faster ,” ,” Dec. p. 94 Gray, Simon “Elements of Power,” July p. 40 “Sundance 2010: Expanded Palettes,” April p. 80 “Watchful Spirit,” Jan. p. 48 “Welcome to the Jungle,” Oct. p. 66 Heuring, David “A Daring Romance,” Dec. p. 24 “A Magical Manhattan,” Aug. p. 56 “Bakshi, Shannon Win ASC Richard Moore Heritage Awards,” May p. 12 “Dream Thieves,” July p. 26 “Home-Screen Hits,” March p. 46 “Land and Bread Shines Bread Shines on the Festival Circuit,” June p. 12 “Saluting an Industry Stalwart,” March p. 72 “Skiing into the Action,” July p. 30 Holben, Jay “3-D on a Shoestring,” Oct. p. 24 “Academy Salutes SciTech Achievements,” May p. 20 “Conquering New Worlds,” Jan. p. 32 “Filmmakers in Orbit,” April p. 68 “The Final Frontier in 3 Dimensions,” April p. 60
www.theasc.com
Hope-Jones, Mark “A Beatle’s Upbringing,” Sept. p. 64 “An American’s Spiritual Journey,” Sept. p. 18 “Artistry and Conscience, Feb. p. 46 “England’s Dirty Harry,” June p. 24 “Slings and Arrows,” June p. 30 “Up Against It,” Dec. p. 50 “Weapons of Deception,” April p. 48 Hurlbut, ASC, Shane “How Digital SLRs Can Change the Way We Make Movies,” Jan. p. 88 Johnson, ASC, Shelly “Bad Moon Rising,” Feb. p. 32 Kadner, Noah “A Window into the Soul,” May p. 16 “Brain Farm Makes Waves with Quiksilver Campaign,” Aug. p. 12 “Girl Trouble,” Aug. p. 42 Manders, Stanley “Terror in Technicolor,” Feb. p. 68 “Romans on the Run,” Sept. p. 74 McFarland, David “Shooting Black Tulip in Tulip in Afghanistan,” Sept. p. 90 Oppenheimer, Jean “A Contemporary Comedy,” Aug. p. 22 “An Emotional Transformation in Peru,” Sept. p. 28 “Dark Secrets,” May p. 56 “A Future King Finds His Voice,” Dec. p. 18 “Home-Screen Hits,” March p. 46 “Lethal Dance Moves,” Nov. p. 18 “Police Under Pressure,” April p. 26 “Rural Terrorism,” Jan. p. 18 “Telltale Tics,” July p. 16 Pizzello, Stephen “Danse Macabre,” Dec. p. 30 “King of Cool,” Nov. p. 64 Probst, Christopher “Working With the Red,” Feb. p. 56 December 2010
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WNERSHI HIP P, STATEMENTOF O WNERS MANAGEMENTAND CIRCULATION
Title of publication: publication: AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER CINEMATOGRAPHER
Publication no. 0002-7928 Date of filing: October 12, 2010 Frequency of issue: Monthly Annual subscription price: $50 Number of issues published annually: 12 Location of known office of publication: 1782 N. Orange Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90028. Location of the headquarters or general business offices of the publishers: Same as above. Names and address of publisher: ASC Holding Corp., 1782 N. Orange Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90028; Publisher, Martha Winterhalter, Executive Editor, Stephen Pizzello, 1782 N. Orange Dr., Hollywood, CA 90028. Owner: ASC Holding Corp. Known bondholders, mortgages, and other security holders owning or holding 1 per cent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities: same as above. Extent and nature of circulation: Total numbers of copies printed (net press run): average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 34,833; actual number copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 33,000. Paid and/or requested circulation: Paid/Requested Outside-County Mail Subscriptions stated on Form 3541: average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 24,110; actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 23,916. Paid and/or requested circulation: Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors and counter sales, and other non-USPS paid distribution: average number copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 8,099; actual number of copies single issue published nearest to filing date, 6,890. Total paid and/or requested circulation: average number copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 32,209; actual number copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 30,806. Free distribution by mail (samples, complimentary and other free copies): average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 2,029; actual number copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 1,500. Total free distributions: average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 2,029; actual number copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 1,500. Total distribution: average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 34,238; actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 32,306. Copies not distributed (office use, left over, unaccounted, spoiled after printing): average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 595; actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 694. Total: average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 34,833; actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 33,000. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation: average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 94%; actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 95%.
I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete. — Martha Winterhalter, Publisher 110
Silberg, Jon “The Right Stuff,” Jan. p. 72 Stasukevich, Iain “A Big-City Dream,” Dec. p. 76 “A Blazing Skate Video,” Oct. p. 12 “Aardman Animates With Nokia’s N8,” Dec. p. 12 “An Anamorphic History of Aviation,” April p. 14 “Bloody Valentine,” Oct. p. 54 “Cat and Mouse,” Aug. p. 28 “Crafting What’s in the Box? ” Feb. p. 12 “Creating an Underwater Dreamscape for ‘Sextape,’” Nov. p. 12 “Creating Summer Sizzle for Lottery Ticket ,” ,” Sept. p. 86 “Dramatizing Cinema History,” March p. 12 “Painting Towns White,” June p. 64 “Restoring Fassbinder’s World on a Wire ,” ,” July p. 68 “Taking Arri’s Alexa to the World Cup,” Sept. p. 12 “’Telephone’Generates Caged Heat,” July p. 12 Stone, Oliver “Reflecting on a Creative Partnership,” Oct. p. 46 Tattersall, Gale “Capturing an Episodic Drama With a DSLR,” July p. 72 Thomson, Patricia “Hard Lessons,” Feb. p. 18 “Mind Games,” March p. 30 “Cinemascan Streamlines ,” Shutter Island ,” March p. 78 “Sundance 2010: Expanded Palettes,” April pp. 74, 80 “An Odyssey in the Ozarks,” June p. 16 “An Emotional Rebirth,” July p. 50 “Mob Money,” Sept. p. 34 “Horse Power,” Nov. p. 30
Wakelin, Simon “New Hat Finishes Miss Nobody ,” ,” Nov. p. 82 “Company 3 Brings 3-D Post to Set,” Dec. p. 88 “3-D, New Camera Assessments on Technology Committee’s Agenda,” Dec. p. 92 Walla, Claire “Offhollywood’s Digital Perspective,” Feb. p. 78 “Using Red’s False Color,” June p. 78 Witmer, Jon D. “ADS Advances a Different Side of Post,” Oct. p. 72 “Armor Wars,” May p. 24 “Cassaday Imprints ‘The Attic,’” Feb. p. 26 “Creature Feature,” Nov. p. 24 In Memoria: Feb. p. 92, July p. 86 “Primetime Artistry,” Nov. p. 80 “Sundance 2010: Expanded Palettes,” April p. 77 “Taylor Leads 1st-Rate 2nd Unit,” May p. 32 “Through the Looking Glass,” Jan. p. 24 “Where Cinematography Lives,” Sept. p. 82
American Society of Cinematographers Roster OFFICERS – 2009-’10 Michael Goi, President Richard Crudo, Vice President Owen Roizman, Vice President John C. Flinn III, Vice President Matthew Leonetti, Treasurer Rodney Taylor, Secretary Ron Garcia, Sergeant-at-Arms
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD John Bailey Stephen H. Burum Curtis Clark George Spiro Dibie Richard Edlund John C. Flinn III Michael Goi Stephen Lighthill Isidore Mankofsky Daryn Okada Robert Primes Nancy Schreiber Haskell Wexler Kees Van Oostrum Vilmos Zsigmond ALTERNATES Fred Elmes Rodney Taylor Michael D. O’Shea Sol Negrin Michael B. Negrin
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ACTIVE MEMBERS Thomas Ackerman Lance Acord Lloyd Ahern II Herbert Alpert Russ Alsobrook Howard A. Anderson III Howard A. Anderson Jr. James Anderson Peter Anderson Tony Askins Charles Austin Christopher Baffa James Bagdonas King Baggot John Bailey Michael Ballhaus Andrzej Bartkowiak John Bartley Bojan Bazelli Frank Beascoechea Affonso Beato Mat Beck Dion Beebe Bill Bennett Andres Berenguer Carl Berger Gabriel Beristain Steven Bernstein Ross Berryman Michael Bonvillain Richard Bowen David Boyd Russell Boyd Jonathan Brown Don Burgess Stephen H. Burum Bill Butler Frank B. Byers Bobby Byrne Antonio Calvache Paul Cameron Russell P. Carpenter James L. Carter Alan Caso Michael Chapman Rodney Charters James A. Chressanthis T.C. Christensen Joan Churchill Curtis Clark Peter L. Collister Jack Cooperman Jack Couffer Vincent G. Cox Jeff Cronenweth Richard Crudo Dean R. Cundey Stefan Czapsky David Darby Allen Daviau
Roger Deakins Jan DeBont Thomas Del Ruth Bruno Delbonnel Peter Deming Jim Denault Caleb Deschanel Ron Dexter Craig Di Bona George Spiro Dibie Ernest Dickerson Billy Dickson Bill Dill Stuart Dryburgh Bert Dunk Lex DuPont John Dykstra Richard Edlund Eagle Egilsson Frederick Elmes Robert Elswit Geoffrey Erb Scott Farrar Jon Fauer Don E. FauntLeRoy Gerald Feil Steven Fierberg Gerald Perry Finnerman Mauro Fiore John C. Flinn III Ron Fortunato Jonathan Freeman Tak Fujimoto Alex Funke Steve Gainer Ron Garcia Dejan Georgevich Michael Goi Stephen Goldblatt Paul Goldsmith Frederic Goodich Victor Goss Jack Green Adam Greenberg Robbie Greenberg Xavier Perez Grobet Alexander Gruszynski Changwei Gu Rick Gunter Rob Hahn Gerald Hirschfeld Henner Hofmann Adam Holender Ernie Holzman John C. Hora Tom Houghton Gil Hubbs Shane Hurlbut Tom Hurwitz Judy Irola Mark Irwin
American Cinematographer
Levie Isaacks Andrew Jackson Peter James Johnny E. Jensen Torben Johnke Frank Johnson Shelly Johnson Jeffrey Jur William K. Jurgensen Adam Kane Stephen M. Katz Ken Kelsch Victor J. Kemper Wayne Kennan Francis Kenny Glenn Kershaw Darius Khondji Gary Kibbe Jan Kiesser Jeffrey L. Kimball Adam Kimmel Alar Kivilo David Klein Richard Kline George Koblasa Fred J. Koenekamp Lajos Koltai Pete Kozachik Neil Krepela Willy Kurant Ellen M. Kuras George La Fountaine Edward Lachman Ken Lamkin Jacek Laskus Andrew Laszlo Denis Lenoir John R. Leonetti Matthew Leonetti Andrew Lesnie Peter Levy Matthew Libatique Charlie Lieberman Stephen Lighthill Karl Walter Lindenlaub John Lindley Robert F. Liu Walt Lloyd Bruce Logan Gordon Lonsdale Emmanuel Lubezki Julio G. Macat Glen MacPherson Constantine Makris Denis Maloney Isidore Mankofsky Christopher Manley Michael D. Margulies Barry Markowitz Steve Mason Clark Mathis
Don McAlpine Don McCuaig Seamus McGarvey Robert McLachlan Geary McLeod Greg McMurry Steve McNutt Terry K. Meade Suki Medencevic Chris Menges Rexford Metz Anastas Michos Douglas Milsome Dan Mindel Charles Minsky Claudio Miranda George Mooradian Donald A. Morgan Donald M. Morgan Kramer Morgenthau M. David Mullen Dennis Muren Fred Murphy Hiro Narita Guillermo Navarro Michael B. Negrin Sol Negrin Bill Neil Alex Nepomniaschy John Newby Yuri Neyman Sam Nicholson Crescenzo Notarile David B. Nowell Rene Ohashi Daryn Okada Thomas Olgeirsson Woody Omens Miroslav Ondricek Michael D. O’Shea Anthony Palmieri Phedon Papamichael Daniel Pearl Edward J. Pei James Pergola Don Peterman Lowell Peterson Wally Pfister Gene Polito Bill Pope Steven Poster Tom Priestley Jr. Rodrigo Prieto Robert Primes Frank Prinzi Richard Quinlan Declan Quinn Earl Rath Richard Rawlings Jr. Frank Raymond Tami Reiker
D E C E M B E R
Robert Richardson Anthony B. Richmond Bill Roe Owen Roizman Pete Romano Charles Rosher Jr. Giuseppe Rotunno Philippe Rousselot Juan Ruiz-Anchia Marvin Rush Paul Ryan Eric Saarinen Alik Sakharov Mikael Salomon Harris Savides Roberto Schaefer Tobias Schliessler Aaron Schneider Nancy Schreiber Fred Schuler John Schwartzman John Seale Christian Sebaldt Dean Semler Eduardo Serra Steven Shaw Richard Shore Newton Thomas Sigel John Simmons Sandi Sissel Bradley B. Six Dennis L. Smith Roland “Ozzie” Smith Reed Smoot Bing Sokolsky Peter Sova Dante Spinotti Terry Stacey Robert Steadman Ueli Steiger Peter Stein Robert M. Stevens Tom Stern Rogier Stoffers Vittorio Storaro Harry Stradling Jr. David Stump Tim Suhrstedt Peter Suschitzky Alfred Taylor Jonathan Taylor Rodney Taylor William Taylor Don Thorin John Toll Mario Tosi Salvatore Totino Luciano Tovoli Jost Vacano Theo Van de Sande Eric Van Haren Noman
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Kees Van Oostrum Ron Vargas Mark Vargo Amelia Vincent William Wages Roy H. Wagner Ric Waite Michael Watkins Jonathan West Haskell Wexler Jack Whitman Gordon Willis Dariusz Wolski Ralph Woolsey Peter Wunstorf Robert Yeoman Richard Yuricich Jerzy Zielinski Vilmos Zsigmond Kenneth Zunder ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Alan Albert Richard Aschman Volker Bahnemann Kay Baker Joseph J. Ball Amnon Band Carly M. Barber Craig Barron Thomas M. Barron Larry Barton Bob Beitcher Mark Bender Bruce Berke Bob Bianco John Bickford Steven A. Blakely Mitchell Bogdanowicz Jack Bonura Michael Bravin William Brodersen Garrett Brown Ronald D. Burdett Reid Burns Vincent Carabello Jim Carter Leonard Chapman Mark Chiolis Denny Clairmont Adam Clark Cary Clayton Michael Condon Sean Coughlin Robert B. Creamer Grover Crisp Daniel Curry Ross Danielson Carlos D. DeMattos Gary Demos Mato Der Avannesian
Richard Di Bona Kevin Dillon David Dodson Judith Doherty Cyril Drabinsky Jesse Dylan Jonathan Erland John Farrand Ray Feeney William Feightner Phil Feiner Jimmy Fisher Scott Fleischer Thomas Fletcher Salvatore Giarratano Richard B. Glickman John A. Gresch Jim Hannafin William Hansard Bill Hansard, Jr. Richard Hart Robert Harvey Charles Herzfeld Larry Hezzelwood Frieder Hochheim Bob Hoffman Vinny Hogan Cliff Hsui Robert C. Hummel Roy Isaia George Joblove Joel Johnson John Johnston Marker Karahadian Frank Kay Debbie Kennard Milton Keslow Robert Keslow Larry Kingen Douglas Kirkland Timothy J. Knapp Ron Koch Karl Kresser Chet Kucinski Doug Leighton Lou Levinson Suzanne Lezotte Grant Loucks Howard Lukk Andy Maltz Steven E. Manios Robert Mastronardi Joe Matza Albert Mayer, Jr. Bill McDonald Andy McIntyre Stan Miller Walter H. Mills George Milton Mike Mimaki Rami Mina www.theasc.com
Michael Morelli Dash Morrison Nolan Murdock Dan Muscarella Iain A. Neil Otto Nemenz Ernst Nettmann Tony Ngai Mickel Niehenke Marty Oppenheimer Walt Ordway Michael Parker Warren Parker Doug Pentek Kristin Petrovich Ed Phillips Nick Phillips Jerry Pierce Joshua Pines Carl Porcello Howard Preston David Pringle Phil Radin Christopher Reyna Colin Ritchie Eric G. Rodli Andy Romanoff Daniel Rosen Dana Ross Bill Russell Kish Sadhvani David Samuelson Peter K. Schnitzler Walter Schonfeld Juergen Schwinzer Ronald Scott Steven Scott Don Shapiro Milton R. Shefter Leon Silverman Garrett Smith Kimberly Snyder Stefan Sonnenfeld John L. Sprung Joseph N. Tawil Ira Tiffen Steve Tiffen Arthur Tostado Bill Turner Stephan Ukas-Bradley Mark Van Horne Richard Vetter Joe Violante Dedo Weigert Franz Weiser Evans Wetmore Beverly Wood Jan Yarbrough Hoyt Yeatman Irwin M. Young
Michael Zacharia Bob Zahn Nazir Zaidi Michael Zakula Les Zellan HONORARY MEMBERS
Col. Edwin E. Al drin Jr. Neil A. Armstrong Col. Michael Collins Bob Fisher David MacDonald Cpt. Bruce McCandless II Larry Parker D. Brian Spruill
December 2010
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Clubhouse News
From top: T.C. Christensen, ASC; Jonathan Freeman, ASC; associate member Steven Tiffen; the cover of Jack Couffer, ASC’s recently published memoir.
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Christensen, Freeman Join Society T.C. Christensen and Jonathan Freeman have joined the Society as active members. Hailing from Salt Lake City, Utah, T.C. Christensen, ASC credits a childhood crush on actress Hayley Mills for his desire to get behind a camera. He started making films when he was 12, and despite a highschool aptitude test that declared he would make an excellent candy wrapper, Christensen went on to attend the University of Utah and Brigham Young University, earning a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis on cinematography. Christensen has distinguished himself with shorts and features for screens large and small in a variety of formats, including Imax and 3-D. His large-format credits include Sea Monsters , Roving Mars , Lewis & Clark and Olympic Glory . Other credits include The Jerk Theory , Forever Strong and The Work and the Glory . Additionally, he has earned directing credits on such projects as Emma Smith: My Story (codirected with Gary Cook), The Penny Promise (co-directed with Timothy J. Nelson) and Bug Off! Born in Toronto, Ontario, Jonathan Freeman, ASC was introduced to the powerful effects of light and shadow at an early age by his mother, a painter. It was Star Wars that prompted Freeman to paint with light and pursue a career behind the camera. He earned a bachelor’s degree in film production from Concordia University in Montreal, and he cut his professional teeth on low-budget dramas and sciencefiction pictures. Since then, he has earned credits on such series as Rome, Damages and Sons of Anarch Anarchy y , and features such as The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio ; Hollywoodland , and Remember Me . Freeman earned ASC Award nominations for his work on Prince Street , Strange Justice , Taken and Homeland Security , winning for the latter.
American Cinematographer
Tiffen Becomes Associate Steven Tiffen, chairman, president and CEO of The Tiffen Co., has joined the ASC as an associate member. After earning a bachelor’s degree in political science from George Washington University, he joined the family business in 1982 with a focus on improving operations and manufacturing. He was named president and CEO of Tiffen in 1987, and since then he has overseen a host of product developments. During his tenure at Tiffen, the company’s technical achievements have earned two Academy Awards, an Emmy Award and an SOC award. Tiffen is a member of the board of directors of the Photographic Manufacturers & Distributors Association, and chairman of the Digital Imaging Division of the Consumer Electronics Association. Lighthill, Romanoff, Fisher Earn Honors The International Cinematographers Guild recently presented awards to Stephen Lighthill, ASC ; ASC associate member Andy Romanoff ; and ASC honorary member Bob Fisher . Lighthill received the Deluxe/Bud Stone Award for his educational contributions to the art and craft of cinematography; Romanoff received the Kodak Award for mentoring young cinematographers; and Fisher received the Technicolor/William A. Fraker Award for his journalistic contributions to the field. Couffer Tells All BearManor Media recently published Jack Couffer, ASC ’s memoir, The Lion and the Giraffe: A Naturalist’s Life in the Movie Business . The book chronicles the Oscar-nominated cinematographer’s globe-spanning journey through the arduous terrain of the motion-picture industry, with accounts of his experiences working on Disney’s True Life Adventures and The Wonderful World of Disney , as well as such features as Jonath Jonathan an Living Livingsto stonn Seag Seagull ull,,
. C S A , n a g r o M . M d l a n o D y b g n i t h g I L ; C S A , y k s f o k n a M e r o d i s I y b e s u o h b u l c C S A f o o t o h P
Out of Africa and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle Jungle. Couffer pulls back the curtain to reveal each project’s personal and artistic challenges, triumphs, conflicts and setbacks, always in entertaining detail. To read AC ’s ’s review of the book, visit www.theasc.com/book_reviews www.theasc.com/book_reviews/Octo /Octo ber2010/index.php. ASC at DV Expo ASC members presented two master classes in lighting during the recent DV Expo in Pasadena, Calif. Moderated by George Spiro Dibie, ASC , both classes were filled to capacity with attendees eager to learn from James L. Carter , David Darby, Mark Irwin , Peter Levy , Isidore Mankofsky , Rexford Metz , Yuri Neyman and Anthony Palmieri . The panelists each screened footage and fielded wide-ranging questions about their approaches to lighting and camerawork. Answering a question about motivating lighting, Levy quipped, “Backlight comes from the same place the music comes from,” and Mankofsky stressed, “There’s no formula for lighting.” Dibie imparted such rules of thumb as “always smell good on the set.” Metz and fellow Society members Bill Bennett, Eagle Egilsson and George Mooradian joined joined Robert Robert Orland Orlandoo of of The The Tiffen Co. and Bob Zupca of Schneider Optics for “Camera Filtration for Cinematography,” a panel discussion presented by the Digital Cinema Society. Cinematographer and DCS President James Mathers moderated the discussion, which included tips for using lens filtration.
. z e p o L x e l A y b s o t o h p l r a e P , o p x E V D
From top: (From left) ASC members Peter Levy, James L. Carter, George Spiro Dibie, Mark Irwin, Isidore Mankofsky and David Darby at DV Expo; Daniel Pearl, ASC (left) and Henner Hoffmann, ASC, AMC speak to students at the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica in Mexico City; Pearl leads a lighting workshop at Equipment & Film Design; Pearl discusses lighting at EFD.
Pearl Visits Mexico City Sponsored by rental house Equipment & Film Design, Daniel Pearl, ASC recently traveled to Mexico City for three days of events that culminated with a lighting workshop at EFD’s facility. Pearl’s activities included a presentation at the Proa Expo; a visit to the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica, where he was joined by the school’s director, Henner Hoffmann, ASC, AMC; and the demo at EFD. ●
ww.theasc.com w
December 2010
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Close-up
Frank B. Byers, ASC
When you were a child, what film made the strongest impression on you?
What has been your most satisfying moment on a project?
I remember two. When I was very young, I saw the original Invaders from Mars (1953), which was powerfully frightening. And Lawrence of Arabia (1962) — such strong visuals, and in 65mm, no less.
Doing my first 35mm release print at Technicolor. Have you made any memorable blunders?
No.
Which cinematographers, past or present, do you most admire, and why?
What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received?
From my agent: ‘Be the happiest guy on set.’ He was right.
ASC members Haskell Wexler, Gordon Willis and Owen Roizman. No two of their films seemed to look alike, and they’re very storyoriented cinematographer c inematographers. s.
What recent books, films or artworks have inspired you?
The movie An Education , which was beautifully done in every way.
What sparked your interest in photography?
Do you have any favorite genres, or genres you would like to try?
The photographic aspects of film, lighting and composition, seemed to attract me from the beginning. I remember being 15 or 16 and wanting to know what duties the director of photography performed for his job.
I love gangster films, and I’d love to do more comedies. If you weren’t a cinematographer, what might you be doing instead?
I’d be a musician.
Where did you train and/or study?
The American Film Institute.
Which ASC cinematographers recommended you for membership?
Who were your early teachers or mentors?
Gil Hubbs, Johnny Jensen and Alan Caso.
George Folsey Sr., ASC, and Jan DeBont, ASC. How has ASC membership impacted your life and career?
I realized after attending some functions at the ASC that many of the members shared experiences and questions I had about the business. It was invaluable to find that out.
What are some of your key artistic influences?
The films of Truffaut, Godard and Hitchcock. How did you get your first break in the business?
I fell in with a documentary company in the Boston area. I started loading Éclair NPR mags, and within six months I was shooting second camera.
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American Cinematographer
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ONFILM ROB BOWMAN
“Filmmaking like any art is subjective. But the more I study and practice the art of filmmaking, the more I realize that happiness, frustration, sadness, victory and defeat are universal themes that evoke similar emotions everywhere in the world. The camera is the tool I use to capture that. Every inch of the frame is important. With every shot, the director must think of where to draw the viewer’s viewer’s eye, using composition, light, color and movement. And more often than not, I want the viewer’s eyes to be drawn to the character’s eyes, because in that connection the magic happens. Whatever is on the page, whatever is in my head, the only way to capture that emotional experience is to show the audience what the characters are thinking and feeling. For me, the physicality of film, the chemical process that mimics the human eye, has a depth and richness that is unlike any other medium to breathe life to those emotions. It’s a gamble every time you make a film, but that’s a really exciting part of being a filmmaker.”
Rob Bowman has produced and/or directed episodes of nearly 40 television series and telefilms, and movies for the cinema. He earned four consecutive Emmy nominations for The X-Files. A short list of his diverse credits includes the television series StarTrek: The Next Generation, Parker Lewis, The A-Team A-Team and Castle, and the
feature films Reign of Fire and The X-Files . For an extended interview with Rob Bowman, visit www.kodak.com/go/onfilm
To order Kodak motion picture film, call (800) 621-film. © Eastman Kodak Company, 2010. Photography: © Douglas Kirkland
