AC ian 2012

J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 2

$5.95Canada $6.95

®

LitepanelsA Vitec Group brand

® [email protected] • www.litepanels.com

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

�� !��"��#��#��

��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

��

��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

®

dnarbpuorGcetiVAslenapettiL

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

apetil@ofni

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

apetil.www•moc.slena

�

��

� � � ��

� � ��

� ��

moc.slena

The International Journal of Motion Imaging

32 Cold CaseJeff Cronenweth, ASC and David Fincher investigate a compelling mystery for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

48 Animal InstinctsJanusz Kaminski saddles up with Steven Spielberg on the World War I drama War Horse

62 Lord of WarBarry Ackroyd, BSC provides stalwart support for Coriolanus director and star Ralph Fiennes

74 Go with the FlowAC ’s technical editor outlines the challenges posed by digital workflows

DEPARTMENTS

FEATURES

— VISIT WWW.THEASC.COM TO ENJOY THESE WEB EXCLUSIVES —DVD Playback: Le Beau Serge/Les Cousins • The Island of Lost Souls • Little Big Man

On Our Cover: Computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) unearths sinister secrets in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, shot by Jeff Cronenweth, ASC.(Photo by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, courtesy of Columbia Pictures.)

8 Editor’s Note10 President’s Desk12 Short Takes: String Theory20 Production Slate: The Descendants • ASC Awards Preview • HPA Awards88 New Products & Services98 International Marketplace99 Classified Ads

100 Ad Index102 Clubhouse News104 ASC Close-Up: Rodrigo Prieto

J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 2 V O L . 9 3 N O . 1

48

62

J a n u a r y 2 0 1 2 V o l . 9 3 , N o . 1T h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l J o u r n a l o f M o t i o n I m a g i n g

Visit us online atwww.theasc.com

————————————————————————————————————

PUBLISHER Martha Winterhalter————————————————————————————————————

EDITORIALEXECUTIVE EDITOR Stephen Pizzello

SENIOR EDITOR Rachael K. Bosley

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jon D. Witmer

TECHNICAL EDITOR Christopher Probst

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSStephanie Argy, Benjamin B, Douglas Bankston, Robert S. Birchard,

John Calhoun, Michael Goldman, Simon Gray, Jim Hemphill, David Heuring, Jay Holben, Mark Hope-Jones, Noah Kadner, Jean Oppenheimer,

John Pavlus, Chris Pizzello, Jon Silberg, Iain Stasukevich, Kenneth Sweeney, Patricia Thomson

————————————————————————————————————

ART DEPARTMENTCREATIVE DIRECTOR Marion Gore

————————————————————————————————————

ADVERTISINGADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Angie Gollmann

323-936-3769 FAX 323-936-9188

e-mail: [email protected]

ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Sanja Pearce

323-952-2114 FAX 323-876-4973


ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Scott Burnell

323-936-0672 FAX 323-936-9188


CLASSIFIEDS/ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Diella Nepomuceno

323-952-2124 FAX 323-876-4973


————————————————————————————————————

CIRCULATION, BOOKS & PRODUCTSCIRCULATION DIRECTOR Saul MolinaCIRCULATION MANAGER Alex LopezSHIPPING MANAGER Miguel Madrigal

————————————————————————————————————ASC GENERAL MANAGER Brett Grauman

ASC EVENTS COORDINATOR Patricia ArmacostASC PRESIDENT’S ASSISTANT Delphine Figueras

ASC ACCOUNTING MANAGER Mila BaselyASC ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE Corey Clark

————————————————————————————————————American Cinematographer (ISSN 0002-7928), established 1920 and in its 92nd 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, 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 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 toSheridan Reprints at (800) 635-7181 ext. 8065 or by e-mail [email protected].

Copyright 2012 ASC Holding Corp. (All rights reserved.) Periodicals postage paid at Los Angeles, CA and at additional mailing offices. Printed in the USA.

POSTMASTER: Send address change to American Cinematographer, P.O. Box 2230, Hollywood, CA 90078.———————————————————————————————————— 4

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION IN ALL CATEGORIES, INCLUDING:

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY ADRIANO GOLDMAN

“ SHOT BY ADRIANO GOLDMAN WITH VIRTUOSITY. TRANSFIXING.

His technique is painterly in its evocation of 19th-century English artists.

Beyond that, it’s distinguished by an abundance of tonal variety:

interiors that seem to smell of weathered furniture; softly modeled

closeups that cast Jane as a country madonna.”

- JOE MORGENSTERN,

“ A SPLENDID EXAMPLE OF HOW TO TURN A BELOVED WORK OF CLASSIC LITERATURE INTO A MOVIE.

The wild and misty moors, thanks to the painterly eye of the cinematographer,

Adriano Goldman, look beautiful, and Dario Marianelli’s music

strikes all the right chords. Mia Wasikowska is a perfect Jane

for this fi lm and this moment.”

- A.O. SCOTT,

For up-to-the-minute screening information and more on this extraordinary fi lm, go to: www.FocusAwards2011.com

OFFICERS - 2011/2012

Michael GoiPresident

Richard CrudoVice President

Owen RoizmanVice President

John C. Flinn IIIVice President

Victor J. KemperTreasurer

Frederic GoodichSecretary

Stephen LighthillSergeant At Arms

MEMBERS OF THEBOARDJohn Bailey

Stephen H. BurumRichard Crudo

George Spiro DibieRichard Edlund

Fred ElmesMichael Goi

Victor J. KemperFrancis Kenny

Isidore MankofskyRobert Primes

Owen Roizman Kees Van Oostrum

Haskell WexlerVilmos Zsigmond

ALTERNATESMichael D. O’Shea

Rodney TaylorRon GarciaSol Negrin

Kenneth Zunder

MUSEUM CURATORSteve Gainer

American Society of Cine ma tog ra phersThe 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 — a mark

of prestige and excellence.

Come visit our showroom or call for our latest Magliner product catalogWe are the largest retailer specializing in Magliner customized products and accessories for the Film and Television Industry in the world

6

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY HOYTE VAN HOYTEMA, F.S.F., N.S.C.

TINKER TAIL0R S0LDIER SPYFor up-to-the-minute screening information and more on this extraordinary film, go to: www.FocusAwards2011.com

THRILLING AND MOVING FROM THE FIRST FRAME TO THE INSPIRED CLOSING MONTAGE.The greys and browns that dominate the film – thanks to the sterling work from Director of Photography Hoyte Van Hoytema – perfectly capture 1970s Britain. The attention to detail is really quite extraordinary. Grade: A.

—OLIVER LYTTELTON, INDIEWIRE

Hollywood remakes of successful European films may varyin quality, but The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is moreintriguing than most. Director David Fincher has alreadyproven his affinity for crime dramas with Seven, The Gameand Zodiac, and his previous collaborations with JeffCronenweth, ASC produced the equally compellingdramas Fight Club and The Social Network.

On Dragon Tattoo, Cronenweth was a late replace-ment for the project’s original cinematographer, and hequickly found himself confronting extreme weather whileshooting on location in Sweden. “Overall, the weather inNorthern Europe made for the biggest challenge,”Cronenweth tells Jay Holben (“Cold Case,” page 32).

“We experienced severe winter storms as well as a very hot summer in Sweden. The cold wasthe hardest, though.”

Janusz Kaminski and Steven Spielberg also faced challenges on the World War I dramaWar Horse,which features battle sequences staged on an abandoned airfield in Surrey,England. Further complicating the filmmakers’ mission was the fact that the movie’s hero isa horse. As Kaminski tells Patricia Thomson (“Animal Instincts,” page 48), a big part of hisjob was to convey the animal’s feelings and make him seem larger than life. “Truly, when youlook at a horse, there are no emotions in its eyes,” he observes. “We were glorifying Joey alittle through lighting and composition. We were always trying to place the light so that hiscoat would reflect it, and so it would create glints in his eyes.”

Barry Ackroyd, BSC lends a Shakespearean dimension to war with Coriolanus, whichplaced its director and star, Ralph Fiennes, squarely in the line of fire. “I like to have the confi-dence of the director, and I knew that with Ralph directing and acting in the film, he had tobe able to trust that I’d give him what he wanted,” Ackroyd tells Iain Stasukevich (“Lord ofWar,” page 62).

For those of you trying to keep pace with evolving digital workflows, AC technicaleditor Christopher Probst surveys some of the current systems and solutions (“Go with theFlow,” page 74). “In today’s industry, which finds digital-imaging tools introduced andsupplanted with head-spinning frequency, workflows are evolving in new ways and at break-neck speeds,” Probst notes. “Each step on this path is slippery enough to cause stumbles,either through human error or through the loss of information as image data is transferredand/or translated…. For cinematographers, trying to stay abreast of current technologiesrequires a much broader understanding of workflows than ever before.”

Stephen PizzelloExecutive Editor

Editor’s Note

Phot

o by

Ow

en R

oizm

an, A

SC.

8

As another year kicks off, the challenges facing those who desire to pursue a career in film-making seem greater than ever. Technology continues to shift and evolve, the economy hasmade even low-budget movies a risk for investors, and websites that facilitate the illegal view-ing or downloading of films and television shows are making it difficult to get more daringprojects financed. When studios or producers cannot earn a profit from the work they create,budgets get smaller, and the kinds of projects that are approved get “safer.”

Lifting copyrighted material became popular when sampling exploded on the music sceneand was legitimized as a form of artistic expression. That opened the door to lifting images aswell, and subsequently entire movies. Such piracy has so infiltrated the mentality of the publicthat the suggestion that it’s wrong is met with dismissive sneers. If it’s out there, it’s mine. Whyshould I have to pay for it?

How does this affect cinematography? In many ways. Most of the pirate sites do notdisplay images in anything remotely like optimum conditions. The images might have been“ripped” onto someone’s laptop from a DVD that was created by someone crouching in amovie theater with a small digital camera. The images might be highly compressed sugges-tions of what they actually were. They may have been reproduced through excessive copyingand duping until they no longer reflect the creators’ intent in any form.

When someone experiences a visual work of art for the first time, they will never again beable to relive that emotional moment of discovery. It is gone forever. Yes, they may have

“seen” the movie, but they have not experienced it to its fullest, the way its creators intended. Digital piracy is a huge international operation. It’s not just some guy in his garage with a DVD burner. In some countries,

major producers and stars provide pirates with digital masters of their films, because the financial kickbacks they receive are morethan they would earn from conventional means. This leads to a lack of concern about preservation. Why should a producer pay toproperly store materials when there is no chance of monetizing the product in the future because unauthorized copies are floodingthe market? Many thousands of movies could be lost forever.

Please don’t support torrent sites that show pirated material, and please don’t buy cheap bootlegged DVDs of current movies.And I ask you to talk to your friends who do. Let them know that, beyond the momentary satisfaction of seeing something “first”or for free, they are effectively altering the kinds of movies that will be made in the future; they are helping to ruin the im mersivecinematic experience for many others; and the movies that they love might not be available to them in the future in versions th atare better than adequate.

The history of cinema is a legacy of an audience emotionally bonding with the work of a group of artists, of creating memo-ries that mold our perception of the world. The considerable negative impact digital piracy has on the profitability of the ind ustry ismatched by its negative impact on our love of the movies. Remember how you felt when you saw Frodo sail away at the end ofThe Lord of The Rings: Return Of The King, or the swell of emotion you felt at the climax of The King’s Speech,or the thrill of watch-ing Bruce Willis get the bad guys in Die Hard? Then do your part to make sure that future audiences can also experience those cine-matic highs.

Michael Goi, ASCPresident

President’s Desk

10 January 2012 American Cinematographer

Phot

o by

Ow

en R

oizm

an, A

SC.

WWW.WARNERBROS2011 . COM Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R.

C O N S I D E R . . .

“THE CINEMATOGRAPHY FROM EDUARDO SERRA IS ONCE AGAIN

RICHLY OMINOUS AND BEAUTIFULLY BLEAK.”C H R I S T Y L E M I R E ,

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHYEDUARDO SERRA, A.S.C., A.F.C.


Through a Glass BrightlyBy Iain Stasukevich

Steve Romano’s cinematography jobs have taken him tomany far-flung locales, but for String Theory, the grand-prize winnerat the International Cinematographers Guild’s 2011 Emerging Cine-matographer Awards, he and director Zach Gold never left Gold’sstudio in Brooklyn in their quest to capture the big ideas surroundinga girl (Evelina Mambetova) who experiences rifts in her reality.

String Theory is the latest in a series of fashion-focused shortsby Gold, and it uses A.F. Vandervorst’s 2010 collection as its spring-board. According to Romano, Gold and producer/stylist DavidDumas, who also served as art director, wanted a film that was beau-tiful and haunting, with serene moments interrupted by jarringimages.

“My job as a director of photography is to act according tothe vision of the directors, including the art director,” Romanoobserves. “You’re enhancing what they created, and you have tomake them feel welcome in the process.”

Romano, who also works as a Phantom camera technician,supplied the production with a Phantom HD Gold camera, Leica

prime lenses (re-housed by Van Diemen Broadcast) and most of thesmall lighting package, including a couple of 2x2 Kino Flos, a 10KFresnel, a 5K Fresnel and a handful of 2K scoops.

The girl is introduced in a dusty, windowless room lit bydozens of warm practical lamps. She kneels, motionless, on apedestal, covered in what looks like a fine layer of silt; a soft toplight(a diffused 1K) separates her from the background. In the next shot,she comes to life and shakes off the silt, which cascades off her skinin slow motion.

The filmmakers shot Mambetova’s movements at 1,000 fps,recording to 512 GB CineMags. “We had to match the light for therest of the scene, but with something like 5 times more light,” saysRomano. “We made sure the light was coming from the sameangles as in the previous shot, but we concentrated the light on herinstead of the whole set.”

To boost the light level for the slow-motion shot, a Mole 10Kgelled with 1⁄2 CTO, Opal and 216 was positioned above the actress.

“There are no super-wide high-speed shots in the film,”notes Romano, who used tighter compositions to hide the limitedamount of light available at advanced frame rates. “Having a reallygood gaffer helps. Christian Ern was our gaffer and lighting director,

Short Takes

Phot

os a

nd fr

ame

grab

s co

urte

sy o

f Ste

ve R

oman

o.

A shock trooper shatters a girl’s fragile reality at 1,000 fps in String Theory. The short earned cinematographer Steve Romano the grand prize at the International Cinematographers Guild’s 2011 Emerging Cinematographer Awards.

I

and he is quite knowledgeable, so I didn’thave to be entirely specific about the light-ing needs for each shot.”

As the girl starts to explore hersurroundings, she is lit primarily with thepracticals. For fill and accents, Romano usedthe 2x2 Kino heads behind sheets of 1⁄2CTO, Opal and 250 diffusion. For a shotshowing the girl using an airbrush to drenchan orchid in a coat of red paint, and anothershowing her contemplating a table coveredin knickknacks, the Kinos served as close,soft keylights.

Romano used a variety of differentframe rates throughout the film. “I try to erron the side of giving people more frames[than needed],” he says. “You can alwaysgo to 24 fps in post, and you can ramp yourshots in post. However, you get a slightlydifferent 24-fps look when you originate inhigh speed because you’re using a narrowershutter angle — about 1⁄2,000 of a second.You get a sharper image and choppier play-back.”

In another scene, the girl is bathed ina light that matches the blood-red color ofthe orchid, and off-camera fans blow herhair and garments in billowing ripples.Initially, Romano shot the scene at 1,000 fpswith red gels on four overhead 2K scoops,but he soon noticed a problem with imagesoftness. “We couldn’t get good focus onour subject,” he says. “Light moves veryslowly at the red end of the spectrum.”

He finished shooting the scene withthe red gel, then removed the gels andreshot the scene with diffused, uncoloredtungsten light. “Because the whole shotwas red, we could add the color [in post],and that way the shots could be in focus,”he explains. “I was on another job recentlywhere we came across the same issue, butred wasn’t the only color of light in theframe. If you have a mix of light, you can’treally cheat it.”

In another corner of the girl’s reality,she finds a wood box with geometricshapes cut into its side. Peering into a seam,she sees that the inside of the box is linedwith mirrors, reflecting to infinity on allsides, and contains a small swarm of butter-flies.

To capture the girl’s point of view, thefilmmakers constructed a scaled-up box inwhich only the bottom and one of the four

Top: String Theory begins in a dusty room where a girl (Evelina Mambetova) sits motionless and covered in a layer of silt. Middle: Awaking, the girl shakes off the silt; the action was captured at

1,000 fps. Bottom: The girl explores her strange surroundings.


WWW .WA RNERB RO S2011 .COM

F O R Y O U R C O N S I D E R A T I O N

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHYTOM STERN, A.F.C., A.S.C.

“IN THE MUTED, ARTFULLY MURKY IMAGES OFCINEMATOGRAPHER TOM STERN, HOOVER IS TRULY

A MAN IN THE SHADOWS.” R I C H A R D C O R L I S S ,


sides were actual mirrors. The top and theother three sides were panes of two-wayglass. Romano pointed his camera throughone of the two-way mirrors and lit the boxthrough the other two-way mirrors with a5K Fresnel.

Romano shot the box at a T1.6, butit was still difficult to get enough light. "ThePhantom HD Gold is rated at 250 ASA,which I estimate to be less, and each paneof two-way glass blocked as much as 1½stops of light from both the lens and thelamps," he says. "Further complicatingmatters, hot lamps can have an adverseeffect on butterflies, so I didn’t shoot above30 fps. On the tighter shots, we removedthe top glass, moved the light in a bit closerand were able to shoot at 200 fps.

“If we’d shot it on the [Phantom]Flex, we would have had 2½ more stops oflight sensitivity,” he reflects. “I could alsoget a lot more light [without heat] fromsome of the newer LED lights we havetoday.

“Doing a lot of bug photography,I’ve learned there are things you can do toget bugs to move, but heat will make themstop,” he continues. “We had to turn thelights off, cool them down and keep the topof the box off for a while. Once the butter-flies get over it, you put the top back on,crank the lights up and shoot. No butterflieswere harmed in the making of this picture,

Top, left and right:Shooting at 1,000

fps while fansbillowed

Mambetova’sclothing and hair,

Romano gelled hislights red beforedeciding to do a

second takewithout the gels

and apply thecolor in post.

Bottom: StringTheory is the latest

fashion-focusedfilm from director

Zach Gold, this oneinspired by A.F.

Vandervorst’s 2010collection.


by the way.”In one of the film’s most stylized

sequences, Mambetova stands in a Plexiglastank that covers her torso, and it’s full ofbutterflies. Shooting against a white back-ground, Romano toplit the actress with aheavily diffused 10K Fresnel and aimed twoNine-light Maxi-Brutes at the background.Once the butterflies were in the tank, thefilmmakers sat back and waited for some-thing to happen.

“Bugs, puppies and little kids arearduous to photograph because there’s noway you can corral them,” says the cine-matographer. “The beauty of the Phantomis its circular buffer. When you shootanything above 450 fps at 1920x1080 onthe Phantom HD Gold, as long as thecamera is on, you’re always recording intoits internal circular memory buffer. If you usewhat’s called a ‘post-trigger,’ you can hit therecord button after the action is done, andyou’ve got the shot. At 1,000 fps, you get4.4 seconds of data [in the internalmemory], approximately 2.7 minutes offootage.”

The girl’s reality is literally shattered— at 1,000 fps — when shock troopers inriot gear crash through her reflection in amirror. To give the shot a harsh look,Romano used thinner diffusion on the 10Kand 5K.

“We were fighting the light in thatscene,” he recalls. “It wasn’t a front-surfacemirror, so I was getting two reflections frommy light sources: one from the glass andone from the mirrored surface behind theglass. It took a bit of finesse to get it right —a combination of the mirror angle, diffusionand precise cutting of the light.”

String Theory’s trippy imagespresented Romano with some creativeopportunities he hadn’t encounteredbefore. “When David Dumas first describedthis film to me, I have to admit I really didn’tunderstand it,” he says. “While we wereshooting, I started to see what he and Zachwere going for, and now I’m reallyimpressed with every part of it.” ●

Top and middle: Romano depended on the Phantom HD Gold camera’s internal memory buffer tocapture stylized sequences with live butterflies. Bottom: The cinematographer finds his light.

WWW.WARNERBROS2011 . C OM


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHYCHRIS MENGES


Trouble in ParadiseBy David Heuring

The Descendants, Alexander Payne’s latest collaborationwith Phedon Papamichael, ASC, is a family-centered dramainfused with the chaotic relationships and dark humor thatmoviegoers have come to expect from the director who alsomade Sideways, About Schmidt (AC Jan. ’03) and Election.

The story takes place in Hawaii, where a successful lawyer,Matt King (George Clooney), must reconnect with his daughters,Alexandra (Shaine Woodley) and Scottie (Amara Miller), after hiswife suffers an accident and falls into a coma. When Alexandrareveals that his wife was cheating on him, King sets out to trackdown her lover. His journey, which coincides with his need tomake a decision about a family estate on Kauai of which he isthe sole trustee, leads him to face some hard truths about loveand family.

Papamichael recently spoke with AC about his creativepartnership with Payne, which began with Sideways and contin-

ued to evolve on The Descendants. American Cinematographer: Tell us why your

collaboration with Alexander Payne works. Phedon Papamichael, ASC: We have a great collabora-

tion, despite the fact that we aren’t always on the same pageaesthetically. My main thing is that I really want to serve thedirector. Some cinematographers really want to put their ownimprint on a project to some degree. I certainly express my opin-ions, but I very much enjoy helping a director get what hewants. I’m not always determined to convince the director thatthere is a different way of going about it; I get satisfaction fromfinding out what somebody likes and giving that to them. It’simportant to me that I don’t turn it into my thing. I want to getto the bottom of what makes a director tick.

How do you discover that?Papamichael: Preproduction is the most important thing

in that regard. I start by discovering what kind of movies thedirector likes. That gives me some insight into how he likes totell stories. Alexander and I don’t shotlist or storyboard. We

Production Slate

The

Des

cend

ants

phot

os b

y M

erie

Wei

smill

er W

alla

ce, S

MPS

P, c

ourt

esy

of F

ox S

earc

hlig

ht.

From left: Matt King (Clooney) and his daughters, Scottie (Amara Miller) and Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) walk the beach with A lexandra’s boyfriend, Sid (Nick Krause), as Matt searches for his wife’s lover in The Descendants.

I


spend a lot of time cooking pasta, drink-ing wine and watching movies!

How did you arrive at a visualstyle for The Descendants?

Papamichael: We saw a uniqueopportunity to show Honolulu as it israrely, if ever, shown in cinema: notglamorized or idealized. It’s a modernAmerican city with traffic jams andskyscrapers, and a few miles away,there’s an almost absurdly bizarre andbeautiful tropical paradise. There’s anextreme contrast in wealth and poverty.Go up the coast 30 miles, and you’ll seenative people living in tent cities. Wedidn’t want to be too obvious about it,but these contrasts are some of thethemes we wanted to represent visually.

The look of the movie is prettystraightforward. It’s all about the perfor-mances and the intimacy of the charac-

ters, and the photography was designedin part to be unobtrusive. Alexander hasa very particular visual style that reflectshis point of view. I suggested that we go widescreen because I thought it wasvery important to feel the power of theland, and to make the power of naturevery present visually. The landscapes arejuxtaposed with tight, claustrophobicinteriors.

So you shot Super 35mm?Papamichael: We shot 3-perf

Super 35mm with the Panaflex Platinumand Primo prime and 4:1 and 11:1 zoomlenses.I used a ½ [Tiffen] Black Pro-Miston the lens throughout to take a little ofthe sharpness off. Alexander likes theimage to have a bit of texture; he alwayswants it to look a little like an older film.We used Kodak Vision3 [500T] 5219 fornight scenes and [200T] 5213 for day

interiors and day exteriors.I used polariz-ers and definitely went for the lushness,the color and saturation of the land.

Our second-unit cinematographer,Radan Popovic, traveled around collect-ing a huge amount of images — graphicshots of buildings, traffic, people on thestreets and at the beach, and landscapesin Kauai — and quite a few of themended up in the film.

Did you go with natural lighton all the exteriors?

Papamichael: Yes. I almost neverlight electrically on exteriors, and it waschallenging on this film because the lightand the weather change so rapidly inHawaii. It would very often go from darkskies to rain to full sun within minutes.That affected the interiors as well. Therewere a lot of fluctuations that presentedchallenges for me, and also for our DIcolorist at Modern VideoFilm, Joe Finley,and the dailies timer at FotoKem, KaySievert. Alexander had never done a DIbefore, and it was fun to show him thecapabilities.

What was your approach tointeriors?

Papamichael: Inside I stuck to myusual approach: all big sources, very

Top left: The crew films the long walk-and-talk on the beach. Top right and bottom: Matt and his

daughters view their family property on Kauai.


natural-looking. I like to make sure theaudience is never really aware of thesource. I don’t want the image to lookstylized or ‘lit.’ I use all the windowsources, and the motivation is alwayscorrect — you’ll never see me do twopeople opposite each other, both backlit.

We were dealing with a lot ofcontrast on this movie, especially in theinteriors that opened out to views of thesea. There was a huge range of exposure.We used the full 16 stops of the 5213!Our goal was to try to bring the levels upinside without it looking lit, and to try tocontrol the exteriors with big guns —18Ks that were either bounced orpushed through big 12-bys. We usedHalf Grid, Full Grid and, if we bounced,bleached muslin or Ultrabounce. We alsomade extensive use of Daylight Bluebounces. I started using them on 3:10 to

Yuma [AC Oct. ’07] and found that theylook very natural. It’s a little closer to thelook of blue skies, and it feels like anatural bounce off the water. For close-ups outside, we often handheld 4-by-8sor 4-by-4s and had people walking withwhite or Daylight Blue bounce.

What kind of set does Paynemaintain?

Papamichael: Alexander createsan intimate atmosphere. It’s very impor-tant to him that everyone feels the film-making process is not a machine, andthat we are not making a product. Heliterally knows the name of every driverand every security guard on the first day.We didn’t have hordes of hair-and-makeup people, and last touches wereforbidden. We were just making thissmall film in a very genuine way. Therewas no video village and no video assist.

On the set, we had the operator, theassistant, the boom operator, the actorsand Alexander. His style is very economi-cal. There was usually a brief conversa-tion about how we were going to coverthe scene, and then we usually did threeto seven takes. Everyone was open toreacting to what the actors did andtaking advantage of the moment. Wecrafted it piece by piece. It’s the kind offilmmaking I really like to do.

You’ve got another intimatedrama in theaters now, too,Clooney’s Ides of March.

Papamichael: On big-budgetstudio projects, you can get some satis-faction from pulling off this giganticenterprise, but on a movie like TheDescendants, you feel like you’ve told apiece of the story every day. I like beingable to bounce back and forth betweenlarge and small projects, but movies likeThe Descendants and Ides of March are alittle closer to my heart.

TECHNICAL SPECS

2.40:13-perf Super 35mmPanaflex PlatinumPanavision PrimoKodak Vision3 500T 5219, 200T 5213Digital Intermediate

➣

Top left: As twocousins (Michael

Ontkean, left, andBeau Bridges) look

on, Matt prepares todecide the future of

the family estate.Top right, clockwisefrom left: B-camera

1st AC Richard Brock,A-camera operator

Scott Sakamoto,director Alexander

Payne andcinematographer

Phedon Papamichael,ASC line up a shot.

Bottom: Papamichaelchecks the exposure.

ASC to Honor Spinotti, Wages, Kenny, Godfrey

The ASC will recognize three of itsmembers and one associate memberwith honorary awards at the 26thAnnual ASC Awards for OutstandingAchievement in Cinematography, whichwill take place Feb. 12 in the Grand Ball-room at Hollywood & Highland in LosAngeles.

Dante Spinotti, ASC, AIC, willreceive the Lifetime Achievement Award;William Wages, ASC, will receive theCareer Achievement in Television Award;Francis Kenny, ASC, will receive the Pres-idents Award; and ASC associate FredGodfrey will receive the Bud StoneAward of Distinction, an honor that isnew this year.

Spinotti began his cinematogra-phy career working in the televisionindustry in his native Italy. His first U.S.feature was Michael Mann’s Manhunter(1986), and his numerous stateside cred-its include The Last of the Mohicans(ACDec. ’92), Beaches, Heat (AC Jan. ’96),L.A. Confidential (AC Oct. ’97), WonderBoys, The Insider (AC June ’00), FamilyMan, Red Dragon (AC Oct. ’02) and therecent release Tower Heist.

Spinotti earned ASC Award nomi-nations for The Last of the Mohicans,L.A. Confidential and The Insider, and healso earned Oscar nominations for thelatter two pictures.

Wages counts more than 50 tele-vision projects, commercials and docu-mentaries among his credits. He has wonASC Awards twice, for Riders of the

Purple Sage (AC May ’97) and BuffaloSoldiers (AC May ’98), and earned sixmore nominations from the Society forGore Vidal’s Lincoln (AC April ’89); Caro-line? (AC May ’91); Voices Within: TheLives of Truddi Chase, Part 2 (AC May’91); I’ll Fly Away (pilot, AC May ’92);The Moving of Sophia Myles (AC May’01);and Miss Lettie and Me.

Wages has also earned two Emmynominations, for Buffalo Soldiers andInto the West (AC June ’05). His recentcredits include the series Burn Notice,episodes of Big Love and the pilot forSaving Grace. He is also renowned incinematography circles for the tools hehas devised on sets over the years,including Wag Bags and Wag Flags.

Kenny began his career volunteer-ing on documentary crews. His featurecredits include Heathers, Scary Movie,New Jack City, She’s All That and ClassAct, and he is currently shooting the FXseries Justified (AC March ’11).He hasbeen the chairman of the ASC Member-ship Committee for 10 years, and he iscurrently serving his second term on theSociety’s Board of Governors.

Godfrey is the first recipient of theASC Bud Stone Award of Distinction,named for the late Burton “Bud” Stone,who was president of Deluxe Laborato-ries in Hollywood from 1976-1994 andserved as chairman of the ASC AwardsCommittee for 17 years. Godfrey’scareer in the industry began in a Holly-wood warehouse that stored Kodakmotion-picture film, and it wasn’t longbefore he became a customer-servicerepresentative at Kodak’s local office. Heserved as a liaison between the companyand cinematographers until he retired in1986.

ASC honorees and all ASC Awardnominees in competitive categories(Feature Release, TV Series and Tele-film/Pilot) will be invited to meet thepublic at the ASC Open House Feb. 11 atthe Clubhouse, 1782 N. Orange Dr., LosAngeles. Admission is free.

For more information on the ASCAwards and the Open House, visitwww.theasc.com or call 323-969-4333.


Clockwise from top-left: ASC LifetimeAchievement Award recipient Dante Spinotti,ASC, AIC; Presidents Award recipient Francis

Kenny, ASC; ASC associate Fred Godfrey, recipientof the Bud Stone Award of Distinction; and

Career Achievement in Television Award recipientWilliam Wages, ASC.

I

➣ Spin

otti

pho

to b

y Fr

ank

Con

nor.

Ken

ny p

hoto

by

Ow

en R

oizm

an, A

SC. G

odfr

ey p

hoto

by

Dou

glas

Kir

klan

d. W

ages

pho

to c

ourt

esy

of W

ages

.


RELEASED BY TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX. COPYRIGHT © 2011 TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHYEMMANUEL LUBEZKI ASC, AMC

foxsearchlight.com/fyc

“Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki relies on hand-held camerawork.It gets at the intimacy within a family, a household. But it is also remarkably fluid,

capturing the flow of existence – this family’s, our universe’s.”

Lisa Kennedy,


HPA Celebrates Post Industry, IndividualsBy Jon D. Witmer

The stars of Hollywood’s postcommunity gathered Nov. 10 at the SkirballCultural Center for the sixth annual Holly-wood Post Alliance Awards, which celebrateoutstanding talent and achievement acrossa number of post disciplines. The judgesincluded ASC President Michael Goi; Societymembers Frederic Goodich, Daryn Okadaand Robert Primes; and associate membersLou Levinson, Leon Silverman (president ofthe HPA) and Garrett Smith.

One of the evening’s themes was theever-changing post landscape. “You couldsay there have been some pretty turbulentand challenging times in postproductionthese days, and there’s no doubt that thereare changes and challenges ahead,” musedSilverman, the general manager of digitalstudio for Walt Disney Studios, who servedas host of the ceremony. “But it is thiscommunity that has always led throughchange.

“Our industry demands a fleetness ofmind and spirit that allows us to survive andsometimes even thrive in times of radicalchange,” Silverman continued. “We havetruly gone from the cutting block to theclouds, and I’m looking forward to where

we go next together.”Journalist and HPA Awards Commit-

tee Chair Carolyn Giardina joined Okadaonstage to present the HPA Judges Awards,which recognize creativity and innovation inpost. One award was presented to TestronicLaboratories for the File-Based QC Lab, andthe other was presented to ASC associateSteven J. Scott of EFilm for the digital-inter-mediate environment employed on TerrenceMalick’s The Tree of Life (AC Aug. ’11).Accepting the award, Scott noted, “Iremember the first time I sat in a theater andwas even aware of cinematography. It wasat the Fox Village in Westwood, and themovie was Days of Heaven . I was dazzled.To think that someday I would have a part inhelping that director realize his artistic visiononscreen is still hard for me to grasp, but I’mvery, very grateful.

“Most of all, thanks to the cine-matographer, [Emmanuel] ‘Chivo’ Lubezki[ASC, AMC], for caring so much about hiswork and the work of everyone aroundhim,” Scott continued. “He lifts us all withhis unyielding quest for beauty, authenticityand truth in the images he [shoots].”

The NAB Show sponsored the Engi-neering Excellence Award, which, Silvermanexplained, “is a celebration of the increasingrole of technology and its impact on thecreative process.” Awards in this category

were presented to four companies: DolbyLaboratories won one for the Dolby PRM-4200 Professional Reference Monitor,which is capable of displaying the fulldynamic range, contrast ratio and colorgamut of film stocks and professional digi-tal cameras; Sony Professional Solutions ofAmerica won for its Organic Light-EmittingDiode technology for reference monitors;IBM won for the Linear Tape File System,which provides a simple and cost-efficientmethod for managing large-scale dataarchives; and Lightcraft Technology earnedan award for Previzion, the company’s real-time on-set compositing system.

Goi presented the awards forOutstanding Color Grading with producerTodd London. “Today more than ever,” saidGoi, “the collaboration and cooperationbetween preproduction, production andpostproduction is vital in our industry. Infact, cinematographers are spending somuch time in postproduction you wouldalmost think we were getting paid for thattime.”

The awards for color grading werepresented to Steven J. Scott of EFilm, forThe Help; Tim Vincent of LaserPacific, forMad Men, “Blowing Smoke”; and SiggyFerstl of Company 3, for Nissan, “Zero.”Ferstl was also nominated for ESPN, “ArthurAshe Award for Courage.”

“My biggest thanks … must go toStephen Goldblatt [ASC, BSC],” said Scott.“His raw footage was my greatest inspira-tion. His cinematic accomplishments areobvious enough on the screen, but I’mparticularly grateful for the man behind thecamera.”

Also nominated for OutstandingColor Grading were ASC associate StefanSonnenfeld of Company 3, for Transform-ers: Dark of the Moon , Sucker Punch andJameson, “Fire”; ASC associate Dave Coleof LaserPacific, for Tron: Legacy; NatashaLeonnet of EFilm, for Love and Other Drugs;Kevin O’Connor of Deluxe Media Services,for Too Big to Fail; Tom Sartori of FotoKem,for Breaking Bad, “Box Cutter”; AidanFarrell of The Farm Group for Carnival Film& Television, for Downton Abbey, “Series 1Episode 1”; Sean Coleman of Company 3,for Nike, “Chosen”; Tom Poole ofCompany 3 NY, for Jack Daniels, “As Amer-ican As”; Chris Ryan of Nice Shoes, for

HPA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Cyril Drabinsky (left) celebrates with HPA President Leon Silverman.

HPA

Aw

ards

pho

tos

by R

yan

Mill

er, c

ourt

esy

of C

aptu

re I

mag

ing.

I

CHANGE YOUR GAME

“‘MONEYBALL’ RENEWS YOUR BELIEF IN THE POWER OF MOVIES.”

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL JOE MORGENSTERN

“IMBUED WITH EVOCATIVE PHOTOGRAPHYBY CINEMATOGRAPHER WALLY PFISTER.”

SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS RANDY MYERS

B ES T P IC TU R EB E ST C I N E M ATO G R A P H Y WA L LY P F I ST E R , AS C



American Express, “Curtain”; and TimMasick of Company 3 NY, for Converse,“The Procession.”

Outstanding Editing awards, spon-sored by Avid Technology, were presentedto Angus Wall, ACE and Kirk Baxter, ACE,for The Social Network ; John Wilson, ACEof Carnival Film & Television, for DowntonAbbey, “Series 1 Episode 1”; and ChrisFranklin of Big Sky Editorial, for AmericanExpress, “Curtain.”

Outstanding Sound awards werepresented to John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff andRick Kline of Warner Bros. Post ProductionServices and Per Hallberg and Karen BakerLanders of Soundelux, for Green Lantern;Brad North, Joe DeAngelis, Luis Galdamesand Jackie Oster of Universal Studios Sound,for House, “Bombshells”; and David Brolinof Universal Studios Sound and Bill Neil ofBuddha Jones Trailers, for Dream House,“Trailer #1.”

Outstanding Compositing awardswere presented to Jeff Sutherland, JasonBillington, Chris Balog and Ben O’Brien ofIndustrial Light & Magic, for Transformers:Dark of the Moon ; Paul Graff, Brian Sales,Merysa Nichols and Jesse Siglow of CrazyHorse Effects, Inc., for Boardwalk Empire,“Boardwalk Empire”; and Dan Glass,Gabby Gourrier, Chris Bankoff and Jeff

Willette of Method Studios, for Jameson,“Fire.”

The show culminated in the presen-tation of the Lifetime Achievement Awardto ASC associate Cyril Drabinsky, presidentand CEO of Deluxe Entertainment ServicesGroup, Inc. Drabinsky’s career in the indus-try began at Cineplex Odeon Corp., wherehe served as senior vice president of distrib-ution and affairs. In 1987, he became pres-ident of the Cineplex Odeon-owned FilmHouse laboratories in Toronto, which waspurchased by the Rank Organization in1990, the same year Rank bought DeluxeLaboratories from 20th Century Fox.Drabinsky transitioned into operations forDeluxe, and in 1995 he was named presi-dent of Deluxe Laboratories North America.In 2001, Drabinsky was named president ofDeluxe Laboratories Worldwide. In 2006,MacAndrews & Forbes acquired Deluxe,and Drabinsky was appointed to his currentposition.

Silverman kicked off the presenta-tion of the Lifetime Achievement Award,noting Drabinsky’s ties to the late Burton“Bud” Stone, a former president of Deluxe.“Following in the hard-to-fill shoes of oneof my own heroes, and one of those trulylarger-than-life industry legends, the incom-parable Bud Stone, Cyril took the reins atDeluxe and not only made the role his own,but [also] set our entire industry on its pathto the future,” said Silverman. “Over thecourse of his career, Cyril has earned therespect and admiration of his peers,competitors, clients and employees.”

The sentiment was echoed by TomSherak, president of the Academy ofMotion Picture Arts and Sciences, and TedGagliano, president of feature postproduc-tion at 20th Century Fox. “In a businesswhere it’s an Olympic sport to talk dirtabout people, I could not find an uncleanword spoken about Cyril,” said Gagliano.

Addressing Drabinsky directly,Gagliano continued, “I honestly can say Icould not do my job without you. And thisroom is filled with people from every studioand every film company who feel the sameway. You’re too young to get a lifetimeachievement award, so let’s just call this apit stop and let’s recommit ourselves toanother 20 years together in what is still thebest damn business in the world.”

Ronald Perelman, chairman and CEOof MacAndrews & Forbes, offered a fewprerecorded remarks before Barry Schwartz,MacAndrews & Forbes’ executive vice chair-man and chief administrative officer,stepped to the microphone. “I have seen[Drabinsky’s] vision and his determinationtransform Deluxe from its role [as a] filmprocessor to a postproduction juggernaut,”said Schwartz. “Cyril has also surroundedhimself with a team that reflects theirleader: confident, inspired and loyal to eachother and the industry they serve so well.”

“One of Cyril’s many, many, manyqualities is his ability to be so incrediblyhumble about his achievements,” addedWarren Stein, COO of Deluxe EntertainmentServices Group. “In all the year’s I’ve knownCyril, I’ve never heard him start a sentencewith the words ‘I did this’ or ‘I did that’ or‘Look what I’ve done.’ It’s always ‘we.’”

“He understands the pressure thathe puts on us, but he also understands thatwe are human beings,” enthused ASC asso-ciate Beverly Wood, executive vice presidentof technical services and client relations forDeluxe’s EFilm. “A boss like Cyril sets anexample for an entire organization.”

“Lifetime achievement,” marveledDrabinsky when he stepped to the stage.“That’s something that can give you pause,in part because you feel like you’re justgetting started, and in part because it makesyou look back on how everything’s changed— and keeps changing. That’s what I loveabout this business: it changes every day.You never sit still; you manage your risk andkeep moving forward.

“There are times I wonder what BudStone would say if he’d seen our transfor-mation,” Drabinsky continued. “If not forBud, I wouldn’t be standing here…. Hetaught me the Hollywood film industry, andnobody understood it like him, because heknew what it comes down to is communi-cating with the customer on a personallevel.

“The industry is in constant change,and nothing changes faster than technol-ogy,” he said. “At the end of the day, we tryto remember that these are just tools. Thejob every day is to make our clients’ visionconnect. I feel incredibly fortunate to be partof this fascinating business.” ●

ASC President Michael Goi (left) and producer ToddLondon (right) congratulate ASC associate Steven J.Scott on his award for Outstanding Color Grading.

for your CONSIDERATION★ ★ ★ ★

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHYPhedon Papamichael, ASC

“A sharp and scintillating lens on Washington run amok.”

Karen Durbin / ELLE


D avid Fincher has tackled some twisted tales over thecourse of his career, notably Seven (AC Oct. ’95), FightClub (AC Nov. ’97) and Zodiac (AC April ’06), but hislatest picture, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, could be

his most complicated narrative yet. Adapted from the firstbook in Swedish author Stieg Larsson’s wildly popular trilogy,the film follows Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), a renownedinvestigative journalist who accepts an unusual job offer afterhis journalism career is derailed by accusations of libel.Wealthy industrialist Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer)asks Blomkvist to solve a 40-year-old cold case, the disap-pearance of Vanger’s niece, Harriet, and in return Vanger will

David Fincher reteams with Jeff Cronenweth, ASC to remake

the Swedish hit The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

By Jay Holben

•|•

not only pay handsomely, but also help disprove the libel accu-sations against Blomkvist. During his investigation, whichreveals a number of sordid family secrets, Blomkvist teamswith young, eccentric hacker Lisbeth Salander (RooneyMara), whose eye-catching tattoo gives the story its title.

Larsson’s trilogy — The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, TheGirl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’sNest — was brought to the silver screen by Swedish filmmak-ers in 2009, and when Fincher began prepping his version ofDragon Tattoo, he was keen to retain its native elements byshooting extensively in Sweden and using a Swedish crew. “Itwas an aesthetic choice,” says Fincher. “We wanted it to lookand feel like a Swedish film, and I think it does. We werealready getting flak for doing a Hollywood version of the story,so we made a commitment to doing as much of the movie aspossible in Sweden, with a Swedish crew.”

That crew initially included a Swedish cinematogra-pher, but after a few weeks of shooting, Fincher decided tomake a change. He called Jeff Cronenweth, ASC, one of hislongtime collaborators, and asked him to take over.Cronenweth recalls, “I got a call at 6 in the morning, and it wasBob Wagner, David’s assistant director, asking how I wasdoing. I said, ‘I’m fine, Bob, but it’s 6 a.m., so this obviouslyisn’t a social call. What’s up?’ He said David and the cine-

Cold Case

www.theasc.com January 2012 33

matographer weren’t seeing eye-to-eye,and he asked if I was available to takeover.

“I gave it a lot of thought becauseit was a tough situation,” continues thecinematographer. “One doesn’t want toreplace someone else. It’s always unfor-tunate. I hadn’t been involved in theprep, and I was worried about commu-nication with the crew, thinking theymight resent me because I was replacingone of their own. But David and I goway back, we’ve worked together manytimes, and, luckily, we had discussed themovie before he embarked on it.Ultimately, the decision was not thathard, and it was really smooth sailing.The crew welcomed me with openarms.”

“It’s a difficult thing to walk ontosomeone else’s film, and Jeff didn’t agreeto it overnight,” says Fincher. “In retro-spect, I would have done it a differentway and not been so committed to theidea of an entirely Swedish production;I would have started with Jeff from thebeginning. I was really lucky he was ableto bail us out and that we got a chanceto work together again.”

The production was using the Pixsystem, an online project-managementplatform that facilitates instant access toreports, script changes and dailies, andwith it Cronenweth was able to view allof the footage that had been shot before

he arrived in Europe. He met with thekey production team in Zurich on aSaturday morning, and by the followingTuesday he was shooting in Stockholm.He recalls, “I had just come off acommercial in Miami, and suddenly Iwas out on the water in Stockholm,trying desperately to stay warm! It wasquite a shock to the system. Fortunately,[A-camera operator] David Worley wasthere, and he was a very familiar face. Ihad worked with him back on Alien3

[AC July ’92] with my dad [JordanCronenweth, ASC].

“We had a British grip andcamera crew and a Swedish electricaldepartment, and we all got on fantasti-cally,” he adds. “The first week wasreally just day-to-day, shooting based onwhat had already been decided andrescouting at night, but by the time wegot to the second week, I was up andrunning.”

Cronenweth was with theUni

t ph

otog

raph

y by

Bal

dur

Bra

gaso

n, P

atri

cia

Cas

tella

nos

and

Mer

rick

Mor

ton,

SM

PSP.

Pho

tos

and

fram

e gr

abs

cour

tesy

of C

olum

bia

Pict

ures

.

Opposite page: After agreeing to help a journalist investigate a decades-old disappearance, computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) is drawn into a much deeper mystery.

This page, top: The journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), meets with retired business executiveHenrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer). Bottom: Cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth, ASC surveys a

snowy setting on location.


production for more than 150 days of itsapproximately 160-day shoot, andbecause of script changes, he ended upreshooting several of the sequences thathad been filmed during the first week.

The ambitious production

involved locations in Sweden,Switzerland, Norway and England andstage work in Los Angeles. (Someminor process work was shot onstage inStockholm.) “We started in Stockholm,and then we spent two weeks in Zurich

before the Christmas break, and then Iwent back to Los Angeles and startedprelighting stages,” recalls Cronenweth.“After our holiday break, we shot forabout three months onstage in L.A.During that time, David and I plannedthe next phase of the shoot, and I gotthe same prep time as everyone elsebefore heading off to England for threeand a half weeks, and then back toSweden.

“Overall, the weather in NorthernEurope made for the biggest challenge,”he adds. “We experienced severe winterstorms as well as a very hot summer inSweden. The cold was the hardest,though.”

Fincher had used digital captureon his previous three features, Zodiac(shot by Harris Savides, ASC), TheCurious Case of Benjamin Button (shot byClaudio Miranda, ASC; AC Jan. ’09)and The Social Network (shot byCronenweth; AC Oct. ’10), and hedecided to do the same on DragonTattoo, selecting Red Ones upgradedwith the Mysterium-X sensor. Red’snew Epic was just becoming available,but using it as the main camera posedtoo many problems when the shootbegan, according to Cronenweth.

“At first we had a hard timegetting cards for the Epic,” he recalls.“In addition, at that time, all Epicfootage had to be sent directly to Redfor transcoding before it could be sent to

◗ Cold Case

The emotionally remote Lisbeth is isolated in the frame until she teams up with Blomkvist.


editorial, and we just weren’t comfort-able with that. But John Schwartzman[ASC] was working with the Epic onThe Amazing Spider-Man and helpingto pave the way. By the time theywrapped, RedRocket could handle theEpic footage, and Spider-Man hadmade a huge number of cards available,so we shot the last 20 percent of DragonTattoo with the Epic.

“We made sure not to switchcameras within a sequence,” he contin-ues. “Although the Epic has a lot moreresolution and slightly different colorrange than the One, the color is closeenough that we were confident all ourfootage would match.”

Indeed, at press time the digitalgrade was underway at Light Iron withcolorist Ian Vertovec ( The SocialNetwork), and Cronenweth reports that“matching between the two cameras hasbeen as seamless as anticipated. We’reworking with a Quantel Pablo 4Kcolor-correction system and a Sony 4Kprojector in a theater-type setting. We’rebasically just fine-tuning the originalfootage as captured on set, making somesubtle adjustments to better matchshot-to-shot within a scene, and doingsome repositioning.”

The filmmakers found one of theEpic’s most significant advantages to beits HDRx function, a simulated highdynamic range mode that enables asecondary, darker track of video to be

recorded, allowing for 1-5 stops ofselectable highlight bracketing via thesecondary, faster-shutter exposure track.“We used that to get about 3 more stopsof latitude,” says Cronenweth. “Itrecords on a separate track that’s a frame

off, and you then use software to sync itback. It really fills up the data cards bydoubling the recorded information, butfor certain situations it’s invaluable.

“We also like the fact that theEpic is smaller and lighter than the One

The production’s digital Red cameras were frequently required to capture low-light situations.


image, and with the Epic we had 5K towork with. We utilized the extra resolu-tion to create our own frame lines,smaller than what you get using theentire sensor. Actually, we did that withboth the One and the Epic, allowing

room for repositioning shots. For exam-ple, if an operator clipped an eyebrow ona tilt up, we had plenty of space tocorrect the composition. We also usedthe extra space created by the extra resolution to help stabilize many shots, including all the driving footagewe shot in Stockholm. The Epic givesyou much more information than youactually need, and that gives you moreflexibility.”

“I like the picture the Red givesme, the way it feels,” says Fincher.“Ultimately, that’s what people are talk-ing about when they say they prefer oneformat over another. When peoplespeak fondly of the anamorphic lensesfrom the 1970s, they’re talking about thefeeling they get from that certain kind ofimage. I like the Red One MX a lot —in fact, I wish we hadn’t switched to theEpic at the end of our shoot. There’snothing wrong with the Epic, but I sortof like the graininess of the MX[image]. It’s an aesthetic choice, not atechnical one.”

and doesn’t have that camera’s quirks,”continues the cinematographer. “Inaddition, you can overcrank up to 96 fpsand stay in 5K [resolution]. David alsolikes to have the option of manipulatingthe final composition or stabilizing the ➣

◗ Cold Case

Top: Banks offluorescent

fixtures augmentsource lamps fora dialogue scene

involvingPlummer and

Craig. Bottom:Cronenwethpractices his

bedside mannerduring a

hospital scene.

© K

odak

, 20

11. V

isio

n an

d Ko

dak

are

trad

emar

ks.

From Fincher’s perspective,perhaps the biggest advantage of theRed is its size. “Because it’s small, I feellike the filmmaking process itselfbecomes sort of intimate,” he says.“Filmmaking is a small circus — that’sthe nature of the beast — but I prefer tokeep it as intimate as possible. When

the mechanics become too consuming,it’s too easy to get distracted from thereal reason we’re there: to capture theactors’ performances. When the geargets too big, I feel like there’s a wallbetween my cast and me, and it’s hard toget around it to talk to them. I reallyprefer to have that relationship, that

connection, be immediate. How weshoot, where we shoot and what weshoot with all play a role in finessingthat relationship.”

Shooting with two camerassimultaneously and having the cine-matographer operate the B camera areusually part of the plan. “David hasalmost always worked that way,” saysCronenweth. “I was the B-camera oper-ator on Fight Club and Social Network,and Claudio [Miranda] was the B-camera operator on Benjamin Button.”

Fincher explains, “I try as muchas possible to put that second camera ina place where it will get me anothersetup that I actually need — I’m neverjust looking for gravy. It can be frustrat-ing for my cinematographer and toughfor lighting, but I’m going to challengehim to bring that second camera as fararound as possible, to not just stack [thecameras] and get a medium and close atthe same time. I’m going to shoot apretty wide and fairly disparate view. IfI can, I’ll do opposing coverage, 180degrees. That does make lighting tough,but sometimes getting those perfor-


◗ Cold Case

Top: The crewconfronted frigid

conditions onlocation in

Northern Europe.Bottom: Working

in the relativewarmth of a

soundstage inSweden, the crewsimulates the coldwhile setting up a

car shot.

our extendedfamily of lightweight

Optimo zoomsnow includes

45 – 120mm.

[email protected] • www.angenieux.com

The perfect portrait lens has finally arrived… 45-120mm Optimo zoom lens joins our award winning 15-40mm and 28-76mm family of hand-held lenses to provide a combined focal range of 15-120mm. They allow you to take fewer lenses on location without any sacrifice in performance – and without the excess weight of all the prime lenses they replace. Plus Optimo 35mm Zoom Lenses deliver the extremely fast apertures and outstanding contrast and color reproduction that have made them the optics of choice for DPs all over the world. Take our extended family of Optimo 35mm Zoom Lenses on your next shoot and experience the difference.

NEW 45mm - 120mmActual product image may vary

15mm - 40mm

28mm - 76mm


mances simultaneously is what’s best forthe movie.”

In keeping with Fincher’s prefer-ence for keeping the technical footprintas small as possible on the set, DragonTattoo didn’t have a digital-imagingtechnician. “I don’t believe in tweakingon set,” says the director. “Why would Iwant a tent and more people around?That’s anathema to me.”

Instead, just as they did on SocialNetwork, Fincher and Cronenweth setone look-up table at the beginning ofthe shoot and didn’t change it.“Originally we thought we might haveone LUT for every location, but thatgot confusing,” notes Cronenweth.“Our approach is similar to using justone film stock. If we change anything,it’s the color of the light or the filterinstead of chasing LUTs. It makesthings faster and easier.”

The Red One is known forhaving higher sensitivity in the bluespectrum, and the filmmakers used an80D filter on the lens most of the time.“Although Sweden has a cool, desatu-rated palette in winter, we used the 80Dto raise the color temperature about400°K, which gave a little more bluelight to the sensor and gave us more lati-tude to work with later,” saysCronenweth.

The production shot primarily onthe locations described in Larsson’s

◗ Cold Case

Stepping awayfrom her

computer,Lisbeth seeks

some answersthe old-

fashioned way.


◗ Cold Case

novel. “The notion of these horrors,these particularly evil doings, takingplace in an environment that’s icy,snowy and somewhat inhospitable justseemed right to me,” says Fincher. “Icouldn’t see setting the story anywhereelse. In Northern Europe, you’re cut offfrom the rest of the world a goodportion of the year in a very uniqueplace. The people are hearty, and thewinters are very hard. I’m happy wedidn’t transpose the story to Seattle orMontreal or, worse, play Montreal forSweden.”

However, the unique propertiesof natural light at that latitude presented

some challenges. At summer’s peak,Stockholm experiences 19 hours ofdaylight, and at winter’s peak, just sixhours. Moreover, the winter sun barelymakes it off the horizon, even at “highnoon,” and the summer sun typicallyreaches a point about 54 degrees off thehorizon at the height of the day.

“There’s a reason why SvenNykvist’s movies look like they do!”Fincher notes with a laugh, referring tothe late ASC cinematographer who wasfamous for his collaborations withfellow Swede Ingmar Bergman.

Early in his career, Cronenwethworked with Nykvist as a camera assis-

tant and operator. “Sven brought hisown version of soft light to all of hismovies,” he says. “He was very inspiredby the light of his hometown. In thesummer, it almost never gets dark, andbecause you’re so far north, the sun canset and then rise again, about an hourlater, in almost exactly the same place. Ifyou want a dawn shot, dawn can last twohours! The light changes so muchthroughout the year that it’s very chal-lenging on a project as long as this one.”

“We had short nights when wegot there and really long nights when weleft,” adds Fincher. “It can be verydisconcerting if you’re not used to a six-hour day. You can start work in themorning and then find the sun goingdown at lunch.”

“We set out to embrace theSwedish winter,” says Cronenweth. “It’sa strong element in the story, almost acharacter of its own, and we spent a lotof time out in the snow with those veryunique light tonalities. We embraced allof the idiosyncrasies of the locations.”

The biting cold of winter gave riseto one of the production’s few equip-ment problems: the low temps causedsome of the floating elements in theArri/Zeiss Master Primes to misalign,so the lens’s witness marks were off.“The Master Primes have seven floating

In an attempt to blend into society, Lisbeth adopts a more feminine style, donning a blonde wig and dressing conventionally.

Built on revolutionary Thunderbolt™ technology, UltraStudio 3D has a blazingly fast 10 Gb/s connection that’s up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0! Machined from a solid piece of aluminum, UltraStudio 3D is an attractive, rugged device that’s packed with features previously only available with a workstation. It’s perfect for those on the go as an extremely portable companion to your camera, notebook and favorite editing software.

Connect to any Deck, Camera or Monitor

UltraStudio 3D features a huge range of video and audio connections. Dual Link 3 Gb/s SDI, HDMI, component analog, NTSC, PAL and s-video for capture and playback in SD,

HD or 2K. Also included is 2 ch XLR AES/EBU audio and 2 ch balanced XLR analog audio. Connect to HDCAM SR, HDCAM, Digital Betacam, Betacam SP, HDV cameras, big-screen TVs and more. UltraStudio 3D even supports two streams of full resolution video up to 1080p HD for new stereoscopic 3D workfl ows!

Hardware Down Conversion

If you’ve ever wanted to monitor in both HD and SD while you work, then you’ll love the built in high quality down converter. Use the Dual Link SDI outputs as a simultaneous HD and SD output, or

you can switch back to Dual Link 4:4:4 when working in the highest quality RGB workfl ows. Select between letterbox, anamorphic 16:9 and even center cut 4:3 down conversion styles!

Advanced 3 Gb/s SDI Technology

With exciting new 3 Gb/s SDI connections, UltraStudio 3D allows twice the SDI data rate of normal HD-SDI, while also connecting to all your HD-SDI and SD-SDI equipment. Use 3 Gb/s SDI for 2K and edit your latest

feature fi lm using real time 2048 x 1556 2K resolution capture and playback!

More Third Party Software Compatibility

UltraStudio 3D works with the software you love to use! Use QuickTime™ software, or the world’s most popular editing software such as Final Cut Pro™ and Premiere Pro™! You also get Photoshop™ plug-ins to grab and output frames, plus real time preview

in After Effects™ and Nuke™. No other editing solution supports more software on Mac OS X, so now you have the freedom to build your studio your own way!

Learn more today at www.blackmagic-design.com/UltraStudio3D

UltraStudio 3D$995


elements, and in extreme temperaturesthat can create obstacles,” saysCronenweth. “The first assistantsended up having to pull focus more offof monitors, by eye. They’re phenome-nal lenses, and I would definitely usethem again; they probably held up aswell as any equipment does in that kindof environment. But it’s something tobe aware of when you’re working inextreme weather conditions.”

Some of the movie’s large exte-rior setups posed other challenges.Salander’s main mode of transportationis her motorcycle, and she is not a timiddriver. Many sequences show herzipping around dangerously icy roads,and Cronenweth had to tackle one ofthese scenes, a 5-mile run through aforest at night, on his second day on set.

“I thought, ‘How are we gonnado this?!’” he recalls. “We ended uptackling it very simply, actually, and itlooks quite believable. We used aninsert car to either chase or lead themotorcycle. When we were chasing her,we simply increased the strength of the

headlight on her motorcycle by addingsome headlight fixtures with quartzglobes and wide-angle lenses so thelight would fan out and hit the trees infront of her on both sides of the road.

“We then put a small bounce onthe front of the camera car, about 2 stopsunderexposed, to get some detail on herand the motorcycle. Lastly, we usednarrow-beam HMIs to softly project

ahead of and above her to illuminate theforest. When we were leading her, weused the same bounce idea on the truckand the same narrow HMIs, and let themotorcycle’s headlight bounce and lighther with just soft return.”

Making night exteriors like thiseven tougher was the moisture fromnearby bodies of water, which createdmist that often froze to the lenses onmoving shots. The filmmakers usedstandard rain spinners to keep moistureoff the lenses, but the mist would freezeon the spinners and transform them intorotating diffusion filters. To combat this,the camera assistants mounted hairdryers below the spinners and kept aconstant flow of warm air on the spin-ning blades.

Driving sequences involving carswere shot onstage in Sweden using whatCronenweth and gaffer Harold Skinnerlaughingly describe as “Rich-Man’sProcess.” Skinner explains, “It was yourtypical greenscreen stage, but we builtthis rig with LED media panels aroundthe car so that we could play

◗ Cold Case

Left: A large silk and a solid hung from crane arms help the crew shape the look of a street scene. Right: While shooting a night-exterior chase sequence,crewmembers used rain spinners and hair dryers to keep mist from freezing

on the camera lenses.

“We set out toembrace the Swedishwinter. It’s a strong

element in the story,almost a character of

its own.”

Dolby congratulates Light Iron

on the successful completion of its recent projects.

Thank you for using the

Dolby® Professional Reference Monitor

in color grading.

Dolby and the double-D symbol are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. © 2011 Dolby Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. S11/25091

QuickTime movies of the backgroundplates through the panels and projectthe reflections and interactive lightdirectly from the background platesonto the car and the actors. The LEDpanels were 3 feet high by 14 feet longon both sides of the car, and we addedanother for the back and front windows.Using this system, we got real interac-

tive lighting from the actual backgroundplates, so it feels much more authentic.”

To reduce spill and reflectionsfrom the greenscreen, Skinner hungDuvetyn on curtain tracks so he couldmask off any area of green that wasn’tdirectly behind the actors.

One pivotal scene that was reshotbecause of script changes shows young

Harriet outside a cottage and boathouseon a waterfront Vanger property. Thescene was originally shot on location inStockholm, but when the filmmakersreturned for reshoots, they discoveredthe property had new owners who hadtorn down both buildings. In addition, awinter storm had killed two large treesthat helped make the location unique.

◗ Cold Case

Th ink LEEwww.leefi lters.com

142

A sharp snap splits the silvery silence. A whisper of time, suspended.

Lisbeth’ssleuthing skills

shine a light on some

horrifyingsecrets.

46

Fincher and production designerDonald Graham Burt decided to recon-struct the cottage onstage at ParamountStudios and the boathouse and dock atRed’s studio.

“It was a huge set, and I wasn’treally sure how to approach it,”confesses Cronenweth. “There weresome practical lights on the dock thatgave us a base look, especially when weadded atmosphere. We decided to use asingle 2K out from the cabin to thewater and hillside — we hung blacksand added some sky augmentation inpost — and it was perfect.”

“We slipped a bare 2K globeinside a Big Eye 10K housing with nolens, just to protect the globe and createa very large open-face source,” saysSkinner. “The dock lights were all clear25-watt practical globes, so we addedsome 1⁄4 CTO to the 2K to match theirwarmth. We augmented with a single1K Baby Fresnel to help when we weredoing turnarounds and the 2K got a

little too garish and flat, but that was it.It’s very simply lit and very beautiful.”

A night scene that showsSalander meeting Blomkvist at hisStockholm apartment required amassive shot that encompassed severalblocks of cobblestone streets. “It’s an oldpart of Stockholm on this grand hill,and David wanted the coverage toencompass all four directions at nightfor about two blocks,” recallsCronenweth. “In and of itself, that’s notsuch a bad thing, but in April inSweden, you only have four hours ofdarkness! So the challenge was to lighttwo blocks in each direction and havethe ability to quickly do turnarounds, tomove into any direction and switch ourbacklight and whatever keys we had onthe fly. Our rigging crew spent an entirenight setting it up.”

“We had eight constructioncranes, four generators and 20 electri-cians, and the special-effects team wasmaking snow at the same time — it was

quite the expansive setup,” addsSkinner.

“In the end, we got it in our fourhours, and everything worked fantasti-cally,” says Cronenweth. “David’s finalestablishing shot was done just as thesky was starting to change colors, but wegot it in under the wire.” ●

CookeOpticsLimitedBritish Optical Innovation and Quality Since 1893.

The Cooke Look®

One Look. All Speeds

cookeoptics.com

T: +44 (0)116 264 0700Canada, South America, USA: T: +1-973-335-4460

TECHNICAL SPECS

2.40:1

Digital Capture

Red One, Epic

Arri/Zeiss Master Primes

47


The period drama War Horse represents new turf for cine-matographer Janusz Kaminski and director StevenSpielberg, even though the film is their 13th featurecollaboration. The movie tells the story of World War I

through the eyes of a horse who is raised by a farm boy,Albert (Jeremy Irvine), in Devon, England, and then fallsinto the hands of various British, French and Germanmasters during the war.

World War II has become a hallmark of Spielberg andKaminski’s collaborations, which began with Schindler’s List(AC Jan. ’94), but War Horse is their first foray into the GreatWar. “I was very excited about it because I’d never had thechance to re-create this war before,” says Kaminski, speakingto AC on a break from Spielberg’s Lincoln.

The picture is also something of a novelty in that it’s afamily-friendly story that takes place during wartime. Thesource material is a young-adult novel of the same name byMichael Morpugo, and the Walt Disney Co. is releasing theDreamWorks production. However, Kaminski notes, “Thismovie is not a quintessential Disney thing. It’s not happy,

bright, chocolate-covered storytelling. It’s got very brutalmoments, very sad moments.”

The filmmakers decided to shoot widescreen to play upthe pastoral landscape of Devon, where the story begins, andthey chose Super 35mm over anamorphic because theybelieved the latter might be “too beautiful,” says Kaminski,adding, “We wanted the images to have a slightly gritty feel.

“We wanted to do beautifully composed wide shotswhere the land would play a significant role,” continues thecinematographer. “We talked about John Ford films . Stevenwas fascinated by the relationship between humans and land— humans do not blend with the land, they shape it. In thefirst act, when Albert is training the horse or trying to plowthe field, you see him in this amazing Devon landscape whereclouds are rolling across the sky. The shots are so wide you cansee the light patterns rolling across the field.”

Kaminski was keen to create the movie’s look in-camera, even though originating in Super 35mm and the real-ities of digital exhibition meant a digital intermediate wouldbe part of the post process. In fact, he color-timed the picture

War Horse, directedby Steven Spielberg

and shot by Janusz Kaminski,

sends a valiant creature to the frontlines of World War I.

By Patricia Thomson

•|•

AnimalInstincts


photochemically at Deluxe Laboratoriesin Hollywood with timers Clive Noakesand Jim Passon, “and we just matchedthe look of the print in the DI with[colorist] Yvan Lucas [at EFilm],” hesays. “There were very few adjustments.

“Steven and I make the movie onthe set,” he emphasizes. “I do not createthe look of the movie in the DI, just asSteven does not create the movie in theediting room. That’s not the way wework. An important part of our process isscreening 35mm film dailies, which wedid with an Arri LocPro throughout theshoot.”

Kaminski shot War Horse on twoKodak Vision3 negatives, 250D 5207and 500T 5219, both of which he oftenpulled one stop, and he developed afiltration strategy that involved usingClassic Soft and Coral filters together forDevon sequences and other idyllicpassages, and then transitioning toDouble Fog filters for the muddy look ofwar. Finally, for the triumphant return ofthe hero, he layered on sunset grad filters.

Principal photography lasted 63days and took place mostly on practicallocations close to London. Many keycrew were longtime collaborators of bothSpielberg and Kaminski, including A-camera operator Mitch Dubin, A-camera 1st AC Mark Spath, lightingdirector (supervising gaffer) DavidDevlin and key grip Jim Kwiatkowski.Their British counterparts were B-camera/Steadicam operator GeorgeRichmond, B-camera 1st AC Jonathan“Chunky” Richmond, gaffer EddieKnight and key grip David Appleby.

When Spielberg is in the director’schair, one hallmark of the production isspeed, and Kwiatkowski recalls tellingAppleby that War Horse would be “thefastest movie he’d ever worked on.” Itwas June 29, and the grips had just beenhanded six previsualizations for compli-cated action scenes. Production was setto start Aug. 1. “Steven’s schedules arealways like a race,” Devlin observes. “Heloves the energy of shooting quickly andseeing the film made right before hiseyes. Even if he had 300 days to shoot afilm, he’d shoot it in 50.”

Another hallmark of a Spielbergproduction is complex camera choreog-raphy. “Steven is extremely versatilewith the camera, which means hismovies are always challenging to shoot,”says Kaminski. “He likes really bigshots, and his camera always moves.”

“Every shot is elaborately chore-ographed,” adds Dubin. “He alwaysshoots them as complex masters. Eventhough a lot of the shots might be cutup in the end, it’s better for the actors ifwe shoot the entire scene.”

Achieving big, complicated shotsvery quickly would be a challenge underany circumstance, but the particulars ofthe War Horse shoot ratcheted up thedifficulty.

For starters, some locations werequite remote. The Devon sequenceswere shot in Dartmoor National Park,a large moorland crossed by rockyroads. “Getting generators in there wasa challenge,” Devlin recalls. “Onegenerator had to be placed almost1,700 feet away, so it required a lot ofPh

otos

by

And

rew

Coo

per,

SM

PSP

and

Dav

id A

pple

by. P

hoto

s an

d fr

ame

grab

s co

urte

sy o

f Dre

amW

orks

.

Opposite page: Albert(Jeremy Irvine) bondswith his family’s newhorse, Joey. Thispage: After Albert’sfather (Peter Mullan)pays top dollar forJoey, he endures theire of his wife (EmilyWatson, middle) andlandlord (DavidThewlis, bottom),who threatens torepossess theNarracotts’ farmunless they maketheir rent payment.


cabling and preparation.”Then there was the rain, which

came both at the whim of MotherNature and on demand, especially forthe combat scenes. At one point duringa battle, Joey escapes into No Man’sLand, a 480-yard stretch along theWestern Front that was full of barbedwire and trenches. “No Man’s Land wasa vast field that became a horrible,muddy, violent place,” says Dubin. “Itwas so hard to work in there. Everybodywore black rain gear, so you could nevertell who anybody was. At the end of theday, they’d turn on the power hoses andspray us down.”

Topping it all off was the chal-lenge of building so many scenes arounda horse. The main character, Joey, was

played by five of them. There was anequine hair-and-makeup department,and each horse had its own trainer. (Thehead trainer was Bobby Lovgren.)“Each horse had its own specialty: onelaid down, another bucked up, oneplowed, and another was good at turn-ing his head to look backward on cue,”says Kaminski.

Such actions were vital tosuggesting Joey’s thoughts and emotions— as was the animal’s eyelight duringclose-ups. “Truly, when you look at ahorse, there are no emotions in its eyes,”says Kaminski. “They don’t blink, theydon’t smile and they don’t get sad. Theyjust get tired.”

Given that Joey is the centralcharacter — and a hero — the filmmak-

ers tried to make the horse stand outfrom its environment. “We were glorify-ing Joey a little through lighting andcomposition,” says Kaminski. “We werealways trying to place the light so thathis coat would reflect it, and so it wouldcreate glints in his eyes.”

To get a horse to act, a trainer hadto be in the animal’s line of sight, andsometimes two trainers were necessary— if, for instance, the horse had to lookin one direction, and then in the other.For scenes involving several horses, thatadded up to lots of trainers. “The trickwas to put a trainer in the horse’s sightbut not in the frame,” says Dubin. “For aclose-up, that’s easy. But for wide shots,which Steven likes, we had trainershiding all over the place — behind balesof hay in the barn, up in the rafters,everywhere.”

The filmmakers worked with aprevis team from The Third Floor toplot out the movie’s most complicatedaction scenes, but Spielberg’s collabora-tors observe that his mastery of cine-matic storytelling is due as much to hisown instinct as it is to such preparation.“Steven can walk onto a set with verylittle pre-planning and know exactlyhow he wants to shoot it and how manyshots he needs,” says Dubin. “His eyesimmediately turn into a 21mm lens.”

◗ Animal Instincts

➣

After England goes to war with Germany,Albert is forced to part ways with Joey whenhis father sells the horse to a British officer.


Of course, ideas developed in prepoften change on set. One example of thisin War Horse is a British cavalry chargethat was filmed on the Stratfield Sayeestate. The scene expresses a key idea inMorpugo’s book: that World War I wasthe end of the horse’s usefulness as aninstrument of war. As Dubin sums it up,“The story is about the change from agentleman’s war to a mechanized war.”

The scene begins with the Britishcavalry approaching a German campthrough a field of golden reeds. “Thesesoldiers are very handsome, very proper,very passionate about the glorious aspectof the war, and I wanted it to be a bitlarger than life,” says Kaminski. “Wetried to create the glorious part of it, butwith a realistic take.”

The charge appears successful atfirst, but suddenly the Germans open firewith machine guns. No blood is shown.Instead, the film cuts to a shot of rider-less horses, and finally the camera pullsback to reveal the field littered with deadsoldiers and horses. “This sequence wasextensively previsualized because thecharge involved dozens of horses gallop-ing at high speed on uneven terrain,” saysKaminski. “We used two or three differ-ent camera platforms that would travel atvarious speeds, and we occasionally hadtwo cameras and two insert cars traveling


Top: The camera crew dollies past a muddy battlefield for a sequence staged at Wisley Airfield in Surrey, England. Middle: An English soldier spots Joey after the horse becomes entangled in

barbed wire between enemy trenches. Bottom: Albert and his nemesis from Devon, David (Robert Emms, right), charge into battle.

© 2011 Panasonic Corporation of North America

AG-HPX250

The AG-HPX250 handheld delivers an unprecedented level of image quality — 10-bit, 4:2:2 intra-frame AVC-Intra — for its 5.5-lb. size. Its 2.2 megapixel 3-MOS imagers produce superb low light images. It offers a 22X zoom lens, genlock/timecode input for multi-camera operation, 3 independent adjustable (Zoom/Focus/Iris) rings, and a faster, solid-state workfl ow. Unprecedented quality, handheld size.


[at the same time]. We did a couple ofdays of extensive rehearsals with a skele-ton cavalry, and that allowed us to figureout if it was possible to achieve whatSteven had envisioned in the previs.

“Once we figured that out, I’d haveideas about where the lights should be,”he continues. “Of course, in England, it’scloudy, then halfway through the day itbecomes sunny, and then it’s cloudyagain. So you just play your cards accord-ing to the weather. We wanted a lowersun for the wide shots. You can get awaywith overcast moments and mismatched[light] when the camera is traveling athigh speed, because you know thesequence will be cut up into very shortshots.”

Spielberg initially envisioned usingsome type of cable rig to achieve the bigcamera pullback, but his crew speculatedthat such a rig would take too much timeto set up. Dubin observes, “If the shot isperformance-driven, Steven doesn’t everseem to grow impatient, and he will do asmany takes as needed. But if it’s just atechnical shot, even a very complicatedone, he wants to do it once and moveon.”

The speedy solution proved to bean Akela crane. “We kept it in one posi-tion and did this incredible pullout,” saysKwiatkowski.

With its 70' arm, the Akela was anoft-used tool on War Horse, as was a 50'


Top and middle: A 50' SuperTechnocrane was mounted on a Bickers 4x4 Taurus Quad to capture shots of Joey and other horses pulling heavy artillery up a steep hill.

Bottom: A Scorpio Stabilized Head overslung on a Bickers Racing Quad was used to capture a mounted German soldier, Gunther (David Kross), pulling his younger brother

from the march to spare him from combat.

15’, 20’, 32’ ... Introducing the 73‘ Hydrascope Equipment that works in any environment

weather resistant and tough

LOCATIONS: California: 888 883 6559New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Ohio & Florida: 888 758 4826

UK: +44 1 92 326 5953

TELESCOPING CRANES

With Stabilized Remote Camera Systems

CHAPMAN/LEONARDStudio Equipment, Inc.

DOLLIES...Super PeeWee® IV

Part of the PeeWee® series

Time Saving Camera Support for all your needs!Hustler IV

Pedestals, Mobile Cranes, Arms & Bases

www.chapman-leonard.com

Ask about our Sound Stage in Florida

CHAPMAN/LEONARDStudio Equipment, Inc.

hill to the top — a 15-percent grade.Kwiatkowski explains, “The shot startsout a bit wide, and then suddenly a char-acter comes in close. The camera dropsdown to catch the soldier’s feet, and thenwe go by the big wheel of the cannontrailer. We come back up, see the horsesand all the soldiers, and then go up to theGerman commander, and now it’s aclose-up again. That’s what Steven doesbest: tell the story with the camera.Characters come in and out all in onetake that lasts about 45 seconds.

“When Steven described the shot,I knew where I had to put the camera,but I didn’t know how to do it,” he adds.Spielberg wanted to use a BickersRacing Quad with the Steadicam, butthe team eventually determined that thehill was too steep, and the weight on theback of the quad would be too great. Sothe grips borrowed a page from thespecial-effects team, which was planningto haul the cannon up with a 10-tonwinch buried between I-beams.Kwiatkowski built his own winch paral-lel to theirs on a lesser grade. This wascinched to the Bickers 4x4 Taurus,which carried the Technocrane. “Wewere able to level the crane and pulledthat vehicle up with the winch in coordi-nation with the special-effects crewbringing up the cannon,” saysKwiatkowski. “After four takes, we gotthe shot. It was pretty intense.”

In contrast to the grips’ huge arse-nal, the production’s lighting packagewas relatively modest, according toDevlin. At its core were five ArriMax18Ks. “We’d use all those lights everyday, on every setup,” says Devlin. “Whenwe ran out, we were out! Our lightingpackage wasn’t very big at all comparedto, say, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom ofthe Crystal Skull.”

The HMIs were deployed evenon sunny Devon exteriors.“The Devonscenes are meant to suggest innocence,the beginning of Albert and Joey’sfriendship, so the lighting is more ideal-ized,” says Kaminski. “I wanted deepblue skies with white clouds, so I used adaylight stock and frontlit the actors sothey’d stand out and look glorious



SuperTechnocrane mounted on aBickers 4x4 Taurus Quad. “Steven reallyloves the Technocrane,” Kwiatkowskinotes, “and we did a lot of elaborate shotswith just the arm.” The production alsoused a MovieBird 20 from Alpha Grip,carried by a Bickers camera car.

The cranes were often outfittedwith Scorpio Stabilized Heads. “Thatwas the trick, because those headsenabled us to do some longer-lens shotswith great stability,” says Kwiatkowski.“That worked really well on the cavalrycharges not only for technical reasons,but also because the camera’s stabilityshowcased the natural energy of thehorses.”

Another indispensable tool wasthe Russian Arm, which was used totrack alongside galloping horses.Equipped with a gyrostabilized FlightHead and offering 360-degree panningcapability, the remote arm rode atop aStealth high-speed tracking vehicle, andit could get quite close to the horses.“The horse trainers had worked withthat vehicle before, so they knew whatthey could and couldn’t do,” says

Kwiatkowski.The Russian Arm’s speed and

handling were put to the test in a sceneshowing Joey’s flight through the woods.The production cleared a 400-yardstretch of terrain for the liberty horse(one without a rider) and picked out a parallel path for the Stealth.Thoroughbreds can accelerate to fullspeed within a couple of strides, but theStealth had to carry four people pluscrane and camera. “The driver had onefoot on the gas pedal, all the way down,and one foot on the brake at the sametime,” says Dubin. “When the horsetook off, the driver just took his foot offthe brake. The horse could be at fullspeed within seconds! It was reallythrilling.”

Some rigs were custom-designed,occasionally at the last minute. Oneexample was something used for“Cannon Hill,” a scene that shows Joeyand other horses struggling to haul acannon up a steep hill. After the previswas scuttled because of safety concerns,Spielberg planned another elaborateshot that moved from the bottom of the

Cameraoperator MitchDubin captures

battlefieldclose-ups of

Albert and hisfriend from

Devon.


against the landscape.”“We often used very hard light

that was diffused a little bit, similar to theway arc lights were used in the 1970s,”says Devlin. “Whereas we’d typically usefour 18Ks through a large frame of diffu-sion, like a 12-by-20, on this we’d use justone 18K through a 4x4 diffusion, whichwould give the same intensity butwouldn’t be as soft. And with one light,it’s more frontal; that makes it a flatterlight and gives it a richer look, almostlike a classic movie from the 1970s.”

For scenes set in the trenches andNo Man’s Land, production designerRick Carter’s crew built three sets onWisley airfield in Surrey. “It was a beau-tiful set, with quintessential imagery ofthe First World War — everythinglooked scorched and destroyed,” saysKaminski. Because Joey had to travelthrough it at a full gallop, often in wideshots, the set was vast, which meantKaminski had to light large areas fornight scenes. “Logistically, that was diffi-cult, because we also had to light thehorse so he wouldn’t just blend into thenight,” he says. “It’s lit like a Christmastree, but at the same time I think it looksrealistic.”

Camera tests in No Man’s Landimmediately revealed a problem: the bayhorse wasn’t visible against the red soil.“The highlight on the horse from theexplosions didn’t read as strong as the


Top: The 50' SuperTechnocrane, mounted on a Bickers 4x4 Taurus Quad, is positioned in No Man’s Landto capture shots of Joey galloping straight into barbed wire. Middle: 1st AC Mark Spath adjusts focus for a shot captured with a Scorpio Stabilized Head. Bottom: Armed with a bullhorn, cinematographer

Janusz Kaminski coordinates some explosive action.

www.clairmont.com

Let us help you pick the right tools for your job. Film or

digital, we’re here for you. You can choose from a vast

variety of 35mm and 16mm film cameras. These are

coupled with the industry’s widest selection of lenses and

accessories to give cinematographers the ability to

maximize their creativity. We have a wide selection of

anamorphic lenses both fixed focal lengths and zoom

lenses, including the new Vantage Hawk V-lites in

both 2x and 1.3x squeeze. Much attention has been

focused on 3-perforation and now 2-perf cameras. Our

Moviecam SL MK2 (tri-perf) is one stellar example, and

we’ve recently introduced our 2-perf Arricams, 35 BL4,

35 BL3, Arri 435 and Arri 3 cameras. Our digital inventory

includes Arri Alexa and Alexa Studio, Canon EOSC300, 1D Mark IV & EOS 7D; all with PL mounts, Iconix,

Panasonic, Red Epic and Red One MX, Sony F65, F35

and F3 cameras and the amazing high speed Weisscam

HS2 and PS-cam X35. All supported with the latest in

monitoring and DIT control equipment in addition to both

file based and tape based recording options. Our

goal is to provide outstanding service 24/7. The choices

to express your creativity are endless. Feel free to call or

drop by anytime and let us show you how we will take

care of you and your creativity. Please visit our website to

see what’s new in our inventory.

Sincerely, Clairmont Camera

CREATIVITY!Your Mind, Our Tools!

Hollywood818-761-4440

Vancouver604-984-4563

Toronto416-467-1700

Albuquerque505-227-2525

Montreal514-525-6556

Michael Condon, SOCVP Digital Division

Andree MartinVP Technical Services

ground,” explains Devlin, “so the eye wasdrawn more toward the shadow of thehorse than the rim light.

“One thing that makes warmovies look eerily real is when theperson’s face is brighter than the sky,” hecontinues. “We found that true onSaving Private Ryan [AC Aug. ’98], andwe used that same technique [to lightactors] here: burning diesel fuel anddarkening the sky behind the person.”

But a bay horse required a differ-

ent solution. In the end, Carter decidedto darken the color of the soil by paintingit. “That set was about 1,200 feet by 800feet,” Devlin marvels. “When the soilwas all churned up, Rick’s crew had to goback and repaint it [for another take].”

Joey’s flight across No Man’sLand includes wide shots full of smokeand mist backlit by flares and flames.“The beast is running across the land-scape, silhouetted,” says Kaminski. “Itlooks very beautiful and mythical.”

To match the look of the practicalflares and fires created by the special-effects team, Kaminski’s crew layered avariety of sources. “We used 180 NarrowSpot 1K Par bulbs almost like a WendyLight on steroids,” says Devlin. “Weused four of those setups. Then we hadfour 250K Lightning Strikes [gelled]with colors to create a contrast thatpopped from the flashing of the tung-sten bulbs. For moonlight, we had anArriMax with a Max Mover, a remotepan-and-tilt system, mounted up in thesame rig.

“So we had three different tech-nologies working: an HMI, a LightningStrikes and that huge tungsten rack oflight. And they all give such differenttextures.” During tests, Devlin worried“that it might come off looking like arock ’n’ roll show.” But in the end, he wassatisfied. “It really gives it a big feel. Youget a sense that you’re seeing everythingon this battlefield.”

Joey’s run through No Man’s


Tell Your Story

e Chn tihtis wesupmae ctarepo oa tinigrir Von foitacudr Eehgif Hotatiderccae htt uobas noitseuqr of0 054.9.67404l lacr o7 904s egelloCn on oissimmoCe hty bd etiderccas iy ttyisrevinUt negeR

egent.edu/communication9 | r7888.7

diencnLeart yew

Y

s and Doct’erts, Mas’helorBac

558011MO. Cainigrif Vh otlaewnommoe C

dt uohtiws tnedutss timday tisrevinUt negeR. ytisrevinUt negeRf on oitcossadrawaotsloohcSdnasegelloCfonoitaicossAnrehtuoSehtfos

e

cey

os and Doct

nr on oigiler, rr,edneg, ytilibasid, roloc, ecarf os isabe htn on oitanimircsioCehttcatnoC. seergedetarotcoddna, sretsam, etaerualaccab, setai

uoCe tatSe hty bd efiitrecs iy tisrevinUt negeR. nigiroc inhter ol anoitan003a igroeG, rr,utaceD, enaLn rehtuoS6 681t as egelloCnonoissimmo

licn-33

60

Kaminski takes a meterreading with

actor EddieMarsan.

Land required several previsualizations,“and all of them were very complicated,”says Kwiatkowski. “There were 18 shotsof Joey, all tracking shots, all off differentkinds of platforms.”

One such shot begins with thecamera inside a trench. Kwiatkowskiexplains, “Joey jumps over the trench,and the camera actually follows him. Heruns alongside the trench, and we’relooking up at him. Then he tries to jumpagain and falls in, and then we’re track-ing with him inside the trench. Thosetrenches were narrow, and the terrainwas extremely rough. We used thesuspension on the Bickers Racing Quadand mounted Chapman Leonard’sLarge Vibration Isolator to eliminatemost of the bumps. This combinationenabled the Scorpio head to stabilize theimage perfectly. It’s a pretty amazingshot.”

Another remarkable cameramove involved the Akela. The shot startsin the trench with Albert, Joey’s original

master. “At first it looks like it could be aSteadicam shot, but then the camerafollows Albert up a ladder and out ontothe battlefield, ending with a high-angleview,” says Kwiatkowski. “The Akeladoes that; it’s such a long arm, and thearc to it isn’t an issue.”

The most dramatic palette in WarHorse appears at its conclusion, whenvarious characters are shown silhouettedagainst a pink-orange sky in Devon. “Itlooks glorious — and totally fake!” saysKaminski. “We wanted to go that waybecause it’s such a heroic and mythicalmoment. I’m very proud of the lookbecause it’s right for the story, and it wasdone in-camera. I had four or five filterson the lens — red, orange and ND. Eachwas cutting the light, so we ended upside-lighting the actors with several18Ks so they wouldn’t go black.

“We did very little CGI in thismovie,” he adds. “[Digital effects] wereused only to remove a horse trainer froma shot or a rider dressed in a greenscreen

suit, which was necessary because thehorse couldn’t go through the battlefieldat night without someone to guide him.Everything else was live photography.What you see is what you get.” ●

61

TECHNICAL SPECS

2.40:1

4-perf Super 35mm

Arricam Lite, Studio; Arri 435, 235

Arri/Zeiss Master Prime,Angenieux Optimo

Kodak Vision3 250D 5207,500T 5219

Digital Intermediate


Gen. Caius Marcius (Ralph Fiennes) is Rome’s mostcourageous and controversial public figure, revered andreviled for his fierceness in battle as well his opencontempt for the citizens of his country. After emerging

victorious in a war between Rome and the neighboringVolscians, Marcius is dubbed “Coriolanus,” after the Volscecity of Corioles, and is urged by his mother, Volumnia(Vanessa Redgrave), and Sen. Menenius (Brian Cox) to seekpolitical office. In order to do so, Coriolanus must first submithimself for approval by the people of Rome, who instead callfor his banishment. Once exiled, Coriolanus aligns himself

Lord of WarBarry Ackroyd, BSC and directorRalph Fiennes stage Shakespeare’sCoriolanus as a modern conflict

between intractable foes.

By Iain Stasukevich

•|•


with his sworn enemy, Volscian leaderTullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler), toexact revenge on the country he onceserved.

The new film Coriolanus, whichmarks Fiennes’ directorial debut, situ-ates William Shakespeare’s play in thepresent day, emphasizing urban warfareand the power of mass media. The film’scinematographer, Barry Ackroyd, BSC,notes that the story’s elements are wellsuited to today. “Coriolanus is a modernstory because it’s about warlords andunjust wars and food riots,” saysAckroyd. “It’s also a story about theumbilical connection between a manand his mother, which is timeless.”

Ackroyd and Fiennes hadworked together before, albeit briefly,on The Hurt Locker (AC July ’09), inwhich Fiennes had a cameo, and whichbrought Ackroyd his first ASC andAcademy Award nominations. WhenFiennes contacted Ackroyd aboutCoriolanus, it quickly became clear tothe cinematographer that Fiennes hadfully immersed himself in preparing the

project. “Ralph is an artist by schooling,and we referred to paintings and draw-ings for inspiration,” Ackroyd recalls.“He had also created a ‘mood book’ ofillustrations and photographs. He cansketch out his ideas very easily, and hewould also act out moments from the

play, which is a level of understandingI’d never experienced before. It wasobvious that if anyone knew this script,he did.”

The mood book evolved into amood reel comprising photojournalismfrom modern battlefields in ChechnyaPh

otos

by

Larr

y D

. Hor

rick

s, c

ourt

esy

of T

he W

eins

tein

Co.

Opposite page:After he is exiledfrom Rome, Gen.Caius Marcius(Ralph Fiennes)takes commandof Volscian troopsin his quest forrevenge againstthe state. Thispage, top: Whilestill in charge ofRome’s forces,Marcius battlesthe Volscians.Bottom: Fiennes,who also directed,confers withcinematographerBarry Ackroyd,BSC (second fromleft in gray cap).


◗ Lord of War

and Iraq, video clips culled from loca-tion scouts and documentaries, andanimated storyboards that werenarrated by Fiennes and Redgrave(performing monologues from thescript). “Creating those storyboards wasreally my first experience in the way ofdirecting and getting a toehold on thefilm,” says Fiennes.

Ackroyd says he prefers to getmost of the talking out of the way inpreproduction. “I like to have the confi-dence of the director, and I knew thatwith Ralph directing and acting in thefilm, he had to be able to trust that I’dgive him what he wanted. With mostdirectors, you reach a point where hedoesn’t have to tell you exactly what it ishe’s trying to get from the scene.Sometimes that’s almost impossible toexpress, anyway.”

The filmmakers consideredshooting on 16mm, 35mm and high-definition video, but ultimately opted tofilm on 2-perf Super 35mm withbrand-new Aaton Penelope cameras.Ackroyd observes, “The usual issueswith 2-perf are that you get more hairsin the gate, something the Penelope is

brilliant at avoiding, and you get flaresoff the hard gate, which you can see afew times in our film. But we couldjustify that in our style — the camera is

typically active.”Most of Coriolanus was shot on

location, with the Serbian capital ofBelgrade standing in for Rome and theMediterranean port of Kotor inMontenegro doubling for the Volscian

city of Antium. The filmmakers tookadvantage of Belgrade’s widely varyingtopography — from the classical designof the House of the National Assemblyto the post-war blokovi housing projects— to differentiate the worlds of thepatricians and the commoners.

The film opens with a scene thatestablishes Marcius as an enemy of thepeople — he all but spits upon a starv-ing, angry mob that’s trying to breakinto a grain depot — and then segues tohis natural environment: the battlefield.This scene, the battle of Corioles, wasshot in Pancevo, a Serbian municipalitythat still bears the scorch marks of adevastating 1999 NATO airstrike.Marcius and his troops are deployed inCorioles to halt a Volscian attack onRoman territory.

The filmmakers traveled light,shooting sequentially over the course ofthree days with two cameras handheldby Ackroyd (A-camera operator) andSvetomir Pajic-Kivi (B-camera andSteadicam operator). AngenieuxOptimo 17-80mm zoom lenses wereused for the fast-moving action beats,with Ackroyd’s longtime 1st AC, Oliver

Marcus confrontshis archenemy,Tullus Aufidius

(Gerard Butler),leader of the

Volscians.

“The film has twosides — it burstsinto movement inthe battle zones,

and then there arethe more formalconfrontations.”


Driscoll, and B-camera 1st AC DraskoPejanovic pulling focus directly fromthe lens.“I guess it’s a thing from mydocumentary days,” says Ackroyd. “I’drather have the focus puller on a gearwheel than using a remote focus,because that way he can feel your move-ments and watch the action, and if you

need to make a change yourself, you’reable to use your left hand to grab thefocus wheel.”

Cameras were positioned tocover action simultaneously and inter-cut in different directions, revealing newinformation with each shot. “No part ofany location was out of bounds,” says

Ackroyd. “You think you’re seeing inmore directions than you really are. It’san illusion that works well; by creating a360-degree world, you make the audi-ence feel totally involved.”

The production had a feature-scale grip-and-electric package, but thework in Pancevo rarely called for anymajor setups. “I wouldn’t light a dayexterior, particularly a battle scene,” saysAckroyd. Instead, he worked with 1stAD Zoran Andric to time the shoot sohe could keep the actors backlit by thesun. As the battle calms and elsewhere,he used mirrors and 6'x6' Griffolynbounces to redirect daylight into ascene. “I try not to use big lights [on dayexteriors] because you’re losing thebattle if you’re trying to fight nature,” hesays.

As Marcius advances on Aufidiusand the Volscians, distant 6K HMI Parsand 18Ks diffused with silk, GridCloth, 250 or 251 combined withstrategic T-stop pulls helped keep theexposure even while the camera movedthrough the war-torn apartment blocks.Tiffen NDs and Schneider True Polaswere used to keep the [12:1] Optimosopen to T2.8 whenever possible,“although when you’re at the end of a24-290mm, you need a little moredepth-of-field than that, maybe a T5.6or T8,” Ackroyd adds.

The face-off between Marciusand Aufidius was shot in a damagedwing of the Hotel Yugoslavia. “Thesetwo figures emerge like ghosts from themist,” says Fiennes, who describes thisscene as one of the more theatricalmoments in the film. “The film has twosides — it bursts into movement in thebattle zones, and then there are themore formal confrontations.”

Ackroyd made sure to keep thecameras from getting between the twosoldiers as they grappled for domina-tion. “The camerawork is all from whatI call ‘outside the circle,’” he says. “You’rean observer, always over someone’sshoulder. Rarely is there a clean single ofanyone.”

Because the cameras were seeingin all directions, key lights were difficult

◗ Lord of War

Top: Marcius bows to his mother (Vanessa Redgrave) as he is honored by Rome for his bravery in battle. Bottom: Marcius eventually finds himself at odds with Rome’s fickle politicians.


to place in the location, so Ackroydkeyed from two large mezzaninewindows with two 18Ks on a Genieboom that were going through 1⁄4 CTSand exterior silk curtains. As the lightchanged outside, gaffer Harry Wigginsmaintained continuity indoors with18K, 12K and 4K HMI Fresnels aimedthrough 251 diffusion or skipped off thefloor, walls and ceiling — “never on the

actors,” he remarks. Ackroyd’s ownTubo lights — 2' or 4' sections of PVCpipe painted white inside and holding asingle Kino Flo — were used to simu-late the effect of bounced light and softkey reflecting off a wall onto thecombatants’ weapons or soldiers in thebackground.

When the Volscians retreat,Marcius returns to Rome to great

acclaim and the new title of Coriolanus.His family and colleagues fete thetriumphant warrior in the atrium of theRoman Imperial Senate, a scene shot in Belgrade’s House of NationalAssembly.

A skylight at the peak of theatrium’s dome provided little usablenatural light inside, so Ackroyd’s crewfloated a locally sourced, custom-built,8.8K mixed-source (4K tungsten/4.8Kdaylight) lighting balloon into the dometo provide consistent ambient lightbelow. On a circular balcony above theactors, four diffused 4K HMI Fresnelspushed light in from a three-quarterangle to wrap around the actors and“give a bit of shape to what was other-wise a difficult space,” says Ackroyd.

“We always started with 1⁄4 CTSand 251 [diffusion]on the HMIs,” saysWiggins. “If it was too much, ratherthan messing around with scrims orflags we’d put more diffusion up onintermediate 4-by-4 frames. Once it’salready that soft, adding an extra degreeof softness is a bonus.”

“I’ve never been able to light withhard light,” notes Ackroyd. “I know itcan be done, but I tend to see the light

◗ Lord of War

Top: Marcius ispersuaded to runfor political office

by Romansenator

Menenius (BrianCox, second fromleft). Bottom: 1stAC Oliver Driscoll

assists asAckroyd frames ashot for Fiennes.

TESSIVE12121111

1010

99

66

11

33

22

445577

88 TEES VVVVVVVEVVEEVVVVVVVEEV


as having traveled some distance. If youdescribe the kind of place that’s ideal forfilming, it’s at the edge of a stage, in thisnetherworld between the light and thedark.”

If there is a netherworld inCoriolanus, it might be the palatialGeorgian estate where Marcius rests hishead yet finds little comfort in thecompany of his mother and wife.Fiennes recalls the scene in whichCoriolanus’ wife, Virgilia (JessicaChastain), comes into their bedroomand lies down next to him: “That wasone shot I knew that I wanted, a sort ofeffigy-like figure of Coriolanus in theforeground and Virgilia entering fromthe shadows.” Ackroyd took the idea astep further, using Fiennes’ profile tobisect Chastain’s look to camera at theend of the shot.

Chastain’s approach to the bedwas lit with paper China balls hiddenon the floor behind the bed and onehanging at camera left. “We then felt itwould be a good idea — and I remem-ber Ralph sort of raising his eyebrows atthis — to boom a Dedo over the bedand put a hot spot on the pillow justbehind his head. You didn’t see what itwas doing until Jessica laid down next tohim. It just brought a beautiful glow toher face.”

Meanwhile, in a network of cata-combs beneath Antium, Aufidius plotshis next move against Rome. “I toldBarry, ‘It has to be Caravaggio,’”Fiennes says of the setting.

The catacomb scenes were filmedbeneath the citadel in Belgrade’sKalemegdan Park. Production designerRicky Eyres lined the catacomb archeswith low-output Photofloods hiddenbehind metal shades, providing pools oflight for the actors to walk through.Firelight from off-camera braziers andAckroyd’s fluorescent Tubos providedmost of the rest of the lighting.

After Coriolanus is expelled fromRome and joins Aufidius’ army, theVolscians become emboldened andmove aboveground. The filmmakersstaged these day and night exteriors onthe grounds of an old factory on the

After forging a truce with Tullus and turning the tide against Rome (top), Marcius resists pleas of mercy from his wife (Jessica Chastain, middle) and mother (bottom).

◗ Lord of War

outskirts of Belgrade. Firelight keyedthe night scenes. “We had a couple ofreal ragers burning,” recalls Ackroyd.

“We used some tricks to push the

light from the bonfire further into theshot,” says Wiggins. “We built timber-wood boxes with six 300-watt Par 36bulbs inside, going back to a desk

control for the fire effect. Each bulb wason a channel, and they were comingthrough Full CTO and 251 diffusion.”(For some scenes, a tungsten 12K on aGenie boom provided an easilyadjustable overhead backlight.)

For day scenes in the factory, the8.8K lighting balloon was floated intothe open ceiling and wrangled withwires from the upper floor. 4K and 6KHMIs supplied soft backlight at groundlevel, and a 4x4 Kino Flo was used forfill.

Just as Coriolanus and Aufidiusare about to descend on Rome,Coriolanus’ mother, wife and son arriveto plead with him to reconsider.Volumnia kneels before her son andbegs him to make peace with theRomans.

The dialogue-heavy scene tooktwo days to capture, with the twocameras cross-shooting Chastain,Redgrave and Fiennes much of thetime. The second day was dedicated

◗ Lord of War

Fiennes blocks out a shot with B-camera/Steadicam operator Svetomir Pajic-Kivi and Ackroyd (right). Standing at left is script supervisor Susanna Lenton.

72

almost entirely to Redgrave’s mono-logue, and Ackroyd moved the camerasto parallel positions, with the 24-290mm Optimos in a portrait-friendly80-200mm range. “When you live withthese lenses and get to know them aswell as I do, [choosing focal lengths]isn’t always a conscious decision,” saysthe cinematographer. “It’s just a feelingthat [a given focal length] is what’snecessary to tell the story.”

“That was one of the hardestscenes to direct,” says Fiennes. “I had tobe building up for my own breakdownat the end of the scene, so I had tocompletely hand over my trust to Barry.I wanted to start the scene farther backand then get close into the actors’ faces.You need to see the face, the eyes.There’s something powerful runningthrough Vanessa in that moment.”

Ackroyd agrees. “Vanessa, like allgreat actors, gave everything to thescene and to the other actors, makingthe shooting easy. She never left the set

until we’d finished. That kind of spirit inyour film is added value that noproducer, director or cinematographercan provide.”

By the time Ackroyd arrived atLipSync Post in London to begin thedigital grade with colorist Stuart Fyvie,he felt most of the color work hadalready been accomplished. “The realcoloring comes into play when you’redesigning the film,” he observes. “It’s inthe locations, the costumes and themakeup. I still like to create films in thecamera. The most important work youdo in post is matching skin tones,throwing things into light and shadeand covering up your mistakes.”

“Barry’s honesty is one of the bril-liant things about him,” Fiennes reports.“He doesn’t ever come up with acontrived or a decorative thing — ever.”

“The thing I hope for Coriolanusis that every shot and every edit workstogether for the right reason,” saysAckroyd. “We didn’t do anything

special, technically speaking. What’sspecial is being able to show youremotional side. It isn’t about getting lostin the lighting or the camerawork; it’sabout telling stories.” ●

TECHNICAL SPECS 2.40:1

2-perf Super 35mm

Aaton Penelope

Angenieux Optimo

Fujifilm Eterna 250D 8563,500T 8573

Digital Intermediate

73

protocols were established for handling the camera negativeand safely conveying it to the lab. The lab, in turn, had its ownset of procedures for creating dailies off the developed nega-tive and preparing those original elements for final assemblyand printing. Further steps were established for editorial,sound syncing and so on.

In today’s industry, which finds digital-imaging toolsintroduced and supplanted with head-spinning frequency,workflows are evolving in new ways and at breakneck speeds.“Post is no longer a ‘place,’ it’s a state of mind,” states MichaelCioni, founder and CEO of Light Iron, a post facility thattargets productions with file-based workflows. “As soon as youpull the card out of the camera, post has started, even thoughyou’re still on set. On [the upcoming feature] The AmazingSpider-Man, all of the data backup, sound syncing, Aviddailies and color-corrected dailies — in other words, thefootage that would be sent out to the studio executives and allthe filmmakers — was created without a brick-and-mortarpost house. On a movie that large, that’s a profound thing.”

The creative potential of emerging digital technologiesis vast, but the importance of handling data correctly on set isoften overlooked. Brook Willard, a digital-imaging technicianwhose credits include The Muppets (AC Dec. ’11), TheAmazing Spider-Man and Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby,says, “My biggest pet peeve regarding on-set data handling isthe cavalier attitude people have about it. With film, we handthe negative over to the lowest-paid member of the cameradepartment. With digital data, it’s even scarier. Everybody hasa computer, and everybody has copied files to a hard drive


Workflows have existed in some form since the birth ofcinema itself, but today, as digital-imaging techniquesbecome more and more prevalent, the very concept ofa “workflow” can be difficult to define. In practice, a

digital workflow truly begins the moment a manufacturer laysdown a set of specifications for a digital camera system. Thosechoices affect the quality of the outputted image, establish itsrecorded format (tape or a file-based alternative) and have amajor impact on post pathways.

Once specs are established, the workflow branches outin both physical and theoretical directions. On the physicalside, data-handling protocols must be established for hard-ware and software usage both on and off the set. One mustalso properly address issues related to color space, transformsand the file-format containers in which image data is stored,converted and used to communicate with different platformsand devices.

Each step on this path is slippery enough to causestumbles, either through human error or through the loss ofinformation as image data is transferred and/or translated.Pitfalls can include errors or limitations introduced duringimage acquisition; mishandling of the physical data itself;problems involving the integration, manipulation/processingand delivery of the digital imagery during post; and, finally,complications related to digital exhibition.

To define the concept of a digital-image workflow, weshould begin by breaking down and analyzing the entireimage-making chain.

When film was the prevailing capture medium, on-set

Gowiththe Flow AC ’s technical editor surveys evolving digital workflows and

some of the challenges they pose.

By Christopher Probst

•|•


before, so handling data seems eveneasier than handling film. Many peopleassume [the task] can therefore behanded down to the least-experiencedperson on set.”

The data on a memory card ortape that is removed from the camera isextremely vulnerable until it is retrieved,backed up and verified. The efforts ofthe entire production team are heldwithin this small digital package of onesand zeroes, so it’s vital to establish astructured hierarchy for the handling ofshot media. “Describing on-set datamanagement as ‘copying data’ is sort oflike describing cinematography as‘pointing a camera’ — it just doesn’t tellthe whole story,” Willard observes. “Aproper on-set digital workflow requiresan experienced individual. The time,money and sanity saved by hiring an A-list team will be worth a hundred timesmore than what it costs.”

Many methods and devices areused to store, back up and transport on-set data, and given the serpentine pathany particular workflow can take, it iscrucial to establish a clear set of checksand balances to safeguard your “digitalnegative.” In addition to verifying thedata copies (by performing checksumson copied data across several duplicate

drives), one must create a procedure formethodically rotating media cards,shuttle drives and archive masters bothon set and when transporting materialsto and from post houses.

“Have you ever seen someonesitting on set with 20 fire-wire drives of different sizes all daisy-chained

together?” asks Cioni. “Well, for somepeople, that’s a workflow.

“The first mistake many produc-tions make is deciding not to spend themoney on the workflow up front,” hecontinues. “People are reluctant to spendmoney on something they don’t under-

stand, and that’s logical. But trying tosave money on your workflow andslowly trickle it out as you go actuallycreates bumps in the road. You need todecide up front that you will get theright type of drives and the rightnumber of drives, not to mention theright amount of recording media, likesolid-state cards. Clients often ask me,‘Will five or six cards do the trick?’ AndI ask, ‘For what, the morning? Becauseideally, we’d like to hold onto cards thatare storing footage for at least 72hours!’”

The next hurdle in a digital work-flow is preparing the media for its moveto the editorial and post teams. Many oftoday’s high-end digital motion-picturecamera systems shoot to their ownproprietary file formats that don’tdirectly allow for editing in systems suchas Avid and Final Cut Pro. Therefore, itis often necessary to transcode thefootage into a format that is compatiblewith the post house’s chosen editorialequipment.

Several possible workflow pathscan be introduced through this process,and each has potential pitfalls that canimpact the image. Does the productionwant to use the transcodedfiles foroffline purposes only, similar to a workD

iagr

am c

ourt

esy

of M

icha

el C

ioni

.

This graph by LosAngeles postfacility Light Iron,which specializesin file-basedworkflows,predicts that suchworkflows willeclipse all othersby 2015.

“Describing on-setdata managementas ‘copying data’

just doesn’t tell thewhole story.”


print? Or do they wish to have thetranscodes provide files that can beedited and also used to create the online,much like taking color-corrected dailiesback into a telecine for a final tape-to-tape process?

The latter option presents a redflag in terms of the effect it can have onthe quality of the image. Mike Most, asenior colorist at post facility NextElement, explains, “For many, the word‘digital’ is completely misunderstood. Itcan be nearly impossible to convincesome producers that there is a differencebetween this digital format and thatone.

“A good example of this can beseen on many productions shooting onAlexa cameras and recording to theProRes 4:4:4 codec, which is acompressed format to begin with,”continues Most. “As far as producers areconcerned, they are shooting on ‘digital,’so it’s all the same, but the problem isthat they will then take that ProRes4:4:4, convert it to DNxHD 115 — amid-range Avid codec — and bring it

into an Avid Media Composer. Thenthey cut the show and output that astheir color-correction master. In the

process, they’re losing a lot of qualitybecause they are subjecting [thefootage] to two separate compressionsand leaving it in a mid-level data-rate

codec. The cinematographer on theshow may value the difference betweenshooting 4:2:2 or 4:4:4, but, whether heknows it or not, his footage isn’t beinghandled properly.”

Even when the transcoded mate-rial is used only for offline editing andthe original full-range camera files areused for the final color grade, workflowhazards might lurk around the corner. Irecently experienced one of these on anOld Navy commercial I shot with RedEpic cameras.

The Epic’s Mysterium-X sensorhas a native aspect ratio sized to theDCI standard of 1.89:1. Filming for aTV commercial, we set the in-cameraframing guides for 16x9 (1.78:1), whichrepresents a slight crop of the sides fromthe full sensor size. Transcodes wereperformed on set and cropped inRedCineX to our desired aspect ratio.After editing was completed, the origi-nal raw .r3d files were conformed at thepost house for final color correction.

Many contemporary color correc-tors are able to work directly with theraw .r3d files by utilizing a RedRocketcard internally to help process and real-time deBayer the Redcode source mate-rial. However, in order to crop the1.89:1 material to the 1.78:1 aspectratio, a software checkbox must beselected for either “Fit to Width” or “Fitto Height.” “Fit to Width” uses theentire width of the recorded frame andleaves a slight letterbox on the top andbottom of the frame. “Fit to Height”uses all of the height information andthen crops the image at the 1.78:1aspect ratio of the HD delivery spec.

Erroneously, the post housechose“Fit to Width,” but the client found theresultant letterboxing unacceptable. Thepost team then attempted to remedy thesituation by pushing in on the final HDimage to fill the height of the 16x9frame, but this made the footage losesharpness, which further dismayed theclient. At this point, the producer calledme to ask why our commercial looked“soft.” After determining where theproblem began, we had the post housego back to the original files and lay

◗ Go with the Flow

Dia

gram

by

Chr

isto

pher

Pro

bst.

This illustrates two sample workflows that are possible when image capture is accomplished with the Arri Alexa.

“It can be nearlyimpossible to

convince someproducers that there

is a differencebetween this digital

format and that one.”


down that material again, this time inthe proper aspect ratio.

“That’s a perfect example of a jobwhere everything goes right, and then asimple 1.89-to-1.78 conversion ismissed and the whole workflow iscompromised,” notes Cioni. “It wasn’tthe file format or color corrector thatcreated the problem; it was the nature ofchange that created the problem. Weare all engaging in completely newacquisition formats, and now, with file-based systems, this generation of filmprofessionals is tackling the steepestlearning curve they’ve ever confronted.”

“Every time you get that type ofphone call, you can spend two daysdoing detective work trying to figureout what happened,” observes JeffHeusser, a digital-effects supervisor atDigital Domain and cofounder offxguide.com. “I recently spent severaldays dealing with a problem on a 3-Dproject, trying to sync up two camerasthat had time codes that wouldn’tmatch. Eventually I looked at the meta-data and found that the two cameras [inthe stereo rig] were running completelydifferent firmware! I’d never havethought we’d have to specify to crews

that both cameras shooting on a 3-Drig must have the same firmware.”

The difficulty in moving to file-based cameras and workflows is exacer-bated by the fact that many companies

are trying to introduce this new work-flow into existing systems and method-ologies. “One of the biggest workflowmistakes is that people attempt to forcematerial through a pre-existingpipeline,” says Willard. “I’ve seennumerous productions get into major

trouble by, for example, jamming Red.r3d files through their ‘proven’ workflowrather than embracing the camera forwhat it is. You can get .r3d files throughany workflow you want, but you can doa lot of things in life that are not recom-mended. When all you’ve got is ahammer, everything begins to look like anail, and when all you’ve got is anHDCam-SR deck, your .r3d workflowis going to be compromised.

“That’s not to say a tape workflowis the enemy,” he adds. “It’s just anoutdated solution to an outdated prob-lem. There is always a ‘best’ workflow fora given project based on the requiredspeed of turnaround and deliverables. Ifyou want to shoot on camera X, watchdailies in format Y and deliver files toeverybody in format Z, there’s a line thatconnects those dots. The addition ofspecialized hardware or software breaksthat line by forcing a detourfor the sakeof the workflow rather than for the sakeof the result.”

For post facilities, transitioning tofile-based workflows requires not only achange in thinking, but also consider-able financial investment. “Because Iwork in post, I can honestly blame the


The author usedthis workflow on

the 2012Lionsgate featurerelease Fire with

Fire, shot with theRed Epic. Tunnel

Post in SantaMonica will

handle the digitalmastering.

“This generation offilm professionals is

tackling thesteepest learningcurve they’ve ever

confronted.”

Dia

gram

by

Chr

isto

pher

Pro

bst.


struggle to move toward file-basedworkflows on the post houses them-selves,” Cioni declares. “It’s not that thecrews on set are resistant to it, or thatthe cinematographers can’t get a good-looking image out of it. In fact, work-flow problems usually do not occur onset, but in post. It’s the post house thatis slow to upgrade and change. For somefacilities, getting a file-based workflow[going] is like sucking a golf ballthrough a garden hose, but they willthrow time, manpower and horsepowerat a problem, and if they apply enoughsuction, they will get that golf ball all ofthe way through. Or, instead, they couldjust invest in a separate pipeline rightnext to that one that is twice as wide!”

Restructuring an entire posthouse’s pipeline can be a massive under-taking, especially if that pipeline is basedon legacy standards. “For a digitallycaptured production to look its best, andto get the most out of the camera, anall-digital path is the best way to go,”says Most. “If you believe film is theonly acceptable aesthetic, or the mostdesirable one, then you should try tofind a way to shoot film. Manipulatingdigitally captured images in a ratherdestructive way in order to make themlook ‘not digital’ is, to my mind, coun-terproductive. The advantage to all ofthese digital formats only really materi-alizes if you hand that file over to the

final colorist, and in many cases, thatjust isn’t happening.”

In an effort to ingest all the vari-ous formats, resolutions, codecs and bitdepths, many post facilities have engi-neered their own solutions for theirparticular hardware/software pipelines.

In fact, many use this “secret sauce” topromote their services. “Secret saucesare not helping the workflow situation,”says Cioni. “I’ll admit that there arethings I don’t know about post, but Ihave not been able to find anything inwhat we do that I wouldn’t share withsomeone else. I find that if you shareinformation with your clients, they aremore likely to come back to you.”

A discussion of workflow canquickly get bogged down in technicalterms such as color space, color gamut,linear, log, bit depth and so on, but theseimage parameters play a crucial role in

the quality of the images they display. Itis vital to understand that differentdevices and post steps “speak” in differ-ent color-space languages, and that inorder to move an image through aspecific workflow, it is often necessaryto transform the image from one colorspace to another.

In fact, transforms can occur atalmost every step in the post process.The original camera files, for example,must be ingested into a color-correctorplatform in order for the images to begraded. If you’re shooting on an Alexain Log C to ProRes files, for instance,you must choose what color space toperform your color corrections in, suchas Rec 709 for HD broadcast or Blu-rayfinish, or the DCI P3 standard fortheatrical exhibition. Either way, atransform occurs.

The process of transforming animage can significantly impact theresults. Cioni explains, “When youtransform from one color space intoanother, the result cannot be exactly thesame. The only way for it to be exactlythe same is for it to be in the same colorspace. So when doing a transform, therehas to be some percentage of change. Ifit’s less than 1 percent, it’s probably notan issue, and if it’s less than 1 percent inthe highlights, that’s even less of anissue.

“For example,” he continues, “if Ishowed you a series of pictures and saidthe difference between them is that onehas white at 100 percent, one has whiteat 95 percent, and the final image haswhite at 90 percent, you probablywouldn’t see much of a difference. But ifI were to show you images with black atzero, black at 5 percent and black at 10percent, you’d probably be throwing upby the time we got to 10. It’s the sameamount of variation, but where you put[that variation] changes the perceptionof what you see. When transformingbetween color spaces, you want to makesure that the transforms upset areas inthe image that are the least detectable.”

A loss of image quality can occurwhen transforming imagery capturedby a modern digital-cinema camera,


“Secret sauces arenot helping the

workflow situation.”

This diagram shows how the Image Interchange Framework-Academy Color Encoding Specification,better known as IIF-ACES, functions with three different capture devices.

Dia

gram

cou

rtes

y of

the

Aca

dem

y of

Mot

ion

Pict

ure

Art

s &

Sci

ence

s.

Award Winning Uncompressed Recorder!

3D (Option) and/or ARRIRAW (Planned) Support via paid upgrades

www.convergent-design.com www.gemini444.com ++720-221-3861 ++803-278-0941

G e m n 4:4:4TM

-4:2:2/4:4:4 RGB S-Log 10-Bit-Supports both Full Uncompressed and your favorite Compressed Workflows-Low Power, Weight, Size, Cost-$5995 with transfer-station, hard case



because many of these cameras can nowsupply dynamic ranges and colorgamuts that far exceed the specs ofestablished format standards such asCineon’s 10-bit log DPX and the HDstandard, Rec 709. “You need a formatthat has a deep enough bit depth to holdthe equivalent information without gapsin it,” explains Most. “The critical aspectof this is that when the image isprocessed, as with color correction, thecolor space you’re transforming to has adeeper bit depth than your source.That’s why most color correctors workat 32-bit, 64-bit, full float and so on.

“Bit depth has more to do withaccuracy: the more bits you have, themore sample levels you have,” hecontinues. “And the more sample levelsyou have, the less steppiness you havebetween what those levels represent. Welive in an analog world, and analog, forall practical purposes, has infinite bitdepth. Digital is always a representationof something that’s analog, so when wedigitize something, we have to choosehow much [information] we’re going tothrow away and what in-between levelsare not going to be available. For exam-

ple, if you digitize a curve, the lower thesampling rate, the steppier the resultingcurve will be. With an infinite samplingrate, you end up with an analog curveagain.”

“One way to think about trans-

forms is to imagine that you have a colorspace with only three points — let’s sayred, green and blue,” says Cioni. “Whenyou transform an image into that colorspace, all the colors apart from red, greenand blue can wiggle around quite a bitbecause we didn’t give specific directionsfor the placement of those colors. The

idea with a good transform is to havemore vertices of precision than yoursource material so that when you trans-form into it, you can plot the color infor-mation with a more accurate placementin the new gamut. A good transform hasmore precision for where it placesmagenta or fuchsia, for example; thosecolors hover around similar locations. Ifyou have a value for red and blue, youmight get purple correct, but what aboutmagenta or fuchsia? Those colors are inbetween those [basic] values, and that’swhat a good transform has to take intoconsideration.”

With many post facilities creatingcustom workflows, exchanging materialbetween companies can be problematic.One company might use one colorspace, while another facility uses adifferent one. Having to transform shotsback and forth between these dissimilarworkflows can have a detrimental effecton the image. To address this, theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts andSciences Science & Technology Councilhas been developing a new set of work-flow standards, the Image InterchangeFramework. The IIF and its proposedcolor space, the Academy ColorEncoding Specification, have beendetailed in AC before, most recently inMarch ’11 and April ’11.

“None of today’s digital cameras,or even scanned 35mm negative, can belooked at independently from its work-flow specs, and the most critical part ofa workflow spec is how various color-space transforms affect your image’sdynamic range and color gamut,” saysCurtis Clark, ASC, chairman of theASC Technology Committee and aparticipant in the development of theIIF. “IIF-ACES is the first system toaddress this challenge. ACES is a start-ing-point color-space environmentwhere everything plays on an equal foot-ing. There are no ambiguities in the waywe get to ACES from whatever theoriginal capture device created, becauseACES is a color space that is muchbroader than the capabilities of anycurrent camera or display device. Itdoesn’t clip or restrict the attributes of

This illustrates how the ACES color space encompasses and exceeds the capabilities of current camera and display devices.

“ACES is theultimate way tofuture-proof your‘digital negative.’”

Dia

gram

cou

rtes

y of

the

Aca

dem

y of

Mot

ion

Pict

ure

Art

s &

Sci

ence

s.


◗ Go with the Flowwhat was there in the original image. It’sthe ultimate way to future-proof your‘digital negative.’”

To understand how IIF-ACESworks, it’s necessary to distinguishbetween linear and log encoding. Linearencoding is often confused with videogamma, which is sometimes calledlinear video. The linear encoding we arediscussing is scene linear, which repre-sents images that have a linear relation-ship between the captured RGB valuesand the physical light luminosities ofthe original scene. Logarithmic encod-ing, on the other hand, encodes imageswith a non-linear relationship to thescene’s physical light intensities,mapping the scene’s dynamic-rangeinformation within a smaller number ofbits. Its values, therefore, do not increasein tandem with the physical light levelspresent in the taking scene. It is impor-tant to realize that although film densi-ties have a logarithmic relationship tothe scene, not all logarithmic encodingsencode the images as film would have.

Many of today’s popular digital-cinema cameras utilize log encoding aspart of their recording schemes. Arri’sAlexa can incorporate Log C encodingwith its ProRes recording option, andSony’s F35 and SRW9000PL employthe company’s S-Log format. On thelinear side of the coin, several camerasystems offer raw linear data capture,including Red’s One, Scarlet and Epic,the Alexa (when using third-partyonboard recorders to capture ArriRawdata) and Sony’s F65. In order tocapture the full capabilities of thesecameras, the IIF uses custom input-device transforms, or IDTs, to ingest themaximum information from the origi-nal data into the ACES color space.

“Most of the IDTs are created bylooking at the spectral sensitivities of thesensor on a given camera,” Clarkexplains. “The Academy has analyzedthat data and very carefully devised amatrix for each camera — assuming, ofcourse, that the camera manufacturerallowed them to go that deep into theirspecs. If not, then the onus is on themanufacturer to provide the matrix that

Last year the FX seriesJustified became the

first episodic TV show totest the Academy’s IIF-ACES workflow, which itdid using Sony cameras,and since then post facilityEncore has begun usingthe process on shows thatuse different capturemedia, among them35mm film, the Arri Alexaand the Red Epic.

Encore senior colorist PankajBajpai reports that IIF-ACES is beingused to color correct/finish Hung andEnlightened, which are shot on 35mm;Chicago Code and How to Make it inAmerica, which are shot with the Alexa(using SxS cards to record to the ProRes4:4:4 codec); and the new season ofJustified, which is shot on Red’s Epic.“The image characteristics yielded by allthese different digital sensors are uniqueto each camera, just as the image char-acteristics of the various film negativesare unique, but once you have the properinput-device transform for each camera,the reference-rendering transforms andoutput-device transforms remain thesame within the IIF system, regardlessof the camera used,” explains Bajpai.

“Is there a difference between thelook of Epic images and Sony F35images? Absolutely, ” he continues. “Isone better than the other? That’s anaesthetic question. However, in terms ofsupporting the full range of what eachsensor or film stock can capture, IIF-ACES has proven to be very simple towork with. It brings all of that informa-tion into a common workspace. Withthe color correction, our job is to respectthe uniqueness of these cameras and thecinematographers’ intentions for shoot-ing with them.”

For the HBO series Hung, shotby Uta Briesewitz, Encore scans 3-perfSuper 35mmnegative on a 4K Spiritand saves the data as 1920x1080 10-bituncompressed DPX files. “We then use

the IDT for film negativethat the Academy hasprovided to bring thatmaterial into ACES,” saysBajpai. “It’s amazing howwell a 10-bit DPX scanfalls into place with it.[Once in ACES space,] wecan color correct it usingthe same RRTs and ODTsas we would on a digitallycaptured show.

“In the past,” he continues, “TVshows would do a telecine transfer fromfilm to some form of video, such asDigiBeta, D1 or HDCam, but youcould never really record the full rangeof what was on the negative. Even inHD, you were limited by the Rec 709gamut. There were ways you could try toflatten the image and retain more detail,but there wasn’t anything like 10-bitDPX uncompressed data.

“ACES really captures all of thecharacteristic curves and the way thatfilm behaves, with very meaty mid-tones, gorgeous blacks that don’t havethe sort of blue noise you sometimes getwith film scans, and creamy, subtlehighlights. On Hung, even with areas ofunderexposure in dark scenes, we canmaintain detail while making the blacksrich.”

The new season of Justified, shotby Francis Kenny, ASC,is beingcaptured with Red’s Epic, which offers5K Bayer-sensor resolution and frame-rate versatility. (It allows up to 96 fps infull-frame 5K.) For that show, saysBajpai, “we’re working from the raw.r3d files and have an IDT that’sdesigned to maintain the integrity of thenative full dynamic range of those files.Of course, at some point the .r3d fileshave to be deBayered, and we aredeBayering them in such a way that ourcolor-science maps out. The ACESworkflow is working very well. We’regetting very good blacks, lots of detail inthe highlights, and really meaty mid-tones.”

— Christopher Probst

•|• New IIF-ACES Workflow in Action •|•

Pankaj Bajpai

Phot

o co

urte

sy o

f Enc

ore.

does the transform accurately from itscamera’s output into ACES RGBvalues. That doesn’t have to entail goingall the way back to the spectral responsecharacteristics of the sensor, however; itmay be just a look-up table, if that’s theway the manufacturer prefers to do it.”

Once in the ACES color space,the full range of data captured from thedigital camera can then be adjustedwithin a much larger bit-depth format,which utilizes the OpenEXR containeroriginally developed by Industrial Light& Magic for use in the visual-effectsarena.

“The image characteristic of adigital camera and its sensor is uniqueto each camera,” says Encore seniorcolorist Pankaj Bajpai, who graded lastyear’s IIF test-bed TV series, Justified.“Each camera responds to the high-lights and shadows a little differently.It’s analogous to how different filmstocks behave. Cinematographers cantest each camera the way they would afilm stock to learn how the blacks feel,how the mid-tones register and soforth, and then light the way theyalways have, by eye or with a meter —whatever method they’re comfortablewith. With ACES, when I have a scenewith a wide dynamic range, I don’t haveto chase certain areas with a powerwindow to bring the highlights downthe way I often had to before ACES.”

IDTs account for only one aspectof the IIF-ACES workflow. Within the IIF there are also transforms for rendering (called the ReferenceRendering Transform, or RRT), trans-forms specific to color-grading changesapplied to a rendered image in the color corrector (Look ModificationTransforms, or LMTs), and transformsthat take into account the display deviceused to view the output image (OutputDevice Transforms, or ODTs). Clarkexplains, “To make an analogy, if ACESis your ‘negative,’ then the RRT, alongwith color-grading LMTs, is your‘print,’ the rendered negative that youcan view. You cannot make use ofACES files independently of the RRT.That’s also true of ODTs, which map

the rendered ACES information[OCES, or Output Color EncodingSpace] to a specific display device.

“When you’re not in a DCI-compliant, projection-standard, color-space environment, variations inmonitor calibration can dramaticallyimpact what you perceive in yourimage,” continues Clark. “You initiallytrust that the display reference is prop-erly calibrated and configured for theappropriate color space, but you mightactually find that isn’t the case, and yourreference isn’t really a reference at all. Inthat situation, you just don’t knowexactly what you’re looking at. It’simperative to ensure that the calibrationand color-space settings of the displaydevice being used are proper for what-ever distribution platform the project isgeared toward, whether digital cinemaor HDTV.”

“CRTs have been dying [in color-correction suites] for several years now,”notes Bajpai, “but even those do not

truly represent what will be seen on aplasma or LCD screen today. The mostimportant aspect of a color-correctionenvironment is being able to predictablyset your viewing environment to a

specific set of specs so that when you’relooking at white, it’s white, and whenyou’re looking at black, it’s black. Even

with pro-grade plasma sets, it’s impossi-ble to match one with another when youput them side-by-side.”

Having an output image trans-formed to the specific, calibrated deviceon which it will finally be displayedseems like an obvious idea, but having aworking color space and workflowprocess that can easily move betweenany of the delivery formats, be it DCIP3 for theatrical distribution or Rec 709for HDTV, is a unique feature of theIIF. Bajpai elaborates, “In the color-correction suite, when you start with aRec 709 color space and try to color-correct that image, you can actually seehow quickly you lose details. Bycontrast, when you’re working from theoriginal logarithmic image with an IDTinto ACES color space, you can see howmuch dynamic range you’re able tomaintain. With IIF-ACES, everythingjust sort of falls into place, and you don’thave to struggle to get the image tobalance out or retain detail.”


86

“Even CRTs don’t truly represent what

will be seen on aplasma or LCDscreen today.”

Once the post processing of theimagery is complete, the final step in aproject’s workflow is generating thefinal deliverables. Even at this laststep, outdated delivery specs or image-compromised workflows can derail anotherwise solid workflow strategy. Inthe TV realm, for example, manybroadcasters still require an HDCamtape be provided for final delivery,even if a show is entirely file-basedthroughout production and post. “Butmost of today’s shows don’t air offtape; they air off servers!” Cioni notes.“Productions might finish on somesort of server system at a post house,but they will then lay that file-basedshow to tape, drop it into a FedExpackage and send it to MasterControl, where it will be digitizedonto a server and then aired. Tape hasbecome a way to mail things, andthat’s it.”

Some TV productions havealready adopted an entirely file-based

workflow and delivery. “[Producer]Dean Devlin is a great example of apioneer in file-based delivery,” saysCioni. “Leverage is now in its fourthseason, and they shoot on Red

cameras and finish it all in QuickTimefiles. When it airs on TNT, it’s airingfrom a file.”

Bajpai adds, “After Sony ran outof HDCam-SR tapes [during the

Fukushima nuclear disaster], westarted to see more and more file-based delivery. People are taking babysteps right now, and there is a lot ofdiscussion about what the final formatshould be. But once you finish, espe-cially if you use ACES, you can walkout of here with [your project in]almost any [format] you want.”

For cinematographers, trying tostay abreast of current technologiesrequires a much broader understandingof workflows than ever before. But justas the film-based workflow settled intoa relatively controlled set of standards,so, too, will digital workflows, especiallyas manufacturers come to terms withfile-based systems and initiatives such asIIF-ACES simplify the challenges. ●

87

“Tape has become a way tomail things, and

that’s it.”

Canon Unveils Cinema EOSSignaling the company’s

commitment to professionalmotion-picture production,Canon has unveiled theCinema EOS C300, an interchangeable-lens digitalcinema camera thatcombines exceptional imag-ing performance withoutstanding mobility andexpandability. The camera

will be available in two models: the EOS C300 EF, equipped with anEF lens mount for compatibility with Canon’s diverse line of inter-changeable EF and EF Cinema lenses; and the EOS C300 PL, with aPL lens mount for use with industry-standard PL lenses.

Both models feature a new Super 35mm-equivalent CMOSsensor that incorporates approximately 8.29 million effective pixels,with a pixel size that is larger than that of conventional professionalcamcorders, thus enabling greater light-gathering capabilities forenhanced sensitivity and reduced noise. The sensor reads full HD(1920x1080) video signals for each of the three RGB primary colors,decreasing the incidence of moiré, and 4:2:2 color sampling furtherenables high-resolution performance.

Supported by a heightened signal read-out speed, theCMOS sensor reduces rolling-shutter skews. Additionally, thecombination of the sensor with Canon’s high-performance Digic DVIII image processor facilitates high-precision gamma processing andsmooth gradation expression. The C300 also features the CanonLog Gamma recording mode, which captures a “flat” lookingimage with 12 stops of dynamic range for maximum flexibility inpost.

The camera’s video and audio recording file format adoptsthe industry-standard Material Exchange Format, an open sourcefile format ideally suited for nonlinear editing systems. The C300records to readily available CF cards and is equipped with two cardslots for simultaneous recording. The camera also offers 59.41i,50.00i, 29.97P, 25.00P, 23.98P and 24.00p recording modes.

The C300 measures 5.2" wide by 7.0" high by 6.7" deep.The camera can be outfitted with a handle, grip, thumb rest andmonitor unit. Additionally, it offers an array of industry-standardterminals, including HD/SD-SDI video output for external recording.When used in conjunction with Canon’s WFT-E6B wireless file trans-mitter for EOS DSLRs, the C300 can also be controlled remotely viaa smart phone or tablet.

The camera is equipped with four start/stop buttons posi-

New Products & Services• SUBMISSION INFORMATION •

Please e-mail New Products/Services releases to:[email protected] and include full contactinformation and product images. Photos must be

TIFF or JPEG files of at least 300dpi.

tioned at various locations to satisfy a variety of camera-holdingstyles. The camera is also compatible with a host of third-party acces-sories, including matteboxes, follow-focus systems and externalvideo and audio recorders.

Other features include fast- and slow-motion shooting withframe rates adjustable between 1 and 60 fps in 1 fps increments.Additionally, a selection of Custom Pictures enables users to adjustthe image quality for greater control over the look.

The EOS C300 EF is scheduled to be available this month,while the C300 PL is slated for release in late March; both camerashave a recommended price of $20,000.

For additional information, visit www.canon.com/cinemaeos.


Canon Debuts EF Cinema LensesSupporting the release

of the Cinema EOS C300 digi-tal camera system, Canon hasintroduced seven 4K EFCinema Lenses.

The lineup includes four zoom lenses (two each for EF andPL mounts) covering a focal-length range from 14.5mm to300mm, and three EF-mount prime lenses. All seven lenses arecapable of delivering exceptional 4K optical performance andoffer compatibility with the Super 35mm-equivalent imageformat. The three prime lenses can also be used with camerasequipped with 35mm full-frame sensors.

The four zoom lenses comprise the EF-mount CN-E14.5-60mm T2.6 L S, the PL-mount CN-E14.5-60mm T2.6 L SP, the EF-mount CN-E30-300mm T2.95-3.7 L S and the PL-mount CN-E30-300mm T2.95-3.7 L SP. Zoom, focus and iris markings are allengraved on angled surfaces for improved readability from behindthe camera. With a focus rotation angle of approximately 300degrees and a zoom rotation angle of approximately 160 degrees,the lenses facilitate precise focusing performance while makingpossible smooth and subtle zoom operation.

The prime lenses comprise the EF-mount CN-E24mm T1.5L F, CN-E50mm T1.3 L F and CN-E85mm T1.3 L F. The primes andthe zooms all employ anomalous dispersion glass, which is effec-tive in eliminating chromatic aberration, and large-diameteraspherical lenses, providing high-resolution imaging across theframe. Each lens is equipped with a newly designed 11-bladeaperture diaphragm for soft, attractive blur characteristics.

For additional information, visit www.usa.canon.com.

Redrock Micro Introduces UltraCageRedrock Micro has introduced

UltraCage Blue accessories for the latestgeneration of digital cinema cameras,including Canon’s EOS C300.

Designed in partnership with Canon,the UltraCage Blue ensures all buttons,functions and doors on the C300 arecompletely accessible, and the C300’shandgrip can be removed and attachedwithout removing the cage. Furthermore,the UltraCage mirrors the compact designof the C300 to allow users to add criticalaccessories without expanding the system’sfootprint.

“When Canon approached us tocreate a cage that would ‘finish’ the C300into a supremely functional productioncamera, we wanted to do something morethan just create a square cage,” says JamesHurd, Redrock Micro’s chief revolutionary.“We felt it was important to mirror theC300’s compactness and beautiful lineswithout increasing the camera’s footprint.Customers want to retain the camera’s feeland ergonomics, and add the support,security and features of the UltraCage.”

Redrock Micro has also announcedthe UltraCage Blue Universal, a version ofthe UltraCage designed to work with anarray of digital camera systems from anumber of manufacturers, including Sonyand Panasonic. Both the UltraCage Blueand UltraCage Blue Universal boast amodular form factor that allows users toquickly and easily switch from ultra-compact to full studio-style modes.

For additional information, visitwww.redrockmicro.com.

Hurlbut, Letus Develop Master Cinema SeriesShane Hurlbut, ASC has partnered

with camera-accessories manufacturerLetus Corp. to produce the Shane Hurlbut

89

utilized 4x4 filters. Later, the MB-105update used 4x5.65 filters. The latestversion, the MB-114, is available in either atwo-stage or three-stage version for 4x5.65filters.

The MB-114 features a 114mmclamp-on back and comes with four step-down rings to 110mm, 105mm, 95mmand 80mm. The mattebox is compatiblewith most professional cinema lenses.

For additional information, visitwww.birnsandsawyer.com.

Cooke Adds 135mm LensCooke Optics has added a 135mm

lens to its 5/i Prime and Panchro lens sets.The 135mm for the 5/i set boasts a

speed of T1.4 and the 5/i’s signature focusring, which illuminates when required. ThePanchro 135mm joins the smaller, lighter-weight lens set and has a speed of T2.8.Both lenses are color-matched and cali-brated to all existing Cooke lenses andfeature built-in /i Technology, which

provides cinematographers, camera opera-tors and post teams with vital metadata,including lens setting, focusing distance,aperture, depth of field, hyperfocal distanceand focal length in both metric and imper-ial measurements.

For additional information, visitwww.cookeoptics.com.

Master Cinema Series, a line of productsdesigned to give DSLR cameras a profes-sional form factor.

Having worked with DSLR systemsfor the past four years on an array ofprojects, Hurlbut approached Letus ownerHien Tu Le with a vision for an affordableline of accessories. As a result of their collab-oration, Letus has prototyped and manu-factured 16 individual components for theMaster Cinema Series. The complete systemallows users to effortlessly morph thecamera’s form factor between four specificconfigurations: Studio Cam, Shoulder Cam,Man Cam and Action Cam.

For additional information, visithttp://mastercinemaseries.com.

Birns & Sawyer Updates Clamp-On MatteboxBirns & Sawyer has released the MB-

114 clamp-on mattebox. The company’s popular tray-less,

clamp-on mattebox was introduced morethan a decade ago with the MB-95, which


Paradise FX Supports 3-D with Helios RigParadise FX has introduced the

Helios 3-D stereo rig, whose wireless, self-contained, advanced design and opera-tional features support fast on-set deploy-ment, streamlined post and cost-effective3-D production.

The Helios rig is suitable for alltypes of un-tethered camera-work, including hand-held, Steadicam andstudio applications.Helios also features aself-balancing design,whereby interaxialconvergence controlsmove out from thecenter of the rig, preventinga weight shift from affect-ing Steadicam performance.Helios can also be quicklyswitched over from one shoot-ing configuration to another.

Helios is manufactured from rigid,lightweight magnesium and aluminumalloy. It is designed for use with Red Epiccameras, with future support planned for

Arri Alexa M and Sony F3 cameras.Paradise FX offers Helios with a range ofmatched lens pairs, including Arri UltraPrimes and Angenieux Compact Zooms.

Using Preston G4 wireless controls,Helios’ interaxial range can be adjustedfrom 0" to 2", and convergence can beadjusted from 10" to infinity. The rig

measures 18.5"x18.5"x8.5", with amirror-box width of 15". Without

cameras or accessories, therig weighs 18

pounds.Helios can

be deployed withParadise FX’s

Mercury metadatacapture system. Files, time codes,

associated lens and 3-D stereoinformation, such as interaxial andconvergence metadata, can beoffloaded for post or visual effects.Additionally, camera moves can be

played back on set in the same way as amotion-control system.

For additional information, visitwww.paradisefx.com.

Lensbaby Packages Movie Maker’s KitLensbaby has introduced the Lens-

baby Movie Maker’s Kit, a completecreative solution for filmmakers looking toadd unique effects to their footage in-camera.

Conveniently packaged in a ruggedPelican case, the Movie Maker’s Kitcontains two Lensbaby lenses for use onPL-mount cameras: Muse PL with DoubleGlass and Composer Pro PL with Sweet 35.The Kit also includes one Composer Prowith a Canon mount for use on Canon’sline of DSLRs.

In addition to the lenses, the MovieMaker’s Kit includes a wide range of inter-changeable optics and accessoriesdesigned to provide the filmmaker withlimitless aesthetic and creative options at avariety of focal lengths.

Filmmakers can achieve an array ofeffects in-camera with the Movie Maker’sKit. The Sweet 35, Double Glass, Plasticand Single Glass optics can be used tocreate different quality selective-focuseffects, where one area of the image at agiven distance is in focus while other areasat the same distance fall out of focus. TheFisheye, Soft Focus and Pinhole/Zone plateoptics allow further in-camera creativity.

The Lensbaby Movie Maker’s Kit isavailable for $2,900. For more information,visit www.lensbaby.com.

Schneider Takes iPhone ProSchneider Optics has introduced

the iPro Lens System, designed to enableprofessional-quality photographic andvideo imagery on Apple’s iPhone 4 withinterchangeable wide-angle and fisheyelenses.

The iPro Lens System features arugged iPhone case and wide-angle and

fisheye lenses that tuck neatly away in thepocket-sized handle/lens case. The lensesuse a bayonet mount to securely fastenonto the custom iPhone case. The case alsogives users the option of attaching thehandle on the left or right side of theiPhone; the handle itself enables the phoneto be attached to a tripod.

Optimized for both still and videoimages, the iPro Lens System includes twoprecision-made, genuine Century lenses.The wide-angle lens simply twists on and

increases the iPhone’s field of view by 35percent with low distortion and edge-to-edge sharpness. For a super-wide, distortedeffect, the fisheye lens alters the field ofview by a dramatic 165-degrees.

iPro lens housings are precisionmachined from aluminum alloy andanodized for durability. The lens elementsare painstakingly ground and polished fromtop-grade optical glass. To avoid flare, thelenses feature multi-layer anti-reflectioncoatings.

The iPro Lens System is available for$199. For more information, visitwww.schneideroptics.com and www.iprolens.com.

12

43

5

PANTHER GmbHRaiffeisenallee 382041 Oberhaching–MunichGermanyT +49.89.61 39 00 01F +49.89.61 31 00 [email protected]

www.panther.tv

New: Tristar Dolly

12345

nstileurTw - oigh - LHammingrogrLimit P

olumn3-stage cmortflaw Poigh - LH

ollyistar DrT: New

1234

1

4

5

HbmGREHTNAP3eellanesieffiaR

hcinuM–gnihcahrebO10428ynamreG

10009316.98.94+T0001316.98.94+Fvtr.ehtnap@tcatnoc

vtr.ehtnap.www

5

91

➣

PAG Links BatteriesPAG, a British camera power and

lighting specialist, has introduced thePAGlink, a linking-battery system for power-ing a wide array of digital cameras.

PAGlink allows users to link multiplesof 96-watt-hour V-Mount Li-Ion batteries tocreate super-high capacities and a high-loadcapability of 12 amps. The batteries incor-porate heavy-duty contacts, which are engi-neered for high-drain applications. Up toeight packs can be linked.

“Camera people were telling us theyneeded more power for their cameras andaccessories,” says Nigel Gardiner, PAG’ssales director. “By linking the batteries, wecould keep the individual capacities below100 watt hours for unrestricted shipping toany location. We set out to achieve a systemthat would enable more batteries to belinked, and make more power availablefrom smarter, smaller and lighter units.”

PAGlink batteries create an intelli-gent network that enables them to commu-nicate with each other and operate seam-lessly as one. This unique system allowsbatteries to be charged as well asdischarged while linked. Charging can takeplace on any V-Mount Li-Ion chargers, suchas the PAG Cube or an equivalent Sonycharger.

PAGlink batteries are available witheither a numeric LCD that displays remain-ing camera run time (in hours and minutes)and battery capacity (in amp hours orpercentage), or with an LED indicator forcapacity and run time. Additionally, thePAGlink system reports the collective state-of-charge information for display in thecamera viewfinder.

For additional information, visitwww.paguk.com.


www.panther.tv

New: Twister Dolly

The creative wayof rigging!

levelplatform

towing-push bar

combi-wheels

readyto use

rear, front or round steering

ollyer DwistTTw: New

lep

otp

cw

erot




vtr.ehtnap.www

93

Company 3 Offers DI DictionaryCompany 3, a subsidiary of Deluxe

Entertainment Services Group, hascompiled the DI Dictionary. The iPhone andiPad app allows users to find definitions bytyping in specific words or scrolling througha list of terms associated with the digital-intermediate process.

The DI Dictionary is available for freethrough the iTunes Store. For additionalinformation, visit www.company3.com.

Light Iron Launches Live PlayPost facility Light Iron has launched

its iPad-based Live Play mobile-dailies appli-cation through Apple’s iTunes Store.

Live Play is an automated and inter-active playback system that enables users tomonitor metadata-rich files and simultane-ously review takes and add comments onmultiple iPads. Wireless, secure andcustomizable, Live Play enables close collab-oration among the creative team on set, aswell as with visual-effects, editorial andother post teams. Live Play’s toolset includesinstant HD playback, database creation andmetadata management.

Light Iron has used its Live Playsystem with such clients as ColumbiaPictures, Walt Disney Studios, LakeshoreEntertainment, NBC Universal and ElectricEntertainment. “We now have clients whorent multiple iPads so they can leave them indifferent places to view their dailies,” saysLight Iron CEO Michael Cioni. “Theresponse has been overwhelming.”

Located in the Apps Store in iTunes,Live Play can be downloaded for $34.99.For additional information, visit www.lightiron.com.

KataData Calculates RuntimeKatabatic Digital, a New York-based

grading, finishing and visual-effects studio,has released the KataData iPhone app. Kata-Data is a storage and runtime calculator foron-set, post and even non-technical posi-tions.

KataData was built for filmmakersand post artists, and it supports an extensivelist of cameras — such asRed One, Red Epic, Phan-tom, Arri Alexa andCanon DSLRs — andcodecs — such as DPX,Open EXR, DNxHD andProRes.

KataData’s ease ofuse eliminates hours ofcalculations and frustra-tion. Users simply enterthe amount of footagethey have by file size (MB,GB or TB) and KataDatacalculates the runtime or

storage. Multiple calculations can also beentered and added.

“For today’s apps, an intuitive userinterface is a must-have, so we’ve built insome cool features like swipe gestures toconvert units and time code,” says EmeryWells, founder of Katabatic Digital. “For Redcamera users, it’s also easy to calculatestereo and HDRx options. We’ll continue to

add more features basedon user feedback. Ifmarket demand is there,we’ll build it.”

KataData is availablenow through the iTunesApp Store for $4.99. Inaddition to the iPhone,the app is also compatiblewith the iPod and iPadrunning iOS 4 or later.

For additional informa-tion, visit www.katabatic.tv/katadata.


Sony Upgrades Vegas ProSony Creative Software has intro-

duced Vegas Pro 11, the latest upgrade tothe company’s nonlinear editing software.Vegas Pro 11 adds significant performanceimprovements courtesy of OpenCL andhighly optimized GPU hardware accelera-tion for video processing and rendering.Other new features include Nvidia 3D Visionsupport for single-display 3-D computerssuch as the Vaio F Series 3-D laptops and LSeries 3-D desktops, an enhanced videostabilizer tool, and new software tools forcreating animated titles.

“Sony continues to be a leader indeveloping professional content-creationapplications that are extremely powerful,yet easy to use,” says Dave Chaimson, vicepresident of global marketing for SonyCreative Software. “With the addition ofGPU acceleration, Vegas Pro 11 streamlinesthe video-editing experience by providingsmoother previews and faster renderingtimes, ideal for industry professionals whowork on tight deadlines where every secondcounts.”

Vegas Pro 11 adds native formatsupport for stereoscopic 3-D MVC andMPO files from Sony camcorders andDSLRs. Other natively supported codecs andformats include XDCam, XDCam EX,HDCam-SR, NXCam, AVCHD, AVCCam,Red .r3d, Red Epic, and AVC-based .movand raw files from popular DSLR cameras.Native P2 support is also available with anoptional plug-in. Vegas Pro 11 also offersusers the option to render to the AVC/MP4file format, which includes progressive filedownload support for streaming purposes.Vegas Pro 11 easily handles complexprojects with multiple formats and mixedresolutions, from standard definition to 4K.

Vegas Pro 11 is available now for asuggested price of $699. For additionalinformation, visit www.sonycreativesoftware.com.

Avid Releases 64-bit Media Composer, NewsCutter, Symphony versionsAvid has introduced Media

Composer version 6, NewsCutter version10 and Symphony version 6. The updatedediting systems boasts new levels of open-ness, performance, collaboration and

productivity, enabling users to completetheir work faster, work together more effec-tively and reduce costs through greaterproductivity.

With these new versions, MediaComposer, Symphony and NewsCutterhave all been rebuilt from the core on anentirely new, open, 64-bit architecture. Avidhas also introduced a sleek new user inter-face designed to speed workflows whilesimultaneously preserving the same func-tionality users have come to expect.

“Time and creativity [are] money forour customers, and they are looking forsolutions that can help them continue toadvance the art of creative storytelling with-out adding technological complexity,” saysChris Gahagan, senior vice president ofproducts and solutions at Avid. “As wedebut the most open, accessible and high-est-performance versions of MediaComposer, Symphony and NewsCutter ever,we are thrilled to take a significant leapforward in providing our customers withnew industry standards in speed, ease andaccess that can help them do their jobsmore effectively.”

Avid’s new Open I/O enables supportfor popular video and audio cards from AJAVideo Systems, Blackmagic Design, Blue-fish444, Matrox and Motu, allowing usersto leverage existing hardware investmentsand easily add the Avid systems into theircurrent workflow configurations. Users canalso maintain a familiar and trusted editorialprocess with new 3-D stereoscopic work-flows as well as a deep toolset, with title andconversion control. Editors can also easilyexport metadata into Avid or other third-party finishing systems for grading andhigh-end effects.

The Avid DNxHD 444 high-qualityHD codec allows users to preserve full colorinformation from HD RGB 4:4:4 sourceswithout compromising system performanceor storage. Avid DNxHD 444 can help signif-icantly enhance real-time HD productionproductivity with the highest color detailpossible.

The updated systems eliminatetimely transcode, re-wrap, and log andtransfer processes through expanded AvidMedia Access, which now offers nativesupport for AVCHD and Red Epic as well asthe ability to encode Apple ProRes (on Mac

OS-based systems only). The systems alsosupport the Avid Artist Color controlsurface, offering greater power and flexibil-ity in high-performance color correction.

For additional information, visitwww.avid.com.

Tiffen Digital Filters Go 64 bitThe Tiffen Co. has announced that

its Tiffen Dfx v3 digital filter suite is nowcompatible with Avid 64-bit systems. Inaddition to 64-bit support, the updated Dfxv3 plug-in features enhanced filter controland adds support for 16 Sony cameramodels.

“We are always looking for ways toenrich the Tiffen Dfx capabilities, whether itis qualifying new editing system releasessuch as Avid’s 64 bit, or expanding ouralready comprehensive list of cameras wesupport,” says ASC associate Steve Tiffen,president and CEO of The Tiffen Company.“Our customers can count on Tiffen tokeep pace with the changing technologyand continue to take advantage of their Dfxinvestment.”

Tiffen Dfx v3 is a powerful, robustvideo and still-image editing-effects suite.Compared to previous versions of the soft-ware, v3 boasts enhanced multi-processoracceleration for faster interaction andrendering of images, more than 10 newfilters for optical effects, updated hostsupport, interface improvements and more.Other features of the digital filter suiteinclude more than 120 filter effects, morethan 2,000 presets, digital versions of Tiffenfilters, specialized lens-correction tools, filmgrain, film stocks and color correction.

For additional information, visitwww.tiffen.com.

AJA Ki Pro Mini Supports Avid CodecAJA Video Systems has been work-

ing jointly with Avid to build support for theAvid DNxHD video codec into AJA’s Ki ProMini portable recorder.

“Video producers and editors arealways seeking to ease their workflows andimprove the quality of their productionswhile reducing costs,” says Paul Foeckler,vice president of Creative Professionals,Product Solutions Org., whose team over-sees the products at Avid that are used by awide range of creative professionals. “Withthe AJA Ki Pro Mini supporting Avid’s highquality, low-bandwidth DNxHD codec, edit-ing can begin more quickly than ever,easing workflows in film, television and liveproductions.”

“One of the most frequent requestswe get from the field is for support ofDNxHD in our Ki Pro family of products,”says Nick Rashby, president of AJA. “Avid’scommitment to professional editors hasbeen unwavering for [more than] 20 years,and we’re very excited to bring Ki Pro Miniwith DNxHD support as a free upgrade forall Ki Pro Mini owners.”

AJA also recently released firmwareversion 2.6 for the Ki Pro Mini. The updatedfirmware allows Red Epic, Red One andcertain Canon XF cameras to pass metadatadirectly to the Ki Pro Mini via a single SDIcable. “We’re continually looking at howpeople are working, and how we can helpthem take full advantage of the best ourindustry has to offer,” says Rashby. “Byenabling people to control Ki Pro Mini viathe Red camera metadata precisely fromcamera to post, we’re automating a lot ofwhat was largely a manual process — andmaking workflows easier all the waythrough the production process.”

For additional information, visitwww.aja.com.

Digital Film Tools Plugs into AvidDigital Film Tools has announced

that all of its Avid plug-in product offerings— comprising Composite Suite Pro, Photo-Copy, Rays and zMatte — now support 64-bit processing and are compatible withMedia Composer version 6, Symphonyversion 6 and NewsCutter version 10.

“We have a fairly large Avid user

base, many of whom keep pace with thenew technology releases,” says MarcoPaolini, founder and president of DFT. “Our64-bit DFT plug-ins will provide them withspeed and memory advantages thatstreamline the entire visual-effects process.”

Composite Suite Pro features a well-rounded collection of visual-effects plug-insdesigned to combine multiple images byutilizing compositing tricks and techniques.The toolset includes color correction; blur,grain, and matte manipulation; lens distor-tion; lighting effects; and edge blending.

PhotoCopy copies the brightness,color, tone, detail, grain and texture fromone image and applies them to another.This plug-in also allows user to select apreset look from a library of 94 movies, 72paintings, 40 photographs and 30 historicalphotographic processes.

Rays allows users to create realisticlight-ray effects quickly and easily. Users canadd such effects as shafts of light streamingthrough clouds, rays filtering through aforest canopy or beams of light on a foggynight.

Lastly, zMatte is an intelligent, easy-to-use blue- and greenscreen keyer thatprovides such tools as DV and HD de-arti-facting, color suppression, matte manipula-tion, color correction, edge treatment andlight wrapping.

For additional information, visitwww.digitalfilmtools.com.


www.panther.tv

New: VacuRigg

The creative wayof rigging!

iggacuRV: New

yae wtiveahe crTing!iggof r




vtr.ehtnap.www

iving shotsor dr- f- easy hand

y opererttbaom. pump syutilm/HD camerF

iving shots - easy handling

edtay operemstom. pump sy

asilm/HD camer

95

➣


Marquise Technologies Enhances RainMarquise Technologies has

integrated Cintel’s ImageMill2 boardinto its Rain color-grading solution,resulting in a fully featured color-grading station with real-time imagede-grain/de-noise, stabilization anddust/scratch concealment features.

The upgraded Rain hardwareplatform allows the parallel process-ing, in real time, of the restoration-dedicated applications Grace, Steady andOrigin on 2K images, and up to 8 fps in 4K.With this new set of tools, Rain provides notonly color correction, but also real-timecapabilities for image cleaning for opera-tions such as chroma-keying and tracking.

Rain allows for immediate work onany type of native-format image in either 2-D or stereo 3-D. In addition to high-levelgrading capabilities such as the multi-pointtracker and the dedicated curves for high-lights, mid tones and shadows, Rainfeatures a versioning mode that can memo-rize up to nine versions of a clip; a Story-Board mode, which allows for the creationof up to 32 groups of sequences to gradethem as an ensemble; QuickStore, whichprovides immediate access to the gradesstored in the Grade Library; and anenhanced Grade Library, which allows usersto access any grade stored from any project.

“From its beginning, Rain’s philoso-phy [has been] the ability to work in real-time all the time,” says Laurence Stoll, CEOof Marquise Technologies. “The ImageMill2board matches perfectly our paradigm inoffering unbeaten processing performanceand excellent results.”

For additional information, visitwww.marquise-tech.com.

Globalstor Unveils LCD for 4K PostGlobalstor Data Corporation has

introduced the GS564KLC10 LCD displayfor 4K dailies and postproduction, as well asother high-resolution applications.

The 56" LCD display features anultra-wide viewing angle, high contrast ratioand high brightness. The monitor alsoboasts an ultra-fast response time, whichensures the fidelity of the moving image.

The display also includes easy-to-use

OSD and RS-232 configurations, allowingthe monitor to be quickly integrated intoeven the most complex environments. Itsmaximum display mode is 3840x2160 pixelsat 60 Hz, and it is calibrated for several colortemperatures, including 5,400°K, 6,500°K,7,500°K and 9,300°K. The monitor is alsocalibrated for 2.2, 2.4, 2.6, DICOM and usergamma presets.

“The monitor supports VESA DDC2Band DDC/CI plug-and-play options,” saysScott Leif, president of Globalstor. “Optionalfeatures include a touch panel with up tofour sensors for four simultaneous touches,in addition to an AR/AG protective glass.”

The display’s power consumption isless than 450 watts, and it consumesroughly 10 watts on standby. It measuresapproximately 53"x34"x6" and, without itsstand, weighs approximately 119 pounds.

For additional information, visitwww.globalstor.com.

Sonnet’s Echo Express Streamlines Red WorkflowSonnet Technologies has introduced

its Echo Express PCIe 2.0 ThunderboltExpansion Chassis, which works with theRed Rocket playback and transcoding card.The Echo Express expansion chassis enablesthe use of high-performance PCIe expansion cards — designed for desktop

computers — with computersequipped with Thunderbolt ports,including the latest AppleMacBook Pro, iMac and Mac minisystems.

The Echo Express PCIe 2.0Thunderbolt Expansion Chassiscontains one PCIe 2.0 slot, an inte-grated universal 75-watt powersupply and two Thunderboltports. This system enables users toconnect one PCIe 2.0 adapter card

to a computer via a Thunderbolt cable whileallowing the connection of additional Thun-derbolt peripherals to the daisy-chain Thun-derbolt port.

The Red Rocket card delivers real-time 4K RGB video playback and real-timetranscoding of R3D files generated by Reddigital cameras. When installed into theEcho Express chassis and connected via aThunderbolt cable to a laptop computer, theRed Rocket allows Red footage to bedecoded and edited at high resolution with-out dropped frames.

“We’re excited to be bringing such agroundbreaking new solution to digitalcinema professionals — one that will literallychange the way they work,” says GregLaPorte, vice president of sales and market-ing at Sonnet Technologies. “The EchoExpress chassis enables a truly portable solu-tion that is exponentially faster thancurrently available options. It really creates aparadigm shift in on-location Red projectwork, to be able to use a backpack to carryon-set what typically has been transportedin a rolling cart.”

For additional information, visitwww.sonnettech.com. ●

International Marketplace


Monitor Yoke Mounts

99

CLASSIFIED AD RATES

All classifications are $4.50 per word. Words set in bold face or all capitals are $5.00 perword. First word of ad and advertiser’s name can be set in capitals without extra charge. Noagency commission or discounts on clas si fied advertising. PAYMENTMUSTAC 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: classi-

[email protected].

Classifieds

SUPER16INC.COMTop-notch camera and lens servicing

Ask about Ultra 16!

T: [email protected]: 877-376-6582FREE ESTIMATES

DCSliderTM

NEW Heavy-Duty Camera Platform…

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

4X5 85 Glass Filters, Diffusion, Polas etc. A Good Box Rental 818-763-8547

14,000+ USED EQUIPMENT ITEMS. PRO VIDEO & FILM EQUIPMENTCOMPANY. 50 YEARS EXPERIENCE. New: iLLUMiFLEX LIGHTS &FluidFlex TRIPODS.www.UsedEquipmentNewsletter.com ANDwww.ProVideoFilm.comEMAIL: [email protected] BILL 972 869 9990, 888 869 9998.

World’s SUPERMARKET of USED MOTION PICTURE EQUIPMENT!Buy, Sell, Trade. CAMERAS, LENSES, SUPPORT, AKS & MORE! VisualProducts, Inc. www.visualproducts.com Call 440.647.4999

SERVICES AVAILABLE

STEADICAM ARM QUALITY SERVICE OVERHAUL AND UPDATES.QUICK TURNAROUND. ROBERT LUNA (323) 938-5659.

Advertiser’s Index16x9, Inc. 98

AC 92Aja Video Systems, Inc. C3Alan Gordon Enterprises 98Astrodesign, Inc 85AZGrip 99

Backstage Equipment, Inc. 6Barger-Lite 98Blackmagic Design 43

Cavision Enterprises 79Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment Inc. 55Cine Gear 97Cinematography Electronics 85Cinekinetic 98Clairmont Film & Digital 59Codex Digital Ltd., 67Convergent Design 81Cooke Optics 47Creative Handbook 86

Deluxe 41Dolby 45

Eastman Kodak 37, C4EFD USA, Inc 83

Film Gear 89Filmtools 6Film Und Videotechnik 99Focus Features 5, 7Fox Searchlight 23, 27

Glidecam Industries 71

Hochschule Film & Fernsehen/Konrad Wolf 73Hollywood Post Alliance 92

Kino Flo 61

Lee Filters 46Lights! Action! Co. 99LitePanels 2Lowel 65

Matthews Studio Equipment 99Movcam 57Movie Tech AG 98

NAB 101NBC/Universal 51

Oppenheimer Camera Prod. 98

P+S Technik 98Paramount Pictures 9, 13, 17, 21, 25Panasonic 53Panther Gmbh 91, 93, 95Pille Film Gmbh 99Powermills 98Pro8mm 98

Regent University 60Rosco Laboratories, Inc. 87

Sony Pictures Entertainment C2-1, 29, 31Super16 Inc. 99SXSW 72

Tessive 69Thales Angenieux 39Tiffen 77

VF Gadgets, Inc. 98

Warner Bros. 11, 15, 19Willy’s Widgets 98www.theasc.com 4, 6, 89, 91, 93, 95, 99, 100

100

Cady, Fong, Maibaum Join SocietyThe ASC recently welcomed Patrick

Cady, Larry Fong and Paul Maibaum into itsranks of active members.

Patrick Cady, ASC grew up nearBuffalo, N.Y., and attended Ithaca College,where he earned a bachelor’s degree in stillphotography and motion-picture produc-tion. After workingas a camera intern forRoger Deakins, ASC,BSC on Passion Fish,Cady enrolled in New York University’s grad-uate film program.

Upon completing his MFA, Cady

began working as an electricianandclimbed the ranks to gaffer and then cine-matographer on independent productions.His work on Girlfight won him a mentionon Variety’s “10 Cinematographers toWatch,” and he then went on to shootSunshine State. Cady shot the first seasonof Cold Case, and his credits also include theseries In Treatment, Body of Proof and Suitsand the features The Stepfather (2009) andThe Lottery Ticket.

Larry Fong, ASC was born andraised in Los Angeles. As a teen, he becameinterested in photography and filmmaking,and he began experimenting with shortfilms, cel animation and stop-motionprojects. He earned an undergraduatedegree in linguistics from the University ofCalifornia-Los Angeles and a film degreefromArt Center College of Design inPasadena.

He launched his career shootingmusic videos for such acts as R.E.M., VanHalen and the Goo Goo Dolls, and thenbegan shooting commercials, independentfeatures and television pilots.In 2004, heshot the pilot for Lost, for which he earnedan ASC Award nomination. He shot severalepisodes of the hit series before embarkingon his first studio feature, 300. He has sinceshot the features Watchmen, Sucker Punchand Super 8.

The son of screenwriter andproducer Richard Maibaum, PaulMaibaum, ASC was born into filmmaking.While studying theater arts at CaliforniaState University-Hayward, he took a coursethat set him down the path toward cine-matography. He enrolled inthe University ofSouthern California’s School of Cinema andTelevision, and upon graduating he foundwork at Filmart, a smallproductioncompany andcamera-rental facility. Whileworking at Filmart, hejoined the union as aloader, and he quickly climbed the ranks tofirst assistant.

After operating for such cinematog-raphers as Woody Omens, ASC and Dean

Semler, ASC, ACS, Maibaum was promotedto director of photography on the seriesParker Lewis Can’t Lose . His recent creditsinclude the series My Boys, Samantha Who?and Sons of Anarchy and the pilot for Intercept.

HPA Hosts Reference-Monitor SymposiumThe Hollywood Post Alliance recently

hosted a Reference-Monitor Symposium atthe Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, Calif.Theevent was conceived by a blue-ribbongroup of industry professionals, includingASC members Curtis Clark and StevenPoster and ASC associates Lou Levinson,Josh Pines and Jan Yarbrough.

The symposium included a full day ofdemonstrations and presentations. Posterparticipated in “Myth Busting: MonitoringOn Set”; Pines participated in “Myth Bust-ing: Digital Cinema”; Levinson and ASCassociates Howard Lukk and Leon Silver-man participated in “ 101 Dalmatians: ACase Study of Monitoring in ACES”; andClark contributed to the panel discussion“What’s Coming Next?”

“This event has brought together agroup of some of the most insightful profes-sionals working in our industry today toaddress an issue that has not been addressedin this way before,” said Silverman, presidentof the HPA and the general manager of digi-tal studio for Walt Disney Studios. “Asdisplay technology has changed andevolved, the need to understand how best todisplay and view our content for the variousdelivery platforms is an increasing challengefor industry professionals. This event is aunique opportunity for our industry to liter-ally see what we are doing with new eyes.”

Kuras Shares Emerging VisionsEllen Kuras, ASC was selected to

participate in the recent “Emerging Visions”program co-presented by The Film Society ofLincoln Center and the Independent Film-maker Project. The one-day event, which

Clubhouse News


Phot

o of

Clu

bhou

se b

y Is

idor

e M

anko

fsky

, ASC

; lig

htin

g by

Don

ald

M. M

orga

n, A

SC.

Fong

pho

to b

y Fr

ançc

ois

Duh

amel

, SM

PSP.

Mic

hos

phot

o by

Ala

n T

hatc

her.

New ASC members Patrick Cady (top) andLarry Fong (bottom).

was held at the Film Society of LincolnCenter’s Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center,introduced 25 emerging filmmakingtalents to Kuras and other prolific filmmak-ers through one-on-one meetings, work-shops, case studies and pitching sessions.

Michos Visits Fletcher ChicagoAnastas Michos, ASC recently led

a cinematography seminar and workshopat Fletcher Camera & Lenses in Chicago.The event attractedlocal professionals aswell as students fromColumbia College,DePaul, Tribeca Flashpoint Academy andNorthwesternUniversity.

The idea for the seminar germi-nated when Michos came to the Midwestto shoot the feature Sparkle. Fletcherhandledthe logisticsfor the seminaronshort notice, enlisting local IATSE volunteercrews (led by gaffer Tony Lullo) andCine-space Chicago Film Studio, which providedstudio space and sets, Essanay Studio andLighting, which provided lighting and gripequipment, and Eastman KodakCo.

Michos and camera operator LukaszBielan showed clips, discussed theircreativecollaborationand then conducted a lightingdemonstration. “I love speaking aboutwhat we do tostudents who, for geograph-ical or other reasons, might not have accessto the professional filmmaking community,”Michossays. “New blood and freshperspectives are essential in our field. I’malways aware that some of these studentswill be working pros in a few short years.”

ASC Active at Createasphere ExpoThe Createasphere Entertainment

Technology Expo and PostproductionMaster Class recently wrapped in Burbank,Calif.

Featuring educational sessions andinteractive panels, the Expo broughttogether media experts and technical inno-vators for two days of lively discussion.Salvatore Totino, ASC, AICparticipated ina keynote conversation moderated by ACassociate editor Jon D. Witmer; Totino

discussed his first forays behind the cameraand collaborations with such directors asOliver Stone and Ron Howard, and he alsoscreened some of his commercial andmusic-video work before taking questionsfrom the audience. Later, along the Expo’s“gear alley,” Rodney Taylor, ASC led a“Shoulder to Shoulder” look at Sony’s F65camera.

The invitation-only PostproductionMaster Class opened with the keynote “TheCritical Collaboration Between Cinematog-rapher and Editor,” with John Bailey, ASCand his wife, Carol Littleton, ACE. TheMaster Class also featured “The ASC CaseStudy: A Dolphin Tale,” moderated by ACcontributor Stephanie Argy. The panelfeatured Karl Walter Lindenlaub, ASCand Harvey Rosenstock, ACE, who offered abehind-the-scenes analysis of the film.

AC Wins 2 FoliosAmerican Cinematographer recently

won two 2011 Folio “Eddie” Awards forEditorial Excellence in its category, Businessto Business/Entertainment.

Senior editor Rachael K. Bosley wonthe Bronze Eddie for Best Feature Article forher March ’11 cover story on The Adjust-ment Bureau.

The magazine also won the SilverEddie for Best Online Community for itsFacebook page (www.facebook.com/AmericanCinematographer), which had 61,700fans at press time.

The awards were handed out Nov. 1in New York. ●

Top left: Anastas Michos, ASC leads a workshop atFletcher Camera & Lenses in Chicago. Top right, left

to right: Karl Walter Lindenlaub, ASC; AC contributorStephanie Argy; and Joe Van Dalsem, the creative

director of post for Paradise FX. Bottom: AC associateeditor Jon D. Witmer (left) interviews Salvatore

Totino, ASC, AIC.



When you were a child, what film made the strongest impres-sion on you?I was blown away by Jason and the Argonauts (1963), particularlythe skeletons’ fight. That scene changed my life. Because of it, Ilearned how to do stop-motion animation and made my ownmonster films with my older brother.

Which cinematographers, past or present, do you mostadmire?Since I was in film school, I’ve been inspired by the naturalism ofNéstor Almendros, ASC; the style of Jordan Cronenweth, ASC; theelegance of Sven Nykvist, ASC; and the strong compositions ofGabriel Figueroa.

What sparked your interest inphotography?Working for a year as an assistant in astill-photography studio in Mexico Citywith photographer Nadine Markovamade me aware of the power of fram-ing, lighting and color.

Where did you train and/or study?At the Centro de Capacitación Cine-matográfica in Mexico City.

Who were your early teachers or mentors?Nadine Markova; Miguel Fernández Morán; Guillermo Navarro,ASC; and Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC.

What are some of your key artistic influences?I use the work of still photographers as my main reference for light-ing and composition. I admire the work of Nan Goldin, Alex Webb,Cindy Sherman, Sebastiao Salgado, Jonas Bendiksen and manyothers.

How did you get your first break in the business?I was working on a commercial as a PA and still photographer whenI was 22 and still in film school. The client liked my photos and askedthe production company to hire me as the director of photographyon their next commercial. That kick-started my career as a cine-matographer.

What has been your most satisfying moment on a project?So many! Moments like sharing a cry with Naomi Watts on 21Grams after an emotional scene, or watching Tony Leung reacting toTang Wei singing on Lust, Caution, or improvising with the cameraonstage with Eminem on 8 Mile, or seeing Matt Damon imagininghis deceased wife on We Bought a Zoo . Also, watching the firstdailies of the color-infrared battle scene on Alexander.

Have you made any memorable blunders?On one of my first commercials in Mexico, I was required to shoot atelecommunications facility from the air, and I operated the Tyler sidemount on a helicopter. On the way to the location, I filmed land-scapes and sheep in idyllic pastures. We arrived, and as I started film-ing the huge antenna, I saw soldiers running to trenches and point-ing their guns at us — apparently they weren’t aware of our permit.So after circling once, we left. Upon landing, I realized I had run outof film before we reached the antenna! I had to go back and shootit from the ground on another day.

What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received?On my first day on my first job as aPA, the production manager waslate, and a grip said, ‘It is disrespect-ful to be late on a shoot day.’ Thatmade a big impression on me.

What recent books, films orartworks have inspired you?I enjoy books by Haruki Murakami.His mysterious, introspective andvivid style is fascinating to me. I alsoappreciate the work of artist FrancisAlÿs, particularly his keen eye on thepolitics and life in Mexico City.

Do you have any favorite genres, or genres you would like totry?I love science fiction and horror, but I have not had an opportunityto delve into those genres since I did my own Super 8 films!

If you weren’t a cinematographer, what might you be doinginstead?I would probably be a graphic designer.

Which ASC cinematographers recommended you formembership?Steven Poster, Guillermo Navarro and Emmanuel Lubezki.

How has ASC membership impacted your life and career?Being a member of the ASC has allowed me to be in direct contactwith cinematographers I admire and keep learning from them, aswell as discuss ideas and techniques with them. It is also a greatforum to participate in defining the evolving role of the cinematog-rapher. ●

Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMCClose-up

B e c a u s e i t m a t t e r s .

Acquire with AJA.

www.aja.com

Designed as a miniature field recorder forcreating ‘ready-to-edit’ professional digitalvideo, Ki Pro Mini records Apple ProRes 422(including HQ, LT and Proxy) direct from anySDI or HDMI camera. Mounted andconnected to your camera, Ki Pro Minirecords the ProRes footage to affordableCompact Flash media, instantly ready toedit when connected to a Mac.

Find out about our latest Acquire products at www.aja.com

Ki Pro Mini. Lens to Post...in a Flash.Portable 10-bit 4:2:2 Flash Disk Recorder

Unifying the different formatsemployed by broadcastcameras, Ki Pro features AJA’spowerful hardware up/down/cross conversion and capturesProRes direct to removableStorage Module media. RS-422 andmachine control capabilities make Ki Pro a compactfile-based VTR replacement. Extensive I/O ensures integration with all your other production gear is seamless.

ACQUIRE

Ki Pro. Unify Cameras and Formats.10-bit Recorder with Conversion

From Lens to Post, capture edit-ready 10-bit footage direct from your camera.

Free Software Update Coming SoonEncode & Decode! Free firmware update 3.0 with new features for

Ki Pro and Ki Pro Mini - coming soon!

J AV I E R A G U I R R E S A R O B E , A E CONFILM

To order Kodak motion picture fi lm, call (800) 621-fi lm. © Eastman Kodak Company, 2011. Photography: © 2011 Douglas Kirkland

“In cinematography, texture is so important because it deeply infl uences all the other elements of the image. I have always preferred a simple, natural style with logical lighting that respects the actors. I hate anything artifi cial and I don’t like a hard, harsh look with crushed blacks. With a natural style, dramas feel more raw and real, and romantic comedies are sweeter. Risk-taking is important to my work, but I take logical risks in order to maintain the coherence of the look, and I like collaborating with those who place importance on the quality of the image.”

A native of Spain, Javier Aguirresarobe, AEC has photographed more than 100 narrative projects and dozens of documentaries, and earned six Goya Awards for Best Cinematography. His credits include the Twilight movies Eclipse and New Moon, The Road, The City of Your Final Destination, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Goya’s Ghosts, The Sea Inside, The Others, and Talk to Her.

[All these fi lms were shot on Kodak motion picture fi lm.]

For an extended Q&A with Javier Aguirresarobe, visit www.kodak.com/go/onfi lm.

AC ian 2012

Documents

Transcript of AC ian 2012