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M E M B E R P O R T R A I T

George Mooradian, ASC

W W W . T H E A S C . C O M

TO SUBSCRIBE BY PHONE:

Call (800) 448-0145 (U.S. only)

(323) 969-4333 or visit the ASC Web site

rowing up in the Deep South, summers were humid and weekend nights were spent

watching movies under thecool stars at the drive-in. Talk abouescapism! But my real nexus withcinematography came when my family went to the International Exhibition in Montreal, where I waexposed to the National Film Boardof Canada and Czech films. Fromthere, it was the Ohio UniversitySchool of Film, and then the proverbial drive out to Hollywood.

“My first encounter with

American Cinematographer wasat the Atlanta Film Festival, whereAC editor Herb Lightman was the guest of honor. AC was like forbidden fruit. Cinematographerswere virtuosos, and just to be intheir presence, to clap a slate, loada mag — I would gladly do that forthe rest of my life! My vision sharpened its focus, and AC was thcynosure.

“To paraphrase Ingmar

Bergman, AC is my magic lantern,my window to the minds of geniusesconjuring and illuminating mymétier. It encompasses the scope I see in cinema, revealing the soul’slandscape and encompassing heroeand villains, the yin and the yang.AC has chronicled cinema’smetamorphosis through the decades It’s all within AC’s digital and vellum pages.”

— George Mooradian, AS

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The International Journal of Motion Imaging

28 A Mighty Pen

Anna J. Foerster shoots Anonymous with the Alexa

44 Immersive DanceHélène Louvart leads a talented cinematography teamon the 3-D feature Pina

56 Airing Dirty Laundry Stephen Goldblatt, ASC, BSC brings a best-selling novelto the big screen with The Help

68 Tips on Location ScoutingLocation professionals and cinematographers offer adviceon selecting production sites

DEPARTMENTS

FEATURES

— VISIT WWW.THEASC.COM TO ENJOY THESE WEB EXCLUSIVES —Podcasts: Michael Slovis, ASC on Breaking Bad • Oliver Stapleton, BSC on Don’t Be Afraid of the Dar

DVD Playback: The Sacrifice • New York, New York • Kiss Me Deadly

On Our Cover: William Shakespeare (Rafe Spall) is an ego-driven actor serving asa front for the actual playwright in Anonymous, shot by Anna J. Foerster. (Photo by Reiner Bajo, courtesy of Sony Pictures.)

8 Editor’s Note10 President’s Desk 12 Short Takes: “Sleep Forever”

16 Production Slate: Circumstance • Brighton Rock

78 Post Focus: Cinelicious

84 Filmmakers’ Forum: 24-Frame Video Playback

88 New Products & Services

96 International Marketplace97 Classified Ads98 Ad Index

100 ASC Membership Roster102 Clubhouse News104 ASC Close-Up: Dante Spinotti, ASC, AIC

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S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 1 V o l . 9 2 , N o . 9

T 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 at

www.theasc.com————————————————————————————————————

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

EDITORIAL

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Stephen Pizzello

SENIOR EDITOR Rachael K. Bosley

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jon D. Witmer

TECHNICAL EDITOR Christopher Probst

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Stephanie 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 DEPARTMENT

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Marion Gore

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ADVERTISING

ADVERTISING 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 & PRODUCTS

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Saul Molina

CIRCULATION MANAGER Alex Lopez

SHIPPING MANAGER Miguel Madrigal

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

ASC EVENTS COORDINATOR Patricia Armacost

ASC PRESIDENT’S ASSISTANT Kim Weston

ASC ACCOUNTING MANAGER Mila Basely

ASC ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE Corey Clark

————————————————————————————————————American Cinematographer (ISSN 0002-7928), established 1920 and in its 91st 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 internationalMoney 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 2011 ASC Holding Corp. (All rights reserved.) Periodicals postage paid at Los Angeles, CAand at additional mailing offices. Printed in the USA.

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

————————————————————————————————————4

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OFFICERS - 2011/2012

Michael GoiPresident

Richard CrudoVice President

Owen RoizmanVice President

John C. Flinn IIIVice President

Victor J. Kemper Treasurer

Frederic GoodichSecretary

Stephen LighthillSergeant At Arms

MEMBERS OF THE

BOARD

John Bailey Stephen H. Burum

Richard CrudoGeorge Spiro Dibie

Richard EdlundFred Elmes

Michael GoiVictor J. Kemper

Francis Kenny Isidore Mankofsky

Robert PrimesOwen Roizman

Kees Van OostrumHaskell Wexler

Vilmos Zsigmond

ALTERNATES

Michael D. O’SheaRodney Taylor

Ron GarciaSol Negrin

Kenneth Zunder

MUSEUM CURATOR

Steve Gainer

American Society of Cine matographers

The ASC is not a labor union or a guild, but an educational, cultural and pro fes sion al

or ga ni za tion. Membership is by invitationto those who are actively en gaged as di rec tors of photography and have

demon 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

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The arrival of Arri’s Alexa has generated intense interestamong cinematographers, so we’ve already covered ademo film shot by ASC member Sam Nicholson( AC Sept. ’10) and Prom, the camera’s U.S.-feature debut( AC May ’11). The European production Anonymous, shotby Anna J. Foerster, was the very first feature to employthe Alexa, and Foerster notes that the drama’s periodsetting offered an ideal chance to evaluate the camera’scapabilities. “Given our budget and timeframe and theworkflow necessary for the visual effects, all of the signsclearly pointed toward digital capture,” she tells contribu-tor Iain Stasukevich (“A Mighty Pen,” page 28). “At thattime, digital cameras were finally starting to offer ASAs

above 800, so you could make a movie where firelight was your primary light source. Youcan push film to that ASA, of course, but that introduces grain in the image, and that wouldhave been wrong for this movie.”

Another upcoming release, the 3-D production Pina, celebrates the creativity of thelate choreographer Pina Bausch by presenting performances of her most evocative dancepieces (“Immersive Dance,” page 44). The project is the first 3-D feature from director WimWenders, who received support from a skilled team that included director of photographyHélène Louvart, 3-D supervisor François Garnier, stereographer Alain Derobe and Steadicamoperator Joerg Widmer. Though the filmmakers used the shoot to test a variety of new 3-Dtools, Louvart points out, “3-D is also created by lighting. Each dance piece had very preciselighting because Pina was very precise about [that]. Peter Pabst, who had always done theset and lighting design with her, was there to verify that we were really following the same

concept. But we needed more light, and we also had to modify the lighting and accentuatecertain things.”

Although this issue has a special focus on international productions, including filmsshot in Lebanon ( Circumstance, page 16) and England ( Brighton Rock , page 20), we alsoexamine how authentic Mississippi locations, especially antebellum mansions, enhanced theU.S. feature The Help, shot by Stephen Goldblatt, ASC, BSC. Although the cinematographerand his crew endured sweltering summer temperatures, they acknowledge that the movie’sstrong sense of place could not have been achieved anywhere else. “Stephen nearlyswooned when he walked into Skeeter’s house for the first time,” says production designerMark Ricker (“Airing Dirty Laundry, page 56). “One look at the massive staircase and[30'x40'] dining room, and he fell in love.”

The importance of finding good locations is an aspect of cinematography that is often

overlooked and underappreciated. In an overview of this topic (“Tips on Location Scouting,”page 68) contributor Ira Tiffen gathers advice from prominent location professionals and apair of accomplished ASC members who clearly place a high value on picking the perfectsettings: Stephen H. Burum and Gordon Willis. As Willis notes, “I’ve always been kind ofpushy about how and where something should be shot.”

Stephen PizzelloExecutive Editor

Editor’s Note

8

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I’ve been thinking a lot about the revised versions of movies that have been popping up since thetechnology has facilitated seamless digital alterations, and I’m starting to wonder what we’re ulti-mately going to leave the next generation. I’m not talking about reconstructions, like themarvelous work done to restore Fritz Lang’s original cut of Metropolis, but rather the compulsionto create something different with the material to accommodate changing tastes, morals or tech-nology. Altering creative works is nothing new. For years, many of the classic Warner Bros.Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons were re-edited to remove potentially offensive racial depic-tions. I object to those kinds of alterations because they mask the historical and social influenceson the creation of those works, but what I’m discussing here is something else: altering moviessimply because we can.

Star Wars is an obvious example because so much has already been written and debatedabout the changes George Lucas made to the original three movies. When I saw the movie forthe first time, in 1977, at the Esquire Theater in Chicago, you could hear a collective whoop fromthe audience when Han Solo shot Greedo in cold blood. It was a funny moment, and the matter-of-factness of how it was played gave Solo an edge. It made his departing line, “Sorry for themess,” iconic in a classic Western way. I’ve seen the versions where Greedo shoots first, or wherethey both shoot at the same time and Greedo misses, and it’s just not the same experience. And

because it completely changed Solo’s character, it irked me more than all of Lucas’ other tweaks to the film.The technology used to make such changes possible has also accomplished great things in the restoration of movies that

were long thought to be irreparable. And some great filmmakers have taken part in creating new versions of their films. David L eanplayed an active role in Sony Pictures’ reconstruction ofLawrence of Arabia, and in the process, he removed several minutes of footagethat he felt was extraneous. That “new” version has been widely hailed as the definitive one for two decades. Similarly, Walter Hillwas instrumental in re-creating The Warriors to include comic book-style transitions, and Peter Jackson’s extended editions ofThe Lord of The Rings trilogy fleshed out many themes and characters.

But what is our responsibility to preserve the version that made the film a classic in the first place? And should the work be

altered and adapted for a new audience just because we can? Is a motion picture as malleable as Cristo’s Running Fence, which reliedon changing weather conditions and different times of day to create unique emotional experiences each time it was viewed? Wouldwe be as willing to accept alterations to Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks or J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in The Rye? Would it be accept-able to create a version of The Graduate wherein Benjamin reaches Elaine in time to stop the wedding?

For more than 60 years, the mysterious announcer played by musician Deems Taylor in Disney’sFantasia has led the audienceinto that film’s brilliant mix of music and images by being a compelling presence, someone you should listen to because he is o pen-ing the door to new wonders. Taylor’s distinctive voice gives the shadow figure humanity even though you can’t clearly see his face;in fact, it’s all the more effective because youcan’t see him. For the latest home-video incarnation of the movie, two minutes of footagefeaturing Taylor were found and restored, but the sound was missing, so another actor was brought in to dub over his vocals. An dthe picture was brightened so Taylor’s face can be seen clearly. Gone is the mysterious presence, and with it went the enigmati c styleof the film’s presentation.

With classical music, we tend to prefer the first rendition we hear of a piece because it carries our memory of experiencing

it emotionally for the first time. From that perspective, it can be argued that a new generation will find what they deem of va lue in anew version of a film because it is a new experience for them, and that previous, never-seen incarnations will not matter.

But for me, Han Solo will always shoot Greedo in cold blood.

Michael GoiPresident

President’s Desk

10 September 2011 American Cinematographer

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Alaska Locations Enhance “Sleep Forever”By Iain Stasukevich

The music video for Portugal.The Man’s “Sleep Forever/Got itAll” begins with director/cinematographer Michael Ragen’s camerafloating above purple ice floes beneath a cloudy, purple sky split by the

jagged outline of a snowcapped mountain range. The sun rises, andthe Arctic landscape comes alive as the camera swoops over glaciersand frozen rivers. A pack of sled dogs wakes up as a grizzled musher(lead singer John Gourley) approaches their kennel. He gets the dogsharnessed to the sled and rides them into the Arctic wilderness.

At 13 minutes long, “Sleep Forever” is more a short film thana traditional music video. The concept was inspired by Gourley’sexperiences growing up in Willow, Alaska, a mushing community.Ragen had collaborated with the band on other videos, and he waskicking around the idea to shoot a short film or teaser for the nextPortugal album in Gourley’s hometown, when Atlantic Recordsapproved funds for a video.

“I knew we’d have to keep things simple — straight cuts andholding shots on the screen, just letting them live for a moment,”says Ragen. “We figured some people wouldn’t have the patience tosit through a 13-minute music video, but we decided to take therisk.”

Ten days were scheduled for the shoot, and the crewcomprised Ragen, Gourley and two producers, Rich Hutchins andDoug McCafferty, who, in the spirit of keeping things simple, alsoacted as camera assistants. Ragen brought his own Red One(upgraded with Red’s Mysterium-X sensor), a tripod and an EasyRig2.5, as well as a small lens package comprising a Red 18-50mm

zoom, a 400mm Canon lens converted toPL-mount, and a PL-mount Lensbaby withwide-angle and telephoto adapters.

Hutchins and McCafferty helpedRagen with his first order of business: find-ing an aircraft from which to capture thesweeping aerials that bookend the video.In Anchorage, they found a pilot, and theywere airborne by the afternoon. Ragenwanted to shoot ice floes, rivers, glaciersand as many mountains as he could see inone hour. Time was of the essence: winterdays last less than five hours and offerabout an hour of usable sunlight. “Thesun would just ride along the bottom ofthe horizon,” recalls Ragen. “It was justbeautiful. Every hour of sunlight wasmagic hour.”

With the pilot and producerscrammed into the tiny Cessna 206, Ragen wedged himself betweenthe seats and rolled continuously on the landscape below, using theRed zoom behind a stack of Schneider ND filters. Hutchins andMcCafferty helped him swap Compact Flash cards. “I had themiddle row, so I could look around and shoot out either window,”he recalls. “I had to hold a really tight frame to avoid seeing the

plane’s wing, and we couldn’t remove the windows, which werescratched. I had to be careful about moving around and getting toomuch glare off the glass. Because we were shooting through awindow, and because of our height and distance from the subjects,all the contrast was lost in the image. I knew I could pull the contrastback in as long as I didn’t clip anything.”

Ragen had hoped to shoot from a helicopter, which wouldhave provided a smoother ride and more versatility in terms ofgetting his shots. In the Cessna, he had to shoot at 48 fps at 3K(because some of the CF cards couldn’t handle 60 fps at that reso-lution) to help smooth out the ride. “I’m not a big fan of shooting2K on the Red, because it doesn’t hold up once you measure the

resolution,” he remarks. “I think you can even tell looking at 2K Redfootage in standard definition that it’s kind of soft. The compressiondoesn’t hold up.”

Another reason to shoot 3K was to safeguard the image’sintegrity when Ragen stabilized it in post, which he did with FinalCut Pro’s SmoothCam plug-in. The final shots are rock solid. “I knewthe aerials were going to be a big part of the video, but I didn’t knowwhat I could get until we were up in the plane,” says Ragen. “Luck-ily, Alaska is beautiful in any direction you point the camera. I hadn’tseen those areas before, so I really had no idea how big the glacierswould be. When the sun started to go down, a beautiful, pink light

Short Takes

Director/cinematographer Michael Ragen uses his Red One to shoot a snowcapped Alaskan mountain rangefor the 13-minute music video for Portugal.The Man’s “Sleep Forever/Got it All.”

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washed over everything. All of it was unex-pected, in a way.”

After three days in Anchorage,Ragen traveled to the Gourley family homein Willow for the next leg of production.Gourley’s parents are Iditarod veterans, andwhile he mushed on their trails, Ragen,Hutchins, and McCafferty used a snowmo-

bile to reach their locations, some of whichwould otherwise have required a 45-minutetrudge through the snow.

Once Ragen became acclimated tothe cold, he became adept at pressing theRed’s tiny buttons while wearing big gloves,and fast enough with lenses that the metaldidn’t freeze to his fingers. (This did happen

as he worked with the Lensbaby to shootsome of the psychedelic images in thevideo. He had to manipulate the selectivefocus barehanded for minutes at a time.)

Unlike Ragen’s fingers and toes, theRed One (capturing 4K at 24 fps for thismaterial) didn’t suffer any ill effects in the

frigid temps. “I was really impressed withthe camera’s ability to hold detail in thesnow,” he remarks. During the daytime, herated the camera’s daylight-balanced sensorat 800 ASA, stacking 1.2 and .9 NDs and aRosco Hot Mirror IR filter in front of the lensfor maximum exposure and minimum focusdepth. “When you’re shooting directly intothe sun, you have to make a judgment callon how much you want your sky to blowout, but I knew we had a lot of room tobring the shadows up if I didn’t let them falltoo deep.”

Night photography required highersensitivity. For a shot of Gourley takingrefuge next to a roaring fire, Ragen pushedthe camera up to 2,000 ASA, carefullyassessing the image via the Red’s 5" LCDmonitor. “I rely on the histogram a lot. My

Lead singer John Gourley plays a grizzled musher in the video, much of which was shot inand around his hometown of Willow, Alaska.

4

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exposure comes from trusting the meters inthe camera and checking the raw picture,”he notes.

Aside from the bonfire, Ragen’s onlyother light source was the sun. As reliableas natural light is, it creates its share of chal-lenges. “Rather than controlling the light,

you have to deal with the light you’re givenand find ways to make it look its best,” heobserves. “Where we were, day and nightbled slowly into each other. It could beeither/or, depending on which way youpushed the exposure.”

As Gourley’s musher stumblesthrough the snow after his dogs, whichhave disappeared during the night, he tripsand falls on his rifle. The gun goes off,taking his head with it. But the videocontinues, with Gourley delivering aposthumous performance even as a dogreturns to chew on his carcass.

To get the shot of the face-downGourley singing directly to the camera, thesinger built a small wall out of snow, twigsand branches, and then stuck his facethrough it. Ragen alternated operating the

camera with applying fake blood to Gour-ley’s face. (In post, visual-effects artist StefanMoore applied additional gore and frostbiteusing Adobe AfterEffects.)

From the majestic aerials to thegruesome third-act twist, Ragen’s eye forcomposition and color harnesses thebeauty and danger of the Great WhiteNorth. It’s not surprising, then, to learn that

he began his career studying fine art andillustration at the Academy of Art University.“I wouldn’t trade a fine-art education forfilm school,” he reflects. “In my experience,the fastest way you can learn filmmaking is just to be on set as much as possible. Throwyourself into the fire and learn.” ●

Ragen framesup Gourley,

whosecharactermeets agruesome fat

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Forbidden Love in IranBy Patricia Thomson

Set in contemporary Tehran, the drama Circumstance

addresses the potentially incendiary topics of sexuality and religion.The Farsi-language feature, which had its premiere at this year’sSundance Film Festival, centers on school chums Shireen (SarahKazemy) and Atafeh (Nikohl Boosheri), whose steadfast friendshipevolves into a closeted lesbian relationship. Born to liberal, secularMuslims, the young women attend a traditional Iranian school butalso frequent Tehran’s lively underground. Their relationship is foreveraltered when Atafeh’s brother, Mehran (Reza Sixo Safai), becomes afundamentalist Muslim and decides to marry Shireen.

“I think any family can deal with a repressive environment as

long as they have the sanctuary of the home, but when that safespace is threatened, things become unbearable,” says MaryamKeshavarz, who wrote and directed the film. “The family’s worldstarts to fall apart when Mehran becomes part of the repressive envi-ronment. It’s when the outside starts to seep through that you knowit’s going to be a tragedy.”

When Keshavarz workshopped Circumstance at the 2007Sundance Directors Lab, she was teamed with cinematographerBrian Rigney Hubbard. Both of them had earned graduate degreesin film at New York University, but they had never met. They hit it offimmediately, and for the next two years, as Keshavarz sought financ-

ing for the film, they met periodically in New York, where they areboth based, to compile a look book, discuss scenes and build a 65-

page shot list.During that process, Hubbard noticed that Keshavarz favored

a snapshot aesthetic that referenced photographers such as RyanMcGinley and Bill Henson. “The images Maryam liked had a certainsense of naturalism, but the color might be slightly shifted, or thelighting might not provide perfect keylight on the actors — I wouldrefer to it as the look of an ‘aestheticized’ snapshot,” he explains.“McGinley’s work has strong but intentionally casual compositionsand saturated color, and there’s a theatricality to Henson’s lighting,even though it’s never a perfect key.”

The pair always envisioned a 2.40:1 aspect ratio. “The storyis about people and their environment, and on a very literal level, I

wanted to make sure we had the environment in every close-up,”Hubbard says.

Keshavarz was keen to shoot at practical locations — “I don’tbelieve in studios,” she states — and when funding fell into place,in 2009, she scouted Turkey, Egypt and Morocco. “None of thoseplaces worked,” she says. Then Sundance mentor Atom Egoyansuggested Lebanon. “It’s an amazing location,” Keshavarz attests.“It’s so small you can go from city to mountains to seaside within anhour. And because it has experienced war, there’s a mix of old build-ings and new construction, which is also true in Tehran.”

In order to pass muster with the Lebanese censors, however,

Production Slate

C i r c u m s t a n c e p h o t o s c o u r t e s y o f R o a d s i d e A t t r a c t i o n s a n d t h e f i l m m a k e r s

A tryst betweenAtafeh (NikohlBoosheri, left)

and Shireen(Sarah Kazemy)

unfolds in aglamorous

seaside location

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Hubbard.

I

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www.theasc.com September 2011

Keshavarz had to winnow her 110-pagescript down to 60 pages. She recalls, “Thecensor said he liked the film, and I wasthinking, ‘What film?!’”

Once Lebanon was chosen, Hubbardlobbied to shoot film. “I’d heard how

unstable the electricity is in Beirut,” henotes. “Plus, we had concerns about thedigital cameras that would be availablelocally and whether we’d have the neces-sary tech support. So I said to the produc-ers, ‘I know this really great hard drive: film.It has amazing resolution.’”

Hubbard tried to obtain a cameracapable of shooting 2-perf Super 35mm inAustria, but was stymied by border issues.Producer Karin Chien then suggestedshooting Super 16mm. She noted that

Gamma, the production’s rental house inBeirut, had an Arri 416 and could alsosupply a set of Arri/Zeiss Ultra Primes and aCooke 18-100mm zoom. “I thought Super16 could look beautiful, but I wasconcerned about cropping [to 2.40:1],”says Hubbard. He called his NYU mentor,cinematographer Maryse Alberti, to ask foradvice. “Maryse was extremely generous inwalking through the issues she faced onThe Wrestler [ AC Jan. ’09]. She said, ‘Crop

it, but make sure you do a test.’ We did, andwe liked the results.” Hubbard subsequentlychose three Kodak film stocks, Vision3 500T7219, Vision2 200T 7274 and EXR 50D7245.

Hubbard arrived in Beirut for two

months’ prep in late 2009. Photos sent by asource in Tehran provided a visual template.“Tehran is mainly a warm, neutral environ-ment with splashes of color — green andblue are used over and over again asaccents,” he says. “Trying to re-create thatwas what drove our choice of locations andthe aesthetics of the movie.”

Although Keshavarz was determinedto use practical locations, securing themproved to be a Sisyphean task. “Everythingwas constantly falling through,” recalls

Hubbard. “You had to request 10 locationsto end up with one. And every neighbor-hood seemed to be controlled by a differentgroup, so negotiating permission was verytime consuming.” In one location, he adds,the use of a balcony outside one end of theroom was controlled by one party, whilepermission to use a balcony off the otherend of the room was handled by another.

In the end, every room shown in thefilm was a different location, mostly private

residences. (The more sensitive scenes wereshot in Hubbard’s and Keshavarz’s localapartments.) “Finding the right Ottoman-era architecture for Atafeh’s house, themain location, was quite a feat,” says thedirector. Cost was a significant factor.

“Almost everything shot in Lebanon is acommercial for the Arab Emirates, and theyhave a lot of money!” Keshavarz notesruefully. “You end up sitting down andhaving lots of tea, trying to sell people onyour project.”

Time and again, the filmmakersconfronted different ways of doing things inBeirut. “When you rent lights, you renteverything that comes with the lights,including the gaffer and the other techni-cians,” says Keshavarz. Before Hubbard

chose Gamma, he asked to meet with thecompany’s gaffer, Joseph Khamis, a.k.a.ZuZu, and his crew. “The initial responsewas, ‘You don’t do that here,’” he recalls.But he persisted, and when he finally metwith ZuZu, he discovered the gaffer spokeArabic, very little French and no English. Butthen ZuZu walked Hubbard around thecorner to show him a rig his team haddesigned at Hubbard’s request. “Workingon a multi-story building in a cramped

The young women share a duet at a family gathering.

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neighborhood, they had rigged a lampthree stories up perfectly safely,” saysHubbard. “I knew they’d had to talk all theneighbors into it, and I thought, ‘This guy ispolitic — he’s a solver.’”

Throughout the shoot, Hubbard andKhamis managed to communicate throughdiagrams and gestures. The cinematogra-pher recalls, “My first AC, Fernando Gayet-sky, and I kept a little black notebook by the

camera. He had all the lenses in Arabic, andwe had all the lighting details in Arabic. ButZuZu and I just had a shorthand. With thefive Arabic words I learned, combined witha little French and a few English words, wefigured it out.”

The look of Circumstance evolves asthe story progresses and takes a dark turn.“For the first part of the story, we wantedto capture the idea of youth and energywithin an environment that doesn’t allowthat,” says Keshavarz. Color was one

means of achieving this. “There’s definitelya color arc in the story, with warm light usedto create different moments of rebellion,”says Hubbard. “In the beginning, there area lot of neutrals, blue and green, especiallyin places like the school courtyard. The girls’homes are not a riot of color either, butthey’re very warm. I tried to keep the colorsnot easily identifiable hues.”

By contrast, the party scenes featurevivid colors. “The clubs are a relief from the

exterior world,” says Hubbard. The lightingfor these scenes progresses from simplemulticolored lights in an apartment to akaleidoscopic QuickTime light display onLED panels in an underground nightclub.

Meanwhile, Atafeh’s home trans-forms from a light, airy space to a claustro-phobic, cave-like one as Mehran assertscontrol over the family. “A lot of that archad to do with lens selection, blocking and

locations,” says Hubbard.The spacious living room is initially

seen in wide shots, and dolly shots through-out the space suggest a sense of freedom.As the mood becomes oppressive, “there’sa progression from wide shots and widerlenses to tighter shots and longer focallengths,” says Hubbard. A particularlydramatic scene, showing Atafeh returninghome from the police station and seeing herfamily brokering her brother’s marriage toShireen, “was shot in details rather than

wides.” Likewise, for scenes featuring theill-matched newlyweds, “we tried to crowdthe frames as much as possible,” saysKeshavarz. “They’re like tigers trapped in acage.”

Shireen and Atafeh’s lesbian fantasieshave their own unique look. Slick and highlysaturated, they were intended to emulateadvertising. “Iranians their age are so influ-enced by Western media,” Keshavarzobserves. One fantasy suggests a seaside

resort in Dubai, where the women shedtheir clothes in a sunlit room with floor-to-ceiling windows. “There’s so much glass it’salmost an exterior,” notes Hubbard, whoshot the scene on 7217. “Our shot sees thehorizon line. The idea is that they can beintimate in a completely open space. Wewanted the audience to feel a sense ofrelease.” He adds that he balanced the lightwith indirect HMIs and negative fill.

Needing a seaside location with ahigh-end look, the producers rented arestaurant in Byblos and cordoned off aprivate area. But at one point, someonephoned the authorities. “They thought wewere making a porn film,” says Keshavarz.“We purposefully scheduled that scene onthe last day of the shoot, figuring that if wehad to reshoot it in Miami, we could.”

Hubbard’s solution was to put theauthorities behind the camera. “Invitingthem to see what you’re shooting always

works,” he says. “They’re always wowed —it’s very Hollywood. We convinced them thegirls were trying on dresses.”

The stakes were particularly high thatday: dozens of cans of unprocessed filmwere sitting on set. The filmmakers hadbeen shipping negative to FotoKem inBurbank, Calif., every few days, but a seriesof Islamic holidays had interfered with theshipping schedule. “We actually had 14days’ worth of film on set when the police

Left: Hubbard at work on the set. Right: The mood in Atafeh’s home darkens considerably after Shireen marries Atafeh’s brother, a Muslim fundamentalist.

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arrived,” says Keshavarz. “It was nerve-wracking. I don’t think insurance coversthat!”

Hubbard, Chien and 1st AD Kit Blandsubsequently hand-carried those reels toJordan, where they were sent throughDubai to California. “In order to get it out ofBeirut, we said it was unexposed film,” saysHubbard. “Otherwise, they would haveopened the cans.”

The 2K scanning and color correctiontook place in the safe environment ofCompany 3 in Santa Monica. The filmout,done by EFilm in Hollywood, was funded bya Sundance grant, and the festival print wasmade on Fujifilm Eterna-CP 3514DI byDigimage in Paris.

By the time Hubbard sat down withcolorist Siggy Ferstl at Company 3, Ferstlhad a clear idea of what the filmmakerswanted, because Hubbard had e-mailed

him many color-corrected stills from Beirut.“I was a little nervous because that’s everycolorist’s nightmare: a cinematographer youdon’t know sending you stills,” saysHubbard. “But the ‘aestheticized snapshot’we had in mind could easily look like mud ifsomeone tried to make it all neutral andbalanced and hide the key. Siggy really tookthe time to listen and get on the same pagewith me, and when we started to work

together in person, we just flew through it.”

TECHNICAL SPECS

2.40:1

Super 16mm

Arri 416

Arri/Zeiss Ultra Prime, Cooke

Kodak Vision3 500T 7219,Vision2 200T 7217, EXR 50D 7245

Digital Intermediate

Crime à la ModBy Nic Sadler

The British thriller Brighton Rock follows in the fated footsteps of Pinkie (SamRiley), a handsome sociopath who cold-bloodedly romances a shy waitress, Rose

(Andrea Riseborough), who is the solewitness to his brutal slaying of anothergangster. Pinkie’s cruelty inflames Rose’smasochistic obsession with him, but his arro-gant disrespect toward a flamboyant mobboss (Andy Serkis) imperils both their lives.

Based on the 1938 novel by GrahamGreene, the film places the action in the earlySixties. The project marks the feature-direct-ing debut of Rowan Joffé (screenwriter of 28Weeks Later and The American), who choseJohn Mathieson, BSC to man the camera.Mathieson, whose credits include RidleyScott’sGladiator ( AC May ’00), Hannibal ( AC Feb. ’01) and Kingdom of Heaven ( AC June’05), saw Brighton Rock as a chance to workon a smaller scale. The result is a stylish andatmospheric drama that immerses viewers inthe story’s very specific era.

Cinematographer Nic Sadler, whoserved as Mathieson’s camera assistant earlyin his career, conducted our interview. Thefollowing are excerpts from the conversation.

American Cinematographer : It’sapparent you were trying to give this

film a bold look.John Mathieson, BSC: If you’re

remaking a British noir classic, you’d betterdo something interesting with it, especially ifyou don’t have any damn money! The orig-inal Brighton Rock [1947, shot by HarryWaxman, BSC] is very well known in Britishfilm culture, and Graham Greene is sort ofhallowed ground. I suppose you could callthe look of our film ‘color noir,’ but thatsounds a bit pretentious. If you’re not shoot-ing black-and-white, it’s not really noir. I

wanted to give the film a period feel, so weused hard light and funky old lenses, CrystalExpress lenses, provided by Joe Dunton.They’re not a matched set; they’re convertedlenses, so there are some gaps in terms ofthe focal lengths. Some of them have big,square elements on the front, and somedon’t. [According to focus puller SimonHume, the production also made frequentuse of an anamorphicized Optica-Elite 120-520mm zoom provided by Panavision.] ➣

These frames show an original Super 16mm frame (top) and the cropped final image. “I was

concerned about cropping,” says Hubbard, “but we tested it and liked the results.”

I

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When you see enough anamor-phic films, you become conscious of theparticular flares and defocused high-lights that certain anamorphic lensesproduce. For example, Panavision lensflares have a very distinct shape. But theflares in this picture had a very different

feel.Mathieson: Yeah, they’re sort of

unusual and chaotic. These lenses produce alot of blooming because some of the frontelements look like old skating rinks! But thatwas all part of the feel. We wanted an old-looking film and didn’t have much of abudget, so I started to think about notshooting with beautiful lenses and maybemucking things up a bit. The Crystal Expresslenses are also really good at capturing thekind of soft light and delicate colors you see

in the bedroom scenes — the peachy colorsand the gold weaves in the bedspread, forinstance. On the other hand, they couldn’treally handle the contrast in the scenesunder the pier; the backgrounds have thatblooming, milked-out look. The lenses areappallingly soft and they don’t bite, but theyhave very interesting qualities. I loved the200mm, but my focus puller, Simon Hume,kept trying to hide it from me — it createdhighlights that were like little Chinese fans,

but there was a big lump in them at aroundthe 15-foot mark, and he hated pullingfocus on them. But they gave us magicalthings. When the girl’s in the church gettingmarried, I just kept bashing light on her untilshe started looking like a piece of porcelain,very ‘Victorian romantic.’ You can use direct

light with these lenses and [the image]won’t look hard and coarse. You definitelylose sharpness and crispness, but they workwell if you happen to be doing an impres-sionistic film noir with flashy lighting.

I suppose that harks back tonoir’s classic period — the lensesweren’t incredibly sharp in terms ofresolution, and they were very low-contrast, but if you lit quite hard youcould introduce a sense of resolution.

Mathieson: Yeah, you could give

them a power and sharpness that probablyweren’t really there by using big areas ofblack and cutting the light. But as soon asyou point lights at the [Crystal Express]lenses, they start to go crazy. Once you getused to them, you can say, ‘I’m a bit under-exposed here, but I know if I put themagainst this window, the light will bouncearound and bloom and sort of fill things innaturally.’ All anamorphic lenses do that toa certain extent, but it’s really pronounced in

these lenses, so you have to be pretty boldwith them — they’re not for the faint-hearted!

One wide-angle lens keptpopping up in various scenes — in thecafé, the church and other settings —and it clearly had a lot of distortion in

it. Those are the kinds of aberrationswe usually try to bury, but they reallyadd to the character of those shots.

Mathieson: That was probably the25mm, which didn’t have the opticalwedges needed to correct the weird bloom-ing and other anomalies around the edges.Pinkie grows more paranoid as the storyprogresses, and we wanted to make it feelas if his world is falling down around him.

How much work did you do inthe digital grade to enhance the colors

and the look, or to smooth out thedifferences between the lenses?

Mathieson: We were keen to printthe film traditionally, but the distributioncompany insisted on a DI, so we did it with[color timer] Paul Ensby at TechnicolorLondon. Those old lenses do bouncearound a bit; some of them had a slightlygreen hue or a tinge of other colors. Evenwith photochemical color timing, you can just take that out, but we didn’t try to

Left: Pinkie (Sam Riley) leads a pack of scooter-riding mods on his way to a criminal rendezvous in Brighton Rock . To find riders, the production placed anewspaper ad that drew hordes of scooter enthusiasts. “They came out in droves,” marvels cinematographer John Mathieson, BSC. “ We put the old buggerswho were my age at the back, and their good-looking sons up front.” Right: Pinkie romances Rose (Andrea Riseborough), the only witness who can tiehim to a gangland slaying. Mathieson notes, “In the way we lit her, we were trying to create the idea that she’s pure and will do anything for this man,

even though she’s basically selling herself to the devil.”

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correct things too much. So even thoughwe did a DI, we tried to go with the organic,slightly haphazard look the lenses gave us. Ithink too many films tend to look the samenowadays because everyone just smootheseverything out with DI work or CG effects.They’re all made by very clever people, but

there’s too much fiddling around in post, sothey lack the qualities you get when theshots are created more organically, on theset, for better or worse. On Brighton Rock ,we could have used the DI to make every-thing look ‘normal,’ but by letting the shotsbreathe, letting the lenses do their thing andletting the focus fall apart, I think we gavethe film a look that has some character. Ofcourse, the DI did help us match some of theday-for-night stuff we shot on the cliff-top.We always knew those scenes would befixed [in post] because we couldn’t affordto create the look entirely with lighting.Our schedule was just seven weeks, so wecouldn’t do split days or wait for the perfecttime of day.

The opening scene is classic noir:a man ducks into a phone booth tomake a desperate call as the men pursu-ing him suddenly materialize out of thefog.

Mathieson: That was one of ourbiggest lighting setups. We had 200-300yards of cast-iron Victorian arches in the

foreground, and our lights were mountedon 55-meter cherrypickers. The wind pickedup, though, so we had to keep them low; inthe end, we just left some of the lights in theshots! We hid them behind the arches aswell as we could, but I knew we couldobscure them a bit more with the smokeand some lens flares. The lights were plainlyvisible in the rushes, but the editor found allthe angles where our actors were darting infront of them. We got a nice flash of light onthe knife the guy pulls out, and that was

done entirely in-camera. Noir style just natu-rally takes you from dark to light and backagain, and you can play with that a bit.

For the scene in the boardinghouse where Pinkie is testing theloyalty of his crew, you created classicnoir shadows by aiming a light throughan electric fan.

Mathieson: We originally shot thatscene with a TV set flickering, but wethought a fan would be more noir, so we

Top: Pinkie stops to pray while being chased by thugs near Brighton’s Palace Pier. Location filming forthis scene and others was actually done in Eastbourne, standing in for Brighton. “The pier is the key

structure in the film,” says Mathieson. “We wanted to emphasize the idea that it’s this bridge tonowhere, the dead-end path of Pinkie’s life.” Middle: Pinkie and Rose kiss atop the White Cliffs of

Dover. Mathieson notes, “We used a Giraffe crane and remote heads to get some vertiginousperspectives on the cliff’s edge. We had to attach the actors to safety lines to prevent the unthinkable.

In fact, the piece of cliff we were on has since fallen into the sea.” Bottom: Mathieson (left) anddirector Rowan Joffé line up a shot.

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Dec. ’99), The Girl With the Pearl

Earring ( AC Jan. ’04) and The Duchess ( AC Sept. ’08). However, they foundmost of their inspiration in the hazy,sunlit rooms painted by 17th-century Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer; thecandlelit canvasses of his Frenchcontemporary, Georges de La Tour; andthe Tudor portraits of the Elizabethanera.

“We studied Vermeer’s paintings,many of which have soft fill light thatcame through the north-facing

windows of his studio,” explainsFoerster. “What fascinated me aboutDe La Tour was the way he sometimeslit his subjects with just one or twocandles.”

Shot in Germany in 2009, Anonymous was the first feature to bephotographed with Arri’s Alexa, and it

was also Foerster’s first foray into an all-digital workflow. “Given our budget andtimeframe and the workflow necessary P

h o t o s b y R e i n e r B a j o , c o u r t e s y o f S o n y

P i c t u r e s .

Top left: Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans), is the true genius behindShakespeare’s plays and poems in Anonymous. This page, top to bottom: In a contemporary

prologue, a theatrical narrator (Derek Jacobi) sets the stage for the movie’s story; theyounger Oxford (Jamie Campbell Bower) puts quill pen to parchment; cinematographer

Anna J. Foerster, the first to shoot a feature with the Arri Alexa, adjusts the cameraalongside director Roland Emmerich.

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for the visual effects, all of the signsclearly pointed toward digital capture,”she says. “At that time, digital cameras

were finally starting to offer ASAs above800, so you could make a movie wherefirelight was your primary light source.

You can push film to that ASA, of course, but that introduces grain in theimage, and that would have been wrongfor this movie.”

In prep, the filmmakers narrowedtheir choices down to the Arri Alexa andthe Red One (with the Mysterium-X

◗ A Mighty Pen

Top: As a boy,Oxford (Luke

Thomas Taylor,center, wearingwings) prepares

to perform forQueen Elizabeth.Middle: Foerster

and the crewcapture Oxford’s

first meeting withElizabeth (Joely

Richardson).Bottom: The final

composition,shown in a framecapture from the

movie.

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sensor). Foerster knew the Red wouldbe the easier option — it was readily available, and she was impressed with itsresolution and sensitivity. However, she

was concerned about how the camerarendered differences between colors,and even more concerned about how ithandled flickering flames. “When weshot tests, the Red seemed to produce astrange, red flare or a halo aroundcandlelight,” she reports. “It didn’thappen all the time, but when it did it

was quite prevalent.” The Alexa was still just a proto-

type that recorded with an early versionof the ArriRaw codec. The camera hadno onboard recording support and wasalways tethered to a Codex digitalrecorder. Visual-effects artists atUncharted Territory used the Codex’snative JPG2000 files for their 300effects shots, and the Arri team usedDPX files output from the Codex forthe digital grade. The DPX files werealso backed up to LTO tape and qual-ity-checked by Arri.

Shooting with the Alexa was aleap of faith for the filmmakers, but Arripledged total support, promising to

walk Foerster through every step of thecamera’s nascent workflow. “Arri really stepped up to the plate to make surethings were going as smoothly as possi-ble,” says the cinematographer.“Everything ended up looking great.

There’s a soft transition between colors,and the image holds up all the way from

Top and middleOxford’s buddinromance withElizabeth heatsup after a fancydress ball. Propmaster OliverKuhlmann setthe mood bypositioning

approximately300 double-wicked candles.“You would notbelieve theamount of smoon that set,”Foerster recalls.Bottom: Aftertheir dance, thelovers arrange amore intimateliaison.

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candles to daylight.” The story’s timeline covers

decades, and each period has a specificlook. Scenes set in an earlier era arerendered in vivid, glowing colors andcaptured in fluid camera moves withlong lenses that separate Elizabeth andOxford from their surroundings. Thelook of the story’s present is cold andgrim, with many scenes composed in

wide, locked-off shots, particularly those

that take place in the royal court.Foerster recalls that scenes set in

the earlier period were typically shot inthe 35mm-60mm range, whereas scenesset in the present were captured at15.5mm-25mm. Even close-ups in thelatter era were shot on short lenses, a21mm or 18mm. “We had to be carefulabout distorting the actors’ faces, but if the shot involved a big room on an18mm, the actors could just walk up tothe camera for their close-ups,” says

Foerster. The production used a set of

Arri/Zeiss Master Primes, but the mostpopular lens was an Arri LWZ-1 (15.5-45mm) Lightweight Zoom. “Evencompared to the prime lenses, I thoughtthe zoom looked fantastic, and itallowed us to work quickly,” saysFoerster. “Roland is a fluid thinker. Thefaster you can keep up with him, thebetter.”

◗ A Mighty Pen

Top and middle:Royal audiencesare mesmerized

by Shakespeare’sbrilliance during

private courtperformances of

his plays. Bottom:Oxford’s ally and

ardent admirer,Ben Jonson(Sebastian

Armesto, left) isone of the fewwho know hissecret, though

fellow playwrightChristopher

Marlowe (TrystanGravelle) harbors

suspicions.

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look that characterizes many paintingsfrom the Elizabethan era, the filmmak-ers used a smoke machine to lightly cloud the backgrounds. “We wanted totake some of the harshness out of thedigital image, but I didn’t want to use

diffusion filters because of the sources inframe,” says Foerster. “You couldn’treally see the smoke after we added theLUT and crunched the contrast, but

when you’re working with that muchsmoke, you end up mixing light. In day interiors, the candlelight seeps into thesmoke and the window light seeps intothe smoke, and they mix. We used [thatcombination] all the time.”

Foerster shot all night scenes at T2.8 and 1,280 ASA. Day interiorsmixed in a healthy amount of Vermeer’s“north-facing light,” and in those situa-tions, she set her stop between T4.5 and

T5.6 at 800 ASA. “We used candlelightand fireplace light even during day scenes because we were assuminggloomy English days,” she says. “Wecouldn’t dim the candles, of course, so

we had to bring up the daylight leveland compensate for the exposure.Otherwise, the fire would have over-powered the daylight or had the same

value.


➣

◗ A Mighty Pen

Top and middle: Before-and-after shots illustrate how digital effects were used to replace greenscreenbackgrounds shot on a soundstage. Bottom: Foerster researched the stagings of plays from the

Elizabethan era with the help of the book Lighting the Shakespearean Stage . “There are descriptions ofthe performances at court, and how all of the candle smoke could make it seem as though you were

looking at the actors through a veil,” she says.

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“A misconception about shootingdigitally is that you need less light,” shecontinues. “Actually, you just use lightdifferently. If I were shooting at 400

ASA, I would have needed to doublethe amount of light or shoot at a differ-ent stop, but then I couldn’t have playeddifferent color temperatures off eachother at twilight or dawn, or shoot with

candles during the daytime.”Foerster was excited about seeing

her images on set as they would appearin the dailies and the final, but she stillkept her light meter close by, using it tosketch out contrast levels before dialingthem in on a monitor. “Maybe one day I’ll give it up, but I had to have my meter on this movie,” she says. “I

wanted to be precise with my work.” Window light plays significantly

in all the interior day scenes — to the

point where the characters seem drawnto them — so many of the sets weredesigned with huge windows in mind.

There are times when the windows areused almost like spotlights on a theaterstage, with characters moving in and outof shafts of light for emotional empha-sis. Even at 800 ASA, rows of 18K HMIs were stationed on scaffoldingoutside the sets, high up and far away and diffused through sheets of Rosco1⁄2

◗ A Mighty Pen

The movie’s period theater interiors were built onstage at Studio Babelsberg. Foerster’s crew cameup with a variety of ingenious solutions to challenges created by the circular floor plan and open

roof, and even simulated rain for a compelling staging of Hamlet .

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Density Soft Frost.“The light is part of the story,”

Foerster observes. She points to a scenelate in the film, when Oxford confrontsElizabeth for what might be the lasttime. As he pleads for her mercy, she

descends from her dais and its dark half-light to stand with him in the fulllight of day. “She steps into that harsh,cold daylight to clarify the situation,”says Foerster.

Only occasionally does the sunshine down warm and bright. Foerstercites a scene in which the youthfulOxford moves into the home of Elizabeth’s cunning adviser, WilliamCecil (David Thewlis). “The house is

generally very dark and somber, but inthat scene we had sunbeams shiningthrough because Oxford was penetrat-ing the house with emotional light,” shesays. Her usual approach to this set wasto bounce 18Ks through the windows

off 20'x20' muslin, so for this visualdeparture, gaffer Albrecht Silberbergsimply positioned the HMIs to pointstraight into the windows, aiming themthrough 1⁄2 Soft Frost and 1⁄4 CTO togive the light a warmer glow.

While conducting her research inLondon during prep, Foerster becamefascinated with the quality of the lightfiltering through old, baffled-glass

windows. “That glass has different

colored pieces and is distorted by airbubbles, and the effect on the light is

just incredible. When you look throughit, it almost looks like there’s a paintingon the other side.”

Using real vintage glass wouldhave been impractical and expensive, sothe production built its own windows.

After testing a number of plastics, theart department arrived at a Lexan-basedpolymer. The translucent panes weredeliberately molded with irregularities,filled with air bubbles, and sandblastedto lend a diffuse quality to the light. Thedistortion also helped the filmmakerssell the painted backdrops outside the

windows. The sets occupied a new wing of

Studio Babelsberg, an old train depot just down the road from the main lot. The stages were soundproofed, wired with electricity and suitable for produc-tion, but they were still in the process of being converted from their original use.Inside, the giant cranes that once liftedcargo onto train cars still loomed over-head.

Because of the stages’ unfinishedstate and the speed at which the artdepartment was completing its work,

Silberberg was unable to rig a full-sizedtruss above the stage. He and best boy Roland Patzelt solved this problem by devising a pulley system with steel-piperigs that could be lowered by ropes tospecific points over a given set. (Onmost European crews, set electricianshandle every aspect of lighting.)

“Because our lenses were so wide,lighting was really tricky,” saysSilberberg. Rigging gaffer Dietmar

◗ A Mighty Pen

Top: Oxford and his patron, Henry Wriothesley (Xavier Samuel), “tread the boards” asthey make their way down a muddy street. Bottom: A-camera operator Sebastian Meuschel

uses a Steadicam to capture the action.

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◗ A Mighty Pen

Haupt hung a lot of overhead fill light,subtly filling in the shadows with largebounce surfaces (bleached andunbleached muslin) and Lowel 1K RifaeX lights aimed through 1⁄2 Soft Frost.

To facilitate the lighting of green-screen stages for what would eventually be day exteriors, Foerster’s crew hung

almost 4,000 square feet of fireproof white fabric from the ceiling. On oneside, five 15'x60' greenscreen sectionscould be lowered or raised as needed,

while eight 4K and eight 6K HMIs were positioned on each of the otherthree sides; the light from these units

was bounced off the overhead surface, which could be flagged off with nettingto give the bounce some directionality.

On the ground, 1K and 650-watt

Rifa eX lamps were used as rovingeyelights, as were a few ingenious “wok lights,” two-handled steel woks outfit-ted with an ordinary household bulband covered with 1⁄4 CTO. The woks

were connected to a dimmer board andcould be programmed to emulate aflickering flame. The “Medusa light”

was a variation on the wok light, featur-ing as many as 12 bulbs attached to flex-ible wire necks.

“Often, fill light and sometimeseven keylight was accomplished withadjustable flame bars or with thedouble-wick candles either handheld ormounted on C-stands,” says Foerster.

Any movie about Shakespeare isbound to involve performances of hisplays, and the book Lighting the

Shakespearean Stage offered the film-makers a wealth of information abouthow plays were staged in the era.“Sometimes they started Act One in theafternoon and Act Two at dusk, and Act

Three was staged in candlelight,”Foerster explains. “They even haddevices to dim the candles at the propertime. There are descriptions of theperformances at court, and how all of the candle smoke could make it seem asthough you were looking at the actors

through a veil.” At the Rose and Globe theaters,

she adds, “they usually staged theirperformances in daylight and didn’thave much money for candles, so wecheated [those scenes] a bit for aestheticreasons.”

Performances take place in anumber of venues throughout the film.

When Elizabeth meets Oxford for thefirst time, the 10-year-old poet (playedby Luke Thomas Taylor) is staging a

performance of his work in one of thequeen’s private chambers. The influenceof De La Tour’s paintings emerges inthe play’s final act, set in a gnarled treelit by candles in metal intensifiers.Silberberg hid LED rope lights behindthe tree branches to extend the firelightinto the background. “There was a lot of candlelight and also a lot of tungstenlight — small sources,” he details. “Toprovide a bit of soft front fill, we

Intent ondestroying

Shakespeare’slegacy, armed

guards burndown the Globe

Theatre andarrest Jonson,

who attempts tosave Oxford’s

manuscripts byhiding them

beneath thestage.

7/29/2019 AC sept 2011


bounced two 5K Fresnels off unbleached white muslin teasers aboveand to the left and right of the camera,

with sheets of 1⁄2 Soft Frost between thecamera and the muslin.”

A blue HMI twilight pouringthrough the windows in the backgroundlends a sense of fantasy not only to

young Oxford’s performance, but also to

the key moment when the future loversfirst meet. “One could say [the look] is abit over-the-top,” Foerster concedes,“but you could also say those moments

were a bit romanticized in Elizabeth’smemory.”

Many plays are staged at theRose, a typical Elizabethan-era play-house with a circular floor plan and anopen roof. On the Babelsberg backlot,the art department constructed a stand-

alone replica of the Rose that could alsodouble as the Globe, complete with amuddy, winding street leading up to themain entrance.

Foerster describes the theater as achimney. “How do you light a chimney and shoot a scene on a 15.5mm lens?”she asks, noting that A-camera operatorSebastian Meuschel was often joined by

Vladimir Subotic and Philip Peschlow on B and C cameras, respectively. “Thattheater was one of the most difficultthings to deal with, but we had an inter-esting approach.”

Outside the theater, the crew positioned two 60' Condors thatallowed them to suspend 70'x45' and45'x45' UltraBounce flyswatters like lidsover the open roof, blocking the interiorfrom direct sunlight. The cranes would

Top: A completed visual-effects composite (top) shows a scenic view of the Globe Theatre,which was created digitally. Bottom: An effects element shows the live-action layer of

performers surrounding the structure.

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boom up and down as the sun moved,allowing only the open sky to provideambient light.

If Foerster needed additionallight, 18K and 6K HMIs positionedalong the theater’s upper levels werebounced off the UltraBounce flyswat-ters or huge muslin and white Duvetyntarps hanging down from the lowerranks, just out of the camera’s view. Tofacilitate transitions from day to night in

the same scene, the crew layered addi-tional silks over the set until it was dark enough to bring up the candles andfirelight.

When strong winds prohibitedthe team from deploying the blackouts,Haupt ran sheets of silk and muslinacross the opening on ropes and cablesinside the theater. The strategy worked,but it also required Foerster to avoidphotographing the upper levels of

the audience.Each play staged in the movie has

its own look: the climax of Romeo and

Juliet takes place at twilight; hunched witches hover around a cracklingbonfire in Macbeth; and Hamlet isshown mainly in broad daylight and

wide shots. This was consistent regard-less of where a play was being staged.For example, when the story crosscutsbetween a monologue from two differ-

◗ A Mighty Pen

An exterior view of period structures built on the lot at Studio Babelsberg.

2

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ent performances of Hamlet — at theRose and at Elizabeth’s royal court —each performance contains a referenceto the other’s lighting and cameramoves.

The final digital grade was carriedout at Arri’s Munich headquarters,

where Martin served as the colorist. “It was important for the Arri team to keepan eye on the DI,” says Foerster. “Andit was great to have Utsi handle it,because he was there [with us] from thebeginning.”

She observes that the final look is

very close to what she conceptualized with the viewing LUTs. “Of course, wetweaked a few things, like matchingscene-to-scene or matching light levels

when we were shooting outside. Wealso played with the contrast a bit and

took advantage of the masks and windows you can do in the DI. But ingeneral, what we timed for was what wesaw on the monitors on set.” ●

Henry bids farewell to his late, great friend.

TECHNICAL SPECS

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Digital Intermediate

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lighting because Pina was very preciseabout [that],” continues Louvart. “PeterPabst, who had always done the set andlighting design with her, was there to

verify that we were really following thesame concept. But we needed morelight, and we also had to modify thelighting and accentuate certain things.”

Louvart calculated that the

cameras were working at an equivalentof 80 ASA, partially because of a stoploss from the half-silvered mirror and again setting of -3dB for lower noise.She estimates that she needed 2-3 morestops of light to bring the theater piecesto the screen. She strove to understand

what Bausch had wanted to do withlighting, but she also wanted to incor-

porate Wenders’ requests. “For exam-ple,” she says, “in Rite of Spring , Wimtold me that we should feel the dancers’effort, their sweat, so I wanted to make[them] shine.”

Louvart conferred with Jacon to

strengthen the existing lighting designfor Rite . She added nine 5K Fresnelsthrough diffusion to key the dancersfrom the top, defining them against theblack background and making them“shine.” She also doubled the number of Par 64s and added crosslights. In addi-tion, she asked Jacon to bring up the

Transtechnik dimmer board from itsaverage level of 60 percent to a hefty 90percent.

Jacon estimates that the final

cinematic lighting for Rite of Spring comprised 5Ks, Enizoom follow spots,PCs (plan convex), flat and narrow Par 64 cans, and 250-watt 24-voltBeamlights. Frontlight was provided by about 20 2K Enizoom Profiles, supple-mented by a dozen PCs near the stageand a dozen 1.2K Enizooms on theside. Sidelight was provided by a dozenBeamlights (for the heads of thedancers) and PCs (for the feet). The top

◗ Immersive Dance

Right: Adiaphanous

curtain addsa theatricaltouch to a

performancefeaturing Jorge

Puerta Armenta.Below: Widmer

and his teamcapture Helena

Pikon onlocation.

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Mississippi during the 2010 shoot. Onestroke of good fortune was that most of the story takes place indoors, primarily in the antebellum mansions where the

wealthy, white characters reside and inthe small, neat shacks where two of their

servants, Aibileen (Viola Davis) andMinny (Octavia Spencer), eke by.

Best friends, Aibileen and Minny have been in service all their lives. WhenSkeeter (Emma Stone), one of the

young, white women they have served,decides to write a book from the domes-tics’ point of view, the shockwaves rever-berate throughout the town.

Set in Jackson, The Help wasfilmed almost entirely in the nearby city P

h o t o s b y D a l e R o b i n e t t e .

P h o t o s a n d f r a m e g r a b s c o u r t e s y o f t h e W

a l t D i s n e y C o .

Opposite: Likeother Southernmaids toiling inMississippi durinthe 1960s,Aibileen Clark(Viola Davis)endures rampan

racism andcondescension.This page, top: Ia gesture ofpatronizingcivility,manipulativesocialite HillyHolbrook (BryceDallas Howard)solicits a round oapplause formaids working acharity event.Middle: When hown maid revea

embarrassingdetails in a tell-abook, Hilly hitsthe roof. BottomCinematographeStephenGoldblatt, ASC,BSC checks thelight on location

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with the camera, a Panaflex Millennium

XL, and the Libra Head that wasshipped in overnight was unable toexecute a full 360-degree pan, soCrawford manually rotated the dolly inorder to complete the pan. Meanwhile,1st AC Larry Huston was pulling focus

while running backwards up two flightsof stairs just behind Stone, using a 3"monitor attached to his Preston FI+Zradio focus control. Executing thiscomplicated shot required pinpointaccuracy and flawless teamwork, and

Goldblatt is unstinting in his praise of his crew, many of whom have worked

with him for years. This and all other day interiors

were lit from outside through the windows. Large HMIs, usually 18Ks, were placed on Condors or, as was thecase at Skeeter’s house, on scaffolding.Fill inside was provided by a bit of hidden bounce — “a 2.5K HMI on atall stand on the upper landing bounc-

◗ Airing Dirty Laundry

Top: Skeeter interviews Aibileen and Minny after convincing them they should share their stories.Bottom: Both maids fear their candor will have dire consequences.

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fair-skinned tyke she babysits. “I wasconstantly concerned with getting

enough light on Viola but notoverlighting the child,” says the cine-matographer. Pairing Aibileen withpale, redheaded Hilly (Bryce DallasHoward) presented similar problems.Goldblatt notes, “The trick is to lightthe black actor and keep as much lightas possible off the white actor. There’susually enough ambient light that a

white face has sufficient exposure.Occasionally I’d have a small lampbouncing into some muslin on the floor.

One reason I chose [Kodak] Vision3stocks [500T 5219 and 200T 5213] isthat they have so much latitude in theshadows.”

The production’s footage wasprocessed by Deluxe Laboratories, andEFilm generated HD dailies andhandled the digital intermediate.Goldblatt requested that dailies beprojected every day, “and that the editor,director, gaffer, script supervisor and I

watch them together so that we were all working in unison,” he says. “That’s so

much better than everybody watchingdailies in their hotel rooms and thenhaving a mutter about them when wemeet the next morning.”

In the dailies, the team noticed aslow flicker in the image that appearedonly in scenes set in two of the film’sfour kitchens. “We tried everything —changing the stock [5213], changingthe camera, changing the generators —but nothing helped,” reports Goldblatt.“The problem arrived and disappeared

without rhyme or reason, and neitherKodak nor Deluxe could explain it.Fortunately, it was such a slow pulse that

when the film was cut together, it wasn’t visible.”

Dense with characters anddialogue, the screenplay (adapted by

Taylor from Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling novel) was 150 pages long.“What really helped us get through thescript on time was that Tate did no


Top: Large lightsmounted on

cranes providenighttimeambience.

Bottom: Keygrip Charlie

Saldaña (left)and loader

Blake Alcantarahelp to deploy aMAT Towercamfor a shot that

follows Skeeterup two flights

of stairs.

B o t t o m

p h o t o b y S t e p

h e n G o

l d b l a t t

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more than two or three takes,” saysGoldblatt. Another important factor

was that during prep, he and Taylordecided what coverage they absolutely had to get and what they could let slide.“I think the editor, Hughes Winborne,

was a bit nervous at first about how littlecoverage we were doing,” says the cine-matographer, chuckling. “He relaxed

when he realized there was a plan —that we weren’t just missing [material]because we’d run out of time!”

As usual, Goldblatt turned toPhil Radin at Panavision’s WoodlandHills headquarters when puttingtogether the camera package: a PanaflexPlatinum, two Millennium XLs, Primoprime lenses (ranging from 17.5 to

100mm), 1.4x and 2x extenders, andtwo Primo zooms, a 4:1 (17.5-75mm)and an 11:1 (24-275mm). Goldblattavoids using multiple cameras wheneverpossible, and only added a second onefor a ballroom sequence.

The ballroom scene presentedthe film’s most complicated lighting

setup, according to Campbell. “It was apractical interior, and the camera had tobe able to move 360 degrees at any time,so all the lighting had to be done fromoverhead. It was 108°F outside and [feltnearly as] hot inside. My rigging gaffer,Erik Bernstein, hung the standard pipetruss, and then I did something I’d neverdone before: I used Kino Flo Image 85sto light the entire room. I used 40 of them, all through Roscoe Light Frost;

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Come tell your story in Mississippi .

“I think theeditor was a bitnervous at firstabout how littlecoverage we

were doing.”

7/29/2019 AC sept 2011


they were rigged to remote chainmotors and then connected to a dimmerboard. They kept the heat down andgave us enough light. It was a great

learning experience for me.” When the budget precluded

renting a Technocrane for more than acouple of days, Goldblatt opted for an

old Chapman Super Nova that theproduction could keep for the entireshoot at the same price. One of the shotsfor which it was used is the last shot of the film: Aibileen leaves her employer’shouse and walks down the road and into

the distance. “I wanted the light to bebeautiful because I figured the shot would be used for end credits, and it was,” says Goldblatt. “I use all these elec-tronic aids for predicting sunlight andlength of shadows, and I knew we hadto shoot at 4 p.m. — any earlier and theroad would have been too hot.”

The crane tracks back from thefront door, down the driveway and thendown the street. Arnot and Huston wereseated at the end of the arm, with theSteadicam hard-mounted to a Mitchellcamera mount via a Garfield plate. Even

with the electric motor, there was a bit of vibration from the road and a very slightmovement within the frame. “We didn’tsee it in dailies, but we did when we putin titles,” says Goldblatt. “So we digitally


Director Tate Taylor and Stone share a light moment between takes.

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looking for locations, we’d have lunch in this little café, andthe placemats read Wet Mountain Valley Café. Now, [when]they picked this location, nobody wondered why it was calledthat. Well, I’ll tell you why: at 12 p.m. every day, these electri-cal storms would descend on you like some sort of nightmare— every single day. We also discovered that the valley was

filled with rattlesnakes. We shot there for weeks and had todeal with the weather and rattlesnakes.”

Stephen Burum, ASC experienced scouting his ownlocations early in his career, including when he directed andshot second unit on Apocalypse Now ( AC Feb. ’01). Needing acertain kind of terrain for shooting pass-bys of Willard’s boatgoing up the river, he used topographical maps to give him anidea of where to go, and then did two weeks of scouting by helicopter. Another unusual scouting effort involved a musi-cal television show starring Ann-Margret that he shot inSweden for producer/director David Winters. Unfamiliar


“Idid nothing but location movies for the first part of my career,” says Gordon Willis, ASC. Regarding Comes a Horseman, starring Jane Fonda, he says, “[It was] … abeautiful location at the foothills of the Rocky

Mountains. We built her house out there on a flat. While

TipsOnLocationScouting

TipsOnLocationScouting Location professionals and

cinematographers illuminatethe importance of choosing good

locations.

By Ira Tiffen

•|•

7/29/2019 AC sept 2011



with Sweden and lacking time to scoutlocations, Burum and Winters pickedpostcards with appealing settings at theairport shops upon their arrival. AnSAS airline rep helped them make thenecessary arrangements to reach thesites.

Whether you’re telling a story in afeature, commercial or TV show, it hasto take place in a suitable environment.

At times the solution is to build a set in

a studio, but most motion-pictureprojects involve at least some work onreal locations. It’s less common today forcinematographers themselves to seek out locations, but there is much they need to know about making suitableselections. And, as Willis points out,there are many considerations whenlooking for and evaluating the rightlocations for a production. As the indus-try has evolved, this has become the

professional specialty of the locationscout and the location manager, who

work under the art director/productiondesigner.

Lori Balton is a foundingmember and the current president of theLocation Managers Guild of America.She has worked as a scout on produc-tions helmed by numerous A-list direc-tors, among them Michael Mann,Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese.

She explains, “We started the LMGAbecause … the way our job evolvedmade us the proverbial ‘red-headedstepchild.’ When the industry started,anybody could find the locations, andthe assignation of the job was a very random thing. Over the years, we’vedeveloped a lot of skills, but I think many people don’t really understand

what it is that we do.”Balton says that when she worked

on Rob Reiner’sGhosts of Mississippi , shespotted a house that was suitable for thefilm’s main location as she was drivingdown a street in Los Angeles one day.

The initial plan was to use the locationonly for exteriors and build the interiorsonstage, but when Reiner and the cine-matographer, John Seale, ASC, ACS,arrived at the location, Balton encour-aged them to reconsider. “I said, ‘I know

you’re planning to build it onstage, but

this house is just so magical and evoca-tive, can you humor me and have a look at the inside?’” They took one look inside and agreed with her.

Location professionals fall intotwo key categories. Location scouts dothe initial searching and finding, andlocation managers handle the subse-quent logistics. Balton thinks of the twocategories as left-brain and right-brainfunctions. “There are very few people P

h o t o s o n p p .

6 8 a n d 6 9 c o u r t e s y o f A l b

e r t E p p s .

Opposite page: Location manager Albert Epps enjoys the more idyllic aspects of his job as he walks a beach while scouting for t he TVseries Cougartown. This page: During a commercial shoot in Brentwood, Calif., Epps and the production team were temporarily stymied by

a massive tree that fell across a road. He recalls, “We had to run around the neighborhood and find some gardeners to chop off enough[branches] so we could get cars and people [through].”

7/29/2019 AC sept 2011



who are very, very good at both,” shenotes. “Generally people are eitherbetter managers or better scouts, better

with the logistics or better with thecreative side.”

After working as an actor for 20

years, Tony Salome got into locationmanaging around 1989. He is currently a location manager on NCIS: Los Angeles for CBS, and he is also the first vicepresident of the LMGA. He describes

what he considers important abilities fora good location manager or scout:“Obviously, you need to have photogra-phy skills [and] a good eye [so you can]look at a place and photograph it in amanner that is representative of what

you see. You also have to have computerskills and editing skills so you canpresent those photos to other people.

You have to be a salesman. You have tohave knowledge of geography, architec-ture and design. You have to be a detec-

tive, because many times you’re lookingfor something that no one else hasfound.”

Salome notes that although hedoesn’t choose locations, he has influ-ence over the decisions. “I know that if Idon’t show a certain location, [it] willnever get used. On the other hand, if Ishow a location, there’s a chance they’regoing to use it.”

He observes that location

managing for a TV series as opposed to

a feature film “is the same process, butdone much faster. We do a new episodeevery eight days — action, adventure,car chases, explosions, gun battles, all onthe streets of L.A.” The show’s loca-tions, he adds, “are really postcards forSouthern California. We shoot a lot of iconic locations, such as the GriffithObservatory, the Santa Monica Pierand the Hollywood Bowl. The city isour backdrop.”

As a former actor, Salome

compares casting directors to locationscouts and managers. “Casting directors[work] to find just the right actor, andlocation managers work to find a loca-tion that can play an integral role in thestory.” Regarding cinematographers, headds, “locations are a lot like actors: agood director of photography can makethem all look better. There’s a nice rela-tionship between what our cinematog-rapher does [and] what we do.”

◗ Tips On Location Scouting

Top left: While scouting for a soft-drink commercialin Los Angeles, photographer and location scoutBarbara J. Miller (pictured at right) snapped this

view from the roof of the old May Companybuilding on Broadway south of 8th Street. Bottomleft: Miller took this shot while working on a carcommercial. She notes that the director asked herto crop to approximate the 16:9 aspect ratio, and

to include a silver car to suggest his preferredcolor to the ad agency.

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Victor Hammer, the cinematog-rapher on NCIS: Los Angeles , explains,“Tony sees the script before [I do], andhe talks over the locations with the show runner and the director. I don’t get to

the locations until way after they’rescouted. My job is to make them work.

“Before we started shooting theshow [three years ago], I talked to thelocation team about my needs in termsof the visuals: windows, natural lightsources, a little bit of space to work inand reflective surfaces. So when Tony sees a mirror or a lot of windows at alocation, he’s going to say, ‘That’s thekind of location Victor would like.’”

Scouting has been called the

creative side of locations; managing isconsidered the practical side. But some-times you have to be creative at manag-ing, too. Albert Epps is a locationmanager for ABC’s Cougartown. Hisrésumé also includes feature andcommercial work. “Having done this forso long, I know that cinematographerslike to shoot into the sun,” he says. “If there’s [no other] preference for onelocation over another, and one favors

shooting into the sun, that’s usually theone I choose.

“My advice [for the cinematogra-pher] is that if the project requiresspecial equipment, bring that to thelocation manager’s attention early on,”he adds.

Epps cites a commercial shoot inBrentwood as an example of managingthe unexpected. “[We] scouted the loca-tion, and the logistics were good. Weopened up the set at 5 a.m. and discov-ered the wind [had blown] down thismonster tree, and it completely blocked P

h o t o s b y B a r b a r a J . M i l l e r .

For aninvestment-company ad thatraced the real

journey of aclient who hadfought in FranceGermany and

Luxembourgduring WorldWar II, thedirector askedMiller to find atown that lookeas if it had baresurvived the waWhile scouting France, Millertook theseatmosphericphotos of theCitadel atMontmedy,which dates bac

to 1221. Duringthe 16th centurthe originalstructure wasreplaced by afortress that waused in bothWorld Wars.

7/29/2019 AC sept 2011



the road. We had to run around theneighborhood and find some gardenersto chop off enough [branches] that wecould get cars and people [through].”

Sometimes, it’s not Nature’s fault when things don’t go as planned.Burum notes, “Maybe you’ve securedthe location, you think everything’sokay, and then you get there anddiscover that the wonderful fountains

that you planned to have working in thebackground are shut down becausethey’re being cleaned that day — it’s theone day a year they clean the fountains.So then you need somebody there witha fistful of hundred-dollar bills!”

For a feature film, scouting cantake months. For a TV series, it can takea few days each week throughout aseason. Scouting time for commercials

often ranges from a couple of days to a week.

Barbara Miller is an L.A.-basedlocation scout who works extensively incommercials. She started with a back-ground in art and a love of traveling. Alocation scout who was a friend-of-a-friend offered Miller a job andmentored her during her early efforts.

Miller tries planning her day so that shephotographs a location to its bestadvantage. One location might bebetter at magic hour, whereas another

will have her there really early in themorning.

Remarking on the differencesamong directors, she notes, “Somedirectors draw their own storyboardsand say, ‘If you could find this — thisideal landscape, the way the jaggedmountains are in the background, and

[with] plenty of room in the foregroundto run the 700 head of longhorn cattle… with lightning and thunder ….’

Another director I work for shoots a lotof digital video, and he likes me topresent my photos with somethingclose to an HD aspect ratio.”

Regardless of the type of produc-tion, typical scheduling requires thelocation scout to work with the directorand sometimes the producer often


For a Cars.comcommercial, Epps

helped find alocation where the

production couldstage an explosive

stunt.

P h o t o s c o u r t e s y o f A l b e r t E p p s

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6

Burum has a few observationsabout roads. “[When] shooting on ahighway, you have to make sure thattraffic can be stopped, that you have a

place to park your equipment, and that you can turn around at either end. [If] you’re on a mountain road and therearen’t suitable turnouts, you have to tell

the director, ‘We’re going to have todrive 5 miles to turn around. Do you

want to do that?’“Every choice on a shoot contains

some kind of compromise,” Burumcontinues. “There are artistic, practical

and political considerations. Nothing isperfect. You have to be very quick on your feet and very adaptable; you haveto remember what the scene is aboutand what you need to accomplish.

“If you’re going to build a setsomewhere, you have to make sure thelocal lumber yard or hardware store[has] the materials you need,” hecontinues. “Then there are city servicesor county services — police, security,and fire and traffic departments. Allthose details have to be taken care of.

“But the most important thingfor the cinematographer is where thesun is on the location — what the sunangle is at the time of year you’re goingto shoot — and what the weather is inthe area,” he emphasizes. “If you’re


To help create this “interesting situation,” Epps found an appropriate street corner in downtown L.A.

P h o t o c o u r t e s o f A l b e r t E p p s

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shooting by the ocean, you have to gettide tables. [If] you scout three or fourmonths ahead, you have to rememberthat what you’re seeing is going to[change] with the seasons. People oftenforget about that.”

Willis notes that clear and effec-tive communication is key. “A lot of people worry that they’ll get in troubleif they say something, but they get inmore trouble if they notice a problem orpotential problem and don’t say some-thing. I’ve always been kind of pushy about how and where something shouldbe shot.”

On the ideal relationshipbetween the location professional andthe cinematographer, Dresser observes,“I’m currently working with Tom Stern[ASC, AFC], who is fantastic aboutfinding the reality in a location, aboutfinding the magic in it, and about givinginput on what works and what doesn’t.It’s always a pleasure to work withsomebody who doesn’t just say, ‘This

won’t work,’ but instead tells you exactly what he’s looking for and why. Thatbenefits the project in the long run.

“One thing that’s really helped usin our communication with the cine-matographer is the advent of digital

libraries,” adds Dresser. “Even if thecinematographer is not yet on the job,he can review some of our potentiallocations and provide input.”

Some have expressed concernthat such libraries might one day make

location scouts redundant, but genericimages of a location cannot replace thestoryteller’s eye. Though there areprofessional similarities among thepeople who contributed to this article,each brings a uniquely personal visionto his job.

Ultimately, says Balton, locationprofessionals exist to help the directorand cinematographer define the story and the characters, and the right loca-tions can mean the difference betweenmediocre and magnificent results. ●

Locationprofessionals exist tohelp the director and

cinematographerdefine the story and

the characters.

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Cinelicious Invests in Film’s FutureBy Jay Holben

Opening a boutique post house with a focus on film projectscould be perceived as risky in this day and age, but Paul Korver, theprincipal officer at Cinelicious in Hollywood, believes now is theperfect time to invest in film. “So many people believe all theprogress is happening in digital and that no one is innovating in film,

but that couldn’t be further from the truth,” he says. “Today’s filmstocks are better, and today’s film-scanning technology allows us toreally get the absolute best out of the negative, which is especiallyimportant with the coming of 4K theatrical projection.”

Located in a hip, industrial environment on Melrose Avenue,a few blocks west of Paramount Studios, Cinelicious currently offersone color room — a Baselight system connected to a Spirit Datacineand a state-of-the-art Scanity 4K digital film scanner — but a 4K DLPprojection DI theater with a 25' screen was nearing completion atpress time.

Digital Film Technology’s Scanity is the star of the facility’s

workflow. Capable of scanning at 4K at 15 fps, and offering adynamic range of 3.1-3.3 density, the Scanity features an LED lampsource, a Time Delay Integration line sensor and dedicated Field-Programmable Gate-Array image processing.

The Scanity is a sprocketless, tension-driven system, utilizingcomputer-controlled positioning driven by a photographic sensorthat locks each frame in place within 6 microns (the size of one 4Kpixel), delivering pin-registration accuracy without ever penetrating a

perf. This combination of gentleness and accuracy makes the Scan-ity ideal for not only visual-effects and feature-DI scanning, but alsoarchival and restoration work, which often involves delicate materi-als. (Cinelicious also offers a temperature-controlled vault for theproper storage of nitrate film materials.)

The Scanity has a 16mm gate that is prepared for 16mm,Super 16mm and Ultra 16; the latter uses a wide area of regular16mm (into the perfs) to create an organic 1.85:1 aspect ratio with-out requiring the lens recentering that is necessary when converting16mm cameras to Super 16mm. The scanner can also accommo-date 2-perf, 3-perf and 4-perf 35mm and 8-perf 35mm VistaVision.

Post Focus

P h f C i l i i

I

Cinelicious is a boutique post house that serves film and digital projects but is particularly focused on film. “Today’s filmstocks are better, and today’s film-scanning technology allows us to really get the absolute best out of the negative,” enthuse s the

company’s principal officer, Paul Korver.

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his garage and into the full-service facilityon Melrose Avenue. Just as he wished,Cinelicious works off of a completely data-centric workflow, forgoing tape rooms for alarge SAN server and Quantum LTO-5 robotfor backup and storage.

Cinelicious feels like a high-end

commercial post house, and indeed,commercials are a part of the company’sclient base, but the facility caters to inde-pendent and studio productions as well.“Two years ago, fewer than 10 featureshad a 4K finish, and they were all $100million productions,” says Korver. “Now,with the Scanity and our streamlined postworkflow, we can bring the cost of a 4K DIdown into the range of $20 million produc-tions, maybe even $10 million productions.

“We don’t shy away from all-digitalfilmmakers,” he adds. “We just happen toreally, really love film. With artists who arepassionate about image making, you don’thear, ‘I want to make film look like digital!’You hear, ‘I want digital to look like film.’

“We are dedicated to supportingfilmmakers at the highest level, no matter ifthe tool of choice is film or digital, 2-D or 3-D. Other people might say we’re crazy forinvesting in film at all, but I say we’re blaz-ing a trail for cinematographers to get themost out of their images.”

Cinelicious, 5735 Melrose Ave., Los

Angeles, CA, 90038, phone: (323) 464-3700, website: http://cinelicious.tv/.

Facility News

Studio 108 Opens New FacilityStudio 108 has opened the doors of

its new, integrated effects/animation/ production/post facility in Richmond, Va. Ithas tripled its size with the move, whichcoincides with the company’s 10th anniver-sary.

“Studio 108 has built a reputationas the region’s go-to creative resource forinnovative and compelling commercials,corporate media, music videos and filmsthat exceed our clients’ expectations with-out going over budget,” says Jack Hart-mann, founder of Studio 108. “Our expan-sive new bi-level space in Manchester Flatsprovides our team of multi-disciplined direc-tors, writers, producers, editors, effectsartists, animators and mixers with an inspir-

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ing open-architecture creative environmentthat allows them to take our work to thenext level. It also offers our clients the kindof over-the-top amenities that leave themlooking forward to coming back and work-ing with us again.”

“Our goal was to create a truly full-service creative environment that wouldprovide a seamless workflow, whetherclients call upon us to work with them on aspecific phase of their project, or takeadvantage of the inherent cost effective-ness of our one-stop concept throughcompletion capabilities,” says Tyler Snidow,director of business development for Studio108. “Once a client gives us the reins ofthat first job, the benefits of working witha team that approaches each project as aunit and collaborates through every stageof production become clear.”

Among the new facility’s offeringsare three master suites, each featuring FinalCut Pro, After Effects and Cinema 4D andintegrating editorial, motion graphics andcolor-correction capabilities. Additionally,

the main level boasts a dedicated audiosuite outfitted with a sound booth, ProTools, Final Cut Pro and After Effects.

The facility also houses a 20'x40'live-action studio, which provides acomplete arsenal of equipment, including

HD and SD cameras, lighting packages, arolling greenscreen, grip equipment and aset-fabrication workshop. Studio 108 alsooffers two state-of-the-art remote vehicles,which are fully equipped to accommodatelocation shoots.

“Our new space puts the industry’smost cutting-edge technology at thefingertips of our team … in a creativehaven where they can collaborate seam-lessly, under one roof,” says Hartmann.“Innovative problem solving supported bystrong client service in comfortablesurroundings where creativity flourishes —that’s what the new Studio 108 is allabout.”

For additional information, visitwww.studio108.com.

Codex Enables Pivotal Post

Los Angeles facility Pivotal Post,which supplies state-of-the-art editorialsystems to film and television productionsworldwide, is using Codex’s Digital Labsystem as the hub of its Digital Mobile Lab

service. The mobile workflow is designedfor backing up digital camera media,processing dailies and preparing deliver-ables for editorial and other post processes.The service allows film and televisionproductions to perform on-set or on-loca-tion much of the digital laboratory workthat formerly required a post facility.

“Digital workflows have madeeditorial a central part of production, oftenin a near-set environment,” says SarahPriestnall, Codex Digital’s vice president formarket development. “As a result, it isnatural that Pivotal Post should seek toextend the support it provides to its Avidrental customers by supplying them withCodex equipment and workflow expertise.We are excited to be a key part of this newbusiness initiative.”

2

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Assessing the Merits of 24-Frame Video PlaybackBy Monte Swann

Since the beginning of time, or at least sinceHoward the Duck (1986), the first movie I ever worked on, TV monitors have been blue.While preparing to shoot a scene in the apartment occupied by themain character, Beverly (Lea Thompson), Richard H. Kline, ASC toldme to “warm it up a little bit!” The sets were built in a brutally coldSan Rafael warehouse, and most of us were gathered aroundportable gas heaters or bundled up in Arctic gear. Rubbing my handstogether, I replied, “Yeah, it’s really cold.” Richard gave me an oddlook, then pointed to the TV and said, “It’s too blue.” I looked down

at the TV and realized he was not commenting on the temperatureonstage, but was instead referring to the color temperature of the TV.

This was my first solo mission, and I had only been workingfor Video Image, a pioneer in the burgeoning field of 24-frame video,for a few months. I gave Richard a thumbs up, as if to say, “I knewthat,” and casually walked back to my playback machines. In thosedays, 24-frame playback material was mastered on 3 ⁄ 4" U-Maticcassettes containing two passes of the same material. The first passwas corrected for tungsten (3,200°K), and the second pass wasnormal, or daylight (4,500°K). I cued up the corrected pass andhustled back out to the set.

The image on the TV was an unnerving shade of orange, but

when I viewed it through my 80B filter, it looked normal. I made afew adjustments to the TV, set the exposure and, using a sync box onthe camera, rolled out the shutter. Richard checked it with his meterand gave me the nod. Of course, I wouldn’t really know if I’d screwedup until dailies were screened the next day, so I was nervous. As itturned out, the monitor looked fine, and although I was feeling reallyimpressed with myself, no one else seemed to even notice — theycommented on how good the actors and set looked, how moody thelighting was or how sharp the focus was.

That, of course, is the way it should be: unless the color orexposure is off, or if, God forbid, there’s a shutter bar flickering across

the bottom of the screen, no one should notice the TV in the scene.Today, although we have flat-screen LCD monitors, plasma

screens with fluorescent backlights, and DLP projectors with bright,shimmering mirrors, things haven’t really changed much. The newflat screens are really cool, but that’s the problem: they’re really, really cool. The old tube-type CRT televisions burned around 4,500°K,whereas the new flat screens burn anywhere from 6,000-14,000°Kand are far greener than their predecessors.

The first time I worked with a plasma screen was on Enemy of the State (1998). Everyone was excited about the new technologyand claimed it would all but eliminate the need for 24-frame videosync. Keen to promote the world’s first flat-screen plasma TV in this

high-profile film, Phillips sent over a few of its soon-to-be-released42" plasma screens. During prep, the director of photography, DanMindel (future ASC), suggested we include the plasma in the cameratests.

Using the standard correction tools of the time, a pre-recordedtape corrected for 3,200°K and an 80B filter, I adjusted the color onthe screen for tungsten light. No matter how much tweaking I did,however, the color just didn’t look right. I checked it with my Minoltacolor meter, and, sure enough, the temperature was decidedly green.This, of course, was the result of the fluorescent backlight. Using thetint controls on the Phillips monitor, I was able to add enoughmagenta so the image looked “normal” on the meter. But this new

technology had one other artifact to reveal. Because plasma screensare not based on the scanning technology of CRT monitors, everyoneassumed it would not be necessary to feed it with a 24-frame videosource and sync it to the camera. This bit of misinformation revealeditself all too clearly when our film test was screened the following day:a rolling shutter bar could be seen floating down the plasma’s massivescreen.

If anything, plasma technology has made the video engineer’s job more challenging. It’s still necessary to sync the screens to 24-frame and color correct them. The real problem, however, is that mostplasma screens won’t accept the oddball frequency generated by a

Filmmakers’ Forum

I

Left: Though their newness was appealing, large plasma screens proved problematic during camera tests for Enemy of the State, so thefilmmakers chose to stick with older, reliable CRT technology for the movie’s many onscreen monitors. Right: Just a few years e arlier,

LCD technology was used for a variety of small screens in Demolition Man.

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24-frame video system, and finding onethat will is always frustrating. As a result, allthe screens featured in Enemy of the Statewere old, reliable CRT monitors, including

the video wall in NSA headquarters.LCD technology was available at the

time — we had used such screens exten-sively a few years earlier on Demolition Man(1993) — but plasma was the only technol-ogy available in a large-format screen.

LCD technology seemed almost fool-proof at first, requiring only a standard 30-frame video signal. The only downside atthe time was a very narrow sweet spot limit-ing your angle of view. In a Demolition Manscene that shows the prison warden (played

by Mark Colson) talking to Huxley (SandraBullock) on a handheld device, it was neces-sary to attach the screen to the actor andthe dolly with a C-stand arm to maintain itsangle to the camera. As the technologyadvanced, the screens got better and larger,but some of them revealed other problems.The newer backlight units are increasinglysusceptible to the flicker and flutter similarto that of an unregulated 50-cycle Europeanlight source.

If you saw the latest Star Trek movie( AC June ’09), which offered me anotherchance to collaborate with Dan Mindel, youmight remember the seamless video screen

that wrapped around the perimeter of thebridge of the Enterprise. This was built froma customized Orion display system using 1642" plasma screens placed side by side. Therest of the set was populated with dozensof large LCD screens displaying the variouscontrol surfaces of the ship. A few daysbefore filming was scheduled to begin, weprepared to shoot a camera test on thebridge. I balanced the color on all the moni-tors by displaying a gray-scale chart on eachscreen, then set the exposure and shot the

test. The LCD screens looked great, butthere was a major flicker rolling through theplasma screens, even though we were feed-ing them a 24-frame signal. This set wasdesigned around the plasmas, and theycouldn’t be easily replaced.

After Dan and I discussed all ouroptions, he decided to use a 144-degree cutshutter, one of the oldest tricks in the book;it was the method used in the early days oftelevision to archive live TV shows on film.

The cut shutter eliminated the plasmaflicker, but it also caused many of the LCDsto flicker. The only solution was to replace allthe LCDs with models using more tolerantbacklights.

With the advances in digitalcompositing, some filmmakers are opting to

shoot greenscreen instead of a live image ona monitor. Shooting a greenscreen elimi-nates the need to make an immediate deci-sion on the content of the image, but it alsolimits the actors’ ability to interact with theimage. It also affects the scene’s lighting:instead of featuring the corrected light emit-ted by the video screen, the scene is awashwith a pale-green glow that appears onevery reflective surface on the set. Of course,this green spill has to be removed in post.

On Unstoppable (2010), thecommand center for the company responsi-ble for the runaway train featured hundredsof flat-screen monitors. Director Tony Scottand cinematographer Ben Seresin, BSC real-ized early on that greenscreen playback wasout of the question because of the glasspartitions jutting into the set from all angles.Tony prefers to use real locations and realtechnology when he can. (Let’s face it: noth-ing looks more real than the real thing.) Toachieve the look he wanted, Ben used a mixof sources, including Kino Flos and tungstenlamps, and because the monitors were

featured in every shot, they were used assources as well. Color correction was critical,and I spent many hours tweaking eachmonitor until everything had the properbalance. It worked well; nothing about themonitors looked unusual.

The 24-frame video process has beenutilized with great effect in many films, andit will likely continue to be a part of thecreative process on many more. If your nextproject takes place in ancient Rome, youwouldn’t think twice about the need for

realistic wardrobe and set dressing. By thesame token, if your story takes place in CIAheadquarters or a broadcast-TV studio, whywould you second-guess the value of real-time imagery? ●

Right: To balance thecolor on all the plasma

and LCD monitorsfeatured on the bridgeof the Enterprise in thelatest Star Trek movie,the author displayed a

gray-scale chart on eachscreen, then set the

exposure and shot a test.In this photo, the gray

scale appears on the rowof LCD monitors, which

are just below theplasmas. Below: A frame

from the finished filmshows the final effect.

S t a r T r e k s e t p h o t o b y C y g n e t V i d e o

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P+S Unveils X35P+S Technik has intro-

duced the PS-Cam X35, arobust digital camera thatcombines sync-sound andhigh-speed capabilities.

The PS-Cam X35’sdesign allows continuouslyadjustable speed ratesfrom 1-450 fps, and thecamera boasts a dynamicrange of 11 T-stops. The

18 GB internal memory allows for more than four minutes of 24 fpsrecording; a 36 GB memory upgrade is planned. The camera alsofeatures two switchable HD-SDI interfaces in 1.5G and 3G for exter-nal recording and monitoring.

The camera features a CMOS 35Digital sensor with a21.1x11.9mm capture size for 1920x1080 full HD. It currentlyfeatures HD 4:2:2 10-bit uncompressed recording, but options arein the works for 4:4:4 10-bit and raw 12-bit uncompressed. Thecamera is also 3-D compatible and features time code in/out andgenlock in/out, as well as RS232, USB, GigE and planned WLANcontrol.

Numerous IMS-mount adapters are available for the X35’s

PS-IMS lens mount. Other accessories include a hand unit for remotecontrol, HD-SDI recorders, standard batteries and an electronicviewfinder.

For additional information, visit www.pstechnik.de.

Flying-Cam III Takes FlightFlying-Cam has introduced the Flying-Cam III, a.k.a. Special

Aerial Response Automatic Helicopter, an all-electric vertical-take-off-and-landing miniature unmanned aerial system boasting 30minutes of flight time. The system is the result of seven years ofR&D.

Incorporating efficient aerodynamics, innovative automaticflight modes and modular interchangeable payloads in a portable,

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.

quickly deployable system, SARAH boasts a new gyrostabilizedcamera head that is integrated using motion-control technology forrepeatable moves. The head features automatic horizon leveling andcan hold cameras such as the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Red Epic, SonyPMW-F3 and Panasonic AG-AF100. The system offers a headingaccuracy of 0.5 degrees and a DGPS boasting 2.5cm precision.

For additional information, visit www.flying-cam.com.

Oppenheimer Powers AlexaOppenheimer Camera Products has introduced the Alexa On-

Board Mains Power Supply, offering acomplete AC power solution for Arri’sAlexa digital camera.

The device provides universalworld power capability from 90-264-volt AC at 50/60Hz. It mountsmechanically (not electrically) to theGold Mount or V-Mount battery plate;electrically, it provides 28-volt DCpower from its outlet to the camera’stwo-pin Fischer inlet with a customcable. If necessary, users can inter-change the Power Supply mounting between Gold Mount and VMount. The system weighs less than 3 pounds and is cooled by a

quiet fan.The Power Supply includes four accessory ports, supplying

one 14-volt outlet in the Arri-standard two-pin Lemo and three 28-volt outlets in the Arri-standard three-pin Fischer. The total capacityof the Power Supply is 250 watts, giving users more than 100 wattsof headroom over what the camera (and its own accessory ports)might draw.

The system is housed in a custom enclosure that is powdercoated for durability. The main components are rated at more than3 million hours. The Power Supply comes with a one-year warrantyagainst manufacturing defects.

For additional information, visit www.oppenheimercamer

aproducts.com.

Meduza Offers Modular Stereo ShootingMeduza Systems recently unveiled the Meduza Camera

System, a digital stereoscopic 3-D camera.Designed and built specifically to shoot 3-D, the Meduza

allows filmmakers to shoot in native 4:3 format at 4096x3072 reso-lution. “The camera format and resolution level mean the image isbeing acquired at a 1:1 pixel ratio for 15-perf/70mm format and stillallows for smaller extraction for traditional cinema and TV screens,”says Jonathan Kitzen, president of Meduza Systems.

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phers that includes all the necessary func-tions to make 3-D pictures easily from HD-SDI cameras. The 3DView Evolutionincludes a patented gen-lock analyzer, twoHDMI inputs and two HD-SDI inputs.

The CineMonitorHD 3DView “S”includes all the functionality of the evolu-tion model, plus it synchronizes the HD-SDIor HDMI inputs to make 3-D movies withDSLRs or high-speed cameras such as thePhantom HD or Weisscam. The synchro-nized signals are available on HD-SDIoutputs.

For additional information, visithttps://transvideo.eu.

Flanders Scientific Takes

Monitor into Field

Flanders Scientific, Inc., has intro-duced the LM-1760WF Field Unit. Based on

the LM-1760W, this lightweight 17" moni-tor has been specifically modified for fielduse and supports 12-volt DC directly, with-out the need for an external 12-volt to 24-volt DC adapter. The unit is also equippedwith a standard AC power connection.

The LM-1760WF comes with acarrying bag with integrated hood, whichcan be used in both a desktop and light-stand configuration. The combined weightof the monitor and carrying bag is 17.5pounds. Made of durable cordura and

ballistic nylon, the interior of the bag helpsprotect the monitor with foam padding anda single-piece honeycomb frame. The built-in four-sided hood provides shade for view-ing, and the back leg can be adjusted foroptimal tilt.

The Field Unit also comes with twoclear protective covers, which can beattached to the front of the monitor viasimple hook-and-loop fastener strips. Thesecovers help protect the LCD panel from

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the user’s library or directly from theiPhone’s built-in camera.

Cam Report is available in the AppleApp store for $29. For more information,visit www.kfapps.com.

Soluble Apps Puts ShotListin PocketSoluble Apps, in collaboration with

Northern Film & Media, has introduced theShotList app for the iPhone, iPod Touch andiPad. The app brings the production strip-boards system to mobile devices, allowingusers to plan and track every scene of ashoot as it happens.

Users can enter as much or as littleinformation into the app as they want.ShotList can be used to provide a series ofshot numbers and storyboard frames, or itcan contain all of the detail which wouldusually be pulled from a script and enteredinto a production strip board as part of the

scheduling process. This powerful pocket-sized tool lets filmmakers react and respondquickly to on-the-day challenges, such asweather conditions or issues with locationsor cast.

Within ShotList, users can add, edit,delete or re-order scenes freely across multi-ple shooting days, with instant updating ofthe total number of script pages to be shoteach day. Each scene can be clearly markedas “To Do,” “Delay,” “Cut” or “Done” asthe production progresses. Up to six story-

board frames can be viewed for each scene,and storyboards can be marked off as theyare shot. Hot-linked notes can also bestored for each scene, and users can keepeveryone on the production informed ofchanges by emailing the latest one-lineschedule or exchanging updated projectfiles with other ShotList users via Dropbox.

ShotList is available via the AppleApp Store for $29.99. For more informa-tion, visit www.solubleapps.com. ➣

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Tamajii Draws StoryboardsToronto-based company Tamajii has

introduced Storyboards, an iPad appdesigned to help filmmakers create, edit andshare storyboards with ease.

Developed for filmmakers of all levels,Storyboards offers thousands of drawings ofcharacters and props to allow shots to becomposed quickly and easily. Tamajii alsooffers a custom drawing service to provideusers with specific characters and props fortheir storylines. All elements can be dragged,dropped, rotated and edited using standardiPad gesture controls. Shots can also be fine-tuned without the need to redraw or recon-struct entire frames.

Storyboards can be printed andexported in both PDF and proprietary Story-boards format, allowing them to be sharedwith other iPad users via iTunes or email.Individual frames can also be viewed in theiPad Photo Album. The application alsoallows storyboards to be outputted to an

external monitor or projector using a digitalAV or VGA adapter.The app is available for free in a Basic

Edition via the iTunes and Apple App Store,and it can then be upgraded to a PremiumEdition for $14.99 via an in-app purchase.

For additional information, visitwww.tamajii.com.

StoryBoard Artist Gets UpdatePowerProduction Software has

released StoryBoard Artist Version 5, whichenables fast creation of digital storyboards.Extended file import options, new built-inartwork, automatic storyboard generationand sketch-style presentations headline anarray of new features in Version 5.

“StoryBoard Artist has served as ahigh-end storyboarding solution for [more

than] a decade,” says Paul Clatworthy, CTOof PowerProduction Software. “Since theinitial StoryBoard Artist release, we haveadded indispensible features such as theTimeline, which sets storyboard frames intime with tracks of audio … and Non-LinearLinks, which accounts for user interactivity in

game and mobile app development. Version5 builds upon this rich history of innovationby introducing automatic storyboard gener-ation and sketch-style presentations.”

New features include extended fileimport options such as 3-D GoogleSketchUp files; built-in artwork includingCharacter, Prop and Location options; objecteffects, which allow users to easilycustomize built-in artwork; Sketch Mode forprinting, working and presenting; andQuickShots Technology for fast, automatedstoryboard creation.

StoryBoard Artist Version 5 is avail-able through the PowerProduction Softwareworldwide reseller channel and direct fromthe PowerProduction Software website for$799.99. For more information, visitwww.powerproduction.com. ●

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International Marketplace


Monitor Yoke Mounts

TM

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Advertiser’s Index16x9, Inc. 96

AC 1,Aja Video Systems, Inc. 9Alan Gordon Enterprises 96

American Film Market 75Arri 35ASC 95Assimilate 67AZGrip 97

Backstage Equipment, Inc.89

Bardwell & McAlister, Inc 11Barger-Lite 81, 96Bron Imaging Group - US 55Burrell Enterprises 96

Cavision Enterprises 39Chapman/Leonard Studio

Equipment Inc. 51Chemical Wedding 85Chimera 63Cine Gear Expo 79Cinematography

Electronics 6Cinekinetic 96Clairmont Film & Digital 23Codex Digital Ltd., 53Convergent Design 73Cooke Optics 25CTT Exp & Rentals 81

Deluxe C2DV Expo 99

Eastern Entertainment 6Eastman Kodak C4

EFD USA, Inc 19Film Gear 65Filmtools 91Fujifilm 16a-d

Gekko Technology 94Gemini 3D Camera 93Glidecam Industries 13Grip Factory Munich/GFM 89

Hive Lighting 91Hollywood Rentals 82

Innovision 97

J.L. Fisher 43

K5600 21Kino Flo 15Kobold 55

LDI 87Lee Filters 27LitePanels 2

MAT - Berlin 41Matthews Studio Equipment

96Mississippi Film Office 65M.M. Muhki & Sons 97Movcam Tech. Co. Ltd. 37Movie Tech AG 97Musicians Institute 66

New York Film Academy 42

Oppenheimer Camera Prod6, 96

Panther Gmbh 54PC&E 14

PED Denz 96, 97Pille Film Gmbh 97Power Gems Limited 26Pro8mm 96

Rosco Laboratories, Inc 77

ServiceVision USA 76Shelton Communications

96S.Two 83Super16 Inc. 97Surreal Road Limited 89Sylvania 7

Tessive LLC 61Thailand Film Office 91Thales Angenieux 5Tiffen C3Transvideo/France 49

VF Gadgets, Inc. 96

Willy’s Widgets 96www.theasc.com 4, 93, 9

Zacuto Films 97

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American Society of Cinematographers RosterOFFICERS – 2010-’11

Michael Goi,President

Richard Crudo,Vice President

Owen Roizman,Vice President

John C. Flinn III,Vice President

Victor J. Kemper,Treasurer

Frederic Goodich,Secretary

Stephen Lighthill,Sergeant-at-Arms

MEMBERSOF THE BOARD

John Bailey

Stephen H. Burum

Richard Crudo

George Spiro Dibie

Richard Edlund

Fred Elmes

Michael Goi

Victor J. Kemper

Francis Kenny

Isidore Mankofsky

Robert Primes

Owen RoizmanKees Van Oostrum

Haskell Wexler

Vilmos Zsigmond

ALTERNATES

Michael D. O’Shea

Rodney Taylor

Ron Garcia

Sol Negrin

Kenneth Zunder

Roger DeakinsJan DeBontThomas Del RuthBruno DelbonnelPeter DemingJim DenaultCaleb DeschanelRon DexterCraig Di BonaGeorge Spiro DibieErnest DickersonBilly DicksonBill DillAnthony Dod MantleStuart DryburghBert Dunk Lex DuPontJohn DykstraRichard EdlundEagle EgilssonFrederick ElmesRobert ElswitGeoffrey ErbScott FarrarJon FauerDon E. FauntLeRoy Gerald FeilSteven FierbergMauro FioreJohn C. Flinn IIIRon FortunatoJonathan FreemanTak FujimotoAlex FunkeSteve GainerRon GarciaDavid GeddesDejan GeorgevichMichael GoiStephen GoldblattPaul GoldsmithFrederic GoodichVictor GossJack GreenAdam GreenbergRobbie GreenbergXavier GrobetAlexander GruszynskiChangwei GuRick GunterRob HahnGerald HirschfeldHenner HofmannAdam HolenderErnie HolzmanJohn C. HoraTom HoughtonGil HubbsShane HurlbutTom HurwitzJudy Irola

Don McCuaigSeamus McGarvey Robert McLachlanGeary McLeodGreg McMurry Steve McNuttTerry K. MeadeSuki MedencevicChris MengesRexford MetzAnastas MichosDouglas MilsomeDan MindelCharles Minsky Claudio MirandaGeorge MooradianDonald A. MorganDonald M. MorganKramer MorgenthauPeter MossM. David MullenDennis MurenFred Murphy Hiro NaritaGuillermo NavarroMichael B. NegrinSol NegrinBill NeilAlex Nepomniaschy John Newby Yuri NeymanSam NicholsonCrescenzo NotarileDavid B. NowellRene OhashiDaryn OkadaThomas OlgeirssonWoody OmensMiroslav Ondricek Michael D. O’SheaAnthony PalmieriPhedon PapamichaelDaniel PearlEdward J. PeiJames PergolaLowell PetersonWally PfisterBill PopeSteven PosterTom Priestley Jr.Rodrigo PrietoRobert PrimesFrank PrinziRichard QuinlanDeclan QuinnEarl RathRichard Rawlings Jr.Frank RaymondTami ReikerRobert RichardsonAnthony B. Richmond

Mark IrwinLevie IsaacksPeter JamesJohnny E. JensenTorben JohnkeFrank JohnsonShelly JohnsonJeffrey JurAdam KaneStephen M. KatzKen KelschVictor J. KemperWayne KennanFrancis Kenny Glenn Kershaw Darius KhondjiGary KibbeJan KiesserJeffrey L. KimballAdam KimmelAlar KiviloDavid KleinRichard KlineGeorge KoblasaFred J. KoenekampLajos KoltaiPete Kozachik Neil KrepelaWilly KurantEllen M. KurasGeorge La FountaineEdward LachmanKen LamkinJacek LaskusAndrew LaszloDenis LenoirJohn R. LeonettiMatthew LeonettiAndrew LesniePeter Levy Matthew LibatiqueCharlie LiebermanStephen LighthillKarl Walter LindenlaubJohn Lindley Robert F. LiuWalt LloydBruce LoganGordon LonsdaleEmmanuel LubezkiJulio G. MacatGlen MacPhersonConstantine MakrisDenis Maloney Isidore Mankofsky Christopher Manley Michael D. MarguliesBarry MarkowitzSteve MasonClark MathisDon McAlpine

ACTIVE MEMBERSThomas AckermanLance AcordLloyd Ahern IIHerbert AlpertRuss Alsobrook Howard A. Anderson IIIHoward A. Anderson Jr.James AndersonPeter AndersonTony AskinsCharles AustinChristopher BaffaJames BagdonasKing BaggotJohn Bailey Michael BallhausAndrzej Bartkowiak John Bartley Bojan BazelliFrank BeascoecheaAffonso BeatoMat Beck Dion BeebeBill BennettAndres BerenguerCarl BergerGabriel BeristainSteven BernsteinRoss BerrymanMichael BonvillainRichard BowenDavid Boyd

Russell BoydJonathan BrownDon BurgessStephen H. BurumBill ButlerFrank B. ByersBobby ByrneAntonio CalvachePaul CameronRussell P. CarpenterJames L. CarterAlan CasoMichael ChapmanRodney ChartersJames A. Chressanthis

T.C. ChristensenJoan ChurchillCurtis Clark Peter L. CollisterJack CoopermanJack CoufferVincent G. Cox Jeff CronenwethRichard CrudoDean R. Cundey Stefan Czapsky David Darby Allen Daviau

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Bill RoeOwen RoizmanPete RomanoCharles Rosher Jr.Giuseppe RotunnoPhilippe RousselotJuan Ruiz-AnchiaMarvin RushPaul RyanEric SaarinenAlik Sakharov Mikael SalomonHarris SavidesRoberto SchaeferTobias SchliesslerAaron SchneiderNancy SchreiberFred SchulerJohn SchwartzmanJohn SealeChristian SebaldtDean SemlerEduardo SerraSteven Shaw Richard ShoreNewton Thomas SigelSteven SilverJohn SimmonsSandi SisselBradley B. Six Michael SlovisDennis L. SmithRoland “Ozzie” SmithReed SmootBing Sokolsky Peter SovaDante SpinottiTerry Stacey Ueli SteigerPeter SteinTom SternRobert M. StevensDavid StocktonRogier StoffersVittorio StoraroHarry Stradling Jr.David StumpTim SuhrstedtPeter Suschitzky Alfred TaylorJonathan TaylorRodney TaylorWilliam TaylorDon ThorinJohn TollMario TosiSalvatore TotinoLuciano TovoliJost VacanoTheo Van de SandeEric Van Haren Noman

Kees Van OostrumChecco VareseRon VargasMark VargoAmelia VincentWilliam WagesRoy H. WagnerRic WaiteMichael WatkinsMichael WeaverJonathan WestHaskell WexlerJack WhitmanGordon WillisDariusz WolskiRalph Woolsey Peter Wunstorf Robert YeomanRichard YuricichJerzy ZielinskiVilmos ZsigmondKenneth Zunder

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

Alan AlbertRichard AschmanKay BakerJoseph J. BallAmnon BandCarly M. BarberCraig BarronThomas M. BarronLarry BartonWolfgang BaumlerBob BeitcherMark BenderBruce BerkeBob BiancoSteven A. Blakely Mitchell BogdanowiczMichael BravinWilliam BrodersenGarrett BrownRonald D. BurdettReid BurnsVincent CarabelloJim CarterLeonard ChapmanMark ChiolisDenny ClairmontAdam Clark Cary ClaytonMichael CondonSean CoughlinRobert B. CreamerGrover CrispDaniel Curry Ross DanielsonCarlos D. DeMattosGary DemosMato Der Avannesian

Kevin DillonDavid DodsonJudith Doherty Cyril Drabinsky Jesse DylanJonathan ErlandRay Feeney William FeightnerPhil FeinerJimmy FisherScott FleischerThomas FletcherGilles GalerneSalvatore GiarratanoRichard B. GlickmanJohn A. GreschJim HannafinWilliam HansardBill Hansard, Jr.Richard HartRobert Harvey Josh HaynieCharles HerzfeldLarry HezzelwoodFrieder HochheimBob HoffmanVinny HoganCliff HsuiRobert C. HummelRoy IsaiaGeorge JobloveJoel JohnsonJohn JohnstonMarker KarahadianFrank Kay Debbie KennardMilton Keslow Robert Keslow Larry KingenDouglas KirklandTimothy J. KnappKarl KresserChet KucinskiChuck LeeDoug LeightonLou LevinsonSuzanne LezotteGrant LoucksHoward Lukk Andy MaltzSteven E. ManiosPeter MartinRobert MastronardiJoe MatzaAlbert Mayer, Jr.Bill McDonaldKaren McHughAndy McIntyreStan MillerWalter H. MillsGeorge Milton

Mike MimakiMichael MorelliDash MorrisonNolan Murdock Dan MuscarellaIain A. NeilOtto NemenzErnst NettmannTony NgaiMickel NiehenkeJeff OkunMarty OppenheimerWalt Ordway Ahmad OuriMichael ParkerWarren ParkerKristin PetrovichEd Phillips

Nick PhillipsJoshua PinesCarl PorcelloHoward PrestonDavid PringlePhil RadinChristopher ReynaColin RitchieEric G. RodliDomenic RomAndy Romanoff Frederic RoseDaniel RosenDana RossBill Russell

Kish SadhvaniDavid SamuelsonSteve SchklairPeter K. SchnitzlerWalter SchonfeldJuergen SchwinzerSteven ScottDon ShapiroMilton R. ShefterLeon SilvermanGarrett SmithTimothy E. SmithKimberly SnyderStefan SonnenfeldJohn L. Sprung

Joseph N. TawilIra TiffenSteve TiffenArthur TostadoJeffrey TreanorBill TurnerStephan Ukas-Bradley Mark Van HorneRichard VetterDedo WeigertFranz WeiserEvans WetmoreBeverly Wood

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1

Jan YarbroughHoyt YeatmanIrwin M. YoungMichael ZachariaBob ZahnNazir ZaidiMichael ZakulaLes Zellan

HONORARY MEMBERS

Col. Edwin E. Al drin Jr.Neil A. ArmstrongCol. Michael CollinsBob FisherDavid MacDonaldCpt. Bruce McCandless IILarry ParkerD. Brian Spruill

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Society WelcomesNew AssociatesJeffrey A. Okun, Steve Schklair and

Jeff Treanorwere recently named associatemembers of the ASC.

Visual-effects supervisor Jeffrey A.Okun began his career with a still camera,which he used to chronicle the rock sceneof the 1970s. As his interests turned towardmoving images, he found work as an editorfor title designer Saul Bass, and later as acinematographer on commercials and shortfilms. He transitioned into visual effects as a“fix-it guy” on features, series and commer-cials, and he has since earned credits asvisual-effects supervisor on such features asThe Last Samurai , Blood Diamond , The Day the Earth Stood Still and Red Riding Hood .Okun currently chairs the Visual EffectsSociety, and he is a member of the VisualEffects Branch of the Academy of MotionPicture Arts & Sciences, the Academy ofTelevision Arts & Sciences and BAFTA.

Steve Schklair, the CEO of 3alityDigital Systems, holds a master’s degree

from the University of Southern California’sSchool of Cinema. He was a vice presidentat visual-effects studio Digital Domain, acreative director for R/Greenberg Associ-ates, and an executive producer for interac-tive-media pioneer Robert Abel. In 1989, heserved as director of photography for theaward-winning film To Dream of Roses ,which was produced in partnership withDouglas Trumbull for release at the 1990Osaka World Expo.

Jeff Treanor, the U.S. film and tele-

vision representative for Rosco Laboratories,was born and raised in Los Angeles. Afterearning a bachelor’s degree in behavioralstudies from The Master’s College, hebecame a deputy sheriff for Los AngelesCounty. In 1997, he leftlaw enforcementand entered the film industry as the assis-tant manager of the expendables store onthe Warner Hollywood lot. When Warnersold the property, Treanor helped startQuixote Studio Store. He joined Rosco

Laboratories in 2006 as the theatrical salesrepresentative for the West Coast.

ASC Stills on View in MaineMaine Media Gallery, a part of

Maine Media Workshops + College,recently hosted an exhibit of still photogra-phy shot by ASC members. ThomasAckerman, Bill Bennett, RichardBowen, Russell Carpenter, RodneyCharters, Richard Crudo, Steven Fier-berg, Michael Goi, Robbie Greenberg,Conrad L. Hall , Peter James, FrancisKenny, Jacek Laskus, Denis Lenoir,Stephen Lighthill, Isidore Mankofsky,Michael B. Negrin, Rene Ohashi, DanielPearl, Robert Primes, Marc Reshovsky,Owen Roizman, Paul Ryan, DeanSemler, Sandi Sissel, Dante Spinotti,Vittorio Storaro, John Toll, HaskellWexler and Vilmos Zsigmond had workin the show.

“Our art form is different than stillphotography in many ways, but both disci-plines share a vital purpose,” notes Crudo.

“As cinematographers, our creative processallows us to produce an indelible record ofwho we are and how we see the world.Though the tools we use — light, composi-tion and movement — have remainedconsistent, we always strive to apply themin ways that are both unique and reveal-ing.”

For more information aboutMaine Media programs, visit www.mainmedia.edu.

Zsigmond, WinterhalterTravel to IndiaVilmos Zsigmond, ASC and AC

publisher Martha Winterhalter recently trav-eled to Mumbai to attend the Cinema IndiaExpo, an annual gathering of filmmakersand service providers in the heart of theBollywood industry. During their time at theExpo, Zsigmond taught two master classes,which were presented by Createasphere incollaboration with Kodak and the ASC. In

Clubhouse News


Top to bottom: ASC associate members Jeffrey A.Okun, Steve Schklair and Jeff Treanor.

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the first class, he detailed his approach tospecific scenes in the films The Rose,Deliverance and Close Encounters of theThird Kind . The following day, Zsigmonddiscussed lighting and camerawork withthe standing-room only audience, whichcomprised more than 250 attendees.

During their visit, Zsigmond andWinterhalter toured Reliance MediaWorks’lab and soundstages in Film City, as well asKodak’s offices and lab in Mumbai.

Bailey Joins Academy’sEast Africa OutreachJohn Bailey, ASCwas among eight

members of the Academy of MotionPicture Arts & Sciences who recently trav-eled to Kenya and Rwanda for an educa-tional and cultural exchange with filmmak-ers, students and local creative communi-ties. Along with Bailey, the delegation

comprised producer Stephanie Allain,sound mixer Willie Burton, editor CarolLittleton, writer/director Phil Robinson,production designer Wynn Thomas andactress Alfre Woodard. The trip was under-taken as part of the Academy’s Interna-tional Outreach Initiative, which brings filmartists to countries with developing filmindustries and creates opportunities forconversations between emerging andestablished filmmakers.

The itinerary included numerous

workshops and seminars at One FineDay – Films in Nairobi and a visit to theKakuma refugee camp near the Sudaneseborder, where FilmAid Internationalprovides filmmaking training and open-airscreenings. In Rwanda, the delegates inau-gurated the KWETU Film Institute andtaught master classes. The group alsoparticipated in the opening night of theRwanda Film Festival in Kigali.

Cundey Joins Breakfast ClubDean Cundey, ASC recently partici-

pated in the Society’s ongoing series ofBreakfast Club interviews. Moderated by AC associate editor Jon D. Witmer, the inter-view covered Cundey’s first steps into thefilm industry as well as his groundbreakingwork with such directors as RobertZemeckis, Steven Spielberg and RonHoward. Cundey illustrated his work withclips from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Back to the Future Part II and Jurassic Park . Healso took questions from the enthusiasticaudience, which comprised students andprofessionals alike. The program beganwith breakfast, during which attendeescould mingle and network.

ASC Breakfast Club seminars areopen to the public. Tickets are $20 forFriends of the ASC, $35 general admissionin advance and $40 at the door. For infor-

mation on future events, visitwww.theasc.com.

Barron Revisits Forbidden Planet

ASC associate and visual-effectssupervisor Craig Barron recently joinedsound designer Ben Burtt at the Academy’sLinwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood for ascreening of the 1956 sci-fi classic Forbid-den Planet , shot by George Folsey, ASC.Barron discussed the film’s breakthrougheffects sequences, including how the

animated “id monster” was combined withlive-action photography, and Burttexplained the creation of the film’s elec-tronic score. ●

Clockwise from top left: Indian Society ofCinematographers members (from left) AdeepTandon, Anoop Chatterjee and Apurba Bir presentVilmos Zsigmond, ASC with birthday cake while AC

publisher Martha Winterhalter (in mirror) snaps aphoto; Zsigmond with (from left) Ankur Acharya,Ankit Sharma, Ajit Jadhav, Mehernoz Maloo, RachnaPawar, Ashutosh Naidu, Rajesh Jiandani, Suresh Iyerand Amit Sherigar; Zsigmond with (from left) RajanKothari, Krishnamurthy, Raffey Mehmood, KenMetzker, Sudhir Phulsane, Andre Menezes, Mahesh

Aney and Bobby Singh; John Bailey, ASC leads alighting class in Nairobi, Kenya; Dean Cundey, ASCand AC associate editor Jon D. Witmer; Ben Burtt(left) and ASC associate Craig Barron flank Robbythe Robot.

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When you were a child, what film made the strongest impres-

sion on you?In those days, without television, every film made a strong impres-sion, but I should mention the original The War of the Worlds (1953)and The Bridges of Toko-Ri (1954).

Which cinematographers, past orpresent, do you most admire?ASC members William Daniels, JimmyWong Howe and, more recently, BillFraker, Giuseppe Rotunno and VittorioStoraro. Great cinematographers seemto have the ability to bring beautifulprints all the way to the movie theater.

What sparked your interest inphotography?I don’t remember exactly what tookme to still photography as a kid, but Iloved the magic of the darkroom— the negative and the print and theimage appearing in the developerbath.

Where did you train and/or study?I was mostly self-taught. A cinematog-

rapher uncle of mine was my firstteacher, in Nairobi, Kenya. When Ireturned to Italy, I worked for Italian TVin Milano, far from the movie industryin Rome. I was shooting mostly 16mm.I would experiment and watch the movies of the masters.

What are some of your key artistic influences?Visual art from Giotto to modern artists, design, architecture andphotography.

How did you get your first break in the business?

When I was on staff at the Italian state TV station, I got a call fromMarco Ferreri, a well-known director in Rome. Then I got another,from Sergio Citti. I decided to leave the safety of TV and become afreelancer.

What has been your most satisfying moment on a project?Any time my original choice of visual language proves to be the rightone when the film is completed.

Have you made any memorable blunders?Some 30 years ago, I was shooting 16mm reversal and pushing to

2,000 ASA. I did not consider the limited latitude of a night exterior

in Venice, where I was working with gondolas and actors in a 17th-century drama. Later, all I could see in the shot were the torches theactors were holding.

What is the best professionaladvice you’ve ever received?It was actually given to my son whenhe was getting ready to direct his thesisfilm at the American Film Institute. JayFortune, a New York gaffer I’d justcompleted a film with, suggested tohim, ‘Don’t lose your sense of humor,even when everything seems to begoing in the opposite direction.’

What recent books, films orartworks have inspired you?Photography by Robert Frank and NanGoldin. I’m inspired any time I visit amodern-art museum. I still refer toStanley Kubrick, and what aboutFellini’s 81 ⁄ 2?

Do you have any favorite genres,or genres you would like to try?

Movies where I can use a lot of shad-ows. I did a Western with Sam Raimisome time ago, and a musical in Italywith Gabriele Salvatores 25 years ago. Iwould like to do those genres again.

If you weren’t a cinematographer, what might you be doinginstead?Climbing mountains or farming.

Which ASC cinematographers recommended you formembership?

Allen Daviau, Vilmos Zsigmond, Steven Poster and Vittorio Storaro.

How has ASC membership impacted your life and career?I still remember how proud I was when I moved to the United States,in 1997, and was accepted into the ASC. I got to know Tonino DelliColli, AIC when he came to L.A. to accept the ASC InternationalAward. The ASC offers inspiring guidance and is a continuous refer-ence for me. ●

Dante Spinotti, ASC, AICClose-up

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