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The International Journal of Film & Digital Production Techniques
On Our Cover: Coraline crawls through a portal to the Other World in the 3-D stop-motion feature Coraline, shot by Pete Kozachik, ASC. (Frame grab courtesy of Laika, Inc., and Focus Features.)
Features 26 40 52 60
Departments
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2 Worlds in 3 Dimensions Pete Kozachik, ASC details his strategies for the 3-D stop-motion movie Coraline
Dead Reckoning Bill Pope, ASC blends old and new tricks to honor the origins of The Spirit
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Embracing Anamorphic John Bailey, ASC exploits the widescreen format on the ensemble comedy He’s Just Not That Into You
Citizen of the World Donald McAlpine, ASC, ACS receives the ASC International Award
Editor’s Note Short Takes: Circus Production Slate: The International
52
Reverie Post Focus: Restoring Manhatta
New Products & Services International Marketplace Classified Ads Ad Index Clubhouse News ASC Close-Up: Peter Suschitzky
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Editor’s Note he recent trend toward 3-D production continues with Coraline, a digital stop-motion fantasy about a girl who discovers a menacing parallel world behind the walls of her family’s new home. The project’s ambitious cinematography was supervised by Pete Kozachik, ASC, who brought considerable experience to the table(top) after serving as director of photography on The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride. Adding a third dimension to stop-motion cinematography took Kozachik, director Henry Selick and their collaborators down some fascinating avenues. In a detailed, firsthand account (“2 Worlds in 3 Dimensions,” page 26), Kozachik outlines some of the trickiest aspects of 3-D production, as well as the filmmakers’ solutions. “My advice to anyone starting out fresh with 3-D is to seek counsel from a veteran of 3-D production and experiment when you have enough experience to be conversant,” he cautions. Bill Pope, ASC brought a similar willingness to push creative boundaries to The Spirit, based on Will Eisner’s comic-book character and directed by graphic-novel titan Frank Miller. Digging further into an approach previously used on Sin City and 300, two big-screen adaptations of Miller’s own work, Pope shot the picture largely against greenscreen, including eye-popping dry-for-wet sequences shot with a Phantom high-speed camera at frame rates of 200 to 400 fps. “You can do the dumbest stuff in the world, and when you’re filming at 400 fps, suddenly you’re a poet,” Pope quips in his chat with associate editor Jon D. Witmer (“Dead Reckoning,” page 40). Long a champion of the anamorphic format, John Bailey, ASC explains precisely why in a Q&A about his work on the romantic comedy He’s Just Not That Into You (“Embracing Anamorphic,” page 52). “This movie is an ensemble piece with intercut, parallel stories of five women and the men in their lives,” Bailey tells New York scribe Pat Thomson. “I felt the wider aspect ratio would allow us to be intimate with them yet keep them together in the same shot in a way that was more accommodating than 1.85:1.” This issue also showcases a hearty salute to Society stalwart Donald McAlpine, the recipient of this year’s ASC International Award. As contributing writer Jon Silberg observes in an enlightening profile (“Citizen of the World,” page 60), the Australian cameraman has made a truly global mark with his work on acclaimed exports from his homeland (My Brilliant Career, Breaker Morant), bold collaborations with countryman Baz Luhrmann (Romeo+Juliet, Moulin Rouge), and an impressive string of Hollywood blockbusters (among them Patriot Games, Mrs. Doubtfire and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe). He was also the man behind the camera on one of my personal favorites, the biting Bruce Beresford comedy Don’s Party, which I’ve watched and enjoyed with a few equally obsessive friends more times than I’m willing to admit. Good onya, Don.
Stephen Pizzello Executive Editor
8
Photo by Douglas Kirkland.
T
Short Takes Britney Spears as Ringleader
Top: Spears shimmers in the spotlight. Middle: The big-top setting lends a surreal ambience. Bottom: A shower of sparks silhouettes the singer.
10 February 2009
n Britney Spears’ music video “Circus,” the singer performs in the titular setting among burlesque dancers, elephants and pyrotechnics, creating a kaleidoscope of visual and aural sensations. It’s a typically dynamic milieu for director Francis Lawrence and cinematographer Thomas Kloss, whose ongoing partnership has yielded bold results on an array of music videos, including Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8er Boi,”
I
Aerosmith’s “Jaded” (for which Kloss was nominated for an MTV award for Best Cinematography), and The Backstreet Boys’ “The Call” (AC July ’01). “I’ve worked with Francis since early in his career, and the relationship hasn’t changed very much,” says Kloss. “From the beginning, he never overburdened me with information or requests, but he always had good visual references that were essential to the project.” While prepping “Circus,” Kloss and Lawrence looked at old circus photographs but didn’t really find what they were looking for. “We didn’t want the video to look like a period piece,” explains Kloss. “We wanted to give it a contemporary look but also play with well-known images that people understand.” Although Kloss didn’t use other films as references, he found inspiration by chance at the local cinema. “I went to see the restored Lola Montès [1955], and it had exactly the kind of soft, organic look Francis and I wanted for the video.” To create that look for “Circus,” Kloss tapped Otto Nemenz for some Arri Swing & Tilt lenses — “but we used them without the swing-and-tilt actually in place,” he notes — and Cooke Panchros. (He shot Super 35mm with two Arri 435s.) “All modern lenses are so well-designed and sharp that even with flares, there’s very little distortion or refraction,” Kloss observes. “Francis and I didn’t want to make the video pristine-looking; we wanted a softer, silkier look.” The production’s package also included a few Cooke S4 primes, which were used on the B camera. “When we used filters, we applied grease or Vaseline in a very specific way, and we put a little more of
it on the filter when we were using an S4, of course,” continues the cinematographer. “We would look through the lens, see the highlights, and then paint onto the filter with our fingers to create certain abstractions and refractions, or to stretch lines in the frame.” He used a 1⁄4 Tiffen Black Pro-Mist for diffusion. “I wanted to stay away from a completely crisp image, and because post is digital, you can go a little stronger on that diffusion because you can always bring it back in the transfer; you add a little bit of black, and the image becomes sharper again.” Kloss carried out the transfer with colorist David Hussey at Company 3. “Our goal on the shoot was to [create most of the look] in-camera, creating flares and shafts and beams of light that looked good coming through the lens,” says Kloss. “In the last 10 years, we’ve seen so much electronic post work in films and music videos that I think it’s good if the pendulum can swing back a little bit. It’s nice to shoot something with classic beauty lighting and compositions and let the story play.” This sensibility extended to every aspect of the production. “Francis built a lot of practicals into the art direction,” notes Kloss. “There were hanging lights next to the circus banners with Britney and the dancers walking through, and lights on the burlesque stage, along with other old theater lights. For wide shots, we used Nine-light Maxi-Brutes, but everything else was done with old-fashioned tungsten lamps as practicals. We started with those and then just accentuated them. “I feel that Francis has always called on me for things that have a
Frame grabs courtesy of DNA. Photo by Frank Micelotta.
by Jim Hemphill
darker, more intense look, and I tend to paint out of the black, not the white,” he adds. “I like to start with all the lights off and start lighting a step at a time, and this project lent itself to that approach. We started with a dark stage and no light, then slowly illuminated what we wanted to see. “We wanted the lighting to have two distinct looks, one natural and one theatrical. For the natural look, we used very simple paper China balls around the camera to give Britney the minimum amount of fill and put a bit of glow in her face. The other look was for the reverse, which we lit to look like there’s a strong light coming from a follow spot, from the audience area or from the other side of the stage. When Britney’s dancing on the burlesque stage, one strong follow spot creates a pure silhouette.” Lighting the reverse shots with strong spotlights had an added benefit: “On a big stage or in a big space, it helps you create a fake 3-D feel with a little bit of smoke and backlight. It instantly creates the sensation of a theatrical performance.” For most of the shoot, both Arri 435s were handheld. “That helped make everything feel a little more organic,” says Kloss. “Our idea was to give it a strong basic look with strong contrast and then shoot for coverage. I Top: Spears and her background dancers stay in step. Middle: The ringleader cracks her whip. Bottom: The star primps for her performance in the mirror of a makeup table. Right: Cinematographer Thomas Kloss (holding monitor) shows Spears some footage on set. China balls were used to cast a soft glow on the singer’s face for close-ups in the makeup-table sequence.
12 February 2009
tried to light in a way that we could constantly keep moving without stopping between each setup to relight, so we decided on a general 45-degree backlight with soft fill light; that way, we had most of the situations pre-lit with dimmers. We adjusted up or down a bit while Britney was getting ready or changing wardrobe. Then, as soon as she showed up on set, we were ready to get maximum coverage. On a music video, it’s important to get enough angles to avoid repeating shots, because people always want to see new angles and images.” “Circus” was shot on Kodak Vision3 500T 5219, which Kloss rated at ISO 320. “It was perfect for what we wanted,” he says. “There’s so much latitude and contrast control with that negative if you really expose it well. A project like this lets you really use that latitude and maximize the palette from the absolute jet black on the edges of the frame all the way to the blown-out whites of the highlights.” “Circus” was not without challenges — including working with elephants and a wall of fire that could only stay lit for 15-20 seconds at a time — but Kloss says his longtime partnership with Lawrence kept things on schedule. “We shot two 12-hour days and got everything we needed. That’s one of the advantages of working with a director who has the experience to know what coverage he needs.” Although Kloss has shot features, including Fear and Showtime, he notes that short-form projects have distinct advantages. “On a movie, you usually establish a look and just continue it for months. Videos and commercials keep you fresh.” I
Production Slate Financial Intrigue and a Flashy SLR Video
Banks as Bad Guys by Mark Hope-Jones Director Tom Tykwer read Eric Singer’s screenplay for The International seven or eight years ago, but it wasn’t until late 2007 that he was sufficiently happy with it to start filming. The long gestation period allowed careful finetuning of the story, which follows Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) as he attempts to uncover the corrupt practices of an international bank. It also meant, quite by chance, that production coincided with the current global financial crisis, which makes the film’s premise of banks as omnipotent villains even more resonant. “We were thinking of making a film reminiscent of the paranoia thrillers that Alan Pakula and Sydney Pollack made in the 1970s,” says 14 February 2009
Tykwer. “But instead of the Secret Service or CIA being the system within the system, we wanted to suggest it’s the institutions of world finance that seem to be the new governments that secretly rule our lives.” Tykwer collaborated on the film with cinematographer Frank Griebe, who has shot all of his pictures, most recently Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (AC Feb ’07). “The International almost seemed like a period film to us because when you see a film in the cinema now, the characters simply don’t talk the same way they do in movies like All the President’s Men [1976],” says Griebe. Other differences involve pacing and camerawork. “I always felt that if you want to make a film feel fast, you should make the story move fast rather than the camera,” says Tykwer. “A movie that is
fast-paced because it contains one event happening after another is different from a movie that [feels] fast because of the intensity of the camerawork.” “The style of The International had to be very clear and precise because there are so many scenes and so much important dialogue,” says Griebe. “You have to hear what the characters are saying to follow the story, which is why we didn’t use too many visual gadgets. We only did handheld or Steadicam shots for action scenes; a lot of the time, we had the camera on a dolly or a tripod.” Tykwer was fascinated by the idea that images in the film should form part of the system Salinger is trying to fight. Rather than have the camera run with the character, he wanted Salinger
The International photos by Jay Maidment, SMPSP, and Roland Schultz, courtesy of Columbia Pictures.
Globe-trotting Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) draws a bead on his quarry.
Left: Along the way, Salinger teams with district attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts). Below: Cinematographer Frank Griebe (right) lines up the camera for director Tom Tykwer.
to run through compositions that were not dictated by his movements; the character is often dwarfed by architecture, suggesting a tiny individual trapped within an immovable system. “Tom was concerned that these wide architectural images wouldn’t look sharp enough in 35mm, so I suggested shooting some scenes in 65mm with the Arri 765,” says Griebe. Tykwer agreed and also decided to shoot a few key close-ups of Salinger on 65mm to intensify the anxiety in his expression. “It provided a contrast and made a statement that his face is as important for us to look at as the pristine architecture shots that represent the perfectly shaped system,” says the director. Most of The International was shot on 3-perf Super 35mm, and the production used an Arricam Studio and Lite, an Arri 235 and Arri 435s supplied by Arri in Munich, which also provided the 765, grip gear, lighting equipment and lab work. Griebe had the second unit shoot some material 4-perf to give Tykwer more flexibility in post. “The Studio was our A camera, and we used the Lite for Steadicam and handheld work,” says the cinematographer. “The 235 can fit into tight spaces, and if Tom
didn’t need sound for a scene, we’d shoot with the 235 or 435 to give us that extra flexibility. We shot every setup with two cameras, and there was so much dialogue we usually used the Arricams.” Repeating his choice of lenses from Perfume, Griebe combined Arri Master Primes with the 16.5-110mm Master Zoom and 24-290mm Angenieux Optimo zoom. “We didn’t use a lot of longer lenses,” he says. “It’s more of a classical style; we typically shot with a 27mm on the A and a 50mm on the B.
Tom likes to use zooms because we can work quickly, and both zooms were T2.8, so I was shooting almost everything at that stop. I only shot wide open on the Master Primes once or twice. The Master Primes cut very well with the Master Zoom, but the Optimo is a bit softer, so I used it mainly if we needed a close-up with a very long lens. For some setups, I’d tell the B-camera operator to look for faces or little details, and the Optimo is perfect for that.” As Salinger delves deeper into the bank’s misdeeds, he comes to real-
American Cinematographer 15
The production shot some scenes inside the Guggenheim Museum in New York, but other parts of that sequence were filmed on a replica set built in an old locomotive warehouse in Germany (above and below).
16 February 2009
ize the illegal activities within the system stretch into his own organization, and before long, he becomes a target. Teaming up with a district attorney, Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts), Salinger travels to New York, Berlin, Istanbul and Milan on a life-and-death chase to topple the bank. A dramatic showdown at the Guggenheim Museum in New York sees Salinger and Whitman run into heavily armed assassins. “We felt that if we had a slow buildup of tension through the movie, it would grow toward this sequence, where it explodes and hits the audience full-on,” says Tykwer. “Many action movies open with a spectacular sequence that sets a standard the filmmakers have to keep running after, but we chose not to set a hysterical pace. When the action happens, it’s all the more overwhelming.” Because the Guggenheim sequence involves considerable destruction, it was never going to be filmed entirely on location. The production’s soundstage work was based at Studio Babelsberg in Germany, but none of the available stages was large enough to accommodate even a partial reconstruction of the Guggenheim interior. Finally, the filmmakers located an old locomotive warehouse nearby and had it refurbished by a structural engineer to suit their needs. Even then, only three levels of the Guggenheim’s famous spiral rotunda would fit beneath the building’s ceiling, so they were dressed first as the upper levels, then redressed for shots of the lower levels and the lobby. Tykwer relished the opportunity to effectively become curator of the Guggenheim for the sequence, and he chose to display the works of Julian Rosefeldt, a German video artist. “Our film is about a guy who has to hunt down an organization that represents a seemingly invisible system, and I thought video art was quite a logical thing to feature because it’s not physical like sculpture or paintings,” says Tykwer. “We built a 3- or 4-meter model of the Guggenheim that we could stand inside and figured out exactly where we were
going to put the video screens and what we were going to do.” “I think we had 50 or 60 separate projections,” says Griebe. “The movie was produced by Sony, so we asked them for projectors, and there were endless technical discussions about lens and projector sizes. The biggest problem was the light power because we wanted the video images to have a lot of contrast, but I had to add some other lights to shoot the scenes. We did a lot of tests, including one where I didn’t add any lights at all; it looked really spooky with the screens as the only source, but it was too dark, so we gradually added lights until we found the right level. What made it difficult is that the Guggenheim [interior] is more or less white, so there are reflections and bounce light coming from every corner. Eventually, we used the projectors as they came because if you want more power, you have to use something like a Barco, which was too big. All the video projections were on hard disk, and we could control them with time code to make sure the right content was onscreen at the right time. It was very complicated, but I doubt anyone in the audience will realize how much work it involved!” The fact that the video projections partially dictated how much additional light Griebe could use for the scenes was actually something of a blessing, because there was very little room to rig lights either at the museum or onstage. “There was no possibility of putting up a lighting rig on the stage because the roof would not have taken the weight,” says gaffer Helmut Prein. “A tower rig was also impossible because of the shape of the set in correlation to the stage building. It was fortunate that the projectors necessitated low light levels because that prompted us to investigate helium balloons. We considered getting a custom-made elliptical 24K balloon, but there wasn’t enough time. Instead, we created a single soft source comprising three 4.8K helium tubes positioned side by side at the top of the set, above a layer of California Sunbounce medium diffusion.”¢
Salinger’s investigation into shady financial dealings takes him to a variety of exotic locales, including Istanbul.
18 February 2009
The large source above the center of the set was motivated by the domed skylight at the top of the Guggenheim’s rotunda. White silk skirting was hung on a circular alloy pipe surrounding the helium tubes, and an additional outer circle of black skirting provided complete control of the light. “In the end, it looked like a space light with a diameter of 13 meters,” says Prein. “The falloff from that source was extremely natural; between the top floor on the stage and the bottom, there was a loss of only 11⁄2 stops.” At that point, the filmmakers didn’t know how much light would be available on location at the real Guggenheim, so they decided to set the sequence at dusk and keep the light as soft as possible. About 70 4'x4' Kino Flos were hidden in the elevator areas on each floor, and 6' tubes were positioned behind screens in the rotunda; all lights were DMX-controlled. Additional lighting came from three Kino Flo Flatheads punching through an 8'x8' grid cloth on a rotating base on a scissor lift. When it came to the location shoot in New York, Griebe’s lighting options were fairly limited. “The Guggenheim is a complicated building to light,” he notes. “The people there were very friendly, but we couldn’t mount anything to the structure inside, so we had to light from outside. We
needed quite a bit of light, so we had six 18K ArriMax units controlled by Maxmovers on a rig suspended from a crane directly above the skylight.” The dome of the skylight was covered with a 45'x45' grid cloth, and a few 12K ArriSuns were positioned on the roof to even out the falloff of the down lights. “Inside, we supplemented with about 10 Kino Flos on each floor of the rotunda and three helium balloons,” adds Griebe. “But most of the light was coming through the skylight.” Prein installed daylight bulbs in about 80 triangular house lights inside the museum and gelled them to recreate the look of the studio footage. “It was a really exciting moment to arrive at the Guggenheim after a night shoot to see whether our ideas about how to match the real museum to our stage work had worked out,” he recalls. “I got there with our New York gaffer, Russ Engels, and Gregor Wilson, the unit production manager, and we all had to smile when we looked at the lighting setup. It matched the look we had developed in Babelsberg perfectly.” Griebe shot The International on Kodak Vision2 500T 5218, 200T 5217 and 100T 5212. “Sadly, the new Vision3 wasn’t available at that time,” he says. Throughout the shoot, he viewed HDCam dailies. “I took a lot of stills and sent them to [Arri] with notes, and the
rushes were graded accordingly,” he says. “We didn’t print any shots, but the HD rushes were so good that Tom said all the way through editing that he wanted the movie to look exactly like the rushes.” The digital intermediate, carried out at Arri Schwarzfilm in Berlin, was Griebe’s second experience with the process. On Perfume, it was primarily the intense color scheme that necessitated a DI, and Griebe used very few filters on set. For The International, he again tended to avoid filtration, “but the main reason for the DI this time was all the visual-effects shots,” he explains. “Probably half the shots in the movie are effects shots, but it’s the kind of film where you don’t want the audience to notice them. We did some architectural enhancements and lots of effects for the Guggenheim action scenes, and we had a great relationship with [visual-effects house] UPP and [visualeffects supervisor] Viktor Muller, who was always on set with us.” In post, the 65mm footage was scanned at 4K and the 35mm footage at 2K on an Arriscan. “We didn’t do anything too major in the grade,” says Griebe. “We were mainly just balancing things out. Tom and I didn’t want to get carried away by imposing different looks on certain scenes; we wanted to keep the look as natural as possible, and making even little adjustments to effects elements in the grade can take a lot of time. “It was a very special experience to make a film with a big studio, especially as we got to work in Berlin and didn’t have to go to Hollywood,” he concludes. “Maybe next we’ll do a short movie — 10 days around the world with just the camera and a few lenses! Sometimes it’s good to go back to the basics.” TECHNICAL SPECS 2.40:1 Super 35mm (3-perf and 4-perf), 65mm Arricam Studio, Lite; Arri 235, 435, 765 Arri and Angenieux lenses Kodak Vision2 500T 5218, 200T 5217, 100T 5212 Digital Intermediate Printed on Kodak Vision Premier 2393 ¢
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Creating Reverie by Steve Hullfish Canon’s recent release of the EOS-5D Mark II, a high-end amateur digital SLR camera, is providing a glimpse into the possible direction for digital cinematography. The camera has a full-size (36mmx24mm) 21-megapixel CMOS sensor capable of shooting 5025,600 ISO. One of the first American photographers to shoot with a prototype
20 February 2009
version of the camera was Vincent Laforet, a photojournalist and commercial still photographer. His interest in the Mark II was piqued when he noticed it was capable of shooting high-definition video (1920x1080p), and on short notice, he produced a 1-minute 55-second test film, Reverie, that attracted a lot of attention on the Web. The film’s images show what can be done with a camera that is capable of shooting 30 fps at 3,200 ISO and above. Prior to Reverie, Laforet had not
shot a motion picture of any kind. When Canon agreed to loan him the prototype for a single weekend, “I was sweating because I knew I had to produce something,” he recalls. “Immediately, I decided to get a helicopter because one of my specialties is aerial photography. In the meantime, my assistant was trying to figure out the camera and set it up; we had no user manual, and time was of the essence.” In less than 12 hours, Laforet assembled a cast and crew, outlined a story and chose locations. “If anyone had asked me to shoot a film or video a month earlier, my top concern would have been lighting, which is incredibly time-consuming,” he says. “But this camera is so sensitive to low light that you can really rely on natural light, and I think that’s where my skill as a photojournalist really came to bear — I knew I could walk into a room and add maybe one light source to make it look beautiful.” Laforet shot with just two lighting instruments: a ProFoto 7B strobe pack, a strobe unit that has a modeling lamp, and a Litepanels Mini, a small LED. His grip gear included three Avenger suction mounts with some Magic Arms by Bogen, regular still-
Reverie frame grabs courtesy of Vincent Laforet.
Right: A Canon EOS-5D Mark II SLR mounted to the hood of a car produces a dynamic nighttime drive. The driver was illuminated by an LED light positioned near the car’s speedometer, but the rest of the sequence was lit naturally by architectural lights, headlights and other existing fixtures. Below: The New York skyline is reflected in a male model’s sunglasses during a helicopter shot captured with a 15-35mm lens and an LED light attached to a monopod.
Top: Laforet used his own Canon 24mm and 45mm lenses to capture shots of a couple’s embrace with the Brooklyn Bridge serving as a romantic background. Middle: This shot of a female model on a cobblestone street was illuminated by just two sources: frontal light from a bare bulb and reflector positioned high on a stand, and backlight from the headlights of Laforet’s Jeep. Architectural accent lights provided additional ambience. Bottom: The models kiss against a dreamlike background of defocused lights.
22 February 2009
camera grip gear and some safety cables. He rigged a Ken-Lab KS-8 gyro on a monopod for the running shot and helicopter scenes. Laforet used his own Canon prime and zoom still lenses. “In terms of what’s in the final film, it’s a 15mm fisheye f2.8, a 16-35mm f2.8 zoom lens, a 50mm f1.2, an 85mm f1.2, a 200mm f2, a 24mm f3.5 and a 45mm f3.5,” he says. The latter two lenses were used for shots of a man and woman in Brooklyn with Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge behind them. “In my opinion, there are three revolutionary things about this camera,” says Laforet. “One, you can use the prime lenses you already own. Two, the camera is very small and very light; one of the aerial shots was done with me holding a monopod beneath the skids of the helicopter, shooting straight down over the Empire State Building. Three, the camera’s ability to capture detail in low light is incredible; we were shooting at 1/30th of a second at f2 at 1,600 ASA. It’s that stuff you can just see with your naked eye but usually can’t capture on video or stills. With this camera, you can pretty much go anywhere and shoot what you see, adding a very minimal amount of lighting.” Laforet’s two assistants worked on the shoot along with an assistant director, a makeup artist and the two models. The tiny footprint of the crew and gear also allowed them to shoot with no lighting pre-scout, no film permits and no FAA oversight of the aerial shoot. Laforet says the camera’s lowlight capability was especially important for the driving shots that travel through Times Square. “The shot of the rearview mirror and the wide shots of the car were done with the LED light sitting where the speedometer is, lighting the driver’s face — everything else is natural [light].” The camera’s light sensitivity enabled Laforet to rely on some unusual sources, as in a beautiful shot of a female model on a cobblestone street. “There’s only one light, the modeling light on a stand that was very high. It was a bare bulb with the reflector, no
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RON GARCIA, ASC n the mid-1960s, while I was working in the aerospace industry and studying fine art at Art Center College of Design, a racing-boat manufacturer asked me to make a film about his boat in the sixhour Lake Havasu inboard boat race. During that first experience behind the lens, I fell in love with the camera and never looked back. “While struggling to learn cinematography by trial and error, I discovered the American Cinematographer Manual, which led me to American Cinematographer magazine. After 42 years of shooting, AC is still my go-to reference in my never-ending quest for film excellence.”
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Above: Laforet took creative advantage of the depth-of-field characteristics inherent to the 5D’s full-frame sensor. In this shot, a 400mm lens turns tungsten lights into a pleasing background effect. Below: Reverie filmmaker Laforet.
24 February 2009
diffusion. There’s a bit of backlight from the headlights of my Jeep. On the tight headshot of her, we used a flashlight and the brake lights from my car.” Laforet even used Adobe Photoshop to light a scene. “For the scene with the model’s face lit by the TV, we plugged the DVI cable from the laptop into the HDMI port of my TV, loaded a gray slide into Photoshop CS3, and messed with the lightness parameter slider to create the flickering blue light,” he explains. The full-frame sensor size of the 5D allows for beautiful depth of field, and Laforet took full advantage of that in many shots. In one example, a silhou-
etted scene, the lights in the background go deeply out of focus to create a nice bokeh effect. “That’s a 400mm lens focused in as close as you can with just two normal tungsten lightbulbs in the background,” he says. “The tungsten lights were probably 20 yards behind her, and I was maybe 6 feet from her.” The scenes from the helicopter are among the most impressive in Reverie. “The shot I wanted from the moment we started on this was the sunglasses reflecting the Empire State Building,” says Laforet. “It took quite a few years of flying to know the exact time to take off to get that perfect balance. We took off about 15 minutes before sunset. For the shot of the model, I had a 15-35mm lens, and my assistant was holding the LED light on a monopod behind me. Everything and everyone was securely safety harnessed and wired.” The post process on Reverie was easy because the Mark II records in H.264 compressed QuickTime format. “You stick the CF card into your computer, drag the files onto your desktop, drag them into Final Cut Pro and then edit,” says Laforet. “There’s no rendering.” Three ASC members recently weighed in on Laforet’s observation that the Mark II is a “game changer” for cinematography. “Faster sensitivity is
not always a cure-all in low light,” notes M. David Mullen, ASC. “Dynamic range is also a factor because you don’t want bright areas to overexpose too quickly and unnaturally.” Curtis Clark, ASC says he would welcome the ability to shoot at a very high ASA as long as there aren’t detrimental trade-offs in the images. “Obviously, using small lights is a lot cheaper than using large ones. In artistic terms, being able to increase the depth of field affects not just photographic style but also the ability to render details within the scene, and that, of course, would impact set design and art direction.” Stephen Goldblatt, ASC, BSC finds the idea appealing but notes that film technology is advancing to meet the challenge posed by digital formats. “Shooting Vision3 [500T] at 400 ASA and T2 gives you superb results at night in the streets,” he says. “It would be great to be able to shoot at T2.8 or at T4, but I’m not super-excited about it because ASA is just part of the equation.” That’s not to say Goldblatt can’t find a use for the technology, however. “I use Canon digital cameras to take reference shots of every set when I’m doing a movie,” he says. “Ending up with an MPEG file that you could adjust quickly on your computer at the end of the day would be fantastic. Generally speaking, stills do the trick, but sometimes they don’t. This is like another arrow in the quiver. “I think Reverie looks so beautiful because it’s a full-frame sensor with a very, very shallow depth of field, and Laforet was using lovely Canon lenses wide open,” adds Goldblatt. “And let’s not forget there’s a very good eye behind the camera. Not everybody can go out with that camera and get those results.” TECHNICAL SPECS 3x2 High-Definition Video Canon EOS-5D Mark II Canon lenses I
2 Worlds in
3 Dimensions
Pete Kozachik, ASC details his approach to the 3-D digital stop-motion feature Coraline, whose heroine discovers a sinister world behind the walls of her new home. by Pete Kozachik, ASC Unit photography by Galvin Collins Additional photos by Pete Kozachik 26 February 2009
xciting events tend to happen as soon as conditions are right, and Henry Selick’s stop-motion feature Coraline, based on Neil Gaiman’s supernatural novella, rides in on a host of new innovations, including advanced machinevision cameras and the emergence of practical 3-D. Most instrumental was the birth of Laika Entertainment, Phil Knight’s startup animation company in Oregon, fresh and eager to try something new.
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Photos and frame grabs courtesy of Laika, Inc., and Focus Features.
I made it a priority to line up talented and experienced cameramen early. Leading their three-man units were cinematographers John Ashlee, Paul Gentry, Mark Stewart, Peter Sorg, Chris Peterson, Brian Van’t Hul, Peter Williams and Frank Passingham. Most of the camera assistants and electricians had shooting experience of their own, making the camera department pretty well bulletproof. With more than 55 setups working at the same time, we needed guys who were quick, organized and versatile. From the beginning, we knew the two worlds Coraline inhabits — the drab “Real World” and the fantastic “Other World” — would be distorted mirror images of each other, as different in tone as Kansas and Oz. Camera and art departments would create the differences, keeping the emphasis on Coraline’s feelings. Among the closest film references for the supernatural Other World were the exaggerated color schemes in Amélie, which we used when the Other Mother is enticing Coraline to stay with her. The Shining and The Orphanage provided good reference for interiors when things go awry. Image banks such as flickr.com were a good source for reference pics, and including those shots in my lighting and camera notes helped jump-start crews on new sequences. Artist Tadahiro Uesugi supplied a valuable influence for the show; his work has a graphic simplicity, like fashion art from the Fifties, with minimal modeling but an awareness of light. It helped in spirit to guide us away from excess gingerbread, which is typical in both art and lighting for stop-motion. Before hiring on, I sought a way to improve on limitations of digital SLRs we encountered on Corpse Bride (AC Oct. ’05). On that show, fuzzy video-tap images were animators’ most common complaint. Most promising was the
Opposite: Coraline’s “Other” parents usher her into her new home. This page, top: Cinematographer Peter Williams (right) and animator Jan Maas prepare the scene. Middle and bottom: The “Real” and “Other” kitchen, with the former utilizing forced perspective.
American Cinematographer 27
2 Worlds in 3 Dimensions
Above: In a realworld scene, Coraline’s father plugs away in his study. Right: This shot of the scene’s lighting setup shows the floorsupported modular grid system that gaffer/cameraman Bryan Garver designed for individual stop-motion setups. He and cinematographer John Ashlee lit the scene.
MegaPlus EC11000, a machinevision camera based on a 4K Kodak CCD sensor. It sported these features: • Able to double as its own tap, outputting sharp 1K or 2K mono at fast frame rates • Thermoelectric sensor cooling for low noise in long exposures • Physically large 36x24mm sensor • Among the cameras tested, its response curves were most similar to film • Rugged, machinable aluminum body 28 February 2009
• Nikkor F mount • Sensor housed in a dust-free, inert-gas-filled chamber • Software-development documentation for custom user applications Unlike dSLRs, each camera had to be tethered to a smokin’ fast PC (running our custom application) that grabbed production frames and served as a higher-res animator guide and color display to check lighting. The company R&D team worked hard on the ambitiously spec’d software, delivering a
workable beta version before moving on to other projects. It is an exciting step forward with a lot of features, including 3-D diagnostics and twoway serial communication with Kuper motion-control. Our only seriously missed target was capture speed, which I hope to revisit with new data-transfer technology. While we were in prep, RealD founder Lenny Lipton told Henry about his new 3-D system. Henry saw its creative storytelling potential and believed it would help immerse the audience in our handcrafted worlds. One short visit to RealD fired my enthusiasm; Lenny’s process had overcome every technical snag that made 3-D infamous, taking ingenious advantage of D-Cinema to make it smooth and dependable. His vision of 3-D as a new tool for the cinematographer was infectious. We sought the advice of several other 3-D advisers who provided basic theory, knowledge from firsthand experience and strongly held opinions that were not always in agreement. Lenny wisely noted that we had to choose which advice to follow and find our own way. To follow this story, one must understand two 3-D parameters: interocular distance and convergence. Interocular distance (IO) is the distance between left and right eyes; it affords us the separate views we interpret as 3-D roundness. By adjusting IO, we can expand or contract the 3-D volume of a shot. Convergence is the amount our eyes toe-in to align both images of an object; it gives us a sense of our distance from an object. On Coraline, we worked backwards, adjusting alignment of image pairs to control audience eye convergence. That way, we could pull objects out of the screen or push them back. Because puppets hold still for multiple exposures, we could shift a single camera left and right to capture both 3-D views. That was the beginning of our “3-D sliders.” My first instinct had a two-axis rig sliding
horizontally to achieve the desired IO and back-panning to converge on objects. Lenny advised leaving out the convergence axis and aligning in post by sliding one image over the other. We needed extra picture width for that maneuver, which a 3K crop of our 4K sensors allowed. Armed with a couple of prototype 3-D sliders, John Ashlee began experimenting with using forced-perspective sets without tipping our hand. We learned that a 1Ú2-scale background looked natural in normal stereo, and a ¼-scale background would work in weaker stereo. We made a composite of several elements built at different scales, scaling a camera move to match, to see if a composite in 3-D would hold together. It sounded promising, and it works just fine as long as you carefully set up each element, scaling everything, especially distance to camera and the IO distance. Paul Gentry set out to empirically determine benchmarks for IO distance. He shot puppets in a matrix of close-up, medium and full-body shots at different focal lengths and IOs. We projected each frame in 3-D and rated puppet heads for normal, extreme and reduced roundness. Not surprisingly, we found that the closer you get to the subject, the smaller the IO you need. And we quickly found out how painful excessive IO can be Ñ painful enough to pull an audience right out of the narrative, if not the theater. The big surprise was how little it takes to create a normal sense of roundness. We reasoned that puppets would look natural by setting IO as measured between CoralineÕs puppet eyes vs. the distance between a pair of human eyes Ñ 19mm puppet vs. 64mm human. But to our surprise, normalfeeling roundness in puppet closeups ranged from 1-3mm IO, and in wide shots from 3-10mm IO.
Left: Animator Travis Knight works on a scene in Dad’s “Real” study. Below: Coraline’s “Other” father puts an entertaining spin on things in the “Other” version of the same space.
We had simplified by limiting the test to a single subject, a good starting point in setting up shots and helpful for newcomers to the show. But things quickly got more complex in deep sets that featured objects both close to and far from camera. At that point, we needed more than an IO cheat sheet; we had to rack up enough experience to make informed judgment calls. As with any other aspect of cinematography, with experience, we gained confidence and a more instinctive approach. We all agreed 3-D had to be used to enhance story and mood, like any other photo technique. Along with the story arc, lighting arc and
color script, we decided to impose a complementary Òstereo arcÓ on the show. Henry wanted 3-D depth to differentiate the Real World from the Other World specifically in sync with what Coraline is feeling. To do that, we kept the Real World at a reduced stereo depth, suggesting CoralineÕs flat outlook, and used full 3-D in the Other World. At first, full 3-D opens up a better world for Coraline, but when things go bad, we carefully exaggerate stereo depth to match her distress. 3-D adviser Brian Gardner pointed out the emotional effects of placing a subject behind or in front of the screen. Similar to shooting up
American Cinematographer 29
2 Worlds in 3 Dimensions
Ashlee’s photography of Coraline’s “Real” (top) and “Other” (middle) bedrooms was complicated by a movingcamera matchdissolve in 3-D; there was a significant difference between the sets’ physical depth. Bottom: Camera assistant/motioncontrol operator Dean Holmes programs a move that will mimic the feel of a handheld camera.
30 February 2009
or down on a character, we could assign power in a confrontation scene by thrusting a character out into the theater, with the weaker position being behind the screen. The technique also helped to emphasize moods as different as intimacy and menace. We found that a setting receding deeply behind screen creates a sense of space and freedom and is more effective at evoking pleasant feelings than bringing everything out into the theater. You might notice this in Coraline’s establishing shots, interior as well as exterior. Sometimes we did the opposite, crowding images into theater space to invoke claustrophobia or discomfort. A particularly involved use of 3-D included a big effort from the art department. Henry wanted to create a sense of confinement to suggest Coraline’s feelings of loneliness and boredom in her new home. His idea had interiors built with a strong forced perspective and shot in 3-D to give conflicting cues on how deep the rooms really were. Later, we see establishing shots of the more appealing Other World rooms shot from the same position but built with normal perspective. The compositions match in 2-D, but the 3-D depth cues evoke a different feel for each room. These “master twin” shots depended on building the forced-perspective sets to an exact camera position. New angles usually required a new build. Because IO was run on a motion-control channel, we could change it during a shot. We had the same freedom to animate alignment in post. The combination became a powerful tool for creative work as well as solving technical issues. The most common use was on camera trucks that went from wide views to extreme close-ups. In one case, we animated the IO from 0.5mm to 18mm, starting on a frame-filling face and ending on a wide shot of house and yard. This allowed a deep
Left: Coraline encounters three ghost children on one of her forays into the Other World. Below left: Chris Tootle animates the ghosts, who were shot in a separate pass. The models are attached to a motion-control rig that also carries lights that create interactive illumination for Coraline. Below right: Chris Peterson’s crew sets up a down angle of Coraline for the scene.
3-D effect at the wide end while making it easy for the audience to fuse left and right in the close-up. We also tried animating IO settings on locked-off close-ups, hoping to get an effect as startling as Hitchcock’s simultaneous zoomand-dolly trick. For better or worse, it is barely noticeable — viewers
unconsciously adjust to compensate. Our production cameras comprised 38 MegaPlus EC11000s and eight Nikon D80s, and our primary lenses were Tamron and Sigma zooms and Nikkor primes ranging from 14mm to 105mm. With very few exceptions, we did not compromise lighting and camera-
work for 3-D constraints. Contrast and depth of field remained useful creative tools, requiring just a little extra care, as did camera movement. We used composition, color, focal length and filtration in a wide, unrestricted range, concentrating on storytelling. One of our larger scenes
American Cinematographer 31
2 Worlds in 3 Dimensions
Above: As they venture deep into a forest, Coraline and a companion discover there is a physical limit to the Other World, which recedes into a milkywhite limbo. Below: Lit by cinematographer Frank Passingham, the Plexiglas set gives animator Phil Dale plenty of light. The rigs supporting Coraline and the cat were painted out in post and replaced with a second pass.
32 February 2009
depicts an apple orchard that occupied several sets up to 30' long and 20' deep. Mark Stewart shot two sequences there using 5K and 2K sources — larger lights than usual for stop-motion, but the reduced exposure time helped animators keep their rhythm. He used blue and pale-green gels, tight contrast ratios, large bounced sources and a soft key as the recipe for impending rain. Motion-controlled gobos provided subtle, moving cloud shadows.
He switched to cooler gels and higher contrast for a scary moonlight battle pitting Coraline and her friend, Wybie, against a disembodied hand. We played key continuity looser in this rapid-cutting sequence, concentrating on making powerful images. I doubt most viewers will notice that, but they will feel the scene change to awkward preteen romance, played a little brighter and with lower contrast for a happier mood.
Our first “master twin” shot is in the Real Kitchen, wide on Coraline and her mother against the window. Paul Gentry used directional soft boxes to throw backlight in through the window, with just enough front fill to keep it all looking rainy and bleak. Later, we see the same composition but on a much more appealing Other World kitchen. Paul used rose and yellow gels on focal spots to create pools and wall scrapes, making the set bright and warm. By gradually darkening walls farther from center, he made the kitchen a stronger lure. John Ashlee’s Real World version of Dad’s Study has a rainyday window key similar to that in the kitchen but accomplished with cheater lights, as the window was too small and distant to carry the load. In one shot, we see Coraline and her father reflected in his ancient computer monitor. John tried valiantly to set it up for real, even making a 2" working display, but optical geometry wasn’t on our side. Instead, he shot both reflected faces separately, and they were later composited along with a real computer display. The most finicky “master twin” interiors were Coraline’s Real and Other bedrooms, also photographed by John Ashlee. His challenge was a moving-camera match-dissolve in 3-D that was complicated by two sets with radically different physical depths. It took numerous move tests and rebuilding architecture, even bedposts, to line up on a pivotal frame in the dissolve, followed by extra finesse in post. John lit each bedroom for maximum difference in mood; Other bedroom scenes had warm practicals and multiple spots shaping and picking out details designed to delight, but it was never overly bright, allowing bright moonlight to play a part. In stark contrast, he rendered the Real bedroom with chilly soft light from the overcast sky.
2 Worlds in 3 Dimensions For an exterior view of Coraline’s “Real” house, cinematographer Mark Stewart surrounded his subjects with bounced light to create an overcast, rainy-day look.
To create a magic, self-illuminated garden, Paul Gentry balanced a combination of fiber-optics, small incandescents and LEDs embedded in fanciful animated flowers, plus black-light-activated paint. I suspect the growing flowers will be mistaken for CG work, but it is all real stuff. Sometimes we shot Coraline separately so flowers could be animated in reverse by trimming them frameby-frame. Frank Passingham rendered a more dangerous version of the garden, tinting it with poisonous green moonlight and carefully diminishing glowing plants while raising contrast. In quite the opposite tone, he made the Other house exterior a beacon of light, overpowering the full moon with warm practicals in windows, outdoor lanterns and architectural lighting. In effect, the house itself became the key light for a charming conversation between Coraline and a wise cat. I wish George Pal were alive to accept our salute to his 1940s-era Puppetoons. He would smile in recognition at a sequence using 34 February 2009
sequentially sculpted series of figurines rather than flexible puppets. Brian Van’t Hul shot a rousing brass band of circus mice marching in formation, requiring animators to keep track of hundreds of replacement mice and change out each mouse for each frame. Brian, who was also the show’s visualeffects supervisor, juggled different scales of sets and characters with complex camera moves throughout the scene. I discovered that real circuses aren’t lit with great finesse, so to create more magic, Brian enhanced the tent interior with Mini Flos washing up walls for a more appealing background. The mice themselves worked in hard-edged spotlight that was brighter and cooler than the background. Brian also rigged a few practicals overhead for atmosphere, creating hot points of blown-out circus colors. For reverse angles on Coraline, he used soft uplight to suggest bounce from the spectacle offscreen. Coraline discovers an opulent 19th century theater in the Other
basement, where she enjoys a vintage burlesque followed by a breathtaking trapeze act. Peter Sorg used many MR16 architectural lights to streak up walls and low-voltage halogens for footlights. Adding other practicals, mini spotlights on motioncontrol movers and a central China ball for fill, Peter surpassed the grandeur of our reference, which was the London Opera House. We took full advantage of 3-D in the trapeze act, and I suggest you see the movie twice so you can watch this scene with glasses on and off. It is an effective use of animated IO and convergence; it adds scope and excitement without nuking the eyeballs. Peter turned right around and relit his theater sets for a much spookier note. Coraline’s flashlight and some very dimmed-down practicals provide the apparent sources; they were augmented with focal spots and mini-profiles that we hope will go unnoticed. A blazing spotlight comes on to reveal a cocoon in the form of a large taffy wrapper, overpowering any other lighting.
Peter carefully balanced background practicals to remain just visible enough to describe the space but draw no attention. In a more somber sequence, Peter used a fireplace as a flickering source on Coraline, who sits alone in a dark room as the embers die. A wide shot emphasizes her isolation as the firelight grads off quickly from where she sits. Small bulbs in the fireplace were rigged to flicker in sync with off-screen focal spots under DMX motion-control. The Other living room takes on three separate characters, the first being a duplicate of the dreary night look in Coraline’s Real World. The second phase is a colorful come-on in which every piece of furniture glows as a saturated neon source. The self-illuminated props had clusters of red, green and blue surfacemount LEDs embedded throughout their translucent silicone forms. By adjusting the colors on separate DMX dimmer channels, Chris Peterson could match production art without using gels. Backlit purple walls were created with traditional gels on movie lights, but the out-ofgamut color came back bluish. We got closer by reddening them to the point where they looked completely wrong on set but just fine when photographed. The room comes to life as furniture and lamps dim up in an overlapping cascade of light cues. Steve Switaj fabricated a DMX card that could handle 48 channels, more than normally available under Kuper control, and Chris used every one of them. At one point, Coraline is thrust into a dark, dank iron-plate cell where she meets three pale-green ghost children. Chris Peterson shot the ghosts separately on motioncontrolled rods against greenscreen that covered the set walls. The same motion-control rigs repeated the movement during animation of Coraline, and this time they carried light bulbs, creating interactive light
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2 Worlds in 3 Dimensions Passingham’s lighting of an “Other” house night exterior is enhanced by True Blue-gelled moonlight, fiberoptic stars punching through black backing and a horizon glow.
that appears to emanate from the ghosts. Chris activated glow-in-thedark stars on Coraline’s sweater with UV tubes and augmented with bluegelled movie lighting. With each frame so dearly bought, stop-motion lighting usually strives to see character detail throughout, and this is sometimes in conflict with dramatic purposes. Peter Williams took a walk on the dark side with Coraline running down a midnight hallway, letting her pass through pools of toplight and areas where she is a dim silhouette. Overexposing highlights — normally to be avoided — helped Peter Williams and Frank Passingham create a flawless white limbo for some sequences. At the point where highlights reached their maximum pixel value, they had no retrievable detail, thus hiding shadows and imperfections in the set. In one such scene, Coraline wanders out of an Other World forest and discovers the artificial world to be unfinished beyond what Other Mother needs to carry out her deceit. 36 February 2009
The forest gradually simplifies as Coraline moves further into it, and it eventually devolves into white nothingness. Frank created that void with a table made of milky Plexiglas that was underlit by Kino Flos and surrounded by a white wall. He was almost able to eradicate the table edge in-camera with exposure, and visual effects finished it off. Echoing that, another scene features a climactic chase in a giant spider web that is suspended over a featureless, milky void. On multiple sets, both cameramen used front light on white cycs to create the limbo effect. Because Coraline crawls through a portal to get to and from the Other World, there are a lot of tunnel scenes in the film. Chris Peterson shot the friendly version, a cushy, organic-looking tunnel that glows with moving purple and cyan patterns projected by Source Four Lekos from behind its translucent wall. (The magazine’s cover shot shows this look.) He created the patterns by taping scraps of color gel onto pairs of large Plexiglas discs that
were motion-controlled to counterrotate against each other. Later, when things go bad, the portal is dusty, dark and full of cobwebs. Peter Williams hid sources wherever he could, relying on hidden cutouts and small hidden sources within the tunnel. This was one of many sets where white LEDs were put to good use. They worked well as Obie lights, too — right on the lens. For an even darker tunnel, Peter used a candle carried by Coraline as the only source. He mounted a tiny, high-current lamp at the tip of the candle and hid it from camera with an equally small piece of blackwrap. The lamp got so hot it had to be turned off between exposures. With a candle flame added by the visual-effects team, the source looks genuine, with natural falloff. The last shot in the movie was actually shot last. Mark Stewart set up on five stages to shoot elements that would be combined into one long, meandering camera move that would go through a garden party
and then rise up over the house, landing in the same composition as the film’s opening shot. Soft, yellow keylight and enveloping bounce fill rendered a more appealing color and contrast ratio than the standard cold, rainy look. With five different mo-co rigs in play, Brian Van’t Hul and Nic Marrison took the precaution of tracking each rig as it played back its version of the move. They compensated for variances that turned up, making all the elements track each other accurately. I like to think we all came out of Coraline’s 83-week shoot a little smarter about 3-D cinematography. Perhaps fellow first-timers will find the following notes useful: Besides getting more intuitive about setting up, we learned to make the most of a big 3-D moment — it takes planning, not overdoing IO distance. That includes using modest settings for several shots leading up to the big moment. We learned that a quick cut doesn’t register 3-D in the eyes of the viewer. The shot has to be onscreen long enough to fuse, and only then should you concentrate on the subject. Increasing IO is futile on a short shot; it exacerbates viewer difficulty and does not make the shot feel deeper. Although we strove to avoid “coming out” shots for pure gimmickry, Coraline includes a few legitimate uses of the effect. In every case, we made the emergence as slow as the tempo allowed so viewers could follow. We also did our best to connect emerging objects to the background — an outthrust hand was much more effective when the arm and shoulder were also visible. Most 3-D purists insist on staying sharp throughout the frame, the theory being that we concurrently fuse and focus on objects in the real world, and not doing both will cause eyestrain. We learned that backgrounds can be successfully shot
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2 Worlds in 3 Dimensions Cinematographer/ visual-effects supervisor Brian Van’t Hul layered several 2-D fog elements to create the illusion of 3-D depth for this scene.
soft in most circumstances, provided that we give the viewer no reason to look back there. (That’s our job as filmmakers in 2-D or 3-D.) Soft foregrounds are a little tricky but can be used with care, especially in accordance with the aforementioned provision. In 3-D, it’s annoying to look through a
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tangle of soft-focus branches to see a sharp character, but if the branches are in another part of the frame, it seems to work. Our most successful use of shallow depth of field used rack-focus between close and distant characters who were conversing. I think it helped that character voices guided the eye in sync with racking
focus. Had there been a smaller image sensor available with thermoelectric cooling and dust protection, I would have preferred it, just for depth of field in 3-D. Such a sensor would likely have trimmed our write-to-disk time as well. We had been warned that digital paint-out of puppet supports would not work in 3-D because the digital paint would reveal itself, floating in the same space as the removed support. That’s true if one is working on a 3-D computer model, but we were going to work on left and right 2-D images. It was not the disaster predicted, but compositors had to be very consistent on both “eyes.” Brian Van’t Hul shot a lot of live-action effects elements with a Red One, all in 2-D, amid concern that they would be revealed as “flat.” Time and money limited us to this approach. The best example of his success is a sequence featuring thick
ground fog that was added in post. By layering several 2-D fog elements in proper 3-D alignment, he created a believable illusion of full depth. One theory our work upheld was that scenic flats would reveal themselves in 3-D. We had to move painted backgrounds significantly farther from the set, even when seen out a window. Fortunately, we were in a big building. Stop-motion’s characteristic lack of motion blur sometimes caused a stuttering effect in 3-D horizontal motion, especially in fast camera pans. This was over and above the effect in traditional 2-D film projection. Oddly enough, it creates less readability than if the motion had natural blur. The visualeffects team added motion blur to several shots that especially needed help. My advice to anyone starting out fresh with 3-D is to seek counsel
from a veteran of 3-D production and experiment when you have enough experience to be conversant. Equally important: watch dailies on a full-size screen with a real 3-D theater projector. All through production, we worked in sRGB color space, so it made some kind of sense to work from that familiar territory (converted to Rec709) in the 2K digital intermediate. Technicolor Digital Intermediates accommodated, responsibly warning us that it was a smaller, different gamut than film. Colorist Tim Peeler lent his practiced eye through successive grades for RealD 3-D, 2K D-Cinema, film emulation and home video. (The film will be projected in Dolby 3-D in some markets.) With deep respect, I salute the Coraline crew for successfully shooting the most ambitious and technically challenging film in the
stop-motion genre. Working responsibly and with professionalism, everyone produced consistently beautiful work. Ed. Note: A more detailed account of this production will be posted on www.theasc.com/magazine in February. I
TECHNICAL SPECS 1.78:1 4K Digital Capture, Digital Stills Princeton Instruments MegaPlus EC11000; Nikon D80; Red One Tamron, Sigma and Nikkor lenses Digital Intermediate Printed on Kodak Vision 2383
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Dead Reckoning
Bill Pope, ASC and director Frank Miller use digital tools and oldschool tricks to bring a comic-book hero to life for The Spirit. by Jon D. Witmer Unit photography by Lewis Jacobs t these frame rates, you just have to blow the heck out of them,” says cinematographer Bill Pope, ASC, as crewmembers, armed with air movers, take positions alongside a staircase painted chroma-key green. It’s Dec. 13, 2007, day 47 of the 48 shooting days in New Mexico’s Albuquerque Studios for The Spirit, directed by Frank Miller. As operator Vali Valus, 1st AC Greg Luntzel and camera tech Brannon Brown prep a Vision Research Phantom HD high-speed camera, actors
“A 40 February 2009
Gabriel Macht and Jaime King climb the staircase and wait for 1st AD Benita Allen to yell “Action!” “It’s the movement of the actors’ hair and clothes that really give you the sense of being underwater,” Pope explains. Miller’s script for The Spirit calls for a handful of underwater sequences, but producer Deborah Del Prete established a dictum early in prep that there would be no below-surface shooting. “I wanted to make sure these characters looked their best all the time,” says Del Prete. “If we put the actors underwater, there’s no way
their makeup could stay perfect.” The “dry-for-wet” technique the filmmakers settled on involves capturing quick bursts of action at high frame rates. “The hair and body motion looks most like it’s underwater at 400 to 500 fps — or even 700 fps,” says Pope. “But at that speed, it’s hard to act fast enough to move the narrative, so we’ve ended up shooting between 200 and 400 fps.” (Months later, speaking by phone, visual-effects supervisor and 2nd-unit director Stu Maschwitz recalls, “The actors needed to learn the mysterious art
Photos and frame grabs courtesy of Lionsgate and Odd Lot Entertainment.
of 500-fps acting. The great thing about the Phantom was that we could instantly show them playback in beautiful slow motion on an HD monitor, and they could see that one little flick of an eye could turn into an incredible moment.”) With the help of gaffer John “Fest” Sandau, Pope bolsters the underwater atmosphere with “light projectors with patterns we thought looked like water,” says the cinematographer. “John pounded lights into reflecting boards and Mylar, which we shook around to make some sparkle. You can do the dumbest stuff in the world, and when you’re filming at 400 fps, suddenly you’re a poet.” The projectors, manufactured by Rosco, were “the simplest of all the ones we tested,” says Sandau. “Two wheels rotate in front of a light. You can put different lenses on it to get a tighter pattern with more throw or a wider pattern with less distance. [Key grip] Tony Mazzucchi and his crew rigged a pipe to hang off the bottom of a Condor, and we hung eight of these fixtures off that. They’re DMX-controllable, and when we needed the extra stop for high speed, we’d have three or four hitting the same space, and when we didn’t need the speed, we could spread them out to cover a bigger area. I think it’s the best water effect I’ve ever seen.”
The entire dry-for-wet effect is put to the test in a take that lasts no more than a few seconds: with air movers attacking the actors from all sides, King (playing the siren Lorelei Rox) leaps in the air, kicks her legs and shakes her hair while Macht (playing The Spirit) throws himself forward in a belly flop. The whole thing lacks a certain grace, to say the least, until the Phantom HD’s footage is played back. Suddenly, both actors appear to be suspended in the depths, hair and clothes swirling around them. Maschwitz shouts in excitement from behind the monitor, and it all clicks. Poetry.
Pulp Sensibilities “I’m a cartoonist,” says Miller. “I believe in comic-book stories that are fun to draw and fun to write.” Outside of Miller’s own work, there is perhaps no better example of such a story than The Spirit, created by Will Eisner in a weekly series that ran from 19401952. Miller and Eisner were close friends until Eisner’s death, in 2005, and Miller notes, “Will’s influence on my work was seminal. His stuff was advanced beyond anything I’d ever seen before.” Over a career that spanned roughly six decades, Eisner pushed the limits of sequential art, challenging how stories could be told and ultimately ushering in the
Opposite: The Spirit (Gabriel Macht) watches over Central City. This page, above: Ellen Dolan (Sarah Paulson) consoles her father, Police Commissioner Dolan (Dan Lauria). Below left: Director Frank Miller’s graphic sensibilities punctuate The Octopus’ (Samuel L. Jackson) reaction to The Spirit’s war on crime. Below right: Miller (in black) explains his vision to cinematographer Bill Pope, ASC.
American Cinematographer 41
Dead Reckoning
To capture The Spirit’s underwater encounter with Lorelei Rox (Jaime King), the filmmakers utilized a “dry-for-wet” technique that involved blasting the actors with air movers while recording at speeds of 200-400 fps with a Phantom HD highspeed camera. The water effect was further emphasized with Rosco light projectors suspended from Condors.
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long-form “graphic novel.” Given that legacy, Miller hesitated when he was first approached about a film version of The Spirit. “I took three minutes to say, ‘Absolutely not!’” he recalls. “Then I realized I couldn’t let anybody else touch it, that my understanding of the material was probably deeper than almost anybody’s. Then I was ready to direct the movie.” Taking a few cosmetic liberties, the film follows Eisner’s mask-, fedora- and red-tie-sporting hero from his origin as Denny Colt, an idealistic cop who becomes a vigilante when he wakes up, quite alive, after being murdered. The Spirit wages his two-fisted war on crime alongside Police Commissioner Dolan (Dan Lauria), and together, they go after the king of criminals, The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson). The Spirit marks Miller and Pope’s first collaboration, but it was not the first time their paths had crossed. Pope, a longtime fan of Miller’s comics, explains, “I still have a comic of Frank’s that I bought when he did signings at [Los Angeles comic shop] Golden Apple in the Eighties. It’s been read so many times it’s totally worn out. When I got the call [for The Spirit], there was never any doubt; I had to do it.” Asked why he approached Pope, Miller cites the cinematographer’s work on Darkman (1990). “I thought that was one of the best superhero movies ever made,” he says. “It had a real pulp sensibility.” Likewise, The Spirit’s bigscreen adventure bears many a pulp hallmark, not least a supporting cast of femmes fatale. Borrowing freely from Eisner’s work, Miller’s screenplay incorporates Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson), Sand Saref (Eva Mendes), Plaster of Paris (Paz Vega) and the Commissioner’s daughter, Ellen Dolan (Sarah Paulson). “Bill’s got a great eye for making women look beautiful,” says Sandau. “He’s very much a soft-light
Left: A 20'x20' section of floor was constructed for The Spirit’s lair beneath Wildwood Cemetery, and the shadow from the overhead window frame was achieved practically using a 20K Fresnel and a massive frame with adjustable slats. Below: While most of the film was shot against greenscreen, certain scenes — such as those set inside Sand Saref’s (Eva Mendes) hotel room — were shot against black.
guy, and he’s very careful about making sure both eyes are lit. We used the Kino Flo BarFly quite a bit; it’s a small fixture with a lot of punch that works as a really nice eyelight.” Pope took his “glamour work” even further in the digital grade, which he describes as “a bodacious, stylistic leap into the Miller and Eisner world. They romanticize women to a major degree, so we decided to go with the MGM-circa-1934 look — the women are diffused and everything else is sharp. People will either hate us or laugh with us.”
world spilled across stages 7 and 8 at Albuquerque Studios, with the largest of the greenscreens running the length of a stage and reaching up some 40' toward the perms. To light the screens, Sandau’s crew set up top and bottom rows of Kino Flo Image 80s, plus a row of Kino Flo ParaBeam 400s and 200s to fill in a green “cove” that obscured the bottom row of Image 80s from the camera’s view. “I think we ultimately ended up with about 260 fix-
tures,” says the gaffer. All the Kino Flos illuminating the greenscreen were fitted with green tubes and run through a dimmer board. Sandau explains, “At times we would just need two tubes on each fixture to get a correct level on the green, but when we did off-speed stuff, we could bring up eight tubes top and bottom to get a higher level of exposure.” “It’s almost like a stage play, where you do weeks of rehearsal
Stage Plays “With digital technology, I feel we can recapture what filmmakers like Orson Welles and Fritz Lang did — we can create very stark work that is not based on the way things really look,” says Miller. “Instead, it’s based on what’s inside the director’s and animators’ heads.” As was done on Sin City and 300 (AC April ’07), two recent adaptations of his comic-book work, Miller decided to craft The Spirit’s look by shooting largely against greenscreen and creating environments in post. The Spirit’s green American Cinematographer 43
Dead Reckoning “If somebody touches it, it’s got to be real,” says Pope. Accordingly, this revolving door was built onstage, while the rest of the building was fabricated in post. Gaffer John Sandau established a daytime ambience for the scene with an overhead rig comprising diffused FinnLight Toplights.
and then build a set around that rehearsal,” says Pope of working in the green environment. “We were free to consult and improvise.” The method was stretched to its limits in a long walk-and-talk sequence that follows The Spirit, Commissioner Dolan and Officer Morgenstern (Stana Katic) through the daytime streets of Central City. During their walk, Pope explains, “they
44 February 2009
encounter a reporter, construction workers and girls in an ice-cream parlor yelling for The Spirit’s autograph. Cabs pass by and almost run them over. And almost none of this existed [onstage] except the people.” “We put green tape down on the green floor and told the actors that’s where they could walk,” explains Sandau. “To make it look like sunlight, we put 20Ks and 10Ks on Condors, and we softened them a bit. We sometimes had two Condors and let it get a little darker between them, as though the actors were walking through the shadow of a building. We also had FinnLight Toplights to give us an overall ambience. The Toplights use six Par 64 globes, and we used medium and wide beam 1,000-watt globes. We used those instead of space lights because they’re more efficient, have a lot more punch and are built with two frame holders; you can double-diffuse them and then hang a larger frame below to make a soft, almost non-directional light.” In an effort to simplify the post pipeline and give the visualeffects team (comprising 10 vendors from multiple countries) a leg
up on their work, the filmmakers decided early on to establish an alldigital workflow that began with Panavision’s Genesis high-definition-video camera. Both Pope and Maschwitz had previous experience with the camera. “If you really control the lighting, the Genesis produces amazing results that can be seamlessly dropped into the digital workflow,” notes Maschwitz. Because the Genesis has a top speed of 50 fps, another camera was needed for the high-speed sequences. “We felt the Phantom HD had the best shot at holding up next to the Genesis,” says Maschwitz. “It has the same size chip, so we could use the same lenses and get the same focal lengths.” The Phantom comes standard with a PL mount, so the production’s camera (rented from Abel Cine Tech) was fitted with a Panavision mount to accept Primo primes (provided by Panavision Woodland Hills). Despite sharing compatible 1920x1080 sensor sizes, the Genesis’ sensor comprises a 12.4-megapixel CCD array, whereas the Phantom HD incorporates a CMOS imager. Further differences abound between (continued on page 48)
Building Central City Pope (seated on dolly) captures a sprawling walkand-talk sequence onstage in Albuquerque Studios. Look Effects later constructed the actors’ surroundings under the guidance of visual-effects supervisor Stu Maschwitz.
46 February 2009
he Spirit’s Central City has always been a thinly disguised substitute for Manhattan, so it’s no wonder director Frank Miller describes the setting of his film as “a combination of my and Will Eisner’s versions of New York City.” Because principal photography happened entirely onstage, bringing the city to life required the efforts of 10 visualeffects vendors across North America and Australia: The Orphanage, Riot, Digital Dimension, Fuel VFX, Furious FX, Ollin Studio, Entity FX, Rising Sun Pictures, Cinesoup and Look Effects. All vendors were kept on the same page at The Orphanage, where visual-effects supervisor Stu Maschwitz and his collaborators “did EDL-based ingest of SR tape [recorded from the Panavision Genesis] and got 10-bit DPX out the other end,” he says. “That’s how the entire movie made its way from tape to our Nucoda Film Master system. Everything we shot became a DPX sequence.” A somewhat more circuitous workflow had to be devised for the Vision Research Phantom HD camera, which records a bayer-pattern image in a .cin file. In a document Maschwitz drafted for the vendors about the workflow, he explained,
T
“These .cin files were converted to .dng sequences at The Orphanage and then converted to 10-bit DPX using Adobe After Effects. This was done to take advantage of the Photoshop/Lightroom raw conversion algorithms, which were tested to perform better than Vision Research’s own de-bayering software.” The 10-page workflow document provided the visual-effects houses with step-by-step instructions for creating their own 10-bit DPX deliverables in the Cineon log format and replicating the LUT the filmmakers viewed on set. Maschwitz wrote, “All principal photography was monitored in Rec709 HD video through a highcontrast, low-saturation LUT known as ‘Mash4.’ The Mash4 LUT contains subjective color correction, a film-print preview and a conversion to video space.” “I determined that The Spirit was a neighborhood’s hero,” says Miller. “If you have a working knowledge of Manhattan, you’ll find that from Jane Street to Houston Street is Central City.” Building that neighborhood for a daytime walkand-talk that follows The Spirit (Gabriel Macht), Commissioner Dolan (Dan Lauria) and Officer
Morgenstern (Stana Katic) down streets, sidewalks and alleyways fell to the crew at Look Effects, led by visual-effects supervisor Max Ivins and visual-effects producer Melinka Thompson-Godoy. Look’s workflow is usually based around Apple’s Shake software, but the team opted to work primarily in Adobe After Effects for The Spirit to more easily integrate with Maschwitz’s After Effects-centric operation at The Orphanage. “Maya was the primary software we used for all of the 3-D tracking rendering,” notes Ivins. “Tracking was done in several packages, including Boujou and PFTrack, and Maya for hand tracking. “Because [the walk-and-talk] covers so much ground, you lose a lot of the tracking markers,” he continues. “So we pre-processed almost every background with a method of extracting the contrast from the greenscreen; we were tracking the corners, the edges and sometimes the surface and the seams of the greenscreen. We put that through our 3-D tracking software and pretty much tracked without tracking markers. Figuring that out saved us hours. There were only a couple of shots we had to hand-track.” Simultaneous to the tracking, Look’s artists expanded the conceptual environments created in-house by Peter Lloyd or provided by The Orphanage, and then projected rough geometry onto the scene to test the accuracy of the tracks. Throughout the process, the Look team confabbed regularly with Maschwitz via CineSync, a remote review and approval program enabling live, real-time interaction with the footage (Post Focus, AC July ’08). As Central City took definite shape, the lighting captured onstage was tweaked to fit the actors’ new surroundings. “There are a lot of subtle color corrections and shifting of levels to get everything right for
Frame grabs courtesy of Look Effects.
the environment,” says Ivins. “We work with what we’re given, but we also end up doing a lot of 2-D [correction].” This included darkening the actors when they step into a digitally fabricated alley, for example. Atmosphere is everything in Central City, and in addition to creating a subtle haze to obfuscate background layers, the Look team was tasked with a night scene featuring The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson), one of his goons and a flurry of snowflakes. ThompsonGodoy recounts, “Stu wanted the snow to fall photorealistically. He actually went to New York and shot photos of snow against streetlights, and they proved to be a really valuable reference.” Part of the sequence involved a split-diopter effect, which required completely different treatment of each flake as it crossed from one side of the split to the other. “It goes from being a little flake of snow to being a big, out-of-focus flake when it crosses that line,” says Thompson-Godoy. “And the snow had to interact with the people — it couldn’t look like shining objects when it crossed them. We had to finesse how bright the snowflake was on the person’s body versus on his face.” While all of the vendors worked with identical Mash4 LUTs as a reference, everyone delivered uncorrected, raw 1920x1080 images. Then, the LUT was re-applied in The Orphanage’s Nucoda Film Master, and all of the shots were hard-matted to 1920x818 for exhibition in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio. Considering everything the Look team had to master for the walk-and-talk sequence, Ivins muses, “We took something infinitely complex and tried to reproduce it — you’ve got shadows, reflections, depth of field and atmosphere. It makes you appreciate how complicated the real world is.” — Jon D. Witmer
Top: A frame grab from the sequence as originally recorded with Panavision’s Genesis. Middle: The frame with the high-contrast, low-saturation Mash4 LUT applied. Bottom: The composite frame with Look’s background before the Mash4 was reapplied.
American Cinematographer 47
Dead Reckoning blacked-out tent to check his image. “Once you’re in that tent, you’re one level removed, and you can make mistakes because you’re not connected with reality. A cinematographer’s job is to run the set, dance with the actors, dance with the director and make things happen. When you stick yourself in a tent, you become like those directors who just stare at the monitor and never get out of the chair — you’re not doing your job. “When someone comes up with a digital camera that lets me see the LUT in the eyepiece, I will agree that it’s equal to working with film.” Macht and Jackson spent days tussling in an actual mud pit. Sandau explains, “We had FinnLight Toplights overhead to provide some ambience and give the mud some highlights, and we had 20Ks and 10Ks through big frames off to the sides. When we needed to get more light to someone’s face, we used what we called the projection softbox — basically a 2K with a 2- to 3-foot snoot and diffusion. It’s soft light, but it’s very controllable.”
48 February 2009
(continued from page 45) the two systems. “Panavision has focused on capturing the broadest dynamic range to satisfy cinematographers’ need for exposure,” says Maschwitz. “You can put a mattebox on the Phantom, but it’s still been designed to do ballisticimpact analysis.” To bring the cameras closer together and allow the filmmakers to see an image “that would mimic the high-contrast world of Frank Miller as much as possible,” says Pope, look-up tables were developed for both cameras that could be applied in real time on the set. (Although the LUTs were visible on the monitors, footage from both cameras was recorded raw for full flexibility in post; see sidebar on page 46.) Maschwitz explains, “Because the Phantom doesn’t have
the same dynamic range [as the Genesis], it required its own treatment, and we eventually figured out a LUT that worked. The LUTs for both cameras actually suppressed green to various colors, mostly gray. We also had a version that could turn anything green into white and anything not green into black, and it could take anything red and make it pure red. We could put Gabriel in front of a greenscreen, and on the monitor we’d see a black silhouette with a bright red tie — you could see a Frank Miller drawing in real time!” (The LUT also included a Kodak Vision 2383 film-print emulation.) Pope says he had no major problems with either camera system during the shoot, but he notes one drawback to shooting digitally in general: having to retire to a
Practical Solutions “Too often, I feel overloaded with color when I’m watching a movie,” says Miller. “Everything’s tutti-frutti. And since I think like a cartoonist, I tend to color like one.” “We wanted this to be a blackand-white movie, but Frank definitely wanted the tie to be red,” notes Pope, standing in his office inside Albuquerque Studios and waiting for the call after lunch. “So I said, ‘If we’re going to have a color, it needs to have a thematic thread.’” Accordingly, the hero’s red tie serves as a reminder of the blood spilled when Colt was murdered and The Spirit was born. “When bad things are happening, when there’s a splash of emotion, red plays a part,” says Pope. Emphasizing the red tie called for some clever tricks, but Maschwitz notes that it was always photographed practically — it was never a CG fabrication. When the filmmakers really wanted the tie to pop, he says, “we puppeteered a fluorescent tie from off-camera using monofilament line, and we had an ultraviolet light hitting it. That gave us the foundation for some abstracting and some rotoscoping to get the posterized color effect.” The Spirit’s black-and-white Chuck Taylor tennis shoes were similarly treated with a fluorescent paint to make the
treads pop in select scenes. Sandau used the UV-and-fluorescent trick on Sin City. “Altman, a theatrical-lighting company, makes a couple of UV fixtures that have nice projection, but they burn an HMI-type globe and don’t have a flicker-free mode, so when we did high-speed, we put 4-foot UV tubes into standard Kino Flo four-bank fixtures. The second unit used the Kinos almost exclusively.” (Bob Finley, a longtime collaborator of Pope’s, was the 2nd-unit director of photography.) The filmmakers did not create CG actors and shot all stunts incamera. According to Pope, there was also a hard-and-fast rule for physical elements shot onstage: “If somebody touches it, it’s got to be real. That’s something Stu learned on Sin City, and it was something I really wanted. “We had a movable swamp on rollers with grass all over it, and we rolled it from stage to stage,” he continues. The set piece makes an important appearance when Dolan meets The Spirit on Central City’s outskirts. A corpse lies in the grass, visible behind the two characters, whose conversation grows in volume as tempers flare. The scene is “basically lit with one light,” says Pope. “The cops have pulled up and turned on their headlights [simulated with Mole-Richardson Single Pars]. I told the actors, ‘Here’s your light. When you turn your face away, it looks like you’re brooding, and when you turn toward the light, it looks like you’re opening up.’ I look at that scene now and think it’s the best scene in the movie, and it’s because the actors ran with it. There was nothing there, just that little patch of grass in the distance with a body on it. But Dan and Gabriel made it very special.” A handful of scenes incorporated black or white backdrops. “Well-planned rotoscoping is sometimes more efficient than less-than-
perfect greenscreen, and greenscreens are always less than perfect,” says Maschwitz. “Diaphanous material — which appears in a lot of Eva’s wardrobe — gets exponentially more complicated when you’re trying to extract it from 12 different shades of green. So occasionally, we shot on black — sometimes black-for-black, sometimes black to replace later.” After waking from the dead, The Spirit makes his home in Wildwood Cemetery, and Pope recalls shooting inside the hero’s lair with almost no greenscreen. “We had a 20-by-20-foot floor because we wanted that texture, and we hung black drapes all around,” he says. As The Spirit
crosses the floor, he walks through a shadow cast by a window frame far overhead. To achieve the effect practically, Sandau’s crew “hung a 20K with a Fresnel lens in it almost to the perms, and then we had a cookie as close to the actor as we could get it,” says the gaffer. “The frame was probably 30-by-20 and hung by chain motors from the ceiling. We could move these big pieces of wood around and adjust the angle of the slats running through it.” Another example of a practical solution employed onstage involves the lead-in to a flashback that unravels the history between Denny Colt and Sand Saref. As The Spirit walks along the waterfront, a
A series of flashbacks reveal the history between Denny Colt (a.k.a. The Spirit, played in his youth by Johnny Simmons) and Sand Saref (played here by Seychelle Gabriel). ½ Straw and an amber gel were combined to create a sunset effect that Sandau and Pope called the “Miller Time” look, referring to the classic beer commercials.
American Cinematographer 49
Dead Reckoning Flanked by The Spirit and Plaster of Paris (Paz Vega), Maschwitz steels himself to give shape to the green void.
lighthouse beacon flares the lens and serves to segue into the past. Sandau recalls, “On the set, this idea pops up out of thin air: ‘Hey, let’s do a lighthouse!’ So I thought of a beam projector we’d set up for something else, and one of my guys got up on a ladder and just panned it in. That became a regular piece whenever we did the waterfront.
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Most of the time, it was a MoleRichardson 2K beam projector, which has no Fresnel and a set of concentric rings to focus the light in a very sharp beam that projects quite a distance. We also had a 1K beam projector for tighter sets. You just pan it through, and it really has the feel of a lighthouse.”
Picking Nits After seeing the finished film, Pope acknowledges that some scenes don’t quite match the picture he had in his imagination. For instance, when shooting the flashback to the young Denny Colt and Sand Saref (played by Johnny Simmons and Seychelle Gabriel), “the setting sun lit one side of the actors’ faces with golden light, and the other side was lit cooler, as it would be at sunset,” he explains. “We were meant to have a scene in which the foregrounds, including the actors, would be reality-based and the backgrounds would be more mannered. Instead, the entire scene came back from the vendor with a uniformly sepia color, and the backgrounds were rendered realistically. It might sound like a subtle distinction, but when little things are projected, they aren’t so subtle anymore.
“The movie was well done by all in the visual departments, but there was a learning curve, and I don’t think [the curve] was ever finished,” he continues. “We set out to do quintessential Frank Miller images, but to be ultra-Frank, everything should look as brazenly stylistic as possible. He can suggest an entire alley with just a black line, the edge of bricks and a white gash [of light] across the character’s face. Instead of that, we ended up with some super-real backgrounds. It’s closer to Eisner’s work, so it’s part Miller and part Eisner. It’s a hybrid.” To keep a close eye on the work coming in from the visualeffects houses, Pope visited San Francisco during post and sat down in The Orphanage’s “Bunker,” which Maschwitz describes as “the visualeffects hub of the movie, where [senior visual-effects producer] Nancy St. John and her crew kept it
all organized and I kept it all looking right.” The heart of the Bunker comprises a DI suite built around a Nucoda Film Master with 2K projection; there, Maschwitz and Aaron Rhodes, the associate visualeffects supervisor and lead colorist, oversaw all 1,966 visual-effects shots, grading the sequences as they came in. The Spirit underwent a final grade at Modern VideoFilm, where Pope worked with colorist Skip Kimball to “darken the mids overall and make it more contrasty,” says the cinematographer. “In the end, some wanted a little more skin tone in the actors’ faces than I cared for; I liked it colder and closer to blackand-white, but they wanted it to be more reality-based, so there was that compromise.” All parties involved — Pope included — are proud of their accomplishments, and Miller seems
to hit the nail on the head when he says, “What I really wanted to capture was the absolute enthusiasm and verve Eisner brought to The Spirit. We’ve got a panoply of digital effects, but the movie isn’t cluttered. It’s focused on the story and the hero.” I
TECHNICAL SPECS 2.40:1 High-Definition Video Panavision Genesis, Vision Research Phantom HD Primo lenses Digital Intermediate Printed on Kodak Vision 2383
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Embracing
Anamorphic John Bailey, ASC takes full advantage of the widescreen format on the romantic comedy He’s Just Not That Into You. by Patricia Thomson Unit photography by Darren Michaels
52 February 2009
ince shooting the 1988 character piece The Accidental Tourist in anamorphic 35mm for director Lawrence Kasdan (AC Nov. ’88), John Bailey, ASC has favored the widescreen format for dramas both large and small. Several years ago, he took the lead in lobbying Panavision to develop new anamorphic lenses, and in 2006, the company responded with the Anamorphic WideAngle Zoom lens, the AWZ2 4080mm (T2.8), dubbed “The Bailey Zoom.” This was followed by the Anamorphic Telephoto Zoom, ATZ 70-200mm (T3.5), and by a new set of prime lenses, the G-Series.
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AC recently caught up with Bailey to discuss his latest anamorphic picture, the new ensemble comedy He’s Just Not That Into You. Directed by Ken Kwapis, the film is based on the bestselling book by Sex & The City writer Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo. American Cinematographer: After you wrapped He’s Just Not That Into You, you used anamorphic again on two comparatively low-budget features, The Greatest and Brief Interviews With Hideous Men. Do you believe anamorphic is now feasible for any genre and any budget? John Bailey, ASC: Panavision is supporting anamorphic again in a way
more controlled frame as part of the aesthetic. One of the great things about anamorphic is that you don’t have to cut as much. When you’re staging actors, you can give them a larger field across the frame to work in. For shots with three or four actors, you don’t have to be as wide to hold them all in the frame; you can do a medium shot. In 1.85:1 or 16x9 video, you might have that wide frame for just a second, but it would be too wide to hold for any length of time, so you’d need to cut in for coverage. For He’s Just Not That Into You, you had to argue the case for anamorphic through several layers of executives at New Line. What argument did you make? Bailey: This movie is an ensemble piece with intercut, paral-
lel stories of five women and the men in their lives. We have certain scenes where many of them are in an office or a personal environment together. I felt the wider aspect ratio would allow us to be intimate with them yet keep them together in the same shot in a way that was more accommodating than 1.85:1. One of the things I love about anamorphic in a character-driven film is that you use much longer lenses than you’d use in a spherical format, and that gives you more control of the background. Being able to throw the background out of focus really helps you be present with the actor. With both 1.85:1 and Super 35mm, you sometimes have background in focus way beyond what you want; that’s also one of the great problems with high-definition video, of course. Now, if that’s what you want,
Photos courtesy of New Line Cinema.
it wasn’t a decade ago. The development of these new anamorphic zoom lenses and the G-Series primes has totally revitalized the format, especially for young cinematographers who’d been wary of the system because of the lenses’ limitations or because they’d only shot video in film school. A lot of younger cinematographers are embracing it now. Because of the wider aspect ratio and horizontal stability, I would say anamorphic does not lend itself so freely to a verité style, but that has to be qualified because Lars von Trier and Robby Müller [BVK] shot video with an anamorphic attachment on Breaking the Waves, and that was very documentary in style. But by and large, when you decide to shoot a film in anamorphic, you’re accepting a
Opposite: Anna (Scarlett Johansson) and Conor (Kevin Connolly) share a reflective moment thanks to a mirror strategically positioned at the far-right edge of the anamorphic frame. This page, top: A shot of Mary (Drew Barrymore) illustrates anamorphic’s shallow depth of field. “One of the things I love about anamorphic in a character-driven film is that you use much longer lenses than you’d use in a spherical format, and that gives you more control of the background,” says cinematographer John Bailey, ASC. “Being able to throw the background out of focus really helps you be present with the actor.” Bottom left: Bailey at work. Bottom right, left to right: Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin), Beth (Jennifer Aniston) and Janine (Jennifer Connelly) banter during an impromptu meeting.
American Cinematographer 53
Embracing Anamorphic Right: Mary warns Anna about the hazards of dating. Bailey used a prototype of Panavision’s 70200mm Anamorphic Telephoto Zoom to dolly across the aisle and move into a close-up of Barrymore. “That was a very specific shot I would not have been able to do with any other lens,” he says. “Subsequently, a lot of the moves from over-the-shoulder into a single or from a three-shot into a tight over were done with that lens.” Below, top photo: Gigi and Conor share a meal in a restaurant with stylish design elements shown off to full effect. Bottom photo: Neil (Ben Affleck) and Beth have a heart-toheart talk.
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that’s terrific, but for the films I do, once I establish the environment, I really want to concentrate on the intimacy of the performances. Anamorphic is perfect for that. Tell us how you convinced Panavision to prioritize anamorphic-lens development in recent years. Bailey: It took me 10 years to
persuade them to build the first lens. I approached Phil Radin at Panavision in 1993, after I’d finished In the Line of Fire [AC Sept. ’93]. That was the first large-scale, multicamera film I’d done in anamorphic, and I felt very compromised by the number of lenses available and how mismatched they were. I told Phil that Panavision should design a
higher-speed, short-range zoom; at the time, the existing [zoom] was an 11:1 48-520mm, which was a T4.5, and it was very soft. You didn’t dare shoot it at anything less than a T6.3, which is absolutely impractical for an interior. I told Phil, ‘I don’t care about having a long-range zoom. I just need something for masters and medium shots to get me from one to the other.’ I don’t like to use a big zoom for anything; I’ve never needed a 10:1 because I just don’t do moves like that. I needed something that would allow me to move from a wide master shot into something tight enough that would be cuttable for the coverage. I also wanted to be able to make a slight size adjustment on the zoom without having to move the dolly and change marks. Phil did what he could, but at that time, Panavision was going through a turnover in ownership. Shortly after that, they made the decision to get in bed with George Lucas and Sony, and all the development money was devoted to Panavising the Sony HDW-F900. One night, I was talking about anamorphic at a SMPTE meeting, and I called Panavision out. I said, ‘Panavision was founded by Bob Gottschalk and Richard Moore [ASC] as an anamorphic-lens system, and if Bob were alive today, he’d kick the ass of every one of you
who has abandoned your founding mandate!’ I think I finally shamed them, and they started to think about it seriously. It still took another couple of years, and Phil Radin was my ally all the way. The first new lens was the 4080mm, and even though the range is only 2:1, I found it very useful. Then, about a year and a half ago, I went back to Phil and said coverage was still an issue; from the medium shots to the close-ups, I still had to use fixed lenses, and the Primos only go up to 100mm, so I had to use the old E-Series lenses. There was only a 135mm and a 180mm — nothing in between. I said, ‘Is it possible to make a second lens that would cover from where the first lens ends and take me up into a real close-up range?’ They then came up with the 70-200mm, which actually goes a little bit wider as it ties into the 4080mm. It’s about 2⁄3 of a stop slower, but it’s still very doable for most situations. Both lenses have the anamorphic lens element in front, so there’s much less loss of light.
Shooting anamorphic is now more like working with spherical lenses. The optical quality of both of these lenses is really extraordinary. The 70-200mm has as good a resolution and color rendition as any prime I’ve used, and, of course, because it’s one lens, you don’t have the color shifts you get when you change from one fixed lens to
another. It makes for much more even-looking dailies. Phil says Panavision is having a very difficult time supplying enough of these lenses to meet demand. They’re rented almost all the time. There is no anamorphiclens system in the world that is as good as Panavision’s, and this has been a real boost for them. ¢
Barrymore and Johannson run through their lines for director Ken Kwapis, who opted to stage the scene as a dolly move (note tracks on floor).
American Cinematographer 55
Embracing Anamorphic
Above: Alex (Justin Long) shares his bartender’s wisdom with Gigi. Below: Bailey (far left, in white shirt) surveys the set while Kwapis (wearing headphones) confers with his cast.
56 February 2009
On He’s Just Not That Into You, what kinds of situations were appropriate for the wide-angle zooms? Bailey: When we started production [in fall 2007], the 70200mm prototype was still being built, and it wasn’t ready for our first week. There’s a scene in which Drew Barrymore and Scarlett Johansson are wandering through the aisles in a drugstore, and Drew is checking out different sprays and talking about the hazards of dating. The camera dollies across the aisle and then does a slow push-in on her.
That move — across and in to a close-up — was to be done in one shot. Ken Kwapis and I had been planning the day’s shoot to get that one shot, and we had to keep shooting around it because we were literally waiting for Phil to bring the prototype lens from Panavision. We had the dolly tracks laid, and I’d laid out the shot with my finder. As soon as Phil showed up, we slapped the lens on the camera and did the shot. That was a very specific shot I would not have been able to do with any other lens — I wasn’t able to move the camera in close enough on the
dolly to get that shot. Subsequently, a lot of the moves from over-theshoulder into a single, or from a three-shot into a tight over, were done with that lens. How would you have shot this film before these zooms existed? Bailey: We would have had to lay a lot more dolly track, make corrections on the track, or re-mark the actors a lot more. As actors work from take to take, their natural instincts tend to bring them in closer to each other, but it’s not so easy to make a correction if you’ve got dolly moves along a fixed path on rails and are on a fixed lens, so you tend to get sloppier, looser compositions. You don’t want to change the actors’ marks because they’ve got the rhythm of where they’re playing. With the short-range zoom lenses, I just ask the operator to tighten the composition by 5-10mm. That’s been very helpful in maintaining the intimacy and integrity of the compositions we originally set up. Also, the zooms are quicker. If you’re using fixed lenses, you have to take out the matte box, take out the lens, put on another lens, change the donut and the lens rods. It’s not that it takes so much time, but at times, it can break the actor’s flow. When I want to keep the dramatic focus together, having the ability to change focal lengths without changing lenses makes a big difference. How did you approach the night scenes? Bailey: On most night street locations, I was working at a T2.8 or T3 with the 40-80mm. When I got in close for coverage with the longer lenses, I’d add a bit of supplemental light and build it up to a T3.5. Or, if I were in a real problem, I would just force-develop a stop — there are four or five shots that were forcedeveloped. My normal rating is very conservative; I overexpose by about half a stop, anyway. In the scene in the drugstore,
we were shooting at a T4-4.2 using the 70-200mm, which is a T3.5 lens. Panavision originally hoped it would be a T3 or even T3.2, but it didn’t work out that fast. But it’s fine. The great thing about shooting full aperture, which you do with anamorphic, is your field of information is so large that even when you force-develop a stop, you’ve got very high-quality images. Did you keep the zoom lenses on the camera most of the time? Bailey: Our lenses included some Primos, a few E-Series and CSeries lenses and a 3:1 [270-840mm] zoom, but the two new zooms are so good I kept them on almost all the time. I switched back and forth from one to the other. Keeping the same lens on not only saves time, but also eliminates the question of having to match lenses. Your shot-to-shot color and density balance is perfect. I didn’t feel at all compromised in terms of the resolution of the lenses. In fact, I think the 70-200mm is sharper than most prime lenses. I almost always put some diffusion on it! If I were doing an action film, I’d probably shoot it straight, but for women, I always put slight diffusion on it — black nets or [Tiffen] White Pro-Mists or a combination of the two. If you use the right diffusion, you can cut the edge without making the lens seem soft. Have any other developments bolstered the viability of anamorphic in recent years? Bailey: Kodak’s Vision2 stocks have made a huge difference. You have that extra speed and finer grain and can force-develop without being compromised. Also, the advances made in intermediate stocks are absolutely fantastic. When I’m doing an A-B, trying to match quality between a print from the original negative and a fourth-generation release print, they’re very close. You don’t have the loss in quality from answer print to release print that you used to have. ¢
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57
Embracing Anamorphic The crew sets up to capture a sailboat sequence with Affleck and co-star Bradley Cooper.
You did a digital intermediate on He’s Just Not That Into You, and you’ve written in these pages that you’re not a fan of the DI process. How was your experience? Bailey: New Line told us when we were in prep that we could finish photochemically, but they
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changed that right at the point where we would have been starting the process. Because the film is anamorphic and had a very highly resolved image, Ken and I argued that we should not be forced to do a DI — particularly a 2K DI — but New Line made us do it.
The matter was further complicated by the fact that I was in New York on another film when the time came to do the DI. I had a great deal of support from Ken, from [colorist] Stefan Sonnenfeld at Company 3, and from our New Line executive, Rick Reynolds, but I was still 2,500 miles away. I flew to Santa Monica on the weekends to look at what had been done and give notes, but I ultimately had very little control. Stefan and Ken did a really good job, and I’m happy with their work, but the film still doesn’t look the way it would have if we’d finished it on film. For instance, I feel the gamma is a little flatter somehow; it should have had a more dramatic look. Company 3 has a wonderful process, but I feel that a negative [struck from] a DI doesn’t have the same luminosity or transparency that a film-to-film finish has — and it certainly doesn’t have the resolution!
ing disconnect. When I shoot, answer-print and release on film, I feel a more immediate connection with my work, and for me, that’s very important. I
Bailey offers Kwapis his thoughts about the next shot.
TECHNICAL SPECS 2.40:1 Anamorphic 35mm Panaflex Platinum, Gold II I’m looking at a print from a 2K video master, and I’d say the original 35mm anamorphic negative is equivalent to at least an 8K digital file. As far as I’m concerned, using a DI on an anamorphic film is like down-rezzing your image from 35mm to 16mm.
Even though I’m not able to do the power windows and secondary color-control when I answerprint on film, there’s a satisfaction I have in maintaining the workflow on film all the way through. Every time I’ve done a DI, no matter how good the colorist is, I feel an increas-
Panavision lenses Kodak Vision2 500T 5218, 250D 5205, 50D 5201 Digital Intermediate Printed on Kodak Vision 2383
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Citizen of the
World
Well-traveled Australian cinematographer Donald McAlpine, ASC, ACS earns the Society’s International Award. by Jon Silberg onald McAlpine, ASC, ACS, who will accept the ASC International Award this month, is truly an international cinematographer, having shot some of the films that raised Australia’s movie industry to worldwide prominence in the 1970s and, since then, more than two dozen films for Hollywood studios. Two of McAlpine’s feature credits,
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Gillian Armstrong’s My Brilliant Career (1979) and Bruce Beresford’s Breaker Morant (1980), were among the well-received films that showcased the power and beauty coming out of the Australian industry of the time. Since working on his first American picture, Paul Mazursky’s Tempest (1982), the cinematographer has kept busy on a variety of popular Hollywood projects, including
John McTiernan’s Predator (1987; AC Aug. ’87); Phillip Noyce’s Patriot Games (1992; AC June ’92) and Clear and Present Danger (1994); Baz Luhrmann’s frenetic Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Moulin Rouge (2001; AC June ’01); and Gavin Hood’s Wolverine, the upcoming XMen spinoff. McAlpine credits his upbringing in various parts of rural New
Portrait by Douglas Kirkland. Moulin Rouge photos by Sue Adler, courtesy of 20th Century Fox. Breaker Morant photo courtesy of McAlpine.
South Wales, Australia, with helping him develop “an early sense of open space and country.” When his father contracted tuberculosis and was sent to a sanatorium, young Donald began earning money at the age of 12, doing farm work during the harvest. The experience could have led to an occupation as a sharecropper, a common path at the time, but a life of farming did not appeal to him. Instead, he used some of the money he made to take a four-week boat tour of Europe after he finished high school. That turned into a full year of working odd jobs in England, France and Belgium. “I found the way to meet people and really learn about a country is through work,” he recalls. After returning home, McAlpine enrolled in college as a physical-education and science major. Several of his teachers were coaches for Australian teams that were preparing to compete in the 1956 Olympics, and McAlpine helped them by shooting 16mm and 8mm film loops of the athletes’ performances; such films were a popular teaching tool at the time. Upon graduating, McAlpine began teaching phys-ed in a high school in rural Parkes, and he had been teaching for several years when a field trip
to Sydney sent his life on another course. McAlpine took a group of students to visit the headquarters of the Australian Broadcasting Channel, the country’s relatively new network. Fascinated by what he saw, he inquired about a job. He recalls, “I had the 16mm camera I’d used to create the film loops, and I said, ‘If I capture the end of the world on film, would you guys buy it?’ They gave me four 100-foot rolls of black-and-white and a sheet explaining what [images] they need-
ed to put together a news story. I shot one about Parkes, a rail town that was in the process of transferring from steam to diesel, and I got a lot of visually graphic material of locomotives on turntables.” ABC used his footage and asked for more, so McAlpine created a visual essay about the wheat harvest, chartering a plane to make it as impressive as possible. “The station loved it because they were trying to be a national network, but they were always short of ruralbased material,” he recalls. “I made
Opposite: ASC International Award recipient Donald McAlpine, ASC, ACS. This page, above: Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman share a duet in Moulin Rouge (2001), which brought McAlpine his first ASC and Academy Award nominations. Bottom left: On the set of Moulin Rouge, McAlpine (right) watches playback with director Baz Luhrmann and Kidman. Bottom right: McAlpine at work on Bruce Beresford’s Breaker Morant (1980).
American Cinematographer 61
Top to bottom: McAlpine takes a break with actor William Holden on the set of Peter Collinson’s The Earthling (1980); the cinematographer (standing with Polaroid camera in hand) and his crew work in a tight location on Beresford’s The Club (1980); McAlpine prepares a shot for Puberty Blues (1981), another collaboration with Beresford.
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more money for one of those essays than I did for one week of teaching, but it wasn’t just about the money; it was a great ego boost. The headmaster eventually told me the work I was doing for ABC was interfering with my teaching, and he told me to cease and desist. When I called the station to tell them, they offered me a full-time job. That was all I needed to hear! I became an assistant cameraman and then a cameraman.” That opportunity led to a job with Film Australia, a governmentsupported company that created educational films and cinema shorts on 35mm. “We got to travel all over the world,” he recalls. “It was very exciting.” McAlpine was happy working at Film Australia, and although the thought of shooting a feature occasionally crossed his mind, there was very little feature production in Australia in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Eventually, however, he heard that a young director named Bruce Beresford was seeking a cinematographer to shoot an outrageous comedy, The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972). “Bruce’s production manager was looking at the core of people shooting 35mm neg,” says McAlpine. “I’d shot shorts and some commercials, and the production manager asked me for names of people I thought could shoot a feature. I gave him three names, and he came back and said, ‘Bruce watched their work, but he also saw a little film you did, and he’s very interested in having you be his cinematographer if you’re willing to leave your job at Film Australia.’ I said, ‘Be careful if you’re standing in the doorway!’ Within weeks, I was in London preparing my first feature.” He notes that the era marked the “rebirth” of the Australian film industry, part of a public-relations effort by the government to address the perception that Australia had an
Photos courtesy of McAlpine.
Citizen of the World
Photos courtesy of McAlpine.
image problem. “People thought of us as a big farm with no industry and no culture,” says McAlpine. “The country did have a thriving [film] industry in the 1920s; they made wonderful films and kept up with the change to sound, and in the 1930s, it was going great guns. Then the Hollywood studios moved in and said they wanted to be a part of it. Everyone thought that was great, but the studios bought up most of the Australian production facilities and closed them down to prevent competition. Then World War II happened, and the industry really stopped until 1969.” After shooting two comedies with Beresford, McAlpine began shooting four films a year in Australia. A small group of filmmakers was starting to do serious work, often focusing on Australia’s history. When McAlpine shot the drama The Getting of Wisdom for Beresford, he felt he was taking a step in his own artistic development. “It was the life story of an Australian author, sort of a mini My Brilliant Career, and it was the first time I had a chance to shoot beauty instead of just story.” My Brilliant Career came next, and McAlpine’s camerawork on the lush historical drama brought him a lot of attention. “I think we were trying to find an identity,” he says of his fellow filmmakers Down Under. “A lot of the films we were doing were about our own history, similar to America’s Westerns. It was really us trying to tell ourselves as much as anybody else that we Australians have an identity of our own. Everyone [in the Australian industry] was sort of thrilled on a whole different level than happens today; we had small crews, and everybody was working outrageous hours and giving their all. A cinematographer never got more than two answer prints, but we had remarkable people in the lab
and got the very best out of those two prints. We may have been ignorant about some techniques and not that efficient, but we were certainly working hard.” Breaker Morant, set during the Boer War, was a big production for the country at the time, and the reaction it received internationally was also significant. “It was my first eight-week shoot — so lavish!” McAlpine recalls with a chuckle. “I hadn’t done anything on that scale
before. There’s a scene where the Boers attack the fort and the soldiers defend the door with a machine gun, and I remember Bruce [Beresford] saying, ‘We’ve got to shoot this with seven cameras.’ And I said, ‘What the hell are you talking about?’ I was ignorant about shooting that kind of action. So we got in all the extra cameras for a day, and everybody had one! We shot the finale over two dawns, and then we’d continue on to about 10 or 11 a.m.
Above: The cinematographer at work on Paul Mazursky’s Tempest (1982), “doing what I have to do,” he notes wryly. Below: Tempest actors Susan Sarandon and John Cassavettes wait with McAlpine on location in Greece.
American Cinematographer 63
Above: McAlpine and director/actor Paul Newman work out a shot on Harry & Son (1984). Below: Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) races to protect his family in Patriot Games (1992).
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Of course, Bruce was right about bringing in all the extra cameras!” When Mazursky began prepping Tempest, a fantasy very loosely based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, it so happened that The Getting of Wisdom, My Brilliant Career and Breaker Morant opened simultaneously in New York. Mazursky was impressed by the looks of all three films, and he contacted McAlpine about Tempest. In
short order, the cinematographer found himself working with bigger crews and more gear than he’d ever had before. “It’s amazing how accepting I was of all of that,” he recalls. “I got used to it very quickly. I took it and ran with it!” He eventually shot three more films for Mazursky: Moscow on the Hudson (1984), Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) and Moon Over Parador (1988).
McAlpine collaborated with Noyce, a fellow Aussie, on the spy thrillers Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, and the cinematographer admired Noyce’s ability to work on star-driven blockbusters and keep the focus on storytelling. “Phil is one of the best storytellers I’ve ever worked with,” he says. Although McAlpine found a great deal to like about working in the Hollywood system, he acknowledges that he has encountered what so many creative people in Tinseltown must cope with: typecasting. “Hollywood tries to typecast everybody. After Down and Out in Beverly Hills came out, I received four different scripts for movies with dogs! But I’ve always tried to do something different. If I have to choose between two scripts I like, I’ll go with the one that’s least like something I’ve done before.” That interest in diversity has led McAlpine to take on comedies such as Parenthood (1989) and Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), dramas such as Medicine Man (1992) and The Man Without a Face (1993), and effects-heavy fantasies such as Peter Pan (2003; AC Jan. ’04) and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005; AC Dec. ’05). In 1996, Luhrmann, another Aussie, offered McAlpine a new creative challenge. Luhrmann’s directorial debut, Strictly Ballroom, had impressed 20th Century Fox enough to get them interested in his next project, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The project wasn’t a “go” yet, but McAlpine accepted a meeting with Luhrmann to see what the director had in mind. “I was between films, and I’d been impressed with Strictly Ballroom,” he recalls. “I met Baz in his offices above a defunct Chinese restaurant, and when I walked in, the place was full of, well, ‘hippies’ is too strong a word, but they were certainly very infor-
Top photo courtesy of McAlpine. Bottom photo by Merrick Morton, SMPSP, courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
Citizen of the World
Romeo+Juliet photo courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Other photos courtesy of McAlpine.
mal. I was old enough to be their grandfather! But Baz’s strength is his ability to sell anyone on his ideas. I asked him what age group he was aiming for, and he said, ‘We’re basically aiming it at 12year-old girls.’ So I asked, ‘Who’s translating the language for 12year-old girls?’ He said, ‘Every word will be Shakespeare’s.’ I started to lose interest at that point, but he’s such an enthusiast that he ensnared me.” Luhrmann told McAlpine Fox had the same concern about the language, and the studio wanted him to shoot a scene so executives could get a better idea of how it would play. “They wanted a properly lit scene on 35mm, and I told Baz that would be an absolute disaster because they would judge only that scene — they wouldn’t use it to imagine what the whole film could be like,” the cinematographer recalls. “Instead, I suggested we shoot video of big slabs of the script. What I wanted to prove to myself, I realize in retrospect, was the idea that this Shakespearean dialogue could be understood in the situations described in the script. I just couldn’t visualize it working, and if I couldn’t visualize it, I doubted the studio could. So Baz and the studio agreed, and we shot with a small video camera. I told him not to worry about the look and to put all the money he had for the test into the sound. Everybody wanted to know how the dialogue would work in context, so they had to be able to hear it! “We shot big slabs of the script in the rain, staying under a bridge to keep dry. We workshopped the scenes, and we had Leonardo DiCaprio [playing Romeo] and a great ensemble of Australian actors, few of whom made it into the final film. Then [editor] Jill Bilcock got hold of the footage and cut it using the frenetic
Top to bottom: A devastated Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) approaches his lover’s coffin in Luhrmann’s Romeo+Juliet, which McAlpine calls “probably the most rewarding film I’ve ever worked on”; actress Sonia Braga cozies up to the cinematographer on the set of Mazursky’s Moon Over Parador (1988); director Ron Howard amuses McAlpine while working on Parenthood (1989).
American Cinematographer 65
Citizen of the World
style you see in the film. I realized there and then that it was enthralling and involving and the language was absolutely understandable, and that’s when I signed on.” Shot in Mexico, Romeo + Juliet “was probably the most rewarding film I’ve ever worked on,” continues McAlpine. “I was shooting another film up in Canada when Romeo + Juliet was released, and my
wife and I went to see it on a Saturday afternoon in Calgary. I had to speak to the manager to get a seat because it was sold out, and we sat there surrounded by teenagers, and they were all talking and shouting before the movie started, as kids do. I thought we wouldn’t be able to hear any of the film, but as soon as the opening scene came on, everyone in the audience just shut up. It was one of the greatest moments in
Photos courtesy of McAlpine.
Above: Director Martin Ritt (right) chats with McAlpine and actors Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro on the set of Stanley & Iris (1990). Below: The cinematographer on location in New York Armory for John Badham’s action comedy The Hard Way (1991).
cinema in my career! The only noise I heard through the film was the sound of some girls sobbing at the appropriate places.” Moulin Rouge, his next collaboration with Luhrmann, was also extremely rewarding for McAlpine, who spent a year prepping the picture with Luhrmann and production/costume designer Catherine Martin, Luhrmann’s wife. The film brought McAlpine his first ASC and Academy Award nominations. “Baz is someone who can get the best out of every grip, electric, cameraman and actor,” he notes. “He inspires everyone around him, and he has brilliant judgment.” Being honored with the ASC’s International Award “was totally unexpected,” he says. “Over the years, I’ve read in American Cinematographer about the other people who’ve gotten the award, but it never occurred to me that I’d be considered for it. I don’t really think of myself as an Australian or American cinematographer; I think of myself as a citizen of the world. I’ve never really considered my nationality as a brand. “The thing I love most about my job is the interaction with people,” he continues. “Next to the director, the cinematographer is the one on a film who interacts more closely with more people than anyone else. It’s very rare to find a field where 100 people are all working together to realize a single creative endeavor. When it’s working like that and I’m part of the team, life is pretty good.” I
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Pictured in this shot from the 1920 silent short Manhatta is the J.P. Morgan Building on Wall Street. The restored frame is above; the shot at right shows the original frame, whose flaws included a horizontal light flare and mottled dirt markings.
Lowry Digital Restores Manhatta by David Heuring Anthology Film Archives, the British Film Institute, the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, and the 68 February 2009
Nederlands Filmmuseum in Amsterdam recently collaborated on the restoration of the 1920 silent short Manhatta, one of America’s earliest avant-garde films, at Lowry Digital in Burbank. To make the roughly 12-minute film, noted still photographers Paul Strand and Charles Sheeler spent almost
a year capturing angular shots of New York skyscrapers, clouds of urban steam and smoke, and glistening harbor waters with a Debrie L’Interview Type E motion-picture camera. The editing juxtaposed similar and dissimilar images to create a symphonic effect that Strand described as “expressive of the spirit of New York, of its power and beauty and movement.” Following its completion, Manhatta was screened several times under a variety of titles, among them New York the Magnificent and Fumeé de New York (The Smoke of New York), but in 1927, the original negative was lost. The BFI discovered a print of the film in its collection in 1949, and Manhatta was soon back in circulation, albeit in poorly duped 16mm reduction prints. Eventually, the BFI source print was destroyed because of nitrate deterioration, and only a single 35mm black-and-white dupe negative survived. This element served as the source for Lowry’s digital restoration, which was overseen by archivist, curator and conservator Bruce Posner. Although the 35mm dupe negative was an improvement over the 16mm prints in circulation, it still displayed many defects, notes Posner. “The problems included buildup of dirt, scratches, tears, holes, bad splices, varying grain and contrast and blocked highlights,” he says. “There were also weave and jitter movements in multiple directions, cross-frame luminance shifts, processing and printinglight flares, poor tonal grading and improper stabilization and breathing caused by mis-registration between individual frames along the strip of film.” Compounding matters were image flaws in the original cinematography; for example, most of the rhythmic vibrations appear to have been introduced by handcranking the camera while it was loosely mounted on a tripod and uneven processing and printing via a primitive rack-andtank system. Ultimately, all those flaws
Frame grabs ©2008 Museum of Modern Art and Anthology Film Archives, courtesy of Lowry Digital.
Post Focus
were photographed into the film at various stages of duplication. Posner conducted tests at several Los Angeles-area companies using a 2K scan of Manhatta that was created on a Spirit DataCine at Post Logic. (The images were radically off-centered, precluding the use of a pin-registered scanner.) After viewing the results and considering bids, he chose Lowry. “Their work proved the best, and they seemed to have a realistic understanding of the considerable challenges involved,” he remarks. Lowry Chief Operating Officer Mike Inchalik describes the task of restoring Manhatta as “painstaking.” He explains, “Because we usually repair damage by borrowing from an undamaged area within that frame or from another frame, restoration gets exponentially harder when the film is so flawed. Manhatta was damaged to an extent where it became difficult for artists to repair it without leaving a trace. A human being can create the necessary pixels to make a seamless repair over the course of five frames, but what about 100 frames? When you add warping, flicker and inconsistent luminance, there are serious hurdles to overcome. “To do the heavy lifting, you have to use automation because the computer will repair things in precisely the same way, frame after frame, without a trace,” he continues. “That allows the artist to go in and find usable image areas from which to borrow to make repairs. Our company was founded on the invention of temporal image processing, and we’re continually expanding what’s possible through the use of that technology.” The Lowry team spent more than 900 hours on Manhatta between October 2007 and September 2008, and that included both automated work and the “hands-on” efforts of Lowry’s staff. Each of the film’s 11,223 frames was re-registered, stabilized and cleaned; scratches, splices, rips and tears were repaired; and flicker and flare were reduced. Posner notes that many of the steps in the restoration process introduced new problems that had to be solved in turn. For example, the stabilization process resulted in further exaggera-
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Pictured are before (bottom) and after (top) versions of a harbor view. Flaws in the source material included visible thumbprints on the print, vertical print scratches and underexposure.
tion of pre-existing vertical scratches that ran across multiple frames. Before processing, the scratches flowed straight through the frame, but after processing, they jumped back and forth from frame to frame. Another mysterious problem was a slight 1-to-6-frame-long fogging of the film stock at the beginning and end of each shot. Posner speculates the flares could have been caused by the start-stop positions of the shutter in the camera during shooting, or in the printer during duplication. It is also possible that short ends of fogged raw stock were used. Much of the damage shows as white flashes where the negative was nearly solid black. The same frames also displayed the detritus of cement splicing, a white or black horizontal line across the frame, and defects such as nitrate 70 February 2009
punches and rips. The restoration’s budget precluded the repair of all these defects, so the restoration team decided to remove 102 irreversibly damaged frames. The restored picture was digitally graded by Lowry colorist Rick Taylor, who worked in a Baselight suite, and a key reference for this work was 14 single frames Sheeler had saved from the original camera negative to make photographic prints. The pristine, vintage photos helped the team determine the ideal contrast, tone scale and color and also provided exact dimensions for the film frames, which had been printed in varying sizes on the 35mm dupe negative. The restored picture was formatted to fit an aspect ratio of 1.30:1. Taylor modulated the overall tonal scale, keeping whites and blacks
within acceptable technical standards for digital, film and video color spaces. According to Posner, the filmout files registered perfect film-grain reproduction, while the video files were modified to appear slightly sepia-colored to match the film output. Decisions about such things as grain were made by Posner in consultation with archivists from the various sponsoring entities. “We worked with some of the world’s most knowledgeable experts on silent film and still photography to realize a digital duplicate of … the 35mm original,” says Posner. “Early negative stocks were quite good, but the print stocks weren’t,” he continues. “Since Manhatta was shot off and on over the course of nearly a year, the lab work varied greatly from batch to batch. Seeking a global ‘look’ for the film grain became a serious consideration. As a conservator, you’re trying to make something as close to the original experience as possible. After cleanup and repair, you often need to re-introduce some grain, but you don’t want to introduce anything that looks fake. We resolved those questions as best we could in concert with our restoration partners. Lowry’s files worked extremely well with the 35mm fine-grain stocks.” It is not known whether Strand and Sheeler intended to have a musical accompaniment for Manhatta, though the record shows this was done at some of its earliest screenings. For the DVD of the restored film, silent-film accompanist Donald Sosin was commissioned to compose a new orchestral score that was performed by the 39-piece Slovak Sinfonietta. The music was conducted by Peter Breiner and edited and mixed in Dolby Digital 5.1 at Chace Audio Productions in Burbank. The 35mm archival negatives and prints were processed and printed at YCM Laboratories and are being preserved by the Museum of Modern Art and the Nederlands Filmmuseum. Lowry also generated 2K digital files and HDCam-SR 4:2:2 tapes formatted for different exhibition and broadcast purposes; this material is being preserved at the Library of Congress, where Manhatta is listed in the National Film Registry. I
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New Products & Services
Kuro Loft Opens Doors The Pioneer South Coast Plaza retail store has partnered with MediaMation, Inc. to open the Kuro Loft. Designed to be a home-entertainment playground for Hollywood’s creative industry, the Loft showcases today’s 72 February 2009
advanced display technologies. The entrance welcomes visitors with Pioneer’s high-end music system, the X-Z9, an iPod/USB/MP3 sound system that upconverts compressed audio into full dynamic sound. Moving deeper into the space, visitors pass
through the Pioneer Hallway, which marks the historical evolution of Pioneer’s plasma televisions from the world’s first 50" 1080p plasma (Elite ProFHD1) to the first generation of Kuro. The main area of the Kuro Loft is the TV Taste Test, which allows visitors to compare their choice of HD content (cable, Blu-ray, video games, etc.) distributed to six 50" flat-panel displays from Pioneer, Sony, Samsung and Panasonic. These screens are mounted on a custom-made exhibit wall and are controlled by a central equipment rack housed inside this stand. The final section of the Kuro Loft is the Ultimate Kuro Living Room, a home theater consisting of best-in-class audio and video products to accompany the award-winning Kuro television. The Kuro Loft is available by appointment only. For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit www.kuroloft.com.
Clairmont Renting v3 MOE Lenses Clairmont Camera is now renting Vision III Imaging’s v3 MOE (Moving Optical Element) lenses. Available in 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm and 135mm focal lengths, the lenses capture different points of view relative to the plane of focus, thereby adding realism, depth and shape to scenes and subjects. Compatible with any industrystandard PL-mount film or digital camera, the lenses incorporate patented Panavision Adds Phantom to Rentals Panavision has announced an agreement with Abel Cine Tech and Vision Research for acquisition of Phantom HD high-speed digital cameras. The contract makes Phantom HD cameras and custom accessories available for rent in a complete Panavised package along with Panavision’s inventory of optics, including anamorphic lenses. Abel Cine Tech, the exclusive North American agent for Vision Research’s Phantom HD and 65, supplies the camera systems, technical support and training to Panavision. Peter Abel, president of Abel Cine Tech, notes, “Our strategic relationship with Panavision moves Phantom HD into an arena we have eagerly sought since the camera’s inception. With their experience and unique position in the market, we couldn’t hope for a more accomplished partner than Panavision to make this objective a reality.” Each Panavised Phantom HD camera system will include two new products, the 512 GB CineMag flash storage magazine and the CineStation download station. These products speed production and enhance workflow both on and off the set. Panavision is the first to supply this full system (two CineMags and one CineStation) to each Phantom HD package. For more information, visit www.panavision.com, www.abel cine.com or www.visionresearch.com.
EX3 Gets Pro35 Adapter P+S Technik has introduced a ½" Pro35 lens adapter designed specifically for Sony’s PMW-EX3 camcorder, offering users the ability to use professional PL-mount 35mm cinema lenses with the EX3’s B4 mount. With the adapter, users can enjoy the same depth of field, focal lengths and angles of view found in 35mm film cameras. ZGC, Inc., the exclusive North American distributor for P+S Technik, offers the ½" Pro35 in a package that also includes a support kit with bridge, two extension handles, two regular handles and a battery. P+S Technik recently received a GTC Award for it Pro35 family of image converters. For more information, visit www.pstechnik.de or www.zgc.com.
v3 parallax scanning technology. The lens iris rotates in a simple circle, with the amplitude (distance off center) and frequency (cycles per second) adjustable by the camera operator. (The normal frequency for shooting at 24 fps is 4.3 cycles per second; this can easily be adjusted for off-speed shooting.) Clairmont’s rental package also includes the lens controller and cabling. For more information, visit www.clair mont.com or www.inv3.com. Redrock Micro Offers dSLR Kits Capitalizing on the high-quality video afforded by a number of digital SLR cameras, Redrock Micro now offers a variety of accessories designed to transform the cameras into productionready cinema solutions. Redrock Micro’s dSLR accessory line includes a 15mm support system, a follow-focus with 35mm lens gearing for accurate and repeatable focusing, a swing-away mattebox for light manageAmerican Cinematographer 73
The Scanner Elite is Egripment’s follow-up to the successful Scanner System, which was introduced in 1997. The Elite is longer (21'), reaches higher (24') and carries a larger payload (up to 100 pounds) than the original Scanner. Nevertheless, the Scanner Elite remains a compact crane system that can be operated either by one person handling all controls at the rear of the arm or by two people, with separate crane and camera operators. For more information, visit www.egripment.com.
a minimum reach of 9' to a maximum of 24'. The arm travels at speeds of up to 5' per second, and a soft-stop feature guarantees an automatic smooth stop every time. Units come standard with a Mitchell-mount adapter and can easily accommodate most remote heads in either an under- or over-slung configuration. Adjustable weights ensure jib arm balance with all popular head/camera combinations. A smaller version — the Techno-Jib 15, with a maximum reach of 16' — is also available. For more information, visit www.telescopicjib.com.
Telescopic Introduces Techno-Jib 24 North Hollywood-based Telescopic LLC has introduced the TechnoJib 24 telescoping jib arm. The device can instantly extend or retract, enabling innovative shots otherwise achievable only with a telescoping crane. A single operator can control diverse camera movements and operations (including zoom and focus as well as telescoping the jib arm) through a customizable user interface. Controls and a viewing monitor mount easily on either side of the arm and can be positioned for optimal viewing and user convenience. The Techno-Jib can also be fitted with a remote head for operation with conventional hand wheels. The Techno-Jib 24 extends from
Panasonic Unveils Portable Recorder Panasonic has introduced the solid-state AG-HPG20 P2 Portable recorder/player, which supports the 10bit AVC-Intra codec as well as formats ranging from DVCPro HD to DV and serves as a master-quality deck for fast file-based recording. The HPG20 allows users to play and review P2 cards on its 3.5" LCD screen, manage clip files and metadata, record content from a wide range of cameras via its HD-SDI input, and backup data onto hard disk drives. Featuring two P2 card slots, the HPG20’s solidstate design holds up to the demands of field operation while weighing only 2.5 pounds. Recording and playback formats
ment and easy lens changes, a shoulder mount and handgrips for steady handheld use, and a support cage for enhanced stability and low-angle shots. The accessories are available in a dSLR Cinema Bundle or a dSLR Field Cinema Bundle; Redrock’s modular design allows users to add more pieces as they see fit. For more information, visit www.redrockmicro.com. Egripment Extends Crane Line Egripment Support Systems has expanded its product line with the TDT and Scanner Elite crane systems. The TDT Remote Crane System combines a lightweight remote camera crane and remote head in a single product. Portions of the remote head are built into the front section of the arm, and the controls at the back of the crane are built as a part of the weight bucket. The system is available in 20' (TDT 6) and 30' (TDT 9) configurations, each of which can support up to a 44pound load.
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supported by the HPG20 include 1080/60i, 1080/50i, 720/60p and 720/50p in AVC-Intra and DVCPro HD 4:2:2; and 480/60i and 576/50i in DVCPro 50, DVCPro and DV. The unit plays back content automatically, with no need to change settings, and can operate in 50Hz or 60Hz. For added versatility, the HPG20 supports up-, down- and cross-conversion for HD or SD transmission. It also allows “confidence playback” from P2 files stored on a hard disk drive. The unit’s HD/SD-SDI and IEEE 1394 input interfaces open the door for a variety of applications in HD or SD production and allow the HPG20 to be paired with a wide range of tape-based and solid-state cameras and camcorders from multiple manufacturers. Additionally, the recorder can play back to large HD production monitors or transfer uncompressed content to HDSDI-equipped decks and storage networks. When connected to a laptop’s IEEE 1394 output, the unit serves as a transcoder to HD-SDIequipped monitors for full real-time playback from the timeline. In addition to viewing recorded files in a thumbnail view, users can copy or transfer select clips from one P2 card to another, copy selected clips from a hard disk drive onto a P2 card, edit a clip’s metadata and save a text memo to individual clips when recording or previewing. P2 cards can also be 75
hot-swapped for continuous recording. Other features include an SD card slot for loading metadata or saving user files, and helpful recording functions like a waveform/vectorscope display, loop record and auto record commands that accompany the HD-SDI signal. Internal speaker and headphone (M3 mini) jacks are also included. For more information, visit www.panasonic.com/broadcast. Alan Gordon Expands Line Alan Gordon Enterprises, Inc. has expanded its product line with battery blocks designed for use with both film and HD camera systems. The Triton Cine HD Battery Block 15 AHR uses nickel
metal hydride cells, and the TritonBelt Battery Belt and Cadblock Battery both use NICAD cells. Compatible with any of the standard connections currently used in the industry, the batteries are available in 12-, 14.4-, 26-, 28.8- and 30volt configurations. The batteries’ smart technology incorporates built-in microprocessors, which manage battery efficiency and provide charge termination, voltage cutoff and an easy-to-read fuel gauge. The battery blocks are manufactured in the company’s Hollywood facility. For more information, visit www.alangordon.com.
76 February 2009
Red Apple StudioCruzer Makes Debut CaseCruzer has introduced the Red Apple StudioCruzer, a carry-on case designed to protect a Red One camera and an Apple MacBook Pro laptop. The case’s interior provides a snug fit for the One, with separate, modular cutouts for the body, LED viewfinder and lens. The lid compartment provides a tight wrap for a 15" or 17" MacBook Pro, with a separate cutout for the power supply. Offering superior mobility over varied terrain, the StudioCruzer features mounted urethane wheels and a 17" retractable extension handle. The case also features side and front carrying handles. Metal reinforced padlock protectors add strength and security, and the case is waterproof, airtight and dustproof, with a neoprene O-ring seal and an automatic purge valve. Weighing 15 pounds, the Red Apple StudioCruzer measures 22"x14"x9" and comes with an unconditional lifetime warranty. The manufacturer’s recommended price is $320. For more information, visit www.casecruzer.com. Ikan Unveils LCD Monitor Ikan’s V8000HDMI 8" on-camera HD monitor features a widescreen LCD panel and a number of input options, including HDMI, component, S-Video
and composite. The monitor is capable of displaying images in 1080i, 720p and 480p. Key features of the V8000HDMI include built-in support for various DV battery plates, built-in support for Vmount and AB batteries, safe area guides for 1.78:1 and 1.33:1 aspect ratios, and video pass-through for all analog inputs. Ikan also offers the monitor’s earlier incarnation, the V8000HD, in a deluxe kit that includes a hard case for transporting the monitor, a 970 L-series lithium ion battery (capable of powering the V8000HD for over three hours), the ICH-750 battery charger, an AC power adapter, a DC car adapter and a heavyduty camera mount. For more information, visit www.ikancorp.com.
Christie Projects Brilliant3D Christie, a leader in digital cinema projection, has unveiled its Brilliant3D technology, enabling 3-D content to be projected in full 2K resolution for digital cinema projectors utilizing 1.2" DMD chips from Texas Instruments. Christie’s new technology provides 33 percent more brightness for 3-D content and uses only a single lens system. “Brilliant3D will enable exhibitors to project 3-D movies onto the largest screens while reducing both lamp and electricity expenses,” says Craig Sholder, vice president of Christie’s Entertainment Solutions. “Christie engineers initiated development of this technology so that audiences would have the most compelling 3-D experience.” Joseph Peixoto, RealD’s president of worldwide cinema, adds, “This advancement, combined with our RealD XL system, enhances the 3-D experience tremendously. Together, we can fill screens up to 75 feet in width with true triple-flash-capable technology, making 3-D films even brighter and clearer.” Brilliant3D will be available on Christie’s CP2000-SB, CP2000-XB and CP-2000-ZX 2K DLP Cinema projectors. Christie’s CP2000-M digital cinema projector, based on the .98" DMD chip, will also feature Brilliant3D technology. In addition, Christie has announced a new suite of variable-prime zoom lenses that enable a convenient and cost-effective single-lens solution for 2-D and 3-D content regardless of format. For more information, visit www.christiedigital.com.
¢ 77
Digieffects Simulates Camera, Projection Artifacts Digieffects is shipping Simulate: Camera, a plug-in package offering a specialized collection of effects for mimicking camera and projection artifacts within Adobe CS4 and Apple Final Cut Pro 6. Effects featured in Simulate: Camera include Archive, a film-degradation effect; Overexpose, for adding variations in exposure to otherwise stable footage; and Destabilize, useful for emulating camera shake. Additionally, as with all Digieffects software launched since Jan. ’08, Simulate:
HDCameraGuide.com Launches HDCameraGuide.com is now online, featuring exclusive video interviews, product introduction videos, a video-rich Learning Center, an Interactive Lens Selector and much more. The site will also work with manufacturers to produce product demonstrations and instructional videos. “There’s a lot of great HD equipment out there, and a wide range of support products, but it’s not always easy to determine what to buy,” says Michael Grotticelli, the Web site’s editor-in-chief. “HDCameraGuide.com is a single-source product-marketing site that connects buyers with manufacturers’ products.” The site is designed to help users decide which HD camera, lens, battery, tripod, microphone and even teleprompter is best for their requirements. Visitors can also rate cameras according to a five-star system and add comments. There’s even a section on historic cameras that have made their mark on the industry. For more information, visit www.hdcameraguide.com. Knoll Light Factory Plugs into CS4 Digital Anarchy has announced the full compatibility of its popular Knoll Light Factory plug-in with Adobe Photo78 February 2009
shop CS4 and Windows Vista 64-bit (x64). Version 3.0.2 of the Knoll plug-in, which enhances the lighting in Photoshop images to produce dramatic or natural effects, takes advantage of the faster performance and better memory handling of Vista x64. Features of Knoll Light Factory 3.0.2 for Photoshop CS4 include improved performance, better usability, photo-realistic lighting effects such as lens flares, real-time preview with resize capability, 110 lighting presets, 16-bit color support for better looking glows and gradients, and Mac Intel compatibility. Digital Anarchy’s other Photoshop products have been fully tested to support Photoshop CS4 in both Mac and Windows 32-bit environments, and they will be updated for the Windows 64-bit environment in early 2009. For more information, visit www.digitalanarchy.com.
Camera includes Randomizer and Presets; Randomizer adjusts multiple parameters within the user interface, causing new and unpredictable results, while Presets allows users to move effect parameters between supported host applications. Robert Sharp, president of Digieffects, notes, “These effects, like many of the latest releases and upcoming releases from Digieffects, are designed to be straightforward, affordable, every-day usable staples of visual postproduction.”
Simulate: Camera is available for a recommended price of $99. For more information, visit www.digieffects.com. B&G Adds Budget Forms Pro B&G Designs has added Budget Forms Pro to its line of production software. Designed for budgeting shorts, features, commercials, music videos, documentaries and more, Budget Forms Pro comprises budgeting templates compatible with any version of Microsoft Excel. The Budget Forms Pro CD-Rom contains three different sets of budgeting forms: the film budget, the A.I.C.P. commercial budget and the music-video budget. Each template contains a complete seven-page set of professional budgeting forms covering all areas of production, from prep through post, with a complete line-item breakdown and a top-sheet budget summary. The top-sheet summary features all relevant production information, including the complete budget breakdown and grand total. Compatible with any size and type of production, Budget Forms Pro can be easily customized for an individ-
ual project’s needs. Users can change line-item names and percentage amounts, and add comments and additional information to the top-sheet breakdown. Budget Forms Pro is available for a suggested price of $129.99. For more information, visit www.movie forms.com.
Cine-tal Announces Authorized Service Centers In an effort to provide high-quality, around-the-clock customer support for its line of image processing, color management and display solutions, Cine-tal Systems has launched an international network of authorized service centers. Initially, the network will include three sites staffed by dedicated, factorytrained technicians: Imagica Digix in Tokyo, Japan; Janusz Rupik in Warsaw, Poland; and Cine-tal’s headquarters in Indianapolis, Ind. The company plans to add several additional authorized service centers in the coming months located in leading media-production centers worldwide. “We feel that it is imperative to be able to respond to our customers’ support needs at anytime and anywhere,” says Bob Caldwell, Cine-tal’s director of customer support. “If a client encounters an issue on a Saturday in Tokyo, it can now be resolved through a local source that same day.” Cine-tal’s authorized service centers will provide both pre- and postsale customer support. Services range from product demonstrations and customer training to systems repair and technical support. 24-hour emergency support is also available through each location. “Our aim is not only to provide timely response when problems arise, but also to serve as a resource to our customers, helping them to get the most out of our products,” says Caldwell. For more information, visit www.cine-tal.com.
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Sachtler Ships Upgraded FSB Cell Following testing by product developers and selected users, Sachtler’s FSB Cell battery for MiniDV and HDV cameras has been optimized and is now shipping. The FSB Cell’s underside is fashioned like a camera plate and can be fastened perfectly onto Sachtler’s FSB fluid heads, ensuring secure locking and handling features; by mounting the battery directly onto the fluid head, the battery’s weight (1.43 pounds) increases 79
stability without adversely influencing camera balance, maintaining smooth and steady pans and tilts. Depending on the type of camera, the FSB Cell can provide an operating time of up to eight hours. Additional equipment, such as Sachtler’s 8LED on-camera light, can also be powered by the FSB Cell. For more information, visit www.sachtler.us. Schneider Introduces Tru-Cut IR-750 Filter Responding to HD cameras’ high sensitivity to light in the infrared spectrum, Schneider Optics has introduced the Tru-Cut IR-750 filter, designed to eliminate IR light before it reaches the camera’s sensor; use of the filter results in more vibrant colors and truer blacks
from both CCD and CMOS sensors. The Tru-Cut IR-750 filter maintains a high MTF (modulation transfer function) in the visible spectrum, and its coating meets or exceeds military standards for durability, making it easy to clean. Like all Schneider professional filters, the Tru-Cut IR-750 is manufactured from crystal-clear, water-white optical glass that is diamond cut, precision ground, and polished to the most exacting tolerances. Tru-Cut IR-750 filters are available in 4"x4", 4"x5.65", 5"x5", 5.65"x5.65" and 6.6"x6.6" rectangular sizes, plus 138mm, 77mm, 4.5" and Series 9 round sizes. For more information, visit www.schneideroptics.com. Vicon Adds T10 Vicon has added the T10 to its recently introduced MX T-Series motioncapture cameras. The T10 replaces the MX3+ as Vicon’s entry-level camera, offering 3 times the resolution along with faster performance, 3-D on-board tracking, backwards compatibility and new high-powered strobes that increase camera range and detail. The T10 is a 1-megapixel camera that enables users to capture finer details in larger volumes, and with GigE Ethernet, data streaming is 10 times faster than with the previous MX3 system. “The new T10 camera delivers
a robust motion-capture solution for body or facial performance that is very easy to set up and use,” says Robin Pengelly, senior vice president of Vicon’s Entertainment Division. “It’s ideal for customers who require the fidelity and power of a Vicon T-Series system but are working in smaller studio spaces.” For more information, visit www.vicon.com. Alan Gordon Offering Engraved Scene Slates Alan Gordon Enterprises, Inc. now offers two styles of engraved scene slates. The combo slate measures 12"x9.25" and is made of heavy-duty plastic. Engraved letters and dividing lines provide a durable, longer-lasting alternative to silk-screened lettering.
Machined from Alder wood, the clap sticks provide a distinctive pitched clap. The combo slate also comes with a dryerase marker. The insert slate measures 5"x4" and is made of white acrylic. The slate is ideal for tight shots that preclude the use of a full-sized slate. For more information, visit www.alangordon.com. I
SUBMISSION INFORMATION Please e-mail New Products/Services releases to: newproducts@ascmag.com and include full contact information and product images. Photos must be TIFF or JPEG files of at least 300dpi.
80 February 2009
A world where w entertainment technology tecchnology and creative vision v converge. Stay ahead ahhead of the game ga ame and see the technology technoology and get the education educaation you need at HD EXPO. EX XPO. Maarch 5, 2009 - Exposit March Exposition/Conference ion/Conference | Marc March ch 2-8, 2009 - W Workshops orksh hops Exp Expo po Hall, PPanels, anels, K Keynotes eynotes and Intensive W Workshops orkshops FREE with Pre-Registra Pre-Registration ation Event detailss and registration at hdex hdexpo.net/march xpo.net/march AGENDA HIGHLIGHTS CREATIVITY, CREA ATIVITY T , CASH C & TOOLS: TOOLS: The Making of o an Indie Film Award winningg filmmakers explore their pa path ath to festival fame as they illuminate the creative and pragmatic p ex ex-ecution of the their ir vision. How did they develop develoop their story, storyy, find their fun funding, ding, and what were creativ creative ve tools that made d their th i story sto tory come to t life? lif ? Featuring F t i fest ffestival ttival ti l favorites f it from Sundance, Sundancce, AFI, LA Film Festival and other worldclass festivals.
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Advertiser’s Index Abel Cine Tech 19 AC 23, 85 AFI 71 Alamar Productions, Inc. 82 Alan Gordon Enterprises 82, 83 Arri 45
Eastman Kodak 9, C4 Entertainment Lighting Services 82
Backstage Equipment, Inc. 35 Band Pro 5 Burrell Enterprises 82
Glidecam Industries 13 Golden Animations 83
Camelot Broadcasting Service 35 Cavision Enterprises 25 Center for Digital Imaging Arts at Boston 57 Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment Inc. 11 Cinekinetic 4 Cinematographer Style 87 Cinema Vision 83 Cinematography Electronics 75 Cooke 6 CPT Rental Inc. 83 Denecke, Inc. 82
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Clubhouse News
86 February 2009
Hofmann Appointed Education Director Sergio Vela, president of Mexico’s National Counsel for the Culture and the Arts, has appointed Henner Hofmann, ASC, AMC to a four-year term as general director of the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica, located in Mexico City. Hofmann, who helped found the AMC and served as that organization’s president from 1992-2001, was selected from a final pool of nine candidates.
No Subtitles Honored in Santa Fe No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo and Vilmos, directed by James Chressanthis, ASC (AC Sept. ’08), won the Best Documentary Film Award at the Santa Fe Film Festival in December. Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC (pictured), one of the film’s subjects, received a Luminaria Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony. Vincent Lauded Amelia Vincent, ASC was honored with a Women’s International Film and Television Showcase award at the organization’s inaugural awards
ceremony in December. The goal of WIFTS is to recognize women who have distinguished themselves in their respective fields. Awards were also presented to actress Alfre Woodard, producer Gale Anne Hurd, film distributor Adrienne Fancey, and musician and humanitarian Ada Ho. Primes Goes Camping Robert Primes, ASC participated in a three-day VariCamp alongside director/cinematographer Suny Behar and digital-imaging supervisor Nick Theodorakis in December. The hands-on workshop covered all aspects of the Panasonic VariCam cameras, including the new 2700 and 3700 models. Burdett, Levinson Join New LaserPacific Division ASC associate members Ron Burdett and Lou Levinson have been appointed to LaserPacific’s new digital motion-picture mastering and remastering division. Burdett will serve as general manager, and Levinson will serve as the supervising colorist. “Ron Burdett brings incredible perspective and experience to the task of creating motion-picture masters — he has been a post-industry pioneer for more than 25 years,” says Brian Burr, LaserPacific’s CEO. “While technology will be an important component of our service delivery … having an expert such as Lou Levinson guide our creative hand as we make technology decisions will truly put the focus on our customers’ products.” I Photo by Linda Carfagno.
Slumdog Golden at Camerimage Director of photography Anthony Dod Mantle, BSC, DFF was awarded the Golden Frog for his work on Slumdog Millionaire (AC Dec. ’08) at the 2008 Camerimage Festival in Lodz, Poland. The jury comprised still photographer Ryszard Horowitz, editor Steven Rosenblum and cinematographers Gabriel Beristain, ASC, BSC; Stephen Goldblatt, ASC, BSC; Juan Ruiz-Anchia, ASC; John Toll, ASC; Pierre Lhomme, AFC; Nicola Pecorini; and Nigel Walters, BSC. The jury awarded the Silver Frog to César Charlone, ABC, for Blindness (AC Sept. ’08), and the Bronze Frog to Rainer Klausmann, BVK, for The Baader Meinhof Complex. The 16 films in competition this year also included 33 Scenes from Life, shot by Michal Englert; Changeling, shot by Tom Stern, ASC, AFC (AC Nov. ’08); Doubt, shot by Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC; The Duchess, shot by Gyula Pados, HSC (AC Sept. ’08); Elite Squad, shot by Lula Carvalho; For My Father, shot by Carl F. Koschnick, BVK; Four Nights With Anna, shot by Adam Sikora; Gomorrah, shot by Marco Onorato, AIC; Go With Peace, Jamil, shot by Aske Alexander Foss; The Hurt Locker, shot by Barry Ackroyd, BSC; La Rabia, shot by Sol Lopatin; Tulpan, shot by Jolanta Dylewska; and A Woman in Berlin, shot by Benedict Neuenfels, BVK. AC contributor Benjamin Bergery moderated two master classes during the festival, one featuring Lhomme and Bruno Delbonnel, AFC, the other featuring Society members Stern, Ellen Kuras and Kramer Morgenthau. Also, Deakins participated in a lighting workshop. For more information, visit www.pluscamerimage.pl.
ASC CLOSE-UP Peter Suschitzky, ASC
Which cinematographers, past or present, do you most admire? There are many colleagues working in different parts of the world whose beautiful work I love. Also, ever since I went to film school, I’ve admired the best cinematographers of the silent period, which for me culminated with Sunrise (1927), and I have gone on admiring the best of all periods. I would only add that despite one’s efforts, if the movie is not good, then the cinematographer’s work has little meaning. What sparked your interest in photography? My father, Wolfgang Suschitzky, was a photographer and cinematographer (Get Carter ), so naturally, as a child, I was curious to understand what he did in that darkroom and on those locations. Where did you train and/or study? Institute des Hautes Etudes Cinématographiques in Paris. Who were your early teachers or mentors? At film school, the cinematographer-in-residence, Jean Pierre Mundviller, had started work as a newsreel cameraman and then became a movie cinematographer in pre-revolution Russia. He’d been one of the cinematographers on Napoleon (1927). He took me to the roof of the school building, where he’d had a hand-cranked camera installed. My first lesson on it consisted of him singing the marching song that French cameramen sang to keep a steady 18 fps. He then proceeded to teach me how to make a fade in the camera and how to do a dissolve. To a very young student in the middle of the French New Wave, all that seemed to be a waste of time. However, those are the most treasured memories I have of the school, and the early lesson that I tended to dismiss as not being of any practical use made me think, years later, of our early, pioneering colleagues; because all effects were in-camera, they had to make decisions we are never obliged to make, such as choosing to stop a scene on a good take, winding the film back for a dissolve, and then taking the camera to the next location and going for the first take! It filled me with respect for the achievements of the silent era. Mundviller died only a few years after I studied with him, but contact with him made me feel I had touched the hand of someone who was present at the birth of the movies. What are some of your key artistic influences? My artistic influences are music, which I have always loved above all other arts; the best photographers of my childhood and youth, including 88 February 2009
Eugene Smith and Bill Brandt; and the movies of Kurosawa, Bergman, Antonioni and Fellini. After that comes painting, particularly Bruegel, Goya, Velásquez, Titian and the German Expressionists. How did you get your first break in the business? My first break came when I got a job as a second camera assistant on commercials and then documentaries. I was then lucky enough to get the chance to shoot my first movie when I was 22. What has been your most satisfying moment on a project? I think the most satisfying moments have been those when I’ve felt I was able to contribute to a good movie, proposing something the director might not have thought of and having it all happily received. Other significant moments have involved taking my children to a set on which I was working. Have you made any memorable blunders? If our careers last long enough, we all make blunders. I am no exception, but as some of mine involve other colleagues, I won’t mention them here! What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received? I was once invited to a dinner where Billy Wilder was one of the guests. He asked me what I was doing, to which I replied, ‘Oh, a small movie.’ He said, ‘There’s no such thing, just good ones and bad ones.’ For the rest, I listened to an inner voice that said, ‘Develop as many interests as you can, as you will need them to fill the long gaps between movies and enrich life in general.’ What recent books, films or artworks have inspired you? Last week, I re-read My Last Breath, Luis Buñuel’s autobiography, which inspired me and made me laugh a lot. Do you have any favorite genres, or genres you would like to try? My favorite genre as a spectator is probably comedy. However, the profession thinks of me as someone suitable for the darker side of life! If you weren’t a cinematographer, what might you be doing instead? I would love to have been a musician, but I was certainly not good enough, and I would like to have been a collector and dealer of paintings, but I wasn’t rich enough! Which ASC cinematographers recommended you for membership? John Bailey and Allen Daviau. How has ASC membership impacted your life and career? The ASC makes me feel I am in touch with my peers, even if I can’t attend the meetings. I
Photo by Ilona Suschitzky.
When you were a child, what film made the strongest impression on you? When I was 6 or 7, my father asked a colleague if he would bring his 9mm film projector to show a few films for my birthday party. He brought a few Chaplin shorts, The Rink (1916) and The Immigrant (1917) among them. For most of us, this was the first time we had seen moving images, so the effect was very powerful. I have never forgotten the joy and laughter and sense of magic I experienced along with my friends as we watched the images projected onto a sheet hastily pinned to the wall. When I reached the age of 14 or 15, I was already a movie addict impatient to see the latest Kurosawa or Bergman movie.
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