ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

One Night In Miami Shooting a Moment in History

by Chad Chamberlain, SOC

TRIVIA: Leslie Odom Jr. and Jasmine Cephas Jones previously worked together in the Broadway production of Hamilton.

Eli Goree as Cassius Clay with camera operator, Chad Chamberlain, SOC. Photographer Patti Perret

One Night in Miami is an American drama film directed by Regina King (in her feature directorial debut), from a screenplay by Kemp Powers based on his stage play of the same name. It stars Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge and Leslie Odom Jr., and tells a fictionalized story of Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke, as the group celebrate Ali's surprise title win over Sonny Liston in a Miami hotel room in February 1964.

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I believe that many of us in the camera department pursued our careers because we were inspired by something. It can then become very easy to put that project that inspired us on a pedestal. We assume there is some mystical process executed by the best of the best. We believe every major film or TV show is carried out by individuals with some unattainable skill level. Then you start working in the industry and you may find that isn’t always the case. You may also find yourself on jobs where you ask yourself, “What am I doing here?” Perhaps the content isn’t what you hoped for, or the crew isn’t what you expected, etc. You start to find it can be a rare and coveted experience when all those objectives align with what you fabricated in your mind. One Night In Miami was one of those exceptional experiences where everything not only met, but exceeded expectations in every category.

I had just finished a film with most of the camera crew and was lucky enough to work with them right away on One Night In Miami. Our B camera team was made up of Austin Alward, operator; Zachary Blosser, 1st AC; and Haley Turk, 2nd AC. I was the A camera/ Steadicam operator, with Sarah Brandes, 1st AC; and Sienna Pinderhughes, 2nd AC. Tami Reiker was the cinematographer. I never had the pleasure of working with Sarah or Tami prior to this film, and I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity. They have had a long working relationship that really assisted in the workflow. Both are very skilled artists at the top of their game. Since One Night In Miami was adapted from a stage play and directed by an accomplished actress, it created some unique and unforeseen challenges for the crew. One of those challenges was adapting lengthy sections of dialogue, that largely take place in one location, into bite-size pieces we could shoot. In a stage play there is essentially one “action” and one “cut.” In this particular play, we center around the dialogue of four monumental public figures, having arguably one of the most important and pivotal conversations of their time, following a fight that would launch the career of someone who is arguably the world’s best athlete, philanthropist, and activist…Muhammad Ali.

Not only did these conversations take place in mostly one location, but in terms of the film’s timeline, also in one night. The conversation that takes place that night in 1964 played out like a piece of music, and the actors were much like musicians in a band. In order to keep the rhythm, Regina King and Tami Reiker did everything they could to allow the actors the chance to play the whole song uninterrupted. Of course, we would go in and get our pickups and inserts, etc., but we would do our best at every setup to run the scene as long as possible. With two people sitting, at a table, this is no big deal. However, when you have four people standing, sitting and walking around each other in a small room throughout a three, five, or even 12-minute scene, it can be very disorienting. Solving that puzzle, by allowing the actors the space to truly be present in the scene, is what makes the job so exciting. Tami and I had some meetings during prep to discuss the objectives of the film, and to walk the space they were constructing on stage that would become the hotel room. You could tell even at this early stage that she had a firm grasp on the look she wanted. This is always a very valuable time to get on the same page, and to think ahead about obstacles that can be avoided during production. This is when Austin Alward, B camera operator, made a crucial suggestion to cut holes behind the mirrors and photos in the walls of the hotel room. He used these holes in the wall to film through when he couldn’t physically get in the room. It can save a lot of time and allow for quick decisions to add a camera if you’re simply removing a mirror rather than a wild wall. This also kept everything intact which allowed A camera to see most of the room.

During the development of the film, I remember having talks with Tami about the bulk of the film being shot on a jib arm. I said, “Okay, so I’ll just be outside the room on the wheels since it will be a small room with four guys in it?” She then expressed to me her desire of wanting to use a Lambda head. I was convinced the remote head would be the way to go. However, it is always important as an operator to advise but ultimately do everything you can to make the cinematographer’s vision a reality. I cannot express how clear Tami’s vision truly was. She always saw 10 steps ahead, and this was another important lesson—to keep an open mind and stay flexible. The Lambda was absolutely the right choice for this project. Being in the room with the actors and having

(L to R) Emily Mest as Nurse Amelia, Sarah Paulson as Mildred Ratched, Alice Englert as Nurse Dolly, Charlie Carver as Huck Finnigan and Jermaine Williams as Harold in Episode 101 of RATCHED. Photo Credit: Saeed Adyani/ NETFLIX © 2020

TRIVIA: Director Regina King and actor Beau Bridges both appeared in Jerry Maguire but didn't share any scenes.

Above: Behind the scenes of ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI with Chad Chamberlain. Opposite, top: Leslie Odom Jr. stars in ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI. Opposite, bottom: L to R: Lance Reddick playing Kareem X, Eli Goree playing Cassius Clay, and Kingsley Ben-Adir playing Malcom X. Photos by Patti Perret/Amazon Studios.

the ability to manually operate the jib and head—while physically challenging—was freeing in many ways. The key, as always, was having a dolly grip who was on the same page, and could be in sync with me to react and move in ways that at times isn’t possible to communicate.

Wayne Sharp, my dolly grip, was instrumental in this process. The bulk of the film was shot on the jib with the Lambda, and the majority of the time it was on track as well. This gave us the flexibility to move in and around the room and characters—through these long pieces of dialogue—to bring this stage play to life. The goal was to create a continuous omniscient movement nearly the entire film. Even as the characters would pause, we would attempt small, sometimes imperceptible and uncomfortable movements. This perpetual motion made our static frames that much more powerful. This was another brilliant decision by Tami that went against my instincts and yet, once again, the perfect choice for this project.

Much like the rest of the movie, the “B” camera operator, Austin Alward, and I spent a lot of time dancing around each other. The roof scene was the most literal dance we did together, being that it was one of the two times in the film we went handheld. It is important for all crew members, while rolling, to be in sync and as invisible as possible. Austin was no exception. The scene on the roof was another lengthy endeavor, and as with every scene, during the rehearsal I would record it on my phone and play it back to make a plan of where to be and when. As I stated earlier, we wanted to do everything we could to continue the intention of playing out the scenes as long as possible.

The true linchpin to the creative process was my focus puller, Sarah Brandes. She was as flawless as a focus puller could be. Considering the curve balls we continuously threw, her performance only became more impressive. Having her on the team really allowed us to go for creative choices that would evolve mid-scene, particularly during the roof and boxing scenes where we were mostly handheld and no longer anchored to anything. Without her expertise, we would not have been able to make the bold choices we were able to make in the middle of a three minute plus scene with handoffs.

One day on stage, I recall a moment when one of the actors was struggling to get to the emotional place Regina was pushing for. I remember that there was a lot of discussion as we all stepped out to give them space to work it out. Then we hear, “That’s a wrap.” We locked off the cameras and bagged them. We had more time in the day, but she chose to walk away and start fresh rather than continuing to make something work that clearly wasn’t going to at that time. The care that was taken to

TECH ON SET: ARRI Alexa 65; Arri Prime DNA; Chapman Stinger jib; Cartoni Lambda fluid head; 45’ Movie Bird and 37’ Scorpio with Scorpio Stabilized Head; GPI PRO Steadicam with Flowcine xARM; Hydroflex underwater housing

TRIVIA: Michael Imperioli appeared in Malcolm X as a reporter in the scene where Malcolm X's family home is firebombed. The same historical incident is portrayed in One Night In Miami in which Imperioli plays boxing trainer Angelo Dundee. Dundee was played by Ron Silver in Ali. Ron Silver and Michael Imperioli both appeared in Girl 6.

make this tough decision was a thread Regina wove throughout the entire production. This is something I hope that I can remember in the future. So often we are stuck following a schedule, and are in situations where we have no choice but to shoot it and move on. She could have easily handled that night in the same way, but she didn’t. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the schedule and the finances of a film, and I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t; however, art is really made when you can be aware of when it pays to walk away and come back to it later.

Working with actors can present different challenges for different reasons. Since almost every scene had very palpable tension, we were always doing our best to give the actors as much direction in terms of marks or anything specific before we would start rolling one of our long takes. What you can’t plan for however, is having such an incredible team of actors. Our commitment to the jib arm sometimes meant taking up a large amount of real estate in a small location, particularly when the two jibs were filming simultaneously in the hotel room. You would always have to keep an eye on the peripherals around the camera as we would move in and around the room. Every one of our actors would be ducking under the arm as they walked off screen, stepping over track, squeezing by the base, etc. This type of setup was truly only made possible by their cooperation and understanding.

As I was thinking back on when we recreated the photo shoot of Cassius Clay underwater, it made me wonder what was going through our B camera operator, Austin Alward’s, mind while he was filming what I consider to be the most iconic shot of the movie. I asked him for his perspective on that moment as well as other takeaways from the film. The following are his thoughts: “Once the camera is balanced, there is that moment with underwater work when you dip your head below the surface and everything goes quiet. There’s a stillness, a weightlessness, and in this case a timelessness too because Eli Goree is a dead ringer for young Cassius Clay—fists forward, knees bent, poised to shatter the liquid glass ceiling above his head as he channels Flip Shulke’s iconic Life magazine photograph, and I feel transported back in time. Regina’s voice clicks direction through the submersible speaker. A period underwater photographer drifts into frame and composes the shot for the history books.

One of the exciting things about period pieces based on real people is the opportunity to consult the past for inspiration and guidance. In this case we had a tremendous photographic history to dive into, from the geometry of the boxing rings and music venues to that iconic underwater pose to the final scene at the diner. Malcom was an avid photographer who understood the power of public image to effect social change. He shoots with his cherished Rolleiflex throughout the movie, so filming directly down through his camera’s viewfinder is not only a literal element we had some fun with on set, but it also fits the visual telling of this particular story and its historic context like a glove.

Playwright Kemp Powers adapted his stage play to create the screenplay we photographed, so there’s a continuity to his vision that runs through the script and sustains the heartbeat of his source material. Regina and editor Tariq Anwar have achieved the tone and patience of a stage play, peeling back layers of character relationships so that spoken words land with the impact of a live audience experience, while still playing to cinema’s strengths. There’s not much more any adaptation, any audience, or any crew can ask for.” —Austin Alward As I prepare for a film, one thing I always try to do is watch as many projects by the director and DP as time allows. With this project, in addition to my standard prep, I did an entirely different type of research. I really wanted to immerse myself in the time period and truly understand these four men. I knew the names, and many of the stories, but I wanted a deeper understanding and I wanted it to be fresh. This required watching as many documentaries as I could squeeze in before we started filming. What I learned added so many layers to my understanding of the material, and a respect for their lives and careers I can’t properly put into words. It also gave me an incredible level of respect and admiration for the actors and their efforts to portray these men not only as the characters that were so well known on TV, but also how they could have behaved behind closed doors with those they trust. I will never be able to properly express what it felt like to hear Malcom X over my shoulder, to see Jim Brown and Cassius Clay banter, or Sam Cooke singing Chain Gang acapella. There are too many moments to recall that were amplified and enhanced by the research undergone to truly understand the characters. My hope is that somehow the emotion I felt while filming was in some way translated on screen.

Every film you take on has its own unique challenges. Sometimes those challenges are technical, logistical, or political. Overcoming those challenges can be very satisfying. To me, though, nothing is more satisfying than being a part of the storytelling process, particularly when the story you are telling has the weight of a film like this, in a time when the world needs to hear it most. There is nothing more surreal than standing next to these historical representations of some of the most inspiring men to ever live. I hope we can take some time to hear their voices one more time; to truly listen to their struggles, thoughts, and dreams. May we not let their work be for nothing. This is why we make movies, and it is truly an honor and a privilege to be a part of a story the world needs to hear.

Top: ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI with Aldis Hodge. Middle: Aldis Hodge and Director Regina King on set. Bottom: Director Regina King with Eli Goree on set. Photos by Patti Perret/Amazon Studios

CHAD CHAMBERLAIN, SOC

Chad Chamberlain, SOC picked up his first camera in third grade and by age 19 he had turned it into a full-time career. He started in the commercial industry with an emphasis on Steadicam, aerial, and crane work. Since changing his focus to feature films and TV, he has operated on projects such as Queen and Slim, Project Power, Happy Death Day, and Bill and Ted Face the Music. “Operating a camera is not only my job, it is my favorite thing in the world to do. There is no greater honor than to help create a story through the lens of a camera that has the potential to effect people long after I am gone.” Photo by Ryan Chamberlain

AUSTIN ALWARD

Austin Alward began as a camera assistant in Paris in 2000. In 2014, Dante Spinotti gave him his first operator credit on I Saw The Light in 2014. Since then Austin’s other credits include: Looking for Alaska, Project Power, Wendy, Red White and Water.

Photo by Alice Alward