DOUBLE TAKE

By Seth Emmons

The Flash is the latest film from Warner Bros in the DC Extended Universe, which follows Barry Allen, played by Ezra Miller, on a timetravelling adventure to stop his mother’s murder, that ultimately sees him team-up with a younger version of himself to try and save the world.

One character playing opposite themselves is nothing new, even co-star Michael Keaton had a go at it in the 1996 film, Multiplicity (1996, dir. Harold Ramis, DP Lászlo Kovács). But, for The Flash, shot by DP Henry Braham BSC for director Andy Muschietti, the filmmakers came up with a new solution.

“For the scenes with two Barrys, Ezra played both parts,” says Braham. “We used some interesting technology that allowed us to continue shooting in a handheld, freestyle way, rather than being locked into static splitscreen shots or other methods used in the past. Audiences today are sophisticated and we were concerned the older methods would have been difficult for the audience to engage with, so we wanted to keep the camera fluid and engaging.”

Each scene was initially filmed with two actors. Miller performed the A-side as whichever Barry had the most lines, whilst stand-in Ed Wade acted opposite him as the other Barry with guidance from Miller. Wade wore a 360° camera above his head to capture the entire scene from his perspective. After the initial editing, Miller returned to create the B-side performance in a 360° volumetric capture set-up surrounded by screens showing B-side Barry’s point-of-view allowing Miller to act with all the lighting and eyeline cues around him, as well as opposite his own performance in real-time. Meanwhile, hundreds of cameras captured the performance for post to add into the original scene.

The style of camera movement and lensing that Braham has pioneered over the past few years is central to his core motivation in filmmaking, which is to create an immersive cinematic experience that brings the audience into the movie, figuratively and literally.

“There’s all sorts of things in cinema that we try in order to make a movie and a story connect with an audience,” explains Braham. “I like to put the camera inside the scene, right in there with the characters. It makes the performances very present in a way that we’re not used to seeing. I think it is something different for moviegoers.”

To achieve this Braham utilised a compact set-up consisting of the Red Monstro 8K VV camera paired with the incredibly small Leitz M 0.8 full frame lenses, which he also used to great effect on Guardians Of The Galaxy

Massive environments and set-builds are a staple of Braham’s recent work and the Batcave that features in the film was no exception. The scale was huge and all built practically with the exception of the waterfall, which was a giant 60 x 100ft video screen. Although more and more productions are utilising LED volumes in place of large sets, Braham has avoided them so far.

“I’ve looked at volumes for three movies now and it’s just never been right for what we’re doing,” he says. “It is suited to longer lenses and you can run out of space quickly. For the scale we were after and the way we work it would have limited our shots dramatically.

– Vol.3 (2023). For The Flash, he occasionally used some rehoused Leica R macro lenses for close-ups and a Panavision Primo 70 14mm for extreme wides.

“Traditionally, in conventional formats, we’ve used longer lenses to pull faces away from the backgrounds,” Braham notes. “But, with the VistaVision format in close on a wide-ish lens, like the Leitz 24mm M 0.8, the bokeh drops-off so beautifully and gives all the separation you need for the audience to focus on the character, while still making them aware of the background. You can unfold the settings without having to drop back to show it. For The Flash we built these great big sets and could reveal them in a much more subtle way.”

And, especially in action sequences, you’re baking-in things that you might not be sure about until you get in the cutting room.”

For Braham, simply placing the camera closer to the actors isn’t enough. He utilises a proprietary handheld stabilising system he developed with UK manufacturer, Stabileye, to control the camera movement. This gimbal, plus camera, is light enough to be used in the hand without being the encumbrance of using an Easyrig or exosuit.

“The relationship between the camera and the actors is paramount and very precise,” Braham says. “With our system the camera follows instinctively with my operating, meaning I can hold very, very tight eyelines and carry the subtlest of performances onto the screen.”

All the sets on The Flash utilised 360° lighting and 90% of the film was shot handheld in these fully-lit environments.

“Working like this gives the actors and the camera incredible freedom of movement and also increases our shooting speed. I can follow the performance anywhere, or move to a different set-up, or go again, incredibly fast. I want to give the director and actors as much time as possible.

“But honestly, everybody’s important to the filmmaking process. In the morning, the person driving the cast to work is the most important person. At the end of the day, the PA running dailies to the laboratory is the most important person. Everybody has a role, and that’s what I love about making movies.”

Despite the high level of technical filmmaking at work on The Flash, Braham says he approaches massive budget blockbusters in much the same way as smaller films.

“I tend to shoot three cameras most of the time. I operate the A-camera and put a second next to me to get complimentary shots when I can. A third camera captures other angles or picks-up someone as they move into a new space. This mobility and flexibility delivers three times more quality shooting than any other way I’ve worked in the past. It’s like opening a box of freedom.”

Operating this way requires a lot of stamina, partially from physical endurance and partially from high levels of concentration.

“My 1st AC, Dermot Hickey is pulling focus at the highest level every day because he has no idea what I’m going to do with the camera,” remarks Braham. “I’m responding 100% to the performance and he’s responding to me. Of course, we’ve worked together long enough that he’s got a great instinct for what might happen.”

The work of Stabileye tech Joe Marsden is also crucial to Braham’s style.

“Joe can tune our camera system like a musical instrument, which changes from scene-to-scene and often within a scene,” reveals Braham. “The level of concentration and commitment that these guys exhibit every day is really of the highest order. They’re very important to the process.

“The main thing on any movie is defining the visual idea and style, and baking it into the dailies. The only difference on bigger movies is the level of communication and the need for robust systems to carry the visual intent through the whole process so that everyone is clear, even if they are on the other side of the world.

“Working it all out takes a combination of the director, the production designer, the cinematographer, the VFX team and, for the big action sequences, the stunt coordinator. The VFX supervisor is pivotal in communicating the original visual intent to their huge team.” of the movie and utilised an ACES workflow to carry it through from production to post.

“When Stefan comes back to finish the movie 8-12 months later, the ACES workflow means he should be picking-up something that matches our earlier discussions, so it’s only a question of adding layers of subtlety.”

Braham continues, “My method of filmmaking is about adopting technology in a way that works best for the director, me and the audience. If you think about early colour movies the filmstock was 25 ASA. That alone determined the style of movies that could be made. You had to shoot on a soundstage. You had a whacking great big light in the actor’s face, which meant make-up was a certain way, acting was a certain way. Obviously, the cameras were huge at that time so camera movement looked a certain way too.

“A lot of those movies are phenomenal. It’s a timeless style, but it wasn’t a choice. It was necessary to accommodate the equipment. The camera technology we have now is very, very different and frees us from a lot of those restrictions. I’m lucky to be of the generation where I’ve shot on analogue film and done most of the things that younger cinematographers are now wanting to try. And I get why they want to try them. But I don’t feel the need to look back. I feel the need to look forward.”