American Cinematographer 2012-01 T

J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 2
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The International Journal of Motion Imaging
32 Cold Case
Jeff Cronenweth, ASC and David Fincher investigate a
compelling mystery for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
48 Animal Instincts
Janusz Kaminski saddles up with Steven Spielberg on
the World War I drama War Horse
62 Lord of War
Barry Ackroyd, BSC provides stalwart support for
Coriolanus director and star Ralph Fiennes
74 Go with the Flow
ACs technical editor outlines the challenges posed
by digital workflows
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8 Editors Note
10 Presidents Desk
12 Short Takes: String Theory
20 Production Slate: The Descendants ASC Awards Preview HPA Awards
88 New Products & Services
98 International Marketplace
99 Classified Ads
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EDITORIAL
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FOR YOUR CONSI DERATI ON
I N ALL CATEGORI ES, I NCLUDI NG:
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
ADRIANO GOLDMAN
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WITH VIRTUOSITY. TRANSFIXING.
His technique is painterly in its evocation of 19th-century English artists.
Beyond that, its distinguished by an abundance of tonal variety:
interiors that seem to smell of weathered furniture; softly modeled
closeups that cast Jane as a country madonna.
- JOE MORGENSTERN,
A SPLENDID EXAMPLE OF HOW TO TURN A BELOVED WORK
OF CLASSIC LITERATURE INTO A MOVIE.
The wild and misty moors, thanks to the painterly eye of the cinematographer,
Adriano Goldman, look beautiful, and Dario Marianellis music
strikes all the right chords. Mia Wasikowska is a perfect Jane
for this flm and this moment.
- A.O. SCOTT,
For up-to-the-minute screening information and more on this
extraordinary lm, go to: www.FocusAwards2011.com
OFFICERS - 2011/2012
Michael Goi
President
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BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
HOYTE VAN HOYTEMA, F.S.F., N.S.C.
TINKER TAIL0R S0LDIER SPY
For up-to-the-minute screening information and more on this extraordinary lm, go to: www.FocusAwards2011.com
THRILLING AND MOVING FROM THE FIRST FRAME TO THE INSPIRED CLOSING MONTAGE.
The greys and browns that dominate the lm thanks to the sterling work from Director of Photography Hoyte Van
Hoytema perfectly capture 1970s Britain. The attention to detail is really quite extraordinary. Grade: A.
OLIVER LYTTELTON, INDIEWIRE
Hollywood remakes of successful European films may vary
in quality, but The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is more
intriguing than most. Director David Fincher has already
proven his affinity for crime dramas with Seven, The Game
and Zodiac, and his previous collaborations with Jeff
Cronenweth, ASC produced the equally compelling
dramas Fight Club and The Social Network.
On Dragon Tattoo, Cronenweth was a late replace-
ment for the projects original cinematographer, and he
quickly found himself confronting extreme weather while
shooting on location in Sweden. Overall, the weather in
Northern Europe made for the biggest challenge,
Cronenweth tells Jay Holben (Cold Case, page 32).
We experienced severe winter storms as well as a very hot summer in Sweden. The cold was
the hardest, though.
Janusz Kaminski and Steven Spielberg also faced challenges on the World War I drama
War Horse,which features battle sequences staged on an abandoned airfield in Surrey,
England. Further complicating the filmmakers mission was the fact that the movies hero is
a horse. As Kaminski tells Patricia Thomson (Animal Instincts, page 48), a big part of his
job was to convey the animals feelings and make him seem larger than life. Truly, when you
look at a horse, there are no emotions in its eyes, he observes. We were glorifying Joey a
little through lighting and composition. We were always trying to place the light so that his
coat would reflect it, and so it would create glints in his eyes.
Barry Ackroyd, BSC lends a Shakespearean dimension to war with Coriolanus, which
placed its director and star, Ralph Fiennes, squarely in the line of fire. I like to have the confi-
dence of the director, and I knew that with Ralph directing and acting in the film, he had to
be able to trust that Id give him what he wanted, Ackroyd tells Iain Stasukevich (Lord of
War, page 62).
For those of you trying to keep pace with evolving digital workflows, AC technical
editor Christopher Probst surveys some of the current systems and solutions (Go with the
Flow, page 74). In todays industry, which finds digital-imaging tools introduced and
supplanted with head-spinning frequency, workflows are evolving in new ways and at break-
neck speeds, Probst notes. Each step on this path is slippery enough to cause stumbles,
either through human error or through the loss of information as image data is transferred
and/or translated. For cinematographers, trying to stay abreast of current technologies
requires a much broader understanding of workflows than ever before.
Stephen Pizzello
Executive Editor
Editors Note
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2011 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
As another year kicks off, the challenges facing those who desire to pursue a career in film-
making seem greater than ever. Technology continues to shift and evolve, the economy has
made even low-budget movies a risk for investors, and websites that facilitate the illegal view-
ing or downloading of films and television shows are making it difficult to get more daring
projects financed. When studios or producers cannot earn a profit from the work they create,
budgets get smaller, and the kinds of projects that are approved get safer.
Lifting copyrighted material became popular when sampling exploded on the music scene
and was legitimized as a form of artistic expression. That opened the door to lifting images as
well, and subsequently entire movies. Such piracy has so infiltrated the mentality of the public
that the suggestion that its wrong is met with dismissive sneers. If its out there, its mine. Why
should I have to pay for it?
How does this affect cinematography? In many ways. Most of the pirate sites do not
display images in anything remotely like optimum conditions. The images might have been
ripped onto someones laptop from a DVD that was created by someone crouching in a
movie theater with a small digital camera. The images might be highly compressed sugges-
tions of what they actually were. They may have been reproduced through excessive copying
and duping until they no longer reflect the creators intent in any form.
When someone experiences a visual work of art for the first time, they will never again be
able to relive that emotional moment of discovery. It is gone forever. Yes, they may have
seen the movie, but they have not experienced it to its fullest, the way its creators intended.
Digital piracy is a huge international operation. Its not just some guy in his garage with a DVD burner. In some countries,
major producers and stars provide pirates with digital masters of their films, because the financial kickbacks they receive are more
than they would earn from conventional means. This leads to a lack of concern about preservation. Why should a producer pay to
properly store materials when there is no chance of monetizing the product in the future because unauthorized copies are flooding
the market? Many thousands of movies could be lost forever.
Please dont support torrent sites that show pirated material, and please dont buy cheap bootlegged DVDs of current movies.
And I ask you to talk to your friends who do. Let them know that, beyond the momentary satisfaction of seeing something first
or for free, they are effectively altering the kinds of movies that will be made in the future; they are helping to ruin the im mersive
cinematic experience for many others; and the movies that they love might not be available to them in the future in versions th at
are better than adequate.
The history of cinema is a legacy of an audience emotionally bonding with the work of a group of artists, of creating memo-
ries that mold our perception of the world. The considerable negative impact digital piracy has on the profitability of the ind ustry is
matched by its negative impact on our love of the movies. Remember how you felt when you saw Frodo sail away at the end of
The Lord of The Rings: Return Of The King, or the swell of emotion you felt at the climax of The Kings Speech, or the thrill of watch-
ing Bruce Willis get the bad guys in Die Hard? Then do your part to make sure that future audiences can also experience those cine-
matic highs.
Michael Goi, ASC
President
Presidents Desk
10 January 2012 American Cinematographer
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WWW. WARNERBROS2011. COM Harry Potter Publishing Rights J.K.R.
C O N S I D E R . . .
THE CINEMATOGRAPHY FROM EDUARDO SERRA IS ONCE AGAIN
RICHLY OMINOUS AND BEAUTIFULLY BLEAK.
C H R I S T Y L E MI R E ,
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
EDUARDO SERRA, A.S.C., A.F.C.
Through a Glass Brightly
By Iain Stasukevich
Steve Romanos cinematography jobs have taken him to
many far-flung locales, but for String Theory, the grand-prize winner
at the International Cinematographers Guilds 2011 Emerging Cine-
matographer Awards, he and director Zach Gold never left Golds
studio in Brooklyn in their quest to capture the big ideas surrounding
a girl (Evelina Mambetova) who experiences rifts in her reality.
String Theory is the latest in a series of fashion-focused shorts
by Gold, and it uses A.F. Vandervorsts 2010 collection as its spring-
board. According to Romano, Gold and producer/stylist David
Dumas, who also served as art director, wanted a film that was beau-
tiful and haunting, with serene moments interrupted by jarring
images.
My job as a director of photography is to act according to
the vision of the directors, including the art director, Romano
observes. Youre enhancing what they created, and you have to
make them feel welcome in the process.
Romano, who also works as a Phantom camera technician,
supplied the production with a Phantom HD Gold camera, Leica
prime lenses (re-housed by Van Diemen Broadcast) and most of the
small lighting package, including a couple of 2x2 Kino Flos, a 10K
Fresnel, a 5K Fresnel and a handful of 2K scoops.
The girl is introduced in a dusty, windowless room lit by
dozens of warm practical lamps. She kneels, motionless, on a
pedestal, covered in what looks like a fine layer of silt; a soft toplight
(a diffused 1K) separates her from the background. In the next shot,
she comes to life and shakes off the silt, which cascades off her skin
in slow motion.
The filmmakers shot Mambetovas movements at 1,000 fps,
recording to 512 GB CineMags. We had to match the light for the
rest of the scene, but with something like 5 times more light, says
Romano. We made sure the light was coming from the same
angles as in the previous shot, but we concentrated the light on her
instead of the whole set.
To boost the light level for the slow-motion shot, a Mole 10K
gelled with
1
2 CTO, Opal and 216 was positioned above the actress.
There are no super-wide high-speed shots in the film,
notes Romano, who used tighter compositions to hide the limited
amount of light available at advanced frame rates. Having a really
good gaffer helps. Christian Ern was our gaffer and lighting director,
Short Takes
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A shock trooper shatters a girls fragile reality at 1,000 fps in String Theory. The short earned cinematographer Steve Romano the
grand prize at the International Cinematographers Guilds 2011 Emerging Cinematographer Awards.
I
and he is quite knowledgeable, so I didnt
have to be entirely specific about the light-
ing needs for each shot.
As the girl starts to explore her
surroundings, she is lit primarily with the
practicals. For fill and accents, Romano used
the 2x2 Kino heads behind sheets of
1
2
CTO, Opal and 250 diffusion. For a shot
showing the girl using an airbrush to drench
an orchid in a coat of red paint, and another
showing her contemplating a table covered
in knickknacks, the Kinos served as close,
soft keylights.
Romano used a variety of different
frame rates throughout the film. I try to err
on the side of giving people more frames
[than needed], he says. You can always
go to 24 fps in post, and you can ramp your
shots in post. However, you get a slightly
different 24-fps look when you originate in
high speed because youre using a narrower
shutter angle about
1
2,000 of a second.
You get a sharper image and choppier play-
back.
In another scene, the girl is bathed in
a light that matches the blood-red color of
the orchid, and off-camera fans blow her
hair and garments in billowing ripples.
Initially, Romano shot the scene at 1,000 fps
with red gels on four overhead 2K scoops,
but he soon noticed a problem with image
softness. We couldnt get good focus on
our subject, he says. Light moves very
slowly at the red end of the spectrum.
He finished shooting the scene with
the red gel, then removed the gels and
reshot the scene with diffused, uncolored
tungsten light. Because the whole shot
was red, we could add the color [in post],
and that way the shots could be in focus,
he explains. I was on another job recently
where we came across the same issue, but
red wasnt the only color of light in the
frame. If you have a mix of light, you cant
really cheat it.
In another corner of the girls reality,
she finds a wood box with geometric
shapes cut into its side. Peering into a seam,
she sees that the inside of the box is lined
with mirrors, reflecting to infinity on all
sides, and contains a small swarm of butter-
flies.
To capture the girls point of view, the
filmmakers constructed a scaled-up box in
which only the bottom and one of the four
Top: String Theory begins in a dusty room where a girl (Evelina Mambetova) sits motionless
and covered in a layer of silt. Middle: Awaking, the girl shakes off the silt; the action was captured at
1,000 fps. Bottom: The girl explores her strange surroundings.
WWW. WA R NERB RO S2011. CO M
F O R Y O U R C O N S I D E R A T I O N
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
TOM STERN, A.F.C., A.S.C.
IN THE MUTED, ARTFULLY MURKY IMAGES OF
CINEMATOGRAPHER TOM STERN, HOOVER IS TRULY
A MAN IN THE SHADOWS.
R I C H A R D C O R L I S S ,
sides were actual mirrors. The top and the
other three sides were panes of two-way
glass. Romano pointed his camera through
one of the two-way mirrors and lit the box
through the other two-way mirrors with a
5K Fresnel.
Romano shot the box at a T1.6, but
it was still difficult to get enough light. "The
Phantom HD Gold is rated at 250 ASA,
which I estimate to be less, and each pane
of two-way glass blocked as much as 1
stops of light from both the lens and the
lamps," he says. "Further complicating
matters, hot lamps can have an adverse
effect on butterflies, so I didnt shoot above
30 fps. On the tighter shots, we removed
the top glass, moved the light in a bit closer
and were able to shoot at 200 fps.
If wed shot it on the [Phantom]
Flex, we would have had 2 more stops of
light sensitivity, he reflects. I could also
get a lot more light [without heat] from
some of the newer LED lights we have
today.
Doing a lot of bug photography,
Ive learned there are things you can do to
get bugs to move, but heat will make them
stop, he continues. We had to turn the
lights off, cool them down and keep the top
of the box off for a while. Once the butter-
flies get over it, you put the top back on,
crank the lights up and shoot. No butterflies
were harmed in the making of this picture,
Top, left and right:
Shooting at 1,000
fps while fans
billowed
Mambetovas
clothing and hair,
Romano gelled his
lights red before
deciding to do a
second take
without the gels
and apply the
color in post.
Bottom: String
Theory is the latest
fashion-focused
film from director
Zach Gold, this one
inspired by A.F.
Vandervorsts 2010
collection.
by the way.
In one of the films most stylized
sequences, Mambetova stands in a Plexiglas
tank that covers her torso, and its full of
butterflies. Shooting against a white back-
ground, Romano toplit the actress with a
heavily diffused 10K Fresnel and aimed two
Nine-light Maxi-Brutes at the background.
Once the butterflies were in the tank, the
filmmakers sat back and waited for some-
thing to happen.
Bugs, puppies and little kids are
arduous to photograph because theres no
way you can corral them, says the cine-
matographer. The beauty of the Phantom
is its circular buffer. When you shoot
anything above 450 fps at 1920x1080 on
the Phantom HD Gold, as long as the
camera is on, youre always recording into
its internal circular memory buffer. If you use
whats called a post-trigger, you can hit the
record button after the action is done, and
youve got the shot. At 1,000 fps, you get
4.4 seconds of data [in the internal
memory], approximately 2.7 minutes of
footage.
The girls reality is literally shattered
at 1,000 fps when shock troopers in
riot gear crash through her reflection in a
mirror. To give the shot a harsh look,
Romano used thinner diffusion on the 10K
and 5K.
We were fighting the light in that
scene, he recalls. It wasnt a front-surface
mirror, so I was getting two reflections from
my light sources: one from the glass and
one from the mirrored surface behind the
glass. It took a bit of finesse to get it right
a combination of the mirror angle, diffusion
and precise cutting of the light.
String Theorys trippy images
presented Romano with some creative
opportunities he hadnt encountered
before. When David Dumas first described
this film to me, I have to admit I really didnt
understand it, he says. While we were
shooting, I started to see what he and Zach
were going for, and now Im really
impressed with every part of it.
Top and middle: Romano depended on the Phantom HD Gold cameras internal memory buffer to
capture stylized sequences with live butterflies. Bottom: The cinematographer finds his light.
WWW. WARNE RBROS 2011. C OM
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
CHRIS MENGES
Trouble in Paradise
By David Heuring
The Descendants, Alexander Paynes latest collaboration
with Phedon Papamichael, ASC, is a family-centered drama
infused with the chaotic relationships and dark humor that
moviegoers have come to expect from the director who also
made Sideways, About Schmidt (AC Jan. 03) and Election.
The story takes place in Hawaii, where a successful lawyer,
Matt King (George Clooney), must reconnect with his daughters,
Alexandra (Shaine Woodley) and Scottie (Amara Miller), after his
wife suffers an accident and falls into a coma. When Alexandra
reveals that his wife was cheating on him, King sets out to track
down her lover. His journey, which coincides with his need to
make a decision about a family estate on Kauai of which he is
the sole trustee, leads him to face some hard truths about love
and family.
Papamichael recently spoke with AC about his creative
partnership with Payne, which began with Sideways and contin-
ued to evolve on The Descendants.
American Cinematographer: Tell us why your
collaboration with Alexander Payne works.
Phedon Papamichael, ASC: We have a great collabora-
tion, despite the fact that we arent always on the same page
aesthetically. My main thing is that I really want to serve the
director. Some cinematographers really want to put their own
imprint on a project to some degree. I certainly express my opin-
ions, but I very much enjoy helping a director get what he
wants. Im not always determined to convince the director that
there is a different way of going about it; I get satisfaction from
finding out what somebody likes and giving that to them. Its
important to me that I dont turn it into my thing. I want to get
to the bottom of what makes a director tick.
How do you discover that?
Papamichael: Preproduction is the most important thing
in that regard. I start by discovering what kind of movies the
director likes. That gives me some insight into how he likes to
tell stories. Alexander and I dont shotlist or storyboard. We
Production Slate
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From left: Matt King (Clooney) and his daughters, Scottie (Amara Miller) and Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) walk the beach with A lexandras
boyfriend, Sid (Nick Krause), as Matt searches for his wifes lover in The Descendants.
I
spend a lot of time cooking pasta, drink-
ing wine and watching movies!
How did you arrive at a visual
style for The Descendants?
Papamichael: We saw a unique
opportunity to show Honolulu as it is
rarely, if ever, shown in cinema: not
glamorized or idealized. Its a modern
American city with traffic jams and
skyscrapers, and a few miles away,
theres an almost absurdly bizarre and
beautiful tropical paradise. Theres an
extreme contrast in wealth and poverty.
Go up the coast 30 miles, and youll see
native people living in tent cities. We
didnt want to be too obvious about it,
but these contrasts are some of the
themes we wanted to represent visually.
The look of the movie is pretty
straightforward. Its all about the perfor-
mances and the intimacy of the charac-
ters, and the photography was designed
in part to be unobtrusive. Alexander has
a very particular visual style that reflects
his point of view. I suggested that we
go widescreen because I thought it was
very important to feel the power of the
land, and to make the power of nature
very present visually. The landscapes are
juxtaposed with tight, claustrophobic
interiors.
So you shot Super 35mm?
Papamichael: We shot 3-perf
Super 35mm with the Panaflex Platinum
and Primo prime and 4:1 and 11:1 zoom
lenses.I used a [Tiffen] Black Pro-Mist
on the lens throughout to take a little of
the sharpness off. Alexander likes the
image to have a bit of texture; he always
wants it to look a little like an older film.
We used Kodak Vision3 [500T] 5219 for
night scenes and [200T] 5213 for day
interiors and day exteriors.I used polariz-
ers and definitely went for the lushness,
the color and saturation of the land.
Our second-unit cinematographer,
Radan Popovic, traveled around collect-
ing a huge amount of images graphic
shots of buildings, traffic, people on the
streets and at the beach, and landscapes
in Kauai and quite a few of them
ended up in the film.
Did you go with natural light
on all the exteriors?
Papamichael: Yes. I almost never
light electrically on exteriors, and it was
challenging on this film because the light
and the weather change so rapidly in
Hawaii. It would very often go from dark
skies to rain to full sun within minutes.
That affected the interiors as well. There
were a lot of fluctuations that presented
challenges for me, and also for our DI
colorist at Modern VideoFilm, Joe Finley,
and the dailies timer at FotoKem, Kay
Sievert. Alexander had never done a DI
before, and it was fun to show him the
capabilities.
What was your approach to
interiors?
Papamichael: Inside I stuck to my
usual approach: all big sources, very
Top left: The crew films the long walk-and-talk
on the beach. Top right and bottom: Matt and his
daughters view their family property on Kauai.
natural-looking. I like to make sure the
audience is never really aware of the
source. I dont want the image to look
stylized or lit. I use all the window
sources, and the motivation is always
correct youll never see me do two
people opposite each other, both backlit.
We were dealing with a lot of
contrast on this movie, especially in the
interiors that opened out to views of the
sea. There was a huge range of exposure.
We used the full 16 stops of the 5213!
Our goal was to try to bring the levels up
inside without it looking lit, and to try to
control the exteriors with big guns
18Ks that were either bounced or
pushed through big 12-bys. We used
Half Grid, Full Grid and, if we bounced,
bleached muslin or Ultrabounce. We also
made extensive use of Daylight Blue
bounces. I started using them on 3:10 to
Yuma [AC Oct. 07] and found that they
look very natural. Its a little closer to the
look of blue skies, and it feels like a
natural bounce off the water. For close-
ups outside, we often handheld 4-by-8s
or 4-by-4s and had people walking with
white or Daylight Blue bounce.
What kind of set does Payne
maintain?
Papamichael: Alexander creates
an intimate atmosphere. Its very impor-
tant to him that everyone feels the film-
making process is not a machine, and
that we are not making a product. He
literally knows the name of every driver
and every security guard on the first day.
We didnt have hordes of hair-and-
makeup people, and last touches were
forbidden. We were just making this
small film in a very genuine way. There
was no video village and no video assist.
On the set, we had the operator, the
assistant, the boom operator, the actors
and Alexander. His style is very economi-
cal. There was usually a brief conversa-
tion about how we were going to cover
the scene, and then we usually did three
to seven takes. Everyone was open to
reacting to what the actors did and
taking advantage of the moment. We
crafted it piece by piece. Its the kind of
filmmaking I really like to do.
Youve got another intimate
drama in theaters now, too,
Clooneys Ides of March.
Papamichael: On big-budget
studio projects, you can get some satis-
faction from pulling off this gigantic
enterprise, but on a movie like The
Descendants, you feel like youve told a
piece of the story every day. I like being
able to bounce back and forth between
large and small projects, but movies like
The Descendants and Ides of March are a
little closer to my heart.
TECHNICAL SPECS
2.40:1
3-perf Super 35mm
Panaflex Platinum
Panavision Primo
Kodak Vision3 500T 5219, 200T 5213
Digital Intermediate
Top left: As two

cousins (Michael
Ontkean, left, and
Beau Bridges) look
on, Matt prepares to
decide the future of
the family estate.
Top right, clockwise
from left: B-camera
1st AC Richard Brock,
A-camera operator
Scott Sakamoto,
director Alexander
Payne and
cinematographer
Phedon Papamichael,
ASC line up a shot.
Bottom: Papamichael
checks the exposure.
ASC to Honor Spinotti,
Wages, Kenny, Godfrey
The ASC will recognize three of its
members and one associate member
with honorary awards at the 26th
Annual ASC Awards for Outstanding
Achievement in Cinematography, which
will take place Feb. 12 in the Grand Ball-
room at Hollywood & Highland in Los
Angeles.
Dante Spinotti, ASC, AIC, will
receive the Lifetime Achievement Award;
William Wages, ASC, will receive the
Career Achievement in Television Award;
Francis Kenny, ASC, will receive the Pres-
idents Award; and ASC associate Fred
Godfrey will receive the Bud Stone
Award of Distinction, an honor that is
new this year.
Spinotti began his cinematogra-
phy career working in the television
industry in his native Italy. His first U.S.
feature was Michael Manns Manhunter
(1986), and his numerous stateside cred-
its include The Last of the Mohicans(AC
Dec. 92), Beaches, Heat (AC Jan. 96),
L.A. Confidential (AC Oct. 97), Wonder
Boys, The Insider (AC June 00), Family
Man, Red Dragon (AC Oct. 02) and the
recent release Tower Heist.
Spinotti earned ASC Award nomi-
nations for The Last of the Mohicans,
L.A. Confidential and The Insider, and he
also earned Oscar nominations for the
latter two pictures.
Wages counts more than 50 tele-
vision projects, commercials and docu-
mentaries among his credits. He has won
ASC Awards twice, for Riders of the
Purple Sage (AC May 97) and Buffalo
Soldiers (AC May 98), and earned six
more nominations from the Society for
Gore Vidals Lincoln (AC April 89); Caro-
line? (AC May 91); Voices Within: The
Lives of Truddi Chase, Part 2 (AC May
91); Ill Fly Away (pilot, AC May 92);
The Moving of Sophia Myles (AC May
01);and Miss Lettie and Me.
Wages has also earned two Emmy
nominations, for Buffalo Soldiers and
Into the West (AC June 05). His recent
credits include the series Burn Notice,
episodes of Big Love and the pilot for
Saving Grace. He is also renowned in
cinematography circles for the tools he
has devised on sets over the years,
including Wag Bags and Wag Flags.
Kenny began his career volunteer-
ing on documentary crews. His feature
credits include Heathers, Scary Movie,
New Jack City, Shes All That and Class
Act, and he is currently shooting the FX
series Justified (AC March 11).He has
been the chairman of the ASC Member-
ship Committee for 10 years, and he is
currently serving his second term on the
Societys Board of Governors.
Godfrey is the first recipient of the
ASC Bud Stone Award of Distinction,
named for the late Burton Bud Stone,
who was president of Deluxe Laborato-
ries in Hollywood from 1976-1994 and
served as chairman of the ASC Awards
Committee for 17 years. Godfreys
career in the industry began in a Holly-
wood warehouse that stored Kodak
motion-picture film, and it wasnt long
before he became a customer-service
representative at Kodaks local office. He
served as a liaison between the company
and cinematographers until he retired in
1986.
ASC honorees and all ASC Award
nominees in competitive categories
(Feature Release, TV Series and Tele-
film/Pilot) will be invited to meet the
public at the ASC Open House Feb. 11 at
the Clubhouse, 1782 N. Orange Dr., Los
Angeles. Admission is free.
For more information on the ASC
Awards and the Open House, visit
www.theasc.com or call 323-969-4333.
Clockwise from top-left: ASC Lifetime
Achievement Award recipient Dante Spinotti,
ASC, AIC; Presidents Award recipient Francis
Kenny, ASC; ASC associate Fred Godfrey, recipient
of the Bud Stone Award of Distinction; and
Career Achievement in Television Award recipient
William Wages, ASC.
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RELEASED BY TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX. COPYRIGHT 2011 TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
EMMANUEL LUBEZKI ASC, AMC
foxsearchlight.com/f yc
Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki relies on hand-held camerawork.
It gets at the intimacy within a family, a household. But it is also remarkably uid,
capturing the ow of existence this familys, our universes.
Lisa Kennedy,
HPA Celebrates Post Industry,
Individuals
By Jon D. Witmer
The stars of Hollywoods post
community gathered Nov. 10 at the Skirball
Cultural Center for the sixth annual Holly-
wood Post Alliance Awards, which celebrate
outstanding talent and achievement across
a number of post disciplines. The judges
included ASC President Michael Goi; Society
members Frederic Goodich, Daryn Okada
and Robert Primes; and associate members
Lou Levinson, Leon Silverman (president of
the HPA) and Garrett Smith.
One of the evenings themes was the
ever-changing post landscape. You could
say there have been some pretty turbulent
and challenging times in postproduction
these days, and theres no doubt that there
are changes and challenges ahead, mused
Silverman, the general manager of digital
studio for Walt Disney Studios, who served
as host of the ceremony. But it is this
community that has always led through
change.
Our industry demands a fleetness of
mind and spirit that allows us to survive and
sometimes even thrive in times of radical
change, Silverman continued. We have
truly gone from the cutting block to the
clouds, and Im looking forward to where
we go next together.
Journalist and HPA Awards Commit-
tee Chair Carolyn Giardina joined Okada
onstage to present the HPA Judges Awards,
which recognize creativity and innovation in
post. One award was presented to Testronic
Laboratories for the File-Based QC Lab, and
the other was presented to ASC associate
Steven J. Scott of EFilm for the digital-inter-
mediate environment employed on Terrence
Malicks The Tree of Life (AC Aug. 11).
Accepting the award, Scott noted, I
remember the first time I sat in a theater and
was even aware of cinematography. It was
at the Fox Village in Westwood, and the
movie was Days of Heaven. I was dazzled.
To think that someday I would have a part in
helping that director realize his artistic vision
onscreen is still hard for me to grasp, but Im
very, very grateful.
Most of all, thanks to the cine-
matographer, [Emmanuel] Chivo Lubezki
[ASC, AMC], for caring so much about his
work and the work of everyone around
him, Scott continued. He lifts us all with
his unyielding quest for beauty, authenticity
and truth in the images he [shoots].
The NAB Show sponsored the Engi-
neering Excellence Award, which, Silverman
explained, is a celebration of the increasing
role of technology and its impact on the
creative process. Awards in this category
were presented to four companies: Dolby
Laboratories won one for the Dolby PRM-
4200 Professional Reference Monitor,
which is capable of displaying the full
dynamic range, contrast ratio and color
gamut of film stocks and professional digi-
tal cameras; Sony Professional Solutions of
America won for its Organic Light-Emitting
Diode technology for reference monitors;
IBM won for the Linear Tape File System,
which provides a simple and cost-efficient
method for managing large-scale data
archives; and Lightcraft Technology earned
an award for Previzion, the companys real-
time on-set compositing system.
Goi presented the awards for
Outstanding Color Grading with producer
Todd London. Today more than ever, said
Goi, the collaboration and cooperation
between preproduction, production and
postproduction is vital in our industry. In
fact, cinematographers are spending so
much time in postproduction you would
almost think we were getting paid for that
time.
The awards for color grading were
presented to Steven J. Scott of EFilm, for
The Help; Tim Vincent of LaserPacific, for
Mad Men, Blowing Smoke; and Siggy
Ferstl of Company 3, for Nissan, Zero.
Ferstl was also nominated for ESPN, Arthur
Ashe Award for Courage.
My biggest thanks must go to
Stephen Goldblatt [ASC, BSC], said Scott.
His raw footage was my greatest inspira-
tion. His cinematic accomplishments are
obvious enough on the screen, but Im
particularly grateful for the man behind the
camera.
Also nominated for Outstanding
Color Grading were ASC associate Stefan
Sonnenfeld of Company 3, for Transform-
ers: Dark of the Moon , Sucker Punch and
Jameson, Fire; ASC associate Dave Cole
of LaserPacific, for Tron: Legacy; Natasha
Leonnet of EFilm, for Love and Other Drugs;
Kevin OConnor of Deluxe Media Services,
for Too Big to Fail; Tom Sartori of FotoKem,
for Breaking Bad, Box Cutter; Aidan
Farrell of The Farm Group for Carnival Film
& Television, for Downton Abbey, Series 1
Episode 1; Sean Coleman of Company 3,
for Nike, Chosen; Tom Poole of
Company 3 NY, for Jack Daniels, As Amer-
ican As; Chris Ryan of Nice Shoes, for
HPA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Cyril Drabinsky (left) celebrates with
HPA President Leon Silverman.
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CHANGE YOUR GAME
MONEYBALL RENEWS YOUR BELIEF IN
THE POWER OF MOVIES.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL JOE MORGENSTERN
IMBUED WITH EVOCATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY

BY CINEMATOGRAPHER WALLY PFISTER.
SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS RANDY MYERS

BEST PI CTURE
BEST CI NEMATOGRAPHY WALLY PFI STER, ASC
American Express, Curtain; and Tim
Masick of Company 3 NY, for Converse,
The Procession.
Outstanding Editing awards, spon-
sored by Avid Technology, were presented
to Angus Wall, ACE and Kirk Baxter, ACE,
for The Social Network; John Wilson, ACE
of Carnival Film & Television, for Downton
Abbey, Series 1 Episode 1; and Chris
Franklin of Big Sky Editorial, for American
Express, Curtain.
Outstanding Sound awards were
presented to John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and
Rick Kline of Warner Bros. Post Production
Services and Per Hallberg and Karen Baker
Landers of Soundelux, for Green Lantern;
Brad North, Joe DeAngelis, Luis Galdames
and Jackie Oster of Universal Studios Sound,
for House, Bombshells; and David Brolin
of Universal Studios Sound and Bill Neil of
Buddha Jones Trailers, for Dream House,
Trailer #1.
Outstanding Compositing awards
were presented to Jeff Sutherland, Jason
Billington, Chris Balog and Ben OBrien of
Industrial Light & Magic, for Transformers:
Dark of the Moon ; Paul Graff, Brian Sales,
Merysa Nichols and Jesse Siglow of Crazy
Horse Effects, Inc., for Boardwalk Empire,
Boardwalk Empire; and Dan Glass,
Gabby Gourrier, Chris Bankoff and Jeff
Willette of Method Studios, for Jameson,
Fire.
The show culminated in the presen-
tation of the Lifetime Achievement Award
to ASC associate Cyril Drabinsky, president
and CEO of Deluxe Entertainment Services
Group, Inc. Drabinskys career in the indus-
try began at Cineplex Odeon Corp., where
he served as senior vice president of distrib-
ution and affairs. In 1987, he became pres-
ident of the Cineplex Odeon-owned Film
House laboratories in Toronto, which was
purchased by the Rank Organization in
1990, the same year Rank bought Deluxe
Laboratories from 20th Century Fox.
Drabinsky transitioned into operations for
Deluxe, and in 1995 he was named presi-
dent of Deluxe Laboratories North America.
In 2001, Drabinsky was named president of
Deluxe Laboratories Worldwide. In 2006,
MacAndrews & Forbes acquired Deluxe,
and Drabinsky was appointed to his current
position.
Silverman kicked off the presenta-
tion of the Lifetime Achievement Award,
noting Drabinskys ties to the late Burton
Bud Stone, a former president of Deluxe.
Following in the hard-to-fill shoes of one
of my own heroes, and one of those truly
larger-than-life industry legends, the incom-
parable Bud Stone, Cyril took the reins at
Deluxe and not only made the role his own,
but [also] set our entire industry on its path
to the future, said Silverman. Over the
course of his career, Cyril has earned the
respect and admiration of his peers,
competitors, clients and employees.
The sentiment was echoed by Tom
Sherak, president of the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Ted
Gagliano, president of feature postproduc-
tion at 20th Century Fox. In a business
where its an Olympic sport to talk dirt
about people, I could not find an unclean
word spoken about Cyril, said Gagliano.
Addressing Drabinsky directly,
Gagliano continued, I honestly can say I
could not do my job without you. And this
room is filled with people from every studio
and every film company who feel the same
way. Youre too young to get a lifetime
achievement award, so lets just call this a
pit stop and lets recommit ourselves to
another 20 years together in what is still the
best damn business in the world.
Ronald Perelman, chairman and CEO
of MacAndrews & Forbes, offered a few
prerecorded remarks before Barry Schwartz,
MacAndrews & Forbes executive vice chair-
man and chief administrative officer,
stepped to the microphone. I have seen
[Drabinskys] vision and his determination
transform Deluxe from its role [as a] film
processor to a postproduction juggernaut,
said Schwartz. Cyril has also surrounded
himself with a team that reflects their
leader: confident, inspired and loyal to each
other and the industry they serve so well.
One of Cyrils many, many, many
qualities is his ability to be so incredibly
humble about his achievements, added
Warren Stein, COO of Deluxe Entertainment
Services Group. In all the years Ive known
Cyril, Ive never heard him start a sentence
with the words I did this or I did that or
Look what Ive done. Its always we.
He understands the pressure that
he puts on us, but he also understands that
we are human beings, enthused ASC asso-
ciate Beverly Wood, executive vice president
of technical services and client relations for
Deluxes EFilm. A boss like Cyril sets an
example for an entire organization.
Lifetime achievement, marveled
Drabinsky when he stepped to the stage.
Thats something that can give you pause,
in part because you feel like youre just
getting started, and in part because it makes
you look back on how everythings changed
and keeps changing. Thats what I love
about this business: it changes every day.
You never sit still; you manage your risk and
keep moving forward.
There are times I wonder what Bud
Stone would say if hed seen our transfor-
mation, Drabinsky continued. If not for
Bud, I wouldnt be standing here. He
taught me the Hollywood film industry, and
nobody understood it like him, because he
knew what it comes down to is communi-
cating with the customer on a personal
level.
The industry is in constant change,
and nothing changes faster than technol-
ogy, he said. At the end of the day, we try
to remember that these are just tools. The
job every day is to make our clients vision
connect. I feel incredibly fortunate to be part
of this fascinating business.
ASC President Michael Goi (left) and producer Todd
London (right) congratulate ASC associate Steven J.
Scott on his award for Outstanding Color Grading.
for your
CONSIDERATION

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Phedon Papamichael, ASC
A sharp and scintillating lens
on Washington run amok.
Karen Durbin / ELLE
D
avid Fincher has tackled some twisted tales over the
course of his career, notably Seven (AC Oct. 95), Fight
Club (AC Nov. 97) and Zodiac (AC April 06), but his
latest picture, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, could be
his most complicated narrative yet. Adapted from the first
book in Swedish author Stieg Larssons wildly popular trilogy,
the film follows Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), a renowned
investigative journalist who accepts an unusual job offer after
his journalism career is derailed by accusations of libel.
Wealthy industrialist Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer)
asks Blomkvist to solve a 40-year-old cold case, the disap-
pearance of Vangers niece, Harriet, and in return Vanger will
David Fincher reteams with
Jeff Cronenweth, ASC to remake
the Swedish hit
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
By Jay Holben
|
not only pay handsomely, but also help disprove the libel accu-
sations against Blomkvist. During his investigation, which
reveals a number of sordid family secrets, Blomkvist teams
with young, eccentric hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney
Mara), whose eye-catching tattoo gives the story its title.
Larssons trilogy The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The
Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets
Nest was brought to the silver screen by Swedish filmmak-
ers in 2009, and when Fincher began prepping his version of
Dragon Tattoo, he was keen to retain its native elements by
shooting extensively in Sweden and using a Swedish crew. It
was an aesthetic choice, says Fincher. We wanted it to look
and feel like a Swedish film, and I think it does. We were
already getting flak for doing a Hollywood version of the story,
so we made a commitment to doing as much of the movie as
possible in Sweden, with a Swedish crew.
That crew initially included a Swedish cinematogra-
pher, but after a few weeks of shooting, Fincher decided to
make a change. He called Jeff Cronenweth, ASC, one of his
longtime collaborators, and asked him to take over.
Cronenweth recalls, I got a call at 6 in the morning, and it was
Bob Wagner, Davids assistant director, asking how I was
doing. I said, Im fine, Bob, but its 6 a.m., so this obviously
isnt a social call. Whats up? He said David and the cine-
Cold Case
w ww.theasc.com January 2012 33
matographer werent seeing eye-to-eye,
and he asked if I was available to take
over.
I gave it a lot of thought because
it was a tough situation, continues the
cinematographer. One doesnt want to
replace someone else. Its always unfor-
tunate. I hadnt been involved in the
prep, and I was worried about commu-
nication with the crew, thinking they
might resent me because I was replacing
one of their own. But David and I go
way back, weve worked together many
times, and, luckily, we had discussed the
movie before he embarked on it.
Ultimately, the decision was not that
hard, and it was really smooth sailing.
The crew welcomed me with open
arms.
Its a difficult thing to walk onto
someone elses film, and Jeff didnt agree
to it overnight, says Fincher. In retro-
spect, I would have done it a different
way and not been so committed to the
idea of an entirely Swedish production;
I would have started with Jeff from the
beginning. I was really lucky he was able
to bail us out and that we got a chance
to work together again.
The production was using the Pix
system, an online project-management
platform that facilitates instant access to
reports, script changes and dailies, and
with it Cronenweth was able to view all
of the footage that had been shot before
he arrived in Europe. He met with the
key production team in Zurich on a
Saturday morning, and by the following
Tuesday he was shooting in Stockholm.
He recalls, I had just come off a
commercial in Miami, and suddenly I
was out on the water in Stockholm,
trying desperately to stay warm! It was
quite a shock to the system. Fortunately,
[A-camera operator] David Worley was
there, and he was a very familiar face. I
had worked with him back on Alien
3
[AC July 92] with my dad [Jordan
Cronenweth, ASC].
We had a British grip and
camera crew and a Swedish electrical
department, and we all got on fantasti-
cally, he adds. The first week was
really just day-to-day, shooting based on
what had already been decided and
rescouting at night, but by the time we
got to the second week, I was up and
running.
Cronenweth was with the
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Opposite page: After agreeing to help a journalist investigate a decades-old disappearance,
computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) is drawn into a much deeper mystery.
This page, top: The journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), meets with retired business executive
Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer). Bottom: Cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth, ASC surveys a
snowy setting on location.
production for more than 150 days of its
approximately 160-day shoot, and
because of script changes, he ended up
reshooting several of the sequences that
had been filmed during the first week.
The ambitious production
involved locations in Sweden,
Switzerland, Norway and England and
stage work in Los Angeles. (Some
minor process work was shot onstage in
Stockholm.) We started in Stockholm,
and then we spent two weeks in Zurich
before the Christmas break, and then I
went back to Los Angeles and started
prelighting stages, recalls Cronenweth.
After our holiday break, we shot for
about three months onstage in L.A.
During that time, David and I planned
the next phase of the shoot, and I got
the same prep time as everyone else
before heading off to England for three
and a half weeks, and then back to
Sweden.
Overall, the weather in Northern
Europe made for the biggest challenge,
he adds. We experienced severe winter
storms as well as a very hot summer in
Sweden. The cold was the hardest,
though.
Fincher had used digital capture
on his previous three features, Zodiac
(shot by Harris Savides, ASC), The
Curious Case of Benjamin Button(shot by
Claudio Miranda, ASC; AC Jan. 09)
and The Social Network (shot by
Cronenweth; AC Oct. 10), and he
decided to do the same on Dragon
Tattoo, selecting Red Ones upgraded
with the Mysterium-X sensor. Reds
new Epic was just becoming available,
but using it as the main camera posed
too many problems when the shoot
began, according to Cronenweth.
At first we had a hard time
getting cards for the Epic, he recalls.
In addition, at that time, all Epic
footage had to be sent directly to Red
for transcoding before it could be sent to
Cold Case
The emotionally remote Lisbeth is isolated in the frame until she teams up with Blomkvist.
editorial, and we just werent comfort-
able with that. But John Schwartzman
[ASC] was working with the Epic on
The Amazing Spider-Man and helping
to pave the way. By the time they
wrapped, RedRocket could handle the
Epic footage, and Spider-Man had
made a huge number of cards available,
so we shot the last 20 percent of Dragon
Tattoo with the Epic.
We made sure not to switch
cameras within a sequence, he contin-
ues. Although the Epic has a lot more
resolution and slightly different color
range than the One, the color is close
enough that we were confident all our
footage would match.
Indeed, at press time the digital
grade was underway at Light Iron with
colorist Ian Vertovec ( The Social
Network), and Cronenweth reports that
matching between the two cameras has
been as seamless as anticipated. Were
working with a Quantel Pablo 4K
color-correction system and a Sony 4K
projector in a theater-type setting. Were
basically just fine-tuning the original
footage as captured on set, making some
subtle adjustments to better match
shot-to-shot within a scene, and doing
some repositioning.
The filmmakers found one of the
Epics most significant advantages to be
its HDRx function, a simulated high
dynamic range mode that enables a
secondary, darker track of video to be
recorded, allowing for 1-5 stops of
selectable highlight bracketing via the
secondary, faster-shutter exposure track.
We used that to get about 3 more stops
of latitude, says Cronenweth. It
records on a separate track thats a frame
off, and you then use software to sync it
back. It really fills up the data cards by
doubling the recorded information, but
for certain situations its invaluable.
We also like the fact that the
Epic is smaller and lighter than the One
The productions digital Red cameras were frequently required to capture low-light situations.
image, and with the Epic we had 5K to
work with. We utilized the extra resolu-
tion to create our own frame lines,
smaller than what you get using the
entire sensor. Actually, we did that with
both the One and the Epic, allowing
room for repositioning shots. For exam-
ple, if an operator clipped an eyebrow on
a tilt up, we had plenty of space to
correct the composition. We also used
the extra space created by the extra
resolution to help stabilize many
shots, including all the driving footage
we shot in Stockholm. The Epic gives
you much more information than you
actually need, and that gives you more
flexibility.
I like the picture the Red gives
me, the way it feels, says Fincher.
Ultimately, thats what people are talk-
ing about when they say they prefer one
format over another. When people
speak fondly of the anamorphic lenses
from the 1970s, theyre talking about the
feeling they get from that certain kind of
image. I like the Red One MX a lot
in fact, I wish we hadnt switched to the
Epic at the end of our shoot. Theres
nothing wrong with the Epic, but I sort
of like the graininess of the MX
[image]. Its an aesthetic choice, not a
technical one.
and doesnt have that cameras quirks,
continues the cinematographer. In
addition, you can overcrank up to 96 fps
and stay in 5K [resolution]. David also
likes to have the option of manipulating
the final composition or stabilizing the
Cold Case
Top: Banks of
fluorescent
fixtures augment
source lamps for
a dialogue scene
involving
Plummer and
Craig. Bottom:
Cronenweth
practices his
bedside manner
during a
hospital scene.

K
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From Finchers perspective,
perhaps the biggest advantage of the
Red is its size. Because its small, I feel
like the filmmaking process itself
becomes sort of intimate, he says.
Filmmaking is a small circus thats
the nature of the beast but I prefer to
keep it as intimate as possible. When
the mechanics become too consuming,
its too easy to get distracted from the
real reason were there: to capture the
actors performances. When the gear
gets too big, I feel like theres a wall
between my cast and me, and its hard to
get around it to talk to them. I really
prefer to have that relationship, that
connection, be immediate. How we
shoot, where we shoot and what we
shoot with all play a role in finessing
that relationship.
Shooting with two cameras
simultaneously and having the cine-
matographer operate the B camera are
usually part of the plan. David has
almost always worked that way, says
Cronenweth. I was the B-camera oper-
ator on Fight Club and Social Network,
and Claudio [Miranda] was the B-
camera operator on Benjamin Button.
Fincher explains, I try as much
as possible to put that second camera in
a place where it will get me another
setup that I actually need Im never
just looking for gravy. It can be frustrat-
ing for my cinematographer and tough
for lighting, but Im going to challenge
him to bring that second camera as far
around as possible, to not just stack [the
cameras] and get a medium and close at
the same time. Im going to shoot a
pretty wide and fairly disparate view. If
I can, Ill do opposing coverage, 180
degrees. That does make lighting tough,
but sometimes getting those perfor-
Cold Case
Top: The crew
confronted frigid
conditions on
location in
Northern Europe.
Bottom: Working
in the relative
warmth of a
soundstage in
Sweden, the crew
simulates the cold
while setting up a
car shot.
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mances simultaneously is whats best for
the movie.
In keeping with Finchers prefer-
ence for keeping the technical footprint
as small as possible on the set, Dragon
Tattoo didnt have a digital-imaging
technician. I dont believe in tweaking
on set, says the director. Why would I
want a tent and more people around?
Thats anathema to me.
Instead, just as they did on Social
Network, Fincher and Cronenweth set
one look-up table at the beginning of
the shoot and didnt change it.
Originally we thought we might have
one LUT for every location, but that
got confusing, notes Cronenweth.
Our approach is similar to using just
one film stock. If we change anything,
its the color of the light or the filter
instead of chasing LUTs. It makes
things faster and easier.
The Red One is known for
having higher sensitivity in the blue
spectrum, and the filmmakers used an
80D filter on the lens most of the time.
Although Sweden has a cool, desatu-
rated palette in winter, we used the 80D
to raise the color temperature about
400K, which gave a little more blue
light to the sensor and gave us more lati-
tude to work with later, says
Cronenweth.
The production shot primarily on
the locations described in Larssons
Cold Case
Stepping away
from her
computer,
Lisbeth seeks
some answers
the old-
fashioned way.
Cold Case
novel. The notion of these horrors,
these particularly evil doings, taking
place in an environment thats icy,
snowy and somewhat inhospitable just
seemed right to me, says Fincher. I
couldnt see setting the story anywhere
else. In Northern Europe, youre cut off
from the rest of the world a good
portion of the year in a very unique
place. The people are hearty, and the
winters are very hard. Im happy we
didnt transpose the story to Seattle or
Montreal or, worse, play Montreal for
Sweden.
However, the unique properties
of natural light at that latitude presented
some challenges. At summers peak,
Stockholm experiences 19 hours of
daylight, and at winters peak, just six
hours. Moreover, the winter sun barely
makes it off the horizon, even at high
noon, and the summer sun typically
reaches a point about 54 degrees off the
horizon at the height of the day.
Theres a reason why Sven
Nykvists movies look like they do!
Fincher notes with a laugh, referring to
the late ASC cinematographer who was
famous for his collaborations with
fellow Swede Ingmar Bergman.
Early in his career, Cronenweth
worked with Nykvist as a camera assis-
tant and operator. Sven brought his
own version of soft light to all of his
movies, he says. He was very inspired
by the light of his hometown. In the
summer, it almost never gets dark, and
because youre so far north, the sun can
set and then rise again, about an hour
later, in almost exactly the same place. If
you want a dawn shot, dawn can last two
hours! The light changes so much
throughout the year that its very chal-
lenging on a project as long as this one.
We had short nights when we
got there and really long nights when we
left, adds Fincher. It can be very
disconcerting if youre not used to a six-
hour day. You can start work in the
morning and then find the sun going
down at lunch.
We set out to embrace the
Swedish winter, says Cronenweth. Its
a strong element in the story, almost a
character of its own, and we spent a lot
of time out in the snow with those very
unique light tonalities. We embraced all
of the idiosyncrasies of the locations.
The biting cold of winter gave rise
to one of the productions few equip-
ment problems: the low temps caused
some of the floating elements in the
Arri/Zeiss Master Primes to misalign,
so the lenss witness marks were off.
The Master Primes have seven floating
In an attempt to blend into society, Lisbeth adopts a more feminine style, donning a
blonde wig and dressing conventionally.
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elements, and in extreme temperatures
that can create obstacles, says
Cronenweth. The first assistants
ended up having to pull focus more off
of monitors, by eye. Theyre phenome-
nal lenses, and I would definitely use
them again; they probably held up as
well as any equipment does in that kind
of environment. But its something to
be aware of when youre working in
extreme weather conditions.
Some of the movies large exte-
rior setups posed other challenges.
Salanders main mode of transportation
is her motorcycle, and she is not a timid
driver. Many sequences show her
zipping around dangerously icy roads,
and Cronenweth had to tackle one of
these scenes, a 5-mile run through a
forest at night, on his second day on set.
I thought, How are we gonna
do this?! he recalls. We ended up
tackling it very simply, actually, and it
looks quite believable. We used an
insert car to either chase or lead the
motorcycle. When we were chasing her,
we simply increased the strength of the
headlight on her motorcycle by adding
some headlight fixtures with quartz
globes and wide-angle lenses so the
light would fan out and hit the trees in
front of her on both sides of the road.
We then put a small bounce on
the front of the camera car, about 2 stops
underexposed, to get some detail on her
and the motorcycle. Lastly, we used
narrow-beam HMIs to softly project
ahead of and above her to illuminate the
forest. When we were leading her, we
used the same bounce idea on the truck
and the same narrow HMIs, and let the
motorcycles headlight bounce and light
her with just soft return.
Making night exteriors like this
even tougher was the moisture from
nearby bodies of water, which created
mist that often froze to the lenses on
moving shots. The filmmakers used
standard rain spinners to keep moisture
off the lenses, but the mist would freeze
on the spinners and transform them into
rotating diffusion filters. To combat this,
the camera assistants mounted hair
dryers below the spinners and kept a
constant flow of warm air on the spin-
ning blades.
Driving sequences involving cars
were shot onstage in Sweden using what
Cronenweth and gaffer Harold Skinner
laughingly describe as Rich-Mans
Process. Skinner explains, It was your
typical greenscreen stage, but we built
this rig with LED media panels around
the car so that we could play
Cold Case
Left: A large silk and a solid hung from crane arms help the crew shape the
look of a street scene. Right: While shooting a night-exterior chase sequence,
crewmembers used rain spinners and hair dryers to keep mist from freezing
on the camera lenses.
We set out to
embrace the Swedish
winter. Its a strong
element in the story,
almost a character of
its own.
Dolby congratulates Light Iron
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in color grading.
Dolby and the double-D symbol are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. 2011 Dolby Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. S11/25091

QuickTime movies of the background
plates through the panels and project
the reflections and interactive light
directly from the background plates
onto the car and the actors. The LED
panels were 3 feet high by 14 feet long
on both sides of the car, and we added
another for the back and front windows.
Using this system, we got real interac-
tive lighting from the actual background
plates, so it feels much more authentic.
To reduce spill and reflections
from the greenscreen, Skinner hung
Duvetyn on curtain tracks so he could
mask off any area of green that wasnt
directly behind the actors.
One pivotal scene that was reshot
because of script changes shows young
Harriet outside a cottage and boathouse
on a waterfront Vanger property. The
scene was originally shot on location in
Stockholm, but when the filmmakers
returned for reshoots, they discovered
the property had new owners who had
torn down both buildings. In addition, a
winter storm had killed two large trees
that helped make the location unique.
Cold Case
Tink LEE
www.leelters.com
142
A sharp snap
splits the
silvery silence.
A whisper of
time, suspended.
Lisbeths
sleuthing skills
shine a light
on some
horrifying
secrets.
46
Fincher and production designer
Donald Graham Burt decided to recon-
struct the cottage onstage at Paramount
Studios and the boathouse and dock at
Reds studio.
It was a huge set, and I wasnt
really sure how to approach it,
confesses Cronenweth. There were
some practical lights on the dock that
gave us a base look, especially when we
added atmosphere. We decided to use a
single 2K out from the cabin to the
water and hillside we hung blacks
and added some sky augmentation in
post and it was perfect.
We slipped a bare 2K globe
inside a Big Eye 10K housing with no
lens, just to protect the globe and create
a very large open-face source, says
Skinner. The dock lights were all clear
25-watt practical globes, so we added
some
1
4 CTO to the 2K to match their
warmth. We augmented with a single
1K Baby Fresnel to help when we were
doing turnarounds and the 2K got a
little too garish and flat, but that was it.
Its very simply lit and very beautiful.
A night scene that shows
Salander meeting Blomkvist at his
Stockholm apartment required a
massive shot that encompassed several
blocks of cobblestone streets. Its an old
part of Stockholm on this grand hill,
and David wanted the coverage to
encompass all four directions at night
for about two blocks, recalls
Cronenweth. In and of itself, thats not
such a bad thing, but in April in
Sweden, you only have four hours of
darkness! So the challenge was to light
two blocks in each direction and have
the ability to quickly do turnarounds, to
move into any direction and switch our
backlight and whatever keys we had on
the fly. Our rigging crew spent an entire
night setting it up.
We had eight construction
cranes, four generators and 20 electri-
cians, and the special-effects team was
making snow at the same time it was
quite the expansive setup, adds
Skinner.
In the end, we got it in our four
hours, and everything worked fantasti-
cally, says Cronenweth. Davids final
establishing shot was done just as the
sky was starting to change colors, but we
got it in under the wire.
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TECHNICAL SPECS
2.40:1
Digital Capture
Red One, Epic
Arri/Zeiss Master Primes
47
T
he period drama War Horse represents new turf for cine-
matographer Janusz Kaminski and director Steven
Spielberg, even though the film is their 13th feature
collaboration. The movie tells the story of World War I
through the eyes of a horse who is raised by a farm boy,
Albert (Jeremy Irvine), in Devon, England, and then falls
into the hands of various British, French and German
masters during the war.
World War II has become a hallmark of Spielberg and
Kaminskis collaborations, which began with Schindlers List
(AC Jan. 94), but War Horse is their first foray into the Great
War. I was very excited about it because Id never had the
chance to re-create this war before, says Kaminski, speaking
to AC on a break from Spielbergs Lincoln.
The picture is also something of a novelty in that its a
family-friendly story that takes place during wartime. The
source material is a young-adult novel of the same name by
Michael Morpugo, and the Walt Disney Co. is releasing the
DreamWorks production. However, Kaminski notes, This
movie is not a quintessential Disney thing. Its not happy,
bright, chocolate-covered storytelling. Its got very brutal
moments, very sad moments.
The filmmakers decided to shoot widescreen to play up
the pastoral landscape of Devon, where the story begins, and
they chose Super 35mm over anamorphic because they
believed the latter might be too beautiful, says Kaminski,
adding, We wanted the images to have a slightly gritty feel.
We wanted to do beautifully composed wide shots
where the land would play a significant role, continues the
cinematographer. We talked about John Ford films . Steven
was fascinated by the relationship between humans and land
humans do not blend with the land, they shape it. In the
first act, when Albert is training the horse or trying to plow
the field, you see him in this amazing Devon landscape where
clouds are rolling across the sky. The shots are so wide you can
see the light patterns rolling across the field.
Kaminski was keen to create the movies look in-
camera, even though originating in Super 35mm and the real-
ities of digital exhibition meant a digital intermediate would
be part of the post process. In fact, he color-timed the picture
War Horse, directed
by Steven Spielberg
and shot by
Janusz Kaminski,
sends a valiant
creature to the front
lines of World War I.
By Patricia Thomson
|
Animal
Instincts
photochemically at Deluxe Laboratories
in Hollywood with timers Clive Noakes
and Jim Passon, and we just matched
the look of the print in the DI with
[colorist] Yvan Lucas [at EFilm], he
says. There were very few adjustments.
Steven and I make the movie on
the set, he emphasizes. I do not create
the look of the movie in the DI, just as
Steven does not create the movie in the
editing room. Thats not the way we
work. An important part of our process is
screening 35mm film dailies, which we
did with an Arri LocPro throughout the
shoot.
Kaminski shot War Horse on two
Kodak Vision3 negatives, 250D 5207
and 500T 5219, both of which he often
pulled one stop, and he developed a
filtration strategy that involved using
Classic Soft and Coral filters together for
Devon sequences and other idyllic
passages, and then transitioning to
Double Fog filters for the muddy look of
war. Finally, for the triumphant return of
the hero, he layered on sunset grad filters.
Principal photography lasted 63
days and took place mostly on practical
locations close to London. Many key
crew were longtime collaborators of both
Spielberg and Kaminski, including A-
camera operator Mitch Dubin, A-
camera 1st AC Mark Spath, lighting
director (supervising gaffer) David
Devlin and key grip Jim Kwiatkowski.
Their British counterparts were B-
camera/Steadicam operator George
Richmond, B-camera 1st AC Jonathan
Chunky Richmond, gaffer Eddie
Knight and key grip David Appleby.
When Spielberg is in the directors
chair, one hallmark of the production is
speed, and Kwiatkowski recalls telling
Appleby that War Horse would be the
fastest movie hed ever worked on. It
was June 29, and the grips had just been
handed six previsualizations for compli-
cated action scenes. Production was set
to start Aug. 1. Stevens schedules are
always like a race, Devlin observes. He
loves the energy of shooting quickly and
seeing the film made right before his
eyes. Even if he had 300 days to shoot a
film, hed shoot it in 50.
Another hallmark of a Spielberg
production is complex camera choreog-
raphy. Steven is extremely versatile
with the camera, which means his
movies are always challenging to shoot,
says Kaminski. He likes really big
shots, and his camera always moves.
Every shot is elaborately chore-
ographed, adds Dubin. He always
shoots them as complex masters. Even
though a lot of the shots might be cut
up in the end, its better for the actors if
we shoot the entire scene.
Achieving big, complicated shots
very quickly would be a challenge under
any circumstance, but the particulars of
the War Horse shoot ratcheted up the
difficulty.
For starters, some locations were
quite remote. The Devon sequences
were shot in Dartmoor National Park,
a large moorland crossed by rocky
roads. Getting generators in there was
a challenge, Devlin recalls. One
generator had to be placed almost
1,700 feet away, so it required a lot of
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Opposite page: Albert
(Jeremy Irvine) bonds
with his familys new
horse, Joey. This
page: After Alberts
father (Peter Mullan)
pays top dollar for
Joey, he endures the
ire of his wife (Emily
Watson, middle) and
landlord (David
Thewlis, bottom),
who threatens to
repossess the
Narracotts farm
unless they make
their rent payment.
cabling and preparation.
Then there was the rain, which
came both at the whim of Mother
Nature and on demand, especially for
the combat scenes. At one point during
a battle, Joey escapes into No Mans
Land, a 480-yard stretch along the
Western Front that was full of barbed
wire and trenches. No Mans Land was
a vast field that became a horrible,
muddy, violent place, says Dubin. It
was so hard to work in there. Everybody
wore black rain gear, so you could never
tell who anybody was. At the end of the
day, theyd turn on the power hoses and
spray us down.
Topping it all off was the chal-
lenge of building so many scenes around
a horse. The main character, Joey, was
played by five of them. There was an
equine hair-and-makeup department,
and each horse had its own trainer. (The
head trainer was Bobby Lovgren.)
Each horse had its own specialty: one
laid down, another bucked up, one
plowed, and another was good at turn-
ing his head to look backward on cue,
says Kaminski.
Such actions were vital to
suggesting Joeys thoughts and emotions
as was the animals eyelight during
close-ups. Truly, when you look at a
horse, there are no emotions in its eyes,
says Kaminski. They dont blink, they
dont smile and they dont get sad. They
just get tired.
Given that Joey is the central
character and a hero the filmmak-
ers tried to make the horse stand out
from its environment. We were glorify-
ing Joey a little through lighting and
composition, says Kaminski. We were
always trying to place the light so that
his coat would reflect it, and so it would
create glints in his eyes.
To get a horse to act, a trainer had
to be in the animals line of sight, and
sometimes two trainers were necessary
if, for instance, the horse had to look
in one direction, and then in the other.
For scenes involving several horses, that
added up to lots of trainers. The trick
was to put a trainer in the horses sight
but not in the frame, says Dubin. For a
close-up, thats easy. But for wide shots,
which Steven likes, we had trainers
hiding all over the place behind bales
of hay in the barn, up in the rafters,
everywhere.
The filmmakers worked with a
previs team from The Third Floor to
plot out the movies most complicated
action scenes, but Spielbergs collabora-
tors observe that his mastery of cine-
matic storytelling is due as much to his
own instinct as it is to such preparation.
Steven can walk onto a set with very
little pre-planning and know exactly
how he wants to shoot it and how many
shots he needs, says Dubin. His eyes
immediately turn into a 21mm lens.
Animal Instincts
After England goes to war with Germany,

Albert is forced to part ways with Joey when
his father sells the horse to a British officer.
Of course, ideas developed in prep
often change on set. One example of this
in War Horse is a British cavalry charge
that was filmed on the Stratfield Saye
estate. The scene expresses a key idea in
Morpugos book: that World War I was
the end of the horses usefulness as an
instrument of war. As Dubin sums it up,
The story is about the change from a
gentlemans war to a mechanized war.
The scene begins with the British
cavalry approaching a German camp
through a field of golden reeds. These
soldiers are very handsome, very proper,
very passionate about the glorious aspect
of the war, and I wanted it to be a bit
larger than life, says Kaminski. We
tried to create the glorious part of it, but
with a realistic take.
The charge appears successful at
first, but suddenly the Germans open fire
with machine guns. No blood is shown.
Instead, the film cuts to a shot of rider-
less horses, and finally the camera pulls
back to reveal the field littered with dead
soldiers and horses. This sequence was
extensively previsualized because the
charge involved dozens of horses gallop-
ing at high speed on uneven terrain, says
Kaminski. We used two or three differ-
ent camera platforms that would travel at
various speeds, and we occasionally had
two cameras and two insert cars traveling
Animal Instincts
Top: The camera crew dollies past a muddy battlefield for a sequence staged at Wisley Airfield in
Surrey, England. Middle: An English soldier spots Joey after the horse becomes entangled in
barbed wire between enemy trenches. Bottom: Albert and his nemesis from Devon,
David (Robert Emms, right), charge into battle.
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[at the same time]. We did a couple of
days of extensive rehearsals with a skele-
ton cavalry, and that allowed us to figure
out if it was possible to achieve what
Steven had envisioned in the previs.
Once we figured that out, Id have
ideas about where the lights should be,
he continues. Of course, in England, its
cloudy, then halfway through the day it
becomes sunny, and then its cloudy
again. So you just play your cards accord-
ing to the weather. We wanted a lower
sun for the wide shots. You can get away
with overcast moments and mismatched
[light] when the camera is traveling at
high speed, because you know the
sequence will be cut up into very short
shots.
Spielberg initially envisioned using
some type of cable rig to achieve the big
camera pullback, but his crew speculated
that such a rig would take too much time
to set up. Dubin observes, If the shot is
performance-driven, Steven doesnt ever
seem to grow impatient, and he will do as
many takes as needed. But if its just a
technical shot, even a very complicated
one, he wants to do it once and move
on.
The speedy solution proved to be
an Akela crane. We kept it in one posi-
tion and did this incredible pullout, says
Kwiatkowski.
With its 70' arm, the Akela was an
oft-used tool on War Horse, as was a 50'
Animal Instincts
Top and middle: A 50' SuperTechnocrane was mounted on a Bickers 4x4 Taurus Quad
to capture shots of Joey and other horses pulling heavy artillery up a steep hill.
Bottom: A Scorpio Stabilized Head overslung on a Bickers Racing Quad was used to
capture a mounted German soldier, Gunther (David Kross), pulling his younger brother
from the march to spare him from combat.
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hill to the top a 15-percent grade.
Kwiatkowski explains, The shot starts
out a bit wide, and then suddenly a char-
acter comes in close. The camera drops
down to catch the soldiers feet, and then
we go by the big wheel of the cannon
trailer. We come back up, see the horses
and all the soldiers, and then go up to the
German commander, and now its a
close-up again. Thats what Steven does
best: tell the story with the camera.
Characters come in and out all in one
take that lasts about 45 seconds.
When Steven described the shot,
I knew where I had to put the camera,
but I didnt know howto do it, he adds.
Spielberg wanted to use a Bickers
Racing Quad with the Steadicam, but
the team eventually determined that the
hill was too steep, and the weight on the
back of the quad would be too great. So
the grips borrowed a page from the
special-effects team, which was planning
to haul the cannon up with a 10-ton
winch buried between I-beams.
Kwiatkowski built his own winch paral-
lel to theirs on a lesser grade. This was
cinched to the Bickers 4x4 Taurus,
which carried the Technocrane. We
were able to level the crane and pulled
that vehicle up with the winch in coordi-
nation with the special-effects crew
bringing up the cannon, says
Kwiatkowski. After four takes, we got
the shot. It was pretty intense.
In contrast to the grips huge arse-
nal, the productions lighting package
was relatively modest, according to
Devlin. At its core were five ArriMax
18Ks. Wed use all those lights every
day, on every setup, says Devlin. When
we ran out, we were out! Our lighting
package wasnt very big at all compared
to, say, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of
the Crystal Skull.
The HMIs were deployed even
on sunny Devon exteriors.The Devon
scenes are meant to suggest innocence,
the beginning of Albert and Joeys
friendship, so the lighting is more ideal-
ized, says Kaminski. I wanted deep
blue skies with white clouds, so I used a
daylight stock and frontlit the actors so
theyd stand out and look glorious
Animal Instincts
SuperTechnocrane mounted on a
Bickers 4x4 Taurus Quad. Steven really
loves the Technocrane, Kwiatkowski
notes, and we did a lot of elaborate shots
with just the arm. The production also
used a MovieBird 20 from Alpha Grip,
carried by a Bickers camera car.
The cranes were often outfitted
with Scorpio Stabilized Heads. That
was the trick, because those heads
enabled us to do some longer-lens shots
with great stability, says Kwiatkowski.
That worked really well on the cavalry
charges not only for technical reasons,
but also because the cameras stability
showcased the natural energy of the
horses.
Another indispensable tool was
the Russian Arm, which was used to
track alongside galloping horses.
Equipped with a gyrostabilized Flight
Head and offering 360-degree panning
capability, the remote arm rode atop a
Stealth high-speed tracking vehicle, and
it could get quite close to the horses.
The horse trainers had worked with
that vehicle before, so they knew what
they could and couldnt do, says
Kwiatkowski.
The Russian Arms speed and
handling were put to the test in a scene
showing Joeys flight through the woods.
The production cleared a 400-yard
stretch of terrain for the liberty horse
(one without a rider) and picked out
a parallel path for the Stealth.
Thoroughbreds can accelerate to full
speed within a couple of strides, but the
Stealth had to carry four people plus
crane and camera. The driver had one
foot on the gas pedal, all the way down,
and one foot on the brake at the same
time, says Dubin. When the horse
took off, the driver just took his foot off
the brake. The horse could be at full
speed within seconds! It was really
thrilling.
Some rigs were custom-designed,
occasionally at the last minute. One
example was something used for
Cannon Hill, a scene that shows Joey
and other horses struggling to haul a
cannon up a steep hill. After the previs
was scuttled because of safety concerns,
Spielberg planned another elaborate
shot that moved from the bottom of the
Camera
operator Mitch
Dubin captures
battlefield
close-ups of
Albert and his
friend from
Devon.
against the landscape.
We often used very hard light
that was diffused a little bit, similar to the
way arc lights were used in the 1970s,
says Devlin. Whereas wed typically use
four 18Ks through a large frame of diffu-
sion, like a 12-by-20, on this wed use just
one 18K through a 4x4 diffusion, which
would give the same intensity but
wouldnt be as soft. And with one light,
its more frontal; that makes it a flatter
light and gives it a richer look, almost
like a classic movie from the 1970s.
For scenes set in the trenches and
No Mans Land, production designer
Rick Carters crew built three sets on
Wisley airfield in Surrey. It was a beau-
tiful set, with quintessential imagery of
the First World War everything
looked scorched and destroyed, says
Kaminski. Because Joey had to travel
through it at a full gallop, often in wide
shots, the set was vast, which meant
Kaminski had to light large areas for
night scenes. Logistically, that was diffi-
cult, because we also had to light the
horse so he wouldnt just blend into the
night, he says. Its lit like a Christmas
tree, but at the same time I think it looks
realistic.
Camera tests in No Mans Land
immediately revealed a problem: the bay
horse wasnt visible against the red soil.
The highlight on the horse from the
explosions didnt read as strong as the
Animal Instincts
Top: The 50' SuperTechnocrane, mounted on a Bickers 4x4 Taurus Quad, is positioned in No Mans Land
to capture shots of Joey galloping straight into barbed wire. Middle: 1st AC Mark Spath adjusts focus
for a shot captured with a Scorpio Stabilized Head. Bottom: Armed with a bullhorn, cinematographer
Janusz Kaminski coordinates some explosive action.
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ground, explains Devlin, so the eye was
drawn more toward the shadow of the
horse than the rim light.
One thing that makes war
movies look eerily real is when the
persons face is brighter than the sky, he
continues. We found that true on
Saving Private Ryan [AC Aug. 98], and
we used that same technique [to light
actors] here: burning diesel fuel and
darkening the sky behind the person.
But a bay horse required a differ-
ent solution. In the end, Carter decided
to darken the color of the soil by painting
it. That set was about 1,200 feet by 800
feet, Devlin marvels. When the soil
was all churned up, Ricks crew had to go
back and repaint it [for another take].
Joeys flight across No Mans
Land includes wide shots full of smoke
and mist backlit by flares and flames.
The beast is running across the land-
scape, silhouetted, says Kaminski. It
looks very beautiful and mythical.
To match the look of the practical
flares and fires created by the special-
effects team, Kaminskis crew layered a
variety of sources. We used 180 Narrow
Spot 1K Par bulbs almost like a Wendy
Light on steroids, says Devlin. We
used four of those setups. Then we had
four 250K Lightning Strikes [gelled]
with colors to create a contrast that
popped from the flashing of the tung-
sten bulbs. For moonlight, we had an
ArriMax with a Max Mover, a remote
pan-and-tilt system, mounted up in the
same rig.
So we had three different tech-
nologies working: an HMI, a Lightning
Strikes and that huge tungsten rack of
light. And they all give such different
textures. During tests, Devlin worried
that it might come off looking like a
rock n roll show. But in the end, he was
satisfied. It really gives it a big feel. You
get a sense that youre seeing everything
on this battlefield.
Joeys run through No Mans
Animal Instincts

Tell Your Story

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- 3 3
60
Kaminski
takes a meter
reading with
actor Eddie
Marsan.
Land required several previsualizations,
and all of them were very complicated,
says Kwiatkowski. There were 18 shots
of Joey, all tracking shots, all off different
kinds of platforms.
One such shot begins with the
camera inside a trench. Kwiatkowski
explains, Joey jumps over the trench,
and the camera actually follows him. He
runs alongside the trench, and were
looking up at him. Then he tries to jump
again and falls in, and then were track-
ing with him inside the trench. Those
trenches were narrow, and the terrain
was extremely rough. We used the
suspension on the Bickers Racing Quad
and mounted Chapman Leonards
Large Vibration Isolator to eliminate
most of the bumps. This combination
enabled the Scorpio head to stabilize the
image perfectly. Its a pretty amazing
shot.
Another remarkable camera
move involved the Akela. The shot starts
in the trench with Albert, Joeys original
master. At first it looks like it could be a
Steadicam shot, but then the camera
follows Albert up a ladder and out onto
the battlefield, ending with a high-angle
view, says Kwiatkowski. The Akela
does that; its such a long arm, and the
arc to it isnt an issue.
The most dramatic palette in War
Horse appears at its conclusion, when
various characters are shown silhouetted
against a pink-orange sky in Devon. It
looks glorious and totally fake! says
Kaminski. We wanted to go that way
because its such a heroic and mythical
moment. Im very proud of the look
because its right for the story, and it was
done in-camera. I had four or five filters
on the lens red, orange and ND. Each
was cutting the light, so we ended up
side-lighting the actors with several
18Ks so they wouldnt go black.
We did very little CGI in this
movie, he adds. [Digital effects] were
used only to remove a horse trainer from
a shot or a rider dressed in a greenscreen
suit, which was necessary because the
horse couldnt go through the battlefield
at night without someone to guide him.
Everything else was live photography.
What you see is what you get.
61
TECHNICAL SPECS
2.40:1
4-perf Super 35mm
Arricam Lite, Studio;
Arri 435, 235
Arri/Zeiss Master Prime,
Angenieux Optimo
Kodak Vision3 250D 5207,
500T 5219

G
en. Caius Marcius (Ralph Fiennes) is Romes most
courageous and controversial public figure, revered and
reviled for his fierceness in battle as well his open
contempt for the citizens of his country. After emerging
victorious in a war between Rome and the neighboring
Volscians, Marcius is dubbed Coriolanus, after the Volsce
city of Corioles, and is urged by his mother, Volumnia
(Vanessa Redgrave), and Sen. Menenius (Brian Cox) to seek
political office. In order to do so, Coriolanus must first submit
himself for approval by the people of Rome, who instead call
for his banishment. Once exiled, Coriolanus aligns himself
Lord of War
Barry Ackroyd, BSC and director
Ralph Fiennes stage Shakespeares
Coriolanus as a modern conflict
between intractable foes.
By Iain Stasukevich
|
with his sworn enemy, Volscian leader
Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler), to
exact revenge on the country he once
served.
The new film Coriolanus, which
marks Fiennes directorial debut, situ-
ates William Shakespeares play in the
present day, emphasizing urban warfare
and the power of mass media. The films
cinematographer, Barry Ackroyd, BSC,
notes that the storys elements are well
suited to today. Coriolanus is a modern
story because its about warlords and
unjust wars and food riots, says
Ackroyd. Its also a story about the
umbilical connection between a man
and his mother, which is timeless.
Ackroyd and Fiennes had
worked together before, albeit briefly,
on The Hurt Locker (AC July 09), in
which Fiennes had a cameo, and which
brought Ackroyd his first ASC and
Academy Award nominations. When
Fiennes contacted Ackroyd about
Coriolanus, it quickly became clear to
the cinematographer that Fiennes had
fully immersed himself in preparing the
project. Ralph is an artist by schooling,
and we referred to paintings and draw-
ings for inspiration, Ackroyd recalls.
He had also created a mood book of
illustrations and photographs. He can
sketch out his ideas very easily, and he
would also act out moments from the
play, which is a level of understanding
Id never experienced before. It was
obvious that if anyone knew this script,
he did.
The mood book evolved into a
mood reel comprising photojournalism
from modern battlefields in Chechnya P
h
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.

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.
Opposite page:
After he is exiled
from Rome, Gen.
Caius Marcius
(Ralph Fiennes)
takes command
of Volscian troops
in his quest for
revenge against
the state. This
page, top: While
still in charge of
Romes forces,
Marcius battles
the Volscians.
Bottom: Fiennes,
who also directed,
confers with
cinematographer
Barry Ackroyd,
BSC (second from
left in gray cap).
Lord of War
and Iraq, video clips culled from loca-
tion scouts and documentaries, and
animated storyboards that were
narrated by Fiennes and Redgrave
(performing monologues from the
script). Creating those storyboards was
really my first experience in the way of
directing and getting a toehold on the
film, says Fiennes.
Ackroyd says he prefers to get
most of the talking out of the way in
preproduction. I like to have the confi-
dence of the director, and I knew that
with Ralph directing and acting in the
film, he had to be able to trust that Id
give him what he wanted. With most
directors, you reach a point where he
doesnt have to tell you exactly what it is
hes trying to get from the scene.
Sometimes thats almost impossible to
express, anyway.
The filmmakers considered
shooting on 16mm, 35mm and high-
definition video, but ultimately opted to
film on 2-perf Super 35mm with
brand-new Aaton Penelope cameras.
Ackroyd observes, The usual issues
with 2-perf are that you get more hairs
in the gate, something the Penelope is
brilliant at avoiding, and you get flares
off the hard gate, which you can see a
few times in our film. But we could
justify that in our style the camera is
typically active.
Most of Coriolanus was shot on
location, with the Serbian capital of
Belgrade standing in for Rome and the
Mediterranean port of Kotor in
Montenegro doubling for the Volscian
city of Antium. The filmmakers took
advantage of Belgrades widely varying
topography from the classical design
of the House of the National Assembly
to the post-war blokovi housing projects
to differentiate the worlds of the
patricians and the commoners.
The film opens with a scene that
establishes Marcius as an enemy of the
people he all but spits upon a starv-
ing, angry mob thats trying to break
into a grain depot and then segues to
his natural environment: the battlefield.
This scene, the battle of Corioles, was
shot in Pancevo, a Serbian municipality
that still bears the scorch marks of a
devastating 1999 NATO airstrike.
Marcius and his troops are deployed in
Corioles to halt a Volscian attack on
Roman territory.
The filmmakers traveled light,
shooting sequentially over the course of
three days with two cameras handheld
by Ackroyd (A-camera operator) and
Svetomir Pajic-Kivi (B-camera and
Steadicam operator). Angenieux
Optimo 17-80mm zoom lenses were
used for the fast-moving action beats,
with Ackroyds longtime 1st AC, Oliver
Marcus confronts
his archenemy,
Tullus Aufidius
(Gerard Butler),
leader of the
Volscians.
The film has two
sides it bursts
into movement in
the battle zones,
and then there are
the more formal
confrontations.
Driscoll, and B-camera 1st AC Drasko
Pejanovic pulling focus directly from
the lens.I guess its a thing from my
documentary days, says Ackroyd. Id
rather have the focus puller on a gear
wheel than using a remote focus,
because that way he can feel your move-
ments and watch the action, and if you
need to make a change yourself, youre
able to use your left hand to grab the
focus wheel.
Cameras were positioned to
cover action simultaneously and inter-
cut in different directions, revealing new
information with each shot. No part of
any location was out of bounds, says
Ackroyd. You think youre seeing in
more directions than you really are. Its
an illusion that works well; by creating a
360-degree world, you make the audi-
ence feel totally involved.
The production had a feature-
scale grip-and-electric package, but the
work in Pancevo rarely called for any
major setups. I wouldnt light a day
exterior, particularly a battle scene, says
Ackroyd. Instead, he worked with 1st
AD Zoran Andric to time the shoot so
he could keep the actors backlit by the
sun. As the battle calms and elsewhere,
he used mirrors and 6'x6' Griffolyn
bounces to redirect daylight into a
scene. I try not to use big lights [on day
exteriors] because youre losing the
battle if youre trying to fight nature, he
says.
As Marcius advances on Aufidius
and the Volscians, distant 6K HMI Pars
and 18Ks diffused with silk, Grid
Cloth, 250 or 251 combined with
strategic T-stop pulls helped keep the
exposure even while the camera moved
through the war-torn apartment blocks.
Tiffen NDs and Schneider True Polas
were used to keep the [12:1] Optimos
open to T2.8 whenever possible,
although when youre at the end of a
24-290mm, you need a little more
depth-of-field than that, maybe a T5.6
or T8, Ackroyd adds.
The face-off between Marcius
and Aufidius was shot in a damaged
wing of the Hotel Yugoslavia. These
two figures emerge like ghosts from the
mist, says Fiennes, who describes this
scene as one of the more theatrical
moments in the film. The film has two
sides it bursts into movement in the
battle zones, and then there are the
more formal confrontations.
Ackroyd made sure to keep the
cameras from getting between the two
soldiers as they grappled for domina-
tion. The camerawork is all from what
I call outside the circle, he says. Youre
an observer, always over someones
shoulder. Rarely is there a clean single of
anyone.
Because the cameras were seeing
in all directions, key lights were difficult
Lord of War
Top: Marcius bows to his mother (Vanessa Redgrave) as he is honored by Rome for his bravery
in battle. Bottom: Marcius eventually finds himself at odds with Romes fickle politicians.
to place in the location, so Ackroyd
keyed from two large mezzanine
windows with two 18Ks on a Genie
boom that were going through
1
4 CTS
and exterior silk curtains. As the light
changed outside, gaffer Harry Wiggins
maintained continuity indoors with
18K, 12K and 4K HMI Fresnels aimed
through 251 diffusion or skipped off the
floor, walls and ceiling never on the
actors, he remarks. Ackroyds own
Tubo lights 2' or 4' sections of PVC
pipe painted white inside and holding a
single Kino Flo were used to simu-
late the effect of bounced light and soft
key reflecting off a wall onto the
combatants weapons or soldiers in the
background.
When the Volscians retreat,
Marcius returns to Rome to great
acclaim and the new title of Coriolanus.
His family and colleagues fete the
triumphant warrior in the atrium of the
Roman Imperial Senate, a scene shot
in Belgrades House of National
Assembly.
A skylight at the peak of the
atriums dome provided little usable
natural light inside, so Ackroyds crew
floated a locally sourced, custom-built,
8.8K mixed-source (4K tungsten/4.8K
daylight) lighting balloon into the dome
to provide consistent ambient light
below. On a circular balcony above the
actors, four diffused 4K HMI Fresnels
pushed light in from a three-quarter
angle to wrap around the actors and
give a bit of shape to what was other-
wise a difficult space, says Ackroyd.
We always started with
1
4 CTS
and 251 [diffusion]on the HMIs, says
Wiggins. If it was too much, rather
than messing around with scrims or
flags wed put more diffusion up on
intermediate 4-by-4 frames. Once its
already that soft, adding an extra degree
of softness is a bonus.
Ive never been able to light with
hard light, notes Ackroyd. I know it
can be done, but I tend to see the light
Lord of War
Top: Marcius is
persuaded to run
for political office
by Roman
senator
Menenius (Brian
Cox, second from
left). Bottom: 1st
AC Oliver Driscoll
assists as
Ackroyd frames a
shot for Fiennes.
TESSIVE
12 12
11 11
10 10
9 9
6 6
1 1
3 3
2 2
4 4
5 5 7 7
8 8 TE ES VVVVVVVE VVE E VVVVVVVEE V
as having traveled some distance. If you
describe the kind of place thats ideal for
filming, its at the edge of a stage, in this
netherworld between the light and the
dark.
If there is a netherworld in
Coriolanus, it might be the palatial
Georgian estate where Marcius rests his
head yet finds little comfort in the
company of his mother and wife.
Fiennes recalls the scene in which
Coriolanus wife, Virgilia (Jessica
Chastain), comes into their bedroom
and lies down next to him: That was
one shot I knew that I wanted, a sort of
effigy-like figure of Coriolanus in the
foreground and Virgilia entering from
the shadows. Ackroyd took the idea a
step further, using Fiennes profile to
bisect Chastains look to camera at the
end of the shot.
Chastains approach to the bed
was lit with paper China balls hidden
on the floor behind the bed and one
hanging at camera left. We then felt it
would be a good idea and I remem-
ber Ralph sort of raising his eyebrows at
this to boom a Dedo over the bed
and put a hot spot on the pillow just
behind his head. You didnt see what it
was doing until Jessica laid down next to
him. It just brought a beautiful glow to
her face.
Meanwhile, in a network of cata-
combs beneath Antium, Aufidius plots
his next move against Rome. I told
Barry, It has to be Caravaggio,
Fiennes says of the setting.
The catacomb scenes were filmed
beneath the citadel in Belgrades
Kalemegdan Park. Production designer
Ricky Eyres lined the catacomb arches
with low-output Photofloods hidden
behind metal shades, providing pools of
light for the actors to walk through.
Firelight from off-camera braziers and
Ackroyds fluorescent Tubos provided
most of the rest of the lighting.
After Coriolanus is expelled from
Rome and joins Aufidius army, the
Volscians become emboldened and
move aboveground. The filmmakers
staged these day and night exteriors on
the grounds of an old factory on the
After forging a truce with Tullus and turning the tide against Rome (top), Marcius resists
pleas of mercy from his wife (Jessica Chastain, middle) and mother (bottom).
Lord of War
outskirts of Belgrade. Firelight keyed
the night scenes. We had a couple of
real ragers burning, recalls Ackroyd.
We used some tricks to push the
light from the bonfire further into the
shot, says Wiggins. We built timber-
wood boxes with six 300-watt Par 36
bulbs inside, going back to a desk
control for the fire effect. Each bulb was
on a channel, and they were coming
through Full CTO and 251 diffusion.
(For some scenes, a tungsten 12K on a
Genie boom provided an easily
adjustable overhead backlight.)
For day scenes in the factory, the
8.8K lighting balloon was floated into
the open ceiling and wrangled with
wires from the upper floor. 4K and 6K
HMIs supplied soft backlight at ground
level, and a 4x4 Kino Flo was used for
fill.
Just as Coriolanus and Aufidius
are about to descend on Rome,
Coriolanus mother, wife and son arrive
to plead with him to reconsider.
Volumnia kneels before her son and
begs him to make peace with the
Romans.
The dialogue-heavy scene took
two days to capture, with the two
cameras cross-shooting Chastain,
Redgrave and Fiennes much of the
time. The second day was dedicated
Lord of War
Fiennes blocks out a shot with B-camera/Steadicam operator Svetomir Pajic-Kivi
and Ackroyd (right). Standing at left is script supervisor Susanna Lenton.
72
almost entirely to Redgraves mono-
logue, and Ackroyd moved the cameras
to parallel positions, with the 24-
290mm Optimos in a portrait-friendly
80-200mm range. When you live with
these lenses and get to know them as
well as I do, [choosing focal lengths]
isnt always a conscious decision, says
the cinematographer. Its just a feeling
that [a given focal length] is whats
necessary to tell the story.
That was one of the hardest
scenes to direct, says Fiennes. I had to
be building up for my own breakdown
at the end of the scene, so I had to
completely hand over my trust to Barry.
I wanted to start the scene farther back
and then get close into the actors faces.
You need to see the face, the eyes.
Theres something powerful running
through Vanessa in that moment.
Ackroyd agrees. Vanessa, like all
great actors, gave everything to the
scene and to the other actors, making
the shooting easy. She never left the set
until wed finished. That kind of spirit in
your film is added value that no
producer, director or cinematographer
can provide.
By the time Ackroyd arrived at
LipSync Post in London to begin the
digital grade with colorist Stuart Fyvie,
he felt most of the color work had
already been accomplished. The real
coloring comes into play when youre
designing the film, he observes. Its in
the locations, the costumes and the
makeup. I still like to create films in the
camera. The most important work you
do in post is matching skin tones,
throwing things into light and shade
and covering up your mistakes.
Barrys honesty is one of the bril-
liant things about him, Fiennes reports.
He doesnt ever come up with a
contrived or a decorative thing ever.
The thing I hope for Coriolanus
is that every shot and every edit works
together for the right reason, says
Ackroyd. We didnt do anything
special, technically speaking. Whats
special is being able to show your
emotional side. It isnt about getting lost
in the lighting or the camerawork; its
about telling stories.
TECHNICAL SPECS
2.40:1
2-perf Super 35mm
Aaton Penelope
Angenieux Optimo
Fujifilm Eterna 250D 8563,
500T 8573
73
protocols were established for handling the camera negative
and safely conveying it to the lab. The lab, in turn, had its own
set of procedures for creating dailies off the developed nega-
tive and preparing those original elements for final assembly
and printing. Further steps were established for editorial,
sound syncing and so on.
In todays industry, which finds digital-imaging tools
introduced and supplanted with head-spinning frequency,
workflows are evolving in new ways and at breakneck speeds.
Post is no longer a place, its a state of mind, states Michael
Cioni, founder and CEO of Light Iron, a post facility that
targets productions with file-based workflows. As soon as you
pull the card out of the camera, post has started, even though
youre still on set. On [the upcoming feature] The Amazing
Spider-Man, all of the data backup, sound syncing, Avid
dailies and color-corrected dailies in other words, the
footage that would be sent out to the studio executives and all
the filmmakers was created without a brick-and-mortar
post house. On a movie that large, thats a profound thing.
The creative potential of emerging digital technologies
is vast, but the importance of handling data correctly on set is
often overlooked. Brook Willard, a digital-imaging technician
whose credits include The Muppets (AC Dec. 11), The
Amazing Spider-Man and Baz Luhrmanns The Great Gatsby,
says, My biggest pet peeve regarding on-set data handling is
the cavalier attitude people have about it. With film, we hand
the negative over to the lowest-paid member of the camera
department. With digital data, its even scarier. Everybody has
a computer, and everybody has copied files to a hard drive
W
orkflows have existed in some form since the birth of
cinema itself, but today, as digital-imaging techniques
become more and more prevalent, the very concept of
a workflow can be difficult to define. In practice, a
digital workflow truly begins the moment a manufacturer lays
down a set of specifications for a digital camera system. Those
choices affect the quality of the outputted image, establish its
recorded format (tape or a file-based alternative) and have a
major impact on post pathways.
Once specs are established, the workflow branches out
in both physical and theoretical directions. On the physical
side, data-handling protocols must be established for hard-
ware and software usage both on and off the set. One must
also properly address issues related to color space, transforms
and the file-format containers in which image data is stored,
converted and used to communicate with different platforms
and devices.
Each step on this path is slippery enough to cause
stumbles, either through human error or through the loss of
information as image data is transferred and/or translated.
Pitfalls can include errors or limitations introduced during
image acquisition; mishandling of the physical data itself;
problems involving the integration, manipulation/processing
and delivery of the digital imagery during post; and, finally,
complications related to digital exhibition.
To define the concept of a digital-image workflow, we
should begin by breaking down and analyzing the entire
image-making chain.
When film was the prevailing capture medium, on-set
Go
withthe
Flow
ACs technical editor surveys
evolving digital workflows and
some of the challenges they pose.
By Christopher Probst
|
before, so handling data seems even
easier than handling film. Many people
assume [the task] can therefore be
handed down to the least-experienced
person on set.
The data on a memory card or
tape that is removed from the camera is
extremely vulnerable until it is retrieved,
backed up and verified. The efforts of
the entire production team are held
within this small digital package of ones
and zeroes, so its vital to establish a
structured hierarchy for the handling of
shot media. Describing on-set data
management as copying data is sort of
like describing cinematography as
pointing a camera it just doesnt tell
the whole story, Willard observes. A
proper on-set digital workflow requires
an experienced individual. The time,
money and sanity saved by hiring an A-
list team will be worth a hundred times
more than what it costs.
Many methods and devices are
used to store, back up and transport on-
set data, and given the serpentine path
any particular workflow can take, it is
crucial to establish a clear set of checks
and balances to safeguard your digital
negative. In addition to verifying the
data copies (by performing checksums
on copied data across several duplicate
drives), one must create a procedure for
methodically rotating media cards,
shuttle drives and archive masters both
on set and when transporting materials
to and from post houses.
Have you ever seen someone
sitting on set with 20 fire-wire drives
of different sizes all daisy-chained
together? asks Cioni. Well, for some
people, thats a workflow.
The first mistake many produc-
tions make is deciding not to spend the
money on the workflow up front, he
continues. People are reluctant to spend
money on something they dont under-
stand, and thats logical. But trying to
save money on your workflow and
slowly trickle it out as you go actually
creates bumps in the road. You need to
decide up front that you will get the
right type of drives and the right
number of drives, not to mention the
right amount of recording media, like
solid-state cards. Clients often ask me,
Will five or six cards do the trick? And
I ask, For what, the morning? Because
ideally, wed like to hold onto cards that
are storing footage for at least 72
hours!
The next hurdle in a digital work-
flow is preparing the media for its move
to the editorial and post teams. Many of
todays high-end digital motion-picture
camera systems shoot to their own
proprietary file formats that dont
directly allow for editing in systems such
as Avid and Final Cut Pro. Therefore, it
is often necessary to transcode the
footage into a format that is compatible
with the post houses chosen editorial
equipment.
Several possible workflow paths
can be introduced through this process,
and each has potential pitfalls that can
impact the image. Does the production
want to use the transcodedfiles for
offline purposes only, similar to a work D
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This graph by Los
Angeles post
facility Light Iron,
which specializes
in file-based
workflows,
predicts that such
workflows will
eclipse all others
by 2015.
Describing on-set
data management
as copying data
just doesnt tell the
whole story.
print? Or do they wish to have the
transcodes provide files that can be
edited and also used to create the online,
much like taking color-corrected dailies
back into a telecine for a final tape-to-
tape process?
The latter option presents a red
flag in terms of the effect it can have on
the quality of the image. Mike Most, a
senior colorist at post facility Next
Element, explains, For many, the word
digital is completely misunderstood. It
can be nearly impossible to convince
some producers that there is a difference
between this digital format and that
one.
A good example of this can be
seen on many productions shooting on
Alexa cameras and recording to the
ProRes 4:4:4 codec, which is a
compressed format to begin with,
continues Most. As far as producers are
concerned, they are shooting on digital,
so its all the same, but the problem is
that they will then take that ProRes
4:4:4, convert it to DNxHD 115 a
mid-range Avid codec and bring it
into an Avid Media Composer. Then
they cut the show and output that as
their color-correction master. In the
process, theyre losing a lot of quality
because they are subjecting [the
footage] to two separate compressions
and leaving it in a mid-level data-rate
codec. The cinematographer on the
show may value the difference between
shooting 4:2:2 or 4:4:4, but, whether he
knows it or not, his footage isnt being
handled properly.
Even when the transcoded mate-
rial is used only for offline editing and
the original full-range camera files are
used for the final color grade, workflow
hazards might lurk around the corner. I
recently experienced one of these on an
Old Navy commercial I shot with Red
Epic cameras.
The Epics Mysterium-X sensor
has a native aspect ratio sized to the
DCI standard of 1.89:1. Filming for a
TV commercial, we set the in-camera
framing guides for 16x9 (1.78:1), which
represents a slight crop of the sides from
the full sensor size. Transcodes were
performed on set and cropped in
RedCineX to our desired aspect ratio.
After editing was completed, the origi-
nal raw .r3d files were conformed at the
post house for final color correction.
Many contemporary color correc-
tors are able to work directly with the
raw .r3d files by utilizing a RedRocket
card internally to help process and real-
time deBayer the Redcode source mate-
rial. However, in order to crop the
1.89:1 material to the 1.78:1 aspect
ratio, a software checkbox must be
selected for either Fit to Width or Fit
to Height. Fit to Width uses the
entire width of the recorded frame and
leaves a slight letterbox on the top and
bottom of the frame. Fit to Height
uses all of the height information and
then crops the image at the 1.78:1
aspect ratio of the HD delivery spec.
Erroneously, the post housechose
Fit to Width, but the client found the
resultant letterboxing unacceptable. The
post team then attempted to remedy the
situation by pushing in on the final HD
image to fill the height of the 16x9
frame, but this made the footage lose
sharpness, which further dismayed the
client. At this point, the producer called
me to ask why our commercial looked
soft. After determining where the
problem began, we had the post house
go back to the original files and lay
Go with the Flow

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This illustrates two sample workflows that are possible when image capture is accomplished
with the Arri Alexa.
It can be nearly
impossible to
convince some
producers that there
is a difference
between this digital
format and that one.
down that material again, this time in
the proper aspect ratio.
Thats a perfect example of a job
where everything goes right, and then a
simple 1.89-to-1.78 conversion is
missed and the whole workflow is
compromised, notes Cioni. It wasnt
the file format or color corrector that
created the problem; it was the nature of
change that created the problem. We
are all engaging in completely new
acquisition formats, and now, with file-
based systems, this generation of film
professionals is tackling the steepest
learning curve theyve ever confronted.
Every time you get that type of
phone call, you can spend two days
doing detective work trying to figure
out what happened, observes Jeff
Heusser, a digital-effects supervisor at
Digital Domain and cofounder of
fxguide.com. I recently spent several
days dealing with a problem on a 3-D
project, trying to sync up two cameras
that had time codes that wouldnt
match. Eventually I looked at the meta-
data and found that the two cameras [in
the stereo rig] were running completely
different firmware! Id never have
thought wed have to specify to crews
that both cameras shooting on a 3-D
rig must have the same firmware.
The difficulty in moving to file-
based cameras and workflows is exacer-
bated by the fact that many companies
are trying to introduce this new work-
flow into existing systems and method-
ologies. One of the biggest workflow
mistakes is that people attempt to force
material through a pre-existing
pipeline, says Willard. Ive seen
numerous productions get into major
trouble by, for example, jamming Red
.r3d files through their proven workflow
rather than embracing the camera for
what it is. You can get .r3d files through
any workflow you want, but you can do
a lot of things in life that are not recom-
mended. When all youve got is a
hammer, everything begins to look like a
nail, and when all youve got is an
HDCam-SR deck, your .r3d workflow
is going to be compromised.
Thats not to say a tape workflow
is the enemy, he adds. Its just an
outdated solution to an outdated prob-
lem. There is always a best workflow for
a given project based on the required
speed of turnaround and deliverables. If
you want to shoot on camera X, watch
dailies in format Y and deliver files to
everybody in format Z, theres a line that
connects those dots. The addition of
specialized hardware or software breaks
that line by forcing a detourfor the sake
of the workflow rather than for the sake
of the result.
For post facilities, transitioning to
file-based workflows requires not only a
change in thinking, but also consider-
able financial investment. Because I
work in post, I can honestly blame the
Go with the Flow

The author used
this workflow on
the 2012
Lionsgate feature
release Fire with
Fire, shot with the
Red Epic. Tunnel
Post in Santa
Monica will
handle the digital
mastering.
This generation of
film professionals is
tackling the
steepest learning
curve theyve ever
confronted.
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struggle to move toward file-based
workflows on the post houses them-
selves, Cioni declares. Its not that the
crews on set are resistant to it, or that
the cinematographers cant get a good-
looking image out of it. In fact, work-
flow problems usually do not occur on
set, but in post. Its the post house that
is slow to upgrade and change. For some
facilities, getting a file-based workflow
[going] is like sucking a golf ball
through a garden hose, but they will
throw time, manpower and horsepower
at a problem, and if they apply enough
suction, they will get that golf ball all of
the way through. Or, instead, they could
just invest in a separate pipeline right
next to that one that is twice as wide!
Restructuring an entire post
houses pipeline can be a massive under-
taking, especially if that pipeline is based
on legacy standards. For a digitally
captured production to look its best, and
to get the most out of the camera, an
all-digital path is the best way to go,
says Most. If you believe film is the
only acceptable aesthetic, or the most
desirable one, then you should try to
find a way to shoot film. Manipulating
digitally captured images in a rather
destructive way in order to make them
look not digital is, to my mind, coun-
terproductive. The advantage to all of
these digital formats only really materi-
alizes if you hand that file over to the
final colorist, and in many cases, that
just isnt happening.
In an effort to ingest all the vari-
ous formats, resolutions, codecs and bit
depths, many post facilities have engi-
neered their own solutions for their
particular hardware/software pipelines.
In fact, many use this secret sauce to
promote their services. Secret sauces
are not helping the workflow situation,
says Cioni. Ill admit that there are
things I dont know about post, but I
have not been able to find anything in
what we do that I wouldnt share with
someone else. I find that if you share
information with your clients, they are
more likely to come back to you.
A discussion of workflow can
quickly get bogged down in technical
terms such as color space, color gamut,
linear, log, bit depth and so on, but these
image parameters play a crucial role in
the quality of the images they display. It
is vital to understand that different
devices and post steps speak in differ-
ent color-space languages, and that in
order to move an image through a
specific workflow, it is often necessary
to transform the image from one color
space to another.
In fact, transforms can occur at
almost every step in the post process.
The original camera files, for example,
must be ingested into a color-corrector
platform in order for the images to be
graded. If youre shooting on an Alexa
in Log C to ProRes files, for instance,
you must choose what color space to
perform your color corrections in, such
as Rec 709 for HD broadcast or Blu-ray
finish, or the DCI P3 standard for
theatrical exhibition. Either way, a
transform occurs.
The process of transforming an
image can significantly impact the
results. Cioni explains, When you
transform from one color space into
another, the result cannot be exactly the
same. The only way for it to be exactly
the same is for it to be in the same color
space. So when doing a transform, there
has to be some percentage of change. If
its less than 1 percent, its probably not
an issue, and if its less than 1 percent in
the highlights, thats even less of an
issue.
For example, he continues, if I
showed you a series of pictures and said
the difference between them is that one
has white at 100 percent, one has white
at 95 percent, and the final image has
white at 90 percent, you probably
wouldnt see much of a difference. But if
I were to show you images with black at
zero, black at 5 percent and black at 10
percent, youd probably be throwing up
by the time we got to 10. Its the same
amount of variation, but where you put
[that variation] changes the perception
of what you see. When transforming
between color spaces, you want to make
sure that the transforms upset areas in
the image that are the least detectable.
A loss of image quality can occur
when transforming imagery captured
by a modern digital-cinema camera,
Go with the Flow

Secret sauces are
not helping the
workflow situation.
This diagram shows how the Image Interchange Framework-Academy Color Encoding Specification,
better known as IIF-ACES, functions with three different capture devices.
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Go with the Flow

because many of these cameras can now
supply dynamic ranges and color
gamuts that far exceed the specs of
established format standards such as
Cineons 10-bit log DPX and the HD
standard, Rec 709. You need a format
that has a deep enough bit depth to hold
the equivalent information without gaps
in it, explains Most. The critical aspect
of this is that when the image is
processed, as with color correction, the
color space youre transforming to has a
deeper bit depth than your source.
Thats why most color correctors work
at 32-bit, 64-bit, full float and so on.
Bit depth has more to do with
accuracy: the more bits you have, the
more sample levels you have, he
continues. And the more sample levels
you have, the less steppiness you have
between what those levels represent. We
live in an analog world, and analog, for
all practical purposes, has infinite bit
depth. Digital is always a representation
of something thats analog, so when we
digitize something, we have to choose
how much [information] were going to
throw away and what in-between levels
are not going to be available. For exam-
ple, if you digitize a curve, the lower the
sampling rate, the steppier the resulting
curve will be. With an infinite sampling
rate, you end up with an analog curve
again.
One way to think about trans-
forms is to imagine that you have a color
space with only three points lets say
red, green and blue, says Cioni. When
you transform an image into that color
space, all the colors apart from red, green
and blue can wiggle around quite a bit
because we didnt give specific directions
for the placement of those colors. The
idea with a good transform is to have
more vertices of precision than your
source material so that when you trans-
form into it, you can plot the color infor-
mation with a more accurate placement
in the new gamut. A good transform has
more precision for where it places
magenta or fuchsia, for example; those
colors hover around similar locations. If
you have a value for red and blue, you
might get purple correct, but what about
magenta or fuchsia? Those colors are in
between those [basic] values, and thats
what a good transform has to take into
consideration.
With many post facilities creating
custom workflows, exchanging material
between companies can be problematic.
One company might use one color
space, while another facility uses a
different one. Having to transform shots
back and forth between these dissimilar
workflows can have a detrimental effect
on the image. To address this, the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences Science & Technology Council
has been developing a new set of work-
flow standards, the Image Interchange
Framework. The IIF and its proposed
color space, the Academy Color
Encoding Specification, have been
detailed in AC before, most recently in
March 11 and April 11.
None of todays digital cameras,
or even scanned 35mm negative, can be
looked at independently from its work-
flow specs, and the most critical part of
a workflow spec is how various color-
space transforms affect your images
dynamic range and color gamut, says
Curtis Clark, ASC, chairman of the
ASC Technology Committee and a
participant in the development of the
IIF. IIF-ACES is the first system to
address this challenge. ACES is a start-
ing-point color-space environment
where everything plays on an equal foot-
ing. There are no ambiguities in the way
we get to ACES from whatever the
original capture device created, because
ACES is a color space that is much
broader than the capabilities of any
current camera or display device. It
doesnt clip or restrict the attributes of
This illustrates how the ACES color space encompasses and exceeds the capabilities of
current camera and display devices.
ACES is the
ultimate way to
future-proof your
digital negative.
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Go with the Flow

what was there in the original image. Its
the ultimate way to future-proof your
digital negative.
To understand how IIF-ACES
works, its necessary to distinguish
between linear and log encoding. Linear
encoding is often confused with video
gamma, which is sometimes called
linear video. The linear encoding we are
discussing is scene linear, which repre-
sents images that have a linear relation-
ship between the captured RGB values
and the physical light luminosities of
the original scene. Logarithmic encod-
ing, on the other hand, encodes images
with a non-linear relationship to the
scenes physical light intensities,
mapping the scenes dynamic-range
information within a smaller number of
bits. Its values, therefore, do not increase
in tandem with the physical light levels
present in the taking scene. It is impor-
tant to realize that although film densi-
ties have a logarithmic relationship to
the scene, not all logarithmic encodings
encode the images as film would have.
Many of todays popular digital-
cinema cameras utilize log encoding as
part of their recording schemes. Arris
Alexa can incorporate Log C encoding
with its ProRes recording option, and
Sonys F35 and SRW9000PL employ
the companys S-Log format. On the
linear side of the coin, several camera
systems offer raw linear data capture,
including Reds One, Scarlet and Epic,
the Alexa (when using third-party
onboard recorders to capture ArriRaw
data) and Sonys F65. In order to
capture the full capabilities of these
cameras, the IIF uses custom input-
device transforms, or IDTs, to ingest the
maximum information from the origi-
nal data into the ACES color space.
Most of the IDTs are created by
looking at the spectral sensitivities of the
sensor on a given camera, Clark
explains. The Academy has analyzed
that data and very carefully devised a
matrix for each camera assuming, of
course, that the camera manufacturer
allowed them to go that deep into their
specs. If not, then the onus is on the
manufacturer to provide the matrix that
L
ast year the FX series
Justified became the
first episodic TV show to
test the Academys IIF-
ACES workflow, which it
did using Sony cameras,
and since then post facility
Encore has begun using
the process on shows that
use different capture
media, among them
35mm film, the Arri Alexa
and the Red Epic.
Encore senior colorist Pankaj
Bajpai reports that IIF-ACES is being
used to color correct/finish Hung and
Enlightened, which are shot on 35mm;
Chicago Code and How to Make it in
America, which are shot with the Alexa
(using SxS cards to record to the ProRes
4:4:4 codec); and the new season of
Justified, which is shot on Reds Epic.
The image characteristics yielded by all
these different digital sensors are unique
to each camera, just as the image char-
acteristics of the various film negatives
are unique, but once you have the proper
input-device transform for each camera,
the reference-rendering transforms and
output-device transforms remain the
same within the IIF system, regardless
of the camera used, explains Bajpai.
Is there a difference between the
look of Epic images and Sony F35
images? Absolutely, he continues. Is
one better than the other? Thats an
aesthetic question. However, in terms of
supporting the full range of what each
sensor or film stock can capture, IIF-
ACES has proven to be very simple to
work with. It brings all of that informa-
tion into a common workspace. With
the color correction, our job is to respect
the uniqueness of these cameras and the
cinematographers intentions for shoot-
ing with them.
For the HBO series Hung, shot
by Uta Briesewitz, Encore scans 3-perf
Super 35mmnegative on a 4K Spirit
and saves the data as 1920x1080 10-bit
uncompressed DPX files. We then use
the IDT for film negative
that the Academy has
provided to bring that
material into ACES, says
Bajpai. Its amazing how
well a 10-bit DPX scan
falls into place with it.
[Once in ACES space,] we
can color correct it using
the same RRTs and ODTs
as we would on a digitally
captured show.
In the past, he continues, TV
shows would do a telecine transfer from
film to some form of video, such as
DigiBeta, D1 or HDCam, but you
could never really record the full range
of what was on the negative. Even in
HD, you were limited by the Rec 709
gamut. There were ways you could try to
flatten the image and retain more detail,
but there wasnt anything like 10-bit
DPX uncompressed data.
ACES really captures all of the
characteristic curves and the way that
film behaves, with very meaty mid-
tones, gorgeous blacks that dont have
the sort of blue noise you sometimes get
with film scans, and creamy, subtle
highlights. On Hung, even with areas of
underexposure in dark scenes, we can
maintain detail while making the blacks
rich.
The new season of Justified, shot
by Francis Kenny, ASC,is being
captured with Reds Epic, which offers
5K Bayer-sensor resolution and frame-
rate versatility. (It allows up to 96 fps in
full-frame 5K.) For that show, says
Bajpai, were working from the raw
.r3d files and have an IDT thats
designed to maintain the integrity of the
native full dynamic range of those files.
Of course, at some point the .r3d files
have to be deBayered, and we are
deBayering them in such a way that our
color-science maps out. The ACES
workflow is working very well. Were
getting very good blacks, lots of detail in
the highlights, and really meaty mid-
tones.
Christopher Probst
| New IIF-ACES Workflow in Action |
Pankaj Bajpai
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does the transform accurately from its
cameras output into ACES RGB
values. That doesnt have to entail going
all the way back to the spectral response
characteristics of the sensor, however; it
may be just a look-up table, if thats the
way the manufacturer prefers to do it.
Once in the ACES color space,
the full range of data captured from the
digital camera can then be adjusted
within a much larger bit-depth format,
which utilizes the OpenEXR container
originally developed by Industrial Light
& Magic for use in the visual-effects
arena.
The image characteristic of a
digital camera and its sensor is unique
to each camera, says Encore senior
colorist Pankaj Bajpai, who graded last
years IIF test-bed TV series, Justified.
Each camera responds to the high-
lights and shadows a little differently.
Its analogous to how different film
stocks behave. Cinematographers can
test each camera the way they would a
film stock to learn how the blacks feel,
how the mid-tones register and so
forth, and then light the way they
always have, by eye or with a meter
whatever method theyre comfortable
with. With ACES, when I have a scene
with a wide dynamic range, I dont have
to chase certain areas with a power
window to bring the highlights down
the way I often had to before ACES.
IDTs account for only one aspect
of the IIF-ACES workflow. Within
the IIF there are also transforms
for rendering (called the Reference
Rendering Transform, or RRT), trans-
forms specific to color-grading changes
applied to a rendered image in the
color corrector (Look Modification
Transforms, or LMTs), and transforms
that take into account the display device
used to view the output image (Output
Device Transforms, or ODTs). Clark
explains, To make an analogy, if ACES
is your negative, then the RRT, along
with color-grading LMTs, is your
print, the rendered negative that you
can view. You cannot make use of
ACES files independently of the RRT.
Thats also true of ODTs, which map
the rendered ACES information
[OCES, or Output Color Encoding
Space] to a specific display device.
When youre not in a DCI-
compliant, projection-standard, color-
space environment, variations in
monitor calibration can dramatically
impact what you perceive in your
image, continues Clark. You initially
trust that the display reference is prop-
erly calibrated and configured for the
appropriate color space, but you might
actually find that isnt the case, and your
reference isnt really a reference at all. In
that situation, you just dont know
exactly what youre looking at. Its
imperative to ensure that the calibration
and color-space settings of the display
device being used are proper for what-
ever distribution platform the project is
geared toward, whether digital cinema
or HDTV.
CRTs have been dying [in color-
correction suites] for several years now,
notes Bajpai, but even those do not
truly represent what will be seen on a
plasma or LCD screen today. The most
important aspect of a color-correction
environment is being able to predictably
set your viewing environment to a
specific set of specs so that when youre
looking at white, its white, and when
youre looking at black, its black. Even
with pro-grade plasma sets, its impossi-
ble to match one with another when you
put them side-by-side.
Having an output image trans-
formed to the specific, calibrated device
on which it will finally be displayed
seems like an obvious idea, but having a
working color space and workflow
process that can easily move between
any of the delivery formats, be it DCI
P3 for theatrical distribution or Rec 709
for HDTV, is a unique feature of the
IIF. Bajpai elaborates, In the color-
correction suite, when you start with a
Rec 709 color space and try to color-
correct that image, you can actually see
how quickly you lose details. By
contrast, when youre working from the
original logarithmic image with an IDT
into ACES color space, you can see how
much dynamic range youre able to
maintain. With IIF-ACES, everything
just sort of falls into place, and you dont
have to struggle to get the image to
balance out or retain detail.
Go with the Flow

86
Even CRTs dont
truly represent what
will be seen on a
plasma or LCD
screen today.
Once the post processing of the
imagery is complete, the final step in a
projects workflow is generating the
final deliverables. Even at this last
step, outdated delivery specs or image-
compromised workflows can derail an
otherwise solid workflow strategy. In
the TV realm, for example, many
broadcasters still require an HDCam
tape be provided for final delivery,
even if a show is entirely file-based
throughout production and post. But
most of todays shows dont air off
tape; they air off servers! Cioni notes.
Productions might finish on some
sort of server system at a post house,
but they will then lay that file-based
show to tape, drop it into a FedEx
package and send it to Master
Control, where it will be digitized
onto a server and then aired. Tape has
become a way to mail things, and
thats it.
Some TV productions have
already adopted an entirely file-based
workflow and delivery. [Producer]
Dean Devlin is a great example of a
pioneer in file-based delivery, says
Cioni. Leverage is now in its fourth
season, and they shoot on Red
cameras and finish it all in QuickTime
files. When it airs on TNT, its airing
from a file.
Bajpai adds, After Sony ran out
of HDCam-SR tapes [during the
Fukushima nuclear disaster], we
started to see more and more file-
based delivery. People are taking baby
steps right now, and there is a lot of
discussion about what the final format
should be. But once you finish, espe-
cially if you use ACES, you can walk
out of here with [your project in]
almost any [format] you want.
For cinematographers, trying to
stay abreast of current technologies
requires a much broader understanding
of workflows than ever before. But just
as the film-based workflow settled into
a relatively controlled set of standards,
so, too, will digital workflows, especially
as manufacturers come to terms with
file-based systems and initiatives such as
IIF-ACES simplify the challenges.
87
Tape has
become a way to
mail things, and
thats it.

Canon Unveils
Cinema EOS
Signaling the companys
commitment to professional
motion-picture production,
Canon has unveiled the
Cinema EOS C300, an
interchangeable-lens digital
cinema camera that
combines exceptional imag-
ing performance with
outstanding mobility and
expandability. The camera
will be available in two models: the EOS C300 EF, equipped with an
EF lens mount for compatibility with Canons diverse line of inter-
changeable EF and EF Cinema lenses; and the EOS C300 PL, with a
PL lens mount for use with industry-standard PL lenses.
Both models feature a new Super 35mm-equivalent CMOS
sensor that incorporates approximately 8.29 million effective pixels,
with a pixel size that is larger than that of conventional professional
camcorders, thus enabling greater light-gathering capabilities for
enhanced sensitivity and reduced noise. The sensor reads full HD
(1920x1080) video signals for each of the three RGB primary colors,
decreasing the incidence of moir, and 4:2:2 color sampling further
enables high-resolution performance.
Supported by a heightened signal read-out speed, the
CMOS sensor reduces rolling-shutter skews. Additionally, the
combination of the sensor with Canons high-performance Digic DV
III image processor facilitates high-precision gamma processing and
smooth gradation expression. The C300 also features the Canon
Log Gamma recording mode, which captures a flat looking
image with 12 stops of dynamic range for maximum flexibility in
post.
The cameras video and audio recording file format adopts
the industry-standard Material Exchange Format, an open source
file format ideally suited for nonlinear editing systems. The C300
records to readily available CF cards and is equipped with two card
slots for simultaneous recording. The camera also offers 59.41i,
50.00i, 29.97P, 25.00P, 23.98P and 24.00p recording modes.
The C300 measures 5.2" wide by 7.0" high by 6.7" deep.
The camera can be outfitted with a handle, grip, thumb rest and
monitor unit. Additionally, it offers an array of industry-standard
terminals, including HD/SD-SDI video output for external recording.
When used in conjunction with Canons WFT-E6B wireless file trans-
mitter for EOS DSLRs, the C300 can also be controlled remotely via
a smart phone or tablet.
The camera is equipped with four start/stop buttons posi-
New Products & Services
SUBMISSION INFORMATION
Please e-mail New Products/Services releases to:
newproducts@ascmag.com and include full contact
information and product images. Photos must be
TIFF or JPEG files of at least 300dpi.
tioned at various locations to satisfy a variety of camera-holding
styles. The camera is also compatible with a host of third-party acces-
sories, including matteboxes, follow-focus systems and external
video and audio recorders.
Other features include fast- and slow-motion shooting with
frame rates adjustable between 1 and 60 fps in 1 fps increments.
Additionally, a selection of Custom Pictures enables users to adjust
the image quality for greater control over the look.
The EOS C300 EF is scheduled to be available this month,
while the C300 PL is slated for release in late March; both cameras
have a recommended price of $20,000.
For additional information, visit www.canon.com/cinemaeos.
Canon Debuts
EF Cinema Lenses
Supporting the release
of the Cinema EOS C300 digi-
tal camera system, Canon has
introduced seven 4K EF
Cinema Lenses.
The lineup includes four zoom lenses (two each for EF and
PL mounts) covering a focal-length range from 14.5mm to
300mm, and three EF-mount prime lenses. All seven lenses are
capable of delivering exceptional 4K optical performance and
offer compatibility with the Super 35mm-equivalent image
format. The three prime lenses can also be used with cameras
equipped with 35mm full-frame sensors.
The four zoom lenses comprise the EF-mount CN-E14.5-
60mm T2.6 L S, the PL-mount CN-E14.5-60mm T2.6 L SP, the EF-
mount CN-E30-300mm T2.95-3.7 L S and the PL-mount CN-E30-
300mm T2.95-3.7 L SP. Zoom, focus and iris markings are all
engraved on angled surfaces for improved readability from behind
the camera. With a focus rotation angle of approximately 300
degrees and a zoom rotation angle of approximately 160 degrees,
the lenses facilitate precise focusing performance while making
possible smooth and subtle zoom operation.
The prime lenses comprise the EF-mount CN-E24mm T1.5
L F, CN-E50mm T1.3 L F and CN-E85mm T1.3 L F. The primes and
the zooms all employ anomalous dispersion glass, which is effec-
tive in eliminating chromatic aberration, and large-diameter
aspherical lenses, providing high-resolution imaging across the
frame. Each lens is equipped with a newly designed 11-blade
aperture diaphragm for soft, attractive blur characteristics.
For additional information, visit www.usa.canon.com.
Redrock Micro
Introduces UltraCage
Redrock Micro has introduced
UltraCage Blue accessories for the latest
generation of digital cinema cameras,
including Canons EOS C300.
Designed in partnership with Canon,
the UltraCage Blue ensures all buttons,
functions and doors on the C300 are
completely accessible, and the C300s
handgrip can be removed and attached
without removing the cage. Furthermore,
the UltraCage mirrors the compact design
of the C300 to allow users to add critical
accessories without expanding the systems
footprint.
When Canon approached us to
create a cage that would finish the C300
into a supremely functional production
camera, we wanted to do something more
than just create a square cage, says James
Hurd, Redrock Micros chief revolutionary.
We felt it was important to mirror the
C300s compactness and beautiful lines
without increasing the cameras footprint.
Customers want to retain the cameras feel
and ergonomics, and add the support,
security and features of the UltraCage.
Redrock Micro has also announced
the UltraCage Blue Universal, a version of
the UltraCage designed to work with an
array of digital camera systems from a
number of manufacturers, including Sony
and Panasonic. Both the UltraCage Blue
and UltraCage Blue Universal boast a
modular form factor that allows users to
quickly and easily switch from ultra-
compact to full studio-style modes.
For additional information, visit
www.redrockmicro.com.
Hurlbut, Letus Develop
Master Cinema Series
Shane Hurlbut, ASC has partnered
with camera-accessories manufacturer
Letus Corp. to produce the Shane Hurlbut
89
utilized 4x4 filters. Later, the MB-105
update used 4x5.65 filters. The latest
version, the MB-114, is available in either a
two-stage or three-stage version for 4x5.65
filters.
The MB-114 features a 114mm
clamp-on back and comes with four step-
down rings to 110mm, 105mm, 95mm
and 80mm. The mattebox is compatible
with most professional cinema lenses.
www.birnsandsawyer.com.
Cooke Adds 135mm Lens
Cooke Optics has added a 135mm
lens to its 5/i Prime and Panchro lens sets.
The 135mm for the 5/i set boasts a
speed of T1.4 and the 5/is signature focus
ring, which illuminates when required. The
Panchro 135mm joins the smaller, lighter-
weight lens set and has a speed of T2.8.
Both lenses are color-matched and cali-
brated to all existing Cooke lenses and
feature built-in /i Technology, which
provides cinematographers, camera opera-
tors and post teams with vital metadata,
including lens setting, focusing distance,
aperture, depth of field, hyperfocal distance
and focal length in both metric and imper-
ial measurements.
www.cookeoptics.com.
Master Cinema Series, a line of products
designed to give DSLR cameras a profes-
sional form factor.
Having worked with DSLR systems
for the past four years on an array of
projects, Hurlbut approached Letus owner
Hien Tu Le with a vision for an affordable
line of accessories. As a result of their collab-
oration, Letus has prototyped and manu-
factured 16 individual components for the
Master Cinema Series. The complete system
allows users to effortlessly morph the
cameras form factor between four specific
configurations: Studio Cam, Shoulder Cam,
Man Cam and Action Cam.
http://mastercinemaseries.com.
Birns & Sawyer Updates
Clamp-On Mattebox
Birns & Sawyer has released the MB-
114 clamp-on mattebox.
The companys popular tray-less,
clamp-on mattebox was introduced more
than a decade ago with the MB-95, which
Paradise FX Supports 3-D
with Helios Rig
Paradise FX has introduced the
Helios 3-D stereo rig, whose wireless, self-
contained, advanced design and opera-
tional features support fast on-set deploy-
ment, streamlined post and cost-effective
3-D production.
The Helios rig is suitable for all
types of un-tethered camera-
work, including hand-
held, Steadicam and
studio applications.
Helios also features a
self-balancing design,
whereby interaxial
convergence controls
move out from the
center of the rig, preventing
a weight shift from affect-
ing Steadicam performance.
Helios can also be quickly
switched over from one shoot-
ing configuration to another.
Helios is manufactured from rigid,
lightweight magnesium and aluminum
alloy. It is designed for use with Red Epic
cameras, with future support planned for
Arri Alexa M and Sony F3 cameras.
Paradise FX offers Helios with a range of
matched lens pairs, including Arri Ultra
Primes and Angenieux Compact Zooms.
Using Preston G4 wireless controls,
Helios interaxial range can be adjusted
from 0" to 2", and convergence can be
adjusted from 10" to infinity. The rig
measures 18.5"x18.5"x8.5", with a
mirror-box width of 15". Without
cameras or accessories, the
rig weighs 18
pounds.
Helios can
be deployed with
Paradise FXs
Mercury metadata
capture system. Files, time codes,
associated lens and 3-D stereo
information, such as interaxial and
convergence metadata, can be
offloaded for post or visual effects.
Additionally, camera moves can be
played back on set in the same way as a
motion-control system.
www.paradisefx.com.
Lensbaby Packages
Movie Makers Kit
Lensbaby has introduced the Lens-
baby Movie Makers Kit, a complete
creative solution for filmmakers looking to
add unique effects to their footage in-
camera.
Conveniently packaged in a rugged
Pelican case, the Movie Makers Kit
contains two Lensbaby lenses for use on
PL-mount cameras: Muse PL with Double
Glass and Composer Pro PL with Sweet 35.
The Kit also includes one Composer Pro
with a Canon mount for use on Canons
line of DSLRs.
In addition to the lenses, the Movie
Makers Kit includes a wide range of inter-
changeable optics and accessories
designed to provide the filmmaker with
limitless aesthetic and creative options at a
variety of focal lengths.
Filmmakers can achieve an array of
effects in-camera with the Movie Makers
Kit. The Sweet 35, Double Glass, Plastic
and Single Glass optics can be used to
create different quality selective-focus
effects, where one area of the image at a
given distance is in focus while other areas
at the same distance fall out of focus. The
Fisheye, Soft Focus and Pinhole/Zone plate
optics allow further in-camera creativity.
The Lensbaby Movie Makers Kit is
available for $2,900. For more information,
visit www.lensbaby.com.
Schneider Takes iPhone Pro
Schneider Optics has introduced
the iPro Lens System, designed to enable
professional-quality photographic and
video imagery on Apples iPhone 4 with
interchangeable wide-angle and fisheye
lenses.
The iPro Lens System features a
rugged iPhone case and wide-angle and
fisheye lenses that tuck neatly away in the
pocket-sized handle/lens case. The lenses
use a bayonet mount to securely fasten
onto the custom iPhone case. The case also
gives users the option of attaching the
handle on the left or right side of the
iPhone; the handle itself enables the phone
to be attached to a tripod.
Optimized for both still and video
images, the iPro Lens System includes two
precision-made, genuine Century lenses.
The wide-angle lens simply twists on and
increases the iPhones field of view by 35
percent with low distortion and edge-to-
edge sharpness. For a super-wide, distorted
effect, the fisheye lens alters the field of
view by a dramatic 165-degrees.
iPro lens housings are precision
machined from aluminum alloy and
anodized for durability. The lens elements
are painstakingly ground and polished from
top-grade optical glass. To avoid flare, the
lenses feature multi-layer anti-reflection
coatings.
The iPro Lens System is available for
$199. For more information, visit
www.schneideroptics.com and www.ipro
lens.com.
1
2
4
3
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PANTHER GmbH
Raiffeisenallee 3
82041 OberhachingMunich
Germany
T +49.89.61 39 00 01
F +49.89.61 31 00 0
contact@panther.tv
www.panther.tv
New: Tristar Dolly
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91

PAG Links Batteries
PAG, a British camera power and
lighting specialist, has introduced the
PAGlink, a linking-battery system for power-
ing a wide array of digital cameras.
PAGlink allows users to link multiples
of 96-watt-hour V-Mount Li-Ion batteries to
create super-high capacities and a high-load
capability of 12 amps. The batteries incor-
porate heavy-duty contacts, which are engi-
neered for high-drain applications. Up to
eight packs can be linked.
Camera people were telling us they
needed more power for their cameras and
accessories, says Nigel Gardiner, PAGs
sales director. By linking the batteries, we
could keep the individual capacities below
100 watt hours for unrestricted shipping to
any location. We set out to achieve a system
that would enable more batteries to be
linked, and make more power available
from smarter, smaller and lighter units.
PAGlink batteries create an intelli-
gent network that enables them to commu-
nicate with each other and operate seam-
lessly as one. This unique system allows
batteries to be charged as well as
discharged while linked. Charging can take
place on any V-Mount Li-Ion chargers, such
as the PAG Cube or an equivalent Sony
charger.
PAGlink batteries are available with
either a numeric LCD that displays remain-
ing camera run time (in hours and minutes)
and battery capacity (in amp hours or
percentage), or with an LED indicator for
capacity and run time. Additionally, the
PAGlink system reports the collective state-
of-charge information for display in the
camera viewfinder.
www.paguk.com.
PANTHER GmbH
Raiffeisenallee 3
Germany
T +49.89.61 39 00 01
F +49.89.61 31 00 0
contact@panther.tv
www.panther.tv
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93
Company 3 Offers DI Dictionary
Company 3, a subsidiary of Deluxe
Entertainment Services Group, has
compiled the DI Dictionary. The iPhone and
iPad app allows users to find definitions by
typing in specific words or scrolling through
a list of terms associated with the digital-
intermediate process.
The DI Dictionary is available for free
through the iTunes Store. For additional
information, visit www.company3.com.
Light Iron Launches Live Play
Post facility Light Iron has launched
its iPad-based Live Play mobile-dailies appli-
cation through Apples iTunes Store.
Live Play is an automated and inter-
active playback system that enables users to
monitor metadata-rich files and simultane-
ously review takes and add comments on
multiple iPads. Wireless, secure and
customizable, Live Play enables close collab-
oration among the creative team on set, as
well as with visual-effects, editorial and
other post teams. Live Plays toolset includes
instant HD playback, database creation and
metadata management.
Light Iron has used its Live Play
system with such clients as Columbia
Pictures, Walt Disney Studios, Lakeshore
Entertainment, NBC Universal and Electric
Entertainment. We now have clients who
rent multiple iPads so they can leave them in
different places to view their dailies, says
Light Iron CEO Michael Cioni. The
response has been overwhelming.
Located in the Apps Store in iTunes,
Live Play can be downloaded for $34.99.
For additional information, visit www.light
iron.com.
KataData Calculates Runtime
Katabatic Digital, a New York-based
grading, finishing and visual-effects studio,
has released the KataData iPhone app. Kata-
Data is a storage and runtime calculator for
on-set, post and even non-technical posi-
tions.
KataData was built for filmmakers
and post artists, and it supports an extensive
list of cameras such as
Red One, Red Epic, Phan-
tom, Arri Alexa and
Canon DSLRs and
codecs such as DPX,
Open EXR, DNxHD and
ProRes.
KataDatas ease of
use eliminates hours of
calculations and frustra-
tion. Users simply enter
the amount of footage
they have by file size (MB,
GB or TB) and KataData
calculates the runtime or
storage. Multiple calculations can also be
entered and added.
For todays apps, an intuitive user
interface is a must-have, so weve built in
some cool features like swipe gestures to
convert units and time code, says Emery
Wells, founder of Katabatic Digital. For Red
camera users, its also easy to calculate
stereo and HDRx options. Well continue to
add more features based
on user feedback. If
market demand is there,
well build it.
KataData is available
now through the iTunes
App Store for $4.99. In
addition to the iPhone,
the app is also compatible
with the iPod and iPad
running iOS 4 or later.
For additional informa-
tion, visit www.kata
batic.tv/katadata.

Sony Upgrades Vegas Pro
Sony Creative Software has intro-
duced Vegas Pro 11, the latest upgrade to
the companys nonlinear editing software.
Vegas Pro 11 adds significant performance
improvements courtesy of OpenCL and
highly optimized GPU hardware accelera-
tion for video processing and rendering.
Other new features include Nvidia 3D Vision
support for single-display 3-D computers
such as the Vaio F Series 3-D laptops and L
Series 3-D desktops, an enhanced video
stabilizer tool, and new software tools for
creating animated titles.
Sony continues to be a leader in
developing professional content-creation
applications that are extremely powerful,
yet easy to use, says Dave Chaimson, vice
president of global marketing for Sony
Creative Software. With the addition of
GPU acceleration, Vegas Pro 11 streamlines
the video-editing experience by providing
smoother previews and faster rendering
times, ideal for industry professionals who
work on tight deadlines where every second
counts.
Vegas Pro 11 adds native format
support for stereoscopic 3-D MVC and
MPO files from Sony camcorders and
DSLRs. Other natively supported codecs and
formats include XDCam, XDCam EX,
HDCam-SR, NXCam, AVCHD, AVCCam,
Red .r3d, Red Epic, and AVC-based .mov
and raw files from popular DSLR cameras.
Native P2 support is also available with an
optional plug-in. Vegas Pro 11 also offers
users the option to render to the AVC/MP4
file format, which includes progressive file
download support for streaming purposes.
Vegas Pro 11 easily handles complex
projects with multiple formats and mixed
resolutions, from standard definition to 4K.
Vegas Pro 11 is available now for a
suggested price of $699. For additional
information, visit www.sonycreativesoft
ware.com.
Avid Releases 64-bit Media
Composer, NewsCutter,
Symphony versions
Avid has introduced Media
Composer version 6, NewsCutter version
10 and Symphony version 6. The updated
editing systems boasts new levels of open-
ness, performance, collaboration and
productivity, enabling users to complete
their work faster, work together more effec-
tively and reduce costs through greater
productivity.
With these new versions, Media
Composer, Symphony and NewsCutter
have all been rebuilt from the core on an
entirely new, open, 64-bit architecture. Avid
has also introduced a sleek new user inter-
face designed to speed workflows while
simultaneously preserving the same func-
tionality users have come to expect.
Time and creativity [are] money for
our customers, and they are looking for
solutions that can help them continue to
advance the art of creative storytelling with-
out adding technological complexity, says
Chris Gahagan, senior vice president of
products and solutions at Avid. As we
debut the most open, accessible and high-
est-performance versions of Media
Composer, Symphony and NewsCutter ever,
we are thrilled to take a significant leap
forward in providing our customers with
new industry standards in speed, ease and
access that can help them do their jobs
more effectively.
Avids new Open I/O enables support
for popular video and audio cards from AJA
Video Systems, Blackmagic Design, Blue-
fish444, Matrox and Motu, allowing users
to leverage existing hardware investments
and easily add the Avid systems into their
current workflow configurations. Users can
also maintain a familiar and trusted editorial
process with new 3-D stereoscopic work-
flows as well as a deep toolset, with title and
conversion control. Editors can also easily
export metadata into Avid or other third-
party finishing systems for grading and
high-end effects.
The Avid DNxHD 444 high-quality
HD codec allows users to preserve full color
information from HD RGB 4:4:4 sources
without compromising system performance
or storage. Avid DNxHD 444 can help signif-
icantly enhance real-time HD production
productivity with the highest color detail
possible.
The updated systems eliminate
timely transcode, re-wrap, and log and
transfer processes through expanded Avid
Media Access, which now offers native
support for AVCHD and Red Epic as well as
the ability to encode Apple ProRes (on Mac
OS-based systems only). The systems also
support the Avid Artist Color control
surface, offering greater power and flexibil-
ity in high-performance color correction.
www.avid.com.
Tiffen Digital Filters Go 64 bit
The Tiffen Co. has announced that
its Tiffen Dfx v3 digital filter suite is now
compatible with Avid 64-bit systems. In
addition to 64-bit support, the updated Dfx
v3 plug-in features enhanced filter control
and adds support for 16 Sony camera
models.
We are always looking for ways to
enrich the Tiffen Dfx capabilities, whether it
is qualifying new editing system releases
such as Avids 64 bit, or expanding our
already comprehensive list of cameras we
support, says ASC associate Steve Tiffen,
president and CEO of The Tiffen Company.
Our customers can count on Tiffen to
keep pace with the changing technology
and continue to take advantage of their Dfx
investment.
Tiffen Dfx v3 is a powerful, robust
video and still-image editing-effects suite.
Compared to previous versions of the soft-
ware, v3 boasts enhanced multi-processor
acceleration for faster interaction and
rendering of images, more than 10 new
filters for optical effects, updated host
support, interface improvements and more.
Other features of the digital filter suite
include more than 120 filter effects, more
than 2,000 presets, digital versions of Tiffen
filters, specialized lens-correction tools, film
grain, film stocks and color correction.
www.tiffen.com.
AJA Ki Pro Mini Supports
Avid Codec
AJA Video Systems has been work-
ing jointly with Avid to build support for the
Avid DNxHD video codec into AJAs Ki Pro
Mini portable recorder.
Video producers and editors are
always seeking to ease their workflows and
improve the quality of their productions
while reducing costs, says Paul Foeckler,
vice president of Creative Professionals,
Product Solutions Org., whose team over-
sees the products at Avid that are used by a
wide range of creative professionals. With
the AJA Ki Pro Mini supporting Avids high
quality, low-bandwidth DNxHD codec, edit-
ing can begin more quickly than ever,
easing workflows in film, television and live
productions.
One of the most frequent requests
we get from the field is for support of
DNxHD in our Ki Pro family of products,
says Nick Rashby, president of AJA. Avids
commitment to professional editors has
been unwavering for [more than] 20 years,
and were very excited to bring Ki Pro Mini
with DNxHD support as a free upgrade for
all Ki Pro Mini owners.
AJA also recently released firmware
version 2.6 for the Ki Pro Mini. The updated
firmware allows Red Epic, Red One and
certain Canon XF cameras to pass metadata
directly to the Ki Pro Mini via a single SDI
cable. Were continually looking at how
people are working, and how we can help
them take full advantage of the best our
industry has to offer, says Rashby. By
enabling people to control Ki Pro Mini via
the Red camera metadata precisely from
camera to post, were automating a lot of
what was largely a manual process and
making workflows easier all the way
through the production process.
www.aja.com.
Digital Film Tools Plugs into Avid
Digital Film Tools has announced
that all of its Avid plug-in product offerings
comprising Composite Suite Pro, Photo-
Copy, Rays and zMatte now support 64-
bit processing and are compatible with
Media Composer version 6, Symphony
version 6 and NewsCutter version 10.
We have a fairly large Avid user
base, many of whom keep pace with the
new technology releases, says Marco
Paolini, founder and president of DFT. Our
64-bit DFT plug-ins will provide them with
speed and memory advantages that
streamline the entire visual-effects process.
Composite Suite Pro features a well-
rounded collection of visual-effects plug-ins
designed to combine multiple images by
utilizing compositing tricks and techniques.
The toolset includes color correction; blur,
grain, and matte manipulation; lens distor-
tion; lighting effects; and edge blending.
PhotoCopy copies the brightness,
color, tone, detail, grain and texture from
one image and applies them to another.
This plug-in also allows user to select a
preset look from a library of 94 movies, 72
paintings, 40 photographs and 30 historical
photographic processes.
Rays allows users to create realistic
light-ray effects quickly and easily. Users can
add such effects as shafts of light streaming
through clouds, rays filtering through a
forest canopy or beams of light on a foggy
night.
Lastly, zMatte is an intelligent, easy-
to-use blue- and greenscreen keyer that
provides such tools as DV and HD de-arti-
facting, color suppression, matte manipula-
tion, color correction, edge treatment and
light wrapping.
www.digitalfilmtools.com.
PANTHER GmbH
Raiffeisenallee 3
Germany
T +49.89.61 39 00 01
F +49.89.61 31 00 0
contact@panther.tv
www.panther.tv
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Marquise Technologies
Enhances Rain
Marquise Technologies has
integrated Cintels ImageMill2 board
into its Rain color-grading solution,
resulting in a fully featured color-
grading station with real-time image
de-grain/de-noise, stabilization and
dust/scratch concealment features.
The upgraded Rain hardware
platform allows the parallel process-
ing, in real time, of the restoration-
dedicated applications Grace, Steady and
Origin on 2K images, and up to 8 fps in 4K.
With this new set of tools, Rain provides not
only color correction, but also real-time
capabilities for image cleaning for opera-
tions such as chroma-keying and tracking.
Rain allows for immediate work on
any type of native-format image in either
2-D or stereo 3-D. In addition to high-level
grading capabilities such as the multi-point
tracker and the dedicated curves for high-
lights, mid tones and shadows, Rain
features a versioning mode that can memo-
rize up to nine versions of a clip; a Story-
Board mode, which allows for the creation
of up to 32 groups of sequences to grade
them as an ensemble; QuickStore, which
provides immediate access to the grades
stored in the Grade Library; and an
enhanced Grade Library, which allows users
to access any grade stored from any project.
From its beginning, Rains philoso-
phy [has been] the ability to work in real-
time all the time, says Laurence Stoll, CEO
of Marquise Technologies. The ImageMill2
board matches perfectly our paradigm in
offering unbeaten processing performance
and excellent results.
www.marquise-tech.com.
Globalstor Unveils LCD
for 4K Post
Globalstor Data Corporation has
introduced the GS564KLC10 LCD display
for 4K dailies and postproduction, as well as
other high-resolution applications.
The 56" LCD display features an
ultra-wide viewing angle, high contrast ratio
and high brightness. The monitor also
boasts an ultra-fast response time, which
ensures the fidelity of the moving image.
The display also includes easy-to-use
OSD and RS-232 configurations, allowing
the monitor to be quickly integrated into
even the most complex environments. Its
maximum display mode is 3840x2160 pixels
at 60 Hz, and it is calibrated for several color
temperatures, including 5,400K, 6,500K,
7,500K and 9,300K. The monitor is also
calibrated for 2.2, 2.4, 2.6, DICOM and user
gamma presets.
The monitor supports VESA DDC2B
and DDC/CI plug-and-play options, says
Scott Leif, president of Globalstor. Optional
features include a touch panel with up to
four sensors for four simultaneous touches,
in addition to an AR/AG protective glass.
The displays power consumption is
less than 450 watts, and it consumes
roughly 10 watts on standby. It measures
approximately 53"x34"x6" and, without its
stand, weighs approximately 119 pounds.
www.globalstor.com.
Sonnets Echo Express
Streamlines Red Workflow
Sonnet Technologies has introduced
its Echo Express PCIe 2.0 Thunderbolt
Expansion Chassis, which works with the
Red Rocket playback and transcoding card.
The Echo Express expansion chassis enables
the use of high-performance PCIe
expansion cards designed for desktop
computers with computers
equipped with Thunderbolt ports,
including the latest Apple
MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac mini
systems.
The Echo Express PCIe 2.0
Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis
contains one PCIe 2.0 slot, an inte-
grated universal 75-watt power
supply and two Thunderbolt
ports. This system enables users to
connect one PCIe 2.0 adapter card
to a computer via a Thunderbolt cable while
allowing the connection of additional Thun-
derbolt peripherals to the daisy-chain Thun-
derbolt port.
The Red Rocket card delivers real-
time 4K RGB video playback and real-time
transcoding of R3D files generated by Red
digital cameras. When installed into the
Echo Express chassis and connected via a
Thunderbolt cable to a laptop computer, the
Red Rocket allows Red footage to be
decoded and edited at high resolution with-
out dropped frames.
Were excited to be bringing such a
groundbreaking new solution to digital
cinema professionals one that will literally
change the way they work, says Greg
LaPorte, vice president of sales and market-
ing at Sonnet Technologies. The Echo
Express chassis enables a truly portable solu-
tion that is exponentially faster than
currently available options. It really creates a
paradigm shift in on-location Red project
work, to be able to use a backpack to carry
on-set what typically has been transported
in a rolling cart.
www.sonnettech.com.
International Marketplace
Monitor Yoke Mounts
99
CLASSIFIED AD RATES
All classifications are $4.50 per word. Words set in bold face or all capitals are $5.00 per
word. First word of ad and advertisers name can be set in capitals without extra charge. No
agency commission or discounts on clas si fied advertising. PAYMENTMUSTAC COM PA NYORDER .
VISA, Mastercard, AmEx and Discover card are ac cept ed. Send ad to Clas si fied Ad ver tis ing,
Amer i can Cin e ma tog ra pher, P.O. Box 2230, Hol ly wood, CA 90078. Or FAX (323) 876-4973.
Dead line for payment and copy must be in the office by 15th of second month preceding pub li -
ca tion. Sub ject mat ter is lim it ed to items and ser vic es per tain ing to film mak ing and vid eo pro -
duc tion. Words used are sub ject to mag a zine style ab bre vi a tion. Min i mum amount per ad:
$45
CLASSIFIEDS ON-LINE
Ads may now also be placed in the on-line Classifieds at the ASC web site.
Internet ads are seen around the world at the same great rate as in print, or for
slightly more you can appear both online and in print.
For more information please visit www.theasc.com/advertiser, or e-mail: classi-
fieds@theasc.com.
Classifieds
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Advertisers Index
16x9, Inc. 98
AC 92
Aja Video Systems, Inc. C3
Alan Gordon Enterprises 98
Astrodesign, Inc 85
AZGrip 99
Backstage Equipment, Inc.
6
Barger-Lite 98
Blackmagic Design 43
Cavision Enterprises 79
Chapman/Leonard Studio
Equipment Inc. 55
Cine Gear 97
Cinematography
Electronics 85
Cinekinetic 98
Clairmont Film & Digital 59
Codex Digital Ltd., 67
Convergent Design 81
Cooke Optics 47
Creative Handbook 86
Deluxe 41
Dolby 45
Eastman Kodak 37, C4
EFD USA, Inc 83
Film Gear 89
Filmtools 6
Film Und Videotechnik 99
Focus Features 5, 7
Fox Searchlight 23, 27
Glidecam Industries 71
Hochschule Film &
Fernsehen/Konrad Wolf 73
Hollywood Post Alliance 92
Kino Flo 61
Lee Filters 46
Lights! Action! Co. 99
LitePanels 2
Lowel 65
Matthews Studio Equipment
99
Movcam 57
Movie Tech AG 98
NAB 101
NBC/Universal 51
Oppenheimer Camera Prod.
98
P+S Technik 98
Paramount Pictures 9, 13,
17, 21, 25
Panasonic 53
Panther Gmbh 91, 93, 95
Pille Film Gmbh 99
Powermills 98
Pro8mm 98
Regent University 60
Rosco Laboratories, Inc. 87
Sony Pictures Entertainment
C2-1, 29, 31
Super16 Inc. 99
SXSW 72
Tessive 69
Thales Angenieux 39
Tiffen 77
VF Gadgets, Inc. 98
Warner Bros. 11, 15, 19
Willys Widgets 98
www.theasc.com 4, 6, 89,
91, 93, 95, 99, 100
100
Cady, Fong, Maibaum
Join Society
The ASC recently welcomed Patrick
Cady, Larry Fong and Paul Maibaum into its
ranks of active members.
Patrick Cady, ASC grew up near
Buffalo, N.Y., and attended Ithaca College,
where he earned a bachelors degree in still
photography and motion-picture produc-
tion. After workingas a camera intern for
Roger Deakins, ASC,BSC on Passion Fish,
Cady enrolled in New York Universitys grad-
uate film program.
Upon completing his MFA, Cady
began working as an electricianand
climbed the ranks to gaffer and then cine-
matographer on independent productions.
His work on Girlfight won him a mention
on Varietys 10 Cinematographers to
Watch, and he then went on to shoot
Sunshine State. Cady shot the first season
of Cold Case, and his credits also include the
series In Treatment, Body of Proof and Suits
and the features The Stepfather (2009) and
The Lottery Ticket.
Larry Fong, ASC was born and
raised in Los Angeles. As a teen, he became
interested in photography and filmmaking,
and he began experimenting with short
films, cel animation and stop-motion
projects. He earned an undergraduate
degree in linguistics from the University of
California-Los Angeles and a film degree
fromArt Center College of Design in
Pasadena.
He launched his career shooting
music videos for such acts as R.E.M., Van
Halen and the Goo Goo Dolls, and then
began shooting commercials, independent
features and television pilots.In 2004, he
shot the pilot for Lost, for which he earned
an ASC Award nomination. He shot several
episodes of the hit series before embarking
on his first studio feature, 300. He has since
shot the features Watchmen, Sucker Punch
and Super 8.
The son of screenwriter and
producer Richard Maibaum, Paul
Maibaum, ASC was born into filmmaking.
While studying theater arts at California
State University-Hayward, he took a course
that set him down the path toward cine-
matography. He enrolled inthe University of
Southern Californias School of Cinema and
Television, and upon graduating he found
work at Filmart, a smallproduction
company andcamera-rental facility. While
working at Filmart, hejoined the union as a
loader, and he quickly climbed the ranks to
first assistant.
After operating for such cinematog-
raphers as Woody Omens, ASC and Dean
Semler, ASC, ACS, Maibaum was promoted
to director of photography on the series
Parker Lewis Cant Lose . His recent credits
include the series My Boys, Samantha Who?
and Sons of Anarchy and the pilot for
Intercept.
HPA Hosts Reference-Monitor
Symposium
The Hollywood Post Alliance recently
hosted a Reference-Monitor Symposium at
the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, Calif.
Theevent was conceived by a blue-ribbon
group of industry professionals, including
ASC members Curtis Clark and Steven
Poster and ASC associates Lou Levinson,
Josh Pines and Jan Yarbrough.
The symposium included a full day of
demonstrations and presentations. Poster
participated in Myth Busting: Monitoring
On Set; Pines participated in Myth Bust-
ing: Digital Cinema; Levinson and ASC
associates Howard Lukk and Leon Silver-
man participated in 101 Dalmatians: A
Case Study of Monitoring in ACES; and
Clark contributed to the panel discussion
Whats Coming Next?
This event has brought together a
group of some of the most insightful profes-
sionals working in our industry today to
address an issue that has not been addressed
in this way before, said Silverman, president
of the HPA and the general manager of digi-
tal studio for Walt Disney Studios. As
display technology has changed and
evolved, the need to understand how best to
display and view our content for the various
delivery platforms is an increasing challenge
for industry professionals. This event is a
unique opportunity for our industry to liter-
ally see what we are doing with new eyes.
Kuras Shares Emerging Visions
Ellen Kuras, ASC was selected to
participate in the recent Emerging Visions
program co-presented by The Film Society of
Lincoln Center and the Independent Film-
maker Project. The one-day event, which
Clubhouse News
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New ASC members Patrick Cady (top) and
Larry Fong (bottom).
was held at the Film Society of Lincoln
Centers Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center,
introduced 25 emerging filmmaking
talents to Kuras and other prolific filmmak-
ers through one-on-one meetings, work-
shops, case studies and pitching sessions.
Michos Visits Fletcher Chicago
Anastas Michos, ASC recently led
a cinematography seminar and workshop
at Fletcher Camera & Lenses in Chicago.
The event attractedlocal professionals as
well as students fromColumbia College,
DePaul, Tribeca Flashpoint Academy and
NorthwesternUniversity.
The idea for the seminar germi-
nated when Michos came to the Midwest
to shoot the feature Sparkle. Fletcher
handledthe logisticsfor the seminaron
short notice, enlisting local IATSE volunteer
crews (led by gaffer Tony Lullo) andCine-
space Chicago Film Studio, which provided
studio space and sets, Essanay Studio and
Lighting, which provided lighting and grip
equipment, and Eastman KodakCo.
Michos and camera operator Lukasz
Bielan showed clips, discussed theircreative
collaborationand then conducted a lighting
demonstration. I love speaking about
what we do tostudents who, for geograph-
ical or other reasons, might not have access
to the professional filmmaking community,
Michossays. New blood and fresh
perspectives are essential in our field. Im
always aware that some of these students
will be working pros in a few short years.
ASC Active at
Createasphere Expo
The Createasphere Entertainment
Technology Expo and Postproduction
Master Class recently wrapped in Burbank,
Calif.
Featuring educational sessions and
interactive panels, the Expo brought
together media experts and technical inno-
vators for two days of lively discussion.
Salvatore Totino, ASC, AICparticipated in
a keynote conversation moderated by AC
associate editor Jon D. Witmer; Totino
discussed his first forays behind the camera
and collaborations with such directors as
Oliver Stone and Ron Howard, and he also
screened some of his commercial and
music-video work before taking questions
from the audience. Later, along the Expos
gear alley, Rodney Taylor, ASC led a
Shoulder to Shoulder look at Sonys F65
camera.
The invitation-only Postproduction
Master Class opened with the keynote The
Critical Collaboration Between Cinematog-
rapher and Editor, with John Bailey, ASC
and his wife, Carol Littleton, ACE. The
Master Class also featured The ASC Case
Study: A Dolphin Tale, moderated by AC
contributor Stephanie Argy. The panel
featured Karl Walter Lindenlaub, ASC
and Harvey Rosenstock, ACE, who offered a
behind-the-scenes analysis of the film.
AC Wins 2 Folios
American Cinematographer recently
won two 2011 Folio Eddie Awards for
Editorial Excellence in its category, Business
to Business/Entertainment.
Senior editor Rachael K. Bosley won
the Bronze Eddie for Best Feature Article for
her March 11 cover story on The Adjust-
ment Bureau.
The magazine also won the Silver
Eddie for Best Online Community for its
Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Amer
icanCinematographer), which had 61,700
fans at press time.
The awards were handed out Nov. 1
in New York.
Top left: Anastas Michos, ASC leads a workshop at
Fletcher Camera & Lenses in Chicago. Top right, left
to right: Karl Walter Lindenlaub, ASC; AC contributor
Stephanie Argy; and Joe Van Dalsem, the creative
director of post for Paradise FX. Bottom: AC associate
editor Jon D. Witmer (left) interviews Salvatore
Totino, ASC, AIC.
When you were a child, what film made the strongest impres-
sion on you?
I was blown away by Jason and the Argonauts (1963), particularly
the skeletons fight. That scene changed my life. Because of it, I
learned how to do stop-motion animation and made my own
monster films with my older brother.
Which cinematographers, past or present, do you most
admire?
Since I was in film school, Ive been inspired by the naturalism of
Nstor Almendros, ASC; the style of Jordan Cronenweth, ASC; the
elegance of Sven Nykvist, ASC; and the strong compositions of
Gabriel Figueroa.
What sparked your interest in
photography?
Working for a year as an assistant in a
still-photography studio in Mexico City
with photographer Nadine Markova
made me aware of the power of fram-
ing, lighting and color.
Where did you train and/or study?
At the Centro de Capacitacin Cine-
matogrfica in Mexico City.
Who were your early teachers or mentors?
Nadine Markova; Miguel Fernndez Morn; Guillermo Navarro,
ASC; and Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC.
What are some of your key artistic influences?
I use the work of still photographers as my main reference for light-
ing and composition. I admire the work of Nan Goldin, Alex Webb,
Cindy Sherman, Sebastiao Salgado, Jonas Bendiksen and many
others.
How did you get your first break in the business?
I was working on a commercial as a PA and still photographer when
I was 22 and still in film school. The client liked my photos and asked
the production company to hire me as the director of photography
on their next commercial. That kick-started my career as a cine-
matographer.
What has been your most satisfying moment on a project?
So many! Moments like sharing a cry with Naomi Watts on 21
Grams after an emotional scene, or watching Tony Leung reacting to
Tang Wei singing on Lust, Caution, or improvising with the camera
onstage with Eminem on 8 Mile, or seeing Matt Damon imagining
his deceased wife on We Bought a Zoo . Also, watching the first
dailies of the color-infrared battle scene on Alexander.
Have you made any memorable blunders?
On one of my first commercials in Mexico, I was required to shoot a
telecommunications facility from the air, and I operated the Tyler side
mount on a helicopter. On the way to the location, I filmed land-
scapes and sheep in idyllic pastures. We arrived, and as I started film-
ing the huge antenna, I saw soldiers running to trenches and point-
ing their guns at us apparently they werent aware of our permit.
So after circling once, we left. Upon landing, I realized I had run out
of film before we reached the antenna! I had to go back and shoot
it from the ground on another day.
What is the best professional advice youve ever received?
On my first day on my first job as a
PA, the production manager was
late, and a grip said, It is disrespect-
ful to be late on a shoot day. That
made a big impression on me.
What recent books, films or
artworks have inspired you?
I enjoy books by Haruki Murakami.
His mysterious, introspective and
vivid style is fascinating to me. I also
appreciate the work of artist Francis
Als, particularly his keen eye on the
politics and life in Mexico City.
Do you have any favorite genres, or genres you would like to
try?
I love science fiction and horror, but I have not had an opportunity
to delve into those genres since I did my own Super 8 films!
If you werent a cinematographer, what might you be doing
instead?
I would probably be a graphic designer.
Which ASC cinematographers recommended you for
membership?
Steven Poster, Guillermo Navarro and Emmanuel Lubezki.
How has ASC membership impacted your life and career?
Being a member of the ASC has allowed me to be in direct contact
with cinematographers I admire and keep learning from them, as
well as discuss ideas and techniques with them. It is also a great
forum to participate in defining the evolving role of the cinematog-
rapher.
Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC Close-up
B e c a u s e i t m a t t e r s .
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J AVI E R AGUI R R E S AR OB E , AE C
ONFILM
To order Kodak motion picture lm,
call (800) 621-lm.
Eastman Kodak Company, 2011.
Photography: 2011 Douglas Kirkland
In cinematography, texture is so
important because it deeply inuences
all the other elements of the image. I
have always preferred a simple, natural
style with logical lighting that respects
the actors. I hate anything articial
and I dont like a hard, harsh look with
crushed blacks. With a natural style,
dramas feel more raw and real, and
romantic comedies are sweeter. Risk-
taking is important to my work, but I
take logical risks in order to maintain
the coherence of the look, and I like
collaborating with those who place
importance on the quality of the image.
A native of Spain, Javier Aguirresarobe,
AEC has photographed more than
100 narrative projects and dozens of
documentaries, and earned six Goya
Awards for Best Cinematography. His
credits include the Twilight movies
Eclipse and New Moon, The Road, The
City of Your Final Destination, Vicky
Cristina Barcelona, Goyas Ghosts, The
Sea Inside, The Others, and Talk to Her.
[All these lms were shot on Kodak
motion picture lm.]
For an extended Q&A with Javier
Aguirresarobe, visit www.kodak.com/go/
onlm.

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