Professional Documents
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2012 11
2012 11
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CONGRATULATIONS
MICHAEL GOI
ON YOUR OUTSTANDING
A Deluxe Company
!
#
" #
B+W Century
Schneider
w w w. s c h n e i d e ro p t i c s . c o m
On Our Cover: A troubled World War II veteran ( Joaquin Phoenix) is recruited by the
charismatic leader of a self-actualization movement in The Master, shot by Mihai
Malaimare Jr. (Photo by Phil Bray, SMPSP, courtesy of Western Film Company LLC.)
FEATURES
32
52
66
76
86
Creative Conspiracies
Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC dramatizes a covert
rescue operation in Argo
52
66
First-Rate Fare
AC salutes this years Emmy-nominated cinematographers
DEPARTMENTS
8
10
12
20
88
94
95
96
98
100
Editors Note
Presidents Desk
Short Takes: Kick Start Theft
Production Slate: Middle of Nowhere Husbands
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Peter Deming
76
N o v e m b e r
2 0 1 2
V o l .
9 3 ,
N o .
1 1
Visit us online at
www.theasc.com
EDITORIAL
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Stephen Pizzello
SENIOR EDITOR Rachael K. Bosley
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jon D. Witmer
TECHNICAL EDITOR Christopher Probst
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Stephanie Argy, Benjamin B, Douglas Bankston, Robert S. Birchard,
John Calhoun, Michael Goldman, Simon Gray, Jim Hemphill,
David Heuring, Jay Holben, Mark Hope-Jones, Noah Kadner,
Jean Oppenheimer, Jon Silberg, Iain Stasukevich,
Kenneth Sweeney, Patricia Thomson
ART DEPARTMENT
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Marion Gore
ADVERTISING
ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Angie Gollmann
323-936-3769 FAX 323-936-9188
e-mail: gollmann@pacbell.net
ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Sanja Pearce
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e-mail: sanja@ascmag.com
ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Scott Burnell
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e-mail: sburnell@earthlink.net
CLASSIFIEDS/ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Diella Nepomuceno
323-952-2124 FAX 323-876-4973
e-mail: diella@ascmag.com
American Cinematographer (ISSN 0002-7928), established 1920 and in its 92nd year of publication, is published
monthly in Hollywood by ASC Holding Corp., 1782 N. Orange Dr., Hollywood, CA 90028, U.S.A.,
(800) 448-0145, (323) 969-4333, Fax (323) 876-4973, direct line for subscription inquiries (323) 969-4344.
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Sheridan Reprints at (800) 635-7181 ext. 8065 or by e-mail hrobinson@tsp.sheridan.com.
Copyright 2012 ASC Holding Corp. (All rights reserved.) Periodicals postage paid at Los Angeles, CA
and at additional mailing offices. Printed in the USA.
POSTMASTER: Send address change to American Cinematographer, P.O. Box 2230, Hollywood, CA 90078.
OFFICERS - 2012/2013
Stephen Lighthill
President
Daryn Okada
Vice President
Richard Crudo
Vice President
Victor J. Kemper
Treasurer
Frederic Goodich
Secretary
Steven Fierberg
Sergeant At Arms
MEMBERS OF THE
BOARD
John Bailey
Stephen H. Burum
Curtis Clark
Richard Crudo
Dean Cundey
Fred Elmes
Michael Goi
Victor J. Kemper
Francis Kenny
Matthew Leonetti
Stephen Lighthill
Michael O'Shea
Robert Primes
Owen Roizman
Kees Van Oostrum
ALTERNATES
Ron Garcia
Julio Macat
Kenneth Zunder
Steven Fierberg
Karl Walter Lindenlaub
MUSEUM CURATOR
Steve Gainer
Mini
T2.8
S4s
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Stephen Pizzello
Executive Editor
8
Editors Note
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Presidents Desk
We recently filled the ASC Clubhouse for a screening of the documentary Side by Side, which was covered in the September issue of this
magazine. The filmmakers interviewed many of our members, as well as
producers and directors, to explore the topic of two formats, digital and
film, coexisting. Many directors and cinematographers have made the
move to digital capture without much fuss. Others lament the pressure
to do so, and worry that the photochemical process will expire. All
moods, thoughts and anxieties are well represented in Side by Side, as it
is a well-crafted documentary. We recommend you catch up with it.
We left the screening with deep concerns in at least two areas:
craft and preservation. On the craft side, we see some trends in the adoption of digital technology that undermine the collaborative process. For
example, because digital dailies can be distributed to computers, the
collective screening of dailies before production begins or after production wraps for the day has been abandoned. Directors, cinematographers, producers, production designers and editors often view dailies in
separate locations and on different devices. The process of evolving a
language for a given picture is best done when all members of the filmmaking team are seeing the same image at the same time on the same
screen.
The lack of a universal archiving solution for digital data is also
troubling. As Michael Goi, ASC observes in Side by Side, more than 80
video formats have come and gone, but none has proven as reliable for
archiving motion pictures as a filmout to 35mm.
We note with great sadness that our friends at Fujifilm will no longer manufacture camera negative for motionpicture production. However, seeing the glass half full, we are pleased that the company will continue to manufacture
stocks necessary for the archival process.
Viewing Side by Side, we are reminded that the Digital Cinema Initiative, in which the ASC participated, was undertaken to address the issue of costly film-print distribution. So, as is so often the case in the industry, its because of a financial imperative that we are all scrambling to make new cameras, workflows and on-set procedures work, perhaps before
the time is entirely right. Our members will soldier on under these circumstances, and we will continue to create memorable images and help evolve the tools for doing so.
Stephen Lighthill
ASC President
10
November 2012
American Cinematographer
Short Takes
November 2012
75mm and 100mm). Digital cameras are very, very sharp, often too
sharp for my taste, says Zsigmond. Film grain has a softness to it,
and the Leica lenses have that look. I think theyre more human.
Goodich adds, They also capture an amazing amount of detail.
Theyre telecentric, which means the light rays come in more-or-less
parallel so that the entire sensor gets the light in a much more equal
fashion, and theres less chromatic aberration. This produces an
image that maximizes detail in the subject being photographed.
Faces possess a creamy smoothness I find quite friendly.
With an almost-final cut of the movie on his laptop, Goodich
calls up a shot to illustrate another characteristic of the Leica lenses.
In a day-exterior scene, Victor supervises as Kierky wipes down the
newly acquired motorcycle; father and son are backlit by the sun,
which is clearly visible in frame. A slight flare is evident, but whats
most notable is a spiked, starburst pattern around the sun. Thats
actually the pattern of the leaves of the Leica lens, Goodich marvels.
Thats a very difficult shot for digital and an excellent example of what the F65 can do, says Zsigmond. With bright sun
hitting the lens, there is still detail in these shadows [on the backlit
actors].
Though most of Kick Start Theft was shot with the Leicas, the
filmmakers also carried a Canon T2.95-3.7 30-300mm EF Cinema
Zoom, which Zsigmond calls a great zoom lens. I shoot all of my
movies with zoom lenses; its such a convenient and fast tool for
composing shots. Goodich notes that the Canon zoom was a bit
warmer than the Leica primes, but matching was not an issue
because the zoom was never cut with the primes within the same
scene.
American Cinematographer
Photos by John MacDonald and Lawrence Kim. Photos and frame grabs courtesy of Band Pro.
Victor (Kimani
Shillingford)
and his son,
Kierky (Samuel
Caruana) take
care of the
familys hardearned
motorcycle in
this frame grab
from Kick Start
Theft, codirected and
co-shot by ASC
members
Frederic
Goodich and
Vilmos
Zsigmond.
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November 2012
American Cinematographer
Visit us at Camerimage
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Top: Victor
succumbs to
desperation in his
search for his
stolen wheels.
Goodich compares
this frame, lit only
by the low-hanging
sun, to the
paintings of
Edward Hopper,
and Zsigmond
notes, The beauty
of these shots is
that we knew
what time we
wanted to shoot
them. Bottom:
Zsigmond and 1st
AC Paul Janossy
ready the
productions Sony
F65 camera on a
Solid Grip
Systems slider.
filmmakers did make regular use of Schneider Tru-Pol and Tiffen ND Grad filters.)
To add a touch of movement to
some shots, the team utilized a Solid Grip
Systems slider. For example, after a frustrated Victor has run off with someone elses
bicycle, the camera moves past and peers
through a dirty window on its way to the
corner of a building, where Victor is
revealed to be surrounded by a group of
people trying to prevent the theft. Moving
the camera along the building allowed Zsigmond to motivate a slow zoom and hide a
stop pull. We needed a wider stop when
we were looking through the dirty glass,
16
November 2012
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Production Slate
A Sundance Standout
By Jean Oppenheimer
A nominee for the Grand Jury Prize and the winner of the
Directing Award for drama at this years Sundance Film Festival,
Middle of Nowhere revolves around Ruby (Emayatzy Corinealdi), a
young woman from South Central Los Angeles who must reassess
her ambitions and relationships after her husband, Derek (Omari
Hardwick), is incarcerated. To make the picture, director/writer Ava
DuVernay teamed with director of photography Bradford Young,
who won Sundances Excellence in Cinematography Award for
Pariah (AC April 11).
Speaking to AC from his home in New York, Young describes
Middle of Nowhere as an exercise in restraint and discipline, an intimate story that Ava envisaged as quiet and gentle, but still powerful. He notes that Ruby is in transition emotionally she feels alone
and isnt sure what her future holds and this is reflected in the
films muted palette.
For day scenes, our rule was that we would never have light
coming from within Rubys apartment, says Young, who notes that
the 21-day production was shot mostly at practical locations. That
sense of darkness is part of her character; shes in a kind of black
hole. We kept it really simple, with one 12K HMI though Light Grid
coming through the single window in her living room. Sheer curtains
across the window softened the light even more.
There were no interior lamps in her place, he continues. If
she stepped away from the window and fell totally into black, we
were okay with that. With a laugh, he adds, We were actually
20
November 2012
stapling black Duvatyn and 8-by-12-foot blacks to the walls and ceiling to create more black inside. These strategies also helped to
eliminate reflections on the walls.
As Ruby starts to feel more positive about her life, bits of
color crop up, lending a feeling of hope and renewal. She dons a
lavender blouse for her first date with a new suitor, Brian (David
Oyelowo), and the nightclub they visit is full of colored lights. At
earlier points in the story, color is used more as a contrast to Rubys
stalled life. Her sister, Rosie (Edwina Findley), wears a bright blue
dress for her job, and their mother (Lorraine Toussaint) wears orange
and red blouses, whereas Ruby is attired in monochrome colors in
their scenes together.
The predominantly gray color scheme is one of the movies
visual signatures; others are shallow depth-of-field and an extensive
use of close-ups, medium shots and extreme close-ups. Young likes
to concentrate on the human face. He favored a 40mm Panavision
Ultra Speed prime for close-ups and medium shots, and the 50mm
Ultra Speed for extreme close-ups. The 50mm Ultra Speed is great
because you can be really intimate with the characters, and its fast.
It opens to a T1.0, so I could shoot in very low light.
He shot Middle of Nowhere with a Sony F35. The Sony F3
had just come out, but it couldnt record in S-log, and we wanted
to have as much latitude as possible. S-log gives you a very flat,
pastel image, which then gives you maximum flexibility in the digital grade.
Panavision Hollywood provided the camera package, which
also included several other Ultra Speed primes, a 55mm Panavision
Super Speed prime, a 24mm Zeiss Ultra Speed prime, and a Primo
American Cinematographer
Ruby (Emayatzy Corinealdi) tentatively explores a new relationship with Brian (David Oyelowo) in a scene from Middle of Nowhere,
shot by Bradford Young.
November 2012
be present, however. We didnt want audiences to forget they were in South Central
Los Angeles. Rubys environment is also
prominent in the scene where she encounters Brian on the beach one evening, and in
shots of her waiting in flat, arid terrain for
the bus that will shuttle her to prison to see
her husband.
Achieving two nighttime driving
sequences on the productions modest
budget called for some ingenuity. The first,
which finds Ruby in the back seat of a taxi
heading out to meet Brian, was shot as a
oner. Young explains, We mounted the
camera on a hostess tray attached to the car
and picked a street that had a lot of practical lights that would give us a playful, jazzy
background street lamps, porch lights,
brightly lit shops. I was trailing the cab in a
car with the high beams on, so I could posiAmerican Cinematographer
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Top: A bold use of color figures into Rubys nightclub rendezvous with Brian. Middle: Young
lines up a shot. Bottom: The cinematographer prepares to shoot a scene involving Ruby and
her sister (Edwina Findley).
24
November 2012
American Cinematographer
2.40:1
Digital Capture
Sony F35
Panavision Ultra Speed, Super Speed, Primo;
Zeiss Ultra Speed
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Honeymoon Hangover
By Jennifer Wolfe
November 2012
Newlyweds Brady (Sean Hemeon, left) and Cheeks (Brad Bell) navigate the challenges of cohabitation
in the second season of the Web series Husbands, shot by Benjamin Kantor.
Top: A-camera/
Steadicam operator Jason
Goebel frames a shot of
Hemeon and guest star
Jon Cryer as 1st AC
Heather Roe keeps the
action in focus. Middle:
The crew shoots an
exterior interview with
the famous couple.
Bottom: Script supervisor
Jess Kraby (far left)
and series creator/
writer/executive producer
Jane Espenson (seated)
confer with Kantor
(center) and director
Jeff Greenstein.
November 2012
TECHNICAL SPECS
1.78:1
Digital Capture
Red Scarlet, Epic
Red lenses
This still frame was pulled from actual RED EPIC 5K motion footage. Criminal Minds
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2012 Red.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
Promoting
The Cause
32
November 2012
American Cinematographer
Unit photography by Phil Bray, SMPSP; Albert Chi; and Chuck Zlotnick, courtesy of Western Film Company LLC.
Additional photos courtesy of Michael Bauman.
Opposite: U.S.
Navy Seaman
Freddie Quell
(Joaquin
Phoenix) blows
off steam on a
beach in the
waning days of
World War II.
This page, top:
Following his
discharge, Quell
gives troubling
answers during a
Rorschach test.
Bottom:
Cinematographer
Mihai Malaimare
Jr. mans a
Panavision
System 65
camera in the
desert near
Barstow, Calif.
33
November 2012
35
36
November 2012
American Cinematographer
|
I still hadnt figured out
what we were going to do.
I kept getting off the boat
each night to search for a
shot. At one point, our
dolly grip, Jeff Kunkel, saw
me standing 100 feet down
the dock, and he started to
panic a bit, thinking about
how much track hed have
to lay down. We decided it
was worth trying, though. I
huddled in a corner with
Erik Brown and Colin
Anderson, and Mihai went
off to another corner with
Mike Bauman and the key
grip, Michael Kenner. We
sat around scratching our heads for a
while, and then we ordered more gear!
You cant do things that way too
often, only as much as the schedule
allows. Our main mandate was Keep it
simple or Be straightforward. We were
already fumbling around so much with
these big cameras that trying to do
anything acrobatic with them would
have been a drag, especially as our actors
were trying to, you know, act.
We justified using 35mm if a
scene was longer or felt a little more
intimate, or if we needed to use a
smaller or quieter camera. I never
wanted it to feel obvious that we were
switching formats. We just wanted to
delicately dismount whenever we made
that change.
I was sorry to hear Fuji will stop
manufacturing film stock, but maybe
film will become like vinyl records:
popular among connoisseurs. Id like to
think theres always going to be someone out there with a basement and some
chemicals, and wherever they are, well
try to find them.
Paul Thomas Anderson
prints. With a laugh, he adds that lighting for 200-speed and 50-speed negatives was quite a departure from his
recent work, which has been predominantly digital capture. Imagine jumping
from 500 or 800 ISO to 50! Everything
Im used to doing for lighting, like using
real candles or Dedolights, went out the
window.
The [slower stock] has a voracious appetite for light, and that made
The Master kind of a throwback because
lighting at those levels just doesnt
happen anymore, observes gaffer
Michael Bauman. It was a bit of a challenge to retrain our eyes to judge how
much light wed need.
Production began in Vallejo,
Calif., whose World War II-era shipyards, medical facilities and Colonial
Revival suburbs provided ideal stand-ins
for various locations in New York,
Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. The
military hospital on Mare Island served
as the site where Quell receives treatment for post-traumatic-stress disorder
following his discharge. Malaimare says
the compositions, lighting and mise-enscne in John Hustons controversial
Signal Corps documentary, Let There Be
Light (1946), was a key influence on the
approach to these scenes. Those scenes
might be more stylized than the rest of
The Master, but we decided to go for the
reference anyway, he says. Paul wanted
it to look like a 1950s documentary-film
crew had come to the hospital with four
light bulbs and lit the patients so you
could see [their condition].
Outside the facilitys windows, the
crew positioned 18K HMI ArriMaxes
and 12K HMI Pars, and Bauman
brought up the interior illumination by
bouncing 400-watt and 800-watt Jokers
into the ceiling. Getting a natural look
out of all that light was certainly a challenge, considering the amount of fill we
needed and the heat those lamps generate, says the gaffer. It takes you 100
foot-candles just to get started!
The hospital scenes were filmed
early in the schedule and were shot on
5203 with the Ultra Speed MK IIs. At
that point in the shoot, Paul intended to
Top: The wide array of lenses tested by the filmmakers included several that were once employed
by Gordon Willis, ASC (labeled Gordon W in bottom row). Those lenses were really particular
and kind of fussy to work with you had to really get em right, says Anderson. We tried to
take Daddys car for a spin, and we sort of crashed it here and there! Bottom: Large lighting rigs
are moved into position on a period street.
37
November 2012
American Cinematographer
Bauman faced a big lighting setup for the scene in which Quell walks toward Dodds yacht. The set was on some old docks at Mare Island and
involved lighting a few boats, including the hero boat where everyone was dancing. We built a large soft box hung off an 80-foot Condor
supporting four 6-light Maxi-Brutes aimed through a 12-by-12 of Light Grid diffusion. A variety of Par cans were spread around the facility,
including many hanging off a gantry system. We also used a bunch of clip lights from Home Depot. We screwed 200-watt bulbs into them, and
their reflectors created a nice, large source that looked great in the background.
39
Top: Dodd
interviews Quell
aboard his yacht
in an attempt to
analyze his
personality.
Bottom: Intimate
close-ups lend
the sequence
extra intensity.
November 2012
Diffused
toplight was
used to
illuminate
interior scenes
of Dodd
gathering with
followers and
his family.
November 2012
Top: Lighting
conditions
complicated a
key scene in
which Quell
performs a
peculiar exercise
as part of his
processing.
Bottom: Dodds
doctrinaire wife,
Peggy (Amy
Adams), orders
Quell to quit
drinking.
November 2012
Top: Dodd and his followers confront police officers attempting to arrest him for fraud.
Bottom: The crew fashions a quick rig to support a heavy System 65 camera.
46
November 2012
American Cinematographer
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Top: Following
their arrest,
Quell goes
berserk while
Dodd
maintains his
composure in
an adjacent
cell. Bottom:
Ceilingmounted
fixtures
illuminate the
scene.
Kunkel, and Mihai was shooting handheld with the Millennium. When the
time came, Joaquin went berserk, flinging himself around and falling to the
ground. Mihai had to adapt to his movements. Malaimare adds, Cutting from
35mm to 65mm felt smoother because
48
November 2012
Out in the
desert, Quell
takes his turn
at Dodds
Pick a Point
motorcycle
challenge.
50
TECHNICAL SPECS
1.85:1
65mm and 35mm
Panaflex System 65 Studio 65SPFX,
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Kodak Vision3 50D 5203,
200T 5213, 250D 5207
Specialized Digital Intermediate
Creative
Conspiracies
W
November 2012
American Cinematographer
Clockwise from far left: U.S. Embassy workers (from left) Cora Lijek (Clea DuVall), Bob Anders (Tate Donovan), Kathy Stafford
(Kerry Bish, back to camera), Joe Stafford (Scoot McNairy), Mark Lijek (Christopher Denham) and Lee Schatz (Rory Cochrane)
confer about the volatile situation outside the embassy; CIA agent Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck, left) meets with John Chambers
(John Goodman) in Hollywood; Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC and Affleck discuss a setup as A-camera dolly grip Chuck Crivier looks
on; Mendez and his boss, Jack ODonnell (Bryan Cranston), head to a briefing at CIA headquarters.
53
Creative Conspiracies
Top and middle: As Pender (Zeljko Ivanek) briefs his CIA colleagues about the houseguests in Iran,
Mendez and ODonnell listen to the suggested solutions with skepticism. Bottom: ODonnell and
Mendez present their plan to Secretary of State Cyrus Vance (Bob Gunton, second from left) and another
government official (Philip Baker Hall).
54
November 2012
American Cinematographer
Top: Chambers and producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) pore over scripts in search of a project for
Mendezs cover. Middle: This frame grab from the scene illustrates the LUT applied to all of the
Hollywood material. Bottom: Mendez watches Siegel play hardball with a screenwriter (Richard Kind).
www.theasc.com
November 2012
55
Creative Conspiracies
Ambassador
Ken Taylor and
his wife (Victor
Garber and
Page Leong, at
right) listen as
Mendez
discusses his
plan with the
houseguests.
Keying the
scene are 18K
ArriMaxes
softened by
Full Grid
outside and the
sheer curtains
inside.
November 2012
Left: Mendez
shares details
with the
Americans in the
Taylors dining
room. F-Max LED
Tube Lights and
600-watt
Dedolights
rigged directly
over the table
created the mix
of soft toplight
and hard spots
Prieto desired.
Below: Affleck
discusses a shot
with Prieto as
1st AD David
Webb listens.
57
Creative Conspiracies
Top: In a risky move designed to help establish their cover, Mendez leads the Americans into Tehrans
Grand Bazaar. Middle: A-camera 1st AC Zoran Veselic (foreground) assists Prieto during filming of the
scene. Bottom: An angry Iranian scolds Kathy Stafford for taking a photo. Prieto created a hard beam of
sunlight for the confrontation to underscore the Americans vulnerability.
58
November 2012
American Cinematographer
Andree Martin
VP Technical Services
www.clairmont.com
Creative Conspiracies
Top: Mendez and his wards line up at the airport in Tehran. Bottom: Direct sun again suggests a
dangerous level of exposure for the Americans at the final checkpoint, where an inquisitive guard
(Farshad Farahat) is unconvinced by their cover story.
November 2012
Creative Conspiracies
When the plane takes off, Joey and his
grips used pulleys to move the 5Ks up
and down. It really looks like a single
source. (On the opposite side of the
plane, the crew papered the windows
and positioned a row of Arri T12s softened with Full Grid outside. The only
sources inside were a few tungsten Kino
Flos bouncing off the ceiling for fill.)
A critical component of the
Americans cover story proves to be a
press event Siegel stages at the Beverly
Hilton Hotel to announce his new
movie. The scene was written to take
place at dusk, but when Prieto scouted
the location, he immediately realized
that timing wasnt practical because of
all the windows. He recalls, I proposed
shooting day-for-dusk by closing off the
windows with heavy curtains and lighting the scene with a golden hue that
would represent the glamour of
Hollywood. We show dusk at the outset
by starting on Mendez out on the patio,
and then we bring him inside with a
Steadicam shot. We shot the rest of the
scenes interiors during the day and just
blacked out all the windows, and again,
we hid a few F-Maxes in the valances to
light the golden curtains.
He struggled with how to create
lighting inside that would provide overall ambience as well as graphic interest.
The room was quite long and featured
a wall of mirrors, a very low ceiling, and
dim practical lighting that was flat and
murky. I couldnt figure out how to rig
any lighting that wouldnt be visible in
frame, so finally, I asked the art department to create about 20 small, golden,
empty columns that we could position
throughout the space, and inside each of
those we hid a 750-watt Leko aimed at
the ceiling. We used the iris of the Leko
to create a perfect circle on the ceiling,
so when seen by the camera, the bounce
looks like a [ceiling-mounted] lamp.
That gave us the exposure level we
needed and added contrast and graphic
interest for the ceiling.
Perhaps the most noteworthy
aspect of the CIA scenes is the fact that
some of them were actually shot on
location in CIA headquarters in
Top: Chambers
presides over a
script reading as
part of Siegels
press event at the
Beverly Hilton.
Middle: This shot
from the scene
shows one of the
circular bounces
Prieto created on
the ceiling to help
with exposure and
give the room
visual interest.
Bottom: ODonnell
awaits news of
Mendezs mission.
62
November 2012
American Cinematographer
Langley, Va., a first for a film production. They were very cooperative
because Tony Mendez is a legend there,
says Prieto. One scene is a Steadicam
shot that brings Mendez and ODonnell
down the hall to a conference room for
the first meeting about the Iran situation. The hallway had vertical windows
along one side and Cool White fluorescents overhead, recalls the cinematographer. We werent allowed to change
the bulbs to color-corrected ones, so we
just turned them off and used the
daylight coming through the windows.
As Ben approached the door to the
conference room, I bounced a couple of
4K Pars off the ceiling to create a little
matching fill.
Seymour reproduced the locations vertical windows in the set for
ODonnells office, which was built in
the basement of the L.A. Times building.
We made the windows textured glass
and created day and night looks for
them, says Prieto. For daylight, we put
white panels on the opposite side of the
glass and frontlit them with Skypans,
and sometimes we angled in an Arri
T12 to suggest direct sun. For night
scenes, we hung blacks and positioned
100-watt quartz bulbs gelled for sodium
and metal-halide looks on stands in
front of them. Distorted by the glass,
they give the feeling of night lighting
somewhere in the distance.
For shots of Mendez driving past
D.C. landmarks such as the Washington
Monument at night, Prieto used an Arri
Alexa with the Hawks, rating the
camera at 800 ISO and augmenting the
existing light only with some LED
edgelight for Affleck. We created strips
of LEDs that were about 2 feet long and
6 or 10 inches wide and gelled them to
create metal-halide and other hues, and
we rigged them to a pipe we attached to
the roof of the car that stretched out
beyond the windows. [Assistant chief
lighting technician] Russell Ayer was in
the trunk of the car, dimming the lights
up and down as to suggest passing ambient light as Ben drove. It was very effective and very easy to rig.
He also used an Alexa, this time
Creative Conspiracies
The camera
team works
handheld to
capture some
action in the
U.S. Embassy.
64
TECHNICAL SPECS
2.40:1
35mm, Digital Capture,
Super 16mm, Super 8mm
35mm and Digital Capture:
Arricam Studio, Lite; Arri Alexa
Zeiss Super Speed, Ultra Prime;
Hawk V-Lite Series 2x;
Angenieux Optimo; Canon
Kodak Vision2 500T 5260;
Vision3 500T 5219, 250D 5207
Super 16mm:
Bolex H-16 Rex-5
Angenieux, Kern-Paillard Switar
Kodak Vision3 250D 7207,
500T 7219
Super 8mm:
Canon 1014 AZ
Kodak Ektachrome 100D 5285,
Vision3 500T 5219
Digital Intermediate
65
Deep ShihTzu
66
November 2012
American Cinematographer
www.theasc.com
November 2012
67
The
filmmakers
prepare to
shoot with
Farrell at a
location in
Echo Park that
offered a
spectacular
view of
downtown
Los Angeles.
November 2012
70
November 2012
American Cinematographer
Top: The crew sets up the lighting in Rosedale Cemetery for a bloody sequence that will reflect
Billys fondness for bad action flicks. Bottom: HD rear-screen projection provides the background
during filming of a night driving scene involving a long dialogue.
November 2012
Davis readies a
setup with
B-camera 1st AC
Harry
Zimmerman
(left) and
B-camera dolly
grip Diego
Mariscal.
74
TECHNICAL SPECS
2.40:1
3-perf Super 35mm
Panaflex Platinum,
Millennium XL
Panavision Primo
Kodak Vision3 500T 5219,
250D 5207
Digital Intermediate
75
Bedlams New
76
November 2012
Address
American Cinematographer
Unit photography by Michael Yarish, Michael Becker, Byron Cohen and Prashant Gupta, courtesy of FX Network.
77
Top: Sister Jude (Jessica Lange) meets with Dr. Arden (James Cromwell) in her office.
Bottom: Sister Eunice (Lily Rabe) watches a film with the inmates in the asylums common room.
Far right: Arden takes a break in the institutions bakery. Opposite: A lighting plot details Gois
approach to sets on the shows main stage. These include Sister Judes office, a two-story
atrium, the common room and inmate cells.
November 2012
www.theasc.com
November 2012
79
Top: A lighting plot for Stage 5, which houses a bakery, a tunnel that runs beneath the asylum,
Dr. Ardens office and a lab. Bottom photo: A shot of the hallway set containing the inmates cells.
The cells have hard ceilings but their walls fly up to allow flexibility.
November 2012
Top: Goi checks his setup while 1st AC Brice Reid (in mask) and gaffer John Magallon prep the
equipment. Bottom: The shows B-camera crew works between takes. From left are dolly grip
Spencer Wilcox, 2nd AC Shannon DeWolfe and 1st AC Fred McLane.
82
November 2012
American Cinematographer
sundance.org/festival
Top: Director
Brad Buecker
rehearses a
scene as
camera
operator
James Reid
preps for the
next take.
Bottom: Rabe
prepares for a
close-up as
Reid and dolly
grip Jason
Walser adjust
the frame.
November 2012
TECHNICAL SPECS
1.78:1
3-perf Super 35mm and
4-perf 35mm
Panaflex Millennium XL;
Arri 435 Xtreme, 2-C;
Bell & Howell Eyemo
Panavision Primo,
Compact Zoom;
Angenieux Optimo;
Century Precision Optics
Swing Shift
Kodak Vision3 500T 5219,
Ektachrome 100D 5285,
Eastman Double-X 5222
This years
Emmy-nominated
cinematographers
enjoy their turns in
the spotlight.
|
Left: Steven Silver, ASC poses in the press room with his 7-year-old son, Kai, after the pair went
onstage together to accept Silvers Emmy. Right: Director Tim Van Patten (left) and Jonathan Freeman, ASC
on the set of Boardwalk Empire.
November 2012
American Cinematographer
Emmy photos courtesy of The Picture Group. Boardwalk Empire photo by Abbot Genser, courtesy of HBO.
Florian Hoffmeister photo by Julieta Sans, courtesy of PBS.
First-Rate Fare
Outstanding Cinematography,
Multi-Camera Series
Gary Baum
2 Broke Girls, Pilot
(CBS)
Gary Baum
Mike & Molly, Victoria
Cant Drive
(CBS)
Chris La Fountaine
How I Met Your Mother,
46 Minutes
(CBS)
Steven V. Silver, ASC*
Two and a Half Men, Sips,
Sonnets and Sodomy
(CBS)
John Simmons, ASC
Pair of Kings, The Evil King
(Part 2)
(Disney XD)
Outstanding Cinematography,
Single-Camera Series
Jonathan Freeman, ASC*
Boardwalk Empire, 21
(HBO)
Michael Goi, ASC
Glee, Asian F
(FOX)
John Lindley, ASC
Pan Am, Pilot
(ABC)
Christopher Manley, ASC
Mad Men, The Phantom
(AMC)
Michael Slovis, ASC
Breaking Bad, Face Off
(AMC)
Left: Florian
Hoffmeister on
location while
shooting Great
Expectations.
Middle: The
cinematography
team from Deadliest
Catch. Bottom: The
cinematography
team from Frozen
Planet.
Outstanding Cinematography,
Miniseries Or Movie
Ulf Brantas
Treasure Island, Part 1
(Syfy)
Jim Denault, ASC
Game Change
(HBO)
Florian Hoffmeister*
Great Expectations, Part 2
(PBS)
Rogier Stoffers, ASC, NSC
Hemingway & Gellhorn
(HBO)
Fabian Wagner
Sherlock: A Scandal In
Belgravia
(PBS)
Outstanding Cinematography,
Nonfiction Programming
Cinematography Team*
Frozen Planet, Ends of the
Earth
(Discovery Channel)
Cinematography Team
George Harrison: Living in the
Material World
(HBO)
Cinematography Team
Whale Wars, Race to
Save Lives
(Animal Planet)
Buddy Squires
Prohibition, A Nation
of Drunkards
(PBS)
Zach Zamboni, Todd Liebler
Anthony Bourdain: No
Reservations, Mozambique
(Travel Channel)
www.theasc.com
Outstanding Cinematography,
Reality Programming
Ari Boles
Top Chef, Fit For an
Evil Queen
(Bravo)
Cinematography Team
The Amazing Race, Let
Them Drink Their Haterade
(Lake Manyara, Tanzania)
(CBS)
Cinematography Team*
Deadliest Catch, I Dont
Wanna Die
(Discovery Channel)
Cinematography Team
Survivor, Running the Show
(CBS)
Gus Dominguez
Project Runway, The Finale
Challenge
(Lifetime)
November 2012
87
88
November 2012
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.
American Cinematographer
and for 16mm is almost 4.5 times the average resolution of 16mm film. We can
capture 35mm film images at up to 6.5K.
And, in terms of color what were doing
here is up to 14 bits per channel thats 42
bits of color depth. Thats 1.5 trillion colors.
The human eye can differentiate about 10
million colors.
The scanner offers gentle film
handling, transporting the film with continuous motion and minimal surface tension
over self-cleaning silicon O-rings. We can
handle film that has shrunk by up to 20
percent, Bovee enthuses. The distance
between the perfs doesnt matter, and it
doesnt even need to be consistent; there
could be different amounts of shrinkage
within one reel.
Well handle all aspects of the
process, from inspecting and cleaning the
film, to scanning it at full resolution, to
delivering it in the format or formats the
customer needs, says Knapp. The scanner is the brains of the process, but knowledgeable, trained operators are the heart.
Reflex is not just about scanning yesterdays
media; its about delivering the highest
quality transfers that can be useful for
tomorrow.
For additional information, visit
www.reflextechnologies.com.
General Dynamics Launches
Cineflex Elite
General Dynamics Global Imaging
Technologies has introduced the Cineflex
Elite. Designed in close collaboration with
cinematographers, the Cineflex Elite gyrostabilized system is a compact, lightweight,
Super 35-format digital-production camera
system that combines the proven five-axis
stability of the Cineflex family of camera
systems with Canon Premier lenses and the
Arri Alexa-M digital camera.
The Cineflex Elite is our highestresolution system yet, expanding the proven
quality, versatility and rugged reliability of
our systems to motion-picture cinematography, says Bob McGill, vice president and
general manager of General Dynamics
Global Imaging Technologies.
Originally designed for helicopters
and aerial platforms, Cineflex camera
systems deliver superior image quality and
90
November 2012
American Cinematographer
Dougmon Supports
Handheld Operating
International Supplies, a leading
distributer in the photo and video industry,
has brought the Dougmon handheld
camera-support system to market. Invented
by cameraman Doug Monroe, the Dougmons adjustable arm support helps reduce
wrist and arm fatigue while offering operators the flexibility and support needed for
smooth, steady shots with DSLRs and small
video cameras.
With the Dougmon system, the
camera sits on a patented, adjustable friction ball-head system held in the center of
the operators palm, imitating the movement of the wrist. The arm of the Dougmon
adjusts to fit the length of the users arm
and a padded cuff with adjustable straps
secures it in place. This functional design
allows the camera to go wherever the users
hand or arm goes, enabling the user to
shoot high, low, or over his or her shoulder.
The Dougmon can even be used as a
monopod.
Able to support cameras of up to 5
pounds, the Dougmon weighs 28.5 ounces
and is small enough to fit in a camera bag.
It features an adjustable, stainless-steel friction ball-head and powder-coated stainless
steel and aircraft aluminum sliding arm.
Adjustments are easy with industrial-grade
knobs and release straps. The Delrin hard
plastic handgrip is designed to reduce pressure points in the hand. The Dougmon is
sold with a Manfrotto 577-style quickrelease head.
The Slingmon, an over-the-shoulder
Dougmon support sling, allows for twohanded camera operation and use of
slightly heavier cameras.
Street price for the Dougmon is
$530. The Slingmon is sold separately for
$200. A Dougmon and Slingmon carry bag
is available for $30.
For additional information, visit
www.dougmon.com and www.interna
tionalsupplies.com.
a one-year warranty.
For additional information, visit
www.albacamersupport.com
and
www.internationalsupplies.com.
Ready Rig
Ready for Action
Designed by cinematographer/director
Mario Di Leo and further developed by his
son, Alessandro Di Leo, Alba Camera
Support Systems Ready Rig is an upperbody-mounted camera-support system
that balances camera weight and offers
users hands-free operation of the camera.
The Ready Rig is comprised of two
adjustable rods attached to a spring-loaded
back support; a camera mount with an
almost 180-degree tilt head and hand
grips, monitor and accessory mounts; and
an adjustable corset that evenly distributes
all of the cameras weight throughout the
users upper body.
Designed for extreme versatility and
flexibility in the field or studio, the Ready
Rig allows users to quickly and easily adjust
a cameras positioning while still ensuring
smooth and stable footage. Users can
switch angles instantaneously, push out or
pull in, drop low or shoot high, pan from
left to right, and tilt and rotate. The rigs
hands-free operation also enables users to
zoom and pull focus simultaneously. The
camera stays centered and balanced, even
with multiple accessories attached.
Because the monitor is mounted independent of the camera platform and remains
level with the operators eye line, the user is
able to view the monitor constantly, even
while the camera is tilted up or down or to
the right or left at a 90-degree angle.
Designed for use with both DSLRs
and HDV cameras, the Ready Rig features a
suggested load capacity of up to 17
pounds. It is made of high-strength
aluminum, weighs 10 pounds and can be
assembled in less than 2 minutes. A custom
designed backpack that allows users to
break the rig down or stow it away fully
assembled and an audio-recording accessory plate are also available, but sold separately.
The Ready Rig is distributed by International Supplies. Street price is $1,899.99.
All Ready Rig products and parts come with
ClassicPlus
crab + steer
P1 Dolly
NEW DOLLIES
PASSION
P
ASSION OF MO
MOVEMENT
VEMENT
w
www.panther.tv
ww.panther.tv
91
sten or daylight balance. (The single-phosphor version boasts slightly more output.)
Both versions are color stable when
dimmed and are designed to work in ambient temperatures of up to 122F. Additionally, both can be powered via mains transformer or industry-standard batteries, and
they can also accept a range of mounting
accessories.
Gekko has
also unveiled its
Karesslite
Dual
fixture. Available in both
6012 and 6006 configurations, the Karesslite
Dual is tunable between
3,200K and 5,600K in
100 Correlated Color
Temperature steps, which are controlled by
proprietary algorithms to allow consistent
color from lamp to lamp. The Karesslite
Dual also features switchable sectors, color
stability throughout its dimming range,
DMX control, built-in RDM and the ability to
run on V-lock batteries. The fixture also
accepts the wide range of accessories
Gekko already offers for the Karesslite
family.
For additional information, visit
www.gekkotechnology.com.
Prism Reveals Studio.3
Prism Projection has launched the
third generation of its Studio LED fixture,
the Reveal Studio.3 Fresnel, which works
like a traditional Fresnel while producing
more lumens and a wider zoom range. The
fixture combines energy efficient and longlasting solid-state LEDs with Prisms proprietary projection optics and TrueSource
color-control algorithms, which allow the
fixture to deliver exact color over its entire
lifespan.
Building on the previous generations
of the Reveal Studio and responding to
customer feedback, Prism has expanded the
feature set of the Studio.3 LED Fresnel to
make it a true replacement for a comparable tungsten fixture. According to Prisms
photometrics, the Studio.3 produces 9,700
lumens. The fixture also boasts a tunable
Correlated Color Temperature of 2,700K8,000K with a CRI above 93, enhanced
white +/- correction, and a manual zoom
focus mechanism to smoothly and easily
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November 2012
93
International Marketplace
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November 2012
American Cinematographer
Watch out
www.movietech.de
Classifieds
CLASSIFIED AD RATES
SERVICES AVAILABLE
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 classified advertising.PAYMENT MUST ACCOMPANY ORDER.
VISA, Mastercard, AmEx and Discover card are accepted. Send ad to
Classified Advertising, American Cinematographer, P.O. Box
2230, Hollywood, CA 90078. Or FAX (323) 876-4973. Deadline for
payment and copy must be in the office by 15th of second month
preceding publication. Subject matter is limited to items and services
pertaining to filmmaking and video production. Words used are subject
to magazine style abbreviation. Minimum amount per ad: $45
STUCK? BLOCKED?
Give me 30 minutes (at no cost to you):
212.560.2333. www.laurienadel.com
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: classifieds@theasc.com.
www.theasc.com
November 2012
95
Advertisers Index
16x9, Inc. 94
Abel Cine Tech 19
AC 1, 97
Adorama 13, 49
AFI 99
AJA Video Systems, Inc. 23
AZGrip 94
Backstage Equipment, Inc.
89
Barger-Lite 6, 95
Birns & Sawyer 94
Blackmagic Design, Inc. 9
Brain Emo 95
CameraImage 81
Cammate 6
Cavision Enterprises 69
Chapman/Leonard Studio
Equipment Inc. 47
Chemical Wedding 73
Cinematography
Electronics 93
Cinekinetic 94
Clairmont Film & Digital 59
Codex Digital Ltd. 21
Cooke Optics 7
Deluxe C2
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. 41
Eastman Kodak C4
EFD USA, Inc. 45
Film Gear 63
Filmotechnic USA 50
Filmtools 91
Friends of the ASC 85
General Dynamics Global
Imaging Technology 17
Glidecam Industries 61
Government Video Tech
Expo 71
Grip Factory Munich/GFM 89
Hertz Corporation 25
J.L. Fisher 65
K5600 C3
Kino Flo 51
Lights! Action! Co. 94
Manios Optical 94
M. M. Mukhi & Sons 94
Movie Tech AG 94, 95
NBC/Universal 43
New York Film Academy 29
Nila Inc. 75
Oppenheimer Camera Prod.
94
96
Panther Gmbh 91
Pille Film Gmbh 94
Polecam Ltd. 6
Pro8mm 94
Rag Place, The 63
Red Digital Cinema 30-31
Rosco Laboratories, Inc. 64
Schneider Optics 2
Sundance Film Festival 83
Super16 Inc. 94
Thales Angenieux 11
Tiffen 27
Tiffen Company 5
Transvideo/France 15
VF Gadgets, Inc. 95
Visionary Forces 89
Willys Widgets 94
www.theasc.com 4, 74
93, 96
Clubhouse News
November 2012
Kanfer Becomes
Associate Member
New ASC associate Mike Kanfer is a
senior solutions consultant at Adobe, where
he specializes in digital-production technology and workflows for motion pictures and
video. He graduated from the University of
Rochester with a degree in Fine Art and
Science, and he began a career in visual
effects as a graphic artist and motion-control
camera operator at Charlex, Inc. In 1993,
Kanfer joined the visual-effects house Digital
Domain, where he earned an Oscar nomination for his work on Apollo 13, and shared
the Oscar for Titanic.
In 2001, Kanfer joined EFilm as a DImastering supervisor. He returned to visualeffects work for the features Sky Captain
and the World of Tomorrow and Superman
Returns. He joined Adobe in 2005. Kanfer
has been a member of the Visual Effects
American Cinematographer
When you were a child, what film made the strongest impression on you?
Its a tossup between Citizen Kane (1941) and The Bridge on the
River Kwai (1957).
Which cinematographers, past or present, do you most
admire?
Thats very hard to narrow down
because there are so many, particularly
contemporary ones. But my early influences include Lee Garmes, ASC, for his
atmospherics in Shanghai Express; James
Wong Howe, ASC, for his urban realism
in Sweet Smell of Success; and Gregg
Toland, ASC, for being an artist and
innovator.
What sparked your interest in
photography?
The ability to capture a moment in time
or a performance that tells a story, and
my dads Super 8 camera.
Where did you train and/or study?
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I
attended the American Film Institute.
Who were your early teachers or mentors?
George Folsey Sr., ASC was one of my teachers at AFI, and he had
years of knowledge, experience and advice. He shot his first film in
1919 at Astoria Studios in New York and was there for the advent of
so many milestones: the light meter (can you imagine?), color
photography, Technicolor, the introduction of large soft sources and
overhead silks, and CinemaScope! He was nominated for an Academy Award 13 times and never won. I think the Academy owes him
one! And Caleb Deschanel, ASC became a mentor after I met him in
1980; he gave me a lot of encouragement and advice, and he sponsored me for ASC membership.
What are some of your key artistic influences?
I studied the light in paintings from all sorts of periods and styles. I
think you can relate them all to photography and storytelling. Also,
of course, observing real life.
How did you get your first break in the business?
Ive always believed that everyone gets a break at some point along
the way, although you may not know its your break at the time. Just
make it all about the work, the craft. Forget the hype, and youll be
fine.
100
November 2012
American Cinematographer
Close-up
ONFILM
G U I L L E R M O N A VA R R O , A S C
There are many variables in every scene
of each lm, including interactions
between actors. Great cinematography
happens when all the variables come
together. You have to be sensitive to what
the space around the actors is telling you.
Many times its not about lighting. Its
about taking light away, deciding what to
reveal or conceal with your framing and
choosing the right lens. Im not interested
in shooting pretty pictures and impressing
people with aesthetics. I am constantly
searching for images with the energy
that serves the story. Even though you
need many collaborators, lmmaking can
still be a very personal process with a
completely subjective outcome. It takes a
lot more than mastering technology and
techniques. Filmmaking is a universal
language that I am continuously learning
and a form of artistic expression that
draws on a lifetime of visual memories.
Guillermo Navarro, ASC won an Oscar
in 2007 for Best Achievement in
Cinematography for his work on Pans
Labyrinth. His credits include Cabeza de
Vaca, Cronos, Desperado, From Dusk Till
Dawn, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Jackie
Brown, Stuart Little, Spy Kids, The Devils
Backbone, Hellboy, Hellboy II, Zathura,
I Am Number Four, The Twilight Saga:
Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Part 2, and
the upcoming Pacic Rim. Navarro also
leads an effort to have lm recognized by
UNESCO as a World Heritage.
For an extended Q&A with Guillermo Navarro,
visit www.kodak.com/go/onlm.
To order Kodak motion picture lm,
call (800) 621-lm.
Eastman Kodak Company, 2012.
Photography: 2012 Douglas Kirkland