Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC and Alejandro Gonzélez Inderitu 3% brave extreme conditions while shooting The Revenant on location in the Canadian wilderness. By Michael Goldman TT irector Alejandro Gonzalez Inirritu and cinematogra- | pher Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC are keenly ) avvare that their method of shooting The Revenant last A Salt and winter —in sequence and relying almost exchu- sively on natural light in the harsh Canadian wilderness — has been controversial. Now, after nearly five years of planning and a brutal, extended production and post schedule the flm- makers are cager to explain why they believe the undertaking was worth enduring such punishing conditions. ‘Adapted from author Michael Punke's 2002 novel, The Revenant is based on the real-life survival and revenge story of| Hugh Glass. The 19th-century explorer (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) was mauled by a grizzly bear during a Missouri River expedition in 1823, and after declaring him beyond hope, his companions took Glass’ weapons and fled. In the movie, Glass awakens wounded and unarmed in a shallow ‘grave, but rises up and steels himself to track down the men ‘who had left him for dea. Iirritu and Lubezki readily concede that the produc tion was numbingly difficult. Filming took place primarily in the remote Rocky Mountain region surrounding Calgary, Alberta, Canada — with certain sequences captured at the Squamish River in British Columbia, north of Vancouver, as well as the Kootenai River in Libby, Montana. The final 201 ‘American CinematographerInthe feature The Revenant, Percy freed an pany arn era Earmmeeins Pern erty cy eres Perna peor oro red reed raed) een Peer AMC ahi, ASC scenes were shot in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Tnarritu calls the project “a once-in-a-lifetime experi- ence,” and Lubecki describes it as “the roughest and hardest thing I have ever done in my life.” “Ir got so intense and so challeng- but we all knew when we signed up that it would be this way,” INdrrita says “We discovered that when you are exposed to the weather and these condi~ tions every day, you have to adapt. I had to shoot the movie chronologically, because that is how it is written — it starts in autumn and moves into winter. And the character goes through a very real physical experience of being in the middle of nowhere for months. So we couldnt do it on a set, under normal Hollywood rules, and bring in snow and put in bluescreens. I wanted to absolutely kill any artifice. In. keeping with that truth, we had to go through a true natural process, and challenge ourselves.” ‘At the center of it all, indrritu attests, was “the Chivo element,” refer- ring to Lubezki by his nickname. “I could not have done this movie without him,” the director says. “His knowledge of natural light, the complexity of it — there could never be a better creative partner.” Indeed, Tiveritu insists that ww.theasc com 2 a> Left for Dead earn ee Lubeski did “by far his most superb work ever” on The high praise, considering Lubezki centered the production after winning two consecutive Academy Awards for Gravity (AC Now. "13) and Tasritu's Birdman (AC Dec.'14). ‘As Lubezki explains, he realized from the beginning that shooting in harsh weather amid woods, mountains and prairies, with constantly shifting skies and short windows of daylight, would only work ifthe entire crew performed “as true filmmakers” — a hearty band of collaborators on their ‘own adventure, mirroring the saga they ‘were putting onscreen, He describes the fewenant — which is 38 January 2016 colleagues who made it through, from grips to camera assistants to fellow operators, as “indispensible” and right hands’ on the project. ‘The original plan for the produc- tion had been to shoot a film/digital hybrid, and while the production did camry film cameras early on, no film footage appears in the finished cut. Te Revenant ultimately relied on a combi- nation of Arri Alexa cameras: the Alexa XT, which was used primarily for Steadicam and crane shots; the Alexa M, which was designated as the primary camera; and the new Alexa 65 system, an early version of which Arri made available to the filmmakers in ‘American Cinematographer January of 2015, several weeks into production, Pe’ Though the Ales 65 wens oij- nally carried primarily for vistas and more expansive shots, the filmmakers ended up using the new large-format camera “more and more and more,” according to Ist AC John Connor, and for all sorts of applications, including crane work for entire scenes and some Steadicam. Connor notes that the Alexa 65 was commandeered for “long takes [that progressed] from wide shots into close-ups, usually to [the minimum focus of] 15" on the widest [24mm] Jens” Lubezki explains that he was initially attracted to the idea of “includ ing the dynamic range of a film nega~ tive. I wanted to shoot a combination of 35mm and 65mm film, and then use ‘Alexa for dusk and night. But the tests werent tuning out the way we wanted — we were having [logistical problems] with X-rays in airports and labs — and 1 was already [impressed with] the ‘Alexa tests when Arr called and said the Alexa 65 was available, “Once we started testing that camera, we decided to switch to all- digital” he continues. “In the weather conditions and the short windows [of sunlight), the Alexa did great work Even if the dynamic range is not exactly the same as film, what the Alexa was able to do in the low end was something,