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M E M B E R P O R T R A I T

Julio Macat, ASC

W W W . T H E A S C . C O M

TO SUBSCRIBE BY PHONE:

Call (800) 448-0145 (U.S. only)

(323) 969-4333 or visit the ASC Web site

hen I was 4, my mother

took me to see my first

motion picture, 101Dalmatians. When it ended, I

refused to leave my seat, staying

to watch it two more times.

Moving images had cast their

spell on me. Later, films such as

Casablanca and Lawrence ofArabia compelled me to

understand the language of

cinematography.

“I got my first look at

American Cinematographer at

UCLA, and I was riveted by the

cinematographers’ explanations of

scenes. Our unwritten rule is to

share our techniques for the

betterment of our craft; this is the

engine that drives us and inspires

innovation in our field. AC is still

the perfect platform for sharing

the details of our creative

processes and discussing the tools

we use to achieve our goals.”

— Julio Macat, ASC

“W

©p

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to b

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LitepanelsA Vitec Group brand

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Mauro Fiore, ASC

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The International Journal of Motion Imaging

24 Armor WarsMatthew Libatique, ASC hits heavy-metal beats on Iron Man 2

40 Wonders of the SeaA team of cinematographers dives beneath the waves for Oceans

50 Lost and Found FamiliesXavier Pérez Grobet, ASC, AMC explores three women’s dramas on Mother and Child

56 Dark SecretsEric Kress, DFF deepens mystery for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

72 Deep Visual RootsA pictorial recap of ASC Awards weekend

DEPARTMENTS

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— VISIT WWW.THEASC.COM TO ENJOY THESE WEB EXCLUSIVES —DVD Playback: The African Queen • House of the Devil • The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life

and Work of John A. Alonzo

On Our Cover: Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) takes a stand against new enemies in Iron Man 2,shot by Matthew Libatique, ASC. (Photo by François Duhamel, SMPSP, courtesy of Para-mount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment.)

8 Editor’s Note10 President’s Desk12 Short Takes: ASC Heritage Award Winners18 Production Slate: The Man Next Door • Academy Sci-Tech Awards72 Post Focus: Restoring A Star Is Born74 Tricks of the Trade76 New Products & Services84 International Marketplace85 Classified Ads86 Ad Index87 Clubhouse News88 ASC Close-Up: Fred Elmes

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John Calhoun, Bob Fisher, Simon Gray, Jim Hemphill, David Heuring, Jay Holben, Mark Hope-Jones, Noah Kadner, Jean Oppenheimer,

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————————————————————————————————————American Cinematographer (ISSN 0002-7928), established 1920 and in its 90th 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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office. Article Reprints: Requests for high-quality article reprints (or electronic reprints) should be made toSheridan Reprints at (800) 635-7181 ext. 8065 or by e-mail [email protected].

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OFFICERS - 2009/2010

Michael GoiPresident

Richard CrudoVice President

Owen RoizmanVice President

Victor J. KemperVice President

Matthew LeonettiTreasurer

Rodney TaylorSecretary

John C. Flinn IIISergeant At Arms

MEMBERS OF THEBOARD

Curtis ClarkRichard Crudo

George Spiro DibieRichard EdlundJohn C. Flinn III

John HoraVictor J. Kemper

Matthew LeonettiStephen LighthillIsidore Mankofsky

Daryn OkadaOwen RoizmanNancy SchreiberHaskell Wexler

Vilmos Zsigmond

ALTERNATESFred Elmes

Steven FierbergRon Garcia

Michael D. O’SheaMichael Negrin

MUSEUM CURATORSteve Gainer

American Society of Cine ma tog ra phersThe ASC is not a labor union or a guild, but

an educational, cultural and pro fes sion al or ga ni za tion. Membership is by invitation

to those who are actively en gaged as di rec tors of photography and have

dem on strated out stand ing ability. ASC membership has be come one of the highest

honors that can be bestowed upon a pro fes sional cin e ma tog ra pher — a mark

of prestige and excellence.

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6

It’s always fun watching filmmaker friends progress to biggerand bigger projects. I first met Matthew Libatique, ASC at theSundance Film Festival back in January 1998, when he and direc-tor Darren Aronofsky broke out of the pack with the black-and-white, ultra-low-budget brainteaser Pi. More recently, associateeditor Jon Witmer and I visited Matty on the L.A. set of Iron Man2, where we found him sitting with director Jon Favreau at a rowof monitors on an enormous set built at the Sepulveda Dam,facing one of the largest greenscreens ever built. Matty appearedunfazed by the epic setup, relaxing in a director’s chair with his legsstretched out, ankles crossed and boots resting on the monitor’s

support stand. Sneaking up behind him, I couldn’t resist a jovial barb: “Hey, look at Mr. Big Shot,with all his lights on cranes!” Turning to Favreau, I added, “I’ve known this guy since he waslighting scenes with two flashlights and a bounce card.”

Matty responded with his usual enthusiasm. “I know, Dude, isn’t this insane?” Heproceeded to take us on a guided tour of the 600'x200' set, which boasted an awe-inspiringarsenal of lighting equipment. “It’s not like the old days, that’s for sure,” he said. “This setup isbig. Every time we want to change our lighting, we have to move a crane.”

To be sure, there’s nothing small about the Iron Man sequel, which promises to be oneof the summer’s blockbusters. Witmer, AC’s resident expert on comic-book heroes, put super-human effort into his article about the production (“Armor Wars,” page 24), delivering compre-hensive coverage despite being tapped for a three-week stint on jury duty as his copy deadlineloomed.

The logistics were just as daunting on the nature film Oceans, a seven-year undertakingthat showcases stunning underwater footage captured by 21 cinematographers. Europeancorrespondent Benjamin B penned an outstanding overview (“Wonders of the Sea,” page 40)after interviewing six members of the production team.

Arthouse fare is also on our agenda. ASC member Xavier Pérez Grobet applied an “obser-vational” camera style while shooting the indie drama Mother and Child (“Lost and Found Fami-lies,” page 50), moving the camera “very little and very precisely. Our work was about blockingthe scene and then trying to find a frame that would capture different moments of the scenewithout requiring a camera move.” Meanwhile, Eric Kress, DFF persuaded director Niels ArdenOplev to abandon his initial plan to employ a “wild, handheld camera” on The Girl With theDragon Tattoo (“Dark Secrets,” page 56), and to instead adopt what the director describes as“a slow-burning style with constant movement.” Kress says the two ultimately agreed that anoverly showy visual approach “might somehow [overshadow] the intricacies of the plot, so weopted for a very natural style, with a subtle color palette based upon the cold light of a Swedishwinter.”

Rounding out this issue is a pictorial recap of the ASC Awards (“Deep Visual Roots,” page63), which put cinematographers in the spotlight over two consecutive weekends. One highlightwas an impassioned speech by Lifetime Achievement Award winner Caleb Deschanel, ASC, whoexpressed his affection for a time-honored format: “I love the uncertainty of shooting on filmand not knowing what you are going to get. It’s the jolt you get when you see those images forthe first time. I love the mystery of seeing them onscreen.”

Stephen PizzelloExecutive Editor

Editor’s Note

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8

I have thousands of films in my personal collection, including the first films from a number of ASCcinematographers. As I watch those early efforts, what strikes me is that the talent that would ultimatelypropel those artists to the top was always there. You could see it in their approach to the material; despitelow budgets, short shooting schedules, bad actors and even worse video transfers, that elusive talent tolight and shoot something in a unique and compelling way shines through.

One film from the 1960s, Lila, Mantis in Lace, revolves around a woman who takes LSD and subse-quently becomes murderously unhinged whenever men approach her. Her hallucinations include projectedimages of contrasting splashes of color on her face and jarring in-camera exposure effects. It’s a tour-de-force of creativity on a shoestring budget, and the stylized visuals elevate this B movie to the level of trulyeffective filmmaking. The cinematographer? The late, great Laszlo Kovacs, ASC.

Another future ASC member forever made the chainsaw an iconic horror symbol. Shooting in theblazing heat of a Texas summer, and using 16mm film with an ASA of 16 and tons of visual creativity with-out tons of money, Daniel Pearl, ASC made 1974’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre a visual rollercoaster ridethat is impossible to forget.

One of the features of the new “Friends of The ASC” subscription site is devoted to rising stars in the field of cinematography. Theymay be students or young cinematographers, or even shooters who have been working for a number of years but haven’t been recognizedfor the excellent images they’ve created. Every month, an ASC cinematographer will choose someone they think is exceptional and discusswhy he or she thinks that person has what it takes to make a mark in this demanding field.

Because your average ASC cinematographer has so many opportunities to view films that are outside the mainstream, we are oftenexposed to innovative, groundbreaking work that hasn’t yet been noticed by the industry at large. For example, many of us are asked toattend annual screenings of student work. We are frequently impressed by the sophistication of the visual approaches we see, and we makemental notes of the projects and cinematographers that stand out.

Sometimes we are invited to view films that do not yet have distribution. When I first came to Los Angeles, I was an unknown cine-matographer who didn’t have connections with anyone here in the business. A screening of an independent film I’d shot was set up at alocal theater, and, although the budget was very low, I was proud of what I accomplished on that film, so I sent invitations to all my cine-matography heroes, none of whom I had ever met.

Five minutes before the film was to screen, it was evident that almost no one the producers had invited was going to attend. I hadno expectations that my blind mailing to the greatest cinematographers in the world was going to have much of an effect, so my disap-pointment was tempered by the understanding that they were probably always busy. Just then, Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC came walking up,holding one of the promo cards I’d sent out. He went to the box office and said he was invited to attend the screening. I ran up to him andintroduced myself, thanking him for coming to see this small movie he knew nothing about.

Vilmos and I sat together during the film. He asked me questions about how I did this and that, and complimented the things hefound effective in the lighting and composition. After the screening, I told him how much it meant to me that he came to see the movie. Hesaid, “Well, you invited me, so I came!”

That is the spirit of this new feature we’ve included on the “Friends” site. It excites us to see the potential in someone who is doinggood work early in his or her development, and it’s encouraging to a young cinematographer to have his or her work recognized by some-one in the profession who has achieved success. It goes straight to the heart of one of the ASC’s most important missions: to recognize,educate and encourage new talent.

Michael Goi, ASCPresident

President’s Desk

10 May 2010 American Cinematographer

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Bakshi, Shannon Win ASC Richard Moore Heritage AwardsBy David Heuring

Each year, the ASC Heritage Award is named for a distinguishedASC member and given in recognition of outstanding achievementin student filmmaking. This year’s award, named for Richard Moore,ASC, was given to two cinematographers, graduate student BenjiBakshi of the American Film Institute and undergraduate GarrettShannon of Loyola Marymount University.

Bakshi’s winning entry, Life on Earth, follows a troubled girl whodevelops an interest in the natural world as a way of escaping a dullexistence in a group foster home. Scenes in the group home, filmedin a disused sanitarium, were lit in an institutional way with fluores-cents, providing contrast with livelier, colorful scenes captured in theLos Angeles Arboretum in Pasadena.

Shooting Super 16mm, Bakshi used an Arri 16SR-3 and ZeissSuper Speed prime lenses supplied by Clairmont Camera. He shotKodak Vision2 500T 7260. Processing was done at Technicolor, andthe final color correction was handled at Entertainment Post on a 2KLustre system. The schedule comprised roughly eight shooting days.

“AFI strongly emphasizes supporting the story as opposed toshowing off [visually],” notes Bakshi, “and I felt that with this story,we could really say something. Our producer, Kip Pastor, conceived avery relevant story, and [director] Jeff Keith and I wanted to keep itauthentic. One fear I had going in was that the images would endup being too safe, too normal or too beautiful; I wanted to makesure there was enough darkness and mood. We wanted the imagesto support the unsettling nature of the story, and the choices wemade were designed to accomplish that.

“For example, we chose 7260 because it has an energetic grain

structure, even in the highlights, which meant we could get a grainyfeel without having to push the stock. We went for a desaturatedcolor palette in the institutional setting, and we played with the ideathat the green fluorescent light was a little nasty, whereas the greensin the exteriors were beautiful.”

Bakshi prefers to desaturate color with practical methodsrather than leaving that step for post. “If you desaturate using a posteffect, the skin tones tend to get sickly or unpleasant, so we delib-erately tried to make the desaturation happen around the character,using production design across the separate worlds. We also usedhaze in the interiors to obtain a slightly desaturated effect.”

Bakshi didn’t move the camera at all until the main characterdiscovers her interest in nature through a TV program she happensto see. In the gardens, movement becomes expressive, and the cine-matographer made full use of the exposure curve. “I love the lookof highlights — I think that’s what makes something cinematic andmoody,” he says. “In the garden, we had very dark shadow areas

Short Takes

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Life on Earth, shot by Benji Bakshi (above)concerns a troubled girl stifled by her life in a group home.

I


and really bright highlights. There’s a nicemoment when she is walking through thedark shadows of the bamboo trees; I had ahighlight in the background that was prob-ably 5 stops over, and shadows were 3-4stops under. I put the exposure in themiddle and let it go, and we got a beautifulshot without losing detail. I didn’t have toworry about containing or knocking downthose bright highlights.”

By the end of the film, the girl hastaken her first steps toward finding her wayin the world. “This is somewhat of a sillybusiness to embark on unless it really meanssomething to you,” Bakshi says of the filmindustry. “What was really meaningful tome about this story is the real struggle thatthis character undergoes. Each of us on thecreative team connected with this girl onsome level; we brought our life experiencesto the project. In the story, we see howmankind is instinctively drawn to nature,and how we often get detached from ourorigins there. I think that’s a godlymessage.”

Shannon’s winning entry, In Memo-riam, was directed by Corey Todd Jones.The story follows a young writer (MichaelMedino) as he attempts to fulfill the dyingwish of a friend, an elderly Polish expatriate.

Shannon and Jones envisioned a measuredpace and a poetic, lyrical approach. Forinspiration, they looked to Terrence Malick’sThe New World (AC Jan. ’06) and Days ofHeaven (AC June ’79). Location choiceswere considered as important as the rightdialogue or blocking. “Locations played akey role in the film because they establishedthe mood and guided the characters,” saysShannon. “For most of the movie, the mainactor is alone, and we wanted his emotionsto evolve with the background.”

Those decisions played into otheraspects of the visual strategy. “We opted toframe for 2.40:1 to incorporate wider land-scapes as opposed to more vertical fram-ing,” says Shannon. “We tried to match thesetting’s colors and lighting with what thecharacter was feeling. Because the filmfocuses so heavily on landscapes, we triedto use wider lenses on exterior scenes forboth wide shots and close-ups, and thattook a little getting used to. We wanted thebackgrounds to be in focus; shooting Super16 helped in terms of creating greater depthof field, but I also shot at a slower stop thanI would normally use with that format.”

Shannon used spherical Zeiss Super-speed lenses and an Arri 16SR-2. For dayexteriors, he shot Kodak Vision2 50D 7201

or 250D 7205. In tungsten light, he usedVision2 200T 7217. In post, the imageswere transferred to HDCam on a SpiritDatacine at Matchframe Video.

“We were looking for saturated butnaturalistic colors, and we knew we wantedmaximum latitude in the highlights becauseof the predominance of day-exterior loca-tions,” says Shannon. “We had a lot ofchallenging locations, and the size, weightand 11-minute running time per 400-footload were all selling points for the SR-2.”

The cinematographer relied on judi-cious blocking and natural light in many ofthe exterior scenes. “Because we had asmall crew and were shooting outdoors,Corey usually deferred to me when we wereblocking,” says Shannon. “That enabled usto make best use of the sun. We agreedthat the way the light looked was moreimportant than strictly matching its angle.”

●

Above: In Memoriam follows Jude (Michael Medino), a young writer who befriends an elderly Polish expatriate. Top right: Director of

photography Garrett Shannon sets up a shot at a creek bed in Belden, Calif.Bottom right: The cast and crew rehearse a dolly move outside a

cabin in Mineral, Calif.

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A Window into the SoulBy Noah Kadner

Winner of the cinematography prize in the World Cinema-Dramatic category at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the intimatethriller The Man Next Door (El Hombre de al Lado) is set almostentirely in the Curutchet House, a famous Le Corbusier structure inLa Plata, near Buenos Aires, Argentina. The celebrated ramps andspiral staircases of the house date from the 1950s; it was the soleresidential structure that Le Corbusier designed for the Americas.

The film’s plot is a classic tale of familiarity breeding contempt.Leonardo (Rafael Spregelburd) is a meticulous, successful architectliving a tranquil life with his wife, daughter and maid in their designerhome. Their bliss is interrupted in the opening shot of the movie, astheir brash next-door neighbor, Victor (Daniel Aráoz), begins demol-ishing a wall to build a window looking right into Leonardo’s home.The two men attempt to settle their differences amicably, but tensionsimmers just beneath the surface, and the dispute slowly escalatesinto a full-blown existential crisis for Leonardo.

The Man Next Door was co-directed and co-shot by Argentin-ian filmmakers Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat. Longtime collabo-rators, the duo previously created a variety of experimental video-artexhibits and several programs broadcast on Argentinian television.Cohn and Duprat also have two features to their credit: Yo Presidente,a documentary about several former Argentinian presidents, and ElArtista, which won a host of awards during its 2009 festival run.

Cohn and Duprat planned The Man Next Door over a four-year period. “It took us all those years of negotiation to secure thelocation, because the house is uninhabited and set up like amuseum,” recalls Cohn. “We knew the concept really required thatspecial principal location in order to work as a story. The script, writ-ten by Gastón’s brother, Andres, is not exactly based on real events,but Andres had a neighbor somewhat similar to Victor.”

Cohn and Duprat shot The Man Next Door on their ownSony PMW-EX1, a relatively inexpensive high-definition prosumercamera. “We previously shot El Artista with this camera,” notesDuprat. “We like its image quality, and it’s the camera thatresponded best to the minimal lighting setups we planned to use onthis film. It also enabled us to shoot with the smallest possible crew.Our sound recordist mixed boom and wireless mics directly into thecamera, so we could check sound and picture as we shot.”

The film opens with a split screen showing simultaneousinterior and exterior perspectives of the demolishing of the wall. Itwas the only shot that utilized two cameras, one on either side. Ascenic flat was constructed on top of an existing structure to standin for the wall. “If we’d broken down a real wall of this historic LeCorbusier house, we’d probably be doing this interview from jail,”says Cohn with a smile. “It was a complicated shot that we had toget right on the first take, because we only had a single fake wallprepared.” Cohn adds, “We shot mostly in chronological order. Wewere simultaneously editing on a PC running Sony Vegas as weshot, so we would quickly see how the story was coming together.

Production Slate

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That gave a lot of confidence to the actorsbecause they could visualize each scene,and it would help them a lot with theirperformances.

“We shot during the day and night,as called for in the script,” Cohn continues.“Every day in the script was equivalent to afull day of filming. This was very practicalbecause we could shoot and download thefootage for each day in sequence. We’dinsert each scene and shot into its place inthe edit to see exactly how the story wascoming together. When we started eachnew shoot day, we could go back and referto the previous day’s work as needed.”

Lighting was limited to 25-watt off-the-shelf fluorescent lights and some reflec-tor boards. “We used the kinds of fluores-cent lights you’d find in a supermarkethere,” says Cohn. “The Curutchet Househas many large windows with a view to aforest and was perfectly designed for lots ofindirect sunlight. It had the perfect naturallighting for making a movie. We wanted toadd the least amount of artificial light possi-ble and work with available light wheneverwe could.”

In keeping with their minimalistapproach, Cohn and Duprat used no lensfiltration. “We only used the camera’s built-in ND filters,” says Duprat. “We also stuckmostly with the camera’s built-in zoom lens,supplemented occasionally with a wide-angle lens adapter from Sony. We shot a lotof handheld, with some tripod work andalso a shoulder support.”

During the production, theCurutchet House remained open as amuseum, which meant daily visitors.“Tourists would come by and ring the door-bell while we shot,” says Duprat. “They’dalso want to take pictures of the structure.It wasn’t part of our original plan, but wedecided to film the tourists and incorporatethem into the story. We also tried as muchas possible to film each scene with a singletake; this reduced the possibilities forcamera placement and movement some-what, but it made a big difference to us.When you watch the movie, you might notnotice this because we worked hard tomake it look natural.

“The movie definitely has a heavydose of mise-en-scène,” he adds. “Thehouse is the story’s third protagonist, so we

Top: Leonardo attempts to block out the noise emanating from Victor’s construction work. Middle: Victor's attempts at charm fail to sway the architect's wife (Eugenia Alonso), who stubbornly opposes his plans. Bottom: While listening to avant-garde music, Leonardo

and a friend suddenly realize that some of the jarring sounds they hear are actually coming from Victor’s place.

www.theasc.com May 2010 17


tried to keep the camera inside the house,and we have a lot of shots of the housewith no one in it.”

Outside of the house, one additionallocation was the interior of Victor’s van,

where he invites Leonardo to join him for atense but relatively civil discussion of theirdifferences. “We tried to use as little addi-tional lighting as possible in the van,” saysCohn. “We shot those takes during the day

and tried to bounce in natural light withreflector boards. We used our tiny 25-wattfluorescents as needed for additional fill.”

Other notable sequences showVictor surreptitiously entertaining Leonar-do’s daughter (Inés Budassi) with a tiny pairof boots he puppeteers with his fingers ona small set within the window he’sconstructing. “The miniature was posi-tioned in such a way that it had nice naturallight falling on it,” says Duprat. “Victor hasa special relationship with Leonardo’sdaughter, and it was important to us toshow his geniality.”

After completing the edit in SonyVegas, the filmmakers turned to BuenosAires post house Cinecolor, where they dida digital intermediate in HD using AssimilateScratch. The final graded master wasoutput to Kodak Vision Premier 2393 on anArrilaser. “We spent a great deal of timeworking on the composition of the images,and we tried to be almost artisanal both inthe shooting and in the finishing of theproject,” says Cohn. “This included thecolor temperature we chose from scene toscene, the framing, the color grading andthe final filmout. Diego Bliffeld, our assistantdirector, participated in all stages of theprocess with us.

“At the Sundance screening, no onecould guess how we shot the movie,” headds. “Most folks thought we’d shot35mm, or with the Red, or with a high-endprofessional Sony camera — not a littleXDCam prosumer model! But we havealways worked in video, so we know themedium by heart. We know how to get themaximum quality out of a camera like theEX1. After Sundance, Sony contacted usand offered a prototype of a brand-newcamera for our next project. We’ll see howit goes!”

TECHNICAL SPECS

1.85:1(16x9 original)Digital CaptureSony PMW-EX1Digital IntermediatePrinted on Kodak Vision Premier 2393

Top: The crewfilms a scene in

which Victorinsists on giving

Leonardo the giftof a crude,homemade

sculpture. Middle:Directors/

cinematographersGastón Duprat

(left) and MarianoCohn play back a

take on theirSony PMW-EX1.

Bottom: Cohncaptures a close-

up of Aráoz.

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of the Truelight real-time 3-D LUT hardwaresystem. Through the use of color-manage-ment software and hardware, this systemenables accurate color presentation in theDI preview process.

Dr. Klaus Anderle, ChristianBaeker and Frank Billasch, for their contri-butions to the Luther 3-D LUT hardwaredevice and color-management software.Luther was one of the first color LUT proces-sors widely adopted by DI facilities. Thisinnovation enabled accurate color presenta-tion by facilities that had analyzed projectedfilm output and built 3-D LUTs to emulateprint film.

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Björn Hedén, for the design andmechanical engineering of the silent, two-stage planetary friction drive Hedén LensMotors. Solving a series of problems withone integrated mechanism, this device hadan immediate, significant impact on theindustry.

Scientific and Engineering Awards(Academy plaques presented for achievements that exhibit a high level of engineering and are important to the progress of the industry)

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Dr. Richard Kirk, for the overalldesign and development of the Truelightreal-time 3-D LUT hardware device andcolor-management software.

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Michael Cieslinski, Dr. ReimarLenz and Bernd Brauner, for the develop-ment of the Arriscan film scanner, enablinghigh-resolution, high-dynamic range, pin-registered film scanning. The Arriscanutilizes a specially designed CMOS-arraysensor mounted on a micro-positioningplatform and a custom LED light source.Capture of the film’s full dynamic range at

Academy Salutes Sci-Tech AchievementsBy Jay Holben

This year’s Academy Awards forScientific and Technical Achievement werehanded out in a Feb. 20 ceremony hostedby actress Elizabeth Banks. The star of theevening, however, turned out to be the digi-tal-intermediate process — awards werepresented for nearly every aspect of theprocess.

Here is a list of the winners:

Technical Achievement Awards(Academy Certificates presented for accomplishments that contribute to the progress of the industry)

Mark Wolforth and Tony Sedivy,for their contributions to the development

IPh

otos

cou

rtes

y of

A.M

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Front row (left toright): Academy

President Tom Sherak,actress Elizabeth Banks

and Sci-TechCommittee ChairmanRichard Edlund, ASC.

2nd row: Björn Hedén,Hiro Sakai, Andreas

Loew, Christophe Hery,Masaaki Miki, Frank

Billasch and TimHawkins. 3rd row: Dr.

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Dr. Reimer Lenz, PerChristensen, MichaelBunnell, Greg Pettitt

and Michael Cieslinski.6th row: Dr. Klaus

Anderle, Brad Walker,Bill Werner, D. Scott

Dewald, Dr. MarkSagar and Volker

Massmann. 7th row:Bernd Brauner, Colin

Davidson, KenMcGaugh, JohnMonos, MarkusHasenzahl and

Christian Baeker. Lastrow: Hayden Landis,

Hilmar Koch, BrettAllen, Steve Sullivan

and Kevin Wooley.

THE ACADEMY RECOGNIZES EXCELLENCE. SO DO WE.Here’s to this year’s OSCAR® nominees that brought their stories to life with the unmistakable look of fi lm. KODAK Film.

© Kodak, 2010. Kodak is a trademark of Kodak.Oscar is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

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various scan resolutions is implementedthrough sub-pixel offsets of the sensoralong with multiple exposures of eachframe.

Wolfgang Lempp, Theo Brown,Tony Sedivy and Dr. John Quartel, for thedevelopment of the Northlight film scanner,which enables high-resolution, pin-regis-

tered scanning. Developed for the DI andvisual-effects markets, the Northlight wasdesigned with a 6K CCD sensor, making itunique in its ability to produce high-resolu-tion scans of 35mm 8-perf film frames.

Steve Chapman, Martin Tlaskal,Darrin Smart and Dr. James Logie, fortheir contributions to the development of

the Baselight color-correction system, whichenables real-time digital manipulation ofmotion-picture imagery. Baselight was oneof the first digital color-correction systemsto enter the DI market.

Mark Jaszberenyi, Gyula Priskinand Tamas Perlaki, for their contributionsto the development of the Lustre color-correction system, which enables real-timedigital manipulation of motion-pictureimagery. Lustre is a software solution thatenables non-linear, real-time digital colorgrading across an entire feature film,emulating the photochemical color-timingprocess.

Brad Walker, D. Scott Dewald,Bill Werner and Greg Pettitt, for theircontributions furthering the design andrefinement of Texas Instruments’ DLPProjector technology. Working in conjunc-tion with the film industry, Texas Instru-ments created a high-resolution, color-accu-rate, high-quality DI projection system thatcould closely emulate film-based projectionin a theatrical environment.

Banks, the evening’s hostess, greets the crowd.

22

Fujifilm Corp., Ryoji Nishimura,Masaaki Miki and Youichi Hosoya, forthe design and development of FujicolorEterna-RDI intermediate film, designedexclusively to reproduce motion-picturedigital masters. Eterna-RDI 8511/4511 hasthinner emulsion layers with extremely effi-cient couplers made possible by Super-Nano

Cubic Grain Technology. This inventionallows improved color sensitivity with theability to absorb scattered light, providingextremely sharp images. Eterna-RDI emul-sion technology also achieves less colorcross-talk for exacting reproduction.

Paul Debevec, Tim Hawkins,John Monos and Dr. Mark Sagar, for the

design and engineering of the Light Stagecapture devices and the image-based facial-rendering system developed for characterrelighting in motion pictures. The combina-tion of these systems allows for the creationof photorealistic digital faces as they wouldappear in any lighting condition.

●

Left: During the ceremony, 15 awards were presented to 45 individual recipients.

Right: Edlund offers his overview.

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Afew weeks before the end of principal photography onIron Man 2, AC is on location with the filmmakers at LosAngeles’ Sepulveda Dam, where the production haserected and illuminated a massive greenscreen that

emanates a nighttime glow visible for miles. The set representsonly part of the exterior of Stark Expo, a showcase for the tech-nological wizardry of Stark Industries and its head honcho,Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), who has recently revealed tothe world that he is the armor-clad superhero Iron Man. Therest of the expo exterior was a combination of location work ata Los Angeles high school and CG extensions. “The trick is tofulfill what people liked about the first film, but do it in a differ-ent way and on a larger scale,” says director Jon Favreau.Judging by the scope of this particular set, the production willsucceed on both counts.

Armor WarsArmor WarsCinematographer

Matthew Libatique, ASC and director Jon Favreau shoot to thrill with the action-packed

Iron Man 2.

By Jon D. Witmer

•|•


Creating the greenscreen at thedam required hundreds of shippingcontainers to be stacked, covered inplywood and a thin coat of plaster, andpainted chroma green. The screen linesthree sides of a courtyard measuringroughly 600'x200'; the elaborate setupincludes working fountains fitted withwaterproof LiteGear LiteRibbonLEDs, as well as a portion of a bridgesupported by four cylindrical columns,each topped with two T8 TechnologiesLumapanel Pro 44s, two Clay PakyAlpha Profile 1,200-watt movingfixtures, and two Martin Mac 2000Uni

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Opposite: JustinHammer (SamRockwell) introducesWar Machine onstageat Stark Expo in IronMan 2. This page, top:Iron Man — and alterego Tony Stark — facesthreats on multiplefronts. Middle: SHIELDoperative Black Widow(Scarlett Johansson)infiltrates StarkIndustries. Bottom: IvanVanko (Mickey Rourke)readies his own attack.


Washes. Installed in the columns areBarco Versa Tubes, which create pulsingLED-lighting effects. Additional ambi-ence is provided by Condor-supportedSourcemaker lighting balloons.

During a break between setups,Matthew Libatique, ASC points to thetop of the greenscreen, which is linedwith 20Ks and PRG Bad Boys, “thepunchiest mover we could get,” he says.Gaffer Mike Bauman notes, “They havea ton of throw, an incredible zoom rangeand a lot of speed, so we can highlightsections of the set really quickly withthem.” With four cameras set to roll,Libatique is soon called back to videovillage, where Favreau commiserates withDowney and co-star Gwyneth Paltrow,who is reprising her role as Pepper Potts.

Although the expo seems tosignify a high-water mark for Stark, heactually finds himself at a troubling cross-roads. To the chagrin of the U.S. govern-ment, he has given up weaponsmanufacturing and refuses to hand overthe technology behind his Iron Manarmor, putting him at odds with his long-time friend, Col. Rhodes (Don Cheadle),and forcing the government to backStark Industries’ rival, Justin Hammer(Sam Rockwell). Meanwhile, theStrategic Homeland Intervention,Engagement and Logistics Division(better known as SHIELD) has infil-trated Stark Industries with a beautifuloperative code-named Black Widow(Scarlett Johansson). Worse still, Russianscientist Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke)has decided the time is ripe to act on apersonal vendetta against Stark and hisfamily legacy. Tying the plot’s threadstogether, Libatique observes, “It’s really aportrait of someone who’s become toofamous. Tony’s dealing with fame, his egoand his conscience all at the same time.”

The film reunites Favreau withLibatique, who also shot Iron Man (ACMay ’08). When Favreau askedLibatique to return for the sequel, “Ididn’t have any reservations,” saysLibatique. “I’d learned so much from thefirst film, and I wanted an opportunity toknow what I’d learned from beginning toend. I like to think that when you stack

◗ Armor Wars

Top andmiddle: Stark’s

(RobertDowney Jr.)

workshop hasbeen

refurbishedwith an LED

grid beneath aLucite floor —representing a

giantholograph

“tablet” forStark to

interact with— and a “hallof armor” to

showcase eachiteration of hisIron Man suit.

Bottom:Matthew

Libatique, ASCchecks

Downey’sexposure asVersa Tubes

simulate floor-projected

holographs.


these two films together, they have thesame visual language.”

Also returning for the sequel wereBauman, key grip Tana Dubbe andcamera operator Colin Anderson.Libatique notes, “My focus puller on thefirst film, Peter Berglund, became the B-camera operator, and Mark Santoni wasthe A-camera first AC. The continuitybetween the two films made it a lot easierand very enjoyable for me. We couldwork more quickly as a collective becausewe understood the dynamics of the fran-chise.” Those dynamics include apredilection for improvisation thatemphasizes performance over camera-

Top: A TransLitegives Stark’smansion a viewof the PacificwhileLumapanelsoffer some“daylight”ambience.Middle: WhenStark throws aparty, hismansion’slightinginstantlyswitches toparty modethanks to ClayPaky AlphaProfile 300spositionedabove the set.Bottom left:Libatique takesfive withDowney andDon Cheadle,who plays Col.Rhodes. Bottomright: Stark andRhodes donarmor for abrawl in Stark’shome gym.


work. “Jon’s approach is so dissimilar tothat of other directors I’ve worked with,”says Libatique. “Because he’s also anactor, he’s ‘performance first.’ It’s aboutkeeping the equipment distant and keep-ing the light as naturalistic as possible.We wanted to provide a culture of free-dom and let the actors work the space.”

This time around, Libatique didn’tdo his own operating. He explains, “Jonis at the monitor, and he makes decisionsvery quickly. To maximize my collabora-tion with him, I had to be right next tohim, and on this film I felt a partnershipwith him that I didn’t feel on the first onebecause I was engulfed in my operatingresponsibility. In the scheme of things, Ican’t let the film get away from me, and

on a movie of this scale, what I do islargely management.”

Although dialogue-heavy sceneswere infused with improvisation, Favreaudid hew closely to storyboards and previsfor action sequences. “There are certainparts of the movie that are untouchable,but there are also parts where I wantcomplete freedom,” he notes. “Thecombination we’ve arrived upon is tokeep the connective tissue very sponta-neous and loose so the action elements,which we’ve been planning for two years,don’t feel stale.”

To help define the actionsequences, visual-effects supervisor JanekSirrs tapped previs company The ThirdFloor. The company’s approach included

motion-capture work of stunt performersrunning through the paces of particularsequences. Libatique then came into anoffice fitted with camera-tracking equip-ment and was handed a tablet monitorthat served as a virtual camera, allowinghim to frame shots, execute moves andeven scale his own size, all using themotion-capture data. Sirrs explains, “Welaid down a little dance floor, and Mattycould roll around on a wheeled stool andpretend to be on a dolly. We put thetablet on a handheld camera mount andweighted it so it felt like a real camera onhis shoulder.” The rudimentary shotsLibatique composed were then refinedunder the supervision of animation direc-tor Genndy Tartakovsky.

Sirrs describes the methodology as“sort of a James Cameron approach toprevis,” referring to the director’s use ofsimilar virtual-camera technology onAvatar (AC Jan. ’10). “That technologyhas become so available that it’s changingthe nature of previs. This is the fastestway to do it and the most naturalistic; it’swrong to suppose that someone who maybe good at building a 3-D model willknow how you would follow action as thecamera operator would on set. This is away of injecting that talent back into theequation.” Libatique confirms, “It was amuch better way for people to get a senseof how the film was going to be shot.”

The production was based in LosAngeles, mostly at Raleigh StudiosManhattan Beach. “I try to keep thework in L.A. when I can,” says Favreau.“You have access to a tremendous talentpool, and as a director I find it’s mucheasier to work here, especially if you’regoing to be changing things on the fly,because the infrastructure is here. I loveshooting other places, too, if the scriptcalls for it, but it was clear that L.A.would serve this material the best.”

One of the biggest challenges forLibatique was underscoring Stark’s posi-tion at the vanguard of technology withthe practical fixtures the productionemployed. “This is one of the richest menin the world, so we can’t buy our practi-cals from Home Depot,” he notes.“Everything had to be intelligent tech-

◗ Armor Wars

After leavingStark’s party,

Rhodes flies an oldversion of the Iron

Man armor toEdwards Air Force

Base (right), wherehe delivers it to

Hammer for study(below). These

scenes were shoton location at

Edwards.

www.arridigital.com

A L E XA – The most advanced

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nology, and it had to look classic enoughto have some shelf life — we didn’t wantit to look embarrassingly dated 10 yearsfrom now. That made it challenging butfun as well.” Fortunately, he adds, “MikeBauman is really good at staying up ontechnology, and our lighting-fixturesforeman, Al DeMayo, made phenome-nal contributions. Al also worked on thefirst film, but this time he had to reinventa lot of what we were doing.”

This challenge was especiallypronounced inside Stark Expo, particu-larly when Stark first appears onstage.Backed by a contingent of femaledancers, his entrance called for a lightshow set to AC/DC’s “Shoot to Thrill.”“The most elegant light show I’ve everseen was Radiohead’s at the HollywoodBowl,” says Libatique. “Bauman figuredout that they used Versa Tubes, whichlook like fluorescents but have LEDsinside; you can send video patternsthrough them, change their color ormake them solid.” The Versa Tubes wereintegrated into the set in a prosceniumconfiguration complemented by movingfixtures that Libatique strove to integrateas graphic elements within the frame.“What I worked on more than anythingwas configuration, and Bauman chosethe lights,” says Libatique.

“We ended up using close to 300moving fixtures, in addition to about1,000 Versa Tubes,” says Bauman. “It wasa constant discussion with [productiondesigner] Michael Riva, because most of

◗ Armor Wars

Top: Tony Starkdoffs his Iron

Man armoronstage at

Stark Expo asthe “Ironettes”

dance behindhim. The

sequence calledfor intricate

lighting effectsexecuted by

lightingprogrammersScott Barnes

and JoshuaThatcher.

Middle: An L.A.high school

served as onepart of the

expo’s exterior.Bottom and

opposite: Theremainder ofthe exterior

was filmed atthe Sepulveda

Dam, where theproduction

constructed amassive

greenscreenaround three

sides of a600'x200'

courtyard.


After serving as second-unit directorof photography on Iron Man,

Jonathan Taylor, ASC was asked toboth shoot and direct Iron Man 2’ssecond-unit work. “I wanted a consis-tency between both units, and Jonathandid a wonderful job on our first film,”says director Jon Favreau. “He has agreat eye, and he integrates well withthe first unit. There was definitely asynergy between both units, which youdon’t always have on these types ofmovies.” Director of photographyMatthew Libatique, ASC agrees,noting, “Directing and shooting secondunit on Iron Man 2 was a lot to handle,but Jonathan was up to the task. He’ssuch a seasoned veteran. He under-stands stunts, he has a great knack forknowing where to put the camera, andhe’s great at getting the right tool for thejob.”

Taylor gained his experienceclimbing the ranks of the cameradepartment in the United Kingdom,where he started on the seriesThunderbirds and transitioned intosecond-unit and visual-effects work onsuch features as Superman, Superman IIand Batman, as well as main-unit work

on Full Metal Jacket and other films. Hisfirst director of photography credit cameon the model unit for Stargate in 1994.“Then I did Independence Day, andthings took off,” he says. “I found aniche, and people started to recognizethat’s what I did.”

In 2006, Taylor was invited to jointhe ASC, an acknowledgment from hispeers of his collaborative spirit and skill.“I’m not going to go out and do someinteresting shots that don’t fit themovie,” says Taylor. “The importantthing to me is to make sure my workand the first unit’s work fit seamlessly.The danger is to concentrate on thestunt and forget that it should be inte-gral to the story.

“When you do second unit, it’s allabout trust and communication,” hecontinues. “It’s about talking to thedirector and the cinematographer,getting into their heads, understandingtheir vision and executing it.”

As principal photography gotunderway on Iron Man 2, Taylorrecounts, “I’d go to the prelights withMatty, and we’d work out what secondunit would do. Then, if I wasn’t shoot-ing, I would always go to their set with

my gaffer and my assistant director,Michael Moore. We had lightingdiagrams from the main unit and photo-graphic references as well, and weworked with Gamma & Density’s 3cPSystem, which is a good, simple way toshare information when you have multi-ple units.”

While filming Iron Man 2’s actionsequences, Taylor’s approach was to“shoot the previs almost to the letter,” hesays. “But you also have to do extracoverage to create leeway in post. Anaction piece can fall apart very quicklyunless it’s well covered, so you have to seeopportunities and follow up on them.” Itwas not uncommon for the second unitto roll as many as 13 cameras at once tocapture elaborate stunts.

Looking for opportunities toenhance the first unit’s work also meantsuggesting tools and camera systems thatweren’t originally on the table, including“using VistaVision for backgroundplates,” says Taylor. “I thought thatwould be useful on this project.VistaVision gives you great leeway inpost because you can recompose withinthe frame, you can zoom in, and, ofcourse, the quality is superb.”

Taylor credits the many second-unit directors he’s worked with forpreparing him for his own turn in thedirector’s chair. “There are all sorts oflittle tricks you learn just by observationand osmosis,” he says. He also empha-sizes the contributions of his crew,including gaffer Dan Riffel, key gripRichard Mall, operators Joseph Cicioand Kent Harvey, 1st ACs Kevin Potterand Louie DeMarco, and 2nd ACsScott Whitbread and Tony Muller. “Allmy crew have been with me for at least10 years,” says Taylor. “I’m loyal to them,and they are loyal to me. One needs thatsupport, especially when you’re both thesecond-unit cinematographer andsecond-unit director. You can onlyachieve that if you have a very strongcrew.”

— Jon D. Witmer

•|• Taylor Leads 1st-Rate 2nd Unit •|•

2nd-unit director/cinematographer Jonathan Taylor, ASC is flanked by camera operators KentHarvey (left) and Joseph Cicio (right) inside the “Japanese Garden,” the setting of the climactic

battle involving Iron Man, War Machine and a bevy of armored drones.

Director Jon Favreau confabs with Downey and Cheadle for a scene set at a Senate hearing.Filming inside the Pasadena Masonic Temple, the crew built a floor-supported soft box fitted

with 250- and 500-watt bulbs on batten strips wired to dimmers and shone through Light Grid.

the stage was going to be defined by thelighting and video elements. [Lightingprevis program] ESP Vision proved crit-ical in that discussion. We used 1,500-watt and 700-watt Clay Paky AlphaBeams, augmented by High EndSystems Showguns and Showbeams forstrong shafts and beam effects; VariliteVL3000s and VL3500s mixed withClay Paky Alpha Profile 1200s asgeneral key and fill; and Mac 2000Washes for ambience.” Lightingprogrammer Scott Barnes was chargedwith designing the light show for thedance number, and Libatique saysBarnes’ work was “spectacular. It was likea big demo, a big palette of movement,and we could take the best pieces andput them into the portion that was actu-ally going to be in the film.”

Behind the stage was a 30'-high-by-74'-wide screen comprised of FLEDio11 LED tiles, through which the film-makers ran video images. While Barneshandled the dimmer board controllingthe moving fixtures, lighting program-mer Joshua Thatcher was the “gate-keeper,” Libatique says, of the content onthe LED wall. Bauman adds, “Joshhandled three different media servers: aPRG MBox for the FLEDs and twoCatalysts for the Versa Tubes. He wasable to use a lot of MBox effects andlayering to get looks that Matty and Jonwanted.”

“I couldn’t imagine doing a movieof this size without Al, Josh and Scott,”says Libatique. “Obviously, there were alot of people involved, but in broadstrokes, the ideas would come from meand Mike, the problem-solving wouldcome from Al, and the execution wouldcome from Barnes and Thatcher.”

Stark’s cutting-edge technologyalso extends to his home, in particular inhis workshop, which has undergonesome remodeling since the first film.Favreau explains, “We wanted to up thetech level in Tony’s workshop so it lookslike he’s taken a technological leap.”Libatique adds, “On the first film, theydiscovered this potential for holographictechnology as a way for Tony to workwith materials in a non-monitor situa-tion. On this movie, Riva came up withthis idea for the floor, making it a gianttablet Tony could walk across, and wher-ever he went, he could have a holo-graphic image pulled up in front of him.”

Onstage at Manhattan Beach,LEDs were installed in a grid pattern —meant to represent the holographprojectors — beneath the Lucite floorand wired to custom-made LEDdimmers controlled by a Whole HogIII. Thatcher controlled the floor viapixel mapping, treating each LED as apixel that was fed content from a mediaserver, which also fed data to other inter-active sources. Meanwhile, Barnes

33


controlled fixtures rigged from threemovable pieces of truss hung from theset’s ceiling. Each rig held “two ClayPaky Alpha 1200s and some Kino FloVistaBeams — it really gave us a ton offlexibility,” says Bauman. Libatique adds,“We could position them in various partsof the room and bounce the movinglights into cards. Very seldom did we usethem direct; we’d use them as sort ofmovable Source Fours we could controlfrom the dimmer board, which Mike andI like to do because we can keep every-thing off the set and still have controlwithout putting guys on ladders.

“No matter how complicated therig, I want to be able to improvise when Iget on set,” the cinematographer adds,noting that the moving fixtures allowedhim to quickly “blade the light down orchange the color temperature to match apractical on the floor.”

The Clay Pakys were also used incombination with Versa Tubes to create,in-camera, a sense of interaction with theholographic effects that would be addedby Sirrs’ team in post. Having such inter-active cues on set, Sirrs enthuses, “reallysells the final effects. Subconsciously,those little cues tie everything together.”

Cutting-edge lighting design isevident throughout Stark’s seasidemanse. “His house was more dialed-inthan anybody’s house could ever be,” saysLibatique. “One of the best exampleswhere everything came together from alighting perspective is the scene whereTony has a birthday party, and his houselooks like a club. All the can lights wereClay Paky Alpha Profile 300s built intothe set, so they could turn into thismoving-light extravaganza.”

The party is interrupted whenRhodes, frustrated with the host’s irrev-erence, decides to take the Mark II IronMan armor and personally deliver it tothe government. A brawl ensues betweenStark, in his Mark IV armor, andRhodes, in the Mark II, but Rhodesmanages to get away with the suit andpresent it to Hammer at Edwards AirForce Base. Shooting on location atEdwards was kept simple. Libatiquerecalls, “We ended up shooting scenes at

◗ Armor Wars

Top to bottom: Libatique and camera operator Colin Anderson prepare a shot of Stark racing atthe Monaco Grand Prix; after the second unit shot on location in Monaco, the sequence was

completed at Downey Studios, where the crew floated 40'x60' frames of Light Grid to controlsunlight; Vanko dons his Whiplash armor and attacks Stark mid-race.

the hangar doors, so there was already arelationship between light and dark, andeven when we shot inside the hangars,we would find a space with as muchdepth as possible, and I’d use a lot ofexisting light. When they’re analyzingthe Mark II, we put two VistaBeam600s on [Matthews] Max menace armsas toplight, and we got the stop up toaround T8.5 so we could bury the back-ground a bit.”

Taking his exposures with areflective-light meter, Libatique typically

maintained a shooting stop of T2.8. “Ithink it’s a nice compromise — I like aslittle depth of field as possible, but it’sstill fair for the focus puller.” Baumannotes, “With Matty, there’s really not alot that’s ever at key exposure. UsuallyGwyneth and Robert were 1 or 1½ stopsunderexposed.” Libatique explains, “Keylight doesn’t feel genuine to me. Eventhough I was doing a big movie withmajor stars, I wanted it to feel as if we’djust walked into a location and foundthat lighting. One way I do that is by

trying to keep the faces down.”The production shot 4-perf Super

35mm using a camera package fromPanavision Hollywood. PanaflexMillennium XLs served as the A and Bcameras, which almost always ran simul-taneously. Libatique carried a set ofPrimo primes, “but we primarily used[Angenieux] Optimo 15-40mm and28-76mm zooms. We used them as vari-able primes, and they gave us some flex-ibility with the actors’ improvisation.”

In contrast to Stark’s digs, Vankoprepares for his war on Stark in a low-tech workspace. The set “was describedto me as being not unlike Max Cohen’sapartment in Pi,” Libatique says with alaugh, referring to the indie he shot forDarren Aronofsky (AC April ’98). “Itwas that rare opportunity to go lo-fi inthe movie, which is, in a lot of ways, mycomfort zone. We used shop lights, cliplights, compact fluorescents and weirddesk lamps with bare bulbs.”

Libatique shot Kodak Vision500T 5279 in Vanko’s workspace“because I liked how it accentuated thevarying color temperatures.” (He usedVision2 50D 5201 and 200T 5217 andVision3 500T 5219 elsewhere in theproduction.) Libatique has longemployed color temperature as a means

◗ Armor Wars


Above: A visual-effects compositefrom one of Iron

Man's manyflying sequences.Right: Image 80s

provideillumination

while filminglive-action

elements for aflying sequence

onstage.

of creating contrast and suggestingconflict, and the character arcs in IronMan 2 are rife with turmoil. “There’salways a conflict within [Stark], whetherit be physical illness or complete irrever-ence, so I introduced more of a conflict ofcolor in his world as well, but more subtlythan I did with Vanko. I’ve always been abeliever in a controlled palette, so if I’veintroduced two colors, I’ll avoid intro-ducing a third in the same frame.”

Believing the technology thatpowers the Iron Man armor was stolenfrom his family, Vanko constructs hisown “Whiplash” armor and confrontsStark in a spectacular action sequence atthe Monaco Grand Prix. Filming thesequence required the second unit, shotand directed by Jonathan Taylor, ASC, toshoot background plates and shots of aspeeding Rolls Royce along the actualMonaco circuit. (See sidebar on p. 32.)Taylor recalls, “The Monaco police forceand auto club were very cooperative, butbecause it’s a working city, we had onlyan hour or two for each section of track.It was just frantic, and we literally hadonly one hit at it. Second-unit first ADMichael Moore and I planned the wholething at Manhattan Beach. It was aquestion of getting all the equipment setup and having a well-oiled machine.”Taylor’s equipment list included a high-speed camera-tracking vehicle, a Porsche928 rented from Propulsion in Paris,driven by Jean-François Dubut andmounted with VistaVision cameras fromGeo and Procam; an insert car riggedwith VistaVision cameras, Arri 435s and Canon EOS 5D Mark IIs; and a Mercedes SUV-mounted RussianArm rented from Bickers Action.Additionally, ground cameras were posi-tioned to grab shots of the Rolls speed-ing by, and even a helicopter, rented fromFlying Pictures, was employed for aerialshots. “We had all the toys, and we ran awhole convoy around the track,” Taylorcontinues. “It was quite a trick to pull thewhole thing off.”

In addition to the location work, asection of track was constructed atDowney Studios, where both unitscompleted the sequence. For lighting,

“Tana floated 40-by-60 Light Grids totry to control the overall ambience andkeep it soft,” says Bauman. Equipment-wise, however, the second unit had itshands full. Taylor details, “We used acouple of Photo-Sonics cameras forsome high-speed crashes with the race-cars. We also had a high-speed trackalongside and synced with the racecarsso we could launch everything at thesame time and run parallel to the cars.[Second-unit key grip] Richard Mallbuilt the track, and we had four camerason it: a VistaVision, a Phantom and twoArri 435s.”

Taylor also incorporated CanonEOS 5D Mark II DSLRs, fitted withCanon lenses, as crash cameras. “One ofthe problems with doing action stuff is


finding interesting places to put thecamera,” says Taylor, adding that hecould “actually put the 5Ds on the carswe were going to crash. We cut holes forthe lenses in small Pelican cases that wepainted to match the cars. We got someamazing shots. Of course, it’s not filmquality, but for a 12-frame cut in anaction piece, it holds up very well.”

After Whiplash makes his auspi-cious debut, Hammer enlists him tocreate an army of drones for the govern-ment. Whiplash instead pits the dronesagainst Iron Man, who by film’s end isbacked up in battle by Rhodes, nowsporting his very own “War Machine”armor. “We were talking about CGcharacters with War Machine, Iron Manand the drones, so the question was,

A Technocraneis employed for an early-morning scenein which IronMan enjoys abalancedbreakfastcourtesy of Los Angeles’famous Randy’sDonuts.

‘How much do we really need to dopractically?’” says Libatique. “Janek and Iagreed that there needed to be physicalinteractivity with the foreground actionto sell the background visual-effectswork. We decided to build as big as wecould to get a sense of scale and thosephysical relationships.”

The production built the set,dubbed the Japanese Garden, insideSony Studios’ Stage 30. Sirrs explains,“There’s a waterfall and a stream runningthrough the middle of the set, and wewanted to capture as much of that withlive plates as possible. We’ve also gotmissile hits, and we wanted to set off real

pyro on the stage to get the atmospherein there. Even if you have to paint some-thing in later [with CG], it feels better ifyou have a real visual benchmark.”

The Rag Place provided the blue-screen that surrounded the set; this waslit with Kino Flo Image 80s (fitted withSuper Blue tubes) positioned along thetop and bottom of the screen. To lightthe set, Libatique turned to a techniquethat had served him well for the climaxof Iron Man: hanging Image 80s fromthe ceiling. Bauman explains, “Tana and[key rigging grip] Charley Gillerandesigned and built a 40-by-60 boxcontaining Image 80s mixed withdaylight and tungsten tubes and runthrough Light Grid. We underexposed abit to get some reflectivity. The sourcewas low-intensity but very broad, and wecould pick up highlights that the CGguys could then work from. We alsoused Image 80s as soft ambient back-light, and we put up truss with someVL3000s so we could highlight differentareas.”

◗ Armor Wars

optimo cine lenses from 15mm to 290mm

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Favreau and Downey prepare to shoot “inside-the-helmet” footage. Framing the actor in a tight close-up, the camera tracked left and right while Versa Tubes simulated Iron Man’s

heads-up display.

The main unit was primarilyresponsible for filming the dialoguebetween Stark and Rhodes before theydon their masks and blaze into action,after which the second unit stepped in tocomplete the in-camera elements. Taylornotes, “VistaVision came to the fore.[Steadicam operator] Chris McGuiremanned a Revolution rig, which is greatfor fight sequences. We put theVistaVision camera on that, andalthough we were shooting backgroundplates, we still had people runningthrough the action.” Sirrs adds, “Eventhough we were going to put digital suitsin there, we had people with partial suitsstand in and go through the motions asa reference for how it should look.”

Iron Man 2’s negative wasprocessed by Deluxe, and throughoutthe shoot Libatique viewed select printdailies (timed by ASC associate memberAdam Clark). “In the morning, I wouldlook at the print, and at lunch I’d watchthe digital version with Jon,” he recalls.“With print dailies, I feel like I can go

into the digital intermediate knowingwhat I have.”

As on Iron Man, Libatique plansto carry out the digital grade at EFilmwith colorist (and ASC associatemember) Steven J. Scott. The cine-matographer emphasizes that althoughhe achieves as much of the desired lookas possible in-camera, the DI is “anabsolute necessity on this film. I have tomanage the Iron Man suit from envi-ronment to environment, and we don’twant it dominating the look of themovie. With a DI, I can isolate the suitand make sure the color stays true towhat we’re trying to articulate. Chasingthe color photochemically would be anightmare.”

When Favreau spoke to AC, hewas looking forward to the DI. “On anyfilm, you have very lofty expectationswhen you set out, and then the concernsbecome more pragmatic because you’rejust trying to finish the job,” says thedirector. “It’s nice for the last people whotouch the film to be your color timer and

your cinematographer, because they canbring a little bit of perspective from notbeing as closely involved in every step ofpostproduction. When you get to theDI and can sit down with the cine-matographer in that dark room, it’s yourfilm together again.” ●

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Digital Intermediate

Printed on Kodak Vision Premier 2393 and Vision 2383


The Disney film Oceans begins with a question, asked by aboy on a beach: “What is the ocean?” The answer thatunfolds in the following 90 minutes takes the form of adazzling nature film that defies categorization. The

movie starts in the sand underwater, with an iguana slowlymaking its way from the ocean floor to the surf, finally puttingone claw on dry land. A little later, a rocket takes off in thedistant skies, and its bright glare is reflected in the iguana’s eye.With a few simple shots, Oceans has visually evoked the storyof evolution.

The film offers many such rich moments. In the sardine-run sequence, an army of dolphins rushes to meet a giganticschool of fish, starting a feeding frenzy that is soon shared withsharks and birds. There is drama when baby turtles hatch in thesand and make the dangerous journey to the nearby water,preyed upon by a flock of rapacious birds along the way. Thefilm is also replete with scenes that reveal man’s kinship withanimals.

The camera is the invisible hero of Oceans. It is placedand moved in novel ways that give the viewer the impression,time and again, of seeing marine life as it has never been seenbefore. The film is the brainchild of Jacques Perrin, who haslong experimented with new formats for nature films, startingwith Microcosmos (AC Jan. ’97), about the world of insects, andincluding Winged Migration, an epic that follows birds aroundthe planet (AC July ’03). Perrin produced Oceans and co-directed it with Jacques Cluzaud, a collaborator on WingedMigration. Cluzaud notes, “These films are a matter of goingever further and continually asking ourselves, ‘What can weinvent?’ Jacques Perrin is not interested in making a film we’vealready seen. We’re always looking for something more.”

WondersoftheSea

21 cinematographers contributespectacular imagery to the naturefilm Oceans, directed by Jacques

Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud.

By Benjamin B

•|•


Oceans was a seven-year undertak-ing that involved 340 weeks of shootingspread over almost five years and 54locations, notably several wildlife sanc-tuaries. The film’s 21 cinematographersincluded 10 underwater specialists, andthere were up to six units shootingsimultaneously. The filmmakers alsoresearched, designed and built an arrayof custom camera tools so they couldachieve what they wanted.

Cluzaud recalls that the startingpoint was a script comprising poeticsequences that had working titles such as“the dragon and the rocket,” “caval-cades,” “sea feasts,” “chilling out on thebeach,” “predator” and “the night world.”“Before we set out to shoot, we askedourselves which animals could illustratea specific sequence, and then we selectedthose that seemed the most interesting,”he says. “For example, the beginning ofthe film was called ‘the conquest of theshore,’ and we chose the iguana for itsprehistoric look. Our choices were aboutwhich species would best serve thesequence, and from there, we decidedwhere to shoot and when.”

Cluzaud emphasizes that thefilm’s point of view was defined by adesire to identify with its animalsubjects. “The two key words were ‘prox-imity’ and ‘dynamism.’ We told theoperators to seek out the animals’ gazesand eyelines. We spent a lot of time andeffort to catch an animal’s gaze and filmPhot

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Opposite: AnAsianSheepsheadWrasse is one ofthe many exoticsea creaturesfeatured inOceans. Thispage, top:Weddell Seals inthe Antarctic.Middle andbottom: Diversexplore colorfulnooks whileswimmingthroughunderwatercaves inHienghiène,New Caledonia.


it like a character. I think what distin-guishes this film in particular is that weare dealing with characters: you experi-ence the animals differently because theyare filmed differently.”

Identifying with the animals alsomeant “being a fish among the fish,” hecontinues. “There are very few staticshots. The principle was to always bemoving because living things move —even the tiny feet of a starfish aremoving, however slowly. With fastspecies such as dolphins, the questionwas what could we invent to follow themat full speed both above and below thewater. We created the Thetys headabove, and the Torpedo and the Polecambelow. We’ve seen whales, dolphins andsharks underwater before, but never atsuch a speed.”

Cinematographer Philippe Rosshot Oceans’ night sequences, amongothers; was involved in developing somecustom tools; and supervised the work-flow as digital-imaging director. Theproduction decided to shoot Super35mm for material above the water, andhigh-definition video for underwaterwork except for slow-motion material.Ros explains that the main reason forchoosing HD was the ability to runcassette loads of 50 minutes. Theproduction designed and built fourautonomous underwater housings forthe diver operators. The housings were

◗ Wondersof theSea

Top: Anintrepid

cameramancaptures a

bold shot of agreat white

shark offMexico’s

GuadalupeIsland. Middle:

Thefilmmakers

take viewersstraight into a

formation ofbigeye trevally

in the IndianOcean’s Cocos

Islands.Bottom: A

clownfish getshis close-up inNouméa, New

Caledonia.

outfitted with Sony HDW-F900/3sshooting in HDCam format, whichwas the HD standard in 2005, whenshooting began.

Speedy animals were shot from aboat, and Sony HDC-950s were usedin those instances because the camerahead could be separated from thecamera body; the camera heads wereplaced in small capsules that were thenfitted to custom-designed Polecams orTorpedoes linked to the boat via fiber-optic cable, a technology the filmmak-ers refined over a year of development.The Polecam consisted of a submergedcamera capsule attached to a large trian-gular support fastened to the side or theprow of the boat. The Polecam couldnot be used to shoot backwards becausethe boat’s wake would spoil the shot, soit was used to capture side angles of thecreatures right below the surface of thewater. For shots from the back of theboat, camera capsules were placed inTorpedoes that were attached to thestern with a long, metal leash; thisarrangement allowed for shooting as faras 100 meters away and avoided theboat’s wake.

The Panavised Sony cameraswere outfitted with Zeiss 6-24mm and17-112mm DigiZooms. In order to getthe proximity requested by the film-makers, the dominant underwater focallength was about 7mm, which Ros saysis equivalent to about 18mm in 35mm.The lenses were often set to the hyper-focal distance. Underwater cameraoperator René Heuzey recalls, “Thedirectors really did want us to be ‘a fishamong the fish.’ The fish could not beshown to be curious of the camera. Wealso had to avoid seeking out the fish —the image had to float by itself. Youcouldn’t feel the camera chasing afterthe animal. Another rule was to alwaysshoot with natural lighting.”

Heuzey shot a unique sequencewhile moving with a large blanket octo-pus that unfolded an orange cape as itglided above the ocean floor. “I call that‘the Batman shot,’” he says. “To get theimages, I shot for 12 days, spendingthree or four hours underwater per day.

First, you have to gain the animal’sacceptance so he understands you’re nota predator. You don’t want to startle theblanket octopus, or it will let go of its inkand change color.” Heuzey often swamin the direction of the current, using theflow to help stabilize the image. Henotes that he was given a very specificshot list. “For example, the directorsasked me to match the blanket octopusto the sails of a sailboat featured in

another shot. That took me a couple ofdays.”

Working with wild animalsdemanded patience and persistence,and produced many surprises. Heuzeyremembers an orca that sought him outafter he had returned to his boat. Hedove back in, and the orca led him awayfrom the boat and gave him a privateshow. “When I blew bubbles, he blewbubbles, and when I nodded, he

said they wanted a close-up for the edit,so we went back the following year andwe got the shot!

“The work was a mixture of joyand frustration,” he continues. “It wasfantastic at certain moments, andcompletely depressing at others.Sometimes I just missed an extraordi-nary shot because I was a little too tight,and I was only too tight because I’dzoomed in for no particular reason rightbefore the whale jumped.” Many of themost spectacular jumps were shot at 50or 100 fps. Drion used an Easy Lookunit with the video assist to simulate theslow-motion playback. Although theland-based footage was shot in 3-perfSuper 35mm, less predictable materialwas shot in 4-perf to allow for reframingin post.

Drion also remembers momentsof bliss: “You’re there with hundreds ofdolphins jumping around you, andyou’ve been looking for this shot for twoyears. You’ve already seen dolphin caval-cades, but they didn’t have the sameenergy, the same sea, the same every-thing! There’s a kind of miraculoussynchronicity, and that’s also due to thedirectors, who wanted this shot and sentyou back to the same spot the followingyear because you didn’t get what theyneeded the first year. It’s stubborn workat every level.”

Drion was also the operator for a


◗ Wondersof theSea

Top left: A cloud of krill. Bottom left: Filming sea nettles in Monterey Bay, Calif. Above: Forshots taken from the back of boats, camera

capsules were placed in Torpedoes that wereattached to the stern with a long leash, which

allowed the filmmakers to avoid the boat’s wake while shooting.

used a variety of Angenieux zoomlenses, including the Optimo 17-80mm, the Optimo 24-290mm and anHR 25-250mm.

Drion recalls that his jobinvolved a blend of patience, guessworkand reactivity. As example, he cites theshot of a huge shark leaping out of theocean, capturing a bull seal in its jaws.“We spent a lot of time on that shot,and the game was to follow a seal,hoping it would be eaten by a shark,” hesays. “That shot was the result of stub-bornness, ours and the production’s! Wehad to throw away 20 or 30 1,000-footloads, unprocessed. We didn’t get theshark the first year, so we went back inthe second year and got it. Then they

nodded. It was incredible — I felt likewe knew each other.”

The production’s main filmcamera was the Arri 435, which wasused on boats, in helicopters and onland. An extensively modified Arri 2-Bwas used in the tiny Birdy Fly heli-copters that could hover above whalesand other large mammals without star-tling them. Much of the above-waterwork was done with a 435 on a smallcrane with a Thetys, a rugged, gyrosta-bilized head designed and built by theproduction. Because whales and othermammals are less threatened by smallerboats, the Thetys rig was often put in aninflatable Zodiac. Operating the Thetyswas cinematographer Luc Drion, who


◗ Wondersof theSeaviolent storm sequence, which showslarge boats dwarfed by powerful waves.In one shot, a warship is filmed head-onand then completely obscured by a huge,oncoming wave. Drion reveals that thescary image was shot from a helicopter.“The waves were 15 meters [49'] high.Because they were spaced far apart, we’dgo down above the water when the wavewas low, and the pilot would look behindhim to get back up before the next wavearrived.” Drion’s Arri 435 was in a gyro-scopic Stab-C mounted on a sidebracket. “I had absolute trust in the heli-copter pilot. To get the waves to hide theship, I would say, ‘Lower, lower,’ butwhen he refused, I didn’t insist! It wasimpossible to use a rain deflector, so thecamera assistant, wearing a harness,would lean out of the chopper and wipethe lens by hand.”

Part of an especially memorableunderwater night sequence was shot offa dock. The protagonists are squillas andcrabs, and the filmmakers created anunderwater dolly setup complete withtracks to follow “Joe the crab” as hehustles along the underwater reef. To keythe scene, Ros set up Dino lights shiningdown into the water through cookies.The Dino bulbs were made to flickerindependently to emulate dappled wavepatterns underwater. The sequence alsocontains a macro shot of the squilla’sextraterrestrial eye, which was shot in ashallow pool that afforded more lightingcontrol.

One of the major challenges inpost was matching HD to the filmfootage, which was scanned at 4K by ateam (including Tommaso Vergalo, JuanEveno and François Dupuy) atDigimage Cinema in Paris. The resultslook seamless, which is especiallyimpressive given that most of the digitalfootage was shot in the 8-bit HDCamformat, which has a recorded horizontalresolution of 1,440 pixels. Ros empha-sizes that he designed the workflow withthe final goal of 2.40:1 exhibition inmind. To create an HD image thatwould match the 35mm as closely aspossible, he did extensive testing andworked in coordination with Olivier

Top: To captureside angles of

animals justbelow the

surface of thewater, the

filmmakersused the

Polecam rig, asubmerged

camera capsuleattached to a

large triangularsupport

fastened to theboat. Middle:

Macro shots ofsquillas werecaptured in ashallow poolthat affordedmore lighting

control.Bottom: A

radio-controlledBirdy Fly

helicopter wasused to capture

dynamicfootage of

whales andother

mammals.


Garcia and Christian Mourier todevelop a series of custom gammacurves and scene files for the video oper-ators to use. The low-contrast curveswere varied to address different lightingconditions. To accommodate differentsea coloring, Ros notably reduced andisolated the blue or green vectors in theF900 multi-matrix menu. He alsotweaked the levels in the detail menu formurkier scenes.

Ros and his team created twosimple knobs on the underwater hous-ing to apply this range of settings. Oneknob was for the ocean color, and theother for the scene’s contrast and visibil-ity. Each knob had five settings, creating25 possible combinations, or, as Rossays, “25 digital film stocks.” MatchingHD to film, he continues, “had twocomponents: preserving the highlightsand getting maximum resolution whenshooting, and reducing noise in post. Inproduction, we strove to have the rightgamma curve for the highlights, theright saturation for the sea, and the rightsetting in the detail menu, usuallybetween -45 and -60, for the scene.

“I knew that up-converting fromHD to 4K in post would work if theimages had little noise, but the thing wecouldn’t correct for was the solarizing

effect, when you lose detail in thewhites. So we always chose to protectthe whites, even if it meant more noise.But when we didn’t have strong high-lights in the image, we used curves thathad less noise. That’s why we hadseveral gamma curves.”

Key for Ros was the constantcommunication between productionand post, and the constant verificationof the dailies by the cinematographers,the digital-imaging technicians (led byFrançois Paturel) and the colorists. Rosalso instituted a daily testing procedure

that accustomed the operators to evalu-ate the rendering of a test chart. “Abovea certain threshold, around 2K, it’s notthe number of pixels that matters, butthe quality of your pixels,” he observes.“That’s why we did a lot of work oncertain menus and, especially, why wediminished the level of noise. When youcan get rid of the noise, each pixel iscleaner, and you can increase your MTFbecause you can then discern detail.”

Def2shoot in Paris applied aproprietary noise-reduction process tothe HD material and a degraining

The filmmakersemployed anunderwaterdolly to greateffect,especially for anight sequencethat follows acrab hustlingalong a reef.

process to the 35mm. The HD up-conversion to 4K was done after thedigital grade, using a custom Digimageprocess. Digimage also applied a propri-etary process called “wide range” to getslightly stronger whites in the filmout,and created multiple digital negatives,which were used to print positivesdirectly so as to avoid the loss of twoextra generations. For the DCP master,selective focus was applied to 200 shots

as a way of emphasizing certainelements in the frame.

Perrin asked an old friend, cine-matographer Luciano Tovoli, ASC,AIC, to shoot a few fictional sequencesthat are absent from the U.S. version ofthe film, and also to supervise the DI atDigimage. “Jacques said he wanted aneye to harmonize the different footageaccording to the vision of the directors,”says Tovoli, who spent 12 weeks on the

grade with Ros and colorist LaurentDesbruères. “I was lucky to work closelywith Laurent and Philippe,” says Tovoli.“As always with Perrin productions, theatmosphere was one of honesty andprofound respect for the professionalismof others.”

The main challenge, notes Tovoli,was matching disparate footage cuttogether in a scene. “One scene couldcontain shots done three years apart indifferent seas — they were editedtogether to look like reversal shots,”explains Tovoli. Desbruères adds thatanother challenge was the multitude ofocean currents, which created variegatedcolors, sometimes even in the same shot.He cites the sardine run as an example.“It’s amazing — you get a variety ofnuances from blue to cyan and thenmagenta which appear with smallchanges of depth.” Another difficultycame from murky waters, which thecolorist brightened by enhancing beamsof light.

◗ Wondersof theSeaDesigned and

built by theproduction, the

rugged,gyrostabilized

Thetys headwas often set

up in aninflatable

Zodiac, whichwas less

threatening tosea creatures

than largerboats.

48

Desbruères graded the film on aDaVinci Resolve, spending a lot of timedrawing dynamic grading windows tocompensate for constantly changinghues and luminosity. He remembersthat one shot moving toward the surfaceof the sardine run required almost 60tracking windows. “A window may onlylast 10 frames and then fade out,” henotes. Sometimes he would outline asmall creature in the frame to make itmore visible onscreen. Desbruèresremembers the intense grading sessionsfondly: “I didn’t feel the fatigue becauseI was at the heart of something thattransported me.”

Tovoli recalls that the gradeevolved with time. “Our first timing waspretty contrasty, with beautiful blacks,but the directors didn’t want too muchcontrast underwater because they didn’twant it to be scary,” he explains. “Forthem, the color of the ocean was thecolor of life. They wanted a blue thatisn’t heavy, that is transparent, agreeable

and light, so we chose the lightest color,because color can become threatening.We never left any impenetrable darkzones, even in the night sequence withpredators.”

Perrin has described Oceans as “anunderwater wildlife opera.” Whateverthe genre may be, one word that arosefrequently during AC ’s interviews was“collaboration.” After initial shoots withthe directors, many cinematographerswere trusted to continue on their own.“We were both amazed and yet notsurprised by what they brought back,because we were on the same wave-length,” says Cluzaud. “Having manycinematographers meant having manydifferent ways of filming, and that givesthe film an incredible richness.”

“I never believed filmmaking wasa collaborative art,” Tovoli confesses,“but this film proved me wrong. Putting21 cinematographers and two directorsin harmony, now that is collaboration!”

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49

TECHNICAL SPECS

2.40:1

Super 35mm and High-Definition Video

Super 35mm (4- and 3-perf):Arri 435, 235, 2-B, 2-C, 35-3;Aaton 35-IIIAngenieux, Zeiss and Cooke lenses

Kodak Vision2 50D 5201, 250D 5205, 100T 5212, 200T 5217, 500T 5218;Fuji Super F-64D 8522

HD:Sony HDW-F900/3, HDC-950,F23Zeiss and Panavision lenses


Printed on Kodak Vision 2383


Written and directed by Rodrigo Garcia, the new dramaMother and Child presents three women whose pathsintersect at a Catholic adoption agency that plays aprominent role in their lives. Karen (Annette Bening)

comes to the agency in search of the daughter she bore at age14 and gave up for adoption; adoptee Elizabeth (NaomiWatts) pays a visit to try to track down her biologicalmother; and Lucy (Kerry Washington) and her husband(David Ramsey) arrive seeking to adopt a baby. Garcia hasexplored women’s lives to memorable effect in previousfeatures — Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her (2000),Ten Tiny Love Stories (2001) and Nine Lives (2005) — butMother and Child doesn’t employ the episodic structure thatcharacterized those films. Instead, each woman’s story isintercut with the other stories, and they eventually prove tobe threads in the same tapestry.

The film is Garcia’s latest collaboration with directorof photography Xavier Pérez Grobet, ASC, AMC; they firstteamed on Nine Lives and have since worked together on anumber of projects, including the TV series In Treatment andDeadwood. One of the ASC’s newest members, Grobet has

worked steadily in film and television since he moved to LosAngeles from his native Mexico a decade ago. His recentcredits include the features The Back-Up Plan and I Love YouPhillip Morris. Shortly after Mother and Child was given itsU.S. premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Grobet metwith AC in Los Angeles to discuss the project.

American Cinematographer: In terms of camerawork,Mother and Child couldn’t be more different from NineLives, which told each of its nine stories with a singleSteadicam take. Was this movie as challenging in its ownway?

Xavier Pérez Grobet, ASC, AMC: Yes. When I readRodrigo’s script, I knew we could talk about doing some-thing visually that would be very different from Nine Lives. Ithink Rodrigo’s projects are always interesting, and we bothreally enjoy the process of looking for what each film is,coming up with a way to tell the story that makes sense.Mother and Child is very emotional, and we wanted to let thestory unfold in front of the camera. We talked about creat-ing a style where the camera was more observational thanintrusive — not a protagonist. We started thinking about

Women take center stage in RodrigoGarcia’s Mother and Child, shot byXavier Pérez Grobet, ASC, AMC.

By Rachael K. Bosley

•|•

Lost and FoundFamilies


moving the camera very little and veryprecisely. So when we came to theshoot, our work was about blocking thescene and then trying to find a framethat would capture different momentsof the scene without requiring a cameramove.

Did that discipline ever feel toolimiting?

Grobet: Well, the difficult part istaking it all the way through the shoot!By week three, if you’re not careful, youstart going back to what you usually do,and you can get lost. But I actuallythink that when you limit yourself thatway, you open yourself up to new possi-bilities, and you come up with ideasthat might never have occurred to you[otherwise]. It’s very easy to slip intothe modes you’re used to — to think,‘Oh, it’s this kind of scene, so I can use#37. I know it by heart and it works.’But when you force yourself into a newway of doing things, I think it opens upsome other part of your brain. On thisfilm, it was a real learning experience tofind the exact right spot for the cameraeach time. What do you want to see?What’s important in the scene? Wefound some frames that I don’t thinkwe would have found if we hadn’t hadour specific visual concept in mind.

What made you and Rodrigodecide to shoot digitally?

Grobet: Shooting hi-def cameup for budget reasons, and Rodrigowas concerned about it initially becausehe wanted this movie to look elegant.We talked about achieving a gentleimage, one that wasn’t too harsh interms of lighting, contrast or color.After we shot tests with the[Panavision] Genesis and took them toa filmout, we agreed HD would workfor us. In fact, I think the Genesis wasperfect for this movie. We captured asingle shot with the Red [One]because it came up at the last minute,while we were in prep, and we couldget a Red quickly. Naomi was actuallypregnant, and we were able to fly toNew York, find a location and get thatshot. [Ed. Note: The shot, capturedwith an Angenieux Optimo 28-76mmzoom lens, is a day interior that showsElizabeth contemplating her fullypregnant belly.]

Was this your first HD project?Grobet: Yes, and getting used to

the format, especially the way ithandles highlights, took a few days.On the first day, the windows were tooblown-out, and we wanted to capturethe detail outside, so I changed myexposure accordingly. I was also able tobring some [highlights] down in thedigital intermediate, which we did atEFilm in Hollywood. It was a good

experience to see what you can accom-plish in a DI when you shoot HD asopposed to film. With HD, you defi-nitely want to have a thick ‘negative,’because if you’re down a bit, it’s reallyhard to bring it up. If you’re 1⁄3 of a stopover, you have lots of room to playwith, but if you’re down by one stop,you’re in trouble. I always used theGenesis on the overexposed side, ratingit at 320 ASA.

Did you use any of the look-uptables EFilm has developed toemulate specific film stocks?

Grobet: No, because I didn’tthink any of them were right for thisfilm. We came up with a base LUTthrough testing. EFilm applied that toour dailies, and we were also able to seeits effect with the large HD monitorwe had on set. Hector Moreno, ourdigital-imaging technician, sometimesdid minor tweaking, but I didn’t reallywant to play with the color timing onset. I didn’t want to get distracted, so I’dgo to the base LUT and try to staythere. I knew that from there, I couldgo in different directions in the finaltiming if I wanted to. The final look isactually very close to the look of thedailies, because I realized that by apply-ing the LUT and looking at the HDmonitor, I could build the look Iwanted into some scenes with myU

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Opposite: Three stories depicted in Mother and Child concern (clockwise from left) Paul (Samuel L.Jackson) and Elizabeth (Naomi Watts), attorneys who become lovers; Joseph (David Ramsey) and Lucy (Kerry Washington), a couple eager to adopt a child; and Karen (Annette Bening) and her invalidmother (Eileen Ryan). This page, left: Elizabethinterviews for a job at Paul’s firm. Above: Director/writer Rodrigo Garcia (left) andXavier Pérez Grobet, ASC, AMC plan a shot.


lighting — I was basically color timingwith lighting. For example, I wantedthe birthday-party scene to have a late-afternoon look, so I put an 81EF[filter] on the lens and then gelled thelights orange, adding or subtracting[gels] based on what I was seeing onthe monitor.

How early in the shoot did youdecide to do that?

Grobet: It started with the firstnight scene we shot, where Karen getsout of bed, walks down the hall andgets into bed with her mother [EileenRyan]. I wanted a night look with adifferent feel, one that wasn’t too blue,and I used a Rosco filter I’d discovered

on Phillip Morris called Shark Blue. Ifiltered all the lights with it, and whenI saw the effect with the LUT on themonitor, I realized I could add orsubtract gels to get the right level.From that point on, for certain scenesI’d go beyond the base color and try toget the level I wanted in camera bygelling the lights. By eye the scenesometimes looked way too colorful, buton the monitor it looked right. Whenwe got to the DI, [colorist] NatashaLeonnet didn’t have to alter any levelsfor those scenes.

Did using the Genesis affectyour methods any other way? Whatabout operating?

Grobet: I like operating on filmslike this. On bigger projects, where Ineed to have control over more things,I don’t operate, but on a personal filmlike Mother and Child, I do. I actually

◗ Lost and Found FamiliesTop: Grobet lines up a

shot of Bening asproduction designerChristopher Tandon

(left), Garcia and scriptsupervisor Ingrid Urich-Sass (kneeling) look on.

Middle: In the samelocation, Garcia, 1st AC

Mariana Sanchez andGrobet (behind camera)prepare a day-for-night

shot of Bening. Bottom:Grobet mans the A

camera (background)while Sanchez and keygrip Miguel Benavideswork the B camera for

a scene at Karen’sworkplace.

“The final look is actually very close

to the look of the dailies.”

did all my operating through theGenesis’ on-board monitor; I didn’tuse the eyepiece. It was prettycomfortable. We started as a one-camera shoot because that’s what wecould afford, but we got a secondcamera when we could. Working withtwo cameras gives you more possibili-ties in less time, and I think the Bcamera sometimes gets the betterangle because it can be a bit looser. Weshot about half the movie single-camera.

As a former cinematographer,does Rodrigo get very involved in theday-to-day details of your work?

Grobet: You might think he’dhave a lot to say about my job, but he’svery respectful of his collaborators andlets you do your work. Often he won’ttell you what he wants; he’ll wait tohear your ideas. We’ll block the scene,and then he’ll come to me and say,‘What’s on your mind?’ I’ll explainwhat I’m thinking, and he eitherembraces it or proposes somethingelse. He’s very collaborative. There’s ascene we disagreed about initially, theone that shows Lucy and her husbandhaving dinner with his parents.Rodrigo wanted to seat the couplesacross from the each other and coverthe scene with two-shots, but Ithought that would feel very square. Isuggested we put the father-in-law atthe head of the table to create more[coverage] options. It took a while toconvince him, but he eventuallyagreed. By doing that, we could put thein-laws on either side of the frame inthe first shot of Lucy and her husband,and that suggests something aboutwhat’s going on in the scene.

When Lucy and her husbandhave their final argument, the sceneends on a striking note, with thecamera holding on Lucy as she turnsand walks down the hall and out offocus.

Grobet: On Nine Lives, westarted exploring the idea that whathappens outside the frame can be asimportant as what is in the frame. Onthis movie, it became very interesting


Top: Joseph andLucy areinterviewed by apregnant woman(Shareeka Epps) atthe adoptionagency. Middle:The lighting setupfor the adoption-agency scenes,which were shot ina second-floorclassroom at theAmerican FilmInstitute. Bottom:Garcia and Grobetat work.

to find a frame and let the actionhappen; if the actor went out of frame— or, in this case, out of focus — itmeant something.

The film’s opening shot of 14-

year-old Karen with her boyfriendhas a lovely kind of distortion, aneffect that’s repeated to varyingdegrees in two other scenes. How didyou achieve that?

Grobet: I used a [Panavision]Slant Focus lens and held diopters infront of the lens and moved themaround. Sometimes I used the lens ordiopter on its own; sometimes I usedthem together. It creates the feel of ahandheld camera and adds life to theframe. We use subtler versions of theeffect when Elizabeth gives birth, andwhen Karen and that boyfriend reunitein a motel room as adults.

Which location posed thebiggest challenge in terms of light-ing?

Grobet: Well, the trickiest spotwas the doorway of Elizabeth’s apart-ment, where she has a conversationwith her new neighbors. The door-frame was flush against the ceiling, sothere was no room to place a light. Webounced light off the hall ceiling andhad to rely on the existing fluorescentpracticals. When I agreed to that loca-tion, I did it on the condition that wecould change the fixtures, but when we

◗ Lost and Found Families

54

For this late-afternoon exterior at Karen’s house, Grobet recalls, “We were losing the light, so[gaffer] Max Pomerlau had the big guns ready to roll with enough warmth on them to create

the right feel when the sun went down.”

got there on the day, we didn’t have thenew fixtures, so I ended up filtering allthe lights green and taking it down inthe DI. There was no way we couldshoot without the practicals, so I had toembrace the green. Our biggest light-ing setup was the nun’s office at theadoption agency because a lot of scenestake place there; they’re all day scenes;and we were shooting in January,which meant we lost the light around 4p.m. It was a second-floor classroom atthe American Film Institute that hadwindows on one side, and my key grip,Miguel Benavides, covered thewindows with a huge frame of whitesilk, and my gaffer, Max Pomerlau, puttwo 18Ks on separate Condors and two6K Pars on stands outside. Fortunately,there were some trees between thewindows and the rag that gave the lighta bit of life. Inside, I used what turnedout to be my main source on this film:a 4-by-8 diffusion frame with a honey-comb clipped on it and [Kino Flo]

Image 80s. We wanted all the womento look beautiful, and those sourceswere great. They threw a wide, softlight that was controllable. The diffu-sion was usually Opal or Full Grid,depending on the setup.

So if the nun’s office was yourbiggest lighting setup, what was thesmallest?

Grobet: The single shot ofNaomi that we got in New York. Wehad a couple of Litepanels and practi-cals, some blankets and some clothes-pins — it was like a MacGyver lightingworkshop! I always find it fun to try tomake something work with whatever Ihave on hand. Who knows?Sometimes a fork or a towel can saveyour life.

●

TECHNICAL SPECS

2.40:1

Digital Capture

Panavision Genesis; Red One

Panavision Primo, Slant Focus;Angenieux Optimo lenses



55


Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson’s crime novel The GirlWith the Dragon Tattoo took Scandinavia by storm when itwas published in 2005, and in bringing the book to thescreen, the filmmakers were well aware that “creating a

look that respected the source material was crucial,” accordingto director of photography Eric Kress, DFF. Equally impor-tant, however, was crafting a style that would help viewersabsorb the details of the narrative, which spans six decades andfeatures several key characters. “[Director] Niels Arden Oplevand I worried that giving the film too strong a look mightsomehow [overshadow] the intricacies of the plot,” says Kress.“So we opted for a very natural style, with a subtle color palettebased upon the cold light of a Swedish winter.”

Dragon Tattoo concerns disgraced investigative journal-ist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), who is hired by awealthy industrialist, Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube), tofind out what happened to Vanger’s niece, Harriet, who disap-peared 40 years before, when she was a teenager. Vangerbelieves Harriet was murdered by a member of his own family.Mikael teams up with an expert hacker, Lisbeth (NoomiRapace), the “girl” of the story’s title, to solve the case.

Oplev recalls that his initial ideas about a visualapproach were quite different from the path he and Kresseventually took. “I was leaning toward a wild, handheldcamera, like in The Bourne Ultimatum,” recalls the director.

“Eric, on the other hand, advocated a slow-burning style withconstant movement. His intuition about material is one of hisgreat strengths and one of the reasons I hired him, so I wentwith his recommendation.”

Born in Zurich and raised in Copenhagen, Kress grewup on a diet of Hitchcock and French New Wave films thanksto his parents, who ran a cinema club. Wanting to get practi-cal experience before he enrolled in film school, he volunteeredas a lighting and dolly grip assistant on whatever projects hecould find. After attending film school in Copenhagen, heworked as a gaffer and dolly grip before working his way upthe camera ranks. After he became a director of photography,in 1994, one of his first jobs was Lars von Trier’s The Kingdom(Riget). “I was very fortunate to work on that — it was entirelyhandheld, which was extremely rare back then,” he notes. “Wewatched the American TV show Homicide to study the camer-awork.”

Kress, who does his own operating, worked primarilyfrom a dolly on Dragon Tattoo, using it to achieve subtle moves.An early scene finds Vanger sitting at his desk, gazing at aphoto of his missing niece until he is overcome with emotion.Rather than starting wide and pushing in on him, Kress startson a medium close-up of Vanger and slowly tracks back as thedistraught man begins to weep. “I think tracking back is a wayof emphasizing feelings,” the cinematographer offers.

Dark SecretsDark Secrets

Eric Kress, DFF digs to the roots of a twisted

family tree in theSwedish thriller

The Girl With theDragon Tattoo.

By Jean Oppenheimer

•|•


Kress says he is a stickler for veryaccurate blocking before cameras roll,even if the actors plan to improviseduring the take. “The best films arethose in which the cinematographerpays attention to the psychologybetween the characters,” he remarks.“To do that, you need to know [theprecise movements of the actors], butyou also have to have the ability to acton impulse, to push in slightly to catchan emotional moment or to subtlyadjust the frame during a take.”

A single Arricam Lite wasemployed for most of the shoot. For afew scenes, a second camera wasbrought in for Steadicam work. Kressshot most of the picture with ZeissUltra Prime lenses, but when a dollywasn’t practical, he often put anAngenieux Optimo 24-290mm zoomon the camera so he could ride theframing. (The camera and lightingpackages were provided by Dagsljus ABin Stockholm.)

Dragon Tattoo contains two espe-cially harrowing scenes that Kress shothandheld. In one, Lisbeth is raped byher parole officer, and in the other, shegets her revenge. “These scenes wereterrible to do because the actors weredoing them so well,” recalls Kress. In thePh

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Opposite: Experthacker LisbethSalander (NoomiRapace) poresover some datain a frame fromThe Girl With theDragon Tattoo.This page (top tobottom): MikaelBlomkvist(Michael Nyqvist)meets withHenrik Vanger inVanger’s study;Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube)shows Blomkvista newsreel shoton the day hisniecedisappeared; themystery deepensas Blomkvist andLisbeth’sinvestigationprogresses.


first sequence, the rapist throws Lisbethfacedown on the bed. “We wanted to beclose to her at all times,” says Kress.“We’re even in bed with her, looking rightinto her face, with the rapist on top of herbut out of focus. We had to break downthe bed in order to position the camerawhere we wanted it.”

Ville Penttila, Kress’ gaffer, recallsthe challenge of lighting the set, whichwas built in a warehouse: “Arden and Ericwanted to use wide lenses, and theywanted to see the whole room, so we builta long junior boom arm that could reachfrom behind the camera to the bed, andwe attached a Litepanels 1x1 to it, essen-tially toplighting the bed. For close-ups,we came in with 2-by-2 and 2-by-4 banksof Kino Flos, which we warmed withsome CTO. The rest of the lighting camefrom the practical lamps in the room.”

Lisbeth’s revenge also takes place inthe officer’s apartment. She Tasers himand then hog-ties him on the floor. Forsome shots, Kress was sitting on the bedwith the camera on his knees. “Wewanted to give the scene a frantic feel andalso wanted to be able to make smalladjustments,” he recalls. “My great focuspuller, Daniel Wannberg, was in the roomwith me. I like to keep him close at alltimes.”

The day scenes that take place inVanger’s office and in the guest cottagewhere Blomkvist stays provide good

◗ Dark Secrets

Top: Lisbeth’s new parole officer (Peter Andersson) subjects her to a particularly savage rape. Middle:Lisbeth returns to take her revenge. Bottom: Cinematographer Eric Kress, DFF lines up a shot for a scene

depicting the characters’ first meeting as focus puller Daniel Wannberg assists.

examples of the movie’s lighting style:cold, white shafts of light from thewindows key both sets. Penttila notes thatthe 19th-century mansion that served asthe Vanger estate “was perfect for themovie but extremely difficult to light,because the rooms we wanted to use wereon the upper levels. It was 7 meters [23']from the ground to the bottom of thewindows.” A 6K with a medium lens wasplaced outside each window on a cherrypicker. Nothing could be attached to thewindows, so the crew made special gelframes and positioned them close to theglass; the top 2⁄3 of the frames were 250,while the bottom third was ½ CTO. “Itworked great,” recalls Penttila. “With onelamp, we were able to get both soft ambi-ence and harsher light — Eric wantedharsh light on Vanger’s desk. Cirro Mistgave the scene even more atmosphere.”

Chimeras with 1,000-watt bulbsdimmed down 70-80 percent providedsoft backlight in the office, adding a touchof warmth. Kress notes that his favoritelighting tools are Chimeras and KinoFlos. On Dragon Tattoo, he mostly usedKF29 Kino Flos, adding 1⁄8 or ¼ CTS.He prefers placing instruments on standsor on the ground.

The interior of Blomkvist’s guest-house, another set built onstage, was litprimarily by 5Ks and 10Ks placed on thefloor outside the set’s many windows andbounced into frames of poly and bleachedwhite muslin. Production designer NielsSejer designed the set to feature hard ceil-ings and windows along every wall. “Itreally gave you the sense of being there,”enthuses Kress. Most of the cottagescenes were shot by additional cine-matographer Jens Fischer, FSF, whostepped in when the production ran overschedule and Kress had to depart tohonor another commitment.

To justify all the windows, the film-makers decided to suggest the cottage wasnext to the sea. “In late winter, the days[are getting brighter], and light seems tobe bouncing into the house from everydirection,” says Penttila. “We didn’t evenuse low-boards or turtle bases. I just usedstirrups to angle the lamps about 20degrees.” ➣

Top: Kress checks the lighton Taube inVanger’sguesthouse, aset built onstage.CinematographerJens Fischer, FSFshot a majorityof the film’sguesthousescenes after theshoot ran longand Kress had to depart foranother project.Middle: Kressenjoys a lightmoment onlocation. Bottom: DirectorNiels ArdenOplev (wearingpurple baseballcap) and Rapacediscuss theupcoming shotas Kress standsby with thecamera.


Backdrops were placed outsidethe kitchen and bedroom windows;these were lit with 2K Blondes fordaytime scenes and Kino Flos withtungsten tubes and ¼ CTB for night.The other windows were covered withwhite cloth. “When the camera saw outthose windows, we just overlit thecloth,” says Penttila.

The filmmakers wanted to givethe film’s flashbacks, which show 16-year-old Harriet and Blomkvist as achild (Harriet was his babysitter), atotally different look. “We wanted thosescenes to have that light feeling memorygives you, almost as if you’re watching ahome movie,” says Kress. “We wenthandheld and used slow motion — I

think I shot 40 fps — and went for ahigh-key look.” The sequences wereshot outdoors on location, and to createas many flares as possible, Kress shottoward the sun and bounced sunlightinto the actors’ faces with large butterflyframes of bleached muslin.

A grim set of flashbacks showingHarriet with her abusive father surfaces

◗ Dark SecretsIn one of the film’s

flashbacks,young

Blomkvistadmires a

necklaceHarriet Vanger

is wearing.Kress created

a high-keylook and

captured asmany lens

flares aspossible to

suggest ahome-movie

feel.

60

later in the film. Kress used the digitalgrade, carried out at Nordisk Film, “togive these an edgier look. I made colorsstronger and added some vignetting.”

At one point, Vanger showsBlomkvist newsreel footage of a car acci-dent that occurred on the day Harrietdisappeared. Kress created that materialwith Super 16mm, using black-and-white film stock. (He used an Angenieux11.5-138mm zoom and a Canon300mm lens with an Arri 16SR-3.)“When Vanger shows that footage, weactually projected the footage we’d shot— we didn’t want to cheat with CGI,” hesays.

“I really have to credit Niels Sejerand the art department, who did atremendous job making all that footagecredible,” continues Kress. “Niels is justterrific; he always thinks about wherethe light is coming from, what the lightsource is and all those important details.He, Arden and I enjoyed a wonderfulcollaboration.”

Another key sequence findsLisbeth on her motorcycle, pursuing acar driven by the killer. “Noomi didn’thave a driver’s license for a motorcycle,so we had to put her on a trailer,” recallsKress. The car was also on a trailer.Dinos on industrial cranes providedbacklight and overall ambience. Forclose-ups of the actors, Penttila stood onthe trailers handholding tungsten lightsgelled with ½ Plus Green and FullCTS, mimicking the sodium-vaporstreetlamps that dotted the road. “Howlucky we were to get that location!”recalls the gaffer. “Just outside ofStockholm, they were building a newhighway, a loop around the city. It wasn’topen to the public yet, but all the lampsand traffic lights were in place.”

When asked whether any other“happy accidents” occurred during theshoot, Kress laughs. “Actually, theyhappen to me every day. It can be some-thing as simple as a light that wasn’tturned off from the previous scene that

creates a wholly unanticipated butwonderful reflection in the scene athand. It can be actors doing strangethings. I think the cinematographer’sjob is basically to pay attention to what’saround us and use those elements in theright way at the right time.” ●

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TECHNICAL SPECS

2.40:1

3-perf Super 35mm and Super 16mm

Arricam Lite; Arri 16SR-3

Zeiss Ultra Prime, Angenieuxand Canon lenses

Kodak Vision3 500T 5219;Vision2 250D 5205, 50D 5201;Eastman Double-X 7222



www.theasc.com 63

The American Society of Cinematographers devoted two February weekends tohonoring cinematographers’ 2009 achievements, beginning the celebration onFeb. 20 with the Society’s annual Open House, and wrapping on Feb. 27 with the24th annual ASC Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography.

These were the nominees for ASC Awards in competitive categories. They arepresented in alphabetical order, with the winners highlighted in boldface type:

Television/Regular Series: Eagle Egilsson, Dark Blue, “Venice Kings”; JeffreyJur, ASC, FlashForward, “The Gift”; Michael A. Price, Ugly Betty, “There’s No PlaceLike Mode”; Christian Sebaldt, ASC, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, “Family Affair”;Glen Winter, CSC, Smallville, “Savior.”

Television/Motion Picture, Miniseries or Pilot: Alar Kivilo, ASC, CSC,Taking Chance; Rene Ohashi, ASC, CSC, Jesse Stone: Thin Ice; Jerzy Zielinski, ASC,The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler.

Theatrical Release: Barry Ackroyd, BSC, The Hurt Locker; Dion Beebe, ASC,ACS, Nine; Christian Berger, AAC, The White Ribbon; Mauro Fiore, ASC, Avatar;Robert Richardson, ASC, Inglourious Basterds.

DeepVisual RootsPhotography by

David Graves, Matt Frouk, Jared Jordan, Yousef Linjawi, Chris Mankofsky,Phil McCarten, Danny Moloshok and Logan Schneider

Caleb Deschanel, ASC makesa stirring speech as hereceives his LifetimeAchievement Award.

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1. Brian Holt warms up the audience with a Jimi Hendrix guitar riff; 2. Awards Committee Chairman Richard Crudo welcomes the crowd;

3. Johnny Simmons, ASC introduces the evening’s first presenter, actressAmanda Righetti of The Mentalist; 4. Righetti hands the Regular Series

award to Eagle Egilsson; 5. Egilsson thanks the Society and his Dark Blueteam; 6. George Spiro Dibie, ASC (left) watches Sol Negrin, ASC (center)

accept the Presidents Award from his son, Michael Negrin, ASC; 7. Negrinoffers his thanks for the recognition; 8. Isidore Mankofsky, ASC watches

graduate student Benji Bakshi thank the Society after receiving theRichard Moore Heritage Award; 9. Mankofsky explains the award’s

origins and announces the two winners; 10. Undergraduate HeritageAward winner Garrett Shannon takes his turn in the spotlight.

www.theasc.com 65

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1-2. Amy Vincent, ASC introduces and greets actor Tim Roth, presenter of the International Award; 3. International Award recipientChris Menges, ASC, BSC accepts Roth’s congratulations; 4. Mengesthanks his mentors and colleagues; 5. ASC President Michael Goimakes a surprise announcement that the Society has chosen its eighthhonorary member; 6. Ralph Woolsey, ASC (left) presents the HonoraryMember certificate to Larry Mole Parker of Mole-Richarson; 7. A stunned and delighted Parker makes an emotion-filled speech; 8. Rodney Taylor, ASC introduces the evening’s second competitivecategory, Television Motion Picture, Miniseries or Pilot; 9. Actor RyanO’Neal announces the category’s nominees; 10. Winner Alar Kivilo,ASC, CSC thanks the Society and his Taking Chance crew; 11. John C.Flinn III, ASC accepts the award from his good friend Michael O’Shea,ASC. 12. Flinn regales the crowd after receiving the CareerAchievement in Television Award;


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1. Tom Stern, ASC introduces one of his longtime collaborators, actor/producer Morgan Freeman, who receivedthis year’s Board of Governors Award; 2. Freeman accepts the honor with a fine speech; 3. Actresses Emily (left)and Zooey Deschanel gently roast their father, Caleb, as they introduce him as the recipient of the LifetimeAchievement Award; 4. Deschanel delivers a memorable speech; 5. The happy Deschanels depart the stage; 6. John Toll, ASC introduces the evening’s final award, for Theatrical Release; 7. Actor Timothy Dalton preparesto announce the winner; 8. Dalton presents the award to Christian Berger, AAC; 9. Berger thanks the Societyand his crew on The White Ribbon, noting, “Several weeks with [director] Michael Haneke and me is not easy.”

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101. Heritage Award winner Bakshi and his wife, Connie; 2. Michael and Gina Goi withDenny Clairmont and his niece, Mardrie Mullen; 3. Benita Grauman and her husband,

ASC general manager Brett Grauman, flank Morgan Freeman; 4. The Gois pose withproducer Lori McCreary (far left) and Freeman; 5. Kees Van Oostrum, ASC squires his

wife, Esther Spitz, and daughter, Sara; 6. Technicolor’s Charlie Herzfeld, Joey Violante,Dana Ross and Dominic Rom; 7. Frank Kay and his wife, Darlene; 8. Russ Alsobrook,

ASC and Hollis Davis; 9. Donald M. Morgan, ASC and his wife, Patty, with MichaelMargulies and Janet Parks; 10. Linda Estrin (left) with Milt Shefter and his wife, Joy.


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1. Linda Burum and her husband, ASC member Stephen Burum; 2. Heritage Awardwinner Garrett Shannon (2nd from left) celebrates with his family; 3. ASC EventsCoordinator Patty Armacost with Aaron Schneider, ASC; 4. Karl Walter Lindenlaub, ASC with Panavision exec Larry Hezzelwood; 5. Associate memberCary Clayton and Panavision’s Tak Miyagishima; 6. Steven Fierberg, ASC and Australian director/writer Sarah Spillane with Jeffrey Schoen and AmyVincent, ASC; 7. Panavision’s director of marketing, Suzanne Lezotte, and her husband, Eric, with Mary Matza and her husband, EFilm president JoeMatza; 8. Rodney Charters, ASC, CSC hobnobs with Ellen Kuras, ASC; International Cinematographers Guild National Executive Director BruceDoering and his wife, Lynn; and James Chressanthis, ASC; 9. Lisa Rich and Robbie Greenberg, ASC with feature nominee Dion Beebe, ASC (Nine) andhis wife, Unjoo Moon.

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1. A gang of well-wishers congratulate John C. Flinn III, ASC. From left: Lloyd Ahern, ASC; Sherié Sweeterman; Wally Sweeterman; Doris Ahern; TaylorO’Shea Flinn; Skip Youngfleisch; Sharon Flinn; John C. Flinn III; Patte Youngfleisch; Carley Flinn; Kaycee Flinn. 2. David Stump, ASC and his wife,Jennifer Law; 3. Fred Goodich, ASC and Anthony Dod Mantle, BSC, DFF; 4. Susan Poster with her husband, International Cinematographers GuildPresident Steven Poster, ASC; 5. Agent Paul Hook and Seamus McGarvey, ASC, BSC; 6. John Flinn IV and his father; 7. ASC members Daryn Okada,Owen Roizman and Caleb Deschanel form a cameraman’s quartet with Chris Menges, ASC, BSC; 8. EFilm’s Beverly Wood with Roger Deakins, ASC,BSC and his wife, James; 9. EFilm colorist Steve Scott with one of his favorite cinematographers, Stephen Goldblatt, ASC, BSC; 10. Donald A. Morgan,ASC and his wife, Geneva.


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1. Haskell Wexler, ASC and associate memberGarrett Brown; 2. Sol Negrin’s crew celebrates

their favorite award winner. From left: CariNegrin and her husband, Michael Negrin, ASC;

Betty and Sol Negrin; Negrin’s longtimeoperator, Lou Barlia; and Bea and Marvin

Schulman; 3. Panavision’s Andy Romanoff withYuri Neyman, ASC; 4. Zooey, Mary Jo, Emilyand Caleb Deschanel, ASC; 5. ASC members

Jacek Laskus and Theo Van de Sande; 6. Françoise Kirkland and her husband,

associate member Douglas Kirkland, pose withChristian Berger, AAC; 7. ASC members Rodney

Taylor and Tom Stern; 8. The ASC’shardworking circulation department enjoys the

evening with their guests. From left: MelodyHimidian, ASC Accountant Corey Clark,

American Cinematographer Circulation DirectorSaul Molina, ASC Shipping Manager Miguel

Madrigal, Vanessa Herrera, Noemi Lopez, ACCirculation Manager Alex Lopez, Joanna

Garcia, AC Circulation Assistant Luis Garcia,Areli Garcia and Erick Muaricio.

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1. ASC Awards Chairman Richard Crudo with nominee Jerzy Zielinski, ASC (The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler) at the annual Nominees Dinner; 2. Fromleft: Harrison Engle; Robert Liu, ASC and his wife, Ivy; Betty and Sol Negrin, ASC; and Nancy Schreiber, ASC; 3. Larry Mole Parker and his wife, Pam, flankRalph Woolsey, ASC; 4. Nominee Michael Price (Ugly Betty) and ASC President Michael Goi; 5. Nominee Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS (Nine) with Goi; 6. JaniceSimpson and associate member Grover Crisp; 7. ASC honorary member Brian Spruill with Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC; 8. Crudo and Goi flank nominee ChristianSebaldt, ASC (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation); 9. Kodak’s Michael Zakula with Dora Sessler and nominee Rene Ohashi, ASC, CSC (Jesse Stone: Thin Ice); 10. Crudo and nominee Robert Richardson, ASC (Inglourious Basterds); 11. Crudo with nominee Mauro Fiore, ASC (Avatar); 12. Nominee Barry Ackroyd, BSC(The Hurt Locker) and Goi; 13. Crudo with nominee Glen Winter, CSC (Smallville); 14. FotoKem’s Michael Morelli and his wife, Mary Anne, with Crudo; 15. John C. Flinn III, ASC with Cynthia Simmons and her husband, ASC member John Simmons; 16. ASC members Owen Roizman and Don McCuaig; 17. Kodak’s Judith Doherty and Kim Schneider.


A Star is Born Restoration Starts With 8K ScanBy Robert S. Birchard

It was Sept. 24, 1954, and the atmosphere at Hollywood’sPantages Theatre was electric. It was a movie premiere that rated liveTV coverage, with actor Jack Carson playing host on the red carpetas the town’s A-list gathered to see Judy Garland’s comeback picture,A Star is Born. The 3-hour-16-minute film they saw that nightbecame legendary, but it would never be seen again.

By the time A Star is Born played its first road-show engage-ments a few weeks later, editor Fulmer Blangsted had trimmed thepicture by 14 minutes. But the 3-hour-2-minute cut was problematicas the film moved into general release, and it was trimmed byanother 28 minutes so exhibitors could squeeze in an extra show aday.

The film’s director, George Cukor, disowned the 154-minuteversion, claiming that a carefully crafted dramatic story had beenturned into an episodic mess. Audience response was lukewarm,and box-office receipts were disappointing. Garland’s grand come-back — after a four-year absence from the screen — was a bust, andit would be seven years before she appeared in another film. Never-theless, critics and film buffs championed A Star is Born as much forwhat it might have been as for what it actually was.

In 1981, one of those buffs, Ron Haver, who was then headof the film department at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art,set out to reconstruct the 182-minute road-show cut of the film. Theresult, revealed in 1983, included rediscovered footage and a recon-struction of several minutes of missing scenes using available stillpictures. It clocked in at 176 minutes; the six-minute deficit resultedfrom trimming pauses in the 182-minute soundtrack to snap up thepace where it was felt that stills would not hold the attention of theaudience. Widely acclaimed, Haver’s reconstruction was given atheatrical release, and it has been available on home video in various

formats. (For more details on the Haver project, see AC Feb. ’84.)The Library of Congress selected A Star is Born for inclusion

in the National Film Registry in 2000, deeming the film “culturally,historically or aesthetically significant,” and Warner Bros. undertooka photochemical preservation in 2004, making new black-and-white color separations and a new interpositive. However, time hadnot been kind to this landmark film. One of Garland’s signaturesongs in the film is “The Man That Got Away,” and A Star is Bornvery nearly became the film that got away.

“Our photochemical preservation was not entirely successfulin terms of correcting for color fading,” says Ned Price, vice presi-dent of mastering at Warner Bros. Technical Operations. “It didcapture the color remaining in the original [Eastmancolor] negative,but only 40 percent of the yellow layer remained in that negative,so it yielded an image with yellowish whites and purplish blacks, inaddition to density flickering. There was also a noticeable loss ofhighlight and shadow detail — also a result of color fading.”Furthermore, he adds, “The original 1954 YCM separation masterpositives were heavy, grainy and incapable of generating a picturethat would do justice to the CinemaScope imagery of director ofphotography Sam Leavitt [ASC].”

A Star is Born seemed like a good candidate for a digitalrestoration. However, even a famous title like that cannot beprojected to generate revenue close to what a contemporary filmmight yield. “I’m an executive with a major film company who hasa responsibility to the company and the shareholders to make thesesorts of projects profitable, but I’m also a film buff who would liketo see everything released on DVD,” says George Feltenstein, seniorvice president of theatrical-catalogue marketing for Warner Bros.“It’s a struggle to balance the two, but our digital restorations ofGone With The Wind, The Wizard of Oz and North By Northwestwere sensationally successful in bringing back those films’ visualsplendor, and everyone agreed that [restoring] A Star is Born would

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Esther/Vicky(Judy Garland)

laments “TheMan That GotAway” in this

digitally restoredframe from A Star

Is Born (1954).Fifty years after

the film’s release,Warner Bros.

found that theoriginal

Eastmancolornegative had lost60 percent of its

yellow layer.


be a wonderful thing to do.”In preparing for the new digital

restoration, all of the film’s survivingelements were taken out of storage andevaluated. The search was meticulous, andalthough it turned up several thousand feetof alternate takes, it didn’t unearth any newfootage from the finished film. Price diduncover original separation materials for thenumber “Here’s What I’m Here For,” andthe scene in which Norman Maine (JamesMason) proposes to Esther/Vicky (Garland),both of which had been cut for the general-release version, and he was able to improveon the material Haver had used for thesescenes. Price explains, “The separationssurvived by chance — an editor made dele-tions to the separation masters but did notrealize the camera negative had been rebal-anced to accommodate the new shortenedrunning time. Because of this oversight, thescene survives in the masters.”

The original four-track stereo magmaster had been erased in order to re-usethe 35mm magnetic stock back in the1950s. “That was a common practice in theearly ’50s, as good stock was scarce,” saysPrice. There was a monophonic mag trackfor the 182-minute version, but three origi-nal mag-striped release prints were used formost of the sound track. Warners had onesuch print, and the Library of Congressprovided the other two. “We also found a35mm four-track stereo music and effectstrack in France,” says Price. “The track wasincomplete, but it contained the majority ofGarland’s vocal performances in English.We also located isolated vocal units forGarland and chorus, as well as thecomplete orchestral scoring sessions.”

It was decided to scan A Star is Bornat 8K resolution; this was done at WarnerBros. Motion Picture Imaging on a North-light scanner. “Some might argue that an8K scan is overkill for this feature, given thatthe film stock and the early ’Scope lenseslimited the picture resolution on the nega-tive,” says Price, “but I’m unable to addressthat at this moment because our ability tosee what the scans can yield is limited bycurrent monitoring devices. With the view-ing equipment we have today, I can’t reallytell the difference between a 4K scan andan 8K scan. We decided to scan at 8K andcomplete the color correction and digital-

restoration work at 4K.”Color timing was done by MPI

colorist Janet Wilson, who spent almost fivemonths on the project over the course of ayear. “It was one of the more difficultprojects I’ve worked on,” she says. “Themajority of the film was scanned from theoriginal negative, but there was addedmaterial from different sources. The originalmaterial was very early Eastmancolor, andthere was dye fading, especially in the opti-cal dupe sections, which looked entirelydifferent from the surrounding camera neg.Oftentimes when working on older films,the original scan does not bear any relationto how the film is actually supposed to look.In retiming and correcting the color, it wasalso important to stay as close as possible tothe filmmakers’ intent.”

“The overall work took about ninemonths,” says Price. “Janet is as meticulousas she is patient, and she really brought thepicture back to life. Sound was also an

important part of the restoration, and, justas with the picture material, we were work-ing with multiple sources. Most of the trackwas re-recorded and pieced together fromthe surviving stereo release prints; JimYoung did that work at Chace Audio.”

The digital restoration had its worldpremiere last month at Grauman’s ChineseTheatre as part of the inaugural TCM Clas-sic Film Festival. According to Feltenstein,the supplements on the Blu-ray, set forrelease June 22, will include some materialthat hasn’t been seen before, includingalternate takes of the numbers “Gotta Havea Go” and “Lose That Long Face.” ●

Central to thestory isEsther’stroubledrelationshipwith alcoholicactor NormanMaine (JamesMason). Theseimages wereboth croppedfrom therestoredCinemaScopeframes.


Creating a Virtual New York for 24By Douglas Bankston

Season eight of the series 24 features a United Nations peace-keeping crisis and a nuclear terrorism threat hanging over New YorkCity. The show isn’t shot in New York, nor has the production traveledacross the continent to film typical establishing shots, but that is thereal U.N. headquarters visible in the background behind the Counter-Terrorism Unit’s office. Thanks to Stargate Studios’ digital chicanery,24’s director of photography, Rodney Charters, ASC, CSC, is able toexploit virtual New York sets without ever leaving L.A. “This idea oftexture-wrapping reality into a virtual space and then reshooting it,motion-tracking it and slaving it to real camera movement is whatwe’re into,” says Stargate founder Sam Nicholson, ASC.

Virtual sets are not new, but the most photo-realistic ones areusually seen in big-budget projects courtesy of VistaVision or high-enddatacine cameras. That idea was turned on its head with the intro-duction of Canon’s EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR, which is capable ofhigh-definition-video recording. The camera has an 18-megapixelsensor and costs $3,000-$4,000 fully outfitted. “A standard HDsensor is down in the 6-, 8- or 12-megapixel range,” says Nicholson.

Still-photo plate elements as well as high-definition movingelements are shot in High Dynamic Range, which enables Nicholson’steam to “access a lot of color depth and range,” he says. “A standardHD frame is about 6MB uncompressed in DPX, whereas any one ofour Virtual Backlot frames is running at 100-200MB. They are massive,but I can zoom in 800 percent and the resolution holds up.”

If you composite a foreground element into a 2-D HDR back-ground, the resulting image will look flat and fake, and 24’s handheldshooting style complicates matters. “The plates have to be what wecall ‘dimensionalized’ — texture-mapped onto three-dimensionalsurfaces,” explains Nicholson. “When you move handheld on yourforeground subject, your background retains all the proper parallax sothat it doesn’t appear to be flat. The midground is really what this isabout: The further out you go toward infinity, the flatter thingsbecome, so the background can be flat while the midground isdimensionalized and the foreground is live action. We can do that tosuch an extent now that we can walk entire city blocks in a photo-realvirtual environment.”

For example, the CTU helicopter pad is supposed to be on agrassy knoll on Roosevelt Island, with the U.N. complex across thewater in the background. In actuality, the helicopter and the actors areshot in Rye Canyon in Valencia, Calif. Charters explains, “We shootour actors running across a grassy knoll in Valencia with an extremelong lens, and we push a 20-by-20 greenscreen on wheels behindthem. We’re cowboy-framing them, and as long as we keep them onthe greenscreen, it sells. As the helicopter pulls away, we want tofollow it; Stargate segues from traffic across the shore and boats

going by into the hi-res file, and we can chase the helicopter withextraordinary resolution. You look at the sequence and think theactors are in New York.”

The Canon 5D shoots HD video in 1920x1080 24p in AVCHDcompression, a much lower resolution than the HDR still frame, soNicholson embeds only the elements in motion in the massive HDRbackground plate. Each completed frame can be a composite of 20or more different types of images. “We combine multiple resolutionsof motion pictures, still images, computer graphics and digital mattepaintings into a single, very-high-resolution background plate,”explain Nicholson. “Our background environments are then digitallymatched with the live-action foreground camera dynamics of eachtake.”

Another helpful byproduct for cinematographers is the abilityto freeze time. “We can shoot the perfect magic-hour backdrop forany scene,” says Nicholson, “and it will stay magic hour for as longas necessary because we’re on a set, lighting it for magic hour.

“It is critical for the director of photography to be a part ofthat process on set,” he notes. “We can do a finished-quality high-definition composite on set with two cameras handheld, and thecinematographer can see how to light and frame the greenscreensequence. If the sun is dipping in and out of trees, he can see that inreal time and tune the reactive lighting accordingly. Rodney’s involve-ment at this level is why we get the realistic look we get on 24.”●

Tricks of the Trade

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The New York skyline is added to a scene from 24 via backgroundelements shot with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR.


S.two Ships FlashDockS.two Corporation has added

the FlashDock transfer station to itsfamily of uncompressed digital filmproduction solutions. The FlashDock isa portable editorial ingest and archivalstation for FlashMag solid-statemagazines from the OB-1, S.two’sonboard digital film recorder.

Supporting uncompressed 4:4:4 RGB and raw data — includ-ing ArriRaw — the FlashDock provides multiple transfer target inter-faces, including dual-link HD-SDI, eSATA, USB 2.0, Gbit Ethernet,RS422 and SAS. FCP-style XML and Avid-style ALE metadata files aregenerated and made available over Ethernet or to a USB device forautomated editorial ingest. An optional Expansion Chassis providestwo half-height LTO3/4 drive bays and is powered from the Flash-Dock for true on-location archival backup capability. The FlashDock iscapable of operating on 100-240-volt AC or 24-volt DC power, andis designed for use on remote shoot locations, in the studio or in apost facility.

“This is the workflow component that our OB-1 customershave been looking for,” says Chris Romine, president of S.two. “It iseconomical, field portable and facility friendly, and satisfies bothdailies generation and backup requirements with a user-friendlytouch-screen LCD interface.”

The first FlashDock production units have begun shipping tosales and marketing partner Band Pro Film & Digital. For more infor-mation, visit www.bandpro.com and www.stwo-corp.com.

FTC Makes Smooth Moves Filmotechnic Canada Ltd., a Toronto-based camera-support-

equipment rental and manufacturing company, has introduced the2-Axis Rotary Damper & Level Control Nose Mount for Technocraneand MovieBird’s telescopic cranes.

The 2-Axis Rotary Damper & Level Control consists of twofully adjustable rotary hydraulic cylinders with axel shafts apposed at90 degrees in a single, lightweight, compact aluminum body. The

upper cylinder is perpendicular to the crane arm and the lower cylin-der is inline with the arm. Each X- and Y-axis has a rotational rangeof +/-75 degrees.

When a crane arm is panned left or right, the Rotary Damperabsorbs the stop and start inertia, as it does when the crane tele-scopes in or out. The faster the move, the more resistance isprovided by the special hydraulic fluid inside the rotating cylinder.The Rotary Damper further eliminates dynamic rotational stress ona crane’s arm sections.

“The 2-Axis Rotary Damper & Level Control was originallydesigned to work with the Flight Head V on our Russian Arm toimprove its performance,” says Oleksiy Zolotarov, president of FCL.

New Products & Services• SUBMISSION INFORMATION •

Please e-mail New Products/Services releases to:[email protected] and include full contactinformation and product images. Photos must be

TIFF or JPEG files of at least 300dpi.

Schneider Intros IRND FiltersSchneider Optics has developed a range

of absorptive IRND filters designed to addressthe demanding requirements of today’s high-definition cameras.

Many hi-def cameras have a high sensitiv-ity to light just beyond the visible range. While thiscan be beneficial in extending the camera’s colorgamut to more closely approach that of film, the light in the IR spec-trum can also cause unwanted false color shifts and prevent thecamera’s imagers from capturing true black tones. To solve this prob-lem, Schneider’s Platinum Series IRND filters limit the light striking thecamera’s imager to the visible spectrum. By carefully calculating thecutoff frequency in nanometers, Schneider has produced a near-

infrared cut filter, eliminating the near-infraredlight leakage and letting the camera maintaintrue color rendition in the blacks while main-taining high MTF of its lenses and camerasystem.

Schneider Platinum Series IRND filters arefree of off-axis color shift regardless of the focal length and can

be stacked without introducing reflections. They can also be used asstandard ND filters with all HD video and film cameras. The filters areavailable in standard video and cine sizes, including 4x4, 4x5.65, 5x5,5.65x5.65 and 6.6x6.6, plus rounds in 138mm, 4.5" and Series 9.Each filter is available in ½-, 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-stop densities.

For more information, visit www.schneideroptics.com.

Alex Chibisov, FCL’s vice president and chiefengineer, adds, “We developed a compact,lightweight but heavy-duty hydraulicdamper that would eliminate rotationalstress on the arm and allow the gyros in theFHV to work freely, as they should. Then itbecame clear we could remove our levelingsystem from the RA, lightening the nose,because the damper also automatically levelsthe FHV using gravity. The mass of the headand camera, resisted by the damper’shydraulic fluid, results in a smooth levelingprocess every time, whether moved slowly oraggressively.”

Zolotarov notes, “When we testedthe Damper prototype and saw how theFHV behaved, a second and maybe moresignificant application came to mind: replac-ing the heavy electronic leveling gear on theTechno and MovieBird series of telescopiccranes.”

The 2-Axis Rotary Damper & LevelControl offers a quiet, responsive, purelymechanical camera-head leveling system,with no electronics that might fail. It alsooffers a 30-pound reduction in nose load onboth Techno and MovieBird cranes; theweight savings can be applied to anincreased camera load or a reduction in thecrane’s counterweight.

The 2-Axis Rotary Damper & LevelControl has a payload capacity of approxi-mately 220 pounds. The Russian Armversion weighs 14.3 pounds, and theMovieBird/Technocrane nose mount weighs21.2 pounds. Mounting options includeMitchell to Mitchell, Filmotechnic to Mitchelland Mitchell to Filmotechnic.

For additional information, visitwww.filmotechnic-canada.ca.

Cinevate Accessorizes DSLRsCinevate has introduced two support

options for DSLR camera systems, theMedusa cage and the Uno rig.

The Medusa cage features a dove-tailed, quick-release tripod plate — allowing

users to quickly removetheir rig from the rails onthe fly — and two vari-mount, form-fitted handgrips — adding stability,comfort and countlessoptions for handling andbracing the cage. Support-

A T R A D I T I O N O F I N N O V A T I O N24 SHELTON STREET, LONDON, WC2H 9UB U.K. TELEPHONE: +44 (0)20 7836 9642 EMAIL [email protected]

T H E L O N D O N F I L M S C H O O L

“It’s an extraordinary thing to teachfilm without reducing it to techniquesand rules, and yet teach the rigourand effort that is necessary toimprove your work.”

THE LFS TWO-YEAR MA FILMMAKINGPROGRAMME STARTS IN JANUARY, MAY AND SEPTEMBER.

To find out more about training in alldepartments, on a minimum of six filmexercises, including two 35mm projects, in a working studio with students from 30 countries visit

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Paz Fabrega, 2006 MA Filmmaking graduate.Paz's first feature Agua fría de mar won theTiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival2010. She was selected for the 2009 CannesCinefondation Residence programme.


ing standard 15mm railsand 5⁄8" grip rods, theMedusa also boasts a vari-mount top plate andincludes a ¼" 20 and 3⁄8"quick-release tripod mount.

Inspired by CinevateCEO Dennis Wood’s inter-actions with still photogra-

phers and filmmakers, the Uno rig’s uniquelink system allows a wide range of configu-rations customizable to the user’s shootingstyle and a large array of camera platforms.The Uno rig includes an 11.8"-long, 15mmsolid carbon chassis; one vari-mount Unogrip; a tripod mount; a baseplate system;and one vari-mount shoulder stock.Features include CNC machined aluminumcomponents and 360 degrees of flexibilityon all parts.

For additional information, visitwww.cinevate.com.

Thoma Provides Remote ControlThoma Film und Videotechnik has

introduced the Remote Kit, capable ofconverting conventional tripod heads intofull-scale remote systems. The user-friendlyRemote Kit can be assembled and disman-tled in 20 minutes with no mechanicalhandling.

With the Remote Kit, remote-controlled panning and tilting is based on

friction-wheel driveswith DC motors andintegrated digitalrotary encoders,guaranteeing jitter-free operating. Theelectronics functionvia power steeringand joystick control,and the system

boasts extreme accuracy with 400,000 stepsper 360 degrees of motion.

With near-silent (less than 25 dB)mechanics, the Remote Kit is ideal for bothstudio and location shooting. The mountingkit fits into a small, easy-to-transport case.Furthermore, the robust Remote Kit boastshardened-steel construction, offeringprotection against accidental damage. TheRemote Kit and its electrical plug connec-tions are watertight according to IP65.

The Remote Kit is compatible with all

modern Sachtler tripod heads, and Thomais currently developing the system to becompatible with Vinten heads. For moreinformation, visit www.thoma.de.

Rose Brand Illuminates NeoflexRose Brand has introduced Neoflex,

a flexible strip of diffused LED lighting avail-able in a variety of colors. 70-percent moreefficient than cold-cathode neon, Neoflex

maintains a consistent color temperaturethroughout its 50,000-hour lifespan.

Neoflex is a rugged, easy to main-tain alternative for outdoor installations.Neoflex is available in Diffused 120-volt andDiffused 24-volt, and both varieties come inAmber, Blue, Green, Red, Orange, CoolWhite and Warm White. Color Jacket MiniNeoflex, which features color embedded inthe diffusing plastic as well as in the LEDs— allowing color accents even when notilluminated — is also offered in the 24-voltconfiguration.

For additional information, visitwww.rosebrand.com.

Barco Acquires Element LabsBelgium-based Barco has an-

nounced its acquisition of the products,intellectual property rights and know-howof Element Labs, an LED video-systemsexpert based in Santa Clara, Calif.

“Element Labs’ products haveadded a spectacular dimension to numer-ous concerts, events, corporate headquar-ters and flagship stores around the world,”says Paul Matthijs, vice president of Barco’sVideo & Lighting Solutions business. “Thistransaction will help to accelerate the turn-around which is underway in our Video &Lighting activities by enabling Barco toaddress a wider segment of the market.”

With immediate effect, the name“Element Labs” ceases to exist. Structuredas an asset sales transaction, Barco obtainsall product designs, rights and intellectualproperty of Element Labs. Element Labs’

core team in Santa Clara will function asBarco’s hub for creative LED solutions.

For additional information, visitwww.barco.com.

MediaRecall Joins DeluxeDeluxe Entertainment Services

Group, Inc. has acquired the assets ofmetro-Chicago based MediaRecall Hold-ings, LLC, a fast-growing player in the digi-tal video services arena.

Founded in 2007, MediaRecalloffers a cost-effective, high-speed digital-video workflow process and related tech-nologies around digitizing, clip selecting,meta-logging and transcribing enterprise-scale video archives, enabling them to bemore easily searched and monetized online.The company’s core expertise revolvesaround a highly trained North American-based 2,000-person distributed-mediaworkforce and its proprietary technologies,including web-enabled digital services tools,a digital video search platform and a work-force management system.

Remaining in its current metro-Chicago offices, the business will now oper-ate under the name MediaRecall by Deluxe,and it will report to Gray Ainsworth, DeluxeDigital Media’s senior vice president ofoperations. “Deluxe continues to look forways to add value for content owners andprovide unique services that create truepartnership opportunities,” says Ainsworth.“MediaRecall entered the booming onlinevideo space at the right time as largecontent owners are trying to find more effi-cient ways to get their content digitized andsearchable online. MediaRecall did a terrificjob on the client projects we have donetogether, and this transaction was a logicalnext step for us.”

George Deeb, current CEO of MediaRecall, adds, “Our team is veryexcited about deepening the relationshipwe have with Deluxe. We look forward tobringing our technologies into the Deluxepipeline for film studios and televisionnetworks in addition to the non-Hollywoodmarket.”

For additional information, visitwww.bydeluxe.com and www.mediarecall.com.

Fujifilm Establishes New York OfficeFujifilm North America Corporation’s

Motion Picture Products Division hasannounced that, following the eliminationof its reseller network, all customers of itsmotion-picture products will be served on adirect basis nationwide. The announcementaccompanied news that Richard Kalinskyhas been appointed key account executivefor the eastern United States.

“Motion picture film customersdemand the highest levels of personalattention and care,” says Graeme Parcher,group vice president of Fujifilm North Amer-ican Motion Picture Division. “Our ownprofessional staff is in the best position toprovide Fujifilm customers with the highlevel of service and collaboration they need.We can only do this by controlling the distri-bution of our products.

“The east coast is a critically impor-tant region in motion picture film and tele-vision production,” Parcher continues. “Thecontinued growth in the region, particularlyin the metro New York area, has promptedus to take this new approach to personallyserving our customers.”

For additional information, visitwww.fujifilmusa.com.

Sony Opens 3-D CenterSony Corporation has opened the

Sony 3D Technology Center, located at SonyPictures Studios in Culver City, Calif., to trainand nurture a community of experts in therapidly growing market of 3-D entertain-ment. The new center offers professionalsfrom across the industry a hands-on oppor-tunity to learn more about the techniques

and equipment used to create top-quality 3-D productions of all kinds, including sports,television and movies. The center alsofeatures Sony’s top-of-the-line business andprofessional products, which are widely

used in capturing, manipulating and display-ing 3-D productions.

“Our mission is to support the spreadof high quality 3-D throughout the market-place,” says Chris Cookson, president ofSony Pictures Technologies, Sony PicturesEntertainment, and Chief Officer of theSony 3D Technology Center. “Modern tech-nologies and techniques can create muchmore natural and realistic 3-D than mostpeople had experienced in years past, so wehave an interest in helping the industry as awhole seize this opportunity to give audi-ences really great 3-D experiences. Peoplemust reliably and consistently be able toenjoy what is presented in 3-D for it to gainacceptance in the long term.”

“Making 3-D is easy, but makinggood 3-D is hard,” adds Buzz Hays(pictured), senior vice president of the Sony3D Technology Center. “I’ve had the plea-sure of making 3-D movies with Hollywood’strue pioneers over the last five years, and Iam excited to dedicate my time fully to shar-ing what we’ve learned as this mediummakes its way toward primetime.”

For additional information, visitwww.sony.net.

Kodak Releases Film Calculator AppKodak has released the Kodak Film

Calculator and Glossary application as a freedownload from the iTunes App Store. Thetool determines the running time for anylength of film in any format and how muchfilm is needed for a specific duration,making complex mathematical calculationsquickly and conveniently.

“This is the first Kodak Cinema Toolto be made available as anapplication for mobile-device users,” says NicolePhillips, Kodak’s director ofWeb marketing for theEntertainment Imaging Divi-sion. “We plan to releaseadditional applications inthe near future, with thegoal of helping filmmakersbring their visions to thescreen. This Film Calculatorapp provides quick, on-the-spot answers to questionswherever and whenever they arise. As we

begin our foray into mobile tools, we lookforward to offering new ways to connectour customers to information they need,effortlessly.”

Information can be entered intofields where data is known, includingformat, length, run time and frame rate.The app then calculates and supplies theother variables. Film length can bemeasured in feet or meters for all formats,including Super 8mm, 16mm, 35mm, 3-perf 35mm and 65mm film. The intuitiveuser interface includes a “reset” button thatmakes recalculating data easy, and the “filmformat” drop-down menu allows switchingand comparing formats at the touch of afinger.

The app also includes Kodak’s Glos-sary, which provides instant definitions forhundreds of filmmaking terms. The Glos-sary is designed to help filmmakers andtheir collaborators communicate clearly andaccurately.

For additional information, visitwww.kodak.com/go/motion.

ZipCalc App From ZipCamZipCam Systems has released the

ZipCalc DP freeware planning tool.Designed primarily for cinematographersand key grips, ZipCalc DP provides interac-tive simulations and graphical plots of cable-camera flight paths, helping users deter-mine the best flight path for cable-suspended tracking cameras such as theZipCam.

Ben Semanoff, president of ZipCamSystems, notes, “ZipCalc enables produc-tions to take full advantage of our cable-camera system and saves them time andmoney while helping them get the shotsthey need, even over challenging terrainand obstacles.” Users can input values forkey factors that affect the cable camera’sflight path; as users adjust values, ZipCalc

DP displays the flight path changes in realtime.

ZipCalc DP is available for free down-load from the ZipCam Systems Web site. Formore information, visit www.zipcam.com.

Avid Updates DSAvid has introduced version 10.3 of

its DS finishing solution, combiningadvanced effects, compositing and graphicscapabilities with new features designed todeliver real-time finishing and accelerate therendering process of popular file-basedformats. DS is also now optimized to handleRed, 2K and ArriRaw projects, and itsupports the Red Rocket Accelerator Card,which decodes .R3D files, alleviating theCPU of this process.

DS version 10.3 allows post facilitiesand high-end independent professionals tomore effectively manage file-based projectpipelines by reducing ingest and conformrequirements. In particular, DS 10.3 offersnative conform from Avid Media Composerfor .R3D and ArriRaw files, enablingcustomers to instantly re-create completetimeline information — including effects,titles and colors — for real-time playbackand faster rendering. Additionally, AVX2support offers customers a simple path fortotal conform of visual effects generated inMedia Composer and Avid Symphony edit-ing systems. Customers can also benefitfrom the full creative effects toolset at anystage of the editorial process with a newAVX2 plug-in interface, making it possible touse Boris FX and Sapphire effects in DS fromany offline Avid project.

DS version 10.3 can be downloadednow from Avid’s download center. For moreinformation, or to download a trial version,visit www.avid.com.

The Foundry Upgrades Nuke, Allies with GenArtsVisual-effects software developer

The Foundry has released the Nuke 6.0 andNukeX 6.0 composting engines, designedto meet the latest creative and workflowneeds.

Nuke 6.0 incorporates a completelynew shape rotoscope and paint toolsetbased on a rewritten core curve library andnew RotoPaint node. This release introducesa flexible, non-destructive layer-based hier-archy integrated with Nuke’s animation andtracking capabilities and supporting per-object attributes such as blending modesand motion blur. As an additional benefit,The Foundry’s Keylight keyer is included as astandard feature with Nuke 6.0.

NukeX 6.0 extends the range oftools usually found in the compositing envi-ronment, adding an integrated 3-D cameratracker, automated and manual lens-distor-tion tools, FurnaceCore (The Foundry’s re-engineered set of Furnace plug-ins) and aDepthGenerator plug-in. Both Nuke andNukeX are fully script compatible, withNuke capable of viewing and renderingnodes created using the extended NukeXtoolset. Offering visual-effects users twodifferent Nuke products enables facilities ofall sizes to implement a Nuke solution to fita range of artist and customer needs.

Additionally, The Foundry andGenArts Inc. have entered into a broadstrategic alliance. Under the terms of theagreement, GenArts will acquire TheFoundry’s Tinder and Tinderbox plug-insbusiness, and the two companies will enterinto an arrangement to collaborate closelyto expand the capabilities of the Nuke plat-form. This strategic alliance allows thedevelopment teams from The Foundry andGenArts to work closely together to fullymaximize the functionality of their futureproducts, opening the door to more effec-tive delivery of new technology as the hostplatform and plug-in development can bemore synchronized.

For additional information, visit www.thefoundry.co.uk andwww.genarts.com. ●

82

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Society Welcomes MedencevicBorn in Derventa, Bosnia-Herze-

govina, new ASC member SukiMedencevic developed an early interestin both science and art. Before graduat-ing from high school, he chose to focuson photography, and he became one ofonly five students accepted in theNational School of Dramatic Arts’ depart-ment of cinematography in Belgrade. Hefurthered his education at the renownedNational Film School in Prague, where heearned a master’s degree in cinematog-raphy and also won the Chancellor’sAward and the Jaroslav Kucera Awardfor his accomplishments behind thecamera.

Medencevic came to Los Angelesin 1991 as a guest of the University ofCalifornia-Los Angeles, where he taughtand conducted workshops. Since then,he has compiled credits on features,short films, special-venue films, docu-mentaries and commercials, shooting avariety of formats that range from 70mmto high-definition video.

For his work on The Great Water,Medencevic was nominated for a GoldenFrog at the 2004 Camerimage Interna-tional Festival of the Art of Cinematogra-phy and won the Best Cinematographyaward at Spain’s Mostra Valencia festival.He remains committed to still photogra-phy, demonstrating particular interest inarchitectural and fashion photography,and collections of his stills have been thesubject of multiple solo exhibits.

Clubhouse NewsDeakins Wins Spirit AwardRoger Deakins, ASC, BSC won

the cinematography prize for his workon Ethan and Joel Coen’s A Serious Manduring the 25th Film Independent SpiritAwards. Deakins won a Spirit Award in1997 for Fargo, and was also nominatedin 1991 for Homicide.

Deakins’ competition this yearcomprised Andrij Parekh, for Cold Souls;Peter Zeitlinger, for Bad Lieutenant: Portof Call New Orleans; Anne Misawa, forTreeless Mountain; and Adriano Gold-man, for Sin Nombre (AC April ’09).

Fiore Visits Alma Mater, Wins OscarMauro Fiore, ASC won this

year’s Academy Award for cinematogra-phy for his work on Avatar (AC Jan. ’10).He was nominated alongside BrunoDelbonnel, ASC, AFC, for Harry Potterand the Half-Blood Prince; BarryAckroyd, BSC, for The Hurt Locker (ACJuly ’09); Robert Richardson, ASC, forInglourious Basterds (AC Sept. ’09); andChristian Berger, AAC, for The WhiteRibbon (AC Jan. ’10).

In the weeks before the Oscarceremony, Fiore returned to his almamater, Columbia College Chicago,where he visited the school’s new MediaProduction Center and spoke withstudents.

Wexler Reminisces at EgyptianFollowing a recent screening of

Elia Kazan’s black-and-white epic Amer-ica, America at the Egyptian Theatre inHollywood, cinematographer HaskellWexler, ASC participated in a Q&Amoderated by film historian FosterHirsch. Also joining the conversationwere actors Stathis Giallelis and LouAntonio. Thinking back on the frugalproduction and bemoaning an absenceof dailies that resulted in what he consid-ers “over-filled” exteriors, Wexler mused,“I’d like to reshoot a lot of this film.”Later, when Hirsch asked Wexler how heand Kazan had arrived at the film’s style,

Wexler responded, “I was just trying tomake a good picture!”

Rosen Named Prime Focus International CTOASC associate member Daniel

Rosen has been named internationalchief technology officer of global visual-entertainment-services group PrimeFocus. Based in Hollywood and reportingto Prime Focus Global CEO Namit Malho-tra, Rosen will oversee technical opera-tions for all Prime Focus North Americanlocations and, together with his counter-parts in the United Kingdom and India,will further integrate the company’sstudios around the world. Rosen previ-ously led engineering efforts at WarnerBros., DreamWorks SKG, Dalsa DigitalCinema, Cinesite and other organiza-tions. “Daniel’s expertise in imaging,experience integrating global technicalprocesses and leadership abilities aresimply unparalleled in our industry,” saysMalhotra. “The talent and skills he bringsare going to be a key part of our execu-tion, and we’re thrilled to have him onour team.”

Friends of the ASC Now OpenThe subscription-only Friends of

the ASC service is up and running, offer-ing a wealth of behind-the-scenes tips,tricks and tales straight from the lips ofASC members. Exclusive online contentincludes “Tech Tips” video tutorials; “Askthe ASC,” where Friends can pose ques-tions to ASC cinematographers; “ASCLegends,” a collection of filmed inter-views with ASC members; “Anatomy ofa Scene,” offering a close examination ofwell-known scenes from famous films;and “Rising Stars,” in which ASCmembers highlight the work of up-and-coming cinematographers.

For more information, or tobecome a Friend of the ASC, visitwww.theasc.com/friends_of_the_asc. ●



When you were a child, what film made the strongest impressionon you?The film that grabbed my imagination was The Day the Earth Stood Still(1951), directed by Robert Wise. I was 12 years old and was on vacationwith my family in the Midwest. It was haunting: the spaceship, the hugerobot, the words that would save the world. I was entranced. I stayedand watched it a second time.

Which cinematographers, past or present, do you most admire?I’m a great admirer of Sven Nykvist, ASC; his lighting andcamerawork take the art to a fantastic new level. Also,Gianni Di Venanzo; Carlo Di Palma, AIC; and GreggToland, ASC. More recently, I find the work of ASCmembers Nestor Alméndros, Jordan Cronenweth, CalebDeschanel and Vilmos Zsigmond inspiring.

What sparked your interest in photography?My dad gave me his Leica camera at an early age, and itwas my ticket to exploring the world. I began to under-stand about controlling the image while tinkering with alight on a still-life photograph I was setting up. I noticedthat putting the light behind the subject gave the picturea very beautiful, new quality. Backlight made all the difference.

Where did you train and/or study?I studied still photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Iwent on to New York University’s graduate-film program, where I hadgood hands-on experience. After NYU, I was invited to become a fellowat the American Film Institute. There, I learned in greater depth filmhistory and analysis, furthered my experimentation and experiencemaking student films, and was afforded an introduction to Hollywood.

Who were your early teachers or mentors?At NYU, I was teaching assistant to the wonderful Czech cinematogra-pher Beda Batka, who opened my eyes to the power of camera andlighting to tell a story. At the AFI, Frank Daniel and Tony Velani were greatinfluences.

What are some of your key artistic influences?Photography: Edward Weston, André Kertész, Alfred Stieglitz and HenriCartier-Bresson. Painting: Edgar Degas, Wilhelm Hammershoi and Pieterde Hooch. Music: John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis andPhillip Glass. Films: Sasha Hammid and Maya Deren, Fritz Lang, IngmarBergman, Federico Fellini and Francis Coppola.

How did you get your first break in the business?At the AFI, I worked with David Lynch on Eraserhead. I also had theamazing luck of collaborating with John Cassavetes, the resident film-maker at the AFI. When he asked me to shoot The Killing of a ChineseBookie, I enthusiastically signed on. So early in my career, I benefittedfrom working with two extremely talented and original filmmakers.

What has been your most satisfying moment on a project?One that comes to mind is a choice made on Kinsey. Bill Condon andI grappled with how to combine the decades-long biographical aspectof the story with the sexual-history interviews conducted by Kinsey andhis students. We decided that by alternating color with black-and-white stock — a difficult choice from the production and distributionperspectives — we could take the story to another level. The audienceresponse to that choice was extremely satisfying.

Have you made any memorable blunders?One day late in the schedule on Blue Velvet, we wereupstairs in a building with no elevators. The crew wasextremely unhappy about having to carry the gear upfour narrow flights of stairs, so I permitted them tobring up only half the lighting I’d asked for. It wasalready the end of another long day; the actors’moods were frayed, and the rehearsal went on andon. Soon I regretted not having the gear left on thetruck. We were well into overtime, and at that point, Iwas stuck with providing a soft toplight that I didn’tthink David would be happy with. He loved it, and it’sbecome a classic, elegant Lynchian moment: Dean

Stockwell sings ‘In Dreams’ to Dennis Hopper using a work light as hismicrophone.

What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received?It’s the director’s movie. The director is always right.

What recent books, films or artworks have inspired you?An exhibit at MoMA of Monet’s Water Lilies, Paul Outerbridge photosat the Getty Center, and the films The Lives of Others and TheConstant Gardener.

Do you have any favorite genres, or genres you would like totry?I’ve always wanted to turn an opera into a film.

If you weren’t a cinematographer, what might you be doinginstead?I’d like to be a chef. I love the art and science of cooking — it’s creative,but in the end, it has to please the audience!

Which ASC cinematographers recommended you for member-ship?Haskell Wexler, Steven Poster and Vilmos Zsigmond.

How has ASC membership impacted your life and career?It is an honor to be accepted by those I’ve always admired. It’s also anopportunity to support the community of young filmmakers. After all,that’s where we all started. ●

Fred Elmes, ASCClose-up

E R I C S T E E L B E R GONFILM

“Film has been a part of my life since I can

remember. I went to a lot of movies while I was

growing up and remember getting lost in the

imagery and stories. My parents bought me a

plastic camera at a young age. I just loved looking

through the lens and taking pictures. In high

school I helped create a film class. My friends

wanted to be writers, directors and producers so

I became the cinematographer by default, and it

came natural to me. At 15, I shot my first short

film for friends taking a summer production

workshop at the University of Southern California,

and can remember the emotion and magic when

we projected the first roll of 16 mm black-and-

white film. … This is a collaborative endeavor.

You listen, discuss, and work together to execute

your vision. Cinematography is developing a

recipe of compositions and lighting to set the

appropriate tone for each scene while being as

elegant and transparent as possible. Beauty is

born out of that. The decisions I make about

using different lenses, fi lm stocks, and lighting

are all part of the visual grammar of fi lmmaking.

Every DP expresses it differently and there is

no right or wrong. That’s what makes it an art.”

Eric Steelberg is in the dawn of his career.

In addition to many award-winning short fi lms

and commercials, his recent cinema credits

include Juno, (500) Days of Summer, Up In the Air

and the upcoming release of Going The Distance.

[All these fi lms were shot on Kodak motion picture fi lm.]

For an extended interview with Eric Steelberg, visit www.kodak.com/go/onfi lm.

To order Kodak motion picture fi lm, call (800) 621-fi lm. www.motion.kodak.com© Eastman Kodak Company, 2010. Photography: © 2009 Douglas Kirkland

ac mai 2010

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