AC iun 2009

J U N E 2 0 0 9

AM

ER

ICA

N C

INE

MA

TOG

RA

PH

ER

• JU

NE

20

09

• S

TAR

TR

EK

, TE

RM

INA

TOR

SA

LVA

TIO

N, N

IGH

T A

T T

HE

MU

SE

UM

2, C

AM

ER

A-A

SS

ES

SM

EN

T S

ER

IES, P

RE

VIS

• V

OL. 9

0 N

O. 6

$5.95 Canada $6.95

TH

E

IN

TE

RN

AT

IO

NA

L

JO

UR

NA

L

OF

F

IL

M

&

DI

GI

TA

L

PR

OD

UC

TI

ON

T

EC

HN

IQ

UE

S

•

SI

NC

E

19

20

© 2008 Sony Electronics Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Features and specifi cations are subject to change without notice. Sony, CineAlta, HDNA, the HDNA logo and SXRD are trademarks of Sony.

Over $6 billion in box offi ce shot on Sony digital gear. Ka-ching!

click: sony.com/prohdna

When it comes to putting audiences into theater seats, no digital cameras and recorders come close to Sony CineAlta™ equipment. When it comes to seeing movies in their best light, nothing can touch Sony 4K SXRD™ projection. Sony products are legendary, while Sony build quality and support are the envy of the industry. To prep for your next project, visit us online.

www.schneideroptics.com • Phone: 818-766-3715 • 800-228-1254 It Starts with the Glasstm

I’m a big believer in filters. As soon as I discovered Schneider’sDigiCon I knew it was the magic that “The Bill Engvall Show”deserved. It allows me to create a much more filmic look. I no longerhave to reign in the highlights. And I can open up the blacks. I canlight bolder – 2 to 3 stops now becomes 4 or 5.

Our kitchen has always been a challenge—too flat. Not with theDigiCon. We have depth and separation.

Thanks to the DigiCon, when we do exteriors the pavementcan be hotter and the foliage plays nicely. We can really get

a sense of location.My engineer loves what he sees on the monitor. And so does

our colorist. The DigiCon allows us more of a range to play with and to create a stronger, richer image.

Thanks to Schneider’s DigiCon, I can now create the beautiful image that “The Bill Engvall Show” deserves.

Pho

to o

f G

eorg

e M

oora

dian

by

Joel

Lip

ton

excl

usiv

ely

for

Sch

neid

er O

ptic

s

For George's DigiCon chat visit:

Director of Photography George Mooradian is athree time Emmy Award nominee for the hitseries According to Jim. Before moving into themulti-camera world, he was cinematographer on over a dozen movies. He credits operating for

high-profile cinematographers such as VittorioStoraro, ASC (Dick Tracy) as the foundation forthe feature look he brings to his sit-com projects.Mooradian is now in his third season of The BillEngvall Show.

B+W • Century • Schneider

28 A Bold, New EnterpriseDan Mindel, ASC brings Star Trek up to warp speed

40 Back to the FutureShane Hurlbut, ASC creates a dystopian world for Terminator Salvation

54 Making History FunJohn Schwartzman, ASC brings icons to antic life inNight at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

64 Testing Digital CamerasThe ASC and the Producers Guild of America analyzean array of digital cameras

70 Assessing PrevisPrevisualization is the focus of a joint committeeformed by the ASC, the Art Directors Guild and theVisual Effects Society

Departments

Features

V i s i t u s o n l i n e a t w w w. t h e a s c . c o m

On Our Cover: Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto) beams onto the USS Enterprise in Star Trek, shot by DanMindel, ASC. (Frame grab courtesy of Paramount Pictures and Industrial Light & Magic.)

8 Editor’s Note10 Short Takes: A 65mm Microsoft Installation14 Production Slate: Drag Me to Hell

Downloading Nancy78 Post Focus: Cinematographers, Colorists and the DI84 New Products & Services92 International Marketplace94 Classified Ads94 Ad Index96 ASC Membership Roster98 Clubhouse News

100 ASC Close-Up: Alan Caso

J U N E 2 0 0 9 V O L . 9 0 N O . 6

The International Journal of Film & Digital Production Techniques

54

40

J u n e 2 0 0 9 V o l . 9 0 , N o . 6The International Journal of Film & Digital Production Techniques • Since 1920

Visit us online at

www.theasc.com————————————————————————————————————

PUBLISHER Martha Winterhalter————————————————————————————————————

EDITORIALEXECUTIVE EDITOR Stephen Pizzello

SENIOR EDITOR Rachael K. Bosley

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jon D. Witmer

TECHNICAL EDITOR Christopher Probst

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSStephanie Argy, Benjamin B, Douglas Bankston, Robert S. Birchard, John Calhoun,

Bob Davis, Bob Fisher, Simon Gray, Jim Hemphill, David Heuring, Jay Holben, Noah Kadner, Ron Magid, Jean Oppenheimer, John Pavlus, Chris Pizzello, Jon Silberg,

Iain Stasukevich, Kenneth Sweeney, Patricia Thomson, David E. Williams

————————————————————————————————————

ART DEPARTMENTCREATIVE DIRECTOR Marion Gore

————————————————————————————————————

ADVERTISINGADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Angie Gollmann

323-936-3769 FAX 323-936-9188

e-mail: [email protected]

ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Sanja Pearce

323-908-3114 FAX 323-876-4973


ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Scott Burnell

323-936-0672 FAX 323-936-9188


CLASSIFIEDS/ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Diella Nepomuceno

323-908-3124 FAX 323-876-4973


————————————————————————————————————

CIRCULATION, BOOKS & PRODUCTSCIRCULATION DIRECTOR Saul Molina

CIRCULATION MANAGER Alex LopezSHIPPING MANAGER Miguel Madrigal

————————————————————————————————————ASC GENERAL MANAGER Brett Grauman

ASC EVENTS COORDINATOR Patricia Armacost

ASC PRESIDENT’S ASSISTANT Kim Weston

ASC ACCOUNTING MANAGER Mila Basely

ASC ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE Corey Clark————————————————————————————————————American Cinematographer (ISSN 0002-7928), established 1920 and in its 89th 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.

Subscriptions: U.S. $50; Canada/Mexico $70; all other foreign countries $95 a year (remit international Money Order or other exchange payable in U.S. $). Advertising: Rate card upon request from Hollywood

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].

Copyright 2007 ASC Holding Corp. (All rights reserved.) Periodicals postage paid at Los Angeles, CA and at additional mailing offices. Printed in the USA.

POSTMASTER: Send address change to American Cinematographer, P.O. Box 2230, Hollywood, CA 90078.————————————————————————————————————

1. No matter how inhospitable the location,the Cinesaddle is easy to use; to set it upjust put it down.

2. Small – Compact – Portable. Weighs lessthan two pounds.

3. Get shots from angles not possible withany other camera support.

4. Available in five different sizes. Workswith all film, video and still cameras.

5. Absorbs vibration. Use it on a car, bike,boat, helicopter, anything. Mounting kit is included with all professional models.

Cinekinetic USA345 W. 85th StreetNew York, NY 10024Telephone: (212) 202-0675 Email: [email protected]

Tripod Killer

USE IT ONCE AND YOUCAN’T LIVE WITHOUT IT!

Everything you want to know about theCinesaddle including streamed video clips

can be seen on our website:

www.cinekinetic.com

4

��

It was such a relief to get our F35away from the test charts andout into the field. The resolution,latitude and light sensitivity ofthe camera is everything theysaid it would be. But more than that, the F35makes a picture so rich and vibrant, it lets all35mm lenses reveal their unique personalities. It’shard to even think of this as a video camera—itallows DPs so much creativity. And buying fromBand Pro gives us confidence that the back upsupport our company needs is just a phone call away.

• BURBANK 818-841-9655• MUNICH +498994548490• TEL AVIV + 972 3 562 1631• NEW YORK 212-227-8577

WWW.BANDPRO.COM

��Chater Camera Inc.WWW.CHATERCAMERA.COM

��

OFFICERS - 2008/2009

Daryn OkadaPresident

Michael GoiVice President

Richard CrudoVice President

Owen RoizmanVice President

Victor J. KemperTreasurer

Isidore MankofskySecretary

John HoraSergeant At Arms

MEMBERS OF THE BOARDCurtis Clark

Richard CrudoCaleb DeschanelJohn C. Flinn IIIWilliam A. Fraker

Michael GoiJohn Hora

Victor J. KemperStephen Lighthill

Daryn OkadaRobert PrimesOwen RoizmanNancy SchreiberDante Spinotti

Kees Van Oostrum

ALTERNATESMatthew LeonettiSteven Fierberg

James ChressanthisMichael D. O’Shea

Sol 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.

For advance information, register for updates at www.cookeoptics.com

Cooke Optics LimitedT 44-(0)116-264-0700Canada, South America, USA: T +1-973-335-4460

Rebirth of an Icon

PDW700

6

make it a masterpiece

*5-year warranty upon product registration. © 2009 Panasonic Broadcast

AG-HPG20: 10-bit, 4:2:2 master-quality fi eld recorder

Recording 10-bit, independent frame, 4:2:2 master-quality content has required premium-priced equipment with

limited mobility. Panasonic changed all this with the AJ-HPM110 P2 Mobile. Now, the new 2.5-pound AG-HPG20

P2 Portable recorder/player makes master-quality recording even more portable and affordable. With two P2 card

slots, the HPG20 records 1080 and 720 HD as well as SD content using exceptional-quality AVC-Intra, DVCPRO HD,

DVCPRO and DV compression — all with the benefi t of P2’s faster, fi le-based workfl ow. Its HD-SDI input enables

10-bit, 4:2:2 AVC-Intra recording from any HD-SDI equipped pro camera, and its USB 2.0 interface (with host mode)

ensures immediate IT connectivity. A solid-state, random access recorder, the HPG20 features thumbnail screens

for quick review, down/up/cross conversion, metadata editing and a 5-year warranty*. So don’t compromise.

Make a masterpiece of your production with the HPG20. Learn more at www.panasonic.com/p2hd.

Also consider the AJ-HPM110 with six P2 slots for extended recording times, HD-SDI, and other benefi ts.

As a longtime fan of the Star Trek franchise, I reacted tonews of the 2009 “reboot” with cautious optimism. Ispent many happy childhood hours glued to early-

Seventies reruns of the original TV series, and I’ve alsoenjoyed some — but not all — of the subsequent seriesand theatrical features. This time around, I became vaguelyconcerned when director J.J. Abrams conceded in inter-views that he’s always been more of a “Star Wars guy.”However, he also noted this preference made him morewilling to take a few bold risks with the familiar mythology.

A visit to the set last year with associate editor andfellow Trek fiend Jon Witmer indicated Starfleet was in

good hands; an early preview of key sequences further reassured me; and an exhilaratingApril screening on the Paramount lot proved that Abrams, cinematographer Dan Mindel,ASC and the rest of their collaborators had hit the bull’s eye with their phasers. In myhumble but studied opinion, this Trek film is the best yet and offers even the uninitiated afantastic summer-blockbuster ride.

As I write this column, Witmer is also feeling “transported” after seeing thefinished picture. His article about the production (“A Bold, New Enterprise,” page 28), whichoffers in-depth analyses from Abrams, Mindel, production designer Scott Chambliss andvisual-effects supervisor/2nd-unit director Roger Guyett, is essential reading for anyonewho craves behind-the-scenes details. Here’s hoping the latest iteration of the Trek universelives long and prospers.

Sci-fi enthusiasts can also look forward to Terminator Salvation, which teamedcinematographer Shane Hurlbut, ASC with director McG. While a brief flurry of mediaattention was devoted to some of the creative interplay that occurred on-set, Witmer’s thor-ough exploration of the project (“Back to the Future,” page 40) provides a substantialaccount of Hurlbut’s work — and his crucial contributions to the film’s thrilling images.

John Schwartman, ASC is the new hero of my 3-year-old son, Nicholas, becausehe got to man the camera on Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, the sequelto a movie that has delighted Nicholas more times than I can count. The further adventuresof Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) promise more fun for all ages, and Pat Thomson’s piece (“MakingHistory Fun,” page 54) explains how Schwartzman achieved the tale’s whimsical illusions.

This issue also offers several topical articles that address key tools and tech-niques of the cinematographer’s trade. Stephanie Argy and Richard Edlund, ASC penned anoverview of the recent Camera-Assessment Series, which examined seven digital cameras(“Testing Digital Cameras,” page 64), and also prepared a primer on previsualization(“Assessing Previs,” page 70) that focuses on the goals of a joint committee formed by theASC, the Art Directors Guild and the Visual Effects Society. Valuable insights can also befound in a Q&A that Jon Silberg and I conducted with John Bailey, ASC and colorist StefanSonnenfeld about the benefits and perils cinematographers experience in the digital-inter-mediate suite (Post Focus, page 78). Bailey’s widely read Filmmakers’ Forum on this hot-button topic (AC June ’08) caused such a stir that we encouraged him to revisit the subject.

Stephen PizzelloExecutive Editor P

hot

o by

Dou

glas

Kir

klan

d.

Editor’s Note

8

Travelers hustling through the Ameri-can Airlines terminal at New York’sJohn F. Kennedy International

Airport are currently getting a breakfrom the drab interiors typical of suchlocations. An unconventional visualinstallation shows single motionimages — a dog chasing a Frisbeealong the beach, a golfer chipping froma sand trap — across five 40" high-definition plasma screens. Each imageis a quick narrative playing out in anattention-grabbing 9.31:1 aspect ratio.

The images were designed as avisual analog to Microsoft’s “Life With-out Borders” slogan. Graphic represen-tations of cellphones, computer moni-tors and home-theater screens helpexpress the message that magicalmoments of everyday life, oncecaptured, can move easily among plat-forms that use Microsoft products.

There are eight five-bankdisplays in the concourse, and anypassenger arriving or departing on an

American Airlines flight passes bythem. Ad agency Crispin Porter +Bogusky asked director Rob Feng andcinematographer Christophe Lanzen-berg to create four vignettes, eachwith motion that would cross theframes from right to left, taking intoaccount the viewer’s motion throughthe viewing area. The “stories” includea motorcycle daredevil jumping fromone ramp to another, and a child creat-ing a long soap bubble that bursts ashe reaches the final frame. “The basicidea was that whatever was playingacross the screens should really spanall five,” says Feng.

A graduate of the University ofSouthern California’s film program,Feng worked at visual-effects facilityDigital Domain before joining BrandNew School, a directing collective withoffices in New York and Los Angeles.Lanzenberg, a native of France, movedto the United States in the mid-1980sand studied film history and theory in

the graduate program at ColumbiaUniversity before transitioning intocinematography. His credits includemusic videos, commercials (“NBA:There Can Be Only One”) and features(Watching the Detectives and Sensa-tion of Sight). He is now working withSavant Film.

For the Microsoft installation,Feng and Lanzenberg considered a rigcomprising five HD cameras and alsoresearched the possibility of shootingin Imax. But extensive previsualizationand previous experience on a five-HD-camera shoot convinced them that themost effective approach was to use asingle 65mm camera, an Arri 765,which would allow them to shoot atframe rates of up to 75 fps. Scanned at8K resolution and enlarged 12 percent,the 65mm frame provided adequateresolution even after the image wasspread out over the five plasmascreens.

The ability to overcrank was

A 65mm Microsoft Installation at JFK Airportby David Heuring

Short Takes

Fram

e gr

abs

cou

rtes

y of

Cri

spin

Por

ter

+ B

ogu

sky/

Bra

nd

New

Sch

ool.

Pho

to b

y St

ephe

n S

loan

.

Visualinstallations

serving as adsfor Microsoft

are on displayat John F.Kennedy

Airport.Presented

across fivehigh-definition

plasma screens,the images

were shot on65mm by

ChristopheLanzenberg.

10 June 2009

a 20'x30' frame of diffusion.Lanzenberg shot the material on

Kodak Vision2 200T 5217, which herated at EI 320. “It’s a softer, gentlerstock, and I knew the image wouldretain a filmic quality on the HD moni-tor in the airport,” he says. “Theslower lenses and high frame ratesalso affected that decision. Also, withthe images being scanned anddisplayed on HD monitors, we wantedto stay true to the film image and avoidan electronic feel. That seems strangewhen we’re talking about the 65mmnegative, but we were extracting anincredibly small sliver from the middleof the frame. I pull-processed the filmby 1 stop to get even tighter grain.”

FotoKem in Burbank, Calif.,processed the footage and scanned itinto the digital domain. In some cases,the frame was moved up and downimperceptibly to fine-tune composi-tion. Some sharpening and additionalslow motion were also done during thedigital stages of post.

Lanzenberg and Feng treatedthemselves to one printed roll. “Wewere very curious to see the quality ofthe large frame projected, andFotoKem very nicely printed a roll atfull frame for us,” says Lanzenberg. “Itwas incredible and a real pleasure tosee such beautiful, clean images.

“I thought the most interestingaspect of the project was composingfor the incredibly wide frame,” notesLanzenberg. “It’s every cinematogra-pher’s dream to shoot in CinemaScope,but 65mm is really incredible. It wasthe right choice for this project. Theimages are gorgeous.” �

12 June 2009

crucial because the agency asked forimages that moved from right to left atroughly the speed of the concourse’smoving sidewalks. That precluded thehorizontal Imax format; Imax camerasmax out at 48 fps. The single-cameraapproach also allowed the filmmakersto make simple adjustments — on theshoot day and in post — without thecomplications they might haveencountered with a five-camera rig.“Each piece is really a short film thattells a story in one shot, from one edgeof the frame to the other,” saysLanzenberg. “The trick was to antici-pate any technical problems beforethey happened.”

The company that built thephysical display provided the filmmak-ers with a scale model, “but once wegot to the venue, it was a totally differ-ent game,” recalls Feng. “There wasall the ambient lighting, old screensthat were blowing out, and many othersmall yet important factors that added

to the challenge.”He spent a good chunk of the

two-month schedule carefully previsu-alizing every aspect of the project. “Forsomething that looks so simple, therewas a lot of math involved: choosingthe right lenses, the right field of viewand the right distances,” says thedirector. “Clairmont Camera made us aspecial ground glass in the very wideaspect ratio. We used Zeiss/Arriflexlenses that utilize a 64mm Maxi-PLmount; we used a 40mm for the motor-cycle jump and used the 30mm exten-sively. The lenses were very sharp butdidn’t have the distortion correctionthat today’s 35mm lenses have. Wechose wide-angle lenses partly tomake the backgrounds more promi-nent, and we found that the distortionlooked kind of interesting.”

Lanzenberg notes that somechallenges were met with very simplesolutions. “The boy with the bubblewas photographed with the widestlens, the 30mm,” he recalls. “Wechose that focal length to get moreperspective on the forest and toemphasize the light coming throughthe woods in the background; wewould have lost a lot of that on alonger lens. Once we started shooting,we realized that in order to appear tobe running in a straight line, the boyhad to run in a half-circle.”

In most of the situations,Lanzenberg chose the best time of dayto shoot and relied on available light.For the golf shot, a sand trap andgreen were built, allowing him toplace the lens at grass level. The daywas cloudy, so the cinematographerre-created harder sunlight using HMIs,emphasizing the shadow of the balland the subtle movements of thegolfer. To add contrast to the scenewith the soap bubble, he built a wall ofsoft light on the camera-right side,using four 18Ks at a distance through

Above: A setcomprising a

sand trap andgreen allowedLanzenberg to

place the lens atgrass level for

some golf action.Below: The

cinematographerdigs in for

the shot.

14 June 2009

Supernatural Wrathby Iain Stasukevich

Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hellbegins by presenting its heroine, Chris-tine Brown (Alison Lohman), with aseemingly simple moral dilemma. Anambitious loan officer eager for a promo-tion, Brown needs to prove to her superi-ors that she’s capable of making toughdecisions; in this case, it means denyingan elderly woman (Lorna Raver) anextension on her delinquent mortgagepayment. Unfortunately, the old womanvows revenge and places a powerfulcurse on Brown, literally transformingher life into a living hell. “It’s the classictale of a girl in trouble, not a blood-and-guts horror movie,” says cinematogra-pher Peter Deming, ASC. “I’d liken it to

Poltergeist or something by Hitchcock.”The film presents two worlds;

each feels equally real to Brown, buttheir differences suggest the possibilitythat the demon terrorizing Brown is afigment of her imagination. For the “ordi-nary world” of the bank, Deming usedsoft, natural lighting, adding little to nocolor. “We set up Christine’s everydayworld in a palette of gray and desatu-rated colors,” notes production designerSteve Saklad. “Initially, our climate hadto be restrained so the camera and light-ing could transition us to that other placewhen things get amped up.”

Deming worked with gafferMichael LaViolette to make the most ofpractical fixtures. For example, a sceneshowing the old woman’s attack onBrown in a parking garage was shot in a

real garage, and after running tests withKino Flos and HMIs gelled with PlusGreen, Deming and LaViolette decidedto augment the location’s existingmercury-vapor lamps with an additionalhalf-dozen of the fixtures. “When you’regel-packing a tungsten or HMI source,you’re losing light, and you have to keepthe gels from burning,” notes LaViolette.However, the practicals posed their ownchallenges, particularly when it came tocontrolling and even effectively mount-ing them. Also, once the lights wereturned off, it took time for many of themto come back on.

The filmmakers also wanted toembrace existing fixtures for the movie’snumerous night exteriors. “There’ssodium-vapor light everywhere in LosAngeles at night,” says Deming. “We

Fateful EncountersProduction Slate

Dra

g M

e to

Hel

l pho

tos

by M

elis

sa M

osel

ey, S

MP

SP. P

hoto

s an

d fr

ame

grab

s co

urt

esy

of U

niv

ersa

l Pic

ture

s.

An evil hagunleashes herfury on bank-

loan officerChristine

Brown (AlisonLohman) inDrag Me to

Hell, shot byPeter Deming,

ASC.

16 June 2009

rigged open-faced 1K and 2K sodium-vapor lamps onto streetlights and hidthem as best we could. It was a source-oriented approach. I didn’t want Condors[creating] fake moonlight.” Demingworked at a T2.8, using Kodak Vision3500T 5219 for many of these scenes.“Everything was playing so low that thecity backgrounds and light from houseswere visible!” recalls LaViolette.

In one key scene, Brown ishaving dinner with her boyfriend (JustinLong) and his parents at their upscalehome and begins to envision horrifyingthings, including an eyeball appearingin the dessert. “The setup lent itself toa classic suspense-horror style, so wewent for lighting that was realistic butalso evocative of films shot onstage,”says Deming. “The idea was that wecould plug into a classical Hollywood

style and perhaps even make it black-and-white, and it would still work.”

“In order to suggest Christine isgoing insane, we made that scene veryhigh-key, with delicate shadow-playrounding out the room a bit,” explainsLaViolette. Chimeras were fitted over 2KBlondes (for keylight) and 650-wattTweenies (backlight), which, along witha softbox, were rigged to a pipesuspended over the table. As Browndescends into her nightmare, the doorsstart rattling, cueing the introduction of“fantasy world” sources, including Parsand Fresnels employed in a hard, single-source fashion. Dutch angles andfrenetic, handheld camerawork alsocontribute to the tension of the scene.

As the story progresses, Brown’sencounters with the demon becomemore frequent, and the demon becomes

increasingly corporeal. Eventually,Brown finds herself in a waterloggedgrave, attempting to exhume a corpse.Saklad describes the cemetery set, oneof the few built for the production, as a“horrific steel contraption” standing 12'high and outfitted with an elaborateplumbing system to re-circulate waterthrough the grave so Lohman would notbe affected by the mud. “You’re alreadyasking for a suspension of disbelief byhaving someone in a hole digging up abody in the pouring rain,” notes Deming.“When shooting something like that,you should be conscious of the limita-tions of such a location so you don’t giveaway the artifice of the set by shootingit too wide.”

In filming the scene, Demingused 35mm and 27mm prime lenses forshots close to Lohman and strove tomaintain the feel of source-based light-ing. Raimi “likes it dark and realistic, buthe doesn’t want the viewer to strain tosee what’s going on,” notes Deming. Tobring out the texture of the rain, heemployed a movable 20K backlight, andfill was provided by bouncing 1K Mick-eys and 2K Mightys off white cards. Abank of Luminys Lightning Strikes unitswas used to punctuate the action.

After Brown learns from a seer(Dileep Rao) that she can only rid herselfof the curse by transferring it to anotherperson, she finds herself in a Turkish-style mansion, where the seer and apsychic team attempt a séance to effect

Right:Determined to

show her bossesshe can be

tough, Brownresists the

pleading of anelderly woman

(Lorna Raver)who needs extra

time to pay hermortgage. “We

set up Christine’severyday world

in a palette ofgray and

desaturatedcolors,” notes

productiondesigner Steve

Saklad. Below: ATurkish-style

mansion servesas the setting for

a séance.Deming and his

crew bounced6K and 12K Pars

into thin Mylar tofill the space

with ashimmering,

organic light.

optimo rouge

wide

Following the tremendous success of the Optimo Rouge 30-80 lens – the first in the Optimo DP series – Thales Angenieux introduces the Optimo Rouge 16-42 Wide Angle Zoom. It features a wide angle position of 16mm (75.4 degrees), a fast aperture of T2.8, calibrated focus marks, no ramping or breathing all in a lightweight, compact 4.2 lb package. The Optimo Rouge 16-42 Wide Angle Zoom delivers industry proven features with the performance, functionality and ergonomics that DP’s demand at a cost effective price. Only from Thales Angenieux.

973.812.3858 • [email protected] • www.angenieux.com

images

the transfer. “That sequence has thefilm’s most extreme visuals — lighting,camera and design all went to the sameplace,” says Saklad. (The set was builtonstage at 20th Century Fox.)

Before Brown can complete thetransfer, the demon appears and foilsher attempt. Prior to this scene, thedemon has appeared only as a shadowor outline, but for its final appearance,the filmmakers wanted it to be a kineticlight that appeared to be everywhere atonce. Deming had his crew bounce 6Kand 12K HMI Pars into thin Mylar tocreate a shimmering, organic light thatfills the cavernous room; flags wereused to cut the light and limit clues to itsdirectionality. Further enhancing theconfusion of the scene is extensivehandheld camerawork, and 1st ACDavid Eubank physically shook thecamera in several shots as A-cameraoperator Patrick Rousseau followed theaction.

Visual effects that could beachieved on set with light, shadows andsmoke were done in-camera. In manycases, these effects were enhanced byartists working under visual-effectssupervisor Bruce Jones. “The goal wasto make it organic,” says Deming. “We’dtry to start the process on set becausewe wanted to give the actors somethingphysical to use.”

Surveying the experience he has gained since shooting Raimi’s Evil Dead II 22 years ago, Deming says hisideas about cinematography haven’tchanged that much. “Cinematography isall about storytelling, and when you’redoing a genre film, you have to try totake it somewhere it hasn’t been before.It’s easy to fall back on convention, butyou should try to come up with a way toredefine the genre.”

TECHNICAL SPECS2.40:1

Super 35mmPanaflex Platinum, Gold II

Primo lensesKodak Vision3 500T 5219; Vision2

250D 5205, 200T 5217Digital Intermediate

�

18 June 2009

Brown attemptsto exhume the

old woman’scorpse in a

drivingrainstorm. Thesequence was

filmed on acemetery set

with anelaborateplumbing

system. “Whenshooting

something likethat, you shouldbe conscious of

the limitationsof such a

location so youdon’t give away

the artifice ofthe set by

shooting it toowide,” advises

Deming (bottomphoto).

New York 888.223.1599 Los Angeles 888.700.4416 Chicago 630.554.4619

www.abelcine.com

your trusted resource for every format

For twenty years, we’ve beenbringing you the world’s mostrelevant production equipment,evolving our services as thetechnology has dictated.

Our commitment to emergingformats has always been drivenby our team – a diverse groupof professionals with first-handindustry experience and realworld insight.

We put our collective knowledgeinto practice each and every day.

Our broad range of disciplinesinclude film and digitalacquisition, optics, audio,workflows and post, making usa unique and comprehensiveresource that you candepend on.

ex

pe

rie

nce

kn

ow

led

ge We value the relationships

we’ve forged over the yearswith our customers and share yourpassion for the creative process.

We’re committed to a level ofpersonal attention that you won’tfind anywhere else and takea personal stake in the workof our clients.

pe

rso

na

lto

uch

PHANTOM HIGH-SPEEDRED SPECIALISTSARRI ACCESSORIES

AATON PENELOPEARRI ZEISS LENSES

CHROSZIEL TEST INSTRUMENTS

P2 VARICAMSSONY XDCAMPANTHER | HD SCOPE

SONY EXPANASONIC P2

CAMTRAM

Right: In ascene from

DownloadingNancy, a pet

store serves asthe backdrop

for a briefromanticinterlude

between Nancy(Maria Bello)

and Louis(Jason Patric),whom she has

hired to kill her.Below: The

camera adoptsa surreptitious

position asNancy waits to

meet Louis atthe bus station.

A Dark Romanceby Rachael K. Bosley

A stark, wintry palette sets thetone for the independent film Download-ing Nancy, which follows a desperatelyunhappy woman (Maria Bello) who hiresa man she meets on the Internet (JasonPatric) to kill her, but soon discovers thathe could well be her soul mate. Roundingout the four-character drama are Nancy’sremote husband (Rufus Sewell) and hertherapist (Amy Brenneman).

The feature-directing debut ofSweden’s Johan Renck, Nancy was shotby cinematographers and frequentcollaborators Rain Li and ChristopherDoyle, HKSC. The pair shared last year’sBoston Society of Film Critics cine-matography prize for Paranoid Park (ACApril ’08), and among their other recentcollaborations are the Polish filmWarsaw Dark, which Doyle directed andLi shot, and Jim Jarmusch’s The Limitsof Control, for which Doyle was thedirector of photography and Li was the

second-unit cinematographer. OnNancy, both of them shouldered acamera throughout the shoot, whichtook place on location in Regina,Saskatchewan. To get their perspectiveson the project, AC caught up with Doylein person on one of his recent visits toLos Angeles, and with Li via e-mail asshe worked in London and Beijing.

American Cinematographer :What made Nancy appealing toyou, and why did you think it was agood project for both of you to do?

Rain Li: I liked the script a lot,and it struck me as a female film, some-thing that would affect female audi-ences more than male ones. Cinematog-raphy is about building mood andatmosphere through composition,camera moves and lighting, and thisstory offered a lot of opportunities to dothat. Chris suggested we collaborate onit because Johan wanted to allow theactors a lot of physical freedom andhave the camera capture them as organ-ically as possible, and they thought twocameras would be the best way. Johanwas certainly very brave to let both of usshoot his first film, and he was also veryencouraging.

Christopher Doyle, HKSC:Johan and I had worked together oncommercials many times, and we knew

20 June 2009

Dow

nloa

ding

Nan

cy p

hoto

s by

Alla

n F

eild

el, c

ourt

esy

of S

tran

d R

elea

sin

g.

www.clairmont.com

Some rental houses are film and others are digital. We

strive to be the best of both.

Our roots are in film. Over the past 30 years we have

steadily expanded our inventory to include a vast variety

of 35mm and 16mm film cameras. These are coupled

with the industry’s widest selection of specialty and

standard lenses to give cinematographers the ability to

maximize their creativity. You want it; we probably have it.

We started our digital division in 2001, where we

modified our Sony F900 cameras to be film-friendly;

capable of quick lens changes, consistent focus in

varying temperatures, etc. Then we worked closely with

manufacturers to ensure that ergonomics of their

products would be optimized for camera crews with a

film background. Today, our digital inventory has

expanded to include Arri D-21, Sony F23 and F35,

Iconix, Panasonic, and Red cameras. All supported with

the latest in monitoring and DIT control equipment.

Our goal is to provide outstanding service 24/7. Feel free

to call or drop by anytime and let us show you how we

can take care of you and your project.

Mike and Andree

Film & Digital:

The Best of

Both Worlds

Hollywood818-761-4440

Vancouver604-984-4563

Toronto416-467-1700

Albuquerque505-227-2525

Montreal514-525-6556

Michael Condon, SOCVP Digital Division

Andree MartinVP Technical Services

22 June 2009

a two-camera setup on Nancy would bethe ideal for the actors and for the timeand money we had. I knew Rain was theideal person for the other camera. Iknow her composition will be extremelyclose to what I would have done myself,but perhaps with something more — itmight be 97 percent, or it might be 150percent. There are no concerns aboutsomeone else trying to prove anotherpoint, and that’s extremely reassuring.She is my greatest collaborator.

Did Johan’s background as amusician inform his approach to thematerial?

Doyle: I think what makes thiskind of film different from a mainstream-intended film is that you stack up theideas or images so they become a singleexperience. Most films are sequential;they go from A to B as opposed to stop-ping on the way. But the thing is, in life,you do stop on the way. In music, youdwell on an idea; you revert back to theoriginal phrase and see what else itcould have meant. In conversation, youdo that, too. I think filmmakers likeJohan and Jim Jarmusch and WongKar-wai, who come from a musical back-ground, have those facilities with therhythm of life, and to give that a visualform, whether it’s through color or move-ment or composition, is extremelycoherent. It gives the audience amoment to reflect or engage. If you try to

reduce a film to one line, in one waythat’s ridiculous, but in another wayperhaps that’s really valid. If we canreduce our image-making to one coher-ent experience, I think we’ve made agood film.

Given that this was Johan’sfirst feature, did he approach itdifferently than he did your othercollaborations?

Doyle: He didn’t drink! [Laughs.]No, the great pleasure of working withJohan is that there is one idea, onevision, and there’s no deviation fromthat. He’s also an interesting person togo on location scouts with because hewon’t take more than five minutes inone spot. You can scout for a whole filmin five hours! Maybe it comes from theclimate — all Swedes are in a hurrybecause they know winter is comingsoon! Johan is great. He’s one of thosepeople who would jump with or withouta parachute. This story is bleak, and hetalked about wanting it to look almostmonochromatic.

How did you achieve that?Li: In coordination with the

costume designer [Denise Östholm] andproduction designer [Lauri Faggioni], wedecided that pull-processing Fuji 400Eterna would be the best way to achievethe muted look Johan wanted andbridge the feelings between passionateand mundane, dark and romantic. We

also used a lot of toplight, which Johanloves. The main location, the housewhere Nancy and her husband live, hada very low ceiling, and because most ofthe shots involved two or three parts ofa room in one take, we couldn’t hidelights anywhere except the windows,and they were too small to light thescene. The only thing we could do wasadd more flat-panel fluorescent lights— which are very common in Regina —to the ceiling. The fixtures are just cheapfluorescent tubes with a cream-coloredplastic cover that diffuses the light, andthe sources in the house were thosemixed with daylight. Chris and Idiscussed whether to swap out thebulbs for Kino Flo tubes so they wouldn’tlook quite as green, but by that time,we’d seen most of the other locationsand knew we’d have to deal with thoselights in all of them, and we knew we wouldn’t have time to change every tube. Therefore, we decided wewouldn’t change any of them; it’s a bigdecision to light an entire film that way!Pull-processed Fuji 400 does an amazingjob of blending colors in mixed lightingso no individual color pops out, which isanother reason we chose it for thismovie.

Pull-processing Fuji appearsto be one of your favorite tech-niques, Chris.

Doyle: It has made the labs inThailand very afraid of me — they seeme coming and say, ‘Oh, no, he’s goingto f**k up the machines again!’ But youhave to find a lab that believes its repu-tation depends on films like ours as wellas the James Bond movies. Cinematog-raphers should look for that complicity,and smaller labs should always beresearched and engaged. [Ed. Note:Doyle did the final color-timing of Nancyat FotoKem in Burbank, Calif.]

You do find something thatapproximates your own eye, whether it’slighting style, color or film stock. I thinkKodak and Fuji try too hard sometimes. Idon’t think this particular medium needsseven different kinds of Ajax, so tospeak. Most cinematographers arereasonably focused and organized; theyfeel complicity with a certain look, and

On location at thebus station,

Christopher Doyle,HKSC (right) and

co-cinematographerRain Li discuss their

two-camerastrategy as 1st AD

John O’Rourke(foreground) and

director JohanRenck (with script

on his lap) listen.

24 June 2009

they return to that. I have an idea aboutwhat will work, but if there’s time andmoney for testing, I test other things. Ifthere isn’t, you fall back on what you’reused to.

Another thing I did on Nancy thatI’ve done on every film I’ve shot in thelast five years is light some night exteri-ors with those lamps that constructioncrews use out on the road at night.They’re extremely cheap — you can buyone for what it costs to rent an 18K for aweek. It’s a small generator that has four

lamps on an arm that can be extended,and the lights can be separated out orused together. They appear in shot atthe train depot in Paranoid Park, and inNancy, we used them outside the busstation and for the burial scene. They’vebecome my favorite tools. Sometimesyou have to make sure the ballast isstable so it won’t flicker, and sometimesit doesn’t matter if it flickers.

How did you work out whichof you would shoot what on Nancy?

Li: The goal was to give theactors freedom to walk from one spaceto another without having to worryabout marks or lighting. Once Johan hadworked out the blocking with the actors,Chris and I were called to the set withthe assistant director [John O’Rourke] towatch the scene. Then Chris and Idiscussed which angles we’d use andwhether to add a few small lights to acertain part of the room. In some scenesin Nancy’s house, Chris would be in thekitchen, shooting the beginning of thescene, and I would be in the living room,waiting to pick up the actors as theywalked from the kitchen to the livingroom; that way, the performances couldfloat uninterrupted. In some cases, wewould focus on shooting differentactors, and we’d create a rough path foreach other so we didn’t end up in eachother’s shot when the actors moved.

Many shots have a furtivequality — the camera is peering atthe characters through doorways orfrom behind furniture or otherobjects. What’s the reason for that?

Doyle: Johan talked a lot aboutcreating a sense of voyeurism. We’reexperiencing something gratuitouslythat most of us wouldn’t want to gothrough or feel the need to engage. Wewere trying to imply discretion and yetintrigue. We chose the location wechose for Nancy’s house preciselybecause it allowed us to shoot intocertain rooms from a distance and makeuse of various framing devices.

Did you know at the outsetthat you’d be working almostentirely handheld?

Doyle: Yes. Johan wanted thecamera to float with the characters, Ithink to imply a kind of ambivalencetoward them and their understanding.He actually complained that my hand-holding was too steady! He kept saying,‘Chris, you’ve got to float more!’ I’vespent 10 years perfecting a way inwhich you can’t even notice the camerais handheld, so that was kind of a chal-lenge.

The scenes between Nancyand her therapist appear to be adeparture from that strategy — theshots are quite stable.

Doyle: Yeah, those areconfrontations, whereas everything elsein the film is ambivalent. The camerafloats except when you know she’s nuts.

When Nancy and Louis[Patric] are talking at the Chineserestaurant, the camera is about eyelevel with her, whereas you assumea slightly higher angle on him. Then,at one point, when he’s in themiddle of a sentence, the cameradrops down to his eye level. Do yourecall why you did that?

Doyle: Rain and I were probablyjust trying to keep out of each other’sway! Generally, we were trying to getmore objectivity with him and moresubjectivity with her. You do drift in andtry to be consistent, but we’re not allStoraro! [Laughs.]

You were contending with afairly extreme climate in Saskat-chewan. How did that affect yourwork?

Doyle: It did dictate certainaspects of the look. The whole city was

Above: In framingNancy’s distanthusband (Rufus

Sewell), “wewanted to feel

almostextraneous to his

experience,”says Doyle. “Bycontrast, we’re

often almostinside Nancy.”

Below: Anothervoyeuristic angle

is assumed forNancy’s session

with hertherapist (Amy

Brenneman).

monochromatic — all white! The storywas originally set in another location,but because it’s mostly interiors, it waseasy to set somewhere else, in this caseBaltimore. Although tax breaks and softmoney help get a film made, they can bean iron fist in a velvet glove sometimes,and I think they’re penny-wise, pound-foolish when they cause a film likeNancy to be moved into another envi-ronment. In general, on a smaller film,the intent and integrity of a location isvery basic to what we do — werespond to what’s there. We riff off thestreet noise in Chinatown in New York,the sound of the waves in Venice Beachor the austerity of Bruges. And in thiscase, the climate had very real limita-tions; it was -35°C [-24°F] plus windchill, bloody cold, and it took an hour tochange a lens [in order to avoid conden-sation because of the temperatureshift]. And everyone works at a slowerspeed in those temperatures. We werealso contending with Canadian unionlaws that dictated a certain amount of[local crew] participation. When youhave a certain vision, sometimes you’rebetter off just going in with a reallysmall crew and doing it.

Do you and Rain currentlyhave another collaboration in theworks?

Doyle: The extent of the collab-oration always depends on the project.There has been some reticence in thefilmmaking community because Rain

is coming onto big projects, which bring with them all the big prejudices, at a different level of experience, and sometimes I have to fight for it. But everything boils down to word ofmouth, and the only way to have ourcollaboration continue to grow is byactually doing things. The most gratifying thing is seeing kids’ reactionswhen we do workshops together at film schools and film festivals, which wedo a lot. They see the two of us arguingwith each other as equals and realize a young woman is making films of this quality, and they really respond.That’s wonderful.

TECHNICAL SPECS1.85:135mm

Moviecam Compact MK2Cooke S4 and Angenieux Optimo

(24-290mm) lensesFuji Eterna 400 8583

�

26

Erratum

In last month’s ASC Awardsphoto spread (“Cinematography’sSummit”), Tracy Fleischman’s namewas accidentally omitted from acaption on page 71. She was the guestof nominee Kramer Morgenthau, ASC.

Louis helps Nancy choose a dress for her unusual special occasion.

28 June 2009

In 1966, when audiences wereintroduced to Capt. James T.Kirk, he was already exploringstrange new worlds, seeking outnew life and new civilizations,

and boldly going (with his equallyenterprising crew) where no one had

gone before. However, Kirk’s journeyto the bridge of the USS Enterpriseand his first contact with his corecrew is a story that the Star Trek fran-chise’s six series and 10 feature filmsnever told. Director J.J. Abrams hasfilled in the gaps with a new Star Trek

feature that reboots the franchise,and he concedes that finding a lookfor the movie, which was shot byDan Mindel, ASC, was a challenge.“This isn’t a reinvention to a degreethat ignores the history of the fran-chise,” says Abrams. “We needed to

With Star Trek, cinematographer Dan Mindel, ASC and director J.J.Abrams update Gene Roddenberry’s universe for a new generation of fans.

by Jon D. Witmer

Unit photography by Zade Rosenthal, SMPSP

ABold,NewEnterprise

American Cinematographer 29

embrace what had come before, butthe spirit of what Gene Roddenberrycreated needed to be treated in amodern context, with an awarenessof today’s audiences.”

Mindel, who previouslyteamed with Abrams on Mission:Impossible III (AC May ’06), recalls,“J.J. told us early on to use the origi-nal TV show as our key reference. Hewanted us to pay attention to thatyoung, go-get-’em, positive atti-tude.” Other Mission: Impossiblecollaborators who signed onto StarTrek included production designerScott Chambliss and visual-effectssupervisor/2nd-unit director RogerGuyett.

Mindel was eager to employthe anamorphic format for Trek’s23rd-century vistas. “I’m not inter-ested in using Super 35mm,” says thecinematographer. “J.J. wanted me toconvince him to shoot anamorphic,so he and I looked at every test wecould do, and when he saw the50mm Primo projected, with thefalloff in focus, he was convinced.”Guyett notes that although thedistortion inherent in anamorphiclenses complicated the visual-effectswork, “the result is worth it.”

The Trek crew’s first assign-ment took them aboard the USSKelvin to shoot the openingsequence, in which the Kelvin ispitted against the time-travelingRomulan warlord Nero (Eric Bana)and his starship, the Narada.Chambliss says his design for theKelvin, which predates the Enterpriseby some 25 years in story time, “hadthe feeling of combining FlashGordon with a Corvette commercialfrom 1965, with a cigar loungethrown in for the bridge. Because it’sthe first spaceship we’re on in themovie, J.J. and I wanted to do a bit ofa fake-out that would enable us tomake the Enterprise feel really differ-ent.” The Kelvin’s interior lighting isdominated by harsh toplight thatwas created with open, undiffusedsources, and Mindel notes that “the

Kelvin was where we learned every-thing we needed to know aboutlighting the Enterprise, but we had alot more freedom on the Kelvinbecause there were places to hidelights.”

The hard-light strategy wascarried into a power plant in LongBeach, Calif., that served as theKelvin’s lower decks and engineeringsection. Chambliss describes thelocation as “stressed, textural andoily, which was the feeling we wantedthe Kelvin to have.”

Mindel was intrigued byAbrams’ desire to shoot Star Trek onlocation as much as possible. Thedirector explains, “This movie is aspace adventure and could poten-tially feel artificial because of thatpremise, and I was very nervousabout it not having guts and reality. Idecided it would be critical to shootin real, practical locations or buildsets that would, for the most part,give us the freedom to shoot as if wewere on a real location, perhaps withsome set extensions.”

Opposite page:Spock (ZacharyQuinto, left) andJames T. Kirk(Chris Pine) facethe first of theiradventurestogether in StarTrek. This page,top: Thevillainous Nero(Eric Bana) setshis sights on theyoung heroes.Middle: Nero’sship, the Narada,squares offagainst the USSKelvin in thefilm’s openingsequence.Below: Some 25years after theattack on theKelvin, the newlyconstructed USSEnterprise headsinto the finalfrontier.

Pho

tos

cou

rtes

y of

Par

amou

nt

Pic

ture

s. F

ram

e gr

abs

cou

rtes

y of

Par

amou

nt

and

ILM

.

�

Top and middle:CinematographerDan Mindel, ASCemployed a hard-

light strategyinside the Kelvin.Below: The look

was carriedthrough scenes

set in thestarship’s lower

decks, shot onlocation in a

power plant inLong Beach,

Calif.

30 June 2009

The introduction of the adultJames Kirk (Chris Pine) takes placein an Iowa bar populated by Starfleetcadets. To create the futuristic water-ing hole, an array of 23rd-centuryadornments was added to the bar atthe American Legion HollywoodPost 43. “We used some Blondes fortoplight and a High End SystemsDL.2 behind the door to project amoving image and add some life,”says gaffer Chris Prampin. “We alsoused Element Labs’ Stealth Displaysand Versa Tubes, which are big,connectable LED pieces that allowyou to put any color into them or runan image across them. We built [a rigwith those units] big enough toencompass an entire wall, and, withthe help of PRG, where we rentedthem, we had a full library of imagesand colors.”

During his momentous nightat the bar, Kirk meets Nyota Uhura(Zoe Saldana), dukes it out with fourof Starfleet’s finest, and endures ablunt scolding by Capt. ChristopherPike (Bruce Greenwood). Suitablychastened, Kirk musters the dignityto enlist in Starfleet and attend theAcademy, where he befriendsLeonard “Bones” McCoy (KarlUrban) and sows the seeds of hisrivalry — and eventual friendship —with the half human/half VulcanSpock (Zachary Quinto).

Later, when Spock’s homeplanet of Vulcan is threatened, Kirkand his graduating class receive theirfirst field assignment, reporting forduty via shuttlecraft that take offfrom a large hangar. For the shuttlelaunchings, the filmmakers shotinside the Marine Corps Air Stationin Tustin, Calif. A mixture of 16'HMI balloons and stand-mountedGaffairs (rented from SkylightBalloon Lighting) provided ambi-ence inside the 1,000'-long-by-300'-wide hangar, while 120' Condorsrigged with Xenons and 18Ks on ArriMaxMovers swept the floor foradded effect.

Shooting inside the shuttle-

A Bold, New Enterprise

craft, Mindel would squeeze in aKino Flo or LED panel for fill, andhis crew would often position aXenon angled in through thewindows and bounced off a piece ofRosco Soft Silver on the floor. “It wasreally hard to get dollies in there, sowe often shot handheld,” saysMindel. “That allowed the camera tobe part of what’s going on.” (Onlarger sets, the filmmakers moreoften moved the cameras via aSteadicam or Technocrane.)

Boarding one of the shuttle-craft, Kirk and McCoy depart for theEnterprise and catch their firstglimpse of the ship in space. “Thereare certain things you can’t let go of ifyou’re going to do Star Trek, and oneof them is the general look and shapeof the Enterprise,” says Abrams. “Youwant people to glance at it and go,‘Yeah, it’s the Enterprise.’ And thosewho already know it can study it andrealize how different it is.”

In updating Starfleet’s flagship,Chambliss abandoned the Kelvin’spulp influences in favor of “designerswho were interested in futurism andfuture technology, such as EeroSaarinen. I got some line drawings ofthe original exterior of the Enterprise,which was all right angles and flatdiscs, and started applying the curva-ture of Saarinen’s architecture to the

main structural elements. It was anelegant approach that allowed theship to be itself and get kind of sexyin the process.” To carry that sexappeal through the starship’s interior,Mindel tried to lend the sets “the feel-ing of a brand-new car, when it’s allsparkly. I sometimes used TiffenBlack Pro-Mists to give them a bitmore sparkle, and I was very keen tohave reflections on the set from glass,shiny objects and surfaces. It just feelsso full of life when you get that.

“We made a huge effort to staywithin the confines of the set andmaintain the realism,” he continues.“We don’t like to fly out walls, and webuilt a vast amount of practical lightinto the set.” In the corridors,Mindel’s crew hung 2K Blondes and

750-watt Lekos above holes that theart department cut into the ceiling.“We also had MoleBeam Projectorsin various parts of the hallway,” addsPrampin. “Al DeMayo, our lighting-fixtures foreman, made sure what wewanted was possible.”

Much of the lighting built intothe interior was designed to causelens flares, which serve as a visualmotif throughout the picture. “TheEnterprise has lights set in frame thatbasically point down the lens of thecamera in every direction,” saysMindel. “Wherever you look, you geta flare. It goes against everything onelearns as a camera technician, whichis to shield the lens from any extra-neous light and stop it from flaring.We’ll either get slaughtered by our


In contrast to theKelvin’s hardangles,productiondesigner ScottChamblissincorporatedsmooth curvesinto theEnterprise.Mindel workedwith Chamblissto build as muchlighting into thebridge (far left)and corridors(near left) aspossible, andsections of abrewery in VanNuys, Calif.,stood in for theengineeringsections(below).

32 June 2009

Right: TheEnterprise soars

into battleagainst the

Narada.

Visual Effects for the 23rd Century

In AC’s October 1967 coverage ofthe original Star Trek series, ASCmembers Howard A. Anderson,

Linwood G. Dunn and JosephWestheimer detailed their Emmy-winning special-effects work on theshow, and for the purposes of thediscussion, Westheimer broke thiswork into five basic categories. Tolend the new Star Trek feature somehistorical perspective, we asked thefilm’s visual-effects supervisor, RogerGuyett, to use the same parametersto summarize the work done byartists at Industrial Light & Magic,Digital Domain, Svengali VisualEffects, Lola Visual Effects, Evil EyePictures and Kerner Optical.

Joseph Westheimer, ASC:First are shots of the USS Enterpriseflying in space or orbiting a planet.

Roger Guyett: Trying to thinkof new ways to show off theEnterprise was a challenge of its own.The level of complexity ILM artistsare able to create in their digitalsurfaces is just phenomenal. We wereable to talk to people who hadworked on the original Star Trekmovies about how they dealt withsurfaces, and we [digitally] createdstuff like interference paint, whichthe original effects teams achievedpractically on the Enterprise.

Westheimer: The second typeof effect is materialization of thepeople as they are transported to

the ship from a planet or [viceversa] …. The materialization ortransporter effect is accomplishedby superimposing a glitter over theform of the people or object beingtransported.

Guyett: We wanted to updatethe transporter but still make itfamiliar. J.J. [Abrams] had a lot ofreally good ideas, and the idea yousee in the movie is his; he thought itshould look like light beams travel-ing in a very dimensional way so youcan understand the space where thisstuff is happening. The effect wasalways slightly different dependingon the environment the characterswere in and the lighting conditions,and it was always difficult to achieve.I think the transporter was our Battleof Waterloo — it was tougher thanwe first thought it would be!

Westheimer: The phasereffect [has] a variety of settings andadjustments. Most often used is thestun effect, which can knock a mandown and render him unconscious.Full effect, which causes an object todematerialize and disappear, isanother.

Guyett: Of course you want toembrace the old stun vs. kill. But youcan believe our phasers are actuallyfiring; they’re more high-energy andgnarly than the original phasers, andthey just feel more dangerous. If youget hit by one of these things, you’re

going to get a horrible wound. It feelslike getting hit by a projectile.

Westheimer: The fourth typeof effect is the television reductionsand superimposures. Aboard theEnterprise are many view screens,[and] the most important is theBridge Viewing Screen.

Guyett: It’s the greatest bridgewindow of any battleship, and at thesame time, it’s got great heads-updisplay capability and an advanceduser-interface system, so you canplay back information. We usedgreenscreen because a lot of the char-acters wear blue, but the issue wasthat we wanted to reflect the interiorof the ship. We tried using a realpiece of glass so all the reflectionswould be true, but building a piece ofglass like that was an absolute night-mare. In the end, we shot plates ofthe interior view that we could reflectback onto the window when weadded it digitally, and we had a CGmock-up of the interior that wouldgive us a correct reflection withcorrect perspective.

Westheimer: Finally are thescenes or sequences in which anoptical effect is created literallyfrom scratch. These effects can beclassified as ‘esoteric adventures’ ….A recent request, to quote the script,was for a ‘columnar-like area ofblurry, misty interference of somesort. It is rather like a gentle whirl-

peers or be really admired for it!”Abrams adds, “The flares oftenweren’t made by a light source in theframe, and to me, that implies there’ssomething extraordinary happeningjust off camera. It makes me feel likeI’m not watching the averagemoment. And I love the idea of amotif that is so inherently analog andimperfect in its unpredictability; itserves as counterpoint to the sterile,controlled look that so many visual-effects films seem to have.”

If the built-in lighting wasn’tproviding the desired flare, the crewaimed Xenon flashlights at the lensesas the cameras rolled. “Our A- and B-camera operators, Colin Andersonand Phil Carr-Forster, would tell us ifwe needed to go a little farther in orout of the frame, or up or down, toget the ultimate flare,” recallsPrampin. “It was funny to watch —Dan and I were running around,ducking, jumping and hiding behindthings just so we wouldn’t be seen by

the cameras. The flashlights were sobright that there are probably severalinstances where Dan’s actually in themovie, but you can’t really tell!”

On the Enterprise’s oval-shaped bridge, the primary flareinducers comprised a ring of MR 16sand MR 11s fitted into the wall; eachwas mounted so it could be slightlypanned and tilted for maximumeffect. “The bridge had many lightingopportunities built into it: screens,buttons, blinking lights and all thebells and whistles,” notes Chambliss.“It feels contemporary and utterlyfleshed out.” The consoles mannedby Spock, Hikaru Sulu (John Cho)and Pavel Chekov (Anton Yelchin)featured practical fixtures from theart department and built-in LiteGearXFlo dimmable fluorescent fixtures,which were also installed beneathmilk-glass floor panels under the set’scenterpiece, the captain’s chair. TheXFlos, run off a dimmer-boardsystem programmed by Joshua


Above: Spockaddresses anassembly ofcadets atStarfleetAcademy.Below:California StateUniversity-Northridgestood in forsome of theAcademy’sexteriors; visualeffectstransformed thesetting into23rd-centurySan Francisco.

wind, but one of force rather thanair current. Faint pastel lights andshades appear and disappear. Itmoves from side to side gently andthen disappears.’ From thisdescription, our optical companymust create on film the effect thatthe writer has conceived.

Guyett: We hit a home runthe first time out with our warpeffect. Russell Earl, my co-supervi-sor, and I decided we wanted it tofeel like you’re traveling faster thanlight, but what does that mean? Wehad some great artists working onthis show, and the effect cametogether very quickly. It has enoughflavor of the old-style warp, but youget more of a first-person experi-ence — it’s as though you’re insideit.

One thing we did with ourspace battles that’s slightly differentwas a lot of completely virtual pyro.Traditionally, if you blow some-thing up, you have to shoot anelement, but we wanted a muchmore automated process. We stud-ied the way things would explode inspace and invented a whole systembased on that. There’s no oxygen,for example, so there has to be asource things burn back to. There’salso no drag or resistance, so ifsomething has a velocity, it doesn’tslow down or arc back to theground.

We also created some full-onCG creatures. We had one that’s sortof halfway between a polar bear anda gorilla — we called him thePolarilla. Neville Page designedpretty much all of the creatures andspecies within the movie. Theyprobably did less of that on theoriginal show because it was harderto do, whereas it’s relatively straight-forward in CG. But having said that,it’s still not easy!

— Jon D. Witmer

34 June 2009

Thatcher, “allowed us to put a littlelife into [the set],” says Prampin. “Wecould set up a little pulse in them, orwe could make it look like somethingwas flickering and the power wasgoing out.”

Red-alert situations have beena Star Trek staple from the verybeginning. To make the most ofthose sequences, Mindel had theelectricians fit a red-gelled XFloalongside all of the clean tubes builtinto the bridge, enabling thedimmer-board operator to instanta-neously establish the red-alert look.To further punctuate the change inship’s status, “we incorporated a lotof LED technology, such as LiteGearLiteRibbon RGB strips, whichallowed us to change the color,” saysPrampin. The strips were installed asarchitectural accents around steps

and other cutaways on the bridge;when not in red alert, the stripsglowed blue to match Neoflex tubingrunning through narrow channelsChambliss designed into the set’swalls and ceiling. (Neoflex is a flexi-ble, plastic-encased LED strip thatcreates a glow similar to a neonfixture.)

When the Enterprise arrives atVulcan, its crew finds the planetendangered by Nero’s Narada,which, Chambliss says, “makes thescale of the Enterprise look ratherinsignificant.” To economicallysuggest the immense scale of theNarada’s interior, Chambliss drewon his experience working in theater.“I thought we should treat thesoundstage like a theater stage andcreate a world where we could mixand match elements to create differ-

ent and new environments over andover again. It’s not a traditional wayof designing movies, but it’s a verytraditional way of designing theatri-cal scenery.”

Last year, AC visited theParamount soundstage housing theNarada’s interior “elements.” Theresult of Chambliss’ approach was aseemingly random arrangement ofalmost countless pieces, some oncasters, some incorporating displayinterfaces and Romulan insignia,some hanging from wires run to theceiling, and many featuring corru-gated black tubing that lent the entirestage an eerie quality that wasenhanced by Mindel’s use of smokeand yellow light. “The larger towerelements could be shot from anyside,” notes Chambliss. “We could putthem together to make some massive

Above: Capt.Robau (FaranTahir, center)

faces off againstthe Narada’s

Romulan crew.Below left: Neroponders his next

move. Belowright: Chambliss

designed theinterior of the

ship as anassortment of

pieces that couldbe rearranged

numerous waysto suggest the

vessel’simmense scale.


structure, or we could pull themapart, flip them sideways and fly themup in the air. Much to my delight, assoon as I showed J.J. a model of thisapproach, he instantly got it andstarted going along for the ride. Hetold me it felt like having a stage fullof toys.”

“Given that the set was going tochange on the fly, we had to be able tochange the lighting on the fly,” saysMindel. “We built in the ability tocontrol our lights from a dimmerboard and rearrange what we weredoing remotely.” Accordingly, thecinematographer employed anumber of moving fixtures —including Vari-Lite VL3500s and ClayPaky Alpha Spot 1200s — above theset, with Nine-light Maxi-Brutes,MoleBeam Projectors, 5Ks and 10Kscutting additional shafts through the

smoked interior. On the floor, KinoFlos gelled with Lee 101 Yellow wereplaced to light particular set pieces,and the outer edge of the set waslined with a painted backdrop thatwas alternately frontlit with Far Cycsor backlit with Sky Pans. “It was apretty abstract backing, so we tried tobe abstract with our lighting and justpick spots that worked with the set’sconfiguration at the time,” saysPrampin.

During AC’s visit, a phaserbattle was staged inside the Romulanship. Between takes, prop masterRussell Bobbitt offered a close look atStarfleet’s standard-issue sidearm.Staying true to the phaser wielded bythe series’ original cast members, theupdated firearm still boasts both“stun” and “kill” settings; now,however, the two settings are visually

differentiated with the press of athumb switch that physically flips thebarrel 180 degrees. “With the guns,gadgets and all of the control panels,our intention was always to provide aliteral functionality,” says Chambliss,who praises Bobbitt and set decora-tor Karen Manthey for their “enor-mous and carefully consideredcontributions” to that work.

Before traveling back in timeto wreak havoc, the Narada was amining vessel, and Nero now uses itsretractable drilling platform as adevastating weapon. In an attempt torender the weapon inoperative, Kirk,Sulu and a “red shirt” named Olsen(Greg Ellis) space-dive out of a shut-tlecraft and into Vulcan’s atmos-phere, landing on the platform. Awedge of the platform wasconstructed in Dodger Stadium’s

Left: Kirk tussleswith Nero’s crewon an aerialdrilling platformwhile Sulu (JohnCho, left)struggles with aparachutemalfunction.Below left:Visual-effectssupervisor/2nd-unit directorRoger Guyett(standing atright) leads thesecond unitthrough shootingon the drillplatform. Belowright: The crewtakes aim withair movers to sellthe impressionthat Kirk andSulu areplummetingtoward theVulcan surface.


36 June 2009

parking lot and backed by green-screen; the site’s elevation allowedMindel to shoot into the sky withoutfear of glimpsing the Los Angelesskyline. “We learned on Mission:Impossible that these big greenscreensets work better outside,” saysMindel. “You get the ambient dustand wind and sunlight, which reallyhelp sell the gag.” Condors also stoodat the ready with Nine-light Maxi-Brutes and Dinos for backlight and100K and 50K SoftSuns for fill.

The approach “certainly didn’tmake compositing the sequenceeasy,” says Guyett. “With a reallygnarly set, greenscreens get dirty andbecome less effective, but I think ifwe’d done it [onstage], there wouldbe a greater chance of people lookingat it and saying, ‘I don’t really believethey’re outside.’” Mindel adds, “Part

of working on this kind of movie islearning about the [visual-effects]technology, and Roger’s very keen toteach guys like me. He and I sharedthe experience all the way to the digi-tal intermediate, because the biggestissue is blending everything togetherseamlessly [in post].”

The filmmakers carried outthe DI at Company 3 with coloristStefan Sonnenfeld. “Shooting onfilm, which is really important to meand Dan, and then doing the DI withStefan allowed us to do a critical andfinal pass that was in some casesabout color-correction and in othercases about being incredibly creativeand giving certain locations an evenbolder look,” says Abrams. Mindelnotes, “Kodak offered us [Vision3500T] 5219 because of its greaterlatitude, but I found it lacked the

initial contrast that I like; I’d muchrather have the contrast on the nega-tive than try to add it afterwards.” Heopted instead to shoot two KodakVision2 negatives, 100T 5212 (dayexteriors) and 500T 5218 (interiors).“We shot at T2.82⁄3 basically all thetime, and I like to use zooms on set, soI pushed by half a stop to give usenough light when we were inside orshooting at night,” adds Mindel.

After the mission is accom-plished on the drill platform, Sulu isjolted off and into freefall. When Kirkjumps after him, it falls to Chekov,aboard the Enterprise, to lock onto theplummeting targets and beam themback to the transporter room. In thetransporter-room set, “we had somefloor and ceiling lighting effects thatremained fairly similar to the look ofthe original series,” says Mindel.Prampin adds, “We gave the artdepartment old Fresnel lenses out of10Ks, and they actually incorporatedthose into the set for the characters tostand on.” A mix of 10Ks and Nine-lights provided illumination frombelow the transporter, and 2KMoleBeam Projectors were aimedthrough holes designed into the ceil-ing. The transporter remained dark“until the characters stood on it, andthen we would gradually start puttinga little light into it,” says Prampin.“Eventually, we would get to an overexposed state, at which point the characters would ‘disappear.’”(25K SoftSuns and 8K Paparazzisenhanced the effect.)

When Pike falls into Nero’shands, Spock becomes acting captainof the Enterprise, and in the interest oflogic and efficiency, he decides tokeep Kirk out of his way by jettison-ing him to the ice planet Delta Vega.The planet’s exterior was constructedalongside the drill platform at DodgerStadium. “We mocked up a proof-of-concept on the computer and did avery quick survey of the car park,”says Guyett. “We ran a Sunpath on thetwo sets, and we were able to presentthis concept of shooting the two sets

A Bold, New EnterpriseRight: Spock

addresses theVulcan council.The scene was

filmed in theSkyRose chapel

in Rose HillsMemorial Park

in Whittier, Calif.Below: Mindel(holding finder)

and director J.J.Abrams scour

the countrysidein search of lens flares.

side-by-side and demonstrate that itcould actually work. J.J. would dofirst unit on one, I’d do second uniton the other, and then we’d swap.”

Cinematographer BruceMcCleery, a longtime collaborator ofMindel’s, shot the second-unit mate-rial. The filmmakers combinedseveral techniques to suggest a largerspace than conventional construc-tion could provide in the stadium’sparking lot. “We shot plates inAlaska, and we did a lot of fantastic

DigiMatte work to create the iceenvironment,” recalls Guyett. (Aerialdirector of photography David B.Nowell, ASC shot plates in Alaskaand Utah.) A bluescreen, illuminatedby 18Ks, wrapped around the DeltaVega exterior, and above the set, keyrigging grip Rick Rader suspended alarge silk from a construction cranethat could be moved depending onthe position of the sun. For addi-tional fill, Mindel used 100K and 50KSoftSuns.

Seemingly stranded on the iceplanet, Kirk encounters an elderlySpock (Leonard Nimoy), who hastraveled back in time in pursuit ofNero. This Spock leads Kirk to aStarfleet outpost tended byMontgomery Scott (Simon Pegg).The outpost set was built in a part ofthe Anheuser-Busch brewery in VanNuys, Calif. “We used Par 64 spacelights to create little pools of light forpeople to walk through, but for themost part, we kept it pretty subdued,”says Prampin. “To hide the back wall,Scott Chambliss put up a bunch ofchain-link fence with some aged plas-tic on it, and behind that we stuck alot of 4-by-4 Kinos, some gelled withLee 179 Chrome Orange and somewith Lee 219 Fluorescent Green. Wealso used some Kinos in and aroundScotty’s station, but we mostly keyedthat with Blondes through diffusion,usually Lee 129 [Heavy Frost].”

After the elder Spock shares a


38

From left:Chekov (AntonYelchin), Kirk,Scotty (SimonPegg), Bones(Karl Urban),

Sulu and Uhura(Zoe Saldana)

boldly go whereno one has

gone before.

future formula of Scott’s with theyoung engineer, Scott and Kirkmanage to beam back to the Enterpriseas the ship travels at warp speed;Scott’s calculations, however, land thepair in the engineering decks. For thisscene, the filmmakers sought a large-scale location “that would feel cleanand fresh instead of oily and disgust-ing,” says Chambliss. “Instantly, wethought of major food-processingplants, and our research led us to the[Anheuser-Busch] plant.” Mindelexplains, “We shot in a pump house,which was so noisy that everyone hadto wear ear protection. We also shot inthe fermentation house, which wasrefrigerated — it was 100°F outside,and we were all inside in protectiveclothing! The fermentation tanks gaveus many reflections and great-lookingpings off the stainless steel, but we hadto be very careful about what kind oflights we used, where we used themand for how long, because you can’t

change the temperature of the ambi-ent air very much before you mess upall the beer.

“We only used fluorescents tokey with, and we were able to lightbackgrounds with conventionallights and turn them off betweentakes so they never got too hot,” hecontinues. “We weren’t allowed tobring dollies up there, so we shotwith the Steadicam.” The filmmakersalso tapped some of the location’sexisting mercury-vapor worklights.“We just wrapped them in a littleRosco Scrim to control their leveland brought in our own lights toaugment that,” says Prampin.

With Kirk, Spock, Bones,Scotty, Uhura, Sulu and Chekov allfinally aboard, the Enterprise boldlyenters danger’s maw to conclude itsfirst adventure. Proud to haveenlisted for another voyage withAbrams, Mindel reflects, “J.J. enjoyswhat he does immensely, and he

wants us all to bring our best andshow him something a little differentfrom what’s been seen before. Hismantras are that the work should befun, and you should respect the audi-ence. We tried really hard to makethis film worthy of its name.” �

www.panther.tv

PANTHER GmbHRaiffeisenallee 3 | 82041 Oberhaching–Munich | GermanyT +49.89.613 900–01 | F +49.89.61 31 00 [email protected] | www.panther.tv

PANTHER Dollies & Cranes801 S. Main St. | Burbank, CA 91506 | USA T +1.818.84 13 110 | F +1.818.84 13 [email protected] | www.panther.us

Twist closer to the actionTwister Dolly

Visit us at Broadcast Asia in Singapore June 16-19, 2009Booth 8K2 / 01

The Panther Doorway Twister Dolly twists in all directions by selecting each of the three steering modes: Front, Rear, and Round a Round.

These novel steering options supply precise movements around the subject. The combination of pneumatic tire and track wheels allow for camera move-ments on track or on ground without the need for time consuming wheel conver-sion and provides whole new possibili-ties in versatility. Upper level platforms offer an enlarged workspace.

otresocltsiwretsiw

V

noitcaehtoyllyloDr

S

ehtnaPehTllanistsiwt

rehtnap.wwwB

niaisAtsacdaorBttaassuutisiVVi

9002,91-61enuJerreopagniS

10/2KK28htooB

y lloDretsiwTTwyawrooDrecaegnitcelesybsnoitcerid

vt.

n

hc

eerhtehtfo

raeR,tnorF

vonesehTomesicerpnibmocehTeehwkcartrtnostnemmitrofdeen

gy:sedomgnireetse

.dnuoRadnuoRdna,r

ppussnoitpognireetslevcejbusehtdnuorastnemevnaeritcitamuenpfonoitanevomaremacrofwollaslehttuohtiwdnuorgnorokcarevnocleehwgnimusnocem

y l.tcdn

e-ehr-

HbmGREHTNAPgnihcahrebO10428|3eellanesieffiaR1316.98.94+F|10–009136.98.94+Tvtr.ehtnap.www|vtr.ehtnap@tcatnoc

ynamreG|hcinuM–g000

senarC&seilloDREHTNAPU|60519AC,knabruB|.tSniaM.S108

0221348.818.1+F|0111348.818.1+Tsur.ehtnap.www|sur.ehtnap@tcatnoc

rpdnanoissrevniseitlnenareffffo

SAU

ibissopwenelohwsedivormroftalplevelreppU.ytilita

.ecapskrowdegral

il -sm

TECHNICAL SPECS

2.40:1

Anamorphic 35mm

Panaflex Millennium XL, Platinum; PanArri 435

Primo lenses

Kodak Vision2 100T 5212, 500T 5218

Digital Intermediate

Printed on Kodak Vision 2383

39

40 June 2009

Shane Hurlbut, ASC has seenthe future. As a matter of fact,he has spent the better part ofthe last two years there, in thegrimy, smoldering, post-apoc-

alyptic world of TerminatorSalvation. The year is 2018, and gun-toting robots have transformedhuman survivors into scavengers.The world is dominated by a robo-centric organization called Skynet,but the whole scene is actually over-seen by a man named McG. For 77shooting days — not to mentionmonths of prep and post — thefuture was set up in and aroundAlbuquerque Studios in NewMexico, where AC visited lastAugust.

The production, the fourthfilm in the franchise begun in 1984by director James Cameron’s TheTerminator, has almost completelyovertaken the studio. Evidence of

Shane Hurlbut,ASC and directorMcG envision the

post-Judgment Dayworld of

TerminatorSalvation.

by Jon D. Witmer

Unit photography by Richard Foreman, SMPSP

Back to theFuture

the all-out war that serves as thestory’s backdrop lines the road fromthe airport to the studio; dusty,burnt-out automobile chassis sit onthe shoulder, and, closer to the stu-dio entrance, a tow truck repletewith built-on weaponry and a cow-catcher stands sentry.

The first three Terminatorfilms all took place in the present dayand presented Terminator robotssent back in time in an attempt toprevent John Connor from becom-ing the leader of the human resist-ance, but Salvation is confined to thefuture, before anyone traveled backin time, and before Connor (playedby Christian Bale) earns all of hisstripes. “This is post-Judgment Day,after the bombs have gone off,” saysMcG. “This is the world we’ve onlyhad the tiniest sneak peek at in theother films.”

To create the future, the direc-tor called on Hurlbut, a collaboratoron We Are Marshall (2006) andnumerous music videos and com-mercials, and production designerMartin Laing. “We’re trying to buildon the language and the rules thatwere set forward [by the previousfilms] and create a bigger, moreexciting show,” says Laing.


Opposite page: AT-700 rolls off theassembly line inTerminatorSalvation. Thispage, top: JohnConnor(Christian Bale,left) questionsthe allegiance ofMarcus Wright(SamWorthington), ahuman/machinehybrid. Middle:Director McG(left) givesinstructions to aT-600. Bottom:Shane Hurlbut,ASC (right) prepsthe next setup asWorthington and1st AD BruceFranklin look on.

Pho

tos

and

fram

e gr

abs

cou

rtes

y of

War

ner

Bro

s.

�

42 June 2009

Back to the FutureWithin the overarching time-

line of the series, “the machines inthis film precede the coming of theArnold Schwarzenegger T-800” inthe original film, says McG.Therefore, Salvation’s modelsrequired some reverse-engineeringon Laing’s part. “We had to make theparts bigger and more brutal,” saysLaing. “The T-700 is 6-foot-9, andthe T-600 is 7-foot-3 and has a rub-ber mask that doesn’t quite fit and isfalling apart. We also wanted to gowith the realities of metal. They’d becasting steel, and the reality of steel isdark, rusty and oily.” (Stan WinstonStudio physically realized theTerminator designs with on-set pup-pets, costumes and props.)

“Martin and I were both total-ly into this dark, greasy, grimyworld,” enthuses Hurlbut, who waseager to depart from the series’ estab-lished visual language. “We didn’twant to go into that same cobalt-blue moonlight. We wanted to rein-vent the look.” Inspired byTechnicolor’s photochemical OZprocess (created by Bob Olson andMike Zacharia), Hurlbut sat downwith colorist Stefan Sonnenfeld atCompany 3 and “devised an intense,digital version of the OZ process,”says the cinematographer. “The skiesturn silver-blue, and instead ofbrown rods in the desert, there aresilver rods. Everything looks metal-lic, and what better way to depict aworld of machines?”

With the digital post path inmind, Laing used more saturatedcolors in some parts of the set. “Forexample,” he says, “we created redflora that’s come up out of theground where the radiation levelfrom the bombs is the highest.”Hurlbut adds, “The red tones in thismovie are very saturated andvibrant, but our post process tookthem down to a wonderful blood-crimson.”

On the day AC visits the set,Hurlbut steps away from a rehearsalto explain the filmmakers’ modus

Connor leadsmembers of

the resistancein an assault

against a Skynet

operationscenter.

operandi, but heads back toward hiscrew — including gaffer ToddHiggins, key grip David Knudson,A-camera operator Chris Moseley,B-camera operator George Billingerand C-camera operator GaryHatfield — when McG calls out,“Let’s get a lens on this!” Before thecameras start to roll, though,Hurlbut returns to introduce hisassistant, Po Chan. “Once we go intoproduction, she takes all the lightingnotes on set, including keylight,backlight and fill exposure, andcamera placement and color tem-perature. Her notes were absolutelyessential with all of the visual-effectssetups we had. She also manages thedaily schedule, so when you walkonto the set in the morning, youknow the scene, the stock, the equip-ment and the personnel because it’sall on the list — unless I want tochange it on the day. There’s always

that wild card!“McG and I feel the best prep

is the one that’s well thought out andlets us change our plans on any givenday,” continues Hurlbut. “We’ve hadsequences that were supposed to beone long take, but then I added a fewnew cameras to catch explosions,and the transformation was reallyexciting.”

As the set braces for the firsttake of the day, Chan leads the wayto another stage, which contains thesubterranean outpost Connor andhis colleagues call home. The seriesof tunnels and rooms includes thesmall room Connor shares with hiswife, Kate (Bryce Dallas Howard).The tunnels are chockablock withmementos of the past, including abasketball hoop and a woodcut por-trait of a dog. “The resistance isn’tonly fighting the Terminators,they’re also fighting the reality of

Clockwise from left: Kyle Reese (AntonYelchin) confronts Wright; cranes andwirework enable the crew to shoot asequence in which a giant HarvesterTerminator pulls humans out of an old7-Eleven; the Harvester unleashesMoto-Terminators to pursue fleeinghumans; Reese and Wright escape in amodified tow truck.


work quilt,” says Laing. “The planeshave been breaking down andthey’ve had to steal bits from otherplanes, which creates a sad butalmost colorful texture.”

In keeping with the freedomfighters’ retrofitted aesthetic, theoutpost is illuminated by streetlights

and other found sources jerry-builtinto the tunnels’ walls and ceilings.“Victor Zolfo, our set decorator,found the most amazing practicals,”says Hurlbut. “There are fluores-cents, warning beacons, and oldcobra-head streetlamps lyingaround. In the hallways, I hung little650-watt FCX bulbs in the ceiling,and when people walk throughthem, they go in and out of hot top-light.”

Hurlbut also hung 2', 4' and 8'batten strips in areas of the outpostfor a soft, controllable source. “In an8-foot strip, there are 25 R30 85-watt globes in a line, and I can dimthem up or down depending onwhat I want the stop to be.”Throughout the shoot, the cine-matographer maintained a stop ofT2, shooting in Super 35mm withthree Kodak stocks: Vision2 50D5201 (day exteriors) and 200T 5217(day interiors) and Vision3 500T5219 (night exteriors and dark inte-riors). “Glenn Brown, my first assis-tant, is the reason we’re able to pull

what happens in nature: Moisturegets in and the paint starts peeling,”says Laing. “They’ve run out ofpaint. It’s the sad world they’re in.”

The sad world is also reflectedin the resistance’s meager air force,comprising a ragged array of heli-copters and airplanes. “It’s a patch-

44 June 2009

Back to the Future

ConnorinterrogatesWright afterdiscovering

Skynet’shandiwork

beneath Wright’sskin. Hurlbut’s

assistant, PoChan, drew up

the lighting plotsfor the film’s sets

and locations.

Ligh

tin

g di

agra

m b

y Po

Cha

n, c

ourt

esy

of S

han

e H

url

but.

at a T2 the whole time. He is amaz-ing.”

Hurlbut wanted to minimizegrain throughout the picture.“Other films that deal with post-apocalyptic settings add grain, but Ithought we should reinvent thegenre with a unique look withoutadding grain,” he says. “I also shotthe whole movie on a 144-degreeshutter to sharpen the effects andmake the image snap. The action,the sparks and the fire are just a littlecrisper.”

Leaving the relative safety ofthe resistance behind, Chan headstoward another stage, this one hous-ing the underbelly of Skynet’s oper-ations; a splinter unit is picking upsome additional footage. Openingthe stage door sends a shaft of day-light cutting through the interiorhaze, and when the door closesagain, moments pass before anydetail can be discerned. When theeyes adjust, the sight is shocking:Human refugees dressed in the tat-tered remnants of clothes huddle ina cramped, overcrowded cage, thevictims of Skynet’s efforts to harvesthuman hair and skin in an attemptto create a Terminator visually indis-tinguishable from humans. (Thesmoke that plays inside this setmarks a motif running throughoutthe film, even in exteriors, suggest-ing a world still smoldering fromJudgment Day.)


Top: Connortransmits radiomessages withthe hope offinding otherhumansurvivors.Middle: Connorand his wife,Kate (BryceDallas Howard),share a quietmoment in theresistance’ssubterraneanoutpost. Bottom:Hurlbut checksthe light in theoutpost’scorridors.

�

46 June 2009

In an early scene in the film,Connor leads a group of fightersinto the missile silo that houses thiscage. A ground-level assault wipesout most of the silo’s power exceptfor a few warning strobes and spin-ning red beacons. Otherwise, theinterior “was lit with Surefire flash-lights mounted to guns,” saysHurlbut. To better illuminate hissurroundings, Connor ignites amagnesium flare. Hurlbut recalls, “Itold Christian, ‘This is very danger-ous, but it’s going to be the coolestshot you’ve ever seen — the resultwill be total darkness, and when youstrike the flare, you’re going tobecome as bright as a nuclearbomb!’”

The surface attack leading tothe discovery of the undergroundcages was filmed as a day exterior inthe New Mexico desert, where the

production had to contend withhigh winds. Before tacklingSalvation, Hurlbut shot Swing Vote(2008) in the state, and on that fea-ture, he took a cue from his night-exterior setups to help him throughthe windy days. “For night ambi-ence, I’ll bounce 12-light Maxis intoa flyswatter, a 45-foot Pettibone tele-scopic-boom forklift with a bigbounce mounted on it. For days, westarted mounting bounces onPettibones, and we could drive themanywhere, with no lines and no bullpricks in the ground. We got theones with the turning front rack sowe could aim the bounce exactlywhere we wanted it.”

For night-exterior setups, headded 120' Condors fitted with 24-light Dinos for backlight. “My back-light is probably 1½ stops down, andmy fill is about 3½ down — it’s in

the toe,” he says. “I have a home outin the Santa Rosa Valley, and I canreally study the moonlight and howit backlights or sidelights trees. Ithink nights look utterly realisticwhen you underexpose.”

Hurlbut incorporated suchunderexposure for an exterior loca-tion involving a Napalm runConnor makes from a helicopter. Heexplains, “We built a pond just downfrom the studio that was 80-feetwide by 200-feet long, and we putapproximately 60 cement treesalongside that we could light on firefor the Napalm strike.” After thestrike, Connor’s chopper crashesinto the pond, which is infested withHydrobots. Laing notes, “TheHydrobot is the first Terminator wesee in the water, so we took themovement of an eel but workedwith the reality of pistons and pro-

Above: Skynetuses flying

Transporters toferry humans

for a harvestingprogram. “We

built our[Transporter]

set aroundcattle cars,”

says productiondesigner MartinLaing. “Humans

are now beingmoved likecattle, just

brutally pushedfrom A to B.”

Below left:Reese is

caught in aTransporter.

Below right:The machines

unload theirhuman cargo in

a largeprocessing

facility.

Back to the Future

48 June 2009

pellers to actually make it gothrough the water. We tried to makeit as real as possible.” Helping sell therealism, Hurlbut adds, “CharlieGibson, the visual-effects supervi-sor, knocked it out of the park withevery rendered frame. The teams heassembled were at the top of thegame.” (Those teams includedIndustrial Light & Magic, Asylum,Pixel Liberation Front, Rising SunPictures and Kerner Optical.)

“Patrick Loungway, our sec-ond-unit cinematographer, deviseda shot where a guy falls out of thehelicopter and into that pond with aHydrobot attacking his face,” saysHurlbut. “Patrick put a 5K on aCondor with a ceiling fan spinningin front and a piece of foamcore as

the helicopter’s shadow.” For thesetup, the camera was in the waterlooking up as Connor’s co-pilotbreaks the surface; underwaterdirector of photography PeterZuccarini helped realize the shot.“In our last three weeks, we’ve hadfirst and second unit, both withsplinter units, to get all the shots,”says Hurlbut.

“Converting [cameras] in amulti-camera shoot is where youlose all your time on films, so I makesure everything is built and ready togo,” the cinematographer continues.“The crash cams are ready, theSteadicam is ready, and I’ve got twocameras in handheld mode and twocameras in studio mode. We rarelyuse more than two or three cameras

at a time, but when we want to go tothe crane, it’s ready.

“We went with a full Primolens package,” he continues. “They’renice, sharp lenses with incrediblecontrast; I thought this film was theperfect application for them.” Asidefrom NDs, he avoided filtration, andhe notes that he and McG wouldgenerally establish the scenes with awide lens and then cover the actionon long lenses. “Most of the time,21mm was as wide as we went. McGloves close-ups around the actor’sface, so we’d start on a 21mm andthen go to a 150mm.”

In contrast to the moonlightambience near the pond, the nightbreaks open with artificial glarearound Skynet, where flyingmachines called Transporters ferryhumans for the machines’ harvest-ing program. When resistancemember Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin)is captured and taken to Skynet,Connor and Marcus Wright (SamWorthington) set off to rescue him.“I lit Skynet with a blue-green tone— that was the evil color — andused warmer tones for the resist-ance,” says Hurlbut. To maintainthat look where the Transportersland and unload their cargo, the cin-ematographer worked with DavidPringle of Luminys Systems toacquire 600 metal-halide sports fix-tures, which Pringle modified withhousings “that made them more

Back to the FutureRight: Hurlbutincorporated

smoke, sparksand fire effects

inside theTerminator

factory, whichwas constructed

in a NewMexico power

plant. Below left:The crew

prepares toshoot stage-

bound footage tomatch an

exterior Napalmstrike. Below

right: Gelled Parcans are aimed

into mirrors tomake a grounded

Pave Hawkhelicopter

appear to flyover a series of

explosions.

At Otto Nemenz, we’ve been serving the world’s best filmmakers for

over 30 years. That’s because we couple cutting-edge production

equipment with outstanding support. We offer the world’s top cameras

including Arriflex and Moviecam, plus an incredible selection of

optics and support gear to outfit any shoot, any format. Our enthu-

siastic staff has the experience it takes to round up just the package

you want and keep it running flawlessly throughout the production.

We are not the biggest game in town. We’re simply the best.

HOLLYWOOD TEL 323-469-2774 www.ottonemenz.comHONOLULU TEL 808-484-5706 www.hawaiimedia.comUTAH TEL 801-978-9292 www.redmanmovies.com

Arricam ST Ang�nieux Zoom Lenses Arri 416 Arri Master Primes by Carl Zeiss

��

Arri 16mm T1.3Ultra Primes by

Carl Zeiss

50 June 2009

efficient,” says Hurlbut. “He putreflectors in them and moved theballast, so we have an incrediblybright source that weighs very little.

“We put six Pettibones out-side of Skynet, and [key rigging grip]Kent Baker mounted 60 of theselights on each one,” he continues.“Scott Graves, the rigging gaffer, andKent Baker can turn any vision intoa reality.”

The cyan motif continues inthe so-called Terminator factory,where machines manufacture T-700endoskeletons. Chan leads the wayinto another darkened stage, where asmall part of this factory awaits

some insert shots. Most of the action,however, was filmed on locationinside a local power plant. To establish“the reality of machines makingmachines, we went to a Swedish com-pany called ABB, who sent us 16 oftheir robots along with one of theirtechnicians,” says Laing. “We addedthe torsos of our Terminators into theset and then brought in these robots,which were programmed to do a bal-let around them. It was absolutelylovely.”

Despite the mechanizedmajesty, Hurlbut was concerned thelocation might look too smallonscreen. “The factory was rathersmall, and McG wanted to make it feellike it went on to infinity,” he says. “Sowe added smoke and brought in thelanguage of Skynet with metal-halidesports fixtures on one end, backlight-ing the smoke and silhouetting therobots, which made them look men-acing. It was very dark in there, butthere were sparks and fire creatingambient light. There were guys weld-ing right next to the frame, and MikeMeinardus, the special-effects coordi-nator, and his key set foreman ChrisBrenczewski had propane poppers —there’s a flame under a little tube, andwhen you hit a button, a solenoidvalve opens a 5-gallon propane tank,shooting the propane through theflame and creating a 15-foot fireball.Being able to light practically with allof these different sources has been anamazing gift from the special-effectsdepartment — they made this lookpossible.”

Fire also pocks the post-nuclearlandscape, and Hurlbut regularlyemployed flame effects on night exte-riors to boost contrast. “In a full-moonlight environment, everything’skind of gray,” he notes. “When weinjected the fire element, it reallybrought everything out and gave itdimension.” To supplement realflames on location, the electriciansclustered Fay lights, pointing in alldirections, on a Western dolly. “Weput a Magic Gadget flicker generator

Back to the FutureTop: The sterile

laboratorywhere Skynet

conducts itshuman

experimentsstands in sharpcontrast to the

rest of the post-apocalyptic

world. Middle:McG shows hissolidarity with

the humanresistance.

Below: Connorleads Reese

and Star(Jadagrace) out

of the lab.

in there and dialed it to achieve ourhighs and lows,” says Hurlbut. Themovable rig was gelled with doubleFull and Half CTO. “We had to real-ly boost the fire effect because of ourDI plan,” he notes. With the gelcanopy completely covering thelights, the rig “was totally water-proof. We had six of those rigs andmoved them wherever we neededfire.”

The same gel combinationwas used in a different rig to make it

appear as though a Pave Hawk heli-copter is flying over Skynet as explo-sions erupt beneath the aircraft. Tosell the effect while the aircraft sat onthe stage floor, Hurlbut had the floorcovered with mirrors and set a lineof rock’n’roll truss fitted with gelledPar cans above the helicopter, oneither side. With the overhead fix-tures bouncing into the mirrors, the“fire” source appeared to be belowthe helicopter; to add a sense ofmovement, a chase sequence was

run from a dimmer board while lampoperators physically panned metal-halide sports fixtures. “It was like apoor-man’s process,” says Hurlbut.“There were nine guys panning lightsand our dimmer-board operator,Bryan Booth, doing his dance, and itall looked so real.”

Skynet’s headquarters are inSan Francisco, where a mad scientistnamed Serena (Helena BonhamCarter) sits behind the curtain ofSkynet’s machinations in an utterlysterile environment that contrastspoignantly with the rest of the world.“She’s the evil witch who has createdher own little world,” says Laing. “Butunderneath, everything’s very darkand dingy.”

The sterility is most notable inSerena’s tower, where she squares offagainst Wright. Hurlbut explains, “Ilit the set from overhead and overex-posed it to make it hyper-white. Thatwas the one day I shot at a T4,

Back to the Future

w w w . f o c a l p r e s s . c o m

focal press books F O R F I L M M A K E R S , B Y F I L M M A K E R S

Visit www.focalpress.com! View video tutorials, chapter samples, podcasts and more. Sign up for specialized e-newsletters

with tips and specials throughout the year.

Focal Press helps you maintain your competitive edge. Buy online or in your favorite bookstore today!

The Steadicam® Operator’s Handbook

Authors: Jerry Holway and Laurie Hayball

ISBN: 9780240811659

$49.95

Filmmakers and Financing

By Louise Levison

ISBN: 9780240808284

$29.95

The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide

By Anthony Q. Artis

ISBN: 9780240809359

$34.95

Direct Your Own Damn Movie!

By Lloyd Kaufman

ISBN: 9780240810522

$24.95

Special Make-Up Effects

for Stage and Screen

By Todd Debreceni

ISBN: 9780240809960

$49.95

52

Wrightstruggles to

face his innerdemons.

because McG wanted more depth inthere.” HPL space lights, which incor-porate halogen Pars, provided thebase exposure in the set. “The wideshots played nicely with the topsource, but for close-ups, we broughtin a little fill for their eyes,” saysHurlbut.

When the Salvation crewreturns from lunch, they prepare toshoot in another section of Skynet,the lab where experiments involvinghuman skin and hair are conducted.The lab reflects the clinical atmos-phere of Serena’s tower but has amorgue-like quality thanks to thehuman cadavers lying on surgicaltables. In the scene at hand, Connor,Reese and a girl named Star(Jadagrace) try to make their way outof the facility, and when Terminatorstake up the chase, things start toexplode.

Practical lights adorn much ofthe set, with an overhead grid of near-

ly 100 space lights providing overallambience. To facilitate CG exten-sions in post, a bluescreen lines theouter edge of the set; it is lit by KinoFlo Image 80s along the top andbottom, all fitted with Super Bluetubes. “That’s mainly what I use forstage applications, and when we dobluescreen work outside, I use18Ks,” says Hurlbut. The cine-matographer goes on to explain hispreference for bluescreen overgreenscreen: “If you have blue con-tamination on a face, you can desat-urate it to make it look like skylight.But what can you do with greencontamination?”

Despite the extensive visual-effects work, effects were achievedpractically and in-camera as often aspossible. “I wanted all the explo-sions, all the velocity, to be a tactileexperience,” says McG. “When peo-ple see CG elements, they sort ofdetach from the movie, and this

story is a cautionary tale. We live in ascience-fiction world, and if wedon’t watch out, this could happen.”With that ominous prediction hang-ing in the air, McG surveys the setand turns once more to face thefuture. “Make it hot!” he shouts.“Let’s go!” �

TECHNICAL SPECS

2.40:1

Super 35mm

Panaflex Millennium XL,Platinum;

PanArri 435 Extreme; Arri 235, 35-3

Primo lenses

Kodak Vision2 50D 5201, 200T 5217; Vision3 500T 5219


Printed on Kodak Vision 2383

53

54 June 2009

Ahero’s welcome greeted Nightat the Museum: Battle of theSmithsonian when the produc-tion arrived at the titularmuseum in Washington, D.C.,

last May. “It was like being anAmerican soldier in 1945 drivingthrough Sicily, where everyone’sthrowing prosciutto and bottles ofwine,” recalls John Schwartzman,ASC, who joined director ShawnLevy to film the sequel. Smithsonianstaffers were well aware that the orig-inal Night at the Museum (2006) hadboosted attendance at New York’sAmerican Museum of NaturalHistory by 20 percent, so they wel-comed the sequel with open arms.The filmmakers even received per-

mission to shoot inside the NationalAir and Space Museum, a first for aHollywood production.

Battle of the Smithsonianpicks up with Larry Daley (BenStiller), now a successful business-man, as he visits his old friends atthe museum and discovers thatinteractive displays are replacing theold-fashioned dioramas, which arebeing shipped to the Smithsonianfor storage. When he realizes thematerials include the Egyptiantablet that gives life to the museum’sinanimate inhabitants, Daley dashesto Washington to try to retrieve thetablet before dark, but doesn’t arrivein time. Among the newly awakenedis the evil Egyptian king Kah Mun

Making HistoryFun

John Schwartzman,ASC captures a

cavalcade of famousfigures in the

madcap comedyNight at the

Museum: Battle ofthe Smithsonian.

by Patricia Thomson

Unit photography by Doane Gregory

Rah (Hank Azaria), who intends touse the tablet to open the doors tothe underworld. He recruits otherbad guys, including Ivan the Terrible(Christopher Guest) and Napoleon(Alain Chabat). Meanwhile, Daleygathers a team that includes Gen.George Custer (Bill Hader) andAmelia Earhart (Amy Adams). Theaction peaks when Daley andEarhart steal her aircraft and theWright brothers’ plane from the Airand Space Museum and escape toNew York with their precious cargo.

Like its predecessor, whichwas directed by Levy and shot byGuillermo Navarro, ASC, Battle ofthe Smithsonian features few sceneswithout visual effects; even a simpletwo-shot often has animated ele-ments, such as a dancing Degas bal-lerina, in the background.Nevertheless, says Levy, he retainedthe philosophy of the first film:“This was a comedy first and aneffects extravaganza second.”

Comedy was one reason Levydecided to shoot widescreen. Hehad never done so, butSchwartzman convinced him itwould allow the comedy to play better. “The wider frame allows youto unify multiple stars, which is atreat for audiences,” says Levy. “Tosee Ben Stiller improvising in thesame frame as Hank Azaria orChristopher Guest just maximizesthe comedy trip.” Of the decision to use Super 35mm instead of anamorphic, Schwartzmanexplains, “I would have preferredanamorphic, but we were going tohave many units going, and we hadto be sure we’d have enough equip-ment for everybody. And nowadays,with digital intermediates, Super 35isn’t a bad way to go.”

For Schwartzman, one of thechallenges of the production wasbalancing the story’s nighttime set-ting with the mandate that comedyshouldn’t be too dark. “The studio[20th Century Fox] wanted Night atthe Museum to look more like Day


Opposite page:SmithsonianMuseumsecurity guardLarry Daley(Ben Stiller)and aviatrixAmelia Earhart(Amy Adams)check out afemale statue’sreaction asRodin’s Thinkerflexes his“guns” toimpress her.This page, top:Larry and hisnew friend tryto contain themayhemunleashed by amagicalEgyptian tablet.Middle: Evilpharaoh KahMun Rah (HankAzaria) uses anhourglass totormentminiaturecowpokeJedediah(Owen Wilson).Bottom: HonestAbe Lincolnsprings to lifein his memorialchair.

Pho

tos

cou

rtes

y of

20t

h C

entu

ry F

ox.

56 June 2009

Making History Fun

at the Museum,” he notes wryly.“That was a battle Guillermo[Navarro] had to fight pretty muchall the way through, and I have togive him credit for fighting the hardfight. On this film, the studio knewit had a successful franchise, so I didn’t have to fight as much.”

Indeed, Schwartzman hadaccess to plenty of gear during the72-day shoot. Two Technocranes(30' and 50') with stabilized Scorpioremote heads were constantlyonstage in Vancouver, where most of the movie was shot, andSchwartzman says they were valu-able for enhancing the comedy. “If

an actor suddenly stops 4 inches tothe left of where he should be andyou don’t have any more track,you’re stuck,” he notes. “You don’twant to call ‘Cut’ if the actors areriffing, so we used the Technocranelike a dolly and kept shooting. [A-camera operator] Ian Fox could tell[Technocrane technician] RyanMonroe, ‘Camera left, 6 more inch-es,’ and we could literally do fiveminutes of a scene in one shot.Shawn became very enamored oflong, moving masters. We’d still goback and shoot coverage, but it wasalmost like shooting rehearsals —you never knew when you were

going to get something magical.”Panavision headquarters in

Woodland Hills, Calif., supplied thecamera package, which includedtwo Panaflex Platinums, aMillennium XL, Arri 435s, andPrimo prime and zoom lenses. Thesecond unit, which worked for halfof the shoot and operated like anaction unit, mainly used the Arris.“Second unit was actually shot byIan, our A-camera operator,” saysSchwarztman, who also used Foxthis way on National Treasure.“When we started that work, Imoved [B-camera operator] DavidCrone to the A cam, and Ian becamethe 2nd-unit director of photogra-phy. By then, we’d shot enough ofthe movie that Ian knew exactlywhat to do. I didn’t have to explainhow I lit the stacks underneath theSmithsonian, for instance. It workedout very well.”

Much of the picture was shoton Kodak Vision2 Expression 500T5229, which Schwartzman ratednormally. (Vision2 200T 5217 wasused for day exteriors and green-screen work.) “Half of this movie isBen in his dark blue uniform, andhe looked best on 5229,” notes thecinematographer, who also testedthe costume with Vision2 500T5218 and Vision3 500T 5219. “5229

Top left: Armedwith his trusty

flashlight, Larryshows off theform that got

him promoted tothe big leagues

of museumsecurity. Top

right: Larryattempts to

reason withNapoleon (AlainChabat). Below:

Napoleon andIvan the Terrible

(ChristopherGuest) suffer a

temporarysetback in theirquest for world

domination.

was a little softer in the shadows, sowe could see more detail in his jack-et. If he was standing there talking, itwould have been very easy to bringthe level of brightness of his jacketup without affecting everything else,but this is essentially a chase movie,so it would have been very difficultto constantly light his jacket inde-pendently of his face. 5229 madethat problem go away.”

Production began with fourdays of exteriors on the WashingtonMall, and Schwartzman was sur-prised by the location’s limited light-ing. “At night, it’s pitch black, whichis really tragic. The buildings arebarely lit, and the trees aren’t lit at all.We ordered something like 11 milesof cable, and it had to come fromLos Angeles because there wasn’tenough on the East Coast!” GafferJay Kemp and his crew spent a weekplacing 300 Blondes and Redheadsunder all the trees. To create moon-light both in Washington and on anine-block stretch outside theAmerican Museum of NaturalHistory, which appears at the begin-ning and end of the film,Schwartzman turned to LRX lights.“I’d never used them before, andthey were quite good for this kind ofthing,” he observes. “In D.C., weused two LRX Piranhas with 12KHMIs, and in New York, we putthree LRX Singles each on two 120-foot Condors. You can pan, tilt andspot them remotely, and they movevery quickly.”

For night scenes in which theAir and Space Museum is seen in thebackground, Schwartzman wantedthe museum’s famous displays to bevisible through the building’s glassfaçade. “The windows have a neutraldensity that cuts out four stops oflight because they don’t want sun-light to damage the aircraft,” henotes. “To make the exhibits glow,we had to bring in a lot of 6K HMIPars and bounce them around tobuild up the ambience. The lightswere gelled to match the existing

A Technocranehovers overcrewmembers asthey set up ascene. “You don’twant to call ‘Cut’if the actors areriffing, so weused theTechnocrane likea dolly and keptshooting,” sayscinematographerJohnSchwartzman,ASC (below).


58 June 2009

Making History Fun

interior color temperature, whichwas around 4500°K and slightlygreen.”

Night scenes set in the Airand Space Museum were shot on amassive set built at Vancouver’sWashington Studios, a former ship-yard. The 57,000-square-foot spacefacilitated a full-scale reconstruction

of the museum’s two-story lobby,including a mezzanine sturdyenough to hold a Technocrane.“There were probably 60 displaycases that had everything from flightsuits to an Apollo lunar lander on amoonscape,” Schwartzman marvels.“You could go into the gift shop andeat Space Food ice cream. It really

looked like you’d turned the cornerat the Air and Space Museum andwalked into a new wing.”

Even with 10 weeks of prep,Schwartzman had his hands full.“That facility was a great place tobuild a ship but a terrible place tomake a movie, because there was lit-erally no infrastructure,” he says. “Itwas the biggest, most complicatedset I’ve ever lit. We had to ask BCHydro, the hydroelectric powercompany, to run 16,000 amps ofpower to our stage. It took eightweeks just to get the cabling anddimmers in, and that was with 40people working 12 hours a day.” Henotes that Vancouver-based gafferDrew Davidson and key grip MikeKirilenko were “two of the best andbrightest people I’ve ever had thepleasure of working with.

“We used around 120 spacelights, in addition to all the practi-cals, to light the set,” continues thecinematographer. “Ninety percent ofthe lighting is visible in shot. Therewere 300 Image 80s underneath themezzanine as ambient light. The dis-play cases required days to wire. It

Right: Jedediah(Owen Wilson)and the equally

diminutiveRoman generalOctavius (Steve

Coogan)emerge from apacking crate.

Below: Anoversized set

ringed withgreenscreen

sells theillusion.

©2009 H

ollyw

oo

d R

entals. ©2009 LE

Dz, LLC

.

WELCOME TO THE EVOLUTION

LEDz has developed the latest in lighting instruments for fi lm, television, video and still photography. Compared to traditional lighting technology, LEDz use a fraction of the power with low radiant heat and provide dimming with virtually no color shift.

Los Angeles Charlotte Orlando Baton Rouge

12800 Foothill Blvd., Sylmar, CA 91342 p.800.233.7830

Learn more at www.hollywoodrentals.com/LEDZ.html

60 June 2009

was as though we were setting upour own museum. Almost every-thing in there had to be photograph-able, and there was very little roomto hide movie lights. We built scaf-folding and a grid overhead, butthose were used just for big, broadwashes of light. Everything else wasdone with very small units on theground. We could flip a switch andhave the thing pretty much lit up,then focus on cleaning up faces forthe close-ups.”

In the film’s most complicatedset piece, the entire Air and SpaceMuseum springs to life. “That waskid-in-a-candy-store time,” recallsLevy. “We had live-action rocketsand jet fighters in addition to CGaircraft and spacecraft. We had bothTechnocranes working, live pyro anddry ice. It was an embarrassment ofriches.” After shooting the requisitescenes with the actors, Levy decidedto spend one day filming withoutthe cast. “We decided to film anycool shot that John, [visual-effectssupervisor] Dan DeLeeuw and Icould imagine,” says the director. “Itwas an amazing luxury.”

One of Schwartzman’s ideaswas to engage the model airplanes ina dogfight. To capture the planes’points of view, a 50' Technocranewas positioned on the second floorand mounted with a Prasad three-axis Mega Mount remote head thatcould swivel 360 degrees. “We literal-ly flew the camera through thewhole place, doing really wild anglesand steep, sharp turns,” saysSchwartzman. “We explored every-thing. I put the camera into a revealcraning down through Jupiter,beginning with the camera 80 feet inthe air, as an opening shot we coulduse somewhere else. That day waslike sending your second unit out toget great shots of New York, but inthis case, it was our set.”

Some sequences the filmmak-ers expected to shoot against green-screen were filmed on this setinstead. When Daley and Earhart

Making History Fun

A Prasad three-axis Mega

Mount remotehead attached

to a 50'Technocrane

helped thefilmmakers

stage a dogfightin the Air and

Space Museum,a massive set

constructed atVancouver’sWashington

Studios. “Weliterally flew

the camerathrough the

whole place,doing really

wild angles andsteep, sharpturns,” says

Schwartzman.

steal the Wright brothers’ Flyer, theyclimb aboard its wing as the aircraftis suspended 40' above ground. “Weactually did that live, which enabledus to cut a giant sequence out of ourpreviz — and also made it better,”says Schwartzman.

But greenscreen was absolute-ly necessary for other sequences,including scenes inside the LincolnMemorial, when the statue ofLincoln comes to life; scenes withthe 2"-tall characters Jedediah(Owen Wilson) and Octavius (SteveCoogan); and scenes showing theWright Flyer exiting the museumand flying over the WashingtonMall. (That escape also involved thefilm’s only model work, shot with amotion-control camera on an 80'model by cameraman Tim Angulo.)In all, the production shot 14 weeksof greenscreen work on one of the four stages it occupied atVancouver’s Mammoth Studios, andSchwartzman wanted a lighting rigthat would be workable in every sit-uation. “Since we were going to usethe greenscreen set for a variety ofscenarios throughout the shoot, itmade sense to spend the time andthe money up front to rig it proper-ly,” he says.

“We needed a certain intensi-ty because we planned to do asequence that was an homage to 300— it was to be shot at a fairly deepstop, T5.6, at 150 fps on 200-ASAfilm,” continues Schwartzman. “Webuilt some 20-by-20-foot softboxesthat each held 96 1K globes, but theyweren’t bright enough, so we added2K Nooks to get the output we needed. We built the boxes big so thescale of the light source would becorrect for a 2-inch-tall character.With the large sources, the lightwrapped and reflected in a morerealistic way.”

The softboxes were suspendedfrom chain motors, allowing themto hang horizontally or vertically orat an angle somewhere in between.“We hung six of them in two rows of

61

three and just articulated them however we needed to,” saysSchwartzman. “If I wanted a back-light that was soft and low, we couldjust lower the thing out of frame. Itwas all done by the push of a but-ton.” The rig enabled the filmmakers

to work quickly. “We never workedlonger than a 10-hour day,” notesSchwartzman. “That kept everybodyfresh.”

Thanks to the size of thegreenscreen stage, Schwartzmancould scale the film’s 2" characters

down the correct way, by moving thecamera back. “At times, the camerawas 200 feet away from the actor!” hesays. “Guillermo really helped me byfiguring out all the math on the firstfilm. We kept notes, and we hadhigh-end matte software on the set,so we could literally look at compos-ites as we lined up the shot.”

In many respects, saysSchwartzman, his job was made easyby “splendid” sets, locations and cos-tumes. “There’s just so much to lookat in every shot,” he says. TheSmithsonian’s Castle Commons, forinstance, contains stained-glass windows and chandeliers, and “youreally couldn’t make a bad angle inthere. There are so many hangingfixtures that I think there’s some-thing sparkling in the background inevery shot.” Making the most of thenatural light at hand, he added some20Ks and Chimeras to provide softfill.

62

The CapitolDome serves

as a scenicnighttimebackdrop.

Making History Fun

For Schwartzman, the onlydownside of the production was thescarcity of film dailies. “There’s beensuch a push to get the film to the edi-tors as quickly as possible that that’staken precedence over everythingelse,” he observes. “There’s no way acolorist doing a high-def transfer ona Spirit can tell you whether yourdensity is exactly the way it was theday before, or that you need anotherhalf-stop of exposure. Those werethe types of conversations I had with[timers] John Bickford and MikeZacharia every day when I was film-ing The Rock [AC June ’96],Armageddon [AC July ’98], PearlHarbor [AC May ’01], Seabiscuit [ACAug. ’03] and The Rookie. Today, ifyou want to print dailies, it stops themachine.” On Battle of theSmithsonian, he viewed film dailiestwice a week for the first few weeksof the shoot; after that, HD dailieswere screened on a plasma TV.

“Some filmmakers feel theycan correct any inconsistencies inpost, so they don’t want to worryabout it on the front end,” saysSchwartzman. “I’m prepping GreenHornet with Michel Gondry, and Iknow Michel is going to have to fighta million battles, and [film dailies]won’t be one he’ll want to fight. Ican’t blame him, but it stings to havepart of the craft you love taken awayfrom you.”

All told, however, Schwartz-man considers Battle of theSmithsonian a great experience. “Ienjoyed every moment of makingthis movie, and I’m really proud ofit. Having shot a previous picturestarring Ben Stiller [Meet theFockers], I knew that speed would bea really good thing to have in ourback pocket, and all the rigging wedid in prep was really important forthat. A day of shooting on a movielike this is about $300,000, and if you

can save one day by spending$20,000 more to rig a set properly,it’s the best $20,000 you’ve everspent. We were very clever in howwe rigged and shot this movie, andthat’s why we finished three daysahead of schedule.” �

TECHNICAL SPECS

2.40:1

Super 35mm

Panaflex Platinum, Millennium XL;

Arri 435Primo lenses

Kodak Vision2 Expression 500T 5229; Vision2 200T 5217


Printed on Kodak Vision Premier 2393

63

The Producers Guild of Americaand the American Society ofCinematographers recentlyjoined forces to conduct land-mark tests of seven digital cam-

eras: Arri’s D-21, Panasonic’s AJ-HPX3700, Panavision’s Genesis,Red’s One, Sony’s F23 and F35, andThomson’s Grass Valley Viper.Shooting the same tests at the sametime was an Arri 435, which usedfour Kodak stocks, two tungsten(Vision2 250T 5217 and Vision3500T 5219) and two daylight(Vision2 250D 5205 and Vision3250D 5207). “It was a snapshot in

time because the technology of digi-tal cameras is by no means static,”says Curtis Clark, ASC, chair of theSociety’s Technology Committee.

The tests will be presented forthe first time this month, during thePGA’s Produced By Conference(www.producedbyconference.com).The event will give viewers a chanceto see the footage and draw theirown conclusions about the cameras’performances, but the idea is not tocrown a winner. “Our only agendawas to supply the community withan educational resource,” says DavidStump, ASC, chair of the Technology

Committee’s Camera Subcommit-tee. “It’s not a competitive test; it’s nota shootout.”

The idea of the project, whichwas funded by RevelationsEntertainment, was to create a defin-itive overview of the current state ofdigital cameras, a collection offootage that could serve as a refer-ence for the industry at large. “It’sreally hard to find a set of unbiasedtest materials made under controlledcircumstances,” says Stump. “When atest of any camera is done, the testusually ends up being owned by amotion-picture studio, so the next

Testing DigitalCameras

Testing DigitalCameras

64 June 2009

The ASC and the Producers Guild of America put 7 digital camerasthrough their paces with the Camera-Assessment Series.

by Stephanie Argy and Richard Edlund, ASC

Other standards were set for thecameras as well. “Because cine-matographers’ base business is fea-ture films, we drew the line in thesand at the point we felt was suffi-cient for big-screen work,” saysStump. At minimum, he explains,the cameras had to be capable of animage with resolution of 1080p anda color depth of 4:4:4. “That weededout a lot of cameras,” he notes.

In recent years, the ASC haspursued collaborations with variousorganizations in the industry, andfor the Camera-Assessment Series,the PGA and producer LoriMcCreary were indispensable inpulling everything together. AtClark’s invitation, McCreary hadbeen attending meetings of the ASCTechnology Committee, where shewas struck by cinematographers’perspective on new technologies.“Because they constantly have tothink about where things are head-ed, cinematographers can better,more accurately predict the futurethan filmmakers in other fields,” sheobserves. The PGA hopes the testresults will enable producers to bet-ter understand the budgetary andworkflow ramifications caused by

person who wants to use that camerahas to start all over again and do hisown tests.”

It was critical that the tests bedone in a way that embodied theintegrity and authority of the ASC. In2003-2004, the Society collaboratedwith Digital Cinema Initiatives tocreate Standardized EvaluationMaterial, or Stem, a mini-movie thatprovided a robust test of image qual-ity for technologies used in digital-cinema distribution. “To this day,Stem and what we did with DCIremains the benchmark,” says Clark.“The Camera-Assessment Series hadto live up to that high standard.”

The process began with longdiscussions in the TechnologyCommittee’s camera and workflowsubcommittees about the challengesthat were likely to arise. “We tried tolay down a set of ground rules thatwould fit every camera into both afilm-out and digital-out motion-pic-ture production pipeline,” saysStump. “That pipeline could beunique, but it had to share the crite-ria that are the baselines for allmotion-picture production: 10-bitlog for filmout, doing a DI and doinga P3 output for digital cinema.”

the choice of a camera. “Workflowdirectly affects the producer’s job ona daily basis, and we’re not asinformed as we could be,” saysMcCreary.

The ASC and the PGAbrought their own concerns andinterests to the tests; these includedimage quality, color space, contrast,dynamic range, ease of use,ergonomics, how well the camerasfit into a typical production work-flow, and how much extra time, ifany, they required on set.All of thesewere factored into the design of thetests, situations Stump describes as“commonplace but difficult. Wewanted to show how all of thesecameras deal with the normal issuesof everyday cinematography: win-dows that look out onto exteriors,daylit exteriors, daylit interiors. Howdoes it look under night tungstenlight? How does it look under alaundry list of typical scenarios?”

During the tests, each camerahad its own cinematographer: BillBennett, ASC was on the Arri D-21;Mark Doering-Powell was on thePanasonic AJ-HPX3700; ShellyJohnson, ASC was on the PanavisionGenesis; Nancy Schreiber, ASC was

Top digitalcameras weretested under avariety ofconditions by agroup ofdistinguishedcinematographersduring the recentCamera-AssessmentSeries organizedby the ASC andPGA. In the photoon this page,visible from left toright in the frontrow are ASCmembers ShellyJohnson, NancySchreiber, PeterAnderson andKramerMorgenthau(standing).Standing behind acamera in thesecond row at farright is KarlWalterLindenlaub, ASC,BVK; visiblebehind Schreiberis Bill Bennett,ASC (wearinglight-blue cap).


Pho

tos

by Y

ouse

f Li

nja

wi a

nd

Sim

on W

akel

in, c

ourt

esy

of t

he P

rodu

cers

Gu

ild o

f A

mer

ica.

on the Red One; Peter Anderson,ASC was on the Sony F23; KramerMorgenthau, ASC was on the SonyF35; Marty Ollstein was on theThomson Grass Valley Viper; andKarl Walter Lindenlaub, ASC, BVKmanned the Arri 435. “We tried toemploy a cinematographer for eachcamera who gave the manufacturer asense of comfort and gave each cam-era its greatest opportunity to shine,”says Stump. “Those were bothimportant things. These aremechanical devices, but all thismachinery doesn’t exist in a vacuum;everyone has something at stake.Everyone trying to sell or rent a digi-tal camera has a lot of time andmoney invested in that device. It wasvery important to take that into con-sideration when casting for the rightcinematographer to accompany eachcamera on set.”

The tests were shot atUniversal Studios on sets used forDesperate Housewives and at the lakewhere Bruce, the shark from Jaws,resides. “It was a gigantic effort thatrequired the cooperation and assis-tance of several hundred people,”notes Stump. “Without the PGA’shelp, we could never have pulled itoff.” Stump supervised the testing,collaborating with other ASC cine-matographers who were also work-ing in a supervisory capacity: Clark,Rodney Charters, Kees Van Oostrumand Richard Crudo. The cameras

passed through six different test sce-narios, each of which had its owncinematographer (or, in a couple ofinstances, two cinematographers);those cinematographers were ASCmembers Charters, Richard Edlund,Steven Fierberg, Michael Goi, JacekLaskus, Matthew Leonetti, StephenLighthill, Lindenlaub, Robert Primesand John Toll. “Lighting wasabsolutely left to the cinematogra-phers’ discretion,” notes Stump. Thefollowing is an overview of the sixscenarios:

Day-Exterior Lock-Off: Charters and Edlund

“Our test was very simple,”says Edlund, the vice chairman ofthe Camera Subcommittee. He notesthat a moving camera loses someresolution because the shutter isopen while the camera is in motion,but when the camera stops panning,it’s possible to see the pattern of thepixels, which he calls “bathroomtile.” The shot had a complex subject— a house with bricks and shinglesand other tiny details — and Edlundthought it would be interesting to seehow the cameras dealt with that.

Day-Exterior Tracking Shot of a Moving Bicycle: Fierberg and Laskus

This scenario was meant toreveal any strobing and movementissues with the various cameras, but

it also became a contrast test. Theshot tracks alongside a bicyclist ridingfrom camera left toward camera rightin front of a white picket fence. “Thepicket fence is a repeating pattern, andso is the spinning bicycle wheel,” saysFierberg. “In the past, some camerashad trouble showing those withoutannoying strobing.” During the shot,Fierberg pushed in closer toward thepicket fence to change the frequencyof the boards’ appearance onscreen.

As a further motion test, healso added a person walking in theopposite direction from the camera’smovement. “In some cameras, youcould open the shutter to get lessstrobing and more blur,” explainsFierberg. “That works fine until youencounter the person walking theother way; then, the person’s headbecomes a disturbing blur.” He notesthat because the camera is moving atone speed and the person is walking acertain speed in the opposite direc-tion, the blur is much more pro-nounced. “The bicyclist isn’t veryblurred because the speed differencebetween him and the camera is veryminor.”

The scene was shot in front-light — sunlight — but because thecamera passes in front of dark shrub-bery, the test showed the contrastcapabilities of the cameras, too.

Night Interior: Goi

“The only parameters for thissetup were that it was a night interiorthat had performers of varying skincolor in it,” says Goi. “They left it tome to figure out what else I wanted towork into the scenario.” The scene is aliving room at night, and Goi cameup with the idea of having three char-acters — an African-American male,a Caucasian female and a Caucasianmale — surrounded by boxes, asthough they have just moved in. Theytoast each other with wine. “I specifi-cally chose red wine because it’s par-ticularly difficult to make it look likered wine onscreen,” notes Goi. “Often,

Testing Digital CamerasThe setup

supervised byLindenlaub

included anexplosioninvolving

“Bruce,” themechanicalshark made

famous in Jaws.“The shadow

was 2 stopsunder in thedark part of

waves, whilepart of the flame

was 6-7 stopsover,” he noted.

“It will beinteresting to

see whichcameras hold

that detail.”

66 June 2009

it looks like black oil.”Because the characters have

just moved in, Goi included a barelightbulb in the scene, which “gaveme the opportunity to see if therewas any streaking.” To look at valuesin the highlights, he began the scenewith the couch covered with an off-white sheet that was slightly overex-posed by the bare bulb. “When thesheet is removed, the couch is of avery different density,” he says.

Goi opens his shot with the African-American and theCaucasian woman side by side, withthe same amount of light on theirfaces. They then cross to the couch,where Goi gives the African-American actor about another thirdof a stop to see what the differencewould be. To also test the cameras’abilities to separate dark values, Goipositioned the African-American onthe couch so that his head would bein front of a black marble fireplace.

The Caucasian man is wear-ing a red T-shirt, the tone of which isvery close to the color of the uncov-ered couch, so the test reveals howthe cameras separate those closetonalities.

“There’s a lot of stuff in thistest that’s very close to the edge interms of how I’d shoot it on film,”notes Goi. “If one camera or anotheris more crushy, you’ll see those dif-ferences clearly.”

Inside Light, Outside Light:Leonetti

Leonetti says his scenariooffers one of the most challengingassignments for a cinematographer:balancing interior and exterior light-ing. “Every time I show up for asetup like that, I have to put mythinking cap on,” he remarks. Themain question was whether to shootwith blue or incandescent light. Bluewas chosen. “Given that informa-tion, I dreamed the shot up,” saysLeonetti. “I was trying to create somecontrast, some very highly illuminat-ed, reflective pieces in the shot. In

addition, the idea was to see howeach camera would balance theinside and the outside, which is seenthrough a bay window.”

The shot begins on a hot trayof glasses in the foreground. “I put alight on the balcony and made itpretty bright so I could see how eachcamera would take the highlightsand if it could hold the highlights,”says Leonetti. The camera then pansleft, past two ungelled windows thatare 4-5 stops over the f-stop for therest of the shot. The camera contin-ues panning until it settles on twopeople, an African-American manand a Caucasian woman, standing infront of the bay window. “I tried todo the balance so it wouldn’t blowout,” says Leonetti. To do that, heexplains, you must either build upthe inside lighting or use ND gel onthe windows to darken the outside.“I chose to do a little of both. I putthe camera in a place where I couldhide HMIs outside, so each of thosewindows had a light comingthrough. I had two 0.3 neutral-den-sity gels on the outside window.” Foreach camera, he then made a secondpass, taking off one of the 0.3 gels.

Leonetti chose the exposurefor the film camera, but he had the cinematographers for each digi-tal camera set their own f-stops. “Ididn’t touch the lighting. We tried tomake it look as consistent as possi-ble. I kept reading the light to makesure the light didn’t change. Thatwas important.”

To maintain that consistency,this test was spread over two days sothat all shooting was done between10:15 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Day Exterior: Lighthill and Toll

Although the cameras spentmost of their day rotating from set toset, there were two scenarios that allcameras shot at once. This was oneof them. The scene takes place in apark playground, where a number ofpeople of varying races are throwingballs, spinning Hula-Hoops and soforth. A pale woman pushes a babycarriage through the foreground.“I’m really happy I got to do thatone, because the most commonthing all cinematographers have todo is take the dynamic range of a dayexterior, midday or late day, andmake it work,” says Lighthill. “Thereare different skin tones and lots ofdifferent values, so I think it will testall the media.”

The scene was shot twice,once at dusk (overseen by Toll) andthe next day at midday (overseen byLighthill). “John’s situation was quitedifferent from mine, of course,”notes Lighthill. “He had more lightcoming in and long shadows. Butthe midday setup has almost all thechallenges cinematographers typi-cally face that are so hard to wrangle.There’s a great dynamic rangebetween the brightest and the dark-est elements in the shot.”

Morgenthau(sitting at farright) surveys asetup along withJohnson andSchreiber (atleft) andLindenlaub andLindenlaub’s 1stAC, TommyKlines (standingbehindMorgenthau).


�

The Lake: Lindenlaub

The scene at the lake was alsoshot by all the cameras at once — atsunrise. “It’s a wide shot of the lakewith the mechanical shark and a bigflame explosion,” says Lindenlaub.“The information in the setup isactually quite interesting.” Behind

the lake is a big hill with a lot of darkfoliage, and the water and flame offeran extreme contrast range. “Theshadow was under 2 stops in thedark part of waves, while part of theflame was 6-7 stops over. It will beinteresting to see which camerashold that detail.”

Lightbulb: Primes

The main purpose of this sce-nario was to see latitude in a verychallenging situation. “These days, ifyou can’t shoot under low-light con-ditions, you’re at a competitive disad-vantage,” notes Primes. He decided tostart with a large close-up of a barelightbulb. Then, a man’s face comes inand the camera dollies back, revealinga dark garage with lots of objects anddetail in the background shadows. Asthe frame widens, the man walks overto stand behind a workbench. “Wemade a mark for the actor that wasabout 1 foot away from the bulb —he was 4 stops over incident light,”says Primes. “At the bench, he was 1stop underexposed.” Meanwhile, thebackground was about 4 stops under.

Although Primes consideredblacking out a window in the back-ground, he decided instead to tent itand put a light with a blue filter there

Testing Digital Cameras

Thecinematographers

pose for a groupphoto to

commemmoratetheir participation

in the study.

68

so that it would be a nice composi-tional element with the same tonali-ty on every take. He also took care toensure that the lightbulb and voltagewould be the same from take to take,and the face at the same distance.“The set never changed, the voltagewas brought up to a very tight toler-ance, and the actor was very well-rehearsed,” he says.

“I think all the tests are goingto be valuable, but mine was kind ofbrutal, and I’m happy about that,”he adds.

PostproductionAlthough every test was

designed to challenge the cameras invarious ways, the object was not to“break” them. Clark notes that dur-ing post at LaserPacific, where colorcorrection was done on an AutodeskLustre by Mike Sowa, every effortwas made to give the cameras thechance to look their best. “If we have

to give a camera more time in post,we’ll do that, but all of that work willbe documented,” says Clark.

Stump says close attentionwill be paid to what it takes for thematerial to fit well into the standard-ized workflow established for thetests. “That’s a really effective learn-ing scenario: how do we fit thissquare peg into the lab’s round hole?I’m trying to listen through the wallinto the projection booth and intothe machine room and throughoutthe halls of LaserPacific as they chasewhat kind of signal we’ve broughtthem from any particular camera!”

He adds that it isn’t only thepotential users of these cameras whoare learning from the tests. “Themanufacturers who participated arelearning as much about the work-flows as we are,” he says. “Few ofthem have had the opportunity tochase one of their shoots all the waythrough to a finished piece of film. I

think we’re going to see a lot ofmodifications and upgrades comefrom this testing.”

Clark says he hopes the testswill make filmmakers more aware ofhow critical the overall workflow is.“Making a film isn’t just about pick-ing a camera and shooting,” he says.“How are you going to finish it? Is itgoing to end up as a compromisethat you didn’t anticipate but have tolive with? The important thing is tomake an informed choice when youpick your camera. Then, you canapply your aesthetic.”

Given that digital technolo-gies are constantly evolving,McCreary says she hopes theCamera-Assessment Series will bean ongoing process rather than aone-off event. “You eat an elephantone bite at a time,” she says.

A report about the CAS testresults will be published in ourSeptember issue. �

69

Previsualization is the processof using computer-generatedanimation to explore scenesand sequences before they areshot, and it can significantly

impact the cinematographer’s job. Itcan enable the director of photogra-phy to become even more involvedin shaping a movie’s narrative; con-versely, there is a danger he or shewill end up merely executing shotsthat were conceived and detailed bysomeone else long before the cine-matographer joined the production.“I can understand why cinematog-raphers have been reluctant toembrace previs: they’re oftenexcluded from the process,” saysChris Edwards of The Third Floor, acompany specializing in previsual-ization. “But we have found theirinvolvement is really key.”

To address some issues relatedto previsualization, including howbest to integrate it into production,the ASC Technology Committeerecently joined with the ArtDirectors Guild and the VisualEffects Society to form thePrevisualization Committee, thefirst joint committee formed by thethree organizations. Co-chaired byRon Frankel, the owner of previscompany Proof, and David Morin, a

consultant with Autodesk, the groupbegan meeting in April 2008. Overthe course of 12 meetings, it hasbrought together some of the lead-ing previs practitioners in the indus-try, cinematographers, productiondesigners, visual-effects supervisorsand other filmmakers to exploreprevis and the role it should play inthe future. “Learning how otherpeople see this process has been veryinsightful,” says Frankel. “Previs iscoming into its own in a very inter-esting way.”

Previsualization has beenaround in various forms fordecades. Before shooting the origi-nal Star Wars, George Lucas workedout the timing for space battles bycutting together footage of WorldWar II fighter-plane dogfights. Onthe third Star Wars film, Return ofthe Jedi, the speeder-bike sequencein the forest was tested out usingaction figures that were shot withlipstick cameras. “We could figureout movements and work out a lit-tle, dynamic piece of action, thencut it together and see if the shotswe’d planned were going to workwell,” says Neil Krepela, ASC, a cine-matographer and visual-effectssupervisor who worked on Jedi.

In the definition crafted by the

Previsualization Committee, previsgenerally comprises computer-gen-erated imagery created in a 3-Dmodeling-and-animation applica-tion and then edited together todemonstrate the potential executionof a scene or sequence. According tothe committee’s research, the earliestexample of CG previs appears to beThe Boy Who Could Fly (1985).During a sequence in that movie,two children fly over a school fairfilled with amusement-park rides;the child performers were held alofton wires suspended from a largecrane, and the sequence was coveredwith a Skycam supported by pylons.James Bissell, the project’s produc-tion designer and second-unit direc-tor, asked Canadian computer-graphics company Omnibus to helphim create a digital version of thesequence so he could experiment.The resultant previs enabled him tosee where the shadows would be atdifferent times of day so he couldposition the camera and crane asefficiently as possible. “They said,‘What a great use for the technology— we never thought of that,’” recallsBissell. “It allowed us to shoot a pret-ty elaborate sequence in about threedays.”

Previs is not visual effects,

AssessingPrevis

AssessingPrevis

70 June 2009

The ASC, the Art Directors Guild and the Visual Effects Society joinforces to explore the existing and potential uses of previsualization.

by Stephanie Argy and Richard Edlund, ASC

although the two disciplines areoften lumped together, perhapsbecause previs is commonly used on pictures that involve complexvisual-effects sequences. Also, manyof the tools and applications used inprevis, such as Maya, are also usedfor visual-effects work. But previs isas different from visual effects as asketch is from a painting; it’s aboutquickly trying out possible shots andsequences in real time and makingchanges on the fly, rather than mak-ing polished shots that are texturedand properly lit. “Previs is used totell the story in the rawest possibleform,” says Laurent Lavigne, whoseprevis work includes the filmsTransformers, Jumper and The LastSamurai.

Contrary to popular belief,previs is not an entry-level visual-effects job. “I believe it’s a specializedfield that requires classically trainedartists,” says Steven Yamamoto,whose previs credits include PublicEnemies, Hancock and The Sorcerer’sApprentice. “You need a high level ofknowledge of not only CG work, but also creative storytelling.Combining those skills is asking alot of one person.”

The previsualization processbegins with the creation of digitalassets: sets, characters, vehicles andanything else that needs to be mod-eled in CG. These elements are thenanimated, and actions and positionsare set, just as a director would blocka live-action scene with real actors.Next, virtual cameras are placed intothe scene. Angles, lenses and movesare chosen, and shots that cover theaction are rendered out. These shotscan then be assembled into asequence or handed to the project’spicture editor, who adds them to thecut as though they are real coverage.Previs can be continued on set, tosolve problems and validate what’sbeen shot, and in post, where previselements can be retimed and adjust-ed to fit with the real footage as itbecomes available.


Imag

es c

ourt

esy

of T

he T

hird

Flo

or a

nd

Pix

el L

iber

atio

n F

ron

t.

�

The Third Floorcreated thisprevisualizationprogression for abattle sequencein the WorldWar II actiondrama Valkyrie.From top tobottom:characters andground plane;characters,vehicles andterrain;characters,vehicles andterrain withtextures;texturedcharacters,vehicles andterrain withlighting andshadow cards;added mountaingeometry,background,cyclorama, dustcards andatmospherecards; addedexplosion cards.

Companies considering theuse of previsualization should knowup front what they need and wantfrom the process. It involves a varietyof logistical questions, some of

which can only be answered on aproject-by-project basis: Howshould the previs crew be struc-tured? Is it best to have a team ofartists from one company, or should

the team comprise several artistswho are independent of one anoth-er? Once a team is in place, to whomshould they report? Which depart-ments should be involved in the pre-

Assessing Previs

72 June 2009

Two of theprevis

schematicsprepared by

PixelLiberation Front

for The MatrixReloadeddetail key

moments fromthe film’s

ambitiousfreeway chase.

vis process? Should the team workin its own office or on-site with theproject’s crew or production staff?

The biggest previs questionmight be: Who is it for, and what isits purpose? Some people see theprocess as a way to work throughlogistically difficult sequences,determine what will be necessary toshoot them, and then provide therelevant departments with very pre-cise data. Roberto Schaefer, ASC saysthat on Quantum of Solace, previswas used for very technical reasons:“We did a lot of previs for set con-struction; they built CG sets to makesure we could get the angles weneeded. The scaffold-and-rope fightscene was a complicated jigsaw puzzle because the set didn’t fit intothe stage — it hit the rafters and wassupposed to be 20 feet taller than it was. We wanted to do a previs tomake sure we were on the same pagefor camera angles, movements andso on.” Others might see previs as atool for exploring the narrative.“The animation pipeline has a storydepartment, but live action doesn’t,and previs becomes the ersatz storydepartment,” observes DavidDozoretz of Persistence of Vision.

Working with a small num-ber of digital artists — sometimesjust one — gives a director a rela-tively inexpensive, low-pressure wayto explore ideas, and it’s easy to dis-card any that don’t work. “Previs isthe director’s ‘undo’ button,” saysEdwards. “In film school, I learnedthat every moment I waste is amoment I’m sucking out of mymovie. If you’re going to make mis-takes — and you will — it’s better todo it with a smaller team, and you’llprobably make fewer mistakes.”Colin Green of The Pixel LiberationFront adds, “If filmmaking is aboutreal heat-of-battle decision-making,previs allows for decisions to bemade with more deliberation. Weforce answers to creative questionsand make contributions to the cre-ative vision. The formalism of the

73

camera moves) during previs thatcan be used by other artists as thebasis for visual-effects shots (orother aspects of post), so they don’thave to start from scratch whenthey do their work. At the moment,the consensus is that trying to pre-serve assets too soon can under-mine a critical aspect of previs: the ability to try things out and dis-card attempts that don’t work.“Disposability is super-useful,” saysMcDowell. “If you try to assetize,you lock yourself in.”

How detailed should previ-sualization be? “In the beginning,[the mandate] was, ‘Keep it roughand don’t texture,” says Dozoretz,who became one of the industry’sfirst previs artists when he joinedLucasfilm in 1992. However, whenhis team began to work on the pod-race sequence in the fourth StarWars film, The Phantom Menace,they needed to show the speed ofthe racers rushing by, whichrequired them to create texture.

Today, previs artists andfacilities offer a range of polish intheir animations. Yamamoto sayseach movie’s narrative dictates thelevel of detail and how and whereit’s used: “If we have a 30-foot robotrunning through a city street, it’spart of how we tell the story thatthe robot is this large, has this muchmass and runs this fast. It might notbe that important for me to puttextures on the sky, but it would beimportant that the robot is notfloating on the ground and canactually take solid steps. We mightalso add the details of his feet sink-ing into the ground, because thosedetails tell the story of a 30-footrobot running down the street.”

All previs practitioners advo-cate making a scene’s dimensionsand scale as real-world as possible.At the moment, though, there is nostandardized way to match the vir-tual cameras in previs to real ones.(One workgroup within thePrevisualization Committee has

medium forces you to figure thingsout in a way that storyboards andfinger gestures never will.”

The perception of previsual-ization as a time to experiment rais-es still more questions, includinghow finished previs materials shouldbe. One topic of discussion in thePrevisualization Committee hasbeen whether the CG models madein previs can or should be construct-ed in such a way that they can laterbe handed off to a visual-effectsfacility and used as the basis for thefinal effects. “There’s always some-one who believes he can set up thisamazing pipeline and integrate pre-vis and effects, but right now, youcan’t do that,” notes Nic Hatch,owner of London previs facilityNvisage.

According to Hatch, the dif-ferent goals and needs of the twodepartments make it difficult tocombine them. Previs is concernedwith timing and framing, and themodels and character rigs are verysimple; they have a limited numberof controls so they can be easilymanipulated in real time, with norendering. By contrast, artists mak-ing visual-effects shots that willappear in the movie have to createphotorealistic images, so their mod-els and characters need to be com-plex, fully textured and renderedout, making them very difficult towork with in real time. “I like tothink of previs companies as speed-boats: We’re very fast and canchange direction easily,” says Hatch.“A post house is like an oil tanker: Itcan carry a lot, but when it switchesits engine off, it’ll cruise for twomiles before it can stop.”

Production designer AlexMcDowell has used previs for bothlive-action and animation projects.He is currently working atDreamworks Animation, where hehas participated in numerous dis-cussions about “assetizing vs. dispos-ability.” Assetizing means creatingassets (such as CG models and

Assessing Previs

74 June 2009

Previs Glossary

A joint subcommittee compris-ing members of the American Societyof Cinematographers, the Art DirectorsGuild and the Visual Effects Society hasagreed upon the following definitions:

Previsualization, or previs, is acollaborative process that generates pre-liminary versions of shots or sequencespredominantly using 3D animationtools and a virtual environment. Itenables filmmakers to visually explorecreative ideas, plan technical solutions,and communicate a shared vision forefficient production.

There are a number of types ofprevis in current practice, including:

Pitchvis illustrates the potentialof a project before it has been fullyfunded or greenlit. As part of develop-ment, these sequences are conceptual,to be refined or replaced during prepro-duction.

Technical Previs incorporatesand generates accurate camera, lighting,design and scene-layout information tohelp define production requirements.This often takes the form of dimension-al diagrams that illustrate how particu-lar shots can be accomplished usingreal-world terms and measurements.

On-Set Previs creates real-time(or near-real-time) visualizations onlocation to help the director, cine-matographer, visual-effects supervisorand crew quickly evaluate capturedimagery. This includes the use of tech-niques that can synchronize and com-posite live photography with 2D or 3Dvirtual elements for immediate visualfeedback.

Postvis combines digital ele-ments and production photography tovalidate footage selection, provideplaceholder shots for editorial, andrefine effects design. Edits incorporat-ing postvis sequences are often shownto test audiences for feedback, and toproducers and visual-effects vendors forplanning and budgeting.

been exploring the best ways toachieve that goal.)

An even more pressing need isto increase the role the cinematogra-pher plays in the previs process.“The main problem I’ve encoun-tered has been getting some of thecinematographer’s time,” saysYamamoto. “The first chance I get, Iwant to ask him what aspect ratio hewants to use, what lenses he likes,and what kind of equipment heplans to use — if he’s going to havea 20-foot crane, I don’t want to putin a 30-foot-crane move. I also try toresearch the cinematographer’sstyle, not just the director’s, to tryand get a handle on how he framesthings.”

Until now, many cinematog-raphers have had little occasion tointeract with previs artists. Schaefer,who has used previs on several pic-tures in addition to Quantum ofSolace, including Finding Neverlandand Stranger Than Fiction, says hehas never been asked about theprocess by another cinematograph-er. Some cinematographers mightfear previs will lock the productioninto a narrow vision (i.e., shoot thestoryboards), and Schaefer believesthat concern is valid: “The bad sideof previs is that people tend to see itas the written word, the Bible. It’simportant to treat it as a basic guide.If your approach abides by the pre-vis too strictly, it can limit yourthinking.”

Previs practitioners are acute-ly aware of those dangers, but theycontend that the process shouldnever lock anyone into doing whatwas planned if a better idea emergeson set. “Don’t be afraid of it, anddon’t feel you’re being boxed in,”advises Edwards. “Previs doesn’tprohibit you from responding tohappy accidents. Actually, it freesyou up to respond to what’s goingon.”

One danger some haveencountered is that a producer orstudio will have its own agenda for

Dix Hills, NY 11746Dix Hills, NY 11746

(631) 656-2110www.ftc.edu(631) 656-2110www.ftc.edu

When you’re serious about music and the performing arts!When you’re serious about music and the performing arts!FIVE TOWNS COLLEGEFIVE TOWNS COLLEGE

A end a four-year college that’s as crea ve as you are.Five Towns College o ers the specialized training you need.

Contact an Admissions Representa ve for more informa on or visit us at www. c.edu/signup.

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

“At LFS each filmmaker learns todiscover their “voice”. The training issecond to none and the growth that Iexperienced in two years is really unquantifiable...”

“At LFS each filmmaker learns todiscover their “voice”. The training issecond to none and the growth that Iexperienced in two years is really unquantifiable...”Barney Elliott, MA filmmaking graduate 2003.Barney’s short film ‘True Colours’ has screened at over 80 festivals winning nine first prizes. He wasselected for the prestigious Cannes CinéfondationRésidence and the Binger Film Lab.

THE LFS TWO-YEAR MA FILMMAKING STARTS IN JANUARY, MAY AND SEPTEMBER.To find out more about training in all departments, on a minimum of six film exercises, including two 35mm projects, in a working studio with students from 30 countries visit

lfs.org.uk

75

previsualization work. “What drivesme crazy is when the director doesprevis and the studio says, ‘That’s it,that’s what you have to do,’ or, worse,the studio tries to take it over,” saysDozoretz. “It’s a bastardization ofthe process when the director is notallowed to think on his feet, or whenprevis is used against him.”

One of the most controver-sial aspects of the previsualizationprocess has been its use very early inprep, in some cases to convince stu-dios or investors to greenlight aproject. This work is sometimesdone even before a director isattached, which raises thorny ethi-cal issues for previs artists who seethemselves as part of the director’steam. In other cases, a directormight commission a previs todemonstrate his vision for a project.In one instance, this ploy failed toget the director hired, but the previshouse that did the spec work was

hired to work on the film with a dif-ferent director.

The less-than-intuitive na-ture of previsualization can frus-trate filmmakers as they interactwith it. Schaefer says he hasn’tleaned on previs as a tool for cre-ative exploration partly because hefinds the process a bit clumsy.“Maybe it’s the interface — I’m aMac person, and previs is veryWindows-based,” he muses. “Itcould be a lot more useful if I feltmore comfortable with the interac-tive manipulations. If they couldgive it to me on a computer and Icould do it on my own time, itwould be a more creative processfor me.”

One relatively new optionthat could facilitate the process is thegrowing use of handheld interfacesthat mimic a camera; these toolsmake it possible to physically movearound in CG space. Basically, after

a CG environment is built, it can bedisplayed on a portable screen thatbehaves like a handheld camerawithin the scene. A director, cine-matographer or production design-er can then carry the screen around,exploring the space and setting upshots. “You build an environment,and then the director and cine-matographer can have a meeting inthat environment,” says Edwards.

McDowell says this capabilityrepresents an enormous change forproduction designers. “Most of mypeers had to learn to translateabstract thoughts into blueprints, acompletely inappropriate medium,”he notes. “Now, we’re able to carvespace. I can build a [virtual] set andask the cinematographer to look atit. Everything can happen almostinstantly.” He adds that the latestgeneration of interactive devices isno longer so driven by the technolo-gists, whose influence was greater in

76

Assessing Previs

the recent past. “I’m finding that youdon’t need to know anything aboutthe tools, except that they’re therefor you in some form or another.You don’t need to be technical in anyway [in order to use them].”

Bissell, however, says he doesn’t need a virtual camera. “Idon’t design that way,” he says. Hedoes his own previs work by usingGoogle SketchUp and then export-ing that work to Maya. “When Ibreak down a scene, there are certainimages each scene is going to have. Idon’t approach cinematic design asif it’s architecture; I design the anglesand then build the space. I’m notreally interested in walk-throughsunless that’s part of a scene’s dynam-ics. If it is, I’ll do it in Maya.”

Nevertheless, a handheldinterface does give filmmakers themeans to express their own creativepersonalities. Visual-effects supervi-sor John Scheele recalls visiting the

set of a James Cameron project withOliver Stone, who was allowed toexperiment with the virtual camera.“Oliver grabbed the camera andstarted pushing in, like somethingfrom Natural Born Killers,” Scheelerecalls. “Directors and cinematogra-phers immediately come at it with astyle all their own.” He adds that helooks forward to the next step, whenfilmmakers will not only emulatetheir signature moves, but also usethe technology with more depth.“How can these tools get into thehands of the people who should beusing them?” he muses.

Answering those questions,and many others, is the purpose ofPrevis 2020, a PrevisualizationCommittee workgroup that is tryingto envision what the process canbecome. “Thinking forward is com-pletely liberating,” says McDowell, aPrevis 2020 member. “Where could[the technology] go? If it can do this,

why can’t it do that?”What role will previsualiza-

tion play in the digital-filmmakingpipeline? Can it become a focalpoint for digital technology, thebackbone of an overarching struc-ture that erases the lines betweenprep, production and post? Can itbe used to set up an immersive,non-linear production space? ThePrevisualization Committee hasbegun asking the questions, and theanswers will ultimately come fromthe filmmaking community as awhole, from those using the tech-nology on projects that have yet tobe envisioned. �

77

Cinematographers, Colorists and the DIby Jon Silberg and Stephen Pizzello

Early in 2008, National PublicRadio’s “Morning Edition” ran asegment in which colorist andCompany 3 founder Stefan Sonnenfeld,an associate member of the ASC, spokeabout the tools and skills colorists canbring to feature films via the digital-intermediate process. One listener wasJohn Bailey, ASC, who believed thatthe reporter, Susan Stamberg, andSonnenfeld were touting colorists as areplacement for the director of photog-raphy. Shortly thereafter, Baileyaddressed this and other concernsrelated to digital post and digitalcapture in a Filmmakers’ Forum (ACJune ’08), a piece that prompted muchdiscussion, including a Filmmakers’Forum by Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC (ACOct. ’08) and a number of letters to theeditor.

After Bailey’s piece waspublished, he and Sonnenfeld collabo-rated on a DI for the feature He’s JustNot That Into You (AC Feb. ’09). In theprocess, each developed a betterunderstanding of the other’s perspec-tive on a number of complex issuesrelated to digital post. AC recently satdown with them to get some of thedetails.

American Cinematographer :John, what was your initial reac-tion to the NPR story?

John Bailey, ASC: It broughtinto focus something I’ve been thinkingabout for some time: how has the roleof the cinematographer changed in theworld of digital finishing as opposed tothe world of photochemical finishing? Ithasn’t been an evolution, it’s been aqualitative change, and cinematogra-phers are experiencing it all the time.

Since I wrote the Filmmakers’ Forum,many young cinematographers havecome to me and said, ‘Yes, this ishappening … there are more difficul-ties in the DI suite in terms of collabo-ration and having control over the finallook of the film.’

I should mention that I’ve had anumber of wonderful experiences with[colorist] John Dunn at Ascent Media,including the timing of a new master ofSilverado [AC July ’85]. John is veryrespectful of the original work and doesnot try to reconceive it; on each project,he is very low-key and artful.

Stefan, do you believe cine-matographers are losing controlover the look of their films in the DIsuite?

Stefan Sonnenfeld: I’ve hadthe pleasure of collaborating with manycinematographers on DIs, and I have nointention of taking over their creativeprocess. It’s extremely important to staytrue to what the cinematographers aredoing because our work complementstheirs.

Bailey: Inherently, the parame-ters you work within to finish a filmphotochemically are much narrower. Interms of poetry, it’s like writing a sonnetrather than free verse. Photochemicalprinting requires more discipline andcontrol. In the DI suite, the options youhave to go in and play later are numer-ous, almost limitless; you can doprimary and secondary color changes,you can isolate parts of the frame withpower windows and tweak them, andyou can recompose shots — somethingthat’s done all the time. The fact thatthe tools exist suggests they could bemisused, even if that isn’t always thecase.

What are some of the thingsyou’re hearing from young cine-matographers?

Bailey: For one thing, many of

them haven’t done much work in thephotochemical realm and are lessaware of the greater dynamic rangeand transparency of pure photochemi-cal shooting and finishing. I camethrough a tradition where we essen-tially just had one-light dailies, andwhen they came back, everyone couldsee how consistent your work was. Ithink young cinematographers whohave worked only with video dailiesand then finished their films in the DIsuite have unconsciously started torely more and more on post tools tomake things right. I’m hearing at labsthat many timers are concerned abouthow uneven some work looks now. Iknow of a couple of projects on whichthe answer-print timers have essen-tially said, ‘We can’t make it evenenough. There’s so much variance inthe negative density that the simplethree-color controls and light/darkparameters aren’t enough.’ They haveto strike a DI in order to make a decentanswer print. That’s unfortunate,because if you ever want to strike an IPoff that negative for archival purposes,it’s going to be very erratic.

Sonnenfeld: It’s true that thenewer filmmakers are used to goinginto a telecine suite and don’t have theexperience John’s talking about. I canthink of a perfect analogy: My brotheris a musician, and he recently talkedme into getting some Roland drumsand keyboards, which are extremelycomplicated and can sample anythingin the world. One of the Roland guystold me, ‘You’re not great, but I can tellthat you at least know how to play thepiano.’ There are a lot of prominent so-called musicians who can’t play a songor read music. They might come upwith a successful sound, but they can’tgo back to the basics. People whodon’t understand the basics of thephotochemical process come into the

Post Focus

78 June 2009

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

Stephen Lighthill, 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

n my last year ofgraduate school atBoston University,

where I was studying printjournalism, I took afilmmaking course thatrequired us to produce a shortfilm. Shooting that film wasmy most rewarding experiencein graduate school.

“My first legitimatecinematography work was forCBS News, where I shot newswith an Auricon conversion, alarge, 16mm single-systemsound camera. AmericanCinematographer was theonly reliable source ofinformation for findingbatteries, inverters, lenses,lights, shoulder braces andrelated equipment forcinematographers.

“AC has been mybible ever since. Mostimportantly, the magazine wasmy graduate school forcinematography, and it helpedme understand I’m part of acommunity of visual artists.”

—Stephen Lighthill, ASC

“I

©p

ho

to b

y O

we

n R

oiz

ma

n, A

SC

ago. It has a strongly controlled DI look, which is the aesthetic [direc-tor] David Fincher wanted, and thepost process was so long and compli-cated that [cinematographer] ClaudioMiranda was unable to be there all thetime. Films like that, whose wholeconception and execution is depen-dent upon digital finishing, introduceanother whole set of characteristicsand variables, and the more prevalentthey become, the more the question ofthe cinematographer’s involvementwill come up. Most of us can’t dedi-cate months of our lives to the DIsuite.

When the time came to do a DIon He’s Just Not That Into You, I wasshooting When in Rome in New York,and I was only able to come to LosAngeles on two weekends and givevery minimal input, while [director]Ken Kwapis and Stefan took care ofthe rest. I think the result is very, verygood, but I’ll never know what it wouldhave looked like if I’d been able to bemore involved. Nor do I know what itwould have looked like if I’d been ableto finish it photochemically, which iswhat we wanted to do. This gets tothe crux of the issue for me: We didn’twant the DI process, the studiopromised us we could finish photo-chemically, and then, when we weregetting ready to cut the negative, theychanged their minds. We werestunned. Our fallback position was toask for a 4K DI, but the studio said theydidn’t want to establish that prece-dent. When that decision became non-negotiable, I decided I’d like to do afilm with Stefan — he contacted meafter reading my article in AC. I toldKen I knew Stefan would be a custo-dian of the vision we had of thepicture, and he was. It was a greatexperience.

Sonnenfeld: I’m known formaking the DI a collaborative process.I’m an associate member of the ASC,and I feel I represent the Society’sstandards. I shot film for years as acinematographer on music videos andcommercials, and I’m in tune withwhat cinematographers are trying to

do and trying not to do. Working withJohn was fantastic. I always learnfrom people like him when we worktogether on DIs; every time I get in thatroom with someone who is sophisti-cated in his knowledge of film, it helpsme.

Bailey: Since you’re an advo-cate for the DI process, Stefan, I’d liketo ask you what you think you wereable to do on He’s Just Not That IntoYou that could not have been achievedphotochemically.

Sonnenfeld: I’ll be the first tosay that the film would have lookedbeautiful with a photochemical finish.But even if I’m working on a film thatwas shot beautifully, I still like thecreativity of the DI process; you can doa scene warmer, cooler, brighter ordarker and play around with smalleradjustments and see them in real time.I like that flexibility, and I think it’s veryhelpful.

Bailey: With all due respect, Istill feel there was no reason to do aDI. Everything we wanted was there inthe negative. A few years ago, I shota feature in 3-perf Super 35mm onlybecause the actor’s contract mandateda DI with approval for cosmetic correc-tions. That requirement dictated theformat we chose. I never would havemade that choice creatively. Morerecently, I did another film thatfeatured a number of very beautifulactresses. For reasons unfathomableto me, one of them decided shewanted several dozen cosmetic fixesin the DI. It made me start to questionthe potential implications for thefuture. What if an actor or a producerwho has contractual power to do sodecides to digitally change the natureof the cinematographer’s lighting —more or less fill, or a softer or harderkeylight? What if they decide tochange the image size or reposition aclose-up? You might say, ‘Impossible.The director wouldn’t allow it.’ Buthow many auteur directors with fullcreative control do you know today?For some years now, the studios haverequired us all to accept a provision inour contract that says, ‘Geneva artists’

80 June 2009

DI suite and say, ‘Tweak the shit out ofthis,’ and that’s when I realize howimportant it is to work with peoplewho understand the basics. If theydon’t, the result can be a horrible-look-ing picture that gives the wholeprocess a bad name.

Some cinematographerswould love to have one-lights, butothers are working with producersor directors who might not under-stand what they’re looking at, andfor them, the important thing is toget everyone excited about thelook of the dailies. What’s yourtake, John?

Bailey: It’s all about ensuringthat the cinematographer has an accu-rate understanding of what resides inthe negative. When the colorist ischanging gamma and primary andsecondary colors on a day-to-daybasis, the result can look like ananswer print — or at least somebody’sversion of an answer print — but youreally have no idea what the negativelooks like.

Sonnenfeld: That’s where I liketo feel a little snobby, if you will,because I talk to cinematographersevery day, or at least every week,about their negatives. I’m not justsitting there pushing buttons.

One issue that comes up allthe time is the cinematographer’sparticipation, or lack thereof, inthe DI process. Some are paid forpost work, but many aren’t, and inmany cases, if another job comesalong, they won’t turn it down inorder to supervise the DI.

Sonnenfeld: I’ve seen cine-matographers get paid for post work,but only on very large projects — obvi-ously, money is the issue. Most cine-matographers come in on their owntime, and that’s tough, especially whenthe DI is dragged out for two or threemonths or more. How can you expectthe cinematographer to be available atrandom times and turn down otherjobs in order to be there?

Bailey: Take The Curious Caseof Benjamin Button, a film that wouldhave been inconceivable five years

rights notwithstanding, you agree thatyou are engaged as Work for Hire.’ Infact, that means you have no creativecontrol over your work.

Stefan, what about John’sassertion that an anamorphic filmthat’s finished photochemically,print-to-print, offers much betterimage quality than a 2K or even 4Kdigital finish? Is it accurate?

Sonnenfeld: The short answeris yes, but the long answer is thatthere are too many ancillary deliver-ables these days that require digitalmanipulation to make a strictly photo-chemical finish practical. You can’t justdo an IP and assume everything down-stream is going to look fine. The goodthing about the DI is that you controlthe look of all deliverables from end toend; you put all your time and energyinto the digital master, and we canensure the quality of the imagethrough all of the deliverables withminimal effort. I think that’s enough ofa reason to do a DI. If I were making afilm that would only be seen theatri-cally once, it would be a differentstory. These days, your master lives ona Blu-ray DVD for the rest of your life.And even if you do a photochemicalfinish, you have to go through the DIprocess to create the file that’s usedfor digital distribution at thousands oftheaters around the world. Almostevery project has to do that, especiallythe big titles, and that’s why so manystudios are mandating DIs.

Bailey: But I would argue thatif you don’t have to do a DI for creativereasons, you should cut negative —so you have an established cut nega-tive that’s not buried within 500 rollsof film — and make an IP from that,then use the IP as a source for a high-quality video master. I did that yester-day on one of my recent films, and the2K video master I did will essentiallybecome the digital master. Both of thefilms I had in competition at Sundancethis year [Brief Interviews withHideous Men and The Greatest] hadcut negative and were finished photo-chemically.

Sonnenfeld: But there are

�� !�" #��

��

!�" ��$��%��&�"'�(�)��*�� +��!��#�,� ��(�� +�-�##.��/��0��0��(�1�/��2)��3��4)4�(�2)0)3��5��(�6��2)0)3��5��0)��(��#�7�" ��$��8��#'"��(��'7�" ��$��7'"��

BROADCAST SERVICES

WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK.

THE VERY LATEST IN DIGITAL MOVIE-MAKING MULTI-LINGUAL STAFF 24/7 TECHNICAL SUPPORT

CALL +49.30.230 989 0

VISIT www.camelot-berlin.de

Contact Germany’s Market Leader!Filming in Central Europe?

For Shoots That Work,

See You at Digitale Cinematographie 09 in Munich!

81

some filmmakers — Tony Scott is anexample — who want the flexibility torework the look of movies they shot 10or 15 years ago because their sensibil-ities have changed. For Tony, weremastered The Hunger and Top Gun,and he changed a lot of stuff. We tookthe IP and scanned the untimed nega-tive and made comparisons, and wefound it was easier to work off anuntimed negative than the timed IPwhen Tony wanted to take the look indifferent directions. A timed IP is limit-ing to some degree.

If Scott hadn’t wanted tochange the look, would the IPhave been sufficient?

Sonnenfeld: It’s easier for thecolorist to work from because the colordecisions are incorporated into it, andyes, there is consistency, but in thedigital process, you have to hit everyscene. Just because it’s consistent andit’s an IP, that doesn’t mean the same10 scenes will always look the samewith one correction.

What about the argumentthat cutting neg is limiting in termsof future deliverables?

Bailey: I feel that a movie, likea novel, is an artifact; it’s not 500,000feet of raw data to be repurposed atwill. On any production, the directormakes certain decisions about aperformance, the actors make certainchoices, and the cinematographermakes certain choices, and thatbecomes what the film is. Those arethe decisions I made, and it’s the state-ment I wanted to make.

Sonnenfeld: But as you know,John, there are cinematographers whowant to come in here and put 15 powerwindows on everything.

Bailey: And that has beendetrimental to the look of a lot ofmovies! I think that not cutting neg is adouble-edged sword. You don’t losethe frames, but you’ve essentiallyimprisoned the original film — whatwas theatrically released — in 1,000-foot rolls of film, and if you shot500,000 feet of original camera nega-tive, all of that has to be stored. Thatmandates a huge physical archive. And

all these digital masters we’re talkingabout — 4K, 2K, 1K — comprise ahuge amount of information that hasto not only be stored properly but alsomigrated to new formats as theyevolve. And when things are stored ontape, or on hard drives, which are abigger problem, they have a tendencyto sort of corrupt and disappear. One ofthe first long-form things I did on videowas The Anniversary Party [AC July’01], which I shot in the PAL format. Fora long time, [co-directors] AlanCumming and Jennifer Jason-Leighconsidered shooting Super 16mminstead of video, and today, eventhough I’m pleased with the movie, Iregret that we didn’t shoot film,because if we had, we’d have anarchival original camera negative.What will happen to our original PALtapes, I don’t know.

Sonnenfeld: I recently remas-tered a big movie that’s about six yearsold, and two of the reels couldn’t berecovered from the DTF [tapes]because the tape just wouldn’t play.We had to re-create the roll by scan-ning the negative and conforming [it].

Bailey: And if the film hadn’tearned $100 million at the box office,would there even be all that negative?What happens if the negative wasn’tcut, and you have to dig through400,000 or 500,000 feet of film storedin 1,000-foot rolls? Who’s going to payfor that?

Ansel Adams burned mostof his negatives because he felthis creative intent was in theprint, not the negative. Do you seea kind of corollary in the filmworld?

Bailey: I saw a wonderfulshow at the Los Angeles CountyMuseum of Art that had some of AnselAdams’ key images from Yosemite;they showed the evolution of his printsfrom the so-called vintage print doneat the time to the print he made rightbefore he died. There were maybe fiveor six versions of the same image, andit’s amazing how different they were. Iunderstand that kind of evolution.Every artist has a right to do that, but

Adams was an artist who created animage and had control over what hewanted to do every step of the way. Idon’t think very many filmmakers havethat kind of control. Certainly, cine-matographers don’t. It’s only recentlythat studios, in their enlightened self-interest, have understood the impor-tance of calling the cinematographerin to supervise some of these new iter-ations of their work.

I know I’m on the losing side ofthis. I just hope I can finish my careerin the photochemical realm as muchas possible, because I know what’scoming, and aesthetics and quality arenot driving those decisions — it’smonetary. Studios want nothing morethan to eliminate these bulky, old filmprints that need to be transported, andthe faster digital cinema comes in, thecheaper it will be to deliver the prod-uct.

Sonnenfeld: That’s why it’s soimportant to work with the rightpeople. Every DI is different; this isn’ta business where generic work willdo.

You have to really understandwhat the hell is going on. A lot of filmschools don’t teach enough about thethings we’re discussing. Filmmaking islike any other craft: if you want tolearn it, you’d better be prepared tolearn everything about it. If you wantto be a great filmmaker, you have tounderstand postproduction. You’regoing to get torched if you don’t.

�

82 June 2009

Kodak Introduces Vision3 250DEastman Kodak Co. has unveiled

Vision3 250D 5207/7207 color-negativefilm, the second emulsion in the Vision3line. “We introduced Vision3 technologyin response to our customers’ requestsfor an expanded range of capabilitiesfrom capture all the way through post-production and distribution,” says IngridGoodyear, general manager of World-wide Image Capture Products forKodak’s Entertainment Imaging Division.“By extending the Vision3 portfolio, wecontinue to give our customers moreworkflow efficiencies combined with allthe existing advantages of film: imagequality, resolution, unrivaled dynamicrange, flexibility and archivability.”

5207/7207 is designed to retainthe richness in colors and contrast thatare characteristic of Vision3 technology,with more details in the extreme high-light areas. Like Vision3 500T5219/7219, the new stock incorporatesproprietary Advanced Dye-LayeringTechnology, which renders finer-grainimages in underexposed areas andproduces cleaner film-to-digital trans-fers for post. 5207/7207 also offersexceptional imaging in natural daylight,artificial daylight and a variety of mixed-lighting situations while maintainingpleasing flesh tones and color reproduc-tion.

“What I like about the 5207 is itsintense rendering of color, its strengthwhen it is underexposed, and its ability

to reach into the highlights,” says FredMurphy, ASC. “It has warmer, richer,better skin tones than its predecessors.It is also good to have a relatively faststock that gives you strong images infalling light.”

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

Helical Antennas Go 12 RoundsAlthough they have been on the

market for a number of years, Profes-sional Wireless Systems’ proprietaryHelical antennas only recently madethe transition into feature-film produc-tion with 12 Rounds, directed by RennyHarlin and shot by David Boyd, ASC.Production mixer Paul Ledfordemployed the Helical antennas tocapture dialogue in the midst of a high-speed chase.

Inspired by the use of Helicalantennas for Super Bowl broadcasts,Ledford spoke with Carl Cordes, PWS’sgeneral manager, who “indicated thatHelicals would be equally effective oncar-chase and foot-chase sequences formovies,” says Ledford. Prior to buyingthe antennas, Ledford experimentedwith a rental kit. He notes, “Our test vanconsistently monitored transmissionsfrom a car moving in the same trafficdirection a couple of blocks away.”

The advantages of the Helicalsystem were especially appreciated by12 Rounds’ stunt drivers, who could putmore distance between themselves andthe audio van. “We were able to main-tain continuous contact with the talentwhile keeping well away from thedriving action,” says Ledford. “Everyonecould see and hear everything. Theunits functioned flawlessly throughoutour 52-day location shoot, even whenwe were driving across bridges. Theywere particularly helpful during astreetcar sequence shot on CanalStreet. They picked up transmissions

from distances of almost six blocksaway.

“We shared our chase van withour video-assist operator, ChrisMurphy,” Ledford continues. “Duringproduction, we tested the PWS Helicalon our IFB transmissions and video-assist receivers and found them to be agreat improvement.” He worked with aSix Pack kit of 100mw and 250mwLectrosonics units; some transmitterswere outfitted with pack antennas, andothers used small mag mounts on carexteriors. “These were quite acceptablevisually and proved functional at virtu-ally any angle,” he enthuses. “I thinkthis technology has a real future in loca-tion-based feature-film production.”

According to Cordes, PWS Heli-cal antennas deliver 14 dB of forwardgain and cover a bandwidth from 450MHz to over 800 MHz, with an overallbeam width of 57 degrees. “They’veperformed flawlessly at Super Bowlbroadcasts for the past five years and

New Products & Services

84 June 2009

have also been used on a number ofreality-TV productions,” says Cordes.“It’s a logical and effective solution formaintaining dependable audio andvideo feeds during high-action produc-tions.”

For more information, visitwww.professionalwireless.com.

Mytherapy Opens D-CinelabSpecializing in raw-camera post,

2K and 4K DI processes, and digital-cinema mastering, Mytherapy D-Cinelab has opened a new facility inLondon’s West End. The facility takesraw-camera processing beyond simpleconversion and into the realm ofadvanced post, offering such servicesas noise removal, grain and film-stockmatch, and color-artifact removal. Thefacility also offers real-time transfer ofraw camera data in 4:4:4 10-bit log andimage sequence.

Mytherapy D-Cinelab can handlethe entire high-end digital post on aproject or complement other facilities byassisting in the creation of a workflowfrom acquisition through to deliver-ables. Mytherapy supports such camerasystems as Red One, Silicon Imaging2K, Phantom HD and Arri D-21.

For more information, visitwww.mytherapy.tv.

16x9 Super Fisheye, Wide Attachments16x9 Inc. has unveiled the EXII

0.6X Wide Attachment and the EXII0.45X Super Fisheye Lens Attachment.

The EXII 0.6X, the company’s firstHD-quality wide attachment designedas a single-lens element, measures 0.9"long with a front diameter of 98mm, andit weighs 6.6 ounces. Increasing wide-angle coverage by 40 percent, the EXII0.6X minimizes barrel distortion andenables partial zooming with cameras

85

that have auto-focus capability. TheWide Attachment is compatible with anumber of cameras from Canon, Pana-sonic and Sony, and is available in62mm, 72mm, 77mm and 82mm threadmounts ($345), as well as a bayonetmount ($395).

The single-element, HD-qualityEXII 0.45X Super Fisheye boasts a small,lightweight design — measuring 0.9"long with a front diameter of 115mmand weighing 14.4 ounces — with moremounting options to fit popular camerasfrom Panasonic and Sony; mountingoptions include bayonet ($595) and62mm, 72mm, 77mm and 82mmthreaded ($545).

For more information, visitwww.16x9inc.com.

OConnor Updates ClassicOConnor, a Vitec Group brand,

has upgraded its workhorse Ultimate2575 Fluid Head. The new “D” modelboasts ergonomic changes to controlsand more pan-bar mounting pointswhile retaining the counterbalancespecifications and other characteristicsthat contributed to the popularity of itspredecessor, the 2575C.

The 2575D enables easieradjustments by relocating all controls onthe platform to the operator’s side —the left. The one-touch platform-releaselever allows for one action to undo thesafety catch and open the lever, speed-ing deployment and location changes inthe field.

The upgraded fluid head’s plat-form now features dual platform scales

— one on each side — and four handlerosettes to allow operation from eitherside of the head, as well as front or backhandle-mounting. The 2575D weighsthe same as its predecessor (22.9pounds), carries the same payload (0-87pounds), and is compatible with thesame accessories. It also featuresOConnor’s smooth pan-and-tilt fluiddrag, specifically designed to deliver thecontrol and stability necessary for film-style shooting. OConnor’s patented sinu-soidal counterbalance system providesaccurate balance at any point in the tiltrange.

For more information, visitwww.ocon.com.

Vinten Supports VideographersVinten has responded to

demands from DV-camera users byintroducing an addition to its Protouchlightweight camera-support range. Thenew Pro-5Plus pan-and-tilt head boastsa switchable counterbalance spring forsmoother, controllable tilt movements,separate pan-and-tilt locks, continu-ously variable pan-and-tilt drag forsmoother panning, a 75mm sphericalbase, a leveling bubble, a quick-releaseside-load camera attachment system forconvenient attachment and releasefrom the head, and a fixed-length panbar that can be positioned to suit anypreference.

Despite its lightweight construc-tion, no compromises have been maderegarding camera stability. With asolidly engineered single-stage Pozi-Localuminum tripod and lightweight floorspreader, the Pro-5Plus offers class-

31 0/301-81 87www.hydroflex.com

UNDERWATERHOUSINGS

forRED ONE

andPHANTOM HDNOW AVAILABLE

86

leading rigidity with maximum control.The grab-and-go Pro-5Plus system alsooffers two levels of counterbalance:position 1 for the smallest ofcamcorders requiring no counterbal-ance, and position 2 for camcorders ofup to 9.9 pounds.

The Pro-5Plus pan-and-tilt headcomes with its own Petrol transportcase. For more information, visitwww.vinten.com.

EZ Jib Adds ExtensionEZ FX, Inc. has introduced an

extension kit for its EZ Jib cameracrane. Replacing the 6' and

4' extensions, the new kitcan be used at either

3.5' or 7', effectivelyoffering two exten-

sions in one kit.Further, the kit ismore compactthan the 6' exten-sion, providingeasier storageand transport.

Supporting cameras weighingup to 25 pounds, the new extension kitincludes an extension for the cameraend of the jib and a suspension cable forstabilization and strength. The kitadapts to all EZ Jibs sold in the past,and the jib system can also be outfittedwith remote control pan/tilt heads.

For more information, call (800)541-5706 or visit www.ezfx.com.

Petrol Rolls Out C-Stand BagPetrol, a Vitec Group brand, has

unveiled the C-Stand Rolling Bag, apadded, semi-hard carrier designed tohold up to four C-stands comfortablyand securely.

Dual-directional upside-downzippers extend the length of the lid andopen quickly to fully expose the bag’sinterior. Inside, the contents aresurrounded on all sides by cushioning,and sturdy nylon binding straps hold theC-stands in position. A drawing on thebottom of the carrier illustrates how thestands should be placed.

The case’s exterior boasts frontand rear handgrips, enabling easy lifting

How will you create,plan and communicate

your vision?

FrameForge 3D Studio is the must-have previsualization software fortoday’s top filmmakers. Its optically-correct storyboards will save time andmoney throughout the production process. Start calling the shots withFrameForge 3D Studio today. FrameForge3D.com

Available at TheASC.com Store87

of the bagfrom a shelf or

back compartment ofa car. Other features

include Petrol’s U-Gripergonomic interlocking carrying handleand a smooth-gliding inline skate-wheelassembly for convenient rollawaytoting. The bag is constructed ofdurable, water-resistant, black ballisticnylon.

The C-Stand Rolling Bag has arecommended price of $175. For moreinformation, visit www.petrolbags.com.

CineBags Redesigns Laptop BagCineBags has redesigned its CB-

17 Laptop Bag. Designed to hold laptopsof up to 17", the CB-17 includes aremovable laptop sleeve, a shoulderstrap and CineBags’ “Remove BeforeFilming” key chain. The bag can alsoexpand to accommodate large produc-tion binders.

The CB-17 is available in grayand orange or a limited-edition “digitalcamo” version. For more information,visit www.cinebags.com.

Editing Magic with Magix SoftwareMagix has introduced two video-

editing software packages, Video Pro Xand Movie Edit Pro 15.

Features of Video Pro X, thecompany’s professional video-editingsolution, include Source and ProgramMonitor, allowing for direct comparison

88

between original and edited video clips,and Multi-Camera Editing, with supportfor up to four cameras and full audio-source synchronization between multi-ple tracks or inputs. Video Pro X alsoboast an improved user interface,wherein all shortcuts are freely defin-able, the timeline can be adjusted basedon the user’s preferences, and all inter-face components can be made bigger orsmaller, moved or even hidden. The soft-ware package supports full 1080p HDvideo content for uploading, editing andburning to Blu-ray discs.

Movie Edit Pro 15 fuses sophisti-cated video-editing tools with advancedsurround dubbing and individuallyadjustable special effects, all packagedin a simple user interface. Like Video ProX, it offers full 1080p HD support. Otherfeatures include full YouTube support tohelp users publish their videos directlyto the Web site, and Multi-Camera Edit-ing for two cameras.

For more information, visitwww.magix.com.

VDS Keeps Quantel Plugged InVideo Design Software has

released six new Synapse-Neuronbundles for Quantel, allowing the Quan-tel Q-range operator direct, interactiveuse of hundreds of professional-gradeAfter Effects plug-ins from within thePablo, iQ, gQ, eQ, QPaintbox andQEffects environments.

The neurons include Red GiantPsunami, a photorealistic water-simula-tion plug-in; Red Giant Radium Glow,featuring filters for creating glimmeringpoints and precise outlines; Red GiantWarp, offering control over shadows,reflections and corner-point warps; Digi-Effects Simulate: Camera, which mimics

camera and projection artifacts;DigiEffects Simulate: Illuma,featuring practical lightingeffects; and DigiEffects Damage,which simulates analog and digi-tal errors and defects.

“We are very pleased to beable to offer Quantel users theseexciting, new plug-ins,” saysLarry Mincer, president of VDS.

“Our Synapse platform will continue toprovide great new visual effects onQuantel as they become available. Itoffers Quantel operators over 900 plug-ins, ranging from the latest eye-catchingvisual effects to advanced image-processing algorithms to solve difficultcompositing problems.”

For more information, visitwww.videodesignsoftware.com.

Escape Offers Online Camera- Tracking CourseEscape Studios is offering the

online course “Camera Tracking forVFX,” which delves into the professionalcamera-tracking skills required by aspir-ing 3-D artists. Taught by Escape Studiosstaff, the course covers background,workflows and best practices in a flexi-ble format that includes more than 12hours of video content.

“Camera tracking, also calledmatch moving, is one of the most impor-tant and fundamental techniques for 3-Dartists to master,” says Dominic Daven-port, CEO and founder of EscapeStudios. “This course has been meticu-lously planned to provide students witha thorough professional grounding in thetheory and techniques required forseamless camera moves.”

The course covers softwareapplications PFTrack 5 and Maya Live,showing techniques that are applicableto all software packages. A basic under-standing of Maya is required, but thecourse assumes no prior knowledge ofcamera tracking.

After completing the course,students will be well versed in tracking,solving and adjusting shots, as well astechniques for manipulating footage. Aseries of online videos is provided toclarify key points, and students can

www.pstechnik.de

Official ResellerNorth & South America

973-335-4460 | [email protected]

Careful handling of archive filmSprocket-free film transport systemSoftware based pin-less image stabilisationPRSTM Perforation Recognition SystemUniversal format scanningHigh quality capturing unit up to 2KBest price - performance ratioUpgradeable modular designPrepared for realtime scanningEasy and intuitive user interface

Sprocket-free Transport

Touchscreen User Interface

Software Image Stabilisation

Workflow & Data Transfer

16 mm /35 mm

DPXTIFF

CineForm

89

experiment with included samplefootage for hands-on learning. Addition-ally, as part of Escape Studios’ onlinelearning system, immediate access toprofessional feedback and communica-tion with other users is provided.

The fee for the course is $299.For more information or to register, visitwww.escapestudios.com.

Tiffen, Lowel Team UpThe Tiffen Co. has agreed to

handle the manufacturing, worldwidedistribution and marketing of all Lowel-Light Manufacturing, Inc., products.“This agreement between our compa-nies is a perfect fit,” says Steven Tiffen,president and CEO of The Tiffen Co. “Thebroad range of lighting products Loweloffers complements our name-brandphotographic-accessory lines, and ourdistribution channels reach the samemarkets. We are both very excited aboutthis expansion and the opportunities itpresents.”

Marvin Seligman, president ofLowel-Light, adds, “As we enter our50th year, this partnership brings uscloser together with Tiffen and its otherpremier brands, such as Steadicam. Itallows us to concentrate on what we dobest: create innovative, functional andelegant lighting tools for today’s imagingworld.”

For more information, visitwww.tiffen.com or www.lowel.com.

Thomson Post Becomes Digital Film TechnologyParter Capital Group has

completed its acquisition of the Thom-son Post Production Business Unit,which has been rebranded Digital FilmTechnology. The transition for DFTcustomers is seamless because DFT is selling and supporting Thomson’s full post-product line, including the Spirit and Shadow family of scanners/telecines/datacines, the Bones family ofdailies and post workflow-managementtools, the Scream grain reducer, and theLuther color-calibration system.

“In addition to our seasonedmanagement team, we have anextremely talented and motivated group

of people that are committed to deliver-ing superior sales and support servicesand innovative technology and prod-ucts,” says Stefan Kramper, managingdirector of DFT. “By building on ourhistory and leadership in the post indus-try and opening our internal and externalcommunication channels, we are able tomore effectively facilitate customerrequirements.”

For more information, visitwww.dft-film.com.

Band Pro Offers Financial ServicesBand Pro Film & Digital, Inc.,

recently unveiled a customer-focusedfinancing program, offering a number ofcustomized financing options designedfor the needs of the broadcast- andcinema-production industries. A team offinance professionals will be availableto help secure flexible and competitivefinancing options for new and existingBand Pro customers.

The new service aims to servecustomers requesting financing optionsfrom 12 to 60 months. Most applicantswill be approved within 24 hours.

For more information, call (818) 841-9655, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.bandpro.com.

Epson Unveils Home Cinema ProjectorEpson has added the PowerLite

Home Cinema 6500 UB to its award-winning line of 3LCD 1080p front projec-tors. Offering true 1080p (1920x1080pixels) resolution with the latest 3LCDD7 chip set for significantly highercontrast, a built-in HQV Reon-VX proces-sor by Silicon Optix, and a wide range ofnew performance advantages, the 6500UB delivers an outstanding viewingexperience for home entertainment.

3LCD technology enables theprojector to deliver vibrant colors with-out the possibility of color break-up,unlike single-chip projectors, which usea spinning color wheel to create colors.It also allows the 6500 UB to provide asignificantly enhanced contrast ratio (upto 75,000:1) to deliver darker blacks andbrighter whites.

A Dynamic Iris system with auto-matic light-output adjustments up to 60times per second makes the 6500 UBprojector ideal for fast-action moviesand sports. The projector also featuresEpson’s exclusive Cinema Filter, whichdelivers a larger color space. Epson’s12-bit 3LCD driver technology increasesthe projector’s color gamut to 68.72billion available colors for an enhancedviewing experience.

The 6500 UB also features aunique OptiCinema multi-lens systemdeveloped by Fujinon; this systemallows for sharp, clear images andprecise focus and adjustment flexibility.The projector is equipped with SiliconOptix’s HQV Reon-VX scaling and de-interlacing video processor to reducemosquito and block noise while addingmulti-level contrast enhancement andother picture-improvement options.Epson’s new FineFrame technologydelivers smoother and sharper motionpictures while virtually eliminatingjudder to provide optimum picturedetail.

Other features include bright-ness of up to 1,600 lumens, an improvedairflow system, an advanced air-filtra-tion system, a brighter 200-watt E-TORLlamp, manual lens shift of 100-percentmaximum vertical and 50-percent maxi-mum horizontal, and six color modes.The projector includes a number ofinputs, including dual HDMI 1.3a, S-video, composite video and VGA-typeRGB.

The Home Cinema 6500 UB hasa list price of $2,999. For more informa-tion, visit www.epson.com. �

90 June 2009

SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Please e-mail New Products/Servicesreleases to [email protected] andinclude full contact information and productimages. Photos must be TIFF or JPEG files of atleast 300dpi.

Exchange insight and inspiration with the animators, artists, researchers, developers, and producers who are creating this year’s most amazing experiences. In the city that has been inspiring musical innovation, culinary excellence, visual splendor, and architectural wonder for 300 years. You’ll return from SIGGRAPH 2009 with re-energized imagination, renewed skills, and insider information to spark your creativity and surpass your goals for the coming year.

Join some of the world’s fi nest players at SIGGRAPH 2009 in New Orleans.

International Marketplace

92 June 2009

PROB

ELE

NSES

•SH

UTTL

ESY

STEM

S

310-453-4866 www.InnovisionOptics.com

CAMERA TRACK

ING &

SUPPO

RT

CREATIVE WAYS OF IMAGING

Probe Lenses for HD, DV, 16/35mm Cine

SUPER16INC.COMTop-notch camera and lens servicing

Ask about Ultra 16!

T: 607-642-3352 [email protected]: 877-376-6582 FREE ESTIMATES

© Copyright 2009. PowerMILLS. All rights reserved.

PowerMillsImproving On What Nature Does Naturally.

T H E 6 0 0 W I N V E R T E RI N P U T : 3 0 V D C

O U T P U T : 1 1 7 . 5 V A C P U R E S I N E W A V E

F O R M O R E I N F O R M A T I O N

818.345.7732W W W . P O W E R M I L L S . C O M


Lights!Action!Company.Ph/Fax: 818.881.5642

lightsactionco@ earthlink.net

www.lightsactionco.com

“Maximum Light Output”

Always Ask

ForMAXiLenses TM

©2009 MAXi & Always Ask For MAXi Lenses are trademarks of Lights! Action! Company. All rights reserved. Made in the USA.

New Max-Out 625mm (24.6”)

Super Wide Lens!

You Ask for It. We Listened.

•Better Customer Service•Better Pricing•Better Quality

•Better Customer Service•Better Pricing•Better Quality

35mm, 16mm, Regular 8 and Super 8Film • Rentals • Processing • Telecine – ON SITE

5626 Vineland Avenue • North Hollywood, CA 91601

818-762-4545

www.spectrafilmandvideo.comwww.spectrafilmandvideo.com

DENECKE, INC... PRODUCTS TO HELP YOU

FOCUS ON SOUND.

DENECKE, INC. 25030 Avenue Stanford, Suite 240 Valencia, CA 91355

Phone (661) 607-0206 Fax (661) 257-2236www.denecke.com Email: [email protected]

DCODE TS-C

DCODE SB-T

STATE OFTHE ART

3-D3-Drental equip.

HinesLab dual-camera 3-Drig. 3-D depth and off-screenposition are adjustable during the shot.

StereoCam™• Adapters for 35, 65mm,

standard & HD formats.• Remote Control• 3-D Video Assist• 3-D Calculator• 3-D Consulting

ph. 818-507-5812 www.HinesLab.com

Advertiser’s Index16x9, Inc. 92

Abel Cine Tech 19AC 79Alamar Productions, Inc. 92Alan Gordon Enterprises

92Arri 47

Backstage Equipment, Inc. 81

Bardwell McAlister 68Band Pro 5Bron Kobold 77Burrell Enterprises 92

Camelot Broadcasting Service 81

CamMate Systems 92Cavision Enterprises 51Chapman/Leonard Studio

Equipment Inc. 23Chimera 27Cine Gear Expo 99Cinekinetic 4Cinema Vision 93Cinematography

Electronics 61Clairmont Film & Digital 21Cooke Optics 6

Debbie Clifton 93Deluxe 37Denecke 93

Eastman Kodak 9, C4Entertainment Lighting

Service 93

Filmtools 6Filmotechnic 73Five Towns College 75Focal Press 52FTC/West 92Fuji Motion Picture 15

Gamma & Density 62Glidecam Industries 13Golden Animations 93

Hines Lab 93Hollywood Post Alliance 85Hollywood Rentals 59Hydroflex 86

Innoventive 87Innovision 92

Jem Studio Lighting, Inc. 86J.L. Fisher 11

K 5600, Inc. 38Kino Flo 63Koerner 6

Laffoux Solutions, Inc. 92Lee Filters 97Lentequip, Inc. 94Lights! Action! Company 93London Film School 75Los Angeles Film Festival 83

Maine Media Workshops 88Movie Tech AG 94MP&E Mayo Productions 93

Nalpak, Inc 94New York Film Academy 25

Oppenheimer Camera Prod. 92

Otto Nemenz 49

P+S Technik 89Panasonic Broadcast 7Panther Gmbh 39Photon Beard 93Photo-sonics 69Pille Film Gmbh 92Powermills 93Professional Sound 85Pro8mm 92

Rag Place, The 87Reel FX 81

SAE Institute 61Schneider Optics 2Service Vision 76Siggraph 91Sony Electronics, Inc. C2-1Spectra Film & Video 93Stanton Video Services 88Super16 Inc. 93

Thales Angenieux 17Tiffen C3

VF Gadgets, Inc. 92Videocraft Equipment Pty

92Visual Products 73

Walter Klassen FX 53Welch Integrated 95Willy’s Widgets 92

Zacuto Films 93ZGC, Inc. 6, 89

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

435 & 535B Package - Sacrifice $135,000. Detailsat www.big-storm.com/camera

USED EQUIPMENT. PRO VIDEO & FILM EQUIPMENTCOMPANY. (972) 869-9990.

USED EQUIPMENT. PRO VIDEO & FILM EQUIPMENTCOMPANY. (888) 869-9998, [email protected].

Arri 435ES very complete package plus 18-100 Zoom lens, ArriVaricon. Excellent prices Contact [email protected]

11,000 USED ITEMS. PRO VIDEO & FILM EQUIPMENT.(972 )869-9990.

Classifieds

RED Power Splitter3 & 11 pin 12V Fischer outputs directlyconnected to the battery4 pin XLR polarity protected inputLightweight design and easy to install

.com

94

International Marketplace cont’d

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

BUY-SELL-CONSIGN-TRADE. 47 YEARS EXPERIENCE.CALL BILL REITER. PRO VIDEO & FILM EQUIPMENTCOMPANY. (972) 869-9990.

World’s SUPERMARKET of USED MOTION PICTUREEQUIPMENT! Buy, Sell, Trade. CAMERAS, LENSES,SUPPORT, AKS & MORE! Visual Products, Inc.www.visualproducts.com Call 440.647.4999

PRO VIDEO & FILM USED EQUIPMENT LIST:www.UsedEquipmentNewsletter.com.

NEED USED EQUIPMENT? PRO VIDEO & FILM EQUIP-MENT. (888) 869-9998. www.UsedEquipmentNewsletter.com

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

PRO VIDEO & FILM EQUIPMENT COMPANY. USEDEQUIPMENT. (888) 869-9998.

SERVICES AVAILABLE

STEADICAM ARM QUALITY SERVICE OVERHAUL ANDUPDATES. QUICK TURNAROUND. ROBERT LUNA (323) 938-5659.

Attention Post House! Rent a Panasonic AJHD 3700 D-5Deck at $700.00 per day. Also available Sony SRW 5500,Sony HDW M2000, Sony JH3, Panasonic AJHD 1400P, aswell as many other formats. Please call 646 296 7730

T h e # 1 E d u c a t i o n a l R e s o u r c e f o r F i l m a n d V i d e o M a k e r s s i n c e 2 0 0 4

Get Exposure, Find Crew, or Join a Production

using the Filmmakers Social Networking Site at http://networking.studentfilmmakers.com

Share Your Ideas, Post Your Questions, and Find Answers in the Interactive Forums Moderated by Experts at www.studentfilmmakers.com/bb/

Watch and Share Films and Videos, or Enter Contests in the New Video Section at http://networking.studentfilmmakers.com/videos/

www.studentfilmmakers.com 1133 Broadway, Suite #1503, New York, NY 10010 (T) 212.255.5454

Never Stop Learning, Never Stop Networking.

96 June 2009

American Society of Cinematographers RosterOFFICERS – 2008-’09Daryn Okada,

President

Michael Goi,Vice President

Richard Crudo,Vice President

Owen Roizman,Vice President

Victor J. Kemper,Treasurer

Isidore Mankofsky,Secretary

John Hora,Sergeant-at-Arms

MEMBERS OF THE BOARDCurtis ClarkRichard CrudoCaleb DeschanelJohn C. Flinn IIIWilliam A. FrakerMichael GoiJohn HoraVictor J. KemperMatthew LeonettiStephen LighthillDaryn OkadaRobert PrimesOwen RoizmanNancy SchreiberKees Van Oostrum

ALTERNATESSteven FierbergMichael D. O’SheaSol NegrinMichael Negrin

Ernest DickersonBilly DicksonBill DillBert DunkJohn DykstraRichard EdlundFrederick ElmesRobert ElswitGeoffrey ErbScott FarrarJon FauerDon E. FauntLeRoyGerald FeilSteven FierbergGerald Perry FinnermanMauro FioreJohn C. Flinn IIIRon FortunatoWilliam A. FrakerTak FujimotoAlex FunkeSteve GainerRon GarciaDejan GeorgevichMichael GoiStephen GoldblattPaul GoldsmithFrederic GoodichVictor GossJack GreenAdam GreenbergRobbie GreenbergAlexander GruszynskiChangwei GuRick GunterRob HahnGerald HirschfeldHenner HofmannAdam HolenderErnie HolzmanJohn C. HoraGil HubbsMichel HugoShane HurlbutJudy IrolaMark IrwinLevie IsaacksAndrew JacksonPeter JamesJohnny E. JensenTorben JohnkeFrank JohnsonShelly JohnsonJeffrey JurWilliam K. JurgensenAdam KaneStephen M. KatzKen KelschVictor J. KemperWayne KennanFrancis KennyGlenn KershawDarius KhondjiGary KibbeJan KiesserJeffrey L. KimballAlar KiviloRichard Kline

Rene OhashiDaryn OkadaThomas OlgeirssonWoody OmensMiroslav OndricekMichael D. O’SheaAnthony PalmieriPhedon PapamichaelDaniel PearlEdward J. PeiJames PergolaDon PetermanLowell PetersonWally PfisterGene PolitoBill PopeSteven PosterTom Priestley Jr.Rodrigo PrietoRobert PrimesFrank PrinziRichard QuinlanDeclan QuinnEarl RathRichard Rawlings Jr.Frank RaymondTami ReikerMarc ReshovskyRobert RichardsonAnthony B. RichmondBill RoeOwen RoizmanPete RomanoCharles Rosher Jr.Giuseppe RotunnoPhilippe RousselotJuan Ruiz-AnchiaMarvin RushPaul RyanEric SaarinenAlik SakharovMikael SalomonHarris SavidesRoberto SchaeferAaron SchneiderNancy SchreiberFred SchulerJohn SchwartzmanJohn SealeChristian SebaldtDean SemlerEduardo SerraSteven ShawRichard ShoreNewton Thomas SigelJohn SimmonsSandi SisselBradley B. SixDennis L. SmithRoland “Ozzie” SmithReed SmootBing SokolskyPeter SovaDante SpinottiRobert SteadmanUeli SteigerPeter SteinRobert M. Stevens

George KoblasaFred J. KoenekampLajos KoltaiPete KozachikNeil KrepelaWilly KurantEllen M. KurasGeorge La FountaineEdward LachmanKen LamkinJacek LaskusAndrew LaszloDenis LenoirJohn R. LeonettiMatthew LeonettiAndrew LesniePeter LevyMatthew LibatiqueStephen LighthillKarl Walter LindenlaubJohn LindleyRobert F. LiuWalt LloydBruce LoganGordon LonsdaleEmmanuel LubezkiJulio G. MacatGlen MacPhersonConstantine MakrisKarl MalkamesDenis MaloneyIsidore MankofskyChristopher ManleyMichael D. MarguliesBarry MarkowitzVincent MartinelliSteve MasonClark MathisDon McAlpineDon McCuaigSeamus McGarveyRobert McLachlanGreg McMurrySteve McNuttTerry K. MeadeChris MengesRexford MetzAnastas MichosDouglas MilsomeDan MindelCharles MinskyRichard MooreDonald A. MorganDonald M. MorganKramer MorgenthauM. David MullenDennis MurenFred MurphyHiro NaritaGuillermo NavarroMichael B. NegrinSol NegrinBill NeilAlex NepomniaschyYuri NeymanJohn NewbySam NicholsonDavid B. Nowell

ACTIVE MEMBERSThomas AckermanLance AcordLloyd Ahern IIHerbert AlpertRuss AlsobrookHoward A. Anderson IIIHoward A. Anderson Jr.James AndersonPeter AndersonTony AskinsCharles AustinChristopher BaffaJames BagdonasKing BaggotJohn BaileyMichael BallhausAndrzej BartkowiakJohn BartleyBojan BazelliFrank BeascoecheaAffonso BeatoMat BeckDion BeebeBill BennettAndres BerenguerCarl BergerGabriel BeristainSteven BernsteinRoss BerrymanMichael BonvillainRichard BowenDavid BoydRussell BoydJonathan BrownDon BurgessStephen H. BurumBill ButlerFrank B. ByersBobby ByrneAntonio CalvachePaul CameronRussell P. CarpenterJames L. CarterAlan CasoMichael ChapmanRodney ChartersJames A. ChressanthisJoan ChurchillCurtis ClarkPeter L. CollisterJack CoopermanJack CoufferVincent G. CoxJeff CronenwethRichard CrudoDean R. CundeyStefan CzapskyDavid DarbyAllen DaviauRoger DeakinsJan DeBontThomas Del RuthPeter DemingCaleb DeschanelRon DexterGeorge Spiro DibieCraig Di Bona

97

J U N E 2 0 0 9

Tom SternVittorio StoraroHarry Stradling Jr.David StumpTim SuhrstedtPeter SuschitzkyAlfred TaylorJonathan TaylorRodney TaylorWilliam TaylorDon ThorinJohn TollMario TosiSalvatore TotinoLuciano TovoliJost VacanoTheo Van de SandeEric Van Haren NomanKees Van OostrumRon VargasMark VargoAmelia VincentWilliam WagesRoy H. WagnerRic WaiteMichael WatkinsJonathan WestHaskell WexlerJack WhitmanGordon WillisDariusz WolskiRalph WoolseyPeter WunstorfRobert YeomanRichard YuricichJerzy ZielinskiVilmos ZsigmondKenneth Zunder

ASSOCIATE MEMBERSAlan AlbertRichard AschmanVolker BahnemannJoseph J. BallCarly M. BarberCraig BarronThomas M. BarronLarry BartonBob BeitcherMark BenderBruce BerkeJohn BickfordSteven A. BlakelyMitchell BogdanowiczJack BonuraMichael BravinWilliam BrodersenGarrett BrownRonald D. BurdettReid BurnsVincent CarabelloJim CarterLeonard ChapmanDenny ClairmontCary ClaytonEmory M. CohenSean CoughlinRobert B. CreamerGrover CrispDaniel Curry

Ross DanielsonCarlos D. DeMattosGary DemosRichard Di BonaKevin DillonDavid DodsonJudith DohertyDon DonigiCyril DrabinskyJesse DylanJonathan ErlandJohn FarrandRay FeeneyWilliam FeightnerPhil FeinerJimmy FisherScott FleischerThomas FletcherSteve GarfinkelSalvatore GiarratanoRichard B. GlickmanJohn A. GreschJim HannafinWilliam HansardBill Hansard, Jr.Richard HartRoman I. HarteRobert HarveyDon HendersonCharles HerzfeldLarry HezzelwoodFrieder HochheimBob HoffmanVinny HoganRobert C. HummelRoy IsaiaGeorge JobloveJoel JohnsonJohn JohnstonCurtis JonesFrank KayDebbie KennardMilton KeslowRobert KeslowLarry KingenDouglas KirklandTimothy J. KnappRon KochKarl KresserLou LevinsonSuzanne LezotteGrant LoucksAndy MaltzSteven E. ManiosRobert MastronardiJoe MatzaAlbert L. Mayer, Sr.Albert Mayer, Jr.Andy McIntyreStan MillerWalter H. MillsGeorge MiltonMike MimakiRami MinaTak MiyagishimaMichael MorelliDash MorrisonNolan MurdockMark W. MurphyDan Muscarella

F. Jack NaporIain A. NeilOtto NemenzErnst NettmannTony NgaiMickel NiehenkeMarty OppenheimerWalt OrdwayLarry ParkerMichael ParkerWarren ParkerDoug PentekEd PhillipsNick PhillipsJoshua PinesCarl PorcelloHoward PrestonDavid PringlePhil RadinChristopher ReynaColin RitchieEric G. RodliAndy RomanoffDaniel RosenDana RossBill RussellKish SadhvaniDavid SamuelsonPeter K. SchnitzlerWalter SchonfeldJuergen SchwinzerRonald ScottSteven ScottDon ShapiroMilton R. ShefterLeon SilvermanGarrett SmithStefan SonnenfeldJurgen SpornJohn L. SprungJoseph N. TawilIra TiffenArthur TostadoAnn TurnerBill TurnerStephan Ukas-BradleyMark Van HorneRichard VetterJoe ViolanteDedo WeigertFranz WeiserEvans WetmoreBeverly WoodJan YarbroughHoyt YeatmanIrwin M. YoungMichael ZachariaBob ZahnNazir ZaidiMichael ZakulaLes Zellan

HONORARY MEMBERSCol. Edwin E. Al drin Jr.Neil A. ArmstrongCol. Michael CollinsBob FisherCpt. Bruce McCandless IIDavid MacDonaldD. Brian Spruill

THE ART OF LIGHT

Color CorrectionDiffusion

Color Effect

Tel: 818-238-1220 www.leefilters.com

Come visit us at

Cine Gear June 5th- 6th

98 June 2009

he has pushed to develop CG tools simi-lar to the flags, nets, shiny boards andbarn doors found on live-action sets.

Lake Arrowhead Fest Fetes ASC MembersAt the 10th annual Lake Arrow-

head Film Festival in April, VilmosZsigmond, ASC and the late LaszloKovacs, ASC were honored withOutstanding Achievement in Cine-matography Awards. Fellow Societymember Ron Dexter presented theaward to Zsigmond during the festival’sGala Awards Ceremony, and the LAFFVice-President of the Board of Directors,Jack Cooperman, ASC, presented aSpecial Recognition Award to JamesChressanthis, ASC for his documen-tary No Subtitles Necessary.

Awards were also presented inthe categories Documentary Feature,Feature Film, Ensemble Cast, SpecialAchievement in Film, Best of the Festi-val, Short Documentary, Short Film,Animated Film and Student Film; direc-tor Joe Dante took home the award forSpecial Achievement in the Art of Inde-pendent Filmmaking.

“This is a very filmmaker-oriented festival,” says Cooperman.“We never show more than two screensat any one time, and because it’s all inone facility, there’s a tremendous

Society Welcomes FarrarCalifornia native Scott Farrar,

ASC started making films in high school.He continued his education at theUniversity of California-Los Angeles,where he earned a Bachelor of Artsdegree and a Master of Fine Arts intheater design with an emphasis in film.

Farrar began working as a free-lance director of photography and editor,but after a visit to Industrial Light &Magic during the production of StarWars (1977), he decided to focus onphotographic effects. Following a stintwith Robert Abel and Associates, Farrarjoined Douglas Trumbull to work on StarTrek: The Motion Picture (1979), and in1981, he joined ILM as an effects cine-matographer/camera operator on StarTrek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). In1985, Farrar won an Academy Award forhis contribution to Cocoon’s visualeffects, and he was subsequentlypromoted to visual-effects supervisor forWho Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988).

Farrar earned Oscar nominationsfor Backdraft (1991), Artificial Intelli-gence: AI (2001), The Chronicles ofNarnia: The Lion, the Witch and theWardrobe (2005) and Transformers(2007). He recently completed work onTransformers: Revenge of the Fallen(2009). Drawing on his background as acamera operator and cinematographer,

amount of communication between theaudience and the filmmakers.”

Cinematographers who havebeen honored by the festival in the pastinclude ASC members William A.Fraker and Donald M. Morgan. Coop-erman adds, “My whole function [duringthe festival] is to make the general publicaware of the role of the cinematogra-pher.”

Beverly Hills Fest Honors WexlerHaskell Wexler, ASC was

presented with the Legend Award duringthe ninth annual International BeverlyHills Film Festival. The award waspresented on April 5 at the Beverly HillsHotel.

Hummel Presents Big PictureOn May 7, in conjunction with an

exhibition celebrating the 75th anniver-sary of the National Archives, ASC asso-ciate member Rob Hummel presented“The Big Picture: The Evolution of theWide-Screen Film.” Organized in part-nership with the Academy of MotionPicture Arts and Sciences, The CharlesGuggenheim Center for the DocumentaryFilm and the Foundation for the NationalArchives, the illustrated lecture tracedthe history of motion-picture formatsfrom the silent era to the present day.

Cinematheque Hosts RoizmanOwen Roizman, ASC recently

visited the American Cinematheque’sAero Theatre in Santa Monica, Calif., todiscuss his Oscar-nominated work onWilliam Friedkin’s The French Connection(1971). Former Los Angeles Times writerKevin Thomas led the discussion follow-ing a screening of the film. �

Clubhouse News

Ph

oto

of V

ilmos

Zsi

gmon

d an

d Ja

ck C

oope

rman

by

Lin

da S

ilver

stei

n, c

ourt

esy

of t

he

Lake

Arr

owh

ead

Film

Fes

tiva

l.

JOIN HOLLYWOOD’S PROFESSIONALS IN 2009For the Pre-Production • Production • Post Production Community

Contact us @ 310/472-0809 • [email protected]

CALL FOR ENTRIES!THE FILM SERIES AT CINE GEAR EXPO 2009Independent, Student Short Film & Feature Film CompetitionANNOUNCING NEW!The Expansion Into Documentary Film Competition Deadlines For Submissions Are:Early 3.15.09 • Regular 4.08.09 • Late 5.01.09

For more information and updates, visit us at: WWW.CINEGEAREXPO.COM

Paramount Pictures Studio Lot, Hollywood, CAExhibition & Premiere Seminars: June 5 - 6, 2009The Film Series at Cine Gear Expo: June 4 - 6, 2009Master Class Seminars: June 7, 2009

100 June 2009

When you were a child, what film made thestrongest impression on you?There really wasn’t one, but a combination ofseveral, including Lawrence of Arabia (1962),West Side Story (1961), Blow-Up (1966), TheAdventures of Robin Hood (1938), Psycho (1960),Major Dundee (1965) and Ben-Hur (1959).

Which cinematographers, past or present,do you most admire?Gregg Toland, ASC; Sol Polito, ASC; Robert Surtees, ASC; FreddieYoung, ASC, BSC; Carlo Di Palma; Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC; VilmosZsigmond, ASC; Geoffrey Unsworth, BSC; Gordon Willis, ASC; RobertRichardson, ASC; Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC; John Alcott, BSC; andJanusz Kaminski.

What sparked your interest in photography?An involvement in drawing and painting since I was a child. Also, mydad was a photographer in the Air Force.

Where did you train and/or study?Massachusetts College of Art and the University of Massachusetts.

Who were your early teachers or mentors?I’m not sure if ‘mentors’ is the word, but those with whom I’ve workedfor varying amounts of time and from whom I learned the most wereJan DeBont, ASC; Ernest Day, BSC; Winton Hoch, ASC; Orson Welles;and Bruce Surtees.

What are some of your key artistic influences?Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Degas and Renoir; SergeiEisenstein, Buster Keaton, Orson Welles, David Lean, Sam Peckinpahand Francis Ford Coppola; Truffaut and Godard; Antonioni, De Sica,Leone and Bertolucci; Alfred Eisenstaedt, Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams,Richard Avedon, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Edward Weston and RobertFrank.

How did you get your first break in the business?I got a job as an assistant on a film called Roar (1981) that Jan DeBontcame over from Holland to film. He moved me up to operator very earlyin the production. As the movie rolled on for over three years, it gave mea great daily training ground to learn the complicated skills of operating,and cinematography in general. It also provided a chance for me to trainwith a Steadicam; this allowed me the opportunity to begin a parallelcareer as an A-camera and Steadicam operator.

What has been your most satisfyingmoment on a project?It’s hard to put a superlative on themoment. I would say these are some: ascomplete works, the period piecesFrankenstein (for Hallmark) and Into theWest (for DreamWorks/TNT); actuallysurviving the feature Reindeer Gamesand miniseries George Wallace with

John Frankenheimer — and with fond memories; the sheer glee ofdoing Muppet movies; and the complete freedom to create the look ofSix Feet Under.

Have you made any memorable blunders?Falling asleep while operating a close-up on Bette Davis.

What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received?From John Frankenheimer: ‘Alan, whatever you do in this business,don’t ever let them push you into shooting something you know is justbad, something you’ll end up regretting or hating. Simple rule of thumb:don’t shoot s**t!’

What recent books, films or artworks have inspired you?I read such a wide variety of fiction and enjoy art in such an eclecticway that it is very hard to cite any one thing. I would rather say that thecollective experience of appreciating and living in today’s complex envi-ronment speaks volumes.

Do you have any favorite genres, or genres you would like totry?My favorite genres are action, period pieces and Westerns. I wouldlove to try a musical.

If you weren’t a cinematographer, what might you be doinginstead?Building furniture and growing a big vegetable garden.

Which ASC cinematographers recommended you for member-ship?Charlie Correll, Gil Hubbs and Kees Van Oostrum.

How has ASC membership impacted your life and career?It has brought me closer to my peers and made available the tremen-dous resources offered by the Society. Membership has also allowedme the opportunity to give back to the community through the Society’sinvolvement with educational, awards and technical-advancementprograms. �

ASC CLOSE-UPAlan Caso, ASC

Ph

oto

by K

odak

.

Now say goodbye to IR pollution with Tiffen’s innovativenew line of Hot Mirror Infrared Neutral Density filters. TheTiffen HMIRND combination filters are the complete solution to the IR pollution problem, blocking both the near IR and IRregions of the spectrum. Designed for high definition cameras,especially those that don’t incorporate an internal IR blocker,exclusive Tiffen HMIRND filters block unwanted IR light andhave matched IR and ND components to assure accurate colorreproduction in the near infrared region.

The new Hot Mirror IRND filters incorporate Tiffen’s uniqueColorCore™ technology that — unlike surface coated filters —sandwiches the coating within the filter for safe, easy cleaningwithout fear of damaging the filter. This also allows Tiffen

HMIRND’s to be ground and polished to assure perfect parallelism. Used in almost every major movie and TV production around the world, Tiffen filters have earnedtwo Technical Achievement Awards and a Scientific and Engineering Award from the ©Academy of Motion PictureArts and Sciences® for their ColorCore Filter LaminationProcess (1985, 2000) and Ultra Contrast Filters (1993) repectively, as well as a Prime Time Emmy® Award (1998)for filter engineering excellence.

The Tiffen HMIRND filters are available in popular motion picture sizes, in densities 0.3 to 2.1, and are backed by Tiffen’s 10-year warranty. For more infor-mation about the hottest new filters in the businessvisit www.tiffen.com today.

®

New Tiffen Hot Mirror IRND Filters

Make All The Difference.

Looking for a solution to IR pollution?

1-800-645-2522 • tiffen.com

The Difference is Tiffen

Documents

AC iun 2009