AC Aug 2012

AUGUST 2012
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M E M B E R P O R T R A I T
Christian Sebaldt, ASC
W W W . T H E A S C . C O M
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rowing up in Munich, I
was influenced by French,
Italian and American
movies. I was mesmerized by
their images; I wanted to
discover how to summon and be
in command of such visuals.
Cinematography was the only
profession I ever considered.
Someone at a rental
house in Munich gave me a copy
of American Cinematographer
when I was an assistant, and I
have been hooked ever since.
Every issue presents a mind-
boggling number of artistic and
technical revelations, and
studying the corresponding
images onscreen validates every
printed word. Even today, AC is
my film school, my encyclopedia
and my bible.
I find it inspiring when
brilliant filmmakers generously
share their thoughts and
techniques. As long as I keep
learning from my heroes, my
methods will evolve, and I will be
able to forge timely and poignant
images.
Christian Sebaldt, ASC
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The International Journal of Motion Imaging
30 Batman to the Max
Wally Pfister, ASC and the team behind The Dark Knight
Rises offer a detailed overview of the production
46 Web-Slinging in Stereo
John Schwartzman, ASC spins a 3-D yarn with
The Amazing Spider-Man
58 Memory Upgrade
Paul Cameron, ASC experiences dj vu on the sci-fi remake
Total Recall
68 Vampire Veto
Caleb Deschanel, ASC helps our 16th president axe the
undead in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
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8 Editors Note
12 Short Takes: New York Story
18 Production Slate: 360 Midnight in Paris/To Rome with Love
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After raising the visual bar for comic-book movies with
Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, director Christopher
Nolan and cinematographer Wally Pfister, ASC still felt
they had room to expand the Caped Crusaders universe.
For the final film of their Gotham City trilogy, The Dark
Knight Rises, the dynamic duo decided to up the ante by
shooting significantly more footage in 15-perf 65mm
Imax, a format they had used for select sequences on The
Dark Knight. This is storytelling on an epic scale, Pfister
observes. Chris and I wanted to present the action in a
way that would have the most impact on the audience,
and we strongly believe Imax is the most immersive
format. New York correspondent Iain Stasukevich inter-
viewed Pfister, Nolan and other members of the filmmaking team to create a comprehensive
overview of the technical challenges they faced while shooting with large-format cameras
(Batman to the Max, page 30).
The makers of The Amazing Spider-Man swung in a different direction while
updating Peter Parkers arachnid adventures. John Schwartzman, ASC and his aptly named
director, Marc Webb, opted to give Spidey an extra dimension by capturing in digital 3-D.
After watching test footage from Spider-Man 2 that had been converted to 3-D, Webb and
Schwartzman decided to go native. Everyone realized this movie had great 3-D potential,
Schwartzman tells Michael Goldman (Web-Slinging in Stereo, page 46). However, with
a big visual-effects picture, there is never enough time to do a good conversion by the time
everything else is finished. You need about 12 weeks to do a good conversion, and what
big-budget visual-effects film is finished 12 weeks before release?
Caleb Deschanel, ASC also sank his teeth into the world of digital 3-D on Abra-
ham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, a cheeky rewrite of Civil War history directed by Timur
Bekmambetov, but, for various reasons, the production opted for 3-D conversion in post.
Abraham Lincoln is a big film, but we did have limited time and a limited budget,
Deschanel tells David E. Williams (Vampire Veto, page 68). Because we could shoot more
quickly in 2-D, we decided to do that and convert in post. The rub with that is that you have
to leave time in post to do a good job; that has to be built into the schedule.
Paul Cameron, ASC and director Len Wiseman initially intended to shoot Total
Recall, an ambitious remake of Paul Verhoevens 1990 sci-fi classic, on anamorphic 35mm.
However, a week before production began, they were required to switch to Red Epics, and
they ultimately used 35mm only for stunt sequences involving crash cams. Production was
convinced there would be a significant savings for us because of all the visual-effects work
we required, but it was a big trade-off, Cameron tells Jay Holben (Memory Upgrade,
page 58). Ive shot a lot of projects digitally, but this was a brand new camera Id never
used, and we had to start shooting in eight days. Thankfully, he notes, Red was very
supportive. They sent a tech to us for the first two weeks to make sure we got rolling
smoothly, and they responded very quickly to any questions or problems we had.
Stephen Pizzello
Executive Editor
Editors Note
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The smallest camera makes the biggest images.
This still frame was pulled from 5k RED EPIC
motion footage and graded by Company 3. Prometheus 2012 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.
www.red.com
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Dariusz Wolski, ASC
12 August 2012 American Cinematographer
Capturing a City of Icons
By Iain Stasukevich
Directed by Donna Lawrence and shot by Buddy Squires, New
York Story is a special-format theatrical experience conceived for the
newly refurbished theater at the New York Historical Society and
Library in Manhattan. The project incorporates computer animation,
historical photos and documents, archival material, and new live-
action footage.
Squires knows a few things about capturing New York on
camera. He shot the Oscar-nominated films Brooklyn Bridge and The
Statue of Liberty for documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, and he also
worked with Ric Burns (Kens brother) on the PBS miniseries New
York: A Documentary Film.
Lawrences previous work includes installation pieces for the
National Constitution Center, the Kentucky Derby Museum and the
Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center. All of her films are tailored for
unique venues, and the N.Y. Historical Society theaters 73'-wide
screen (a 4.71:1 aspect ratio) promised that New York Story would
offer another spectacular proscenium.
The filmmakers needed to originate on a medium that
offered the greatest amount of picture resolution for the projection
surface the images would occupy. Prior to Squires involvement,
Lawrence and technical consultant Todd Freese of Chicagos Film-
workers Club shot tests comparing the Red One Mysterium-X at 4K
and Super 35mm scanned to 4K files. After viewing the tests on a
13'-wide screen in the Filmworkers DI suite, everyone agreed film
was the best choice. At that scale, says Squires, there was no doubt
Super 35 did a much better job of handling light and shadow.
But the real test came after the images were enlarged to the
width of the Historical Societys 73' screen, upon which three
1920x1080 digital projectors would each simultaneously display
one-third of the 5760x1080 panorama. We looked at one of the
three slices, which was maybe 23 feet high by 25 feet wide, and, to
my shock and dismay, the Super 35 image kind of fell apart, says
Squires.
The determining factor, says Freese, was where the viewer
was seated. The first row of seats is very close to the screen, about
15 feet, he explains. At that distance, the noise and the grain in
the film image were extremely exaggerated. If we sat in the back of
the theater, about 38 feet from the screen, we couldnt see any
grain, but most of the audience would be closer than that.
Capturing in 4K with the Red MX emerged as the best
choice at that point, but Squires continued to search for other
options. He recalls, I was working on another project at AbelCine
in New York, and I mentioned to [AbelCine applications specialist]
Mitch Gross that I was a little frustrated with the Red. He suggested
the Phantom 65 Gold.
Squires supervised another set of camera tests comparing
the Red to the Phantom, using Hawk anamorphic lenses provided
by Fletcher Camera & Lenses. Though the Red offered an estab-
lished on-set workflow, the Phantoms 4096x2440-pixel 65mm
sensor provided all the horizontal resolution New York Story
required. AbelCine subsequently supplied Squires with a Phantom
and Arri/Zeiss Maxi-PL Prime lenses ranging from 30mm to 350mm.
I have to give Donna a lot of credit for continuing the testing
process, says Squires. You cant just assume that what looks good
on a 13-foot screen will look good on a 73-foot screen. There was
a lot at stake, and we had to do our homework.
He notes that the Phantom 65s large-format sensor called
for carefully designed compositions. You have to make sure every-
thing in that frame is something you want to see. On a 73-foot
screen, the Phantom 65s startling clarity demands that the cine-
matographer take responsibility for every square inch of the frame.
There is simply nowhere to hide ones mistakes.
Assisted by 1st AC John Romeo and Phantom technicians
Jamie Alac and Jesse Rosen, Squires placed the camera in mostly
public locations such as sidewalks, rooftops and Central Park. The
Short Takes
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For New York Story, director Donna Lawrence and cinematographer Buddy Squires embraced the 4.71:1 aspect ratio to take advantage
of the 73'-wide screen in the New York Historical Society and Librarys recently refurbished theater.
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team traveled light, with only the camera,
lenses, tripod, a case of 512 GB Phantom
CineMags and some basic accessories.
Though he tended to favor wider
lenses, Squires was still challenged by
composing an ultra-wide frame for a city
thats all about verticality. He explains, I
had to find a way to work a tilt into the shot
of the Queensboro Bridge. Otherwise, there
was no way to get far enough away and still
have the river as our principal foreground
while taking in the entire bridge. It took
some careful moves to make that work,
because on a screen as large as the
museums, every move is magnified you
can give people motion sickness with a
quick pan or tilt. Even someone with his
hand on the follow-focus gear is likely to
cause unwanted movement!
On the street, Squires used focal
lengths as long as 350mm to compress the
bustle of New York pedestrians into a
mosaic of motion and intensity. He
photographed such iconic interiors as
Grand Central Stations main concourse,
and even managed to sneak a few shots in
the subway station beneath it. We just
walked down there with our big camera
and set it up under one of the MTAs secu-
rity cameras, he says. We were there for
an hour capturing arrivals and departures,
and, amazingly, no one bothered us.
No cinematic document of the Big
Apple would be complete without a birds-
eye view of the city, so Squires took to the
skies in a helicopter piloted by Al Cerullo,
and mounted the Phantom 65 to a remote-
operated Eclipse stabilization system. The
shot where we fly in low over Central Park
Top: An Eclipse
stabilization
system was affixed
to a helicopter
piloted by Al
Cerullo for the
projects aerial
views. Middle:
Squires stands
next to the
Phantom 65 Gold
camera on location
in Times Square.
Bottom: The crew
captures the
sunrise over
Manhattan from a
vantage in
Weehawken, N.J.
might be one of the many places where the
4.71:1 aspect ratio works the best, the
cinematographer observes. That shot
encompasses four long avenues, Fifth
Avenue to Central Park West, and offers a
perspective of the park that is almost
vertigo-inducing. When youre shooting
from the air, you dont always get a real
sense of the park, which is an emerald in
the middle of the city. With that aspect ratio
and that much resolution, we could actually
be low over the park, looking south, and see
its entire width.
To minimize banding and color-
temperature shifts, the Phantom 65 required
a black balance after almost every shot.
Normally the operation called for Squires to
physically cap the lens, but in the air, the
camera was mounted beneath the heli-
copters nose, so Eclipse engineers in Los
Angeles devised a custom cabling system
that connected to a capping shutter an
external aperture enabling Squires to
remotely block light from the lens.
The production ended up renting
one Red MX for a few nighttime shots,
including aerials of Manhattan and the
Statue of Liberty, which Squires captured
with a Fujinon Alura 18-80mm zoom, and a
simulated cab ride through Times Square,
for which the camera was mounted on a
Libra head. The Phantom image had a
greater sense of presence than the Red, but
one of the disadvantages of the Phantom
was its ISO 200 sensor, and the fact that the
fastest prime we could use with it was
T3.6, says Squires. The Red MX looked
great at ISO 800, and we were also able to
use fast Zeiss Super Speeds and Arri Master
Primes with it.
The Filmworkers Club handled all the
dailies and sent time-coded 4K ProRes files
to editor Jamie Pence at Videobred in
Louisville, Ky., for real-time editing and
compositing in Adobe Premiere and
AfterEffects. Pence output the locked 4K
edit as three independent 10-bit 1080p DPX
streams that were delivered by Videobred to
the New York Historical Societys installation
team. That team, led by Tony Peugh of Elec-
trosonic, Inc., converted the DPX streams to
1920x1080 DCPs for the theaters three HD
projectors.
Over the course of New York Storys
18-minute running time, the screen width
transforms from 25' to 73' while sectioned
panels lower and raise in an impressive
display of interactive theatrical lighting and
surround-sound cues.
New York is a city of icons, and
theyre photographed thousands of times
every day by tourists and New Yorkers
alike, says Squires. If youre going to film
them, youd better damn well do it in a way
that feels impressive.
New York Story opens with a 25'-wide scene (top) and then transforms as panels lower and raise
(middle) until the piece ends with a series of 73'-wide seamless panoramas (bottom).
Traveling Full Circle
By Jean Oppenheimer
Adapted from Arthur Schnitzlers play Der Reigen, Fernando
Meirelles ensemble drama 360 is structured as a series of encounters
between various pairs of individuals. Some hook up, others break up,
and still others merely cross paths. They also cross international
borders; the storys settings include Paris, London and Vienna, and
the entire picture was shot on location.
According to cinematographer Adriano Goldman, ABC,
Meirelles initially wanted to shoot digitally. Fernando is very
concerned about the pace on the set, notes Goldman. He is very
quick and doesnt like to wait, and he reasoned that digital would be
faster. However, I felt that because of the cast and the different land-
scapes, film would be a better choice. He had previously combined
Super 16mm and Super 35mm and maintained a good pace on two
features Meirelles had produced, City of Men and The Year My
Parents Went on Vacation, and he convinced Meirelles to take the
same approach to 360.
Super 16mm proved especially useful for handheld camera-
work in automobiles, where space was severely limited. Little by
little, though, I started shooting more 35mm, recalls Goldman, who
did his own operating. In the end, I think we shot more than half
of the picture on [3-perf] Super 35. Matching the two formats was
our primary task in the DI, which we did with [colorist] Adam Glass-
man at Deluxe London. This was my first film with him, and hes
fantastic.
The cinematographer recalls that the look of the film devel-
oped gradually as the team scouted locations and considered the
various characters. Fernando knew from the beginning that he
wanted to steer clear of vibrant colors. He envisaged a soft, desatu-
rated world, and we basically achieved that look by toning down the
colors and skin tones in post.
There was a slight color orientation for characters, but noth-
ing too strong, continues Goldman. For instance, Rose [Rachel
Weisz], who is married to Michael [Jude Law] and having an affair
with a younger man, is the white character everything in her life
is monochromatic and clean, and we kept our lighting for those
scenes clean as well.
By contrast, Bratislava, home to sisters Mirkha (Lucia Siposov)
and Anna (Gabriela Marcinkova), feels somewhat chaotic. For these
scenes, Goldman and his gaffer, Andy Long, gelled their lights to
match the mixed colors they found at the locations, with a slight
emphasis on yellow, to suggest the instability in the young womens
lives. For the touch of yellow, we usually used household bulbs
dimmed down for a warmer tone, says Goldman.
Yellow is prominent in an early scene that shows Michael in a
hotel bar looking for Mirkha, who works as a prostitute. The bar
featured a huge backlit yellow pane of glass, and we decided to
embrace that, relates Goldman. We found a yellow gel to put on
our Kino Flos that matched perfectly. We didnt want a vivid yellow,
however, so in post I desaturated it.
Throughout the shoot, Meirelles was keen to avoid postcard
images, Goldman notes. He wanted to show everyday urban land-
scapes, not tourist spots, because the film isnt about London or
Paris; its about the people who live there.
Production Slate
3
6
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In a scene from 360, a gangsters driver (Vladimir Vdovichenkov) is intrigued by a young Bratislavan woman (Gabriela Marcinkova).
I

The characters are often out of step
with one another, and Meirelles wanted to
suggest this visually by framing characters in
such a way that they seemed to be slightly
out of sync. He wanted to see characters
almost stepping out of frame and then
correct the camera, says Goldman. He
said, Lets be a little bit behind or ahead of
what the actor does. Let the camera move
first and then the character, or vice-versa.
Medium to long lenses were used for
close-ups. The shallow focus gives the shot
more depth and adds to the mood, submits
Goldman. Another important visual element
was shooting into mirrors and through layers
of glass, using reflective surfaces as a narra-
tive tool. For example, when Michaels
arrangement to meet Mirkha hits a snag, he
wanders through the city by himself, and we
see him in different settings from outside the
windows, heightening the sense of isolation.
The toughest lighting setup in the
film was the small hotel room where Rose
and her lover, Rui (Juliano Cazarr), meet for
their trysts. An entire wall was a mirror, and
opposite it was a floor-to-ceiling window.
There was nowhere to hide a light inside,
and it was impossible to put a cherry picker
or crane outside without closing down
several city blocks, which wasnt an option.
We tried bouncing a 2.5K HMI Par, but the
camera could see the hot spot in the ceiling,
so we had to turn it off, recalls Long.
Finally, we positioned a 4-by-4 bank of
Kino Flos in the bathroom. That pushed
some light into the bedroom, as if from an
unseen window. Primarily, however, we
relied on available light coming through the
giant window. We were lucky because that
light remained pretty consistent throughout
the day.
Because many of the productions
locations were small spaces, Goldman relied
on small sources, usually Lowel Rifa lights,
and these were heavily diffused with a mix
of Frost, 250, 251, 252 and 216. Adriano
loves the Rifa lights, notes Long. Theyre
small, soft and controllable, and theyre very
quick to rig. With egg crate to control the
light and a dimmer to set the level, they
became a favorite for our night-interior
work. We used 1K, 650-watt and 300-watt
units.
Goldman says that one of his favorite
shots in the film was also one of the
simplest. Sergei [Vladimir Vdovichenkov] is
driving to Vienna to pick up his boss, and he
stops at a gas station for some coffee. An
espresso machine sits on the counter, and
the camera is behind and slightly to the left
of him. We see his face in the shiny coffee
maker, and we simply dolly in to the image.
Ever since Sin Nombre (AC April 09),
Goldman has been working mainly outside
his native Brazil. When he spoke to AC
about 360, he was shooting a picture with
British director John Crowley, working with
the same key crew hed used on 360 and
Jane Eyre (AC April 11). He repeatedly
lauded their work, with special nods to Long
and 1st AC Iain Struthers.
Goldman and Meirelles have known
one another for 20 years. They met when
Goldman began working on commercials
produced by Meirelles O2 Filmes. We have
made many commercials and television
series together, and Fernando has produced
a number of films that I shot, but 360 was
the first chance we had to collaborate on a
feature as director and cinematographer. I
consider him both a close friend and a
mentor.
TECHNICAL SPECS
2.40:1
3-perf Super 35mm and Super 16mm
ArricamLite; Arri 416 Plus
Zeiss Ultra Prime, Super Speed;
Arri Ultra 16; Angenieux Optimo
Kodak Vision3 500T 5219,
200T 5213/7213
Digital Intermediate
Clockwise from
top left: Married
couple Michael
(Jude Law) and
Rose (Rachel
Weisz) no longer
connect; director
Fernando
Meirelles (left)
lines up a shot
with Adriano
Goldman, ABC; a
convict (Ben
Foster) is
conflicted about
his imminent
parole.
t he r t of f i l m opt i c s
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your story. Employing the finest optics and mechanics
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optimo
Khondji on Allen
By Benjamin B
AC recently caught up with Darius
Khondji, ASC, AFC at his home in Paris to
speak about the two films he has shot for
Woody Allen, To Rome with Love and
Midnight in Paris. It was also an occasion to
speak about lighting tools and techniques.
American Cinematographer:
What do you enjoy most about work-
ing with Woody Allen?
Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC: I love
him and have a huge respect for him. As he
would not like the word genius, I try not
use it when speaking about him, so lets just
say hes very talented, very inspiring and so
much fun to work with.
How did you approach the differ-
ent time periods in Midnight in Paris,
which mixes the present day with the
1920s and 1900?
Khondji: I had to find a different
visual treatment for each one. When Woody
and I first talked about this story, he was
wondering whether to do the past in black-
and-white, but with a few notable excep-
tions, I think movies that mix color and
black-and-white really distract the audience,
so I suggested we try to find different color
treatments instead. I did some research and
came back to Woody with some ideas for
creating a vintage look to distinguish the
past from the present. First, shoot with very
old Cooke lenses, the S2s and S3s, and use
longer focal lengths, no wider than 32mm,
to get a softer, more diffused look. Second,
pull-process the negative at LTC by half a
stop, sometimes a full stop, for a gentler,
less contrasty image. Third, move the
camera less, with no tracking shots. Fourth,
use warmer colors. I should note that
Woody prefers warm colors to begin with;
he doesnt like very cool light. All these
different things added up to create an ambi-
ence, to give the earlier eras a glow. By
contrast, we used the new Cooke 5/i lenses
for the contemporary scenes.
How did you distinguish
between the 1920s and 1900?
Khondji: We made the 1920s very
warm, with a golden color. Then, for the
Belle Epoque, we added smoke and more
backlight and went even warmer to a true
red, as if it were lit by fire. So the 1900s
were very red and black, with black
costumes. Woody loved it.
The Belle Epoque scene in which
Gil [Owen Wilson] and Adriana [Marion
Cotillard] dance at Maxims is stunning.
How did you light that?
Khondji: We filled the entire ceiling
with a grid of small bulbs on dimmers,
which gave us that golden, peachy, soft
look, and then I added a diffused, slightly
cooler backlight on Marion. Woody wanted
her to look like an old-fashioned movie star,
so I also added smoke and used a combina-
tion of Schneider Classic Black Soft and
Tiffen Black Pro-Mist filters on the lens. Else-
where, I also used Mitchell diffusion on her.
Can you tell us more about using
bunches of small bulbs?
Khondji: I think they were 30-watt
bulbs. I designed these panels covered with
bulbs wired to dimmers. We called them
Woody Lights. They were 3 to 4 feet wide by
4 to 5 feet long; we made three different
sizes. The panels were made of aluminum,
with hundreds of very closely packed bulbs.
The panels were on stands, coming from
another room, or lighting faces from a three-
quarter angle. They created a vintage glow
that we used for the 1920s mostly.
You created the warm colors with
dimmers, but also with gels?
Khondji: I used CTO and CTS on the
keylights in a scene. I also like Bastard Amber,
Magenta, Pink and Mauve. I often make the
shadows a bit cooler, often by bouncing blue
or green from above. Then, in the digital
grade, I mute the highlights a bit, bringing
them down in intensity and adding a bit of
gold. In the toe of the curve, wherever the
blacks catch a little bit of color, I add some
blue. I use color contrast a lot. Thats how my
eye functions.
Much of Midnight in Paris takes
place at night. How did you light the
night?
Khondji: I tried to have the exteriors
lit mostly by indoor sources, like lights
coming through caf windows. When I
watch the film now, I think I should have
done even more of that. We ended up with
more street lamps than I initially wanted, but
I realized the image shouldnt be too dark.
One of the most amazing loca-
tions in the movie is the Orangerie
Museum, in front of Monets water lilies.
Khondji: That was shot entirely in
natural light. We had a bounce board for the
tracking shot and added a big show card for
the actors eyes. When we got to the loca-
tion, Woody and I looked at each other, and
he said, 2001, right? and we both smiled.
We both thought of Kubricks film in that
big, white space.
How would you describe your
approach to To Rome with Love?
Khondji: Its a comedy with four
different stories set in Rome: two are in Ital-
ian [with English subtitles], and two are in
English. I treated the Italian stories with much
warmer colors, almost to excess. The sunny
weather was a challenge, because we didnt
want direct sunlight. Sometimes we shot in
the shade with bounces from the beautiful
gold or terra cotta houses, or we shot back- M
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The Orangerie Museum serves as a striking location in Midnight in Paris.
I
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lit, like the scenes in Tivoli gardens. If we had

to shoot during the day, we created a ceiling
of diffusion with special cloud balloons from
ALF Service in Milan. They made these
balloons themselves and found a way to
grip them together to cover very large areas
of the streets and piazzas; they were great
and very useful for this film, for which we
wanted a very flexible way to diffuse
sunlight. We also did a 360-degree shot of
the huge Piazza del Popolo very late in the
afternoon, when the sun was really low. I
used negative fill a lot outside to sculpt the
light, or to get rid of a bounce from below
that I didnt like.
How did you light the day
interiors?
Khondji: We shot both movies
entirely on location, with no stage work, so
it varied a lot. If its daytime, I mostly light
from outside the windows, and in general, I
want soft light it can be bounced,
diffused or both. I want the lighting to be
both beautiful and fast to set up. I dont
care how the electricians accomplish this,
and I find its better to have them work with
the units they know. In Italy, we used ACLs
[Aircraft Landing Lights] from Iride, power-
ful lights in lightweight aluminum frames
that were originally designed for Vittorio
Storaro [ASC, AIC]. But ACLs arent used in
Paris, so for Midnight in Paris, I used mostly
HMIs, both Arrimax and K5600 fixtures. I
love the Arrimax through Full Grid Cloth.
When I use Fresnel lights, I use them
through heavy diffusion, and then I will cut
them and scrim them to bring them down
in exposure to the level of light I like. Or, I
might use a book light, a bounce through
heavy diffusion. In general, I use so many
layers of diffusion that the source doesnt
matter that much.
Which diffusion and bounce
materials do you prefer?
Khondji: I like Frost and Rollux diffu-
sion, which is nice and thick. In Italy, I liked
to bounce either a big source or the sun on a
6-by-6-foot unbleached muslin frame,
because the buildings there have that kind of
texture.
I noticed an occasional beam of
hard light in your soft lighting.
Khondji: I love using Molebeams in
day interiors. I usually carry 6Ks or 4Ks. Ill put
a Molebeam outside and create a streak of
very hot light alongside the soft source. You
immediately get the feeling of very real sun. It
looks beautiful.
Do you use fill lights inside?
Khondji: I dont add much fill
anymore. Todays film stocks dont seem to
need it as much. Sometimes Ill add a show
card, but definitely no lights.
Please describe your approach to
the long tracking shot that takes place at
night on the Piazza Novona.
Khondji: We put blue HMIs under the
water in the fountain. We sidelit Jesse Eisen-
berg, Greta Gerwig and Ellen Page with hard
light from two tungsten 10Ks, one for each
section of track. I felt it would have looked
flat otherwise. We put some spotlights on the
faade in the background, and I had a little
bit of fill with an Octoplus by Chimera.
What is your approach to close-
ups?
Khondji: For the big guns, I like the
electricians to use the lights theyre comfort-
able with, but when we go inside for close-
ups, whether Im in Rome, New York,
London, Paris or Los Angeles, the light is my
light. I cant stand having bad lighting on
actors faces. I may use China balls, Briese
lights or Kino Flos, and on a smaller film I may
use [Source Four] Lekos bounced off show
card. On both of these films, I used the Octo-
plus a lot. Its very simple to set up, it can
accommodate single or double diffusion, it
comes in different sizes, and it runs from 500
watts to 2K. For the final shot in Midnight in
Paris, Gabrielle [La Seydoux] on the bridge, I
used a China ball. Shes the modern muse of
the story.
How does Woody break down a
scene?
Khondji: He likes to shoot plan
squences [one-shot scenes] most of the
time. He will also shoot some coverage, but
he keeps most of the master shot in the final
edit. If I felt adamant about doing another
take, he would do it, but I knew he wasnt
Top: Gil (Owen Wilson) slips into 1920s Paris to enjoy
a visit with Adriana (Marion Cotillard). Bottom:
Director Woody Allen confers with Darius Khondji,
ASC, AFC, on location for To Rome with Love.
going to use it! Hell use the best take for the
actors, of course. Once, we had a shot that
was a bit soft, and he kept it in. He joked
that it looks like European or French
cinema.
How would you describe his
directing style?
Khondji: Woody makes films like a
musician, like a composer. Its very much a
question of rhythm. Of course, Ive done
only comedies with him, but everything,
from the actors to the camera moves, has to
have rhythm. If a scene starts to feel heavy,
to fall flat, he will rethink it or, at the worst,
reshoot it. He really knows what he wants.
More important, he knows what he doesnt
want! He has a wonderful way of dealing
with problems on the set. Hes very flexible,
and he always finds interesting solutions
because hes used to making films without
big budgets. Sometimes hell simply turn an
evening scene into a day scene. Hes very
inspiring, and I feel Ive learned a lot from
him.
I must also add that Im very grateful
to my excellent crews on both films. In
France, they included gaffer Thierry
Beaucheron, key grip Cyril Kuhnholtz,
camera assistants Fabienne Octobre and
Julien Andreetti, and camera operator Jan
Rubens. In Italy, they included gaffer Stefano
Marino, key grip Paolo Frasson, camera assis-
tants Alberto Nino Torrecilla and Simona di
Lullo, and camera operator Daniele
Massacesi. And Im equally grateful to the
great Joe Gawler, our colorist at Deluxe New
York, who graded both movies.
TECHNICAL SPECS
Midnight in Paris
Super 1.85:1
3-perf Super 35mm
Arricam Studio, Lite
Cooke S2, S3, S4, 5/i; Angenieux Optimo
Kodak Vision3 200T 5213, 500T 5219
To Rome with Love
Super 1.85:1
4-perf Super 35mm
Arricam Studio, Lite
Cooke 5/i, S4, S3
Kodak Vision3 200T 5213, 500T 5219
Top: Jack (Jesse
Eisenberg) and
Sally (Greta
Gerwig, right)
entertain Sallys
friend (Ellen Page)
in To Rome with
Love. Middle: An
American woman
(Alison Pill) has a
chance encounter
with a Roman
(Flavio Parenti)
that leads to
romance. Bottom:
Cloud cover
created for
Roman piazzas
by Khondjis
Italian crew.
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.
This still frame was pulled from 5k RED EPIC
motion footage and graded at Light Iron. Flight 2012 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
www.red.com
Ive been shooting film all my life.

Now I shoot RED.
Don Burgess, ASC

P
icking up eight years after The Dark Knight ended, The
Dark Knight Rises finds Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale)
living a sequestered existence, having retired his alter ego
of Batman as Gotham City enjoys a period of peace and
prosperity. However, when a new threat emerges in the form
of Bane (Tom Hardy), Wayne is compelled to once again don
his cape and cowl.
For their final chapter of the Batman saga, director
Christopher Nolan and cinematographer Wally Pfister, ASC
decided to take the anamorphic 35mm/15-perf 65mm combi-
nation they had used on The Dark Knight (AC July 08) even
further by significantly increasing the amount of Imax mater-
ial in the new film. This is storytelling on an epic scale,
Pfister observes. Chris and I wanted to present the action in
a way that would have the most impact on the audience, and
we strongly believe Imax is the most immersive format.
Nolan notes that large-format filmmaking also makes
you think differently about how you stage things, which is one
Batman
to the
Max
Batman
to the
Max
Christopher Nolan
and Wally Pfister, ASC
expand their use of
15-perf 65mm
cinematography for
The Dark Knight Rises.
By Iain Stasukevich
|
www.theasc.com August 2012 31
of the things I enjoyed about our expe-
rience with it on The Dark Knight.
Theres more of a tableau element to
composition; we let things come in and
out of frame and move the camera a
little more slowly. In some ways, its
more of an old-fashioned approach to
finding the scale of the story.
Using four MSM 9802 Imax
cameras designed and built by Marty
Mueller, the filmmakers shot more than
1 million feet of 15-perf 65mm film on
The Dark Knight Rises. Theyre hand-
built cameras, so each one has a bit of a
personality, observes Bob Hall, Pfisters
longtime first AC. But they were basi-
cally identical, and all the parts were
interchangeable.
Each Imax camera came with its
own set of primes: 40mm, 50mm,
80mm, 110mm, 150mm and 250mm.
Many of the lenses were T2.8 medium-
format Hasselblad still lenses adapted
for 65mm camera mounts, with the
still-lens focusing movement still intact.
The focusing movement is very stiff,
says Hall. On some of the lenses, I P
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Opposite: Batman (Christian Bale) revs up the Batpod. This page, top: The Caped Crusader faces one of
his toughest foes in Bane (Tom Hardy), a brutal ex-convict who breathes through a muzzle-like
apparatus strapped to his head. Bottom: Cinematographer Wally Pfister, ASC positions one of the
productions Imax cameras.
couldnt even pull focus by hand. I had
to use the Preston FI+Z 3 [remote focus
controller] with the torque motor
turned all the way up.
During prep, the filmmakers
approached Imax with a few requests
based on their prior experience with the
technology. Pfister recalls, I asked
Mike Hendriks [director of Imaxs
camera department] if he would be
open to involving Panavision techni-
cians, specifically [optical engineer] Dan
Sasaki, in improving some lenses and
creating a new viewfinder.
The cinematographer took
Sasaki an 80mm T2 Mamiya lens that
Imax had adapted for The Dark Knight
and a 50mm T2.5 medium-format still
lens. In the case of the 80mm, we
discarded the Imax mechanics and
replaced them with a cine-style
Panavision transport, explains Sasaki.
Also, we had to rebuild the entire lens
head so it could accommodate an iris
mechanism, because the original Imax
lens conversion did not have a variable
iris mechanism. The 50mm T2.5
conversion was a little different. We
basically had to rehouse a majority of
the lens elements into an assembly that
we could adapt into a more stable lens
transport. This mechanical system was
very similar to the mechanical system
used on the 80mm lens.
We also made a 50mm T2
custom lens based on an inverted tele-
photo-lens layout, Sasaki continues.
The front objective was based on a
Schneider design complimented by
proprietary Panavision optics. The
mechanical part of the lens was built
around a helical lens transport similar to
those used in our Primo prime lenses.
Panavision also supplied parts for
the image processing of the PAV II
NTSC tap to facilitate a flicker-free
image in the MSMs optical viewfinder,
and Sasaki rebuilt the viewfinder itself
from the ground up. He explains, This
consisted of new relay optics, orientat-
ing prisms, eyepieces and mechanical
components. Hall calls the result an
extreme improvement over the original
MSM eyepiece.
Batman to the Max

In a spectacular opening salvo, Banes henchmen free him from CIA custody by staging a mid-air
hijacking of the plane carrying the villain. The ambitious sequence was accomplished with a
combination of techniques, including a full-scale, gimbal-mounted fuselage mockup; miniatures
shot in VistaVision; and shots of the full-scale fuselage dangling on wires from a heavy-lift
helicopter over Scotland.
During filming, the MSMs size
presented a few challenges for key grip
Ray Garcia and his crew, notably set
grip Mark Wojciechowski, best boy
Rod Farley and best boy grip Charlie
Ehrlinger. It was difficult just getting
those monsters inside cars for driving
scenes, Garcia recalls. We were always
cutting pieces out of or adding [mount-
ing] brackets to the picture cars to get
the cameras where they needed to be.
The team rigged 1'x1' and 2'x2'
aluminum plates to speed-rail supports
to create level platforms for the camera
mount. Sometimes we mounted the
camera to a friction head, but our
typical approach was to lock it down to
the platform with a dovetail plate, with
5
8-inch rods and clamps for support,
says Garcia.
For one Imax setup, the camera
had to pan between two actors in the
front seat of a moving armored military
vehicle. To achieve this, the crew hung a
remote head from cantilevered truss
bolted to the vehicles roof rack. The
only remote system that was truly able
to support the MSM was the Lev
Head, Garcia notes. Other heads
could accommodate it, but they werent
accustomed to working with that much
weight, which amounted to 95-100
pounds with the mag and accessories, so
they never functioned at 100 percent.
One of three Imax technicians
Wayne Baker, Doug Lavender or Stuart
MacFarlane was always on set to
assist Pfisters camera crew with trou-
bleshooting and occasional repairs.
The MSM is like any other camera in
terms of the threading and operation,
says Hall, but a lot of things can
happen during a reload that will result
in a jam, and if the jam is severe enough,
it will slip the timing belt. When that
happens, you have to strip the camera
down on a bench to reset the belt. The
MSM tolerances are so tight that a
single snowflake can cause the film to
swell and jam the camera, and at the
end of the shoot, we had to film on
location on Wall Street with an enor-
mous number of extras in the middle of
a snowstorm. People were holding bags
over the camera while I reloaded, but
every once in a while, a flake would get
on the film. On that day, all three bodies
were in constant rotation! Wayne would
be replacing the timing belt on one, and
another would be waiting for repairs
while we were shooting with the third,
hoping a backup would be ready before
we needed it. Fortunately, our crew was
so prepared we were able to shoot
Banes terror
campaign continues
during a Gotham
Rogues football
game, where he and
his cohorts have
buried bombs
beneath the field.
The sequence was
staged at Heinz Field,
home of the National
Football Leagues
Pittsburgh Steelers,
and features actual
NFL players. Practical
pyrotechnics staged
by special-effects
supervisor Chris
Corbould and his
crew were enhanced
with digital visual
effects created by
artists at Double
Negative.
65mm as fast as we shot 35mm.
For the first several weeks of
production, the filmmakers shot Imax
setups on 35mm as well, for backup, but
as the shoot progressed, they began
shooting Imax scenes only on Imax.
We had 16 carts of Imax and
Panavision equipment, Hall recalls.
We carried two Millennium XLs, a
Gold II, an Arri 235, Arri 35-3 crash
cameras and a Beaucam VistaVision
camera. Some of these were just for
backup the Gold and the 35-3s were
never used but we had to make sure
any one of them could be ready to go at
a moments notice.
After a few weeks, the filmmakers
felt confident enough to make a go of
their large-scale setups solely with the
Imax cameras, and they reserved 35mm
for more intimate character moments.
Some sequences called for both formats,
including one set at a costume ball
where Wayne and Selina Kyle (a.k.a.
Catwoman, played by Anne Hathaway)
share a dangerous dance. Exteriors
(filmed in Los Angeles) and the wider
interior shots (filmed in the Senate
House at the University of London)
were shot on Imax, and closer work was
shot on 35mm. The Senate House is a
great space, but lighting the wider shots
inside was a challenge because the taller
Imax frame made it difficult to hide
lights, says gaffer Cory Geryak. The
Batman to the Max

Selina Kyle (Anne
Hathaway), who
pursues a life of
crime as
Catwoman,
warns Batmans
alter ego, Bruce
Wayne, Theres
a storm coming.
Bottom: Pfister
(at camera
eyepiece)
captures close-
ups of the
characters dance
as gaffer Cory
Geryak uses a
boom-mounted
China ball to
create soft edge
lighting.
ceiling featured square-shaped, recessed
bays, and we decided to use those. We
hid eight 750-watt Source Four ellip-
soidals on the second-floor balcony that
overlooked the dance floor, cut the light
with the lamp blades and shaped the
beam patterns to match the ceiling
panels, bouncing the light off the ceiling
to create the effect of glowing practi-
cals.
For close-up and medium shots
of the couple, an Arri LoCaster LED
with a 1'x1' soft-box snoot and inter-
changeable diffusion frames provided
eyelight, and 5K tungsten Chimeras
provided a soft edge. We always tried
to approach the eyelight from a compli-
mentary angle to the camera, says
Geryak. If the camera was over some-
ones right shoulder, Id stand over his
left shoulder and try to wrap the light
from the key side so it looked more
natural. The script called for multiple
360-degree turns around the pair, so
Geryak created a consistent soft edge by
booming a dimmable 500-watt China
ball above and behind the actors from
the camera dolly.
Nolan usually doesnt create
storyboards for scenes unless visual-
effects work is involved, and in those
instances, boards and animatics are
created for every shot. When he and
Pfister met with visual-effects supervi-
sor Paul Franklin during prep for The
Dark Knight Rises, most conversations
began with, Can we do this for real?
Nolan explains, When it comes to
visual effects, the idea is to always do as
much as possible practically. I think that
whenever you can shoot something for
real, the computer-generated enhance-
ments, when you need them, will look
that much better.
Even the most complicated
visual-effects shot also contained a
substantial number of practical effects
created by special-effects supervisor
Chris Corbould and his team. The
whole point of our visual-effects work
on the Batman films is that we dont
want the work to grandstand, says
Franklin. There are no surreal digital
moments. Every visual effect in The
Top to bottom:
Alfred (Michael
Caine), Batmans
loyal butler and
confidante,
approaches Wayne
in his secret lair;
Batman steps out
of his combat
aircraft, the Bat;
the crew prepares
for the next setup
on Stage 30 at
Sony Pictures,
where the Batcave
set was
constructed.
Dark Knight Rises has some kind of
photographic element, be it a fore-
ground element or a background plate.
The most complicated visual-
effects shot in the film required more
than 10,000 extras, a team of stuntmen
and live explosions. The scene takes
place at a football stadium where a
Gotham Rogues game is underway.
Bane has rigged bombs to explode at
various locations in Gotham City, and
he has placed several beneath the
stadium. When the charges detonate,
the football field and most of the play-
ers on it are sucked into a massive hole.
The filmmakers captured the
action on 15-perf 65mm at Pittsburghs
Heinz Field. In post, visual-effects
artists at Double Negative, working
with a 5.6x4K image from an 8K scan
of the negative, rotoscoped the fore-
ground elements from the CG collaps-
ing field, while also enhancing
Corboulds practical pyrotechnics and
increasing the horrified spectators from
10,000 to 80,000.
Corbould also supervised the
full-scale fabrication of Waynes fear-
some combat aircraft, the Bat, which
was either mounted on a gimbaled
vehicle for action on the ground or
suspended from a heavy-lift helicopter
Batman to the Max

Banes
subterranean
base, a 60'-tall,
four-level
cylindrical steel
set equipped
with running
water, was built
in one of
Englands
massive
Cardington
airship sheds.
The set served as
the backdrop for
an ominous
showdown
between Bane
and Batman. An
array of 1K Par
cans positioned
on the walkways
allows the
characters to
move in and out
of hot pools of
light during their
hand-to-hand
battle. The idea
is that theyre
gladiators in the
Coliseum, says
gaffer Cory
Geryak.
for high-flying stunt work. In order to
capture high-dynamic-range lighting
references of the full-sized Bat on set,
Franklin developed a panoramic camera
system that comprised four DSLRs
with 8mm lenses that produced overlap-
ping fields of view. The panoramas were
stitched together digitally, and lighting
maps were created to drive a custom
physics-based lighting system.
As is typical of his collaborations
with Nolan, Pfister operated the A
camera of the first and only unit. On this
production, however, he was joined by
B-camera/Steadicam operator Scott
Sakamoto, SOC. Chris and I used a
second camera more on this film than
we have on any other, mostly because of
Scotts extraordinary skills and abilities,
enthuses Pfister.
The Dark Knight Rises opens on a
small plane wherein some CIA opera-
tives are interrogating their prisoner,
Bane. Despite his shackles, Bane threat-
ens to hijack the aircraft, much to his
captors amusement. Suddenly, a C-130
flying fortress overtakes the small plane,
and armed mercenaries rappel from the
C-130 onto the passenger plane and
hook wires to its tail. The larger plane
then literally jerks the smaller plane off
course so that its suspended nose-down,
and then the attackers blow off its wings
and tail.
Corbould and production design-
ers Nathan Crowley and Kevin
Kavanaugh collaborated on a full-scale
fuselage mockup for tight shots outside
the small plane, a Bandeirante, and
dramatic action inside. The fuselage was
mounted to a gimbal outside the
productions stages at Cardington in
Bedfordshire, England. The task of
destroying the planes wings and tail fell
to a miniature unit ensconced at New
Deal Studios in Playa Del Rey.
(Cinematographer Tim Angulo shot
this work in VistaVision.) Wider shots
of the crippled plane were filmed with
the full-scale fuselage dangling on wires
from a heavy-lift helicopter over
Scotland; Nolan and aerial cinematogra-
pher Hans Bjerno captured the stunt in
both Imax and VistaVision from a
37
nearby chase helicopter. An MSM and
a Beaucam were mounted underneath
the helicopter, says Hall. The
Beaucam was there as backup, and only
the MSM was rigged with remote focus
and iris. Both cameras performed well,
and the Imax footage was used in the
final cut. The scene ends with a spec-
tacular Imax shot looking down into the
fuselage as Banes men cut the plane
loose over Inverness.
Despite such complicated action,
Nolan says his decision to set much of
the story during daylight hours created
his biggest directorial challenge. I
made that decision because I thought it
was the last barrier to reality we hadnt
yet jumped over, he says. Its a lot
easier to disguise the fanciful nature of
the characters and the story when youre
working in the dark.
Day exteriors were filmed on
Kodak Vision3 250D 5207, with loca-
tions in New York City and Pittsburgh
serving as parts of Gotham. Pfisters
approach to these scenes was mainly
about controlling sunlight to keep the
working stop close to T4. The filmmak-
ers tried to stage action in the shadows
of tall buildings or beneath one of the six
20'x20' UltraBounce flyswatters they
kept on the periphery of the set. Close-
up work was augmented with a 4'x4'
beadboard or 12'x12' UltraBounce.
Garcia describes the approach as elimi-
nating reflections and unwanted light as
opposed to taking the sun off everything
and bringing in 18Ks to relight the
scene.
Gotham Citys night exteriors
were shot in New York and Los
Angeles. While scouting the locations,
Geryak took photos at Pfisters intended
exposure levels most of the night
material was shot at T2-T2.8 on Kodak
Vision3 500T 5219 and then jotted
notes on the photos before sending them
to each citys respective rigging gaffer,
Jeff Soderberg in Los Angeles and Clay
Liversridge in New York. Using the
lighting diagrams, the rigging gaffers
would return to the locations and secure
the background points they needed to
light so that by the time we got to set,
the background was already roughed in,
and wed have more time to light the
foreground based on what the actors
were doing, says Geryak.
Of all the night-exterior work, the
Batpod chase through the streets of
Gotham was easily the most intensive,
calling for nearly eight city blocks of
downtown Los Angeles to be lit almost
entirely from the ground up. L.A. uses
LED lamps in its streetlights now, so
there was very little usable practical
light, says Geryak.
Soderbergs rigging crew posi-
tioned Nine-light and 12-light Maxi-
Brutes to uplight background buildings,
creating splashes of light to give them
texture and shape, and rigged more than
80 streetlights with two 2K Blondes
each that were wired back to dimmers.
The lighting console was positioned in a
room in a nearby high-rise hotel that
offered a birds-eye view of the streets
involved. The majority of the chase,
which involved a helicopter as well as
dozens of stunt drivers in cars and on
motorcycles, was lit by these streetlights.
Additionally, at different points along
Batman to the Max

Top: Director Chris Nolan confers with Bale on set. The demand of a sequel is that you be bigger and
better, Nolan notes, but the demand of a good story is that you stay true to the characterizations,
the story, and the elements that define the characters and the world you created. Bottom:
B-camera/Steadicam operator Scott Sakamoto maneuvers an Imax camera on a Steadicam rig while
capturing a shot of Gary Oldman, reprising his role as Gotham Police Commissioner Jim Gordon.
the route, four manned 7K Xenons took
turns mimicking a helicopter search-
light sweeping after the Batpod.
Wayne Manor was burned to the
ground in Batman Begins, but in The
Dark Knight Rises, Wayne has made
good on his vow to rebuild it. Wollaton
Hall in Nottingham provided the
manor exteriors, and interiors were shot
in various National Trust houses in the
English countryside. Beneath Wayne
Manor, of course, is the Batcave, a set
built on Sony Pictures Stage 30, the
biggest stage on that lot. Though the set
design was based on that of the cave in
Batman Begins, a precise match for that
look and feel was not requested. Wally
talked more about the mood of the
cave, says Geryak. He wanted to light
it enough that we could see parts of it,
but also keep things fairly stark.
Greenbed scaffolding surrounded
the top of the set and spanned its width,
which allowed Geryak to place Nine-
light Maxis with 4'x4' frames of Light
Grid and 10K Molebeams with 4'x4'
frames of Opal to scrape the walls, high-
lighting their rocky texture. Pfister used
Batman to the Max

Left, top to bottom: A
massive lighting grid
hangs over Banes
underground prison,
another huge set built at
the Cardington facility;
Pfister meters Bale as
Hardy and gaffer Geryak
(far right) look on; a closer
view of the prison sets
interior. Upper right: An
Imax camera captures a
stunt in a deep well on the
prison set. To create the
illusion of a bright, blown-
out sky, a
1
4 Wendy light
was bounced into a 40'x
40' UltraBounce positioned
about 12' above the
well mouth.
the space behind the caves waterfall to
create daylight or moonlight. For day
scenes, three 20' soft boxes containing
six 12-light Maxi-Brutes behind Light
Grid were rigged on an adjustable truss.
At night, says Geryak, we went a bit
moodier, lighting the water a tiny bit so
you could still see something there. It
was very subtle.
In the U.K., two of the produc-
tions largest sets, both designed specifi-
cally for Imax filming, were housed in
the massive Cardington airship sheds.
One was Banes subterranean lair, a 60'-
tall cylindrical set made of steel and
comprising four levels; the ground and
second floors were the hero levels, and
the upper floors were reserved for back-
ground actors. Running water, ostensi-
bly from Gothams sewers, pours into
the set.
Ambient toplight was provided by
a crane-mounted 31.2K Wendy Light
Batman to the Max

Top left: Bane invokes
the memory of
Gothams deceased
district attorney
Harvey Dent while
standing atop a
camo tumbler
vehicle. Middle:
Batman and the
Gotham police
confront Bane and his
forces during an epic
street fight. Upper
right: Nolan and
Pfister (standing) plan
out a chase sequence
in miniature with
stunt coordinator Tom
Struthers. Bottom:
The Bat bears down
on a camo tumbler.
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behind Light Grid diffusion. Bulkhead
practicals line the walls, and around the
edges of the lair, 300-watt and 500-watt
tungsten-halogen work lights illuminate
entrances to the surrounding tunnels,
along with Par can fixtures mounted in
the ceiling of the lowest level.
A key scene in the lair involves a
brutal hand-to-hand struggle between
Batman and Bane. The idea is that
theyre gladiators in the Coliseum, says
Geryak. The art department devised
stadium-style fixtures to accommodate
four 1K Par cans, which were scattered
on the walkways crisscrossing the set,
with still more at the top of the set, all
pointed down at the action. They
created hot pools of light that were
about 5 stops over, and Batman and
Bane move in and out of those as they
fight, says Geryak.
Adjacent to the lair was a set for
Banes underground prison, which
comprised the prison itself, a 70'
inverted Escher pyramid, and a separate
well mouth that was 100' deep and 20'
across. To create the impression of
daylight being channeled into the deep
well, a massive truss was hung 160' over
the set and rigged with three 6'x75' soft
boxes (as wide as the top of the set), each
fitted with 36 Par bars that were all
wired to dimmers. Each box was
mounted to a sliding track on the truss.
It sounds like a lot, but we didnt
have all three on at once, and we wanted
a decent stop, between a T4 and T5.6 at
the bottom, by the time the light made it
down to the floor, explains Geryak.
From that distance, the linear nature of
the light gave it a very soft quality, and,
depending on which way we were look-
ing, we could use it as an edge or side
source.
Because of its mix of formats, The
Dark Knight Rises utilized a post work-
flow similar to that of The Dark Knight.
Everything we do, production-wise and
post-wise, is focused on photochemical
color timing of a neg-cut film, says post
supervisor David E. Hall. Thats pretty
rare in this day and age, but the resultant
look is amazing.
Technicolor Los Angeles pro-
cessed the productions 65mm negative
and the 35mm negative shot in the U.S.
Technicolor London serviced the 35mm
shoots in the U.K. and India. David
Keighley at Imax subsidiary DKP
70mm Inc. supervised the large-format
workflow, which included 65mm print-
downs to 35mm for dailies, 65mm
visual-effects filmouts, scanning the
35mm interpositive for blowups to
Imax, and 65mm filmouts. David Hall
explains, For the Imax print-downs,
David does an optical 35mm reduction
with a flat 1.43:1 aspect ratio. That way,
in dailies, Chris and Wally can see what
the full-frame Imax image will look like.
We also printed select takes in 70mm for
periodic Imax dailies screenings.
Batman to the Max

A diagram provided by Nolan and associate editor John Lee details the productions
workflow, from image capture to final prints.
To create the 35mm version, the
post team combined the original 35mm
anamorphic material with 4K filmed-out
negative created from 8K scans of the
65mm negative. (These anamorphic
extractions were done by Custom Film
Effects, and all filmouts were performed
by Warner Bros. Motion Picture
Imaging.) After the work print was
approved, negative cutter Mo Henry
used it as the template for cutting the
35mm-negative version of the film.
Another cut list corresponded only
to the 65mm material, from which a
work print containing the flat 1.43:1
reductions was conformed along with
slugs representing the anamorphic 35mm
material. Keighley used this work print to
conform the 65mm original negative,
replacing the slugs with the correspond-
ing 65mm blowups, which were filmed
out from 6K scans of the 35mm photo-
chemically color-timed IP. This 65mm
cut negative then became the basis for
creating the 70mm Imax prints.
Technicolor color timer David
Orr color-corrected the 35mm answer
print first, then went to DKP 70mm
Inc. to assist with timing the Imax
version, which required a different set of
printer lights. The original camera neg
and dupe negs were meticulously
cleaned before being wet-gate printed
for the theatrical release.
Out of the 100 or so Imax prints
that were made, a limited number were
show prints struck from original Imax
camera negative, says David Hall.
Those prints are showing in Imax
venues in select cities, including Los
Angeles, New York and London. Chris
very much likes to see an original
camera negative printed to film, he
notes. Theres nothing quite like it.
Digital technology has certainly come a
long way, but a print from a DI never
looks quite the same.
Anybody who sees an original-
negative print of a film shot in Imax is
looking at the best image quality avail-
able to filmmakers today, Nolan
observes. As long as any new technol-
ogy is required to measure up to that, I
think film has to remain the future.
Pfister concurs, adding, An artist
has to be open to new technology, but
my argument is, Dont make this equip-
ment obsolete for the wrong reasons,
because this format really is superior to
anything else out there.
TECHNICAL SPECS
2.40:1 and 1.43:1 Imax
65mm and 35mm
Imax MSM 9802;
Panaflex Millennium XL;
Arri 235; Beaucam
Mamiya; Hasselblad; Panavision
C-Series, E-Series, High Speed
250D 5207
45
R
ebooting a popular film franchise is risky enough, but
walking a technical highwire along the way adds a whole
new challenge to the mix. Cinematographer John
Schwartzman, ASC, and director Marc Webb both
concede they took on such perils to capture The Amazing
Spider-Man in 3-D, but they also agree that their choices paid
off. Of any movie material, Spider-Man seems to beg for
3-D treatment, says Webb. The only real issue was whether
to capture in stereo or shoot 2-D and convert in post.
Early in prep, senior visual-effects supervisor Jerome
John Schwartzman, ASC
beta-tests the Red Epic to capture
The Amazing Spider-Man in 3-D.
By Michael Goldman
|
Web-Slinging in
Stereo
Chen showed Webb and Schwartzman a
few minutes of Spider-Man 2 footage
that had been converted to 3-D as a test.
They were impressed, but they believed
that time, money, logistics and previous
industry stumbles were all stacked
against taking that approach. Some bad
3-D conversions were released right
around the time we were trying to make
our decision, Schwartzman recalls.
Everyone realized this movie had great
3-D potential. However, with a big
visual-effects picture, there is never
enough time to do a good conversion by
the time everything else is finished. You
need about 12 weeks to do a good
conversion, and what big-budget visual-
effects film is finished 12 weeks before
release? The studio [Sony] eventually
realized it would make more sense to
shoot 3-D.
As the project developed, the
filmmakers tested various cameras and
rigs. While Schwartzman was shooting
The Green Hornet (AC Feb. 11), he and
Rob Engle, who co-supervised Green
Hornets stereo conversion and served as
3-D supervisor on The Amazing Spider-
Man, began discussing Webbs project.
They were able to conduct tests during
some Green Hornet reshoots, and based
on those results, they decided stereo-
capture technology had advanced
enough that they would be able to
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Opposite: Spider-
Man (Andrew
Garfield) leaps into
action in The
Amazing Spider-
Man. This page,
top to bottom:
Director Marc
Webb embraced
point-of-view shots
to take advantage
of the films 3-D
presentation;
Spider-Man steals a
moment with love
interest Gwen
Stacy (Emma
Stone);
cinematographer
John Schwartzman,
ASC (left) and
gaffer David
Christensen check
their lighting.
capture Spider-Man in the style Webb
and Schwartzman wanted with
smaller cameras and rigs and a more
efficient data workflow.
Webb and Schwartzman then
consulted with James Cameron, and the
Avatar director took them through his
process, lobbying strongly that they
should capture in 3-D. Schwartzman
recalls, He pointed out that you recon-
verge the movie based on how you cut
it, and you cut it differently than you
think you will if you dont shoot and
view it in stereo. We then discussed the
issue of the convergence point; he felt
convergence and focus should be at the
same point. But as it became clear that
we could use the Red Epic, which has a
5K sensor, Rob Engle advocated shoot-
ing with a large image pad to allow for
convergence adjustments in post, and so
we could shoot parallel and get less
keystoning.
Before the Epic, a change in
convergence required you to slightly
enlarge a 1920-by-1080 image to allow
room to move it right or left, he contin-
ues. With the Epic, our image size was
4608 by 1930 pixels, so when we made
our framing leader, we simply left 4
percent on either side of the frame to
allow for convergence. The I/O [inte-
rocular distance] does have to be built in
it defines your spatial geometry and
your depth. Later, if you dont like your
I/O choices for a specific shot, your only
fix is to throw away one eye and convert
the other. Convergence, though, is
where your brain reconciles the two
images; this is controlled by where the
right and left images meet, and can be
changed later by moving one eye relative
to the other by several pixels with no
effect on your I/O.
It wasnt clear from the outset,
however, that any Epics would be avail-
able to the production. As Spider-Man
swung into prep, Red was on the verge
of releasing the first Epics for Peter
Jacksons The Hobbit. Schwartzman
contacted Red to examine the technol-
ogy. The camera body, he says, was
about 5 pounds and the size of my
Hasselblad 501 [still camera], and it
Web-Slinging in Stereo
Top: Dr. Curt
Connors (Rhys
Ifans) undergoes a
dramatic change
that pits him
against the
superhero.
Middle: Spider-
Mans alter ego,
Peter Parker,
refines his web
formula. Bottom:
Garfield sports a
Doggicam body
mount rigged by
key grip Les
Tomita for one of
Spider-Mans first
nights out.
always annoyances, never catastrophes.
The imaging part was never a problem;
what improved over the course of the
show was the ease of use.
The basic methodology for
moving the image data was worked out,
implemented and managed by Willard,
data-management supervisor Steve
Freebairn and data technician Zachary
Hilton, who used data carts provided by
Light Iron. (In fact, the movie served as
R&D for Light Irons Outpost mobile-
processing lab technology.) Their work-
flow ensured instant capture, backup
and on-set color correction of raw files
to create looks and maintain those
creative choices all the way through
dailies, editorial and visual effects. I was
could record to a card [160 RedMag
128GB SSD cards at 5:1 compression]
that was about the size of a chocolate
bar. I saw light at the end of the tunnel,
but we didnt know if Red could build
them for us on time.
When The Hobbit experienced a
delay, Jacksons cinematographer,
Andrew Lesnie, ASC, ACS, gave
Schwartzman his blessing to use the
cameras first, as long as we gave him
our R&D, says Schwartzman. Thus,
The Amazing Spider-Man became the
first major studio feature to shoot 3-D
with the Epic.
Schwartzman then decided to
work another system that had not yet
made its feature debut: 3ality Digitals
TS-5 stereo rig. (See sidebar on page
48.) Rounding out his camera package,
he chose Zeiss Ultra Prime lens pairs.
With lenses, our stereo rig weighed
just under 50 pounds, and that allowed
us to shoot extensively on cranes and
cable rigs, he notes.
Panavisions help in providing
eight complete sets of Ultra Primes was
crucial, adds Schwartzman. We had six
sets of lenses to run three rigs on first
unit, and I sent all of them to
[Panavision optical engineer] Dan
Sasaki, who made sure they were rebuilt
and matched. By the time we started
shooting, the cameras were as close [to
identical] as two cameras could be.
Production got underway in late
2010, and its seven Epics were essen-
tially still in the beta stage. We had a
solid plan, but we were heading into
uncharted territory, says chief digital-
imaging technician Brook Willard.
It took awhile for the workflow to
become intuitive for the crew. The
images we got the first two weeks were
just as good as the images we got later,
but they were captured with a camera
that had no remote on/off switch and
no frame lines and could only run at 24
fps, says Schwartzman. When we got
back after the Christmas break, we had
the Epic thats in use today. Red engi-
neers were always on set to address any
problems, but those problems were
When his experiment goes awry, Connors transforms into the monstrous Lizard, and its up to
Spider-Man to protect New York City and Peter Parkers high school.
with the cameras at all times, and I also
did on-set color correction for dailies
and editorial, Willard explains. Steve
and Zachary handled data. After
reloading, I would take the left- and
right-eye RedMag SSDs to my color
cart, where I was able to read the files
with my Apple Mac Pro tower
[running two Red Rocket cards to
enable real-time rendering and viewing
of the footage on a 24" monitor] and
color correct them.
I used Redcine-X software to
color-correct the dominant eye
creatively, as per John Schwartzman,
Willard continues. Then, I would sync
the left and right eyes to make a 3-D
clip, and color-correct the non-domi-
nant eye until there was no discernible
color difference between the two. Then,
Id hand the mags to Steve and Zach,
who used Light Iron carts on set to
ingest all the footage onto Maxx Digital
[Evo 6G SAS 48TB] RAIDs. From
there, we generated all dailies and edito-
rial files and sent drives to Sony
Colorworks so wed have a backup in
another physical location. Additionally,
Steve and Zach would copy all original
raw data to LTO-5 tape.
Chen notes that the workflow
did require new players on set who
collaborated closely with the camera
team. The Red people, the 3ality
people, data-wrangling people and the
wireless-communication people
suddenly, there were five teams around
the camera! That illustrates the
complexity of shooting in stereoscopic
digital.
The workflow also illustrates how
the fine line between production and
post is growing ever finer. The lab has
moved from post to the set, says
Willard. Everyone is now backing up
footage on set, and most cinematogra-
phers now do some form of color
correction on set. We used no post
houses to color correct or generate
dailies on Spider-Man. We kept that all
within the camera department. It keeps
total control of the image in the cine-
matographers hands.
Schwartzman emphasizes that
T
he Amazing Spider-Man marks the
Hollywood debut of 3ality
Technicas TS-5 stereo camera rigs,
but the technology was familiar to
Sony, parent company of Columbia
Studios, because the rigs had been
used for training at the Sony 3-D
Technology Center and were already
on the radar of colleagues who had the
ear of John Schwartzman, ASC.
Among those colleagues was Andrew
Lesnie, ASC, ACS, who was planning
to use the rigs for The Hobbit. Lesnie
advised Schwartzman that if he
wanted to reduce rig size and weight,
the TS-5 engineered to accommo-
date smaller digital cameras and
featuring miniaturized and lighter
beam-splitter technology might be
a good fit.
In fact, 3ality did not have to
do much of a selling job on
Schwartzman, according to company
CEO Steve Schklair, an ASC associ-
ate member. Spider-Man was origi-
nally scheduled as a 2-D shoot, and
when that changed, they were not
about to change their shooting sched-
ule, says Schklair. That meant they
needed a smaller, less bulky 3-D
camera system. On-board recording
with the Epic made it tetherless, and
that opened up the ability to use the
rigs on Steadicam, cranes and cable
rigs without customizing a lot of
gear.
Schwartzman adds that the
TS-5 is an evolutionary step because
its computerized to monitor the rig
100 times a second. Our experience
with 3-D rigs that had to be aligned
by hand was that it took too much
time and was not accurate.
Remember, we had to give Sony
Pictures Imageworks the best possi-
ble 3-D as early as we could to fit into
the visual-effects pipeline.
My concern was the on-set
speed, he continues, and 3ality blew
everyone else away and delivered to
Imageworks a better 3-D image with
a ton of metadata out of the stereo
imaging processing computer. That
allowed those shots to move quicker
through the system.
The TS-5 rig has since been
used on The Great Gatsby and Jack the
Giant Killer.
Michael Goldman
|
Supporting Stereo Capture
|
Schwartzman checks the frame while working with 3ality Technicas TS-5 stereo rig.
the workflow never took his attention
away from realizing Webbs creative
intent, which encompassed the pictures
overall palette and a strategy for using
dimensionality to tell the story. In terms
of the overall aesthetic, the director
requested something akin to French
Connection meets Spider-Man, says
Schwartzman. He wanted to see a dirty
New York, gritty and real. Peter Parker
[Andrew Garfield] is an angry young
man with these powers out in the real
streets of New York, which has all the
traffic, pollution and graffiti that you
might expect.
Regarding his vision for the
dimensionality, Webb developed what
he calls the three Vs of 3-D: volume,
velocity and vertigo. I feel all of those
elements are present or possible with
this character, he says.
The mobility of their stereo rigs
enabled the filmmakers to more
precisely contextualize and accentuate
Spider-Mans movements through
particular environments. We created
visual elements and story points to
specifically take advantage of the
dimensionality of the environment,
Webb notes. They maintained this
aesthetic for all-CG shots as well. For
instance, the movie ends with a CGI-
intensive sequence that shows Spider-
Man swinging through an alley. Viewers
can sense the space, feel like they are
moving forward or being propelled
themselves, says Webb.
In that sequence, and in certain
other key sequences, we were able to
open up the aspect ratio [for Imax
presentation], going from 2.35:1 to a
1.9:1 Imax digital ratio, and immerse
the viewer in the action, says Engle.
Most of the taller-aspect-ratio footage
was created as all-CG shots, but there
are many non-visual-effects and plate-
based visual-effects shots in the
sequences. In most cases, the extra
height of the Red Epic [sensor] was
used while keeping extra width for
convergence adjustments. In some cases,
we had to recompose just for Imax. The
camera follows Spider-Man, and some-
times we watch him, and sometimes we
Above: Police
Capt. Stacy
(Denis Leary)
attempts to
bring the
masked
vigilante to
justice. Left: A
Nightsun Xenon
on a motorized
head fitted to
an overhead
truss simulates a
police
helicopters
searchlight for
Stacys
confrontation
with
Spider-Man.
swing with him. Its a palette of really
great 3-D moves, edited in such a way as
to avoid quick cuts, so you can really see
and sense what the character is seeing
and sensing. Schwartzman adds, It is
quite something in Imax!
Spider-Man can run, jump and
climb the ceiling, continues the cine-
matographer. He moves in X-Y-Z
space, and 3-D gave us a heightened
sense of that [movement]. Marc and I
developed a photographic approach
and a stereo plan to make the most of it.
When Peter is at home or at school, we
use some 3-D depth, but we dont push
it. About halfway through the movie,
when he dons the suit and grows to
become Spider-Man, we go to a wider
lens and change the I/O instead of
32mm, were on a 24mm, and instead
of a .3 I/O, we are at a .6.
For location work in New York,
Webb insisted on as much realism as he
could get, seeking what Schwartzman
calls imperfections in the environment
and in human movement. Marc didnt
want to use a CG Spider-Man at first
he wanted to swing Andrew every-
where on cranes! We were in
Manhattan up the block from the
Flatiron Building on a 150-foot
construction crane, with Spider-Man
swinging and landing on a taxicab for
real. We rigged a traveling truss on a
crane in Harlem with a stunt driver,
making Spider-Man swing down the
street and chasing him in a camera car
with a Russian arm. We tried to do as
much in-camera as possible, and if they
couldnt use what we captured, [visual
effects] replaced it with a CG character.
In those cases, what we shot informed
animators on how Andrew would
move.
Overall, Schwartzman was
thrilled with how quickly he was able to
work while evaluating the 3-D imagery
on location. The rig sent data to the
engineering station to be captured, and
from there, it went to [728 video-play-
back engineer] Dave Deever, who
recorded both eyes and sent a 3-D
signal to a 50-inch Sony monitor that
Right: Balloon
lights illuminate
the Williamsburg
Bridge set, which
was constructed at
Falls Lake on the
Universal backlot
in Los Angeles. The
crew also
employed a
Spidercam system
to capture some of
the action in the
sequence, during
which the Lizard
flings cars that
Spider-Man has to
catch with his
webs. Below: An
8K (left) and 4K
(right) tungsten
balloon, as well as
4K nooks on the
truss, help light a
Manhattan rooftop
set for a stunt
sequence.
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we could watch using passive 3-D
glasses, he recalls. We watched
rehearsals in 3-D and made sure we
liked the I/O, and then [during the
takes], I was at the camera and Marc
was at video village, watching a 2-D
image on a standard 19-inch flatscreen
monitor. So, we had the ability to [check
the image] in 3-D and still run video
village like a 2-D show.
Webb was also comfortable with
the methodology. There was a nimble-
ness to the way it was organized and a
flexibility that I really appreciated. We
were operating on [Technocranes]
much of the time, which allowed us to
move pretty fast.
On the lighting front, Schwartz-
man approached things from an
emotional place, not a technical one, as
he would do on any other picture.
When I tested the Epics sensitivity, I
found it to be ISO 800 in full daylight
and ISO 640 in tungsten light. But with
3-D, the beamsplitter cuts out one stop
of light, so that goes down to 400
[daylight] and 320 [tungsten], which is
pretty much what Im used to when I
shoot anamorphic. So I didnt have to
make any major concessions to the
camera.
The only real trick was keeping
stray light off the mirror [in the 3-D
rig], because a flare or a veiling glare
would be in different places in the frame
between the two eyes, and thats a prob-
lem, he continues. The grips worked
hard to keep backlight off the mirror,
and because of the inherent depth in
3-D, I used less backlight than I would
in 2-D, where I tend to use rimlight to
model the subject and create layers of
depth.
Webb and Schwartzman agree
that their ability to adhere to a standard
shooting schedule helped them carve
out a lengthy post period, which had to
accommodate visual effects, stereogra-
phy, conform and DI processes. We
finished photography on time, and that
allowed us time to be very thorough in
post, says the director. Rob Engles
team [including on-set stereographers
Eric Deren and Jason Goodman] was
good about finding the artful balance
between discretion and excitement. You
dont want the 3-D to be so oppressive
or violent that it takes you out of the
movie.
Spider-Man features approxi-
mately 1,600 visual-effects shots. Chen
credits the Epic cameras for providing
high-resolution plates, but notes that
this impacted the rendering process for
CG material to combine with those
Top: Spider-Man sends strands of webbing through Manhattans water works a set the
crew dubbed The Onion and waits to feel the vibrations made by the approaching
Lizard. Bottom: Schwartzman shapes the light as A-camera 1st AC Richard Mosier keeps
the action in focus.
plates. The imagery was incredibly
clean, with almost no noise, he says.
Normally, when CG elements are
combined with filmed images, we add
grain in the composite to dirty it up and
help integrate it, but the Epic images
presented a different set of challenges.
In many cases, our CG images had
more noise than the footage!
Imageworks renderer, Arnold, makes
beautiful, realistic images, but they can
be noisy. We increased the quality
settings in the software to combat the
noise, but that can have an exponential
effect on how long it takes to render an
image.
Throughout the show, visual-
effects pulls were sampled down to
2.5K from the 5K 16-bit
RedLogFilm/RedColor2 DPX files
that were acquired on set and housed on
Sony Production Backbone servers.
However, Chens team could hunt for
higher-resolution material within shots
as needed, and then deliver those pieces
back at 2.5K to preserve camera fram-
ing and image formatting.
We worked with Reds color
scientists to define the best workflow,
says Chen. 2.5K resolution was the
most efficient choice in terms of image
fidelity and file size. Remember, we had
to store two sets of images for each
frame of a stereo shot. With 2.5K, we
could center-extract the DCI 2K spec
56
The crew gets a shot of Garfield and Stone as they ride a web into the night.
and still have plenty of extra pixels to use
for post moves and stereo convergence.
Because the Epic captures at 5K, if I had
to push into the image, I could go back
and request a 4K pull. We had cases
where we could scale up to 140 or 150
percent without seeing softness.
Still, every pair of stereo images
required a degree of match processing
before visual-effects work could be
done. Its a laborious, unavoidable
process, says Chen. Youre acquiring
two images, and each goes through a
different lens and camera body at a
different perspective. For each frame,
the two images must be matched in
terms of color and geometry, meaning
that if there is a zoom mismatch, one
image has to be scaled to match the
other. Highlights off surfaces will
appear at different places in each frame;
some may require removal to avoid
distractions and eyestrain during stereo
viewing. In the end, its mostly brute
force and skilled work that gives us the
[matching] quality we want.
Engles team put all native stereo
shots through some degree of image
alignment and color matching before
adding them to the picture as either
visual-effects plates or as non-effects
shots. Their primary tools included the
stereo tools within SGO Mistika,
Nukes Ocula plug-in and, for particu-
larly complicated shots, Reliance
MediaWorks.
At Colorworks, the 3-D conver-
gence pass was sent directly from the
productions Mistika system to the
FilmLight Baselight 8 color-correction
system via a customized pipeline.
Colorist Steve Bowen then applied final
color to the movie using the Baselight.
The final conform was done using
Autodesks Smoke system, and final
convergence tweaks were addressed at
Colorworks during that process.
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57
TECHNICAL SPECS
2.40:1
3-D Digital Capture
Red Epic
Zeiss Ultra Prime
P
hilip K. Dicks science-fiction stories have lent themselves
to a rich array of feature films, among them A Scanner
Darkly (AC July 06), The Adjustment Bureau (AC March
11), Minority Report (AC July 02) and, of course, Blade
Runner (AC July 82), but his short story We Can Remember
It for You Wholesale has proven popular enough with
Hollywood to warrant two adaptations. Paul Verhoevens
1990 release Total Recall (AC July 90) was the first, and last
month saw the release of a new Total Recall, directed by Len
Wiseman and shot by Paul Cameron, ASC.
Set in the year 2084, Total Recall presents a world in
which war and political upheaval have created two superpow-
ers, the United Federation of Britain (a combined force of
Paul Cameron, ASC
embarks on a
futuristic adventure
with Total Recall.
By Jay Holben
|
North America and the European Union) and New Asia
(China and Southeast Asia). The main character, Doug
Quaid (Colin Farrell), is a factory worker whose boredom
with everyday life leads him to visit Rekall, a company that
implants memories in a customers mind so he can experience
a virtual adventure. After choosing the life of a secret agent,
Quaid is plunged into the middle of a battle between the UFB
and New Asia. It gradually becomes clear that his experiences
as double agent Doug Hauser might actually be his own
repressed memories, not one of Rekalls inventions.
Cameron, whose credits include Man on Fire, Gone in
60 Seconds (AC June 00) and the ASC Award nominee
Collateral (AC Aug. 04), had just finished up work on Man on
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a Ledge when he got the call from
Wiseman to join him on Total Recall.
Three weeks later, we were in prep,
says the cinematographer.
The production was shot at
Pinewood Studios in Canada, and on
location in and around Toronto. The
architecture in Toronto is very interest-
ing visually, says Cameron. The
University of Toronto has a formidable
futuristic structure that we used judi-
ciously. Len was adamant that we use as
many real locations as possible to give
the story a grounded feeling. We also
built several sets on six stages at
Pinewood and used the property for
greenscreen work and some action
sequences as well.
When the filmmakers began
prep, they were planning to shoot
35mm anamorphic, but eight days
before principal photography com-
menced, production decided to capture
digitally with the Red Epic instead, and
use 35mm only for some crash cams
involved in stunt work. At that time,
the Epic had only been used on a couple
of 3-D features, Cameron recalls.
Production was convinced there would
be a significant savings for us because of
all the visual-effects work we required,
but it was a big trade-off. Ive shot a lot
of projects digitally, but this was a
brand-new camera Id never used, and
we had to start shooting in eight days. It
was a challenging situation.
He put the Epic through its paces
very quickly. I did as much testing as I
could, but there was a lot I had to take
on faith because we didnt have the time
for thorough tests. I had to assume its
ISO was really 800, and that it had 14
stops of latitude. It looked a little closer
to 12 stops in my quick tests, but our
tests were 2K, not 4K.
We developed a workflow with
Light Iron, but there were a lot of
unknowns, he continues. What will
happen when we strap the Epic to a car
and put several g-forces and vibration
on it during a chase? If we hit the lens
with a Xenon, is the sensor going to
overload, or will it take the flare like a
film camera would? You try to listen to
what other users are saying, but in the
end, youve got to figure it out for your-
self. Its like buying a new car: you can
read all about its performance and
handling, but you dont really know
until you take it around the block a few
times and chances are you wont
really know until youve put some seri-
ous miles on it.
One of the first real challenges
Cameron confronted with the Epic was
the size of its sensor compared to the
anamorphic film gate. In full frame
5.1K 1.89:1 mode, the Epics sensor is
actually slightly larger than a traditional
Super 35mm gate, but in anamorphic
mode, the camera crops the sides of the
sensor off, using only 17.79mm of its
width. This creates a 23mm diagonal,
which is decidedly smaller than 31.11 of
the 35mm anamorphic diagonal. The
sensor creates a crop factor, or lens
magnification, of 1.35x, an increase of
18 percent on the apparent focal length
Opposite: Doug Quaid
(Colin Farrell) prepares
to take a mind trip in
Total Recall. This page,
top and middle: When
his mind-altering
experience leads him
to believe he may in
fact be a double agent
named Hauser, Quaid
goes on the run with
Melina (Jessica Biel) as
Lori (Kate Beckinsale)
and federal police
take up pursuit.
Bottom:
Cinematographer Paul
Cameron, ASC lines up
a shot with the Red
Epic camera.
Memory Upgrade
of anamorphic lenses.
That made it difficult to get
wide-angle shots, and Len tends to
want to go wide, notes Cameron. We
eventually found a middle ground
that worked. For the really wide stuff
he wanted, I supplemented our
[Panavision] C-Series and E-Series
lenses with the G-Series, but theyre a
lot cleaner and dont have the flare char-
acteristics that the Cs and Es have, so
we tried to avoid them.
We decided to use the Cs and Es
when we thought we were going to
shoot film, and I stayed with them after
the switch, he continues. [Panavision
optical engineer] Dan Sasaki had them
shipped to us, along with some special
flare lenses, which were basically some
of the C-Series anamorphics with little
ventricular mirrors added to increase the
flare characteristics.
Total Recall became a film about
lens flares! he laughs. We were pushing
it all the time, aiming little Xenon flash-
lights right at the lens or putting pin-
sized sources into the frame. They add a
lot of visual punctuation. I like flares, but
Len loves flares, so we really went for it.
Wed be setting up a shot and discussing
the details, and Len would walk across
the room shaking his hands, showing
me where he wanted the flare. It was a
lot of fun to make that happen.
The Epic was so new that
Camerons crew had to spend a lot of
time making basic camera-support
materials for it. This wasnt an estab-
lished camera system with its own body
of accessories, he notes. It felt like we
were going through the Industrial
Revolution again; we were making base
plates, rods, bracketry, follow-focus
units, lens lights and handles, and hand-
held configurations. We had to manu-
facture power-distribution boxes to send
out power to the tons of
accessories around the camera. We also
built some beautiful handheld rigs that
we could screw additional weights to
when we wanted to make the camera
heftier. [A-camera operator] Angelo
Colavecchia, [B-camera operator] Mike
Top: This lighting plot illustrates Camerons overall approach to the Tripping Den inside Rekall.
Bottom: McClane (John Cho, right) and his assistants prep Quaid for his mind trip.
Cirella and I all felt more comfortable
with a camera that felt more like a
Panaflex Platinum. That was our
comfort zone when it came to hand-
held, and we did a lot of handheld on
this film.
The camera team was also
concerned about Reds established
pattern of frequent firmware updates
and the complications those might pose
for the production. 1st AC Russell
Bowie set a ground rule early on that no
updates would be made to the cameras
on set. If an update was to be consid-
ered, Red would send the updated Epic
to Panavision Toronto, and the camera
would be thoroughly tested before
being sent to set. Red was very
supportive, says Cameron. They sent
a tech to us for the first two weeks to
make sure we got rolling smoothly, and
they responded very quickly to any
questions or problems we had. The
Epic workflow is very well thought out,
and the camera is very user-friendly. So
far, the post process has been very
smooth.
The switch to digital affected the
filmmakers creative approach as well.
When you want things to look a
certain way on film, you attack lighting
a certain way because you know how
aggressive you can be with film stocks,
says Cameron. With digital, how close
to the edge you can go depends greatly
on which camera system youre using.
Some of them like overexposure more
than underexposure, and vice versa.
Sensors are different beasts; they see
color differently, and they see exposure
differently. When youre trying to push
things, you cant take anything for
granted. You have to monitor it very
closely. Generally speaking, with film,
Im pretty fearless, but with digital, I
find Im a little more cautious and
reserved I tend to back off on the
highlights a bit.
Cameron did not embrace the
light-from-the-monitor approach. I lit
with my meter, the same way I do with
film. Looking at an electronic image is
very different from looking right
through the glass in an optical finder. I
feel Im better off lighting by eye and
with my meter than judging an elec-
tronic image on the set.
In order to travel from the UFB,
where he lives, to New Asia, where he
works, Quaid takes a ship called the
For an action
piece in which
Quaid
singlehandedly
takes down a
team of federal
police inside the
Tripping Den,
director Len
Wiseman
envisioned what
looked like seven
super-high-speed
dolly moves
racing around the
room, says
Cameron. It was
all in one shot
and moving at
different levels.
Cameron utilized
super sliders
(pictured at left)
synchronized on a
computerized
winch to achieve
the effect.
China Fall through the center of the
earth. As the ship passes the earths core,
it goes through zero gravity, and the
travelers can see the brilliant light at the
planets molten center. The China Fall
set was built onstage at Pinewood on a
rotating gimbal. The camera moved
with the set on a nodal rig (designed
and fabricated by Mike Johnson) that
fit onto a Libra head and rotated the
camera on its optical axis.
For moments when the ship
passes the planets core, Cameron
wanted a lighting effect that would
suggest molten lava. It looked a bit like
a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert, he
laughs. We had a massive rig of 50
lights outside the small windows of the
ship. I used a cluster of [Chromlech]
Jarag fixtures, several rows of MR16s
that were designed for rock n roll light-
ing. They react to dimmer cues very
quickly and can go from zero to 100
percent almost instantly; if you use
Nine-light Maxis, it can take them a
little more time because of the size of
the filament. For the core rig, we put
those Jarag fixtures on a vertical tower
along with a 7K Xenon, and we
surrounded the Jarags with almost 100
Par cans. Then wed move that up and
down to get the feel of the ship passing
the core. It was a massive rig, especially
considering the small size of the ships
window, but the effect was quite
impressive. At 800 ISO, the effect gave
me close to an f16 through the
window.
For practical lighting inside the
China Fall, production designer Patrick
Tatopoulos incorporated a number of
LED strips and small fixtures into the
set, and Cameron made full use of the
integrated fixtures while supplementing
with some soft sources, mainly Kino
Flos. Cameron and his gaffer, Patrick
Reddish, built a number of soft boxes
using Kino Flo Barfly fixtures with
black foamcore snoots and white bed
sheets for diffusion on the face. Six 4x4
HMI lighting balloons provided low
ambience.
One of the advantages of the
Epic is that you can immediately see the
results of pumping in just 5 more foot
candles of light, notes the cinematogra-
pher. Thats particularly helpful when
youre going in for a close-up, because
you can very easily fill the eyes.
When the ship arrives at its desti-
nation, emergency lights signal the end
of the journey. A set of Atomic 3,000-
watt Xenon fixtures was rigged into the
set for this effect.
Thanks to a number of collabora-
tions with director Tony Scott,
Cameron has developed a stylistic
approach that incorporates multiple
cameras. Tony and I would often have
four or five cameras in a kind of visual
symphony, and I now work a lot with
three and four cameras, he says. You
always add cameras when you do action,
Memory Upgrade
Right: A frame
grab of Quaid
inside his
apartment in New
Asia. Below: The
crew prepares a
setup on the
exterior portion
of Quaids
apartment set.
but I even add cameras to dialogue
scenes. It allows me to get a lot more
coverage quickly, and it has a much
realer feel because the coverage is from
the same take youre getting the same
energy from the actors. There are some
compromises, of course. You have to
light for a 20mm and a 600mm at the
same time, and you often have to be off
the eyelines a little more than you might
like. But I now see scenes and blocking
in a different way; I see the pieces of a
scene unfold, and I want to capture
them as quickly and genuinely as possi-
ble. Seeing where you can squeeze in
another camera is a bit like threading a
needle, but you get amazing coverage,
and the actors really love the freedom it
gives them.
Len really got into this
approach, and Ive found that most
directors do, continues the cinematog-
rapher. Once they get a taste of what
they can do with three or four cameras,
and they see the dailies, they really start
to love it. It does require tight coordina-
tion between the camera operators.
Blocking with multiple cameras means
a lot of reframing and resizing within a
scene, and it becomes like conducting a
visual orchestra, but if youre mindful
about how you approach it, its really
quite satisfying to see it all come
together. In addition, it seems like
production schedules are getting tighter
and tighter these days, and shooting
multi camera seems to be one of the
only ways to make them.
When Quaids Rekall procedure
goes wrong and he is suddenly thrust
into the middle of a political whirlwind,
police agents storm the Rekall facility
and attempt to capture him. In a
moment of clarity, he realizes he
possesses extraordinary skills, and he
singlehandedly defeats the entire team
of armed officers. Wisemans previsual-
ization of this moment presented
Cameron with a huge challenge,
recalls the cinematographer. The previs
looked like seven super-high-speed
dolly moves racing around the room. It
was all in one shot and moving at differ-
ent levels.
Top and middle: The crew shoots a hover-car chase sequence. Bottom: This image shows the sequences
composited background.
I said wed need a couple super

sliders, and if he wanted to match-
frame, wed put them on a computerized
winch so that as one camera traveled by
at the end of its slider, it would cross
over the starting position of a second
slider, and wed get the seamless feeling
of seven high-speed dolly moves mixed
into one. The moves are traveling at 20
feet per second, and you do get the sense
of Quaids superhuman abilities.
It took three days to shoot it, and
I convinced production to let us shoot it
during prep, because I knew it was the
kind of complicated sequence that
might get lost if we waited for the
middle of production to do it. We
rigged the super sliders twice each day
on the first two days, and then finished
up the sequence on the third day. The
whole shot forms a triangle around the
action, with the camera making nine
separate moves around that triangle. It
goes around Quaid, then up to a guard
that he shoots on a balcony, and then it
flies back down and around him again
as he takes out more guards. It ends
with a close-up of him after he shoots
the last guy. We used three cameras and
three super sliders.
We had just made the decision
to switch to the Epic before we shot this
sequence, and I was concerned about
whether the cameras would hold up
under those g-forces, he adds. But
they worked great. They stood up to
everything we threw at them!
The design of the ceiling in the
Rekall set made it tricky to get the right
angles of light. Cameron and Reddish
created a base level with 26 6K coops
positioned throughout the set and
augmented with Kino Flo Image 80,
Vista Beam and 4x4 fixtures, which
could be easily tucked into slots above
the set. For some color contrast,
Cameron used
1
2 CTB on some
fixtures and
1
2 CTS on others.
After Quaid takes down the
guards, he realizes more guards are
outside the room, blocking his escape.
Memory Upgrade
Right: Overhead
coops and built-in
practical fixtures
light the lowest
level of the New
Asia set, which
included a
3'-deep canal and
was built on the
Jumbo stage at
Pinewood
Toronto Studios.
Below: The China
Fall helipad was
constructed inside
Pinewood
Toronto Studios
46,000-square-
foot Mega
stage; here,
Quaid and Melina
attempt to take
off in one of
the aircraft.
As he gathers the fallen guards
weapons, the team outside tries to gain
a tactical advantage by seeing into the
room before they breach it. They do this
by firing a rocket into the room that
detonates and releases 60 cameras,
which mount themselves to the walls.
The combined footage creates a 3-D
image of Quaid in the room.
To achieve these images,
Camerons crew mounted 60 GoPro
HD Hero2 cameras all around the set
and painted them to blend into the
walls. Eight of the cameras failed, but
the footage from the other 52 provided
enough information to create the 3-D
hologram.
A multi-camera setup was
employed at another key point in the
story. As Quaid discovers details about
Hauser, his alter ego, he finds a black
piano key in a safety-deposit box. Later,
when he finds a piano with a missing
key, he slips his key into the spot and
triggers a holographic message from
Hauser. The camera dollies around
Quaid as he watches the hologram, and
Memory Upgrade
66
A lens flare cuts
across this frame
grab of Quaid.
Cameron jokes,
Total Recall
became a film
about lens
flares!
we see a full 3-D effect of the miniature
projection. To create the projection
effect, Cameron built an 8' circular rig
lined with 32 Canon EOS 5D Mark IIs
that filmed Farrell from all angles. We
had to create customized on/off
switches for the 5Ds so we could start
and stop them at the same time, he
recalls. Mike Johnson, who also built
the nodal rig for our Libra head, created
those switches.
When Cameron spoke to AC, he
was in the midst of assisting with the
final grade, which Wiseman was carry-
ing out with colorist Steve Bowen at
Sony Colorworks in Culver City.
Unfortunately, I couldnt be there for
the color work, but Steve and I were
able to time the trailer together, so he
knows what Im looking for, says
Cameron. Im seeing his work in
batches. This weekend, for example, Ill
see a DCP projection of what hes done
so far in New York, and then Ill send
him my notes.
Len has an incredible eye, too,
and he wants the same look I want, he
adds. His attention to detail is truly
extraordinary. He not only knows every
shot in the movie, but he also knows
every layer of every effects shot inside
and out, so even though weve started
timing before the effects are done, he
understands which layers are missing
and how our color work will affect those
layers when theyre added. Working
with him has been a great experience all
around, and I look forward to more
collaborations.
67
TECHNICAL SPECS
2.40:1
Digital Capture and 35mm
Red Epic; Canon EOS 5D
Mark II; GoPro Hero2;
PanArri 235
Panavision C-Series, E-Series,
G-Series
Fujifilm F-64D 8522,
Eterna 250D 8563
Vampire Hunter. It was the best title ever, he says with a
laugh. Unless youre a complete purist about history, you have
to love it.
Based on the novel by Seth Grahame-Smith, the movie
proposes that Honest Abe (played by Benjamin Walker) was
motivated to become a political leader not only by his sense of
morality and patriotism, but also by his deep hatred for the
vampires threatening his divided country. Lincoln alone is a
fascinating subject, and I found the idea of combining his
story and that turbulent period with vampires to be really
intriguing, says Deschanel. In my research, I found that
some reviews of John Fords Young Mr. Lincoln [1939] actually
suggested Lincoln had a sort of Nosferatu quality. There was
certainly a tragic quality to his life that suggested some bad
karma surrounded him: he lost his mother at a young age, he
lost three of his four children, and he had to face the horrors
M
ost filmmakers probably believe theyve seen it all after
spending more than 30 years in the business, but Caleb
Deschanel, ASC confesses he was a bit nonplussed
when he received a script titled Abraham Lincoln:
VampireVeto
VampireVeto
Caleb Deschanel, ASC explores
digital capture and 3-D post on
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
By David E. Williams
|
of the Civil War. If you think of the
vampires in this movie as metaphors or
allegories for the real issues Lincoln
faced, the story gains an interesting
dynamic.
Deschanel was also attracted by
the prospect of working with director
Timur Bekmambetov, and he made a
point of watching Night Watch (Nochnoy
dozor), Bekmambetovs first foray into
vampire lore, before he met with him.
Its a wonderful movie, the cinematog-
rapher says. Its incredibly dark and
mysterious, and it has a brooding quality
that I loved.
By the time Deschanel received
the script, Bekmambetov was already
in the early stages of prepping the
project, and he and his collaborators had
already decided to shoot digitally.
Coincidentally, Deschanel had just
wrapped his first digital feature, William
Friedkins Killer Joe, which he had shot
on the Arri Alexa. He thought the Alexa
would be well suited to Abraham
Lincoln, though he had some concerns
about the plan to extract a 2.39:1 image
from the cameras 16x9 Alev-III sensor.
We shot Killer Joe in 1.85:1, and the
image held up well on the big screen
because we were using most of the chip, P
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Opposite page:
Abraham Lincoln
(Benjamin Walker) has
an axe to grind with
the undead in
Abraham Lincoln:
Vampire Hunter. This
page, top to bottom:
Vadoma (Erin Wasson)
bares her fangs;
commanding vampire
Adam (Rufus Sewell)
exerts his power;
cinematographer
Caleb Deschanel, ASC
(left) and director
Timur Bekmambetov
stake out a location.
he explains. By comparison, we had to
use a smaller part of the chip to extract
our widescreen image for Abraham
Lincoln, and to me it looks slightly more
digital on the big screen. Of course, the
newer Alexa model allows you to shoot
anamorphic with a 4x3 sensor, but that
technology wasnt available to us at the
time.
There was also a mandate that
Abraham Lincoln would be released in
3-D, and when Deschanel came aboard,
production had not yet decided whether
to capture in 3-D or convert in post. In
prep, we went out and saw every 3-D
film we possibly could, those that had
been shot in 3-D and those that had
used a stereo post process, he recalls.
We wanted to analyze them and deter-
mine for ourselves what worked and
what didnt work. I was initially
convinced that shooting native 3-D
would be the best approach, but I was
shocked by how many problems were
not solved by doing that. It became clear
that the expertise and technique of the
people using the camera system was as
important as the camera itself, and that is
really no surprise.
Ive also noticed that in every
movie Ive seen that was shot in 3-D,
including the latest Pirates of the
Caribbean [ACApril 11], there is often a
weird miniaturization effect in certain
shots. I first noticed it years ago, while
watching the 3-D Imax movie Wings of
Courage [AC Aug. 95]. The movie was
beautiful, but I felt like everyone had
been reduced to the size of a toy. I know
this has something to do with the
manipulation of the interocular distance
between the two cameras lenses, and
perhaps its more apparent if youre
shooting in Imax, but I was concerned
about it.
The biggest problem with shoot-
ing stereo, of course, is the time it adds to
the schedule, and although Abraham
Lincoln is a big film, we did have limited
time and a limited budget. The movies
we watched that had been converted
from 2-D to 3-D generally looked really
good, and the techniques used for
conversion were getting better all the

Vampire Veto
Top: Young Abe
journals about
his secret life.
Middle and
bottom: Lincoln
trains to slay
vampires with
his mentor,
Henry Sturgess
(Dominic
Cooper).
time. Because we could shoot more
quickly in 2-D, we decided to do that
and convert in post. The rub with that is
that you have to leave time in post to do
a good job; that has to be built into the
schedule.
Throughout the shoot,
Bekmambetov and Deschanel had to be
vigilant about choosing widescreen
compositions that would work well in
3-D. If youre only thinking about 2-D,
you compose shots differently, says
Deschanel. Your more painterly
compositions can create problems and
fall apart in 3-D. In general, we
composed shots so the action was more
central in the frame. We also did many
more clean singles than we otherwise
would have because in 3-D, over-the-
shoulder coverage gives you a big glob
floating in the foreground of the frame.
Actually, anything in the foreground is a
concern.
I had to keep reminding myself
of things like that because when youre
under the pressure of shooting, its very
easy to resort to what you would
normally do, he adds. (Stereographer
Graham D. Clark of Stereo D, the facil-
ity that handled the stereo conversion,
was on set throughout the shoot to
provide guidance.)
Given its unusual blend of period
drama, supernatural creatures and high-
octane action, Abraham Lincoln also
presented the filmmakers with the chal-
lenge of finding the appropriate tone.
Its not tongue-in-cheek, a spoof, or a
comedy of any sort, says Deschanel.
Its a serious historical drama that
transforms into a vampire movie. Its
two totally conflicting ideas duking it
out, like those tattoos of love and hate
on Robert Mitchums fists in Night of the
Hunter. Finding the right visual tone
was definitely an issue; we wanted to
establish realism and then have this
over-the-top quality creep in.
This tonal shift occurs in one of
the films early scenes, which shows
Lincolns mother being brutally killed
by a vampire. The lighting up to that
point is fairly true to life, motivated by
candles or moonlight, which gives us a
Top: Sturgess
approaches
Lincoln after
sensing the
anger within
him. Middle:
After being
transformed into
a vampire,
Sturgess
indulges his
blood lust.
Bottom: Will
Johnson
(Anthony
Mackie, left),
Lincolns adviser
and childhood
friend, fends off
an attack.
realistic foundation, says Deschanel.
But as the vampires entered the story,
we tried to maintain reality but move
away from those motivated sources and
instead light based on the tone of the
scene. The lighting becomes increasingly
off-kilter for instance, the moon gets
bigger and brighter and the camera-
work becomes more point-of-view. It
felt as if wed given into the vampires and
left history behind. It was like a Ouija
board was guiding the shooting.
Bekmambetovs affinity for slow-
motion effects led Deschanel to add a
Vision Research Phantom Flex to his
camera package, albeit with some reluc-
tance. Timur fell in love with the
Phantom camera, and the slow-motion
shots you get with it can be mesmeriz-
ing, but the digital artifacting, especially
the clipped highlights, was a problem
for me, he says. It gives you wonderful
results when you can completely control
the light, but you cant always do that.
As soon as anything was 3 stops over, all
the detail disappeared.
The Phantom Flex can capture
up to 2,570 fps at 1920x1080 in stan-
dard mode, and the filmmakers used it
mainly for Civil War combat action.
When the guns would fire, the muzzle
blasts would go completely white and
fall apart, and, out of necessity, we just
had to embrace that, says Deschanel.
For some high-speed scenes, he also
shot 4-perf Super 35mm, running Arri
435s at 150 fps and using Kodak
Vision3 200T 5213 or 500T 5219.
The high-speed work ended up being
a hodgepodge, at least in the fight
sequences, he recalls. I just kept shoot-
ing film until Timur wanted to go
beyond 150 frames. I would have
preferred not to use the Phantom at all,
and I think Timur came around after he
started to examine the images we were
getting. We do have some shots in the
movie that would not have been possi-
ble without the Phantom, but without
very controlled lighting, the image
suffers.
Using two cameras for most
setups, Deschanel teamed the Alexa
with Zeiss Ultra Primes and, occasion-

Vampire Veto
Top: Lincoln
surveys the
gruesome scene
after dispatching
a group of
vampires.
Bottom:
Crewmembers
capture the
action from two
angles.
ally, a Fujinon Alura 18-80mm zoom
lens. Footage was recorded in ArriRaw
to Codex recorders and, as backup, to
SxS cards. Deschanel notes that the
backup step paid off when the team
discovered a corrupt file in the Codex
material and was able to retrieve the
intact data from the card.
One aspect of digital production
Deschanel has no love for is the neces-
sity of looking at the monitor to see
what youre getting. It was really my
own worry. With film I always know,
pretty well, what Im going to get and
how to expose to get that. In terms of
latitude, the Alexa is close enough [to
film] that I was comfortable shooting
with it the way I would shoot film, but I
never got comfortable enough to not
check the monitor and the scope. The
image always looked good on the moni-
tor, but I was concerned about certain
wide shots and how they would hold up
[in 2.40:1] on a big screen. Those wide
shots are where I feel that digital look I
really wanted to get past. With digital,
every image is recorded by the same
array of dots on the sensor, whereas with
film, theres a whole new set of dots for
every frame because the emulsion
moves. That makes film much more
forgiving, especially to the human face
and skin tones.
Deschanel also believes that on
digital productions, too many important
decisions are made on set too quickly.
Judging by the monitor is great if youre
a camera assistant trying to verify that
something is in focus, but its difficult to
make critical decisions about perfor-
mance and composition under the
immense pressures of the production
day. When you watch dailies some-
where else, separated by time and with-
out those direct influences, you might
have a very different interpretation of
what youre seeing, and you might see
what youve done differently. I think the
time we used to have for that process is
something we shouldnt give up when
shooting digitally.
One of the aspects of his 3-D
learning curve was discovering that one
thing you cannot do when youre shoot-
ing 2-D for stereo conversion is atmos-
phere, whether that be smoke or fog
effects; and if youre shooting something
underwater, you have to avoid all those
fascinating floating particles. The
conversion process just doesnt identify
Top: In a unit
still from the
set, Vadoma
pins Lincoln
beneath a chair.
Bottom: In a
frame pull from
the movie that
shows the full
look applied
during the DI,
Joshua Speed
(Jimmy
Simpson) rides
to Lincolns
rescue.
and separate all those tiny elements
well. That said, Timur had some good
ideas on how to utilize that volumetric
space. He suggested creating atmos-
pheric elements as an added layer of
3-D CGI. For example, for a picnic
scene featuring Lincoln and his wife,
Mary, they floated CG milkweed seeds
in the air to give it a more complete
3-D reality.
Abraham Lincoln was filmed in
Louisiana, where Deschanel also shot
Killer Joe, and he brought on some of
the same crew, including gaffer Paul
Olinde, key grip Richard Ball and dolly
grip Richard Hoover. My primary
crew was some of my usual guys,
including first AC Tommy Tieche and
A-camera/Steadicam operator B.J.
McDonnell, who are great, he adds.
When he spoke to AC,
Deschanel was in the midst of color-
timing the 3-D version of Abraham
Lincoln at Technicolor Hollywood with
senior/supervising colorist David Cole.
With a laugh, Deschanel says, At first,
Timur and I had the idea that the movie
should be in black-and-white because
of the great, iconic Civil War photogra-
phy by Matthew Brady and others
thats such a part of our collective
psyche. After we wrapped, I went on to
another feature, and Timur and Dave
Cole experimented with some things.
Eventually, Dave and I came up with a
desaturated look that suggests the
appropriate feel and puts us in the right
period. Of course, a lot of that look
went by the wayside at the last minute
as they rushed to convert to 3-D.
The cinematographer notes that
there are significant differences in
grading for 3-D vs. 2-D. There are
multiple 3-D exhibition systems, and
depending on the process being used,
the picture might be projected at 3
1
2
foot-lamberts or 6 foot-lamberts. At
that level, the eye perceives color and
contrast differently than it does when
the image is presented at the standard
15 or 16 foot-lamberts. So the timing of
the 3-D version is completely different.
We have a lot more control over
the image today, so there are many more
choices as well, and those two things
dont always line up exactly right, he
concludes. But Im always looking to
try something new, and Abraham
Lincoln, with its mash-up of high-brow
and low-brow ideas, was exactly that. It
allowed me to fully immerse myself in
something completely different.

Vampire Veto
Top: Lincoln
makes a journal
entry on a train
transporting a
shipment of
silver to Union
soldiers battling
Confederate
vampires.
Bottom: An older,
wiser Lincoln
attempts to
abolish slavery
and unify the
United States.
TECHNICAL SPECS
2.40:1
Digital Capture and
4-perf Super 35mm
Arri Alexa, 435;
Vision Research Phantom Flex
Zeiss Ultra Prime,
Arri/Fujinon Alura
500T 5219
Stereoscopic Conversion
Creating Reality for a Greenscreen Shoot
By Noah Kadner
The Polish feature film Man, Chicks Are Just Different, shot by
Jerzy Zielinski, ASC, PSC, is a simple story about two men (Adam
Woronowicz and Robert Wieckiewicz) conversing as they drive
through city streets at night. The concept was very anti-cinematic,
says Zielinski, who shot the picture for director Marek Koterski. The
question was, how can we make this premise interesting and bring
the audience along for the ride?
The filmmakers explored the possibility of shooting entirely
onstage, with the actors in a stationary car in front of greenscreen,
and compositing the backgrounds during post. Zielinski researched
the look of nighttime car interiors by driving around at night and
shooting short videos, and he paid close attention to the optical
quality of the resultant imagery and the interactive lighting in the
footage. He then shot a series of tests with actors and crew using a
car on a stage to show the producers that the greenscreen approach
could look credible.
This movie depended on two things: the dialogue and the
performances, Zielinski explains. Marek wrote a very precise script,
and the actors werent allowed to improvise at all. Ive shot a lot of
driving sequences, and in real moving cars, youre always limited to
very few camera angles and lighting positions, and the sound is
often compromised. It was a very exciting challenge to shoot every-
thing onstage and then try to make it look real.
Chicks was shot at Film Production Studios in Ldz, Poland.
Zielinski used a primarily local crew that included camera operator
Ernest Wilczynski, gaffer Hubert Stawicki and key grip Wojtek
Piasecki. He shot in 1.85:1 using a Panaflex Millennium XL, Primo
lenses and Kodak Vision3 500T 5219.
Shooting the actors and the backgrounds separately gave
us visual options that simply wouldnt have been possible on loca-
tion, says Zielinski. For example, I could shoot the actors with a
50mm lens and then capture the background plate later with a
10mm in order to see more of the surrounding environment. This
enabled us to create a complex, hyper-real look.
In order to maximize the shooting time with the actors, Zielin-
ski devised a fixed lighting setup for the greenscreen. We created
a chandelier fixture out of 20 4-foot Kino Flo 3,200K tubes. We
bounced them up like a shining tube just above the roof of the car,
and they evenly lit the entire greenscreen backing. It was very simple,
and it ensured that the background was lit and ready to go first thing
each morning.
For the two actors, Zielinski used a variety of Rosco LitePad
LED panels to emulate the look of the cars dashboard lighting.
Post Focus
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During a long drive, Pucio (Robert Wieckiewicz, pictured) and his friend Adam (Adam Woronowicz) complain non-stop about their difficult
relationships with women in the Polish feature Man, Chicks Are Just Different, shot by Jerzy Zielinski, ASC, PSC.
Completing the general look of the car
scenes, he created a system of moving lights
to approximate the effects of various exter-
nal sources, such as other cars and street
lamps. For the streetlight effects, we used
2,000-watt and 1,000-watt Arri Fresnel
lamps either direct or bounced off a rotating
mirror, he says. We sometimes added
1
4
or
1
2 CTO to create a sodium-vapor look.
Finally, we placed an 800-watt Redhead on
a dolly to simulate the headlights of passing
cars.
The production used two versions of
the car, and each was stripped down to
facilitate rigging and accommodate a vari-
ety of shooting angles. The rigging team
removed everything from the cars that we
didnt need, including the engines and the
windows, says Zielinski. To help the actors
concentrate on something, we placed a
large TV monitor that played POV driving
footage in front of the car.
After completing the three-week
studio shoot, Zielinski went out with a
smaller crew and a Panavision Genesis to
shoot exteriors for the background plates
and the reflections that would be added to
the cars windows in post. I wanted the
texture, grain and deep blacks of 35mm film
for the actors faces, but for the night
plates, I switched to the Genesis because I
knew wed have to shoot a lot of material,
and that wed have minimal lighting. This
hybrid approach gave me the option to
build up the depth in post. Referencing
storyboards that depicted each scenes
setting and background requirements,
Zielinski shot the plates slightly out of focus
to achieve a more natural optical look.
Going into post, Zielinski collabo-
rated closely with Warsaw visual-effects
house The Chimney Pot. The work entailed
selecting the desired takes from the green-
screen shoot, matching them with the
appropriate background footage, and then
adding digital windows complete with
reflections, dirt and interactive lighting.
Visual-effects supervisor Jacek Skrobisz and
The Chimney Pots managing director,
Jedrzej Sablinski, worked on the project for
a year, beginning with preproduction test-
ing.
The initial challenge in post was to
match the 35mm footage with the HD
Genesis footage. We received the Genesis
material in 1080p on HDCam-SR tapes,
explains Sablinski. The 35mm negative
was scanned at 4K and then downsized to
2K, and we then moved footage through
post as 2K DPX frames.
I spent about four months working
directly with The Chimney Pot, says Zielin-
ski. We sometimes had very soft edges to
key with, because a strong backlight would-
nt have looked right for the interior of the
car at night. I was also missing some kind of
light that would come from outside and
penetrate the interior, so we added edge
flares motivated by the street lamps to help
make it more believable.
Jerzys involvement in the effects
To capture the characters dialogue inside the car from various angles, the filmmakers
worked on two greenscreen mini-stages, positioning prop cars on a fixed platform (top)
and a rotating platform (bottom).
work was extensive, much more than the
director of photography usually has, says
Sablinski. He worked closely with editor
Andrzej Kowalski to select the right fore-
ground takes and then match each with the
corresponding background material. Of
the movies 443 shots, 341 contain visual
effects.
The Chimney Pots team of 10 visual-
effects artists and compositors used The
Foundrys Nuke software, supplemented by
Autodesk Flame, for most of the composit-
ing work. They also used Autodesk Maya
for 3-D animation and RealFlow for physical
fluid simulation. In one notable scene, heavy
rain begins to fall as the men are waiting at
a railway crossing for a train to pass. Sablin-
ski explains, The rain was very special,
involving a lot of work with raindrops on the
car window and reflections on the actors.
The wiper blades and windshield were
created entirely in 3-D with Maya. Interac-
tive rain drops and splashes were simulated
with RealFlow. For a scene showing the
men driving across a bridge, the resizing of
the background plates was very demand-
ing.
Zielinski continued working with The
Chimney Pot as Chicks was edited, compos-
ited and color corrected (by Victor Sasin).
We used Digital Visions Nucoda Film
Master system with a SAN and Fuse assist
station for the grading and conform, says
Sablinski. Everything was screened with a
Barco D-Cine Premiere DP90 projector on a
4-meter DI screen. Each shot was graded
three or four times for all of the separate
elements and then the final comps. The
final shots averaged up to five layers of
material. It was a big puzzle, and it was a lot
of fun to put together! The Chimney Pot
also created the final film prints and DCP
version.
Having all the post work completed
under one roof really made a difference,
says Zielinski. Typically, you deal with many
different post houses on a project with this
many visual effects. What was really fasci-
nating for me was seeing how we could use
all of this digital technology to create hyper-
realism rather than fantasy.
Top:
Wieckiewicz
and
Woronowicz
rehearse a
scene between
takes. Bottom:
To light the
greenscreen
backing evenly,
Zielinski
employed a
chandelier
fixture
consisting of 20
4' Kino Flo
3,200 tubes.
Visual Effects Go There
Visual-effects and production veterans Elliott and Taylor Jobe
have launched There, a bicoastal company that specializes in the
capture and compositing of digital sets with greenscreen produc-
tion. The company provides an alternative to traditional location-
based production, making it possible to capture locations that
would otherwise be impossible to shoot in an expedient and cost-
competitive way.
We combine on-set technology with digital sets using
assets we capture or create, as well as existing assets we repur-
pose, explains Elliott Jobe, Theres creative director. With digital
sets, we can give our clients access and control of lighting so it can
be magic hour all day.
Our studio is a hybrid of practical and digital technology,
which many live-action productions tend to approach separately,
adds Taylor Jobe, the companys development director. You can be
inside the Louvre, Red Square or Grand Central Terminal in one
afternoon.
There enables both director and cinematographer to interact
with talent on the greenscreen stage as if they were shooting in an
actual location. For example, the director can work with actors on
performance while referencing the digital environment as opposed
to having only limited contextual reference within the greenscreen
stage, and the cinematographer can choose which lens to use and
how to light a scene based on actual distances and images within
the digital set.
Among Theres recent projects are commercials for Virgin
America and Crystal Geyser, featuring digital sets of a plane interior
and a modern kitchen, respectively; and a Rock Center promo
with Brian Williams, featuring digital sets for seven floors of Rocke-
feller Center-based productions (such as Late Night with Jimmy
Fallon, Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock) that facilitated shooting
with multiple celebrities.
There evolved from the company LiveLocation. R&D led the
Jobes to launch the brand more precisely as There. Additional clients
include Bravo, Lucasfilm, Geico, Warner Bros. and O Positive Films.
For additional information, visit www.hellothere.tv.
New Products & Services
SUBMISSION INFORMATION
Please e-mail New Products/Services releases to:
newproducts@ascmag.com and include full contact
information and product images. Photos must be
TIFF or JPEG files of at least 300dpi.
Pixomondo Expands to Baton Rouge, Detroit
International visual-effects company Pixomondo has
announced the opening of its 12th and 13th facilities in Baton
Rouge, La., and Detroit, Mich., respectively. The announcement
follows the Academy Award win by Pixomondos visual-effects
supervisor Ben Grossmann and digital-effects supervisor Alex
Henning for their work on Hugo, which featured more than 800
stereo 3-D visual-effects shots created by Pixomondo artists around
the world.
Opening an office in Baton Rouge fits perfectly with our
overall company vision, says Thilo Kuther, founder of Pixomondo.
Louisiana offers a very generous production tax rebate that we can
pass on to our clients to bolster our project load as well as our grow-
ing teams in Los Angeles, London, Germany, China and Canada.
Baton Rouge is a beautiful city with a wealth of resources,
Kuther continues. Weve already connected with the Louisiana
State University science department to help set up remote render
farms and virtualization with our other studios.
Pixomondo DTW, the new studio in Detroit, was formed
through the acquisition of boutique visual-effects company With A
Twist. It will focus on feature, television and commercial work,
handling both local and international projects.
With A Twist has a long-standing relationship with
Pixomondo as a sub-vendor on several features, including The
Amazing Spider-Man, Fast Five, Sucker Punch and Hugo. David
Burton, co-founder of With A Twist, notes that the company had
reached the point where we needed to grow to remain competitive.
Pixomondo has already accomplished much of what we aspired to
do, and done it well, so it was a natural progression to join into their
team. Our cultures mesh well and the timing was right.
The visual-effects industry is such a worldwide market-
place, adds With A Twist co-founder Pam Hammarlund. It is a
tremendous asset to have access to [Pixomondos] global resources.
With extensive experience creating visual effects for such
companies as Audi, VW and Mini,
Pixomondo is aptly suited for work in the
Motor City. The Detroit location will enable
the company to service clients locally while
simultaneously working on other diverse
projects for its other 12 studios around the
globe.
For additional information, visit
www.pixomondo.com.
Spy: LA Opens Doors in
Santa Monica
Spy, a FotoKem company that offers
creative finishing services for commercials
and feature films, has opened a new studio
in Santa Monica, Calif., within the sound
studio Margarita Mix.
Extending the capabilities of Spys
main facility in San Francisco, Spy: LA will
specialize in visual-effects-based commercial
productions. The company recently worked
on spots for UPS, Asics, THQ/UFC, Hillshire
Farm and Canon.
Visual-effects artist Scott Rader joins
Spy: LA as creative director and lead Flame
artist. He previously worked at Radium,
Hydraulx and Digital Domain. Raders work
on numerous television series, feature films,
commercials and music videos as an Inferno
artist/visual-effects supervisor has earned
him a number of awards, including nine
Emmys.
Spy: LA provides the same level of
quality services that is offered in our San
Francisco facility, says co-founder Eric
Hanson. The two studios are securely
connected by a high-speed network [that
offers] real-time interface capabilities
between San Francisco and Santa Monica,
and this new location greatly enhances our
ability to interface effectively with our
clients.
81
applications that support QuickTime Time-

Code Tracks.
Additional capabilities of Cali-
brated{Q} AVC-Intra Encode include YUV
conversion from either SMPTE RGB or full-
range RGB, support for 8/10-bit YUV 4:2:2
color space, support for 8/16-bit RGB color
space, 100Mb or 50Mb I-frame AVC-Intra
compression at industry-standard resolu-
tions and frame rates, and a variety of
gamma-correction settings.
Many PC professionals want to
work with 10-bit compressed media, but
they may not be able to easily hand off 10-
bit compressed media to Mac profession-
als, says Greg Booth, president of Cali-
brated Software. This new codec solves
this workflow hurdle for customers who are
using Adobe After Effects or Adobe
Premiere Pro CS5/CS6 applications on the
PC so that they can now export AVC-Intra
.MOV files, which can easily be imported
into Apple Final Cut Pro 7 or Apple Final
Cut Pro X. It also opens up additional
encoding options for customers using
Adobe After Effects or Adobe Premiere Pro
CS5/CS6, Compressor 3.5/4, or Apple Final
Cut Pro 7/X on the Mac.
www.calibratedsoftware.com.
GoPro Partners with Technicolor
GoPro and Technicolor have collabo-
rated to embed Technicolors CineStyle color
profile in GoPros free Protune firmware
upgrade for the HD Hero2 camera. Certified
by Technicolor and developed by GoPro, the
Protune firmware upgrade offers users a
flexible and improved workflow for seam-
less integration with other source material
The connection and design of the
facilities will empower collaboration,
Hanson continues. When there are tight
turnarounds, creative changes and advanc-
ing deliveries, this will be a great value-add
for the creative process.
www.spypost.com.
CinePostproduction Gets into
On-Set Dailies
CinePostproduction has introduced
Copra, an app that allows users to play back
color-graded, sound-synced 1080p H.264
dailies on their iPads. Copra integrates
seamlessly with Colorfronts On-Set Dailies,
offering features such as built-in notes,
graphical annotations and access to
comments from the QC report.
The Copra app on the iPad connects
wirelessly to a local Copra Server that runs
on OSD to provide high-quality HD stream-
ing dailies within minutes of wrapping.
www.copra.de.
Calibrated Software Encodes
AVC-Intra
Calibrated Software has released
Calibrated{Q} AVC-Intra Encode, a Quick-
Time Encode codec that enables exporting
of up to 10-bit compressed AVC-Intra .MOV
files from PC- and Mac-based applications
that support QuickTime.
The codec also introduces a Post-
Encode feature that lets users embed Final
Cut Pro X metadata such as ReelName,
Scene and Location information, and a Clip
Memo into an AVC-Intra .MOV file after
encoding. Once embedded, this informa-
tion can be readily seen when imported into
Final Cut Pro X. Additionally, the Post-
Encode feature allows users to insert new
time code via a TimeCode Track in the AVC-
Intra .MOV file; the track can be seen by
Colorfront Launches
Express Dailies
Colorfront has introduced Express
Dailies, a high-performance and easy-to-use
dailies tool for commercials, motion picture
and television production workflows.
Express Dailies is based on the image-
science technology and color-grading and
management tools featured in Colorfronts
On-Set Dailies system. It delivers integrated,
production-proven tools for dailies work
including playback and sync, QC, color grad-
ing, audio and metadata management
with state-of-the-art color and image
science, and simultaneous deliverables in all
common file formats.
To optimize performance, the 64-bit
software runs on the Mac OSX platform and
supports Nvidia Cuda GPU processing.
Express dailies delivers real-time raw support
for all major raw formats and the latest digi-
tal cameras, including Red Epic, Sony F65,
ArriRaw, Canon C300 and C500, Phantom,
GoPro and DSLRs. HD previews can be
enabled through the addition of Red Rocket
cards. Users can quality-check imagery using
waveform monitor and histogram analysis
tools. Additional highlights include a simple
graphical user interface, and data and
archival management.
Output-format options include
DNxHD 444 for Avid editorial; ProRes for
Final Cut; and uncompressed DPX, TIFF,
OpenEXR, QuickTime and H.264 for web-
based dailies services and Apple devices. 4K
raw images can be saved as still images and
dailies can be streamed in full HD, via a
bundled server to Copra, a free-of-charge
iPad application available in the App Store.
The image-processing capabilities of
Express Dailies include support for the
IIF/ACES workflow, as well as high-quality
raw image deBayering, color grading, image
resizing and a range of burn-in/watermark-
ing options.
For data management and security of
material, Express Dailies delivers logged
checksum copies to LTO and multiple drives,
and integrated PDF WC reporting, tying
together copy, archive and physical inventory
control.
Colorfront has also announced the
first multi-license purchase of Express Dailies
by Hollywood-based post facility Light Iron,
who will integrate Express Dailies across its
entire range of Outpost mobile systems.
www.colorfront.com.
and postproduction platforms.
Key features of the Protune firmware
include 2-fps frame rate, enabling Hero2
content to be easily intercut with other
sources without a frame-rate conversion;
35Mbps data rate for a high-quality
compressed image with virtually zero arti-
facts; neutral color profile, allowing greater
flexibility in a color-correction workflow;
Log curve encoding, offering more detail in
shadows and highlights; and reduced
sharpening and noise reduction for
improved flexibility in professional post and
color workflows.
Protune makes integration with
GoPro CineForm Studio simple, allowing
automatic detection of Protune settings and
application of default adjustments. The
workflow is further enhanced by a variety of
color-tuning presets.
Using Protune with CineForm Studio
Premium and CineForm Studio Professional
provides additional benefits, including
extensive color-correction controls,
customizable presets and non-destructive
3-D LUTs.
Developing this with Technicolor
has provided us with a level of technologi-
cal expertise that optimizes Protune for the
professional market, says David Newman,
senior director of software engineering for
GoPro. Alejandro Guerrero, senior vice pres-
ident of Technicolor Digital Productions,
adds, Technicolor is thrilled to make its
color science available to GoPro throughout
its Protune upgraded firmware. With more
than 130,000 (and counting) cinematogra-
phers already using our CineStyle color
profile, we are committed to expanding the
CineStyle toolkit and thrilled to support
GoPro as it expands its market base.
www.gopro.com and www.techni
color.com.
Backstage Equipment, nc. 8052 Lankershim Bl. North Hollywood, CA 91605 (818) 504-6026 Fax (818) 504-6180 backstaged@aol.com www.backstageweb.com
Come visit our showroom or call for our latest Magliner product catalog
We are the largest retailer specializing in Magliner customized products and accessories for the Film and Television Industry in the world
New York Showroom C.W..H. 364 W. 36th St. New York, NY 10018 (877)-Mr-CASTER (877-672-2783) backstage@cwih.com www.cwih.com
See us at CINEC 2012 at MOC in Munich, Germany September 22-24, 2012
www.red.com
This still frame was pulled from actual RED motion footage and graded at Light Iron. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo 2011 Columbia Tristar Pictures. All rights reserved.
The visions always clear in my mind but the trick on every project
is to get it up on the screen, fully realized. No excusesI absolutely hate
compromise. After shooting The Social Network, The Girl With the Dragon
Tattoo, and Hitchcockal l on REDI came to the conclusion that
compromise has been removed from the equation. With RED, my vision
becomes my reality. For what its worth, I feel much better now.
Jeff Cronenweth, ASC


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Advertisers Index
16x9, Inc. 86
AC 1, 37, 75
Adorama 7, 39
AJA Video Systems, Inc. 43
Arri 5
AZGrip 86
Backstage Equipment, Inc.
6
Barger-Lite 87
Birns & Sawyer 86
Blackmagic Design, Inc. 13
Cavision Enterprises 55
Chapman/Leonard Studio
Equipment Inc. 53
Chemical Wedding 79
Chrosziel Filmtechnik 2
Cinematography
Electronics 83
Cinekinetic 86
Codex Digital Ltd. 19
Congo Films S.A. 45
Convergent Design 65
Cooke Optics 9
Deluxe C2
Denecke 87
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. 15
Eastman Kodak C4
EFD USA, Inc. 17
Film Gear 81
Filmtools 83
Glidecam Industries C3
Hertz Corporation 23
K5600 41
Kino Flo 57
Lights! Action! Co. 86
Maccam 87
Manios Optical 87
Matthews Studio Equipment
87
M. M. Mukhi & Sons 86
Movie Tech AG 86, 87
NBC/Universal 25
New York Film Academy 27
Nila Inc. 67
Oppenheimer Camera Prod.
86
P+S Technik
Feinmechanik Gmbh 86
PED Denz 83
Pille Film Gmbh 86
Polecam Ltd. 37
Pro8mm 86
Red Digital Cinema 10-11,
28-29, 84-85
Super16 Inc. 86
Thales Angenieux 21
VF Gadgets, Inc. 87
Visionary Forces 6
Visual Products 6
Willys Widgets 86
Welch Integrated 89
www.theasc.com 4, 56,
66, 81, 88
88
Society Elects Officers, Board
Stephen Lighthill, ASC has been
elected president of the Society for
2012-13. The vote was made by the newly
elected Board of Governors, who also
elected Vice Presidents Richard Crudo,
Daryn Okada and Kees Van Oostrum;
Treasurer Victor J. Kemper; Secretary Fred
Goodich; and Sergeant-at-Arms Steven
Fierberg.
Lighthill takes over from Michael
Goi, ASC, who served a maximum three
consecutive terms. This is Lighthills first term
as president; he previously served as
sergeant-at-arms.
I am honored and humbled to be
trusted by my peers to lead the ASC, says
Lighthill. There has never been a more
exciting time to tell stories visually. The
creative options are abundant today. That
also means its never been more important
for us as an organization to collaborate in
the diverse challenges affecting the role of
the cinematographer.
Also elected to the Board of Gover-
nors were ASC members John Bailey,
Stephen H. Burum, Curtis Clark, Dean
Cundey, Fred Elmes, Goi, Francis Kenny,
Matthew Leonetti, Michael OShea,
Robert Primes and Owen Roizman. Alter-
nate members are Ron Garcia, Karl Walter
Lindenlaub, Julio Macat and Kenneth
Zunder.
Bleibtreu, Miller Become
Active Members
New active member Josh Bleibtreu,
ASC grew up in Big Sur, Calif. His parents
were artists, and they encouraged his
creative pursuits, which included making
Super 8mm films. Bleibtreu moved to Los
Angeles in the early 70s, and, after working
on no- and low-budget features, he was
able to make a living as a first assistant
cameraman, working on features, television
projects and National Geographic documen-
taries. He began working with Don Burgess,
ASC, doing second-unit work for such films
as Back to the Future Part II and Part III,
Batman Returns, Death Becomes Her and
Backdraft.
Bleibtreu made the move to camera
operator, and soon thereafter began notch-
ing second-unit credits as a director of
photography. Those credits include Cast
Away, The Ring, The Italian Job, Wanted,
Angels & Demons, Knight and Day, X-Men:
First Class, Snow White and the Huntsman
and Total Recall (2012).
Born in Manchester, Conn., David
Miller, ASC attended the University of
Connecticut and the University of Bridge-
port, earning a bachelors degree in film at
the latter. He attended a Maine Photo-
graphic Workshop taught by Owen Roiz-
man, ASC, as well as a training seminar at
New Yorks storied General Camera. After
shooting the Student Academy Award-
winning film Jenny, Miller began his profes-
sional career as a camera assistant, working
for such cinematographers as Peter Bizou,
BSC and Brian West, BSC, before earning
his first credits as a cinematographer on
commercials.
Since moving to Los Angeles, Miller
has shot the series Thats Life, Jag,
Commander in Chief and Shark. Most
recently, he has shared cinematography
duties on Desperate Housewives with
Lowell Peterson, ASC.
Jayhawks Visit Clubhouse
Students from the University of
Kansas recently visited the Clubhouse and
participated in a discussion with ASC
members Stephen H. Burum, George
Spiro Dibie, Robert Elswit, Karl Walter
Lindenlaub, Julio Macat, Isidore
Mankofsky, Rexford Metz, Haskell
Wexler and Robert Yeoman.
The ASC is dedicated to supporting
emerging filmmakers, sharing our knowl-
edge and collaborating with all depart-
ments in the creation of moving images,
says Dibie, chair of the ASC Education
Committee. We open our doors to anyone
Clubhouse News
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Top to bottom:
ASC President Stephen Lighthill;
Josh Bleibtreu, ASC; David Miller, ASC.
studying screenwriting, directing, produc-
ing, design, acting, etc., because it takes a
collective effort to succeed in the process of
telling a story for the screen.
Papamichael, Lindenlaub Share
with Breakfast Club
The ASC recently hosted Breakfast
Clubs with Phedon Papamichael, ASC
and Karl Walter Lindenlaub, ASC, BVK.
Papamichael discussed his approach to the
films The Million Dollar Hotel, Walk the
Line, 3:10 to Yuma and The Ides of March;
and Lindenlaub broke down select scenes
from Dolphin Tale, The Chronicles of Narnia:
Prince Caspian, Black Book and City by the
Sea. Both conversations were moderated by
AC associate editor Jon D. Witmer.
ASC Breakfast Club seminars are
open to the public. Tickets are $20 for
Friends of the ASC, $35 general admission
in advance and $40 at the door. For infor-
mation, visit www.theasc.com.
J.L. Fisher Hosts Annual Mixer
J.L. Fisher recently hosted its annual
open house and barbecue with the ASC,
the International Cinematographers Guild
and the Society of Camera Operators. The
event offered attendees a chance to mingle,
network and get an up-close look at the
latest products from a number of equip-
ment vendors. The event featured an ASC
panel discussion moderated by George
Spiro Dibie that included Stephen H.
Burum, Donald M. Morgan, M. David
Mullen, Wally Pfister, Dante Spinotti
and Amy Vincent.
Members Participate in
Cine Gear Expo
Cine Gear recently wrapped a two-
day exhibition at Paramount Studios in
Hollywood. Over the course of the event,
ASC members participated in a number of
panel discussions and other activities.
Kodak sponsored a discussion
between cinematographers and longtime
friends Phedon Papamichael, ASC and
Janusz Kaminski that was moderated by AC
contributor David Heuring. Arri hosted a
discussion between Vince Pace, ASC and
visual-effects supervisor Rob Legato about
their 3-D production experience with the
Alexa camera.
At a VIP reception on the first day of
the expo, Cine Gear presented Vilmos
Zsigmond, ASC with its Cinematography
Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally,
ASC associate Bob Nettmann, president of
Nettmann Systems International, received
the Technical Lifetime Achievement Award.
Day two kicked off with Nancy
Schreiber, ASC screening footage from
and discussing Sonys PMW-F3 camera.
Later, Kodak sponsored Brilliance in
Focus, a discussion with Rodrigo Prieto,
ASC, AMC, about the upcoming feature
Argo, directed by Ben Affleck.
The ASC presented a panel discus-
sion with Society members Dion Beebe,
Stephen H. Burum, Patrick Cady, James
L. Carter, George Spiro Dibie, Michael
Goi, Karl Walter Lindenlaub, Donald A.
Morgan, Daniel Pearl, Dave Perkal,
Roberto Schaefer and Haskell Wexler.
Canon presented an event hosted by
Jon Fauer, ASC that featured three short
films captured with Canon Cinema EOS
cameras: XXIT, shot by Sam Nicholson,
ASC; The Ticket, shot by Shane Hurlbut,
ASC; and Man & Beast, shot by Jeff
Cronenweth, ASC. Closing out the day,
Zsigmond and Yuri Neyman, ASC
presented Cinematography in Video
Games and Virtual Cinematography.
After the exhibition closed, the ASC
hosted a barbecue at the Clubhouse, offer-
ing a casual environment in which members
could mingle with exhibitors while enjoying
great food and cold drinks.
Cine Gear weekend also included a
series of master classes, including a lighting
workshop with ASC members Jacek
Laskus, Ueli Steiger and Zsigmond that
was hosted on Mole Richardsons stage in
Hollywood.
From top: Phedon Papamichael, ASC; Karl Walter
Lindenlaub, ASC in conversation with Jon D. Witmer;
Society members (left to right) Dante Spinotti,
Stephen H. Burum, Donald M. Morgan, Wally Pfister,
George Spiro Dibie, Amy Vincent and M. David
Mullen at the J.L. Fisher mixer; ASC members
(clockwise from top left) James L. Carter, Daniel Pearl,
Michael Goi, Patrick Cady, Dion Beebe, Roberto
Schaefer, Dave Perkal, Burum, Dibie, Donald A.
Morgan and Lindenlaub at Cine Gear.
When you were a child, what film made the strongest impres-
sion on you?
Dr. Strangelove (1964). What a delicious roundhouse punch! That
film set me free.
Which cinematographers, past
or present, do you most
admire?
Owen Roizman, ASC; Gordon
Willis, ASC; Conrad Hall, ASC;
Slawomir Idziak, PSC; Gregg
Toland, ASC; Caleb Deschanel,
ASC; Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC;
Michael Chapman, ASC; Robert
Surtees, ASC; and Peter James, ASC, ACS. Theyve given us The
French Connection, Klute, In Cold Blood, Three Colors: Blue, The Best
Years of Our Lives, Being There, Driving Miss Daisy, McCabe & Mrs.
Miller, The Last Picture Show, Network, The Paper Chase, Road to
Perdition, Blackhawk Down, Black Robe, The Last Detail, Citizen
Kane, The Right Stuff, The Deer Hunter, Raging Bull, The Graduate,
Three Days of the Condor, The Godfather, Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid, Gattaca, The Grapes of Wrath, Deliverance, Absence
of Malice and Taxi Driver.
What sparked your interest in photography?
As an Army brat in Paris, I happened across the set of Is Paris Burn-
ing? The French crew let me hang around. I skipped elementary
school and took a bus to get there. I got to see Marcel Grignon in
action; I saw big lights and equipment move around and began to
learn why; I could ponder the choice to shoot black-and-white.
Standing in the rain and feeling the struggle the images have
never left me.
Who were your early teachers or mentors?
Tout Va Bien co-director (with Godard) Jean-Pierre Gorin, who was
teaching at UC-San Diego, opened up the French New Wave for me
from the inside. Manny Farber was publishing essays on Fassbinder.
I was hooked. I called my folks to tell them I wanted to study film.
Where did you train and/or study?
At UCLA, Ed Brokaw told me not to listen to the word no. He and
Bill Adams were about as seditious as professors could get, and Ill
always love and admire them for it. Crewing on student films got me
onto paid crews after graduation, and thats where I learned the
most.
What are some of your key artistic influences?
Im fascinated by architecture, mainly the thinking that goes into
design. Why did the Minoans build what they did? Cinematography
seems to be physical and emotional architecture on the move.
How did you get your first break in the business?
I was totally happy as an operator when director Charles Haid told
me it was time for me to shoot. I told him he was making a big
mistake. He hired me to shoot the TV series Buddy Faro anyway.
What has been your most
satisfying moment on a
project?
Locking eyes with Robert Duvall
after hed given the pivotal
performance in Get Low. We
both knew hed done it. He
wanted to know if we had done
it. We had.
Have you made any memorable blunders?
As a focus puller, I once put a 1,000-foot load through base-side out.
The actors, whod had to wear chunky peanut butter in their hair,
had to do it all over again the next day. They hated me.
What is the best professional advice youve ever received?
Michael Chapman told me that if I didnt want to shoot a project, I
should just double my rate that way I could be happy doing it.
Ive never tried it, but he made me laugh.
What recent books, films or artworks have inspired you?
The book Man With a Camera by Nestor Almendros, ASC, the
heavyweight anamorphic films of the 1970s and the film Animal
Kingdom.
Do you have any favorite genres, or genres you would like to
try?
I most admire the work that doesnt fit well into any category.
If you werent a cinematographer, what might you be doing
instead?
Id be a crop duster living in some beautiful place, or writing novels
in Portugal and drinking thick red wine.
Which ASC cinematographers recommended you for
membership?
Owen Roizman, Aaron Schneider, Bing Sokolsky and James Glen-
non.
How has ASC membership impacted your life and career?
Its humbling to realize half the membership has forgotten more
than I know. It feels great to share a good laugh with the only people
around who get it. Mostly it commits me to clearing a path for the
cinematographers coming up and being a good ambassador along
the way.
David Boyd, ASC Close-up
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Photography: 2012 Douglas Kirkland
Im always discussing with directors
how audiences derive meaning from
a succession of images. When images
are connecting emotionally, its almost
always unconscious. Film resonates
with people. It has a random, moving
texture that gives faces and skin tones
a naturalistic vibe. And lms enduring
visual power and organic feel cant be
replicated. We are image makers. We
get to take chances, push technology to
the limit, and nd something magical.
Eric Schmidts credits include the
feature lms The Mechanic, I Melt with
You, Henry Poole is Here, and My Sassy
Girl, as well as the pilots for Close to
Home and Red Window. His work on the
television series Cold Case earned him
an ASC Award nomination. He has also
photographed many music videos and
commercials, including the Dos Equis
Most Interesting Man in the World
campaign.
For an extended Q&A with Eric Schmidt,
visit www.kodak.com/go/onlm.
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What challenges did Christian Sebaldt face in becoming a cinematographer?

AUGUST 2012

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20 August 2012 American Cinematographer

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Ive been shooting film all my life.

Don Burgess, ASC

Batman to the Max

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I said wed need a couple super

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Jeff Cronenweth, ASC

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