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M A R C H 2 0 1 4 V O L . 9 5 N O . 3
The International Journal of Motion Imaging
On Our Cover: Resourceful concierge Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) reflects upon bygone
days in The Grand Budapest Hotel, shot by Robert Yeoman, ASC. (Frame grab courtesy of
Fox Searchlight Pictures.)
FEATURES
30 5-Star Service
Robert Yeoman, ASC books a stay at
The Grand Budapest Hotel
44 A Fight to the Death

44
Tobias Schliessler, ASC locks and loads

on Lone Survivor
54 Espionage, Payback and Laughs

The cinematographers of The Americans, Revenge and
the Saturday Night Live Film Unit detail their work
54
DEPARTMENTS
10 Editor’s Note
12 President’s Desk
16 Short Takes: Coward
24 Production Slate: Pompeii
68 New Products & Services
72 International Marketplace
73 Classified Ads
74 Ad Index
76 ASC Membership Roster
78 Clubhouse News
80 ASC Close-Up: Rexford Metz
— VISIT WWW.THEASC.COM —
M A R C H 2 0 1 4 V O L . 9 5 N O . 3
SEE AND HEAR MORE CINEMATOGRAPHY COVERAGE AT WWW.THEASC.COM
Left: Ip Man (Tony Leung)

readies himself for another
round of martial-arts action.
Right: Cinematographer
Philippe Le Sourd lines up
a shot.
In an exclusive podcast, Philippe Le Sourd will discuss his work on Wong Kar-wai’s The Grandmaster, which earned ASC
and Academy Award nominations. The movie tells the story of Ip Man, the martial-arts expert who trained Bruce Lee.
THIS MONTH’S ONLINE QUESTION: Which martial-arts movies have wowed you with their cinematography?
Danny Habany: “House of Flying Daggers.” Sridhar Reddy: ”Derek Wan’s camera on Gor- Robert Alterman: “Iron Monkey. Nice camera
don Chan’s Fist of Legend. Beautifully lit and angles, fun action sequences. Groundbreaking
Shady Grady: “Hero and Unleashed.” composed throughout. A seamless blend of work.”
frame rates and movement, the camera and
Joshua King: “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Drag- lighting never once compete with the action; Edward Ybarbo: “Kill Bill 1 and 2 [with cine-
on.” rather, they provide a rock-solid foundation for matography by] Robert Richardson, ASC — so
Yuen Wo-Ping’s insanely powerful choreogra- poetic, relentless and brutal.”
Lee J. Tamer: “The first Matrix was like nothing phy.”
I had ever seen.” Michael Wa Re: “Arthur Wong [helped estab-
Jeff Ryan Carlson: “Hero with Jet Li — the first lish] a new vocabulary, along with Yuen Wo-ping
Chris Mooney: “The Raid.” time I understood completely why color is impor- and Tsui Hark, in the Wong Fei-hung series.
tant onscreen.” Wong made the camera move and glide in end-
David E. Williams: “There are so many great less shifting planes of motion, graceful but catch-
ones, but Peter Pau’s work in Crouching Tiger, Sue Lawson: “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ing the power inherent to the style of Wushu.”
Hidden Dragon is truly great. (And you should was a work of art.”
also check out his cinematography in The Bride Dan Lam: “I agree with Michael Wa Re. Arthur Frame grab and photo courtesy of The Weinstein Co.
with White Hair.)” Andrew Henderson: “The Protector. The cine- Wong is a pioneer in the martial arts/wire-fu
matography of Nattawut Kittikhun has a 3- genre in Hong Kong. He’s done everything from
Douglas Adam Ferguson: “Bichunmoo, Fear- minute-plus tracking shot as the main character The 36th Chamber of Shaolin to the majority of
less and Ashes of Time Redux.” [played by Tony Jaa] ascends a huge staircase Jackie Chan’s and Jet Li’s filmographies. He
fighting off goons. This scene is nothing short of shoots to edit and his widescreen compositions
Benoit Lelievre: “Big Trouble in Little China.” perfection; imagining the amount of choreogra- are exquisite. Once Upon a Time in China, Oper-
phy that went into its making is a marvel in ation Condor, New Dragon Gate Inn and Mira-
William Mank: “Hero. Christopher Doyle’s cine- itself.” cles are great examples of his craft.”
matography was some of the best I had ever
seen! He showed us the fantastic use of sym- Rajendra Biswas: “Hero, The Matrix, The Ban-
metrical and asymmetrical balance in a frame.” quet, Tom yum goong.”
To read more replies, visit our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/AmericanCinematographer

M a r c h 2 0 1 4 V o l . 9 5 , N o . 3
Visit us online at
www.theasc.com
————————————————————————————————————
PUBLISHER Martha Winterhalter
————————————————————————————————————
EDITORIAL
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Stephen Pizzello
SENIOR EDITOR Rachael K. Bosley
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jon D. Witmer
TECHNICAL EDITOR Christopher Probst
PHOTO EDITOR Julie Sickel
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Benjamin B, Douglas Bankston, Robert S. Birchard,
John Calhoun, Michael Goldman, Simon Gray,
David Heuring, Jay Holben, Noah Kadner,
Jean Oppenheimer, Iain Stasukevich,
Patricia Thomson
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ART DEPARTMENT
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Marion Kramer
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ADVERTISING
ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Angie Gollmann
323-936-3769 FAX 323-936-9188
e-mail: gollmann@pacbell.net
ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Sanja Pearce
323-952-2114 FAX 323-876-4973
e-mail: sanja@ascmag.com
CLASSIFIEDS/ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Diella Peru
323-952-2124 FAX 323-876-4973
e-mail: diella@ascmag.com
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CIRCULATION, BOOKS & PRODUCTS
CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Saul Molina
CIRCULATION MANAGER Alex Lopez
SHIPPING MANAGER Miguel Madrigal
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ASC GENERAL MANAGER Brett Grauman
ASC EVENTS COORDINATOR Patricia Armacost
ASC PRESIDENT’S ASSISTANT Delphine Figueras
ASC ACCOUNTING MANAGER Mila Basely
ASC ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE Nelson Sandoval
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American Cinematographer (ISSN 0002-7928), established 1920 and in its 94th year of publication, is published
monthly in Hollywood by ASC Holding Corp., 1782 N. Orange Dr., Hollywood, CA 90028, U.S.A.,
(800) 448-0145, (323) 969-4333, Fax (323) 876-4973, direct line for subscription inquiries (323) 969-4344.
Subscriptions: U.S. $50; Canada/Mexico $70; all other foreign countries $95 a year (remit international
Money Order or other exchange payable in U.S. $). Advertising: Rate card upon request from Hollywood
office. Article Reprints: Requests for high-quality article reprints (or electronic reprints) should be made to
Sheridan Reprints at (800) 635-7181 ext. 8065 or by e-mail hrobinson@tsp.sheridan.com.
Copyright 2014 ASC Holding Corp. (All rights reserved.) Periodicals postage paid at Los Angeles, CA
and at additional mailing offices. Printed in the USA.
POSTMASTER: Send address change to American Cinematographer, P.O. Box 2230, Hollywood, CA 90078.
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6
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American Society of Cinematographers
The ASC is not a labor union or a guild, but
an educational, cultural and professional
organization. Membership is by invitation
to those who are actively engaged as
directors of photography and have
demonstrated outstanding ability. ASC
membership has become one of the highest
honors that can be bestowed upon a
professional cinematographer — a mark
of prestige and excellence.
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m and T
Television
e
elevision Industry in the world OFFICERS - 2013/2014
Richard Crudo
President
Owen Roizman
Vice President
Kees van Oostrum
Vice President
Lowell Peterson
Vice President
Victor J. Kemper
Treasurer
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EDFNVWDJHG#DROFRPZZZEDFNVWDJHZHEFRP Frederic Goodich
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Secretary
Isidore Mankofsky
Sergeant At Arms
MEMBERS OF THE
BOARD
Curtis Clark
Richard Crudo
Dean Cundey
George Spiro Dibie
Richard Edlund
Fred Elmes
Victor J. Kemper
Francis Kenny
Matthew Leonetti
Stephen Lighthill
Michael O’Shea
Lowell Peterson
Owen Roizman
Rodney Taylor
Haskell Wexler
ALTERNATES
Isidore Mankofsky
Kenneth Zunder
Steven Fierberg
Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Sol Negrin
MUSEUM CURATOR
Steve Gainer
8
Editor’s Note This month’s focus on television production led us to seek
out a group of cinematographers whose work has added to
the buzz surrounding their shows.
On The Americans, Richard Rutkowski must strike a
balance between the story’s suburban settings and spy vs.
spy intrigue while telling the story of two Soviet moles
posing as a married couple in Washington, D.C. To that end,
the show’s espionage sequences are “very edgy in terms of
darkness and shadow, with backgrounds falling away,”
while family scenes are often “broadly lit to balance the
tone.” Rutkowski reveals more of his strategies in our TV
roundup’s lead piece, written by John Calhoun (“Espionage,
Payback and Laughs,” page 54).
Duality is also a theme on Revenge, shot by Cynthia Pusheck, ASC, and John Smith.
The plot follows the elaborate machinations of a woman seeking to exact long-simmering
retribution against the people who framed and murdered her father. “There’s the beautiful
surface world — summer in the Hamptons, extreme wealth, pretty people in lovely homes
— and then there’s the underbelly of darkness, corruption, lies, schemes and murder,”
Pusheck tells Jean Oppenheimer (page 58). “We try to create a sense of unease and tension
between these two sides and also accentuate the contrasts between them.”
Irreverent satire is the goal for the Saturday Night Live Film Unit, spearheaded by direc-
tor of photography Alex Buono, who uses his talents to mock the visual rhythms of commer-
cials, movie trailers and music videos. Research and cinematographic skill are required to
approximate the styles of the high-profile targets in the show’s sights. “Part of my job is to
be a cinematography detective,” Buono tells New York correspondent Patricia Thomson
(page 62). “I’ve got to study a [project] and try to determine how they approached each shot
and lit each scene.”
One of the show’s recent parodies cheerfully lampooned the oeuvre of director Wes
Anderson, whose meticulously detailed films have a truly distinctive look and feel. With his
latest feature, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Anderson ups the ante with a zany period adven-
ture about a legendary concierge who inherits a priceless painting from his octogenarian
lover. Robert Yeoman, ASC reteamed with Anderson on the picture, which required three
different formats to depict the story’s three time periods. “Wes tried to plan out as much of
the movie in advance as possible,” Yeoman tells Iain Stasukevich (“5-Star Service,” page 30).
“He does painstaking research, and we plan our shots pretty carefully during prep.”
On the military drama Lone Survivor, Tobias Schliessler, ASC helped director Peter Berg
drop viewers in the middle of Afghanistan, where a Navy SEAL team is flushed out and deci-
mated by a horde of Taliban fighters. As Schliessler explains in coverage by Douglas Bankston
(“A Fight to the Death,” page 44), the movie was shot in the mountains of New Mexico,
where the filmmakers devised strategies to orient the audience as all hell breaks loose. “It was
important to establish the geography of our story,” he says. “We wanted the audience to see
Photo by Owen Roizman, ASC.
and understand how the soldiers were moving in one direction and then another while trying
to escape. We didn’t want [the action] to be completely chaotic.”
Stephen Pizzello
Executive Editor
10
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President’s Desk
Remember the days when the title card representing “producer” listed only one or two
names? Even if you were a civilian and not at all sure what such a person did, you could rest
assured that the movie or television show you were watching was somehow guided by a
strong and committed presence. Anyone who’s made passing note of the credits leading into
most of today’s movies and TV shows knows the situation has drastically changed. Now it’s
not uncommon for 15 or 20 people to be designated as producers, and not just in TV.
Perhaps the definition of the job has changed, but the hard, day-to-day work of getting
a project up on its legs and through to completion hasn’t. I have the highest respect for the
true producers of this world, those who search out and develop great ideas and scripts,
nurturing them and whipping up support for them; the ones with years of experience, who
can read a budget and schedule and see the big picture; the ones who know their way around
a set from teeth to tail. Unfortunately, it appears to be a dying breed. As for the rest, I propose
a new title: the phantom producer. Every show seems to bring more of them out of the wood-
work, and you might wonder who they are.
Of course, the industry has a long, glorious tradition of nepotism, and significant others
are often given their moments in the spotlight (not to mention a nice slice of the budget).
Then there are the agents, managers and representatives who might bring in a star or two to
help obtain the financing. Stars themselves tend to cede the producer title, though they occa-
sionally deliver practical value beyond their box-office appeal. Writers have made tremendous advances in the producers’ realm over
the years, especially in TV, where they enjoy much more influence than in features. Investors, bankers, completion-bond people,
distributors, and almost anyone else with some small role in the process who doesn’t fit into any other category are also good fits
for the phantom prefix. That they don’t know a sprocket hole from a donut hole is of no concern. To many of them, the title is just
a line on their résumé, something to jack up their rate the next time out or get them a good seat at a hot restaurant. Even if they
prove vital to the preliminary stages of a show in some way, once the rocket leaves the pad (often sooner), they become irrelevant,
which is quite the opposite of a real producer. I can’t imagine having a dozen or more cinematographers credited for something I’m
shooting, especially if they only arranged the tests for me. I’m sure the genuine producers of the world are wincing at a similar deni-
gration of their profession.
Given all the ridiculous, frivolous and outright deceptive practices that often define the producer credit, why hasn’t some
smart individual figured out that it would be efficient and cost effective to allow the cinematographer a measured hand in produc-
ing? Think about it. No one is more qualified, across the broader scale of a show, to make clear and intelligent decisions about
budget, scheduling, equipment and personnel; most of our time in prep is spent huddling with the director and making decisions
in these areas. Calling us producers would sanctify the relationship and encourage more respect for our contributions, and the time
and money saved could only benefit the production.
The streets are filled with cinematographers who also direct and directors who also produce. The leap from cinematographer
to producer is a lot narrower than you might think, and this idea deserves serious consideration. We are well prepared from the start,
so what’s the big deal?
Cinematographer/Producer. Yeah, I like the sound of that. And it’s long overdue. Now if we can only get the powers-that-be
to listen.
Photo by Douglas Kirkland.
Richard P. Crudo
ASC President
12 March 2014 American Cinematographer

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EDOARDO PONTI DIRECTOR // RODRIGO PRIETO, ASC, AMC DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY // ZORAN VESELIC FIRST AC
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STORY TAKES YOU

Short Takes
Andrew (Martin
McCann), an
Irish-born
soldier in the
British Army,
suffers the
conditions of
the First World
War’s trenches
in the short film
Coward.
I Coward on the Front Line

By Jon D. Witmer
depicts soldiers who have been wounded in a mustard-gas attack.
“Its proportions are almost the same as a 2.40:1 image,” Murphy
notes. “Even though the color palette of our movie is different, the
Set on the front lines of the First World War, the 28-minute tone and color saturation are similar — sort of pastel and quite deli-
film Coward follows the fictional characters James (Sean Stewart) cate. The wear and tear on the soldiers in the painting is something
and Andrew (Martin McCann) — Irish cousins who enlist in the we really wanted to get across in our film.”
British Army and serve in the trenches at Ypres, Belgium — to shed From the outset, the filmmakers planned to shoot on 35mm
light on a real-life tragedy: During the war, a number of Irish-born film in the anamorphic 2.40:1 aspect ratio. Murphy sourced his
British soldiers suffering from what is now believed to have been camera and lens package from Panavision U.K., where he liaised
shell shock were tried and executed for desertion and disobedience. with Hugh Whittaker and Lee Mackey. “They pulled everything out
Photos by Aideen McCarthy. Photos and frame grabs courtesy of the filmmakers.
To tell the story, director David Roddham and Irish cine- of the back of the closets, and we found an old set of High Speed
matographer Stephen Murphy aimed for what Murphy describes as Auto Panatars that I just fell in love with,” says Murphy, who supple-
an “old-school visual approach. We aren’t hugely enamored of the mented with a few E Series primes.
current trend of shooting with a shaky handheld camera and using “We shot 80 percent of the movie on the 40mm and
rapid cuts.” Instead, “we wanted to slow things down and distill the 50mm,” continues the cinematographer. “Even most of our closer
visual storytelling into a simpler fashion to reinforce what these shots were done on wide-angle lenses [because] we were always
[soldiers] had to cope with: a relentless assault, both literally and trying to fill the frame either with geography or another actor. You
metaphorically. We’re both big fans of David Lean, and we’d love to can’t really impart the wear and tear on bodies and minds, or the
see that kind of cinema being made again.” brutality of an environment, by living in close-ups. You need to see
Murphy came to cinematography with a background in the space the soldiers are in.”
makeup and special effects, which he studied at the Dun Laoghaire The majority of Coward takes place over the course of one
Institute of Art, Design & Technology in Dublin, Ireland. As he started day in and around the British Army’s trench, which, along with an
to find work on set, though, he “very quickly gravitated toward the expanse of no man’s land, was constructed over 3 acres of open field
cinematographer,” and before long, he transitioned into the camera in Hertfordshire, England. Everything in the trench, Murphy says,
department, where he climbed the ranks and eventually notched “was supposed to feel cold and miserable, but I wanted to get a
operating credits on such features as Hunger (AC April ’09) and The sense of time passing throughout the course of the day. I used Tiffen
Guard. His cinematography credits include the features Porcelain and 85, 81EF, Chocolate and Coral [filters] to vary the amount of blue
Assault of Darkness, as well as numerous commercials and shorts that was hitting the stock, Fujifilm [Eterna 500T] 8573.”
(including Fifth Street, also directed by Roddham). To underscore the conditions at the front, the production
While prepping Coward, Roddham and Murphy found partic- created its own weather effects. “Dave was quite keen to show the
ular inspiration in John Singer Sargent’s painting Gassed, which relentless weather these guys had to deal with,” says Murphy. “We

had a stellar special-effects crew, led by
Steve Warner. Steve would set up huge
smoke machines with black smoke in the
deep background and then use portable
trucks with white smoke. I could ask him to
block out the sun or parts of the back-
ground, and then we’d have snow or rain in
the foreground.
“Because the trench was quite deep,
and because we were shooting in winter,
when we only had light from about 9:30
a.m. to 3 p.m., we had big lights burning all
the time,” Murphy continues. He and gaffer
Mark Rickett lit the 200' trench with two
12K HMI Pars in the background and two 6K
Pars and two 4K Pars in the mid ground. “I
would then use 12-by-12 UltraBounces
closer to the action to provide soft fill,”
Murphy adds. “I was exposing the fill a stop
or two under and using that as my key. I’d
read in American Cinematographer that Don
Peterman [ASC] did that for Flashdance
[May ’83], and it’s a style I love.”
Perhaps the biggest challenge at the
location was simply navigating the terrain.
“We collected rainwater in the trench excep-
tionally quickly, even though we pumped
it,” says Murphy. “That changed how we
were able to move in the trench; we had to
work harder on blocking and let the actors
do the staging for us, using the depth of the
trench and the width of the frame. We were
able to get a couple of camera moves by
laying 8-by-4-foot pieces of track and doing
conventional dolly moves, but in one
instance it was raining so hard the track
began to float away!”
One camera move the team
managed to make was a long dolly shot that
plays out in an uncut take, tracking parallel
to Andrew and James as they wend through
a fiery, debris-filled no man’s land. “No man’s
land was so sodden with mud and water it
was almost unwalkable,” Murphy recalls.
Key grip Philip Murphy and his crew “had to
bring in an excavator the day before to carve
out the track area that we’d spotted with a
lens on a pentafinder,” he adds. “The exca-
vator dug out a swath of land, and then the
grips could lay 120 feet of track.”
Murphy operated the A camera, a
Top to bottom: Andrew waits while his aunt (Charlotte Bradley) and her son, James (Sean Stewart), say Panaflex Millennium XL, throughout the
their goodbyes during the film’s opening sequence; James shares in the misery of the front line;
cinematographer Stephen Murphy utilized filtration to create different time-of-day looks in the trench;
production, and there was an Arri 435 on
Capt. Montague (Nick Moran) shouts orders during battle. hand for two days as the B camera. “[Cine-
matographer] Ed Moore came out to do one

much anymore, and it’s something I miss.”
The light in the barn is primarily moti-
vated from a slatted window, outside of
which Murphy “mixed a 12K Cine Par and a
4K Mole Beam. I’m quite fond of mixing
hard and soft lights as if they’re the same
source. It’s something I did in some of the
other interiors, too; I would punch a large
HMI through a window and soften it, and
then mix in a Mole Beam to get a splash of
hot light hitting off the floor or the wall.”
After the seven-day shoot in Hert-
fordshire, the production spent three days
filming in Ireland, where Murphy worked
with a local crew that included gaffer Niall
Mannion, key grip Richie Egan and 1st AC
Fionn Comerford. This work entailed
reshoots, pickups and the film’s opening
sequence, in which Andrew and James
depart James’ home to report for service.
“Our three days there were probably the
only three days of sun Ireland had that year,”
Murphy notes with a chuckle. “We were
lucky we got them, but because of the way
the buildings and trees were [situated] at our
location, the backlight was only working for
the background. So, for our coverage, we
brought in Cine Pars and Mole Beams to
[backlight] the actors as best we could.”
Technicolor London processed the
production’s negative and handled the final
digital grade. Murphy worked on the timing
Top: A military tribunal hears the case against Andrew, who is accused of desertion following with colorist Paul Ensby, who used a Film-
a heavy shelling on the front line. Bottom: Murphy (right) and director David Roddham discuss
a shot in the trench.
Light Baselight for a final 2K DCP deliver-
able. Coward was the first time Murphy
collaborated with Ensby, whom the cine-
of the B-camera days, and one of my first negative fill behind the camera.” matographer describes as “a brilliant
ACs, Tony Kay, stepped up to operate the Murphy maintained a shooting stop colorist. Paul comes from a traditional
other B-camera day while first AC Matt between T5.6 and T8. In addition to 8573, photochemical background, and he under-
Smith did a stellar job keeping everything which he pull-processed one stop “to lower stood my desire to treat this as though it
sharp,” Murphy says. the contrast and color saturation,” he were being photochemically timed. That
At one point, Andrew, severely employed Fujifilm Eterna Vivid 160 8543. was a great starting point, and from there,
dazed by the shelling and separated from “The Vivid stock was processed normally, we took full advantage of the tools of the
the rest of his company, stumbles away and I only used it for one scene toward the DI, which helped us out with the weather
from the battlefield, an action that leads to end of the movie, where I wanted a slightly and let us highlight or shadow an eye or
his eventual court martial for desertion. heightened emotional quality when the two two.”
During his trial, Andrew stands before the cousins have their last conversation,” he Regarding his and Roddham’s classi-
tribunal of four officers, who sit in near notes. cal visual approach, Murphy muses,
silhouette; the officers were lit primarily by The scene finds James visiting “Coward was a great success. I think there’s
12K Pars placed outside the location’s three Andrew in a barn that’s been converted into an audience for more of this kind of consid-
windows. Murphy details, “I had double a jail cell. “Because I wanted something ered visual storytelling, and it’s a style I’m
nets on the curtains and a warming gel on slightly more dramatic, I used harder light, a very excited to use on future projects.”
the lights. For the close-ups, I used a 575- 575-watt Fresnel, on their faces,” says To view Coward online, visit
watt Fresnel, clean and right on the actor at Murphy. “Again, it’s sort of a throwback to www.vimeo.com/52220211. ●
about a 45-degree angle. I also had some the David Lean era. Hard light isn’t seen

Production Slate
Senator Corvus
(Kiefer
Sutherland)
declares the
gladiatorial
games open in a
scene from
Pompeii. The
film marks the
fourth
collaboration
Photos by Caitlin Cronenberg and George Kraychyk, courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Visual-effects images courtesy of Mr. X.
between director
Paul W.S.
Anderson and
cinematographer
Glen
MacPherson,
ASC, CSC.
I A 1st-Century Disaster in 3-D

By Mark Dillon
All four productions have been native 3-D. “Glen’s 3-D work on The
Final Destination [2009] impressed me, and because he’d already
worked in the format, I knew I could feel free to experiment,” says
Opening in A.D. 62, the action feature Pompeii tells the story the British director. “He’s also the fastest cinematographer I’ve ever
of Milo (Dylan Schombing), who as a boy watches Roman soldiers worked with. The number of setups we do per day is usually in the
sack his North Britannia village and kill his parents by order of the high 20s, and they’re complicated moves.”
merciless Senator Corvus (Kiefer Sutherland). Milo is abducted and On this, the 39th day of the 59-day shoot, the production is
trained as a gladiator-slave, and he grows to become an arena cham- working in its amphitheater set, which comprises a practical portion
pion, landing in Pompeii as an adult (played by Kit Harrington). There, featuring seats for 500 extras and a large greenscreen for CG addi-
he is forced to battle soldiers in a re-enactment of the attack on his tions. Massive boulders in the center of the arena are incorporated
village. He befriends rival gladiator Atticus (Adewale Akinnuoye- into the battle between 23 soldiers and Milo, Atticus and five other
Agbaje) and longs for the comely Cassia (Emily Browning), who has gladiators.
also caught Corvus’ eye. In the middle of the epic fight, nearby MacPherson wears rubber boots because despite clear skies,
Mount Vesuvius erupts, threatening to obliterate the city and its the previous day’s downpour has left puddles where the ground is
inhabitants. gravel and mud everywhere else. He relates that during his six weeks
Speaking to AC on the production’s Toronto set in June 2013, of prep for the show, he and Anderson screened a number of
director Paul W.S. Anderson acknowledges a childhood fascination related movies and TV shows. “One thing we took from them was
with the Roman Empire and especially with Pompeii, the city buried the importance of atmosphere,” says MacPherson. “We’ve got lots
and preserved in ash. “It’s great subject matter,” he observes. “Our of smoke and flame and dark sets. If you look at Gladiator [AC May
story’s structure is a combination of a sword-and-sandals epic and a ’00], there’s atmosphere in every shot, and we’re going for some-
disaster movie — Spartacus meets 2012.” thing similar.”
Pompeii is Anderson’s fourth feature with director of photog- The production is shooting with four 3ality Technica Atom
raphy Glen MacPherson, ASC, CSC, following Resident Evil: Afterlife, 3-D rigs modified by Cinesail 3D Systems, a company owned by
The Three Musketeers (AC Nov. ’11) and Resident Evil: Retribution. MacPherson and second-unit director of photography Vern Nobles,

Left: Milo (Kit
Harrington,
right) forges an
alliance with
rival gladiator
Atticus
(Adewale
Akinnuoye-
Agbaje). Below:
Milo and Cassia
(Emily
Browning) brave
the chaos that
spews forth
with the
eruption of
Mount Vesuvius.
plus a Steadicam rig. Each rig consists of a

pair of Red Epic cameras, one pointing
down and shooting off a half-silvered mirror
at 45 degrees, and the other positioned
below shooting straight through the mirror,
with the resulting two images converging
to form a 3-D picture. Convergence and
focus are pulled remotely. MacPherson
functions as stereographer, evaluating the
image using Marshall Electronic 3-D moni-
tors.
The filmmakers chose the Epic
mainly for its compactness and wireless
capability, says MacPherson. “On Resident
Evil: Afterlife, Paul said, ‘I want car chases. I
want to put the camera on a car, and I don’t
want to haul 18 guys in a trailer along with
it.’ That’s when we first went with the
Epic.” rigs are positioned on cranes and one on a Libra heads modified for 3-D capture have
He is capturing Pompeii in 4K 2.40:1 dolly to capture Roman soldiers storming been the workhorses on the production. “A
at 5:1 compression. The main and second the gladiators with a collective roar. The A- 3-D camera rig on a crane is very top-heavy,
units, both usually shooting with a pair of camera rig, 20' high on a SuperTechno 50, so you need strong motors and good stabi-
two-camera rigs, are using six 128GB moves in with the attacking soldiers, lization,” MacPherson notes. (Robert Stecko
RedMag 1.8" SSD cards per camera. One coming to rest nearly on top of them as is the A-rig operator, while Dave Sheridan
set of cards is in camera, another is for on- they engage their opponents. MacPherson operates the B rig and Steadicam.)
set backup, and a third is usually with the says he likes the SuperTechno 50 because On the main camera, the filmmakers
DITs for offloading. A constant rotation of “it gets the camera in many places a lot are going wide with a 16mm Zeiss Ultra
cards is required because of the large faster. It’s expensive, but you get a lot of Prime to take in all the extras in the stands.
volume of footage being shot. great dynamic shots, so it pays for itself.” MacPherson jokes that Anderson’s middle
For one of the day’s key setups, two The B-camera rig is on a SuperTechno 30. initials stand for “Wide Shot.” “Paul will
www.theasc.com March 2014 25

Right: The
Proclaimers
(center) tell the
story of the
battle that will
be reenacted in
the gladiatorial
arena. Below:
This sequence
of images
illustrates the
visual-effects
layers used to
create the
amphitheater
and its crowd.
say, ‘Can we get farther back? Can we take

the walls out so we can get wider?’ We’re
always tucked into the farthest corner of the
set. It looks like we have massive sets, but
we rarely do. We make sure there’s a lot of
detail on the floor so we can do high angles
shooting down.”
MacPherson is using a full range of
T1.9 Ultra Primes on the show, but mostly
focal lengths between 16mm and 28mm.
“The Ultra Primes are compact, they don’t
breathe, and they don’t have floating
elements, which is important,” he notes. “I
recently did a 3-D shoot with [Arri] Master
Primes, and it was a challenge to align them
because the centers shifted.”
On interiors, MacPherson is using the
Ultra Primes at T2.8 as often as possible for
greater depth-of-field. He is also avoiding
diffusion filters because of the difficulty in
matching them between the two aligned
cameras; instead, he is leaving any softening
for the final grade.
For this gladiator scene, two Arri 18K
Pars on a Condor provide sun for backlight,
while two 18K Pars shine through a 20'x30'
silk for sidelight. The latter setup was also
used to illuminate previously shot close-ups
of spectators in the stands, including Sena-
tor Corvus, Cassia and her parents (played
by Jared Harris and Carrie-Anne Moss). Lee
250 Half White Diffusion is used for overcast
situations, and a ¼ CTO filter will be
employed late in the day to maintain the
color temperature of sunset. A 40'x60' solid

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designer Paul Austerberry and art director
Nigel Churcher. “Glen made sure the live-
action pieces could be shot, and in some
cases we would have to change the previz
to accommodate what was practically
possible on set,” Berardi explains.
Mr. X created a historically accurate
Pompeii that could play in medium shots,
and its artists also animated an opening
montage of the famous plaster casts of
Vesuvius’ victims, who were flash-heated to
death. All shots of the volcano were
animated, along with its pyroclastic flow
and the resulting giant waves and crum-
bling cliffs.
Berardi accompanied aerial cine-
matographer Jeremy Braben of London’s
MacPherson (left) confers with Anderson between takes. Helicopter Film Services on a two-day shoot
in Pompeii to capture reference images and
suspended from a construction crane and street scenes. For ambience, the crew background plates. They shot in 5K with an
three 30'x30' blacks on telehandlers help directed 30 Arri T-12s into a 30'x200' over- Epic, using a Super G head for stabilization.
block the actual sun. For later scenes, when head bounce. MacPherson explains, “We Braben also shot one day on the ground in
Mount Vesuvius’ ash darkens the sky, the put them all on full blast to shoot the day the Pompeii ruins.
crew will lower the solids further. scenes. In the scenes after the volcano When MacPherson spoke to AC
It is a basic lighting scheme. “The erupts, we put on every second or third one again, he was in Redlab’s DI suite with
grittier, the better,” says MacPherson. “We and had them on a dimmer because there’s colorist Walt Biljan, working on an
want the men to look real. Milo has to look supposed to be ash rolling through the Autodesk Lustre with a 2K RedLogFilm
good and strong but also weathered, so I’m daylight sky.” workflow. “We don’t want a super-clean
not lighting him classically. Wherever the On-set workflow supervisor Vinit digital feel,” the cinematographer notes.
light comes from, if it works on his face, we Borrison of Toronto’s Redlab Digital would “Walt is giving it a feel that suggests the
let it go. The women, of course, always often begin the day by adjusting color and period but is also strong and modern, which
have to look great.” contrast levels. “Dialing looks into the is a fine line.” Biljan adds, “We’re not going
For a scene in which Milo and Cassia camera bodies helped match sensors desaturated and monochromatic. We’re
embrace in a doorway amidst the volcanic between cameras and between the rigs,” using the full P3 color space to make it as
violence, Browning had to look glamorous he says. “This helped with viewing the 3-D rich as possible but adding subtle touches,
despite being covered with dust. To footage on the LG set monitors, so one eye such as slight cyan in the black, and we’re
augment the period practicals used in the did not feel more saturated than the other.” moving really high-end magenta skin tones
film, including torches, candles and oil He also did basic color correction to still and making sure they fall in a yellower
lamps, gaffer Michael L. Hall suggested frames and then uploaded them for palette. There were a lot of blues in this era,
using Aurasoft lights in a flicker box, and he MacPherson’s approval on an iPad, and, and we’re making them vibrant.”
rewired each of the six bulbs in each unit. with the look-up table they established in Naturally, Pompeii’s showstopper is
For this romantic scene, the crew aimed prep, prepared dailies using Redcine-X on a the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, a multilay-
two units down onto a 12'x12' Ultra- Mac Pro. Redlab presented the dailies to ered mix of live-action and digital elements.
Bounce on the floor to light the actors from MacPherson in H.264/QuickTime format on “We did as much research as we possibly
below. “The Aurasofts are soft yet direc- a LaCie hard drive and output DNX files for could, and what you see of the eruption is
tional, so when all six lights in each unit editor Michelle Conroy and DPX files for the what it was really like coming at the people
flicker at different intervals, you see a nose visual-effects work. of Pompeii,” says MacPherson.
shadow moving around a face as opposed The grand scale of Pompeii could
to just changing brightness,” MacPherson only have been achieved with extensive TECHNICAL SPECS
says. “It was a great solution.” CGI, and this work was done by Toronto
The production built a number of shop Mr. X and collaborators Scanline VFX 2.40:1
exterior sets indoors at Cinespace Film and Soho VFX. Mr. X contributed to 475 3-D Digital Capture
Studios, including a large street that was re- shots, all of which were previsualized by a Red Epic
dressed as different locations. Two 100K team that included visual-effects supervisor Zeiss Ultra Prime
SoftSuns served as the sun source for day Dennis Berardi, MacPherson, production ●

5-Star Service
Wes Anderson’s
The Grand Budapest Hotel,
shot by Robert Yeoman, ASC,
follows the whimsical
adventures of a legendary
concierge and his protégé.
By Iain Stasukevich
•|•

Opposite: M.
Gustave (Ralph
Fiennes) is the
concierge at the
luxurious Grand
Budapest Hotel,
located in the
fictitious Eastern
European
province of
Zubrówka. This
page, top:
Gustave comforts
his lover,
Madame
Desgoffe-und-
Taxis (Tilda
Swinton), as she
concludes one of
her regular visits.
Bottom:
Cinematographer
Robert Yeoman,
ASC lines up a
shot in the
hotel lobby.
S
Unit photography by Martin Scali. Photos and frame grabs courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures.
hot by Robert Yeoman, ASC, The

Grand Budapest Hotel is very much a
film in keeping with his previous
collaborations with director Wes
Anderson: a storybook tale with
complex narratives and first-person
narrators, captured in an illustrative
style that’s both theatrical and cine-
matic. The central story is bookended
by scenes set in the late 1970s, when an
elderly author (Tom Wilkinson)
recounts the details of his extended stay
at the Grand Budapest Hotel in the
1960s. He recalls a story told to his
younger self (played by Jude Law) by
one Monsieur Moustafa (F. Murray
Abraham), the hotel’s owner at the
time.
The film then transitions to the octogenarian lover, the rich widow Zero swipe the painting. The police
early 1930s, when Moustafa, then called Madame Desgoffe-und-Taxis (Tilda then arrest Gustave for Madame D.’s
Zero (Tony Revolori), serves as a lobby Swinton), is found murdered at her murder, leaving Zero with the task of
boy for the impeccable Monsieur estate, and her will bequeaths to clearing his mentor’s name.
Gustave (Ralph Fiennes), head Gustave a priceless painting. The The Grand Budapest Hotel was
concierge of the hotel at the height of its surviving Desgoffe clan vows to contest shot entirely in Germany, and
fame. Trouble begins when Gustave’s the will, but not before Gustave and Anderson set the story in a fictitious

◗ 5-Star Service
certainly could be interpreted that way.”

During prep for the film, Yeoman
and Anderson spent a lot of time scout-
ing locations in Germany and Poland
together. To get an idea of how certain
scenes might play out, they sometimes
used a film camera to shoot some scenes
as they scouted, with various crewmem-
bers serving as stand-ins. Anderson
then used his own hand-drawn and
voiced animatics to build the structure
of each scene. “Wes tried to plan out as
much of the movie in advance as possi-
ble,” says Yeoman. “He does painstaking
research, and we plan our shots pretty
carefully during prep. Occasionally, new
Top: Gustave addresses the hotel staff from a podium in a utility hallway that also serves as ideas come up while we’re shooting, but
a dining area. Bottom: Years later, a writer (Jude Law) visits the faded hotel, where the property’s we generally have a pretty good idea of
owner, Monsieur Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham), recounts its colorful history.
what to expect for each scene.”
Anderson curated an extensive
Eastern European province, Zubrówka fantasy and reality. “Wes prefers to draw image library for his collaborators.
(a real-life brand of Polish vodka). As from real-world references to create his “Many of those books had pictures of
with many of the director’s films, vague own world,” says Yeoman. “In this old European hotels from the 1930s and
historical and geographical references movie, for instance, the Fascists in other visual references that were relevant
locate the story somewhere between power aren’t specifically Nazis, but they to our story,” says Yeoman. Anderson

notes, “Our best reference was the
Internet. The Library of Congress
photochrome-print collection is sort of
like Google Earth for 1905. We actually
found some of our locations that way,
and a few of them looked a lot like they
did 108 years ago.”
The production also maintained a
library of reference DVDs, which
included The Red Shoes, Twentieth
Century, Love Me Tonight and Grand
Hotel. “Wes loves the Ernst Lubitsch
comedies of the 1930s: The Shop Around
the Corner, Trouble in Paradise, The
Merry Widow and To Be or Not to Be,”
Yeoman says. “We looked at those more
to familiarize ourselves with the 1.37:1
aspect ratio, which Wes wanted to use
for the 1930s sequences. This aspect
ratio opens up some interesting compo-
sition possibilities; we often gave people
a lot more headroom than is customary.
In the wake of his dalliance with Madame D., Gustave continues to
A two-shot tends to be a little wider court other wealthy, elderly women.
than the same shot in anamorphic. It

◗ 5-Star Service
was a format I’d never used before on a
movie, and it was a fun departure. You
can get accustomed to 1.85:1 or 2.40:1
to the point that the shots become more
predictable.”
Sequences set in the late 1970s,
when the author addresses the camera
from behind a desk, were filmed in
1.85:1, and scenes set in the 1960s were
filmed in 2.40:1 anamorphic. Yeoman
shot the latter material using anamor-
phic Techno-Cooke prime and zoom
lenses from Technovision. “They have a
very interesting quality — they’re not
sharp and crisp like Panavision Primo
anamorphics,” he notes. “I was a little
nervous about how they fell off at the
edges. I think the 40mm was actually
pretty soft in the lower center.
Cameramen don’t like seeing that, but
Wes embraced the imperfections of the
lenses because of their distinctive look.”
Cooke S4 prime lenses and an
Angenieux Optimo 24-290mm zoom
were used for the rest of the film.
Principal photography was
strictly a single-camera affair, and
Yeoman used an Arricam Studio
provided by Arri Berlin. “When you’re
as compositionally specific as Wes and I
are, one camera is the only way to go,”
the cinematographer muses.
Yeoman takes a low-tech
approach to accomplishing Anderson’s
trademark swish pans and dolly shots.
“I generally prefer an Arri gear head, but
at times I’ll opt for an OConnor
Ultimate fluid head, particularly for
Top to bottom:
swish pans that are more than 90
Gustave and his new degrees,” he explains. “I can be more
lobby boy, Zero (Tony accurate and move the camera faster
Revolori), are
roughed up by
with the fluid head. We had several long
military goons during dolly moves, and we prefer a large dolly
a train ride; Gustave like the Chapman Hybrid 3. Wes
is threatened by
Madame Desgoffe’s
prefers to ride with a handheld monitor
son, Dmitri (Adrien so he can be near the actors.”
Brody, second from Anderson constantly encouraged
left), and his enforcer,
Jopling (Willem
Yeoman and key grip Sanjay Sami to
Dafoe, left), after the find new ways to accomplish shots. A
old lady leaves the new addition to their toolkit was the
concierge a priceless
painting in her will;
Towercam, a telescoping camera plat-
Gustave and Zero go form from MAT in Berlin. The
on the lam. Towercam was occasionally used in
place of a crane or to boom the camera

between floors, as in the sequence
where an incarcerated Gustave and his
fellow inmates stage a prison break.
“When the lantern dropped through a
hole in the jail-cell floor to the base-
ment, we suspended the Towercam
upside down so the camera could
descend all the way to the ground,” says
Yeoman. “Wes often challenged us, and
Sanjay always came through!”
Yeoman shot the entire picture
on Kodak Vision3 200T 5213. “We did
that on Moonrise Kingdom and found
that the lab could handle the correction
[for day exteriors],” he remarks.
“Without the 85 filter, the film stock is
rated at 200 ASA instead of 125, which
helps late in the day when you’re losing
light.”
The Grand Budapest is first
shown in a shabby state, its crumbling
façade (a combination of locations in
Görlitz, Germany, and miniatures shot
at Babelsberg Studios) concealing an
interior decked in flat shades of nico-
tine, with low ceilings and narrow halls.
The cavernous atrium of a former
department store in Görlitz served as
the hotel’s main lobby. Production
designer Adam Stockhausen hung a
translucent egg-crate drop ceiling to the
ground floor and boxed in the lobby
with wall flats to make the Cold War-
era hotel feel claustrophobic and
oppressive. “It was an austere environ-
ment,” Yeoman remarks. “The entire
lobby ceiling was designed to resemble
an overhead fluorescent source, and we
accomplished that with 24 12-light
Maxi-Brutes shining through a layer of
Rosco 216 White Diffusion that
covered the ceiling.”
Yeoman lit all interiors with
tungsten instruments and practicals on
DMX dimmers, and he typically lit to
T3.5. “We did a few zoom shots with a
Techno-Cooke 40-200mm zoom in
the 1960s hotel lobby, and I lit those to
T8 because the anamorphic zooms look
slightly soft unless they’re given a
deeper stop,” he adds.
Production in Görlitz began with Top to bottom: Zero finds love with Agatha (Saoirse Ronan), the hotel’s baker; Ronan
retrieves items from a safe under Yeoman’s watchful eye; the crew uses a Towercam
the hotel scenes set in the 1960s, and to capture a shot of the young couple hanging on for dear life.
then the art department spent three

◗ 5-Star Service
days redressing the location for the tran-

sition to the resplendent Grand
Budapest of the 1930s. The lobby’s drop
ceiling was taken out to reveal an addi-
tional three floors (cheated to six in the
film), chandeliers and an enormous
stained-glass skylight.
For day interiors in the lobby,
Yeoman placed 20 4K HMIs on the
department-store roof and used frames
of stretched muslin to bounce them
through the skylight. “The downside of
working in Germany in winter is that it’s
light at 8 a.m. and dark at 4 p.m.,” he
explains. “By creating our own daylight,
we were able to shoot as long as we
wanted.”
Daylight was supplemented
throughout the lobby with warm practi-
cals. “We liked the tungsten contrast
with the cool daylight,” says the cine-
Henckels (Edward Norton, at center in top photo) leads the manhunt
after Gustave and his allies break out of prison. matographer. “Whenever possible, we
wanted to work only with the artificial

A variety of fixtures
was used to light
1960s scenes in the
hotel’s dining room
(top and lower
left), where
Moustafa meets
with the writer, and
lobby (lower right).
daylight and practicals, plus the occa- design for the kitchen and safe room, mainly used tungsten lights supple-
sional fill light.” Night interiors were lit whose lighting was accentuated by small mented by HMIs and Kinos.”
only with practicals and tungsten units. tungsten bounces. Gustave and Zero’s The production transformed
The hotel’s servant quarters and tiny bedrooms were lit with bare incan- other locations in and around Görlitz
service areas, filmed in an empty build- descent bulbs and China balls. “Adam into mini soundstages. A shuttered
ing near the department-store location, did extensive research on the lighting concert venue, the Stadthalle, makes
appear less inviting than the rest of the fixtures of the time, and we tried to be as several appearances in the film, each
hotel. Stockhausen incorporated fluo- historically accurate as possible in what time masquerading as a different loca-
rescent sources into his production appears onscreen,” says Yeoman. “We tion. One room in the venue serves as

◗ 5-Star Service
the Desgoffe trophy room at Schloss
Lutz, where Deputy Vilmos Kovacs
( Jeff Goldblum) gathers the bereaved
for a reading of Madame D.’s will. (The
rest of the house was filmed on location
at Germany’s Schloss Waldenburg.)
Much of Anderson’s camera blocking
in this scene required a 360-degree
sightline, so Yeoman and gaffer Helmut
Prein floated two skirted Zasa 9'x9' 5K
tungsten helium balloons between the
room’s chandeliers. Two 2K tungsten
Fresnels were pointed at the large
painting of a boar on the wall behind
Kovacs, which is flanked by tungsten
candelabras on dimmers. “Helmut was
a wonderful collaborator, and we
worked together to formulate the most
effective lighting solutions,” says
Yeoman.
The Stadthalle’s main audito-
rium was converted into the Grand
Budapest’s dining room for the scene in
which the adult Moustafa tells the
Young Writer the story of how “this
enchanting, old ruin” fell into his
possession. The production brought in
tables and practical lights and repainted
the walls. An enormous painting in the
style of Caspar David Friedrich depict-
ing a stag atop a craggy peak was hung
in the proscenium.
Top: The hotel’s
main entrance
Yeoman floated three Zasa
during its glory 20'x20' 30K tungsten helium balloons
days “between over the tables for ambience. On the
the wars.”
Bottom:
floor, his keylights were 12-light Maxis
Crewmembers bounced off white card through a
deploy a 12'x12' frame of Full Grid and
balloon light
and diffusion
controlled with a 40-degree soft egg
beneath the crate. “For the closer shots, we put an
lobby’s ornate additional layer of diffusion between
skylight.
the bounce and the diffusion,” says
Prein. A Keylite 5K tungsten Illico,
China balls ranging from 250 watts to
1K, and 1K and 2K tungsten Jem Balls
provided fill and additional sculpting.
The filmmakers experimented
with dynamic lighting cues, fading
down and up as Moustafa slips in and
out of his memories. “We looked at One
from the Heart [AC Jan. ’82] to see how
Vittorio Storaro [ASC, AIC] accom-
plished all those great lighting transi-
tions,” says Yeoman.

In a sequence partly inspired by
Hitchcock’s Torn Curtain, Kovacs is
pursued through the Kunstmuseum by
the murderous Jopling (Willem Dafoe).
For this chase, the Stadthalle audito-
rium served as a gallery filled with suits
of armor. Yeoman used menace arms to
boom a snooted 2K Fresnel over each
suit. “We liked the look of the hard light
on the armor, though it was a bit tricky
keeping the stands out of the shot,” he
says. A handheld China ball provides a
small amount of fill as the camera leads
Kovacs through the room.
Train-car interiors were a combi-
nation of a set in the Stadthalle audito-
rium and a train façade positioned on a
track built by the grips. “The shots
where you see out the windows were
shot from our outdoor train façade, and
the soldiers in the distance were actually
there,” Yeoman reveals.
The filmmakers also experi-
mented with front-projecting window
backgrounds for shots in the
Kunstmuseum and in Madame D.’s
suite at the Grand Budapest. Color-
reversal slides were made from digital
stills and reflected off a polarized mirror
positioned 45 degrees to the camera-
lens axis. Scotchlite backdrops posi-
tioned at 90 degrees to the lens axis
reflected the slide image back to the
camera. “There was a magical quality to
the image that we all loved, but if things
weren’t lined up exactly, there was a
ghosting effect,” recalls Yeoman. “And
the projector didn’t throw out much
light, which meant we were shooting at
a T2!”
Day exteriors utilized little artifi-
cial lighting, with Yeoman opting
instead for practicals and bounce
sources. In the same way, many night
exteriors were shot day-for-night: cars
traveling through towns and over
bridges, and scenes with Gustave and
Zero in a hayfield following the jail-
break. “We typically started shooting at
dusk and went right up to dark,” says
Yeoman. Practicals were placed in the
shots to better sell the impression of
nighttime, and Yeoman underexposed
up to 1½ stops with the knowledge that
◗ 5-Star Service
wide mountaintop exteriors were created
by the miniatures unit at Babelsberg
Studios. Directing remotely from
London, Anderson supervised a team
comprising producer Jeremy Dawson,
supervising model maker Simon Weisse
and miniature-effects supervisor Frank
Schlegel as they shot the live-action and
stop-motion miniature sequences. This
work was captured on film and digitally,
with a Red Epic and Canon EOS 5D
Mark II used for the latter. (Character
puppets were fabricated by Andy Gent
and animated by Andy Biddle at
Clapham Road Studios.) All of the
Jopling emerges from a ski locker at the start of a downhill ski-and-sled chase elements were combined at Look
that combines stop-motion animation, live action and in-camera effects. Effects in Stuttgart, Germany, by a team
of artists led by visual-effects supervisor
the lab could print down, and that there Gustave seeks to clear his name by Gabriel Sanchez.
would be a certain amount of digital sky tracking down the Desgoffe-und-Taxis’ A hair-raising downhill ski-and-
manipulation. “Lighting a large field at butler, Serge X. (Mathieu Amalric), in a sled chase combines stop-motion
night would have been very difficult, monastery atop a snowy mountain. The animation and live-action with in-
and I love the way our dusk-for-night monastery was another location in camera effects, “which we tried to do
looks,” he adds. Görlitz, but parts of Gustave and Zero’s whenever possible,” says Yeoman.
After gaining his freedom, gondola journey to the peak and the A shootout at the hotel involving
40
Dmitri Desgoffe-und-Taxis (Adrien and his camera team.” TECHNICAL SPECS
Brody) and the police decides the fate of After editing the picture in
Gustave and his valuable painting. Not London, Anderson supervised the 2K 2.40:1, 1.85:1, 1.37:1
only was the whole sequence carefully DI at London facility Molinare.
planned out in animatics, “but we also The production brought Modern 35mm and Digital Capture
pre-shot some of it during prep, with VideoFilm colorist/ASC associate
our assistant directors and grips and member Jill Bogdanowicz and a Arricam Studio, Red Epic and
electricians pretending to shoot at each DaVinci over from Los Angeles to do Canon EOS 5D Mark II
other so we could get an idea of how the the grade, according to Dawson. At the
skylight and top floor would look on time, Yeoman was already on another Techno-Cooke, Cooke S4 and
film,” says Yeoman. On the day, he project, but he was able to offer the Angenieux Optimo
operated the camera with a 360-degree team notes. “The final grade wasn’t all
field of view from his perch atop a scaf- that different from our dailies,” says the Kodak Vision3 200T 5213
fold on the department store’s upper cinematographer. “All of Wes’ films
landing. There were enough squibs and tend to feature warmer skin tones, but Digital Intermediate
enough time for three takes. in this case we took it toward a cooler
Colorist Maiken Preidman at look in some scenes, such as the prison.
Arri Berlin graded the production’s HD Wes usually pushes the saturation pretty
dailies. “She grades using a large screen heavily, but this one is a bit less satu-
in Arri’s DI suite, so she would be the rated.
first one to spot any issues,” says “Every film we do is an adventure
Yeoman. “But we were largely problem in its own way,” he concludes.
free. The cameras performed flawlessly, “Germany in the winter was a whole
and a lot of the credit goes to our fantas- new environment for us, and we had a
tic focus puller, Christian Almesberger, great experience.” ●
273
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A Fight to
Tobias Schliessler, ASC
shoots intense action for
the military combat drama
Lone Survivor.
44
the Death
March 2014 American Cinematographer
By Douglas Bankston
•|•
I
n June 2005, a four-man detachment
from Navy SEAL Team 10 was
dropped near a village in a mountain-
ous region of Afghanistan to surveil
and ultimately capture or kill a “high
value” Taliban target. Local goat herders
stumbled onto the soldiers’ position
and compromised the mission. The
Americans determined the goat herders
to be civilians and, per the rules of
engagement at the time, released them.
Unit photography by Gregory E. Peters. Photos and frame grabs courtesy of Universal Pictures.
As the team attempted to pull out, the

mountains were soon overrun with
Taliban fighters. Outmanned and
outgunned, the SEALs fought a long,
hard battle, but only one of them,
Marcus Luttrell, survived.
Director Peter Berg optioned the
book Luttrell wrote, Lone Survivor, and
making the feature became his passion
project over the next few years. He Opposite: Navy SEALs
Matt “Axe” Axelson (Ben
brought on a frequent collaborator, cine- Foster, left), Danny Dietz
matographer Tobias Schliessler, ASC, (Emile Hirsch, middle) and
with whom he’d also made The Marcus Luttrell (Mark
Wahlberg) flee from
Rundown, Friday Night Lights, Hancock gunfire in a scene from
(AC July ’08) and Battleship. AC caught Lone Survivor. This page,
up with Schliessler while he was in top: Dietz races Mike
Murphy (Taylor Kitsch)
Miami prepping the pilot for another during a morning run
Berg project, the sports comedy Ballers. around the base. Middle:
“Pete said he didn’t want the Newcomer Shane Patton
(Alexander Ludwig)
camera to be obvious in Lone Survivor,” dances for his fellow
Schliessler recalls. “He wanted it to SEALs as part of his
be as smooth as possible and not initiation. Bottom:
Cinematographer Tobias
stylized — handheld, but smooth Schliessler, ASC on
handheld.” In the collection of visual location.
examples Schliessler assembled for the

◗ A Fight to the Death
director, one became a sort of visual bible

for the various production departments:
Tim Hetherington’s book Infidel.
Hetherington was a photojournalist
embedded with a U.S. platoon in
Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. (He later
died while on assignment in Libya.)
During prep, Schliessler headed
to the mountains outside Los Angeles to
shoot tests of the quality of rock features,
wardrobe and even blood color. The test
footage and a copy of Infidel were
handed over to Schliessler’s regular
colorist, ASC associate member Stefan
Sonnenfeld, at Company 3. “We wanted
Stefan to see the contrast, color and
quality of light in Hetherington’s shots,”
says Schliessler. “It wasn’t re-created
exactly, but a nice look was set.”
After testing Arri Alexa and Red
Epic cameras, Schliessler chose the
Epic, but he notes that it was “ultimately
a financial choice because we needed so
many cameras.” Ninety percent of the
movie was shot handheld or with
Steadicam in rough terrain, and
Schliessler wanted to outfit his operators
with cameras that were as small and
lightweight as possible.
The main unit was armed with
four Epics, while the second unit carried
three. (A Vision Research Phantom
Flex was used for one high-speed shot.)
Top: The SEALs navigate after being dropped by helicopter in the mountains Capturing in 5K at 5:1 compression, “we
of Afghanistan. Middle: Dietz keeps a watchful eye in the trees. Bottom: Lt. Cmdr. Erik
Kristensen (Eric Bana, standing) monitors the mission from the Bagram Air Base. shot everything on the main unit with
three cameras at all times, while some

Top: The
soldiers
traverse the
mountain after
their operation
is
compromised.
Schliessler
notes that lens
flares “really
gave the image
realism and
energy.”
Bottom:
Murphy and
Luttrell are
peppered with
gunfire.
action scenes went to four or five

cameras,” recalls the cinematographer.
“We could play out whole scenes, which
is the way Pete likes to work. I would
strategically position them as best as I
could, but I also had a great team. My A-
camera operator, Jacques Jouffret, was
really good at working with the other
operators. Sometimes getting another
operator in shot happened, but we had
so many angles to choose from that we
could cut around it from one angle to the
next and stay in continuity.”
In addition to Jouffret, the
camera crew included A-camera 1st AC
Jimmy Jensen, A-camera 2nd AC Brent
Egan, B-camera operator Coy Aune,
B-camera 1st AC Nick Shuster and
C-camera operator Kent Harvey.
Cinematographer Dino Parks handled
second-unit action duties. Aerial cine-
matographer Hans Bjerno and aerial
coordinator/pilot Frédéric North
“provided stunning aerial shots on only
two days of flight time,” says Schliessler.
The shooting style was akin to a

an intimate view of the characters and

action with enough space in the frame to
show how they are positioned in relation
to each other, to their surroundings and
to their enemies. “That came from the
photos in Hetherington’s book,”
Schliessler says. “All of his pictures seem
like you’re right there with wider lenses.
It was important to establish the geogra-
phy of our story; we wanted the audience
to see and understand how the soldiers
were moving in one direction and then
another while trying to escape. We didn’t
want [the action] to be completely
The SEALs try to evade heavy gunfire from Taliban fighters in these frame grabs.
chaotic. We used the long lens for certain
shots where we wanted to compress the
handheld documentary approach Premier PL Zoom, and when Schliessler foreground and background a little
wherein the operators could change tested it, he liked the results. Only one more, and we used a long lens for the
angles and reframe at any time. “We Cabrio was available at the time, and it soldiers’ POVs when they’re looking
wanted to make this movie feel like it became the A-camera workhorse. (A through their scopes.”
was being shot by a documentary second was made available to the The mountains of New Mexico
cameraman in the middle of combat,” production midway through the shoot.) — the alpine region above 12,000' —
Schliessler says. “The focus pullers never The B and C cameras were given light- stood in for northeastern Afghanistan.
had marks because they were constantly weight Angenieux Optimos: 15-40mm “We had to hand-carry all our equip-
moving. If the focus was a little behind, T2.6, 28-76mm T2.6 and 45-120mm ment up mountainsides for most of the
that was okay, as long as they did find T2.8. A Fujinon 75-400mm T2.8-3.8 shoot,” Schliessler recalls. “We used the
focus.” Premier PL Zoom was used for longer- location’s ski lifts and then hiked from
Lightweight zoom lenses were lens work. “The Fujinon and Angenieux there to the peaks. My key grip, Mike
paired with the cameras. “I wanted to use lenses matched pretty well,” Schliessler Anderson, crewed up with very physi-
zooms because Pete likes to change the observes. “There were small differences, cally strong people. Being up that high
shot between takes — for example, he but we could adjust things like contrast really takes the wind out of you, but there
might want to go tighter on the second in the DI to get them to match.” was not one person on the crew who
take — and I didn’t want to change Much of the picture was shot on wouldn’t carry a case. Everyone worked
lenses,” Schliessler explains. Fujinon had the wider end of the focal-length spec- extra hard — it was the hardest-working
just released the 19-90mm T2.9 Cabrio trum but in close to the actors, offering crew I’ve ever had. We also were very

lucky with the weather. We came in on
time and on budget.”
For ease of transport, digital-
imaging technician Jeff Tomcho’s “tent”
was nothing more than a 4'x4' floppy
with side skirts. It housed three 17" Sony
OLED monitors and three Leader
waveform-vectorscopes that were fed
video signals via wireless HD transmit-
ters on each camera. Schliessler also had
single-channel iris control of each
camera. “Our camera operators were free
to move around, and sometimes one
would focus on an area that was 2 or 3
stops darker than the rest of the scene
and then pan out again into a strong
backlight,” he says. “We would
constantly ride the exposures during the
shot to keep all the detail and keep the
exposure safe, sometimes with 5-stop or
6-stop pulls. Jeff handled B and C Top: Luttrell and Murphy help guide Dietz toward shelter.
cameras, and I would do A camera. We’d Bottom: Wahlberg discusses the action with director Peter Berg.
always first compensate the exposures for

The sun was Schliessler’s main

source in his “natural” lighting kit. “I was
so dependent on sunlight that I set the
locations where I knew the light was
good at certain times of the day,” he says.
“In prep, I walked around with my
SunPath, inclometer and compass,
always looking for where the sun was
going to be. Our first AD, Eric Heffron,
and Pete were very accommodating
about arranging the schedule so we
could shoot in certain areas at the best
times.”
An example of the sun cooperat-
ing perfectly is the scene in which Axe
(Ben Foster) collapses against a tree and
succumbs to his multiple wounds.
“When we scouted, I decided I wanted
to shoot that in the afternoon, roughly
between 12 and 3 p.m.,” Schliessler
Top (both pages): The crew sets up a dolly shot at the Afghan village set. recounts. “When it came time to shoot,
Bottom: A-camera operator Jacques Jouffret and 1st AC Jimmy Jensen Ben leaned against the tree and, for some
shoot a scene in which Gulab (Ali Suliman), a villager, helps Luttrell.
reason, God was with me, because the
sun was coming perfectly through those
our actors’ faces to not lose detail in their Thunderbolt expansion chassis, a trees. The sunlight was dappled on his
shadow side. Second, we tried to protect RedMag SSD reader and Red Rocket body and hit his eyes at a perfect angle. I
the highlights. There are only two shots transcode/playback card. The quality- couldn’t have asked for a better position
in the movie where I lost detail in the control station proved an essential tool in how the sunlight fell on that scene!
skies.” because, at an altitude of about 14,000', And the close-up matched the wide
For on-set data verification, the Epic would at times corrupt a clip shots because it was natural light. There
Tomcho put together a mobile flight during long dialogue takes while the sun was no way I could have lit the scene
case containing a MacBook Pro with a was beating down on it. artificially in that way.”

Schliessler was fearless about
using the sun as a strong backlight and
contoured it with 12'x12' silver and gold
lamé checkered bounces. “I felt like the
sun was a part of this story, and I wasn’t
afraid to shoot right into it,” he says.
“When my operators got in close to an
actor, I would get in there with a little
white card to give an eyelight where I
needed it, while Mike [Anderson]
would be next to another camera doing
the same. At the same time, if we would
be getting in closer on a face, Jeff
[Tomcho] just opened the iris up
remotely if necessary.”
The cinematographer also
embraced lens flares, “which really gave
the image realism and energy. I have to
thank my operators, who were so good.
Small moves by them would change the
quality of the flare or position it just so Bottom: Luttrell says an emotional goodbye to Gulab’s son (Rohan Chand) outside the village.
within the frame. I remember the scene
after the SEALs decide to let the goat
herders go, and Luttrell [Mark thing a great operator can help you with. generator. Otherwise, everything was
Wahlberg] is walking up the mountain It added drama to the shot.” natural light and bounces.
into the setting sun. Jacques was follow- The mountains weren’t totally For a scene at the base of the
ing Mark on the Steadicam, and I was devoid of artificial light, however. There mountain where the SEAL team rappels
running alongside Mark with a white were certain areas that gaffer James out of a helicopter under the cover of
card. Jacques moved his body slightly to Tynes could infiltrate with a generator night, Schliessler had three 18K Pars
the left and let a flare come through but and an 18K Arrimax. Other mountain placed high in a Condor to serve as an
not across Mark’s face — you never want locations allowed for a few open-faced ambient moon backlight. He purposely
to flare out an actor’s face. That’s some- 1.8K Arri M18s run off a small, portable kept the scene dark, grading down even

blue for the main Afghanistan opera-
tions center — while the fluorescent
fixtures on the main actors were warmer.
Lone Survivor was the first feature
to employ the Company 3/EFilm EC3
Trailer, a 12-seat mobile dailies-grading
theater with a file-ingest room, 2K digi-
tal cinema projector and 7'-wide screen.
Dailies colorist Adrian DeLude used the
filmmakers’ custom gamma-curve
presets from Schliessler’s initial camera
tests and matched the three cameras. “It
was such a great luxury,” Schliessler says.
“It felt like the old film days, when I’d
This frame grab shows the grounded helicopters on Bagram Air Base.
shoot film and then go to the lab the next
morning to look at printing lights.
further in post when necessary. For most of it was fluorescent toplight, not Before lunch, we sent the Red cards to
close-ups of the soldiers, the “moon” that pretty. So I lit those scenes from the trailer, and at lunch I’d come look at
backlight was bounced onto their faces. above with practical fluorescents, and we dailies from the morning on the big
Schliessler went industrial with added a few Kino Flos wherever we screen. I could talk to the dailies colorist
his lighting for the Bagram Air Base needed them.” Some practicals were no then and there to make adjustments, and
command center, where the mission was more than bare tubes visible in shot. Per that could be carried into post, which
being monitored. “I didn’t want to stylize Schiessler’s preference, background fluo- made for a very smooth and fast final
it or beautify it,” he says. “When I looked rescents were cooler in color temperature grade.
at the lighting on the bases, I discovered — with a greenish tinge for Bagram and “Nowadays, I think of the differ-
52
TECHNICAL SPECS
2.40:1
Digital Capture
Red Epic, Vision Research

Phantom Flex
Fujinon and Angenieux Optimo
Berg issues a command on the Bagram set.
ent digital cameras as different film documentary is hard when you have
stocks, each with its own qualities,” he actors and sets, but I feel Lone Survivor
adds. “Looking at the movie now, I’m comes across as documentary-like. I’m
very happy I used the Epic because it proud of it because I feel like it’s one of
had the right contrast and color satura- the most appropriate looks I’ve done for
tion. Making something that looks like a a story.” ●
53
Espionage, Payback
and Laughs
T
The cinematographers behind his special focus on television production features direc-
tors of photography Richard Rutkowski (The Americans);
The Americans, Revenge and the Cynthia M. Pusheck, ASC and John Smith (Revenge);
Saturday Night Live Film Unit and Alex Buono (Saturday Night Live Film Unit).
discuss their work.
The Americans (FX)
Cinematographer: Richard Rutkowski
By John Calhoun, Jean Oppenheimer and
Patricia Thomson Those friendly neighborhood spies are back, as the FX
series The Americans enters its second season with director of
photography Richard Rutkowski. Set in Washington, D.C., in
•|• 1981-1982, the series honors its period setting while fulfilling

Opposite page
(clockwise from
top): Scenes from
The Americans,
Revenge and
The Americans photos by Craig Blankenhorn, courtesy of FX Network. Revenge photos by Karen Neal, Colleen Hayes, Vivian Zink and Richard Cartwright, courtesy of ABC.
Saturday Night
Live. This page,
top: Soviet agents
test the loyalty of
Elizabeth Jennings
(Kerri Russell) in a
scene from the
period drama The
Americans.
Bottom: Elizabeth
speaks with her
husband, Philip
(Matthew Rhys), in
their home.
Saturday Night Live photos by Dana Edelson, Lue Nemoto, Maria Traversa and Sam Nuttman, courtesy of NBC.
its obligations as both an espionage

thriller and domestic drama.
Soviet moles Philip and
Elizabeth Jennings (Matthew Rhys and
Keri Russell) live in a typical middle-
class home with their two teenaged
children, who are unaware of their
parents’ true identities. “We are trying
to exploit the theme of duality, that
these characters are supposed to be
living normal American lives and enjoy-
ing the American dream, while in fact
they’re working hard to undermine it,”
says Rutkowski. Sequences depicting
the Jennings’ espionage activities are
“very edgy in terms of darkness and
shadow, with backgrounds falling
away,” he continues, while the family
scenes are often “broadly lit to balance
the tone.” He cites Alan Pakula’s 1970s
drama Klute, shot by Gordon Willis, the visual design of The Americans. But ity that we can. If we take too long on
ASC, as an inspiration, noting, “In that Rutkowski, who has shot every episode one thing, we’re just taking it from
film, there’s a wonderful mix of flat-lit since the pilot (shot by Alan Caso, another. Our single biggest asset is our
and more dramatic lighting schemes, ASC), says, “I would say the most cast; most of them work and move like
and a flow from very contrasty to less important factor in the visual design of athletes, and they understand where the
contrasty imagery, usually motivated by this show is its schedule. We have a very camera is and how to work with it.”
the environment.” limited number of days, and we try to Although the cinematographer
This duality is always at play in pack into them every bit of visual qual- maintains, “there’s not a lens, a type of

◗ Espionage, Payback and Laughs
Elizabeth’s role
as a Soviet spy is
unknown to her
children, Henry
(Keidrich Sellati)
and Paige (Holly
Taylor). “We are
trying to exploit
the theme of
duality, that
these characters
are supposed to
be living normal
American lives
and enjoying the
American dream,
while in fact
they’re working
to undermine it,”
says
cinematographer
Richard
Rutkowski.
recording device or a monitor that Zeiss T2.1 primes from the 1980s, and “visual character came through the
equals what [the actors] do for me,” he a T3 18-100mm Cooke Varotal zoom, chemistry, the emulsion, so I feel the
gets plenty of help from those elements which was a go-to lens when I started in need to add some aberrations in order
as well. He shoots The Americans with the late 1980s. It eventually fell out of to give the digital image character. I use
the Arri Alexa, recording in ProRes favor, but when I tested it for this show a lot more filtration, grads, color grads
4:4:4:4 in Log C at 23.97 fps to SxS everything that was ‘wrong’ with it was and NDs, and I’ll even use polas on
cards, with compression “the least possi- right: It’s a T3, but I don’t need extra interiors.”
ble without going to 2K.” When stop with the Alexa; its barrel distortion The Americans is primarily shot at
Rutkowski came aboard the show, and falloff at the edges are perfect for Brooklyn’s Eastern Effects studios,
production briefly considered shooting our story; and I love the way its center with various locations around New
35mm or 16mm film to better evoke pops out at the audience.” York standing in for the nation’s capital.
the period. “After weighing all the costs Rutkowski’s key crew includes To help save time during shooting,
vs. benefits and expected workflow, gaffer J.P. Dolan and key grip Gary Rutkowski has built a series of preset
there just wasn’t enthusiasm at the Martone. To stay true to the story’s looks into the Alexa. “Our looks are
highest levels for shooting exclusively period, “we don’t use a lot of LED developed in prep and then loaded into
on film,” he says. lights,” says the cinematographer. “I’m all the Alexa bodies,” he says. “They are
Instead, influenced in part by the quite often working with period instru- mostly manipulations of the overall
work of Willis and still photographers ments, the standard tungsten and HMI color bias and contrast. Our first ACs,
Stephen Shore and Joel Sternfeld, lights we’ve known for years. We do use Rory Hanrahan and Robert Bullard,
Rutkowski suggests the early 1980s Kino Flos, but we don’t overuse them. have become intuitive about the look I
through his lens and lighting choices. We use small instruments because we’re might select for a scene, and our second
“Our show has the advantage of truly on the Alexa, and we spend a lot of time ACs, Brendan Russel and Yusuke Sato,
being about something, so we do not essentially cutting light. There’s almost keep a detailed book listing the looks
need to add content with the visuals — no light on the set that isn’t either chosen for particular locations or
we follow content,” he says. “As a result, bouncing or coming through a frame, scenes. I can say, ‘Let’s view this on
the lenses are wider than on most and there’s almost no source around me Look 10 or Look 12.’ I see it in the
shows. I’ll never do a close-up on a that I haven’t considered turning off eyepiece, I see it on the onboard moni-
100mm; I’ll always get closer with a before we roll camera. tor, and I see it on the set monitor. Of
50mm or 65mm. I use an older set of “In the film days,” he continues, the three, the one I trust the most is the

eyepiece; working in Log C means
there’s always more information there
than you might see on the monitor.
Then I manipulate the color tempera-
ture, which in the Alexa is the touch of
a button.”
Rutkowski compares working
with his preset looks to choosing
different negatives and developing and
printing options in the old days. “We
keep the ‘look file’ in the metadata so it
is always available in post, and our
fabulous dailies timer, Adam Moore,
can see the intention right away,” says
the cinematographer. “I would say our
dailies have been 75 to 80 percent of
the way to final correction. The inten-
tion is very fixedly there. As a result, I
don’t work with a DIT on set.” Post is
done at Technicolor Postworks under
John Crowley’s supervision. The Log
C capture is converted to DNX files
for Avid and color corrected on a
FilmLight Baselight.
Executive producing director
Daniel Sackheim has been a major
collaborator with Rutkowski on the Top: Elizabeth
show’s visual design. Sackheim dons a disguise
to tail a CIA
directed the fifth episode of the first agent. Bottom:
season, in which Philip and Elizabeth Rutowski eyes a
were forced to endure a brutal loyalty shot on set.
test by their Soviet handlers. “With
each director, we try to identify the four
or five scenes that are going to have the
biggest visual impact,” says Rutkowski.
In that episode, the couple was interro-
gated in a dark, abandoned warehouse
that dwarfed them in the frame. “The
space the actors are in is as revealing of held by Philip and Elizabeth in an the same episode. (Rutkowski likes to
their character as what they perform abandoned pizza parlor, a stage setting do car scenes on the show because “they
for the camera,” Rutkowski says. “As that “offered the opportunity to paint are private spaces we peer into.”) In this
spies, they are usually hiding their real everything in light that would only scene, Philip has a hostage in the back
reactions. Certain schemes of compo- enter naturally: exterior night light infil- seat, “and you can see he does not want
sition add tension. And a general pref- trating windows and broken slats of to listen to a word this man says,” says
erence for wider lenses closer to the blinds and, in the daytime, light coming Rutkowski. “We did that as a driving
actor brings more of the background through blinds. There’s no artificial light scene in the rain, with light coming on
into the frame.” in the joint at all. The idea behind it is and off our guest star, but the light was
The second season’s fifth that it’s as much a prison for Philip and consistently on Philip so you could see
episode, directed by Dan Attius, is Elizabeth as it is for their captive. They how the words were hitting him.”
particularly rich with big visual have created their own trap.” Finally, a scene of the hostage’s repatria-
moments. There is a kidnapping and Throughout the series, Philip has tion by boat ends with an iconic image
exchange of hostages, followed by the been portrayed as the more conflicted reversed: through a porthole, the Statue
forced repatriation of one character to character, and that ambivalence is of Liberty recedes into the distance.
the Soviet Union. One hostage is being clearly shown during a driving scene in Rutkowski defines camera moves

on the show as “very reserved, and
motivated.” Season 2 has dispensed
with a full-time Steadicam operator,
with the cinematographer preferring
to rely on dolly, tripod and steady
handheld work “that does not have a
war-photography feel.” Rutkowski
usually operates one camera himself,
which “comes from a belief that look-
ing through the camera is the best
place for me to judge performance and
lighting. Performance changes the
operating each and every take.” (The
other camera operators are Sung Rae
Cho and James Callahan.)
Another change this season
involved a major set, the Soviet
embassy or rezidentura, which was
shot on location in a Columbia
University building last year and has
now been re-created on stage by
production designer John Mott. The Emily Thorne (a.k.a. Amanda Clarke, played by Emily VanCamp) conspires with
setting’s dark, Old World air contrasts Nolan Ross (Gabriel Mann) in a scene from Revenge.
dramatically with the show’s brightly
lit FBI set. “At the rezidentura, the Revenge (ABC) director of photography in the first
primary goal is keeping secrets, and at Cinematographers: season and has alternated with cine-
the FBI, the constant objective is to Cynthia M. Pusheck, ASC matographer John Smith on seasons
learn them,” Rutkowski explains. and John Smith two and three. “There’s the beautiful
“Secrecy and the need to keep prying surface world — summer in the
eyes away is a big theme.” Revenge has been a powerful Hamptons, extreme wealth, pretty
Of course, knowing the motivating force throughout human people in lovely homes — and then
outcome of the Cold War “puts an history, a catalyst for countless crimes. there’s the underbelly of darkness,
extra burden on the storytelling,” Amanda Clarke (Emily VanCamp) has corruption, lies, schemes and murder.
Rutkowski observes. “But what been harboring thoughts of retribution We try to create a sense of unease and
becomes interesting is, why was there since she was a child in Southampton, tension between these two sides and
a struggle? What were the ideological N.Y., and her beloved father was also accentuate the contrasts between
differences? And those differences — framed for a heinous crime and then them.”
of philosophy, of generations and of murdered in prison to make sure the That means letting a lot of the
gender — also become the conflicts truth stayed buried. Convinced that the conniving and backstabbing play out in
within a family.” For that reason, rich and ruthless Conrad and Victoria broad daylight. “In some scenes,” says
Rutkowski feels duty bound to not Grayson (Henry Czerny and Smith, “the characters are really digging
“jazz” the image up. “You have to let Madeleine Stowe) were behind her into one another, and we could make
the characters emerge organically. If father’s misfortunes, Amanda has been that dark and moody, but that would be
you try to force a look on it, you’ll lose plotting the couple’s downfall for 17 too obvious. It plays better if they’re
out, because if you don’t care about years. She set her plan in motion when deceiving one another in the light, and
these people, then you won’t care the primetime series Revenge debuted we just hint at the underlying blackness
about the action sequences, and you on ABC. Passing herself off as one by putting shadows on the walls and
won’t be as affected by the family story Emily Thorne, Amanda rented a beach giving it some shape.”
at the core of the drama.” house next door to the Graysons and With a laugh, Pusheck notes,
— John Calhoun quickly insinuated herself into their “I’ve completely embraced white. In
lives. some scenes, I really let the whites pop
“For me, Revenge is a show of to emphasize the Hamptons’ bright
duality,” says Cynthia M. Pusheck, summer world — white clothes, white
ASC, who served as the show’s sole walls, white furniture. Then, in post, I

can have our colorist, Pankaj Bajpai [at
Encore Hollywood], stretch the whites
out even more to get a nice snap in the
contrast. This can be especially helpful
in selling the day-exterior feel on some
sets, including the Graysons’ backyard
and the Stowaway deck.”
Pusheck and Smith, who spoke
to AC separately, enjoy a comfortable
working relationship, having previously
shared cinematography duties on a
season of Brothers & Sisters. Smith also
handled inserts and additional photog-
raphy for Revenge’s first season.
Revenge is shot predominantly on
stages at Manhattan Beach Studios,
where interiors of Grayson Manor,
Emily’s beach house and the Stowaway
Tavern have been built. Only the house
of Emily’s close friend, Nolan Ross
(Gabriel Mann), is a practical location,
although a facsimile of the interior has
also been built onstage.
In the first season, the two-
camera show was shot almost exclu-
sively on Steadicam, a preference of
pilot director Phillip Noyce, who also
directed the series’ first episode.
(Christopher Manley, ASC shot the
pilot.) Now Steadicam accounts for
about 40 percent of the camerawork.
Pusheck encourages A-camera/
Steadicam operator Tom Schnaidt and
B-camera operator Jay Herron to
maintain a kind of floating feeling.
“Sometimes it means using a slider to
just add a slight movement, and some-
times Tom and Jay are on the dolly or
handheld,” she says. “It should be loose,
but not too distracting or obvious. It’s Top: Emily ties
the knot with
part of maintaining that feeling of Daniel Grayson
unease.” (Josh Bowman).
The camera package, provided by Middle: Conrad
Grayson (Henry
Panavision, includes two Arri Alexa Czerny) shares
High Speeds, a Sony PMW-F3 (for C- important news
camera work), Panavision Primo 4:1 with his wife,
Victoria
and 11:1 zooms, and Angenieux (Madeleine
Optimo 15-40mm, 28-76mm and 45- Stowe, left),
120mm zooms. “The B camera lives on Emily and
Daniel. Bottom:
the 11:1,” reports Pusheck, “unless Jay is Co-director of
going handheld or needs to go smaller photography
to avoid being seen by the A camera. Cynthia Pusheck,
ASC frames a
For cost reasons, we have slowly gotten shot.
rid of most of our primes over our three

Right: Jack Porter

(Nick Wechsler),
one of Amanda’s
childhood
friends, stands
behind the bar at
The Stowaway.
Below: The team
films Bowman
and Christa B.
Allen, who plays
Charlotte
Grayson, on the
Stowaway set.
percent to 100 percent and can be

switched from daylight 5,600K to tung-
sten 3,200K with a dimmer board. We
use them for ambient light. Not only are
they more energy efficient, but they also
give us the flexibility to choose our color
temperature.”
Mac Techs hang outside the
Stowaway. “They aren’t as flexible or
dimmable as the Ohms,” Smith contin-
ues, “but they’re really bright, and that’s
what we need coming through the
tavern windows. We keep them at
3,200K so they appear very white, but
we also have a few [Arri] T12s and
20Ks hanging on some I-beam trusses
just outside the windows. We warm
seasons because we needed the Optimos Pusheck. “It also helps save time when- those with Quarter to Full CTS to
for Steadicam, but we still carry the ever we’re shooting on Emily’s porch contrast that with the white light farther
14.5mm, 21mm and 150mm Primo and need to get the camera up higher back. To create texture, we also use
primes.” The team also occasionally uses without working off risers on the dolly.” smoke.”
a LensBaby and two slant-focus lenses The backyard patio at Grayson To help sell the illusion that there
— a 24mm and a 45mm. Manor and the front deck at the is a marina outside the Stowaway, the
A Mo-Sys Remote Head Stowaway (glimpsed mainly through special-effects team this year built three
brought in this season has allowed the windows behind the bar) are also standing ships’ masts at the far end of
cinematographers to do more crane soundstage sets, and both are pre-rigged the deck and rigged them on small
shots on a regular basis despite the tight for day and night looks. “One of the motors to rock back-and-forth. Small
TV budget. Key grip Stu Abramson changes we made this season was to use mirrors strung on a wire against the
provides the 12', 20' and 30' cranes. Ohm Space Lights, which are LEDs, backing and blown with a fan give the
“That’s been incredibly helpful in instead of regular space lights outside impression of light reflecting off the
designing shots this season that don’t Grayson Manor,” notes Smith. “The water, and a large, slowly spinning
require renting extra equipment,” says Ohm lights are dimmable from 10 mirror creates the effect of light bounc-

ing off the windows of moving boats. faces than some of the newer lenses smoothing out skin tones,” she notes.
The creative team decided early would be,” says Smith, who typically “On Brothers & Sisters, our colorist,
on that each location should have a keeps a 1⁄8 Hollywood Black Magic Chris Boyer, did a great job of softening
distinct personality and tone. Emily’s filter on the lens, switching to Schneider the ladies without losing the crispness in
beach house is warm and pretty, with a Classic Soft for actress close-ups. the eyes, and I wanted to use that tech-
strong feel of the ocean right outside, Pusheck also uses Black Magic and nique on Revenge as well.”
while Grayson Manor has a harder look Classic Soft, but varies them with Tiffen Lighting in Grayson Manor
and feels more walled off from the Black Pro-Mist and Black FX. She became a lot easier this season, after key
outside world. Pusheck often takes the tends to keep filtration light to give the grip Stuart Abramson and his team built
whites in the manor a little toward blue post team maximum flexibility. “Pankaj two lighting grids on motorized chains,
to accentuate the contrast with Emily’s does a wonderful job of softening and one in the foyer and one in the living
house. The Stowaway Tavern has more
reds and warm hues, giving it a cozier
feel than the other two key locations.
Nolan’s house is all white walls, vaulted
ceilings and sliding glass doors, mandat-
ing a lot of negative fill. “The pool at
Nolan’s house allows us to play with
water reflections and dancing light, and
that’s been a visual theme in that set
since season one,” adds Pusheck.
Instead of working with a digital-
imaging technician, the production uses
a FilmLight Truelight LUT Box, and
Pusheck and Smith have 10 “looks” to
choose from. The camera reports indi-
cate which LUTs were used that day,
and dailies colorist Will Lawrence
applies them accordingly to the dailies.
“We get dailies on an SD card and look
at them on our iPads,” says Smith. “It’s
a wonderful way of working.”
To ensure that Revenge’s actresses
look as glamorous as possible, the cine-
matographers favor large bounced or
diffused sources, as well as Dome lights,
Lowel Rifas, Barger Baglites with
Chimeras, Source Four Lekos, Lumos
and Sumos. Pusheck is especially
pleased with the Sumos. “Our gaffer,
Andrew Smith, often handholds the
Sumos when we need a little fill or ping
in someone’s eyes, and he does a great
job of dancing around Tom’s Steadicam
to get the light in just the right spot,”
she says. “The Lumos’ and the Sumos’
color are incredibly clean, so we never
see color corruption when mixing them
with tungsten or daylight.” Bleached
and unbleached muslin and white
Duvatyn are used for diffusion on all
lights.
Also helping to enhance glamour
are the lenses. “The Primos are kinder to
room. The mansion’s high ceilings have
proven a boon for staging scenes.
Schnaidt details, “We did a great shot
where the crane was outside, and we
extended the arm through the front
door and pushed in on Victoria, who
had her back to the camera. She turned
around, and mascara was dripping
through her eyes — she was being
arrested for shooting Emily. The camera
then tracked back as she was dragged
back outside and got pushed into the
police car. It was pretty simple: We put
the base of the crane in one spot and
extended the arm into the house and
then out again.”
“The high ceilings, as well as the
white trim and moldings, have also been
helpful with Steadicam shots where we
needed to hide our lights,” Pusheck
adds. “Often we can rig Source Fours
out of shot and have them hit parts of From left: Saturday Night Live Film Unit director Rhys Thomas, cast member Bill Hader and
the walls to light the actors, and then we director of photography Alex Buono pose on the set of “Stefon’s Farewell.”
dial them out when the camera comes
around and photographs that area.” Saturday Night Live Film Unit because we only get one day to turn
The Hamptons world involves (NBC) these spots around,” observes Buono,
lots of parties and other large events. “A Cinematographer: Alex Buono who is in his 15th season on the show.
Fourth of July party this season is a good Indeed, the SNL Film Unit is
example of the challenges these large It’s 5:30 p.m., and Saturday Night among the earliest adapters of camera
scenes can create,” says Pusheck. “Some Live Film Unit director of photography technology in American television,
of the party was shot on the beach, and Alex Buono is metering a Christmas thanks to its need to create a constant
some was shot in the backyard onstage. tree on Stage 6A at 30 Rockefeller stream of parodies that lampoon
Andrew and [best boy] Pete Smith Plaza. It’s 30 hours to broadcast, and commercials, movie trailers and music
designed a great lighting rig for the fire- the team is just beginning the shoot for videos. For instance, the show utilized a
works show that we could hang in the “Now That’s What I Call Christmas,” a pre-release Canon EOS 7D for the ad
stage corner and then also rig on the holiday-album parody featuring guest parody “Bladdivan,” a pre-release Red
beach in a Pettibone lift. We used host Jimmy Fallon and members of the Epic-M Monochrome for the ad parody
Atomic 3000 Strobes for the flash show’s cast. Two brand-new Red Epic “Brad Pitt for Chanel No. 5,” and a just-
effect, Par cans for the white bursts, and Dragons are onstage, one on a dolly, the released Freefly Movi M10 gyrostabi-
Color Kinetics Color Blazes and Color other slung from a 23' Scorpio telescop- lized rig for “Stefon’s Farewell,” a
Blasts for color and sparkle. It was all ing crane. According to the production, send-off to regular cast member Bill
bounced into a 12-by-12-foot Silver this shoot marks the Dragon’s broad- Hader that was modeled on The
Microwave Bounce. The partygoers cast-television debut. Graduate. For the fake allergy-medica-
looked into the bounce, and we dialed in Film Unit director/producer tion spot, “Flaritan,” and four subse-
the explosions and pops. The effects Rhys Thomas inspects the image on a quent spots, the Film Unit was among
were programmed into a dimmer TVLogic monitor. “It’s definitely got the first to use the Canon C500 to
system using wireless DMX.” more dynamic range than the Epic,” he capture 4K with three then-new external
Despite the characters’ scheming, says, and Buono nods as he spins the recorders: the Codex-S, Gemini 4:4:4
their world is a seductive milieu. Scorpio control wheels. But final judg- and Ki Pro Quad.
Perhaps Schnaidt sums it up best: “It’s ment won’t be passed until they see Why risk trying new technology
an unsavory world, but the glitz and the whether the workflow survives SNL’s on a breakneck schedule? “It’s totally
glamour suck you in, and the camera unforgiving schedule: Thursday prep, motivated by the question, ‘Can this
puts you in the midst of it all.” Friday shoot, Saturday broadcast. make our lives easier?’” says Buono.
— Jean Oppenheimer “We’re a great test lab for workflow “Maybe the workflow is faster, or the

paradigm on digital video.”
A new chapter began when SNL
mandated that the Film Unit switch to
HD capture for the 2005-2006 season,
which Thomas recalls as “a dark period.”
He explains, “No one prepared us for
what that transition would mean. All
these cameras were coming out that
were really just ENG cameras, and
there was a race to see who could do
things cheaper and quicker, even within
the show. We were really playing catch-
up for a while.”
A happier paradigm shift
occurred in 2009, when the Film Unit
began using DSLRs. To create the 2009
title sequence, Buono took to the streets
with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II for a
week of nighttime shoots, photograph-
ing each cast member in various spots
around town. “Suddenly, we had a tiny
little camera and could move so fast, and
the resulting images looked so much
Above: Thomas
and Buono more like film stock than the HD
confer on the camcorders we’d been using,” says
set of “Now Buono. The 2009-2010 season was
That’s What I
Call Christmas.” subsequently filled with Canon DSLR
Right: Buono shorts — “a fun time,” Thomas recalls.
frames cast Buono adds, “It was like coming out of
member Kate
McKinnon on a a coma, the DVCam Dark Ages.”
New York City Since then, DSLRs have
street for the remained a valuable tool for the
show’s title
sequence. Film Unit, proving ideal for squeezing
inside a bathroom stall (“Bathroom
Businessman”), grabbing doc-style
shots on a subway platform (“Matchbox
3”), and mounting on a Movi rig to run
dynamic range is so much wider that I Aaron Phillips). As it happened, this full-throttle through the streets after
can use less light, or we can shoot 4K so coincided with the rise of social media Seth Meyers (“Stefon’s Farewell”).
we can have more latitude to reframe and YouTube, which helped catapult With the emergence of higher-
shots in the edit. We often feel like, Samberg’s shorts, such as “Lonely resolution digital cameras such as the
‘Aha! Someone just invented the perfect Sunday” and “Dick in a Box,” into the Red Epic and the Arri Alexa, which the
camera for this thing we’re doing. Let’s stratosphere. show began using in the 2010-2011
try it!’” The Film Unit and the Digital season, “we were able to find our way
It wasn’t always this way. Shorts team often worked separately back to the filmic language that used to
Following the series’ debut in 1975, the from each other and from the live- be our signature,” says Thomas. By all
Film Unit spent decades shooting on broadcast team. The Film Unit’s métier accounts, the turning point was “British
35mm and 16mm negatives. Digital was commercial parodies, while Digital Movie Trailer,” shot on a Red One and
capture was introduced in a big way in Shorts riffed on music videos and other Canon 5D Mark II. Riffing off British
2005, when Andy Samberg joined the inspirations. “The digital shorts brought gangster movies such as Sexy Beast, it
cast and brought his Lonely Island a new energy to the show,” says starred Bill Hader as an ex-con pulled
team, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Thomas. “We were shooting on film back into the game. The joke is that no
Taccone, with him to create digital with a more traditional visual language, one can understand the thick British
shorts (many of which were shot by whereas they were creating a whole new accents. Like any trailer, the spot

required multiple locations and enough
scenes to suggest a feature-length film.
“British Movie Trailer” was one
of Thomas’s first projects after he
became director/producer of the Film
Unit. (He replaced James Signorelli,
who founded the Film Unit and served
as its director for 38 years before retir-
ing.) According to Buono, the parody
did more than prove Thomas’ mettle. “It
was the moment we actually redefined
our goals,” says the cinematographer.
Previously, he explains, the Film Unit
might decide a given setup looked “too
real. The theory was that our spots
should not look exactly like the real
thing because we wanted to let the audi-
ence know it was a gag. With ‘British
Movie Trailer,’ that went out the
window. We went 100 percent for the
real thing. Ever since then, we’ve tried
to use the same tools and techniques as
a real movie or commercial — at least as
much as we can on our schedule. We’ve
expanded our art department, our
camera packages are bigger, and the
shots are often more ambitious. For
example, we rarely used camera cranes
in the old days and now we use them
regularly. We’re trying to make our work
look as high-end as possible despite our
fast turnaround.”
The team went the extra mile for
“Brad Pitt for Chanel No. 5,” which
spoofed a black-and-white commercial
directed by Joe Wright and shot by
Seamus McGarvey, ASC, BSC. Buono
obtained a pre-release Red Epic-M
Monochrome. “That became a really
fun experiment,” he says. “We shot in a
way we wouldn’t have on a color camera,
using black-and-white filters to pop
skin tones — deep oranges and reds. I
was amazed at how creamy and grain-
less the skin textures became.
“Part of my job is to be a cine-
matography detective,” continues
Buono. “I’ve got to study a spot and try
to determine how they approached each
shot and lit each scene.” In the case of
the Chanel spot, he was puzzled by the
source of a pulsing toplight. In the midst
of the pre-light, he reached out to
McGarvey. “Seamus graciously offered
65
something people can’t believe was shot
yesterday,” says Thomas. “But it’s a hole
you keeping digging yourself, because
the next week, suddenly every script has
stage directions like, ‘Wide shot of
From left:
Production
Rome’!”
manager Justus Buono points to the short
McLarty, “Djesus Uncrossed,” a send-up of
Thomas, key
grip Mort Korn
Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained,
and Buono at as “the hardest thing I’ve ever done on
work on the show.” He detailed the Alexa shoot
location.
on his blog (alex-buono.com). “It was
totally insane: sword-fighting, big squib
effects, real horses onstage and elabo-
rate visual effects — all in one day.”
The project introduced “the
horse shot” into the Film Unit’s lexicon.
to chat on the phone, and he had a great (Coincidentally, McGarvey and Wright Late Thursday night, after all the
sense of humor about us satirizing their created another Chanel ad that SNL preproduction tasks had been ticked
work,” Buono recalls. “He sent me a parodied earlier that year with “Red off, Buono and Thomas paused. Buono
behind-the-scenes photo so I could see Flag,” featuring Kristen Wiig channel- says, “That’s when we sit back and say,
exactly what they did. It was a gorgeous ing Keira Knightley. Buono captured ‘Okay, we’re servicing the script, but
custom lighting rig that we couldn’t that one on an Arri Alexa.) what can we do to really elevate this
possibly replicate exactly, but we could “It’s always our ambition to outdo thing?’” Thomas suggested that Djesus
get close enough to sell the visual joke.” whatever we’ve done before and deliver (played by host Christoph Waltz)
66
should crest a hill on a white stallion. recent Film Unit projects. (The Wes Optimo 24-290mm zoom Buono is
The director recalls, “Everyone said, Anderson parody The Midnight Coterie using can’t cover the entire sensor and is
‘Forget the horse. It will kill us time- of Sinister Intruders, for instance, vignetting on the wide end, so he
wise.’ After an hour’s sulk, I came back required the full-scale re-creation of a captures in 5K instead. By night’s end,
and said, ‘I’ll figure out something in theatrical trailer.) The faux holiday- the camera has received thumbs-up
the schedule we can squeeze, but we’ve album spot called for just one big light- from both him and Thomas. “The
got to do the horse.’” By 8 the next ing setup on a single stage. The image is nice and rich,” Thomas
morning, they had their horse. “That controlled environment is exactly why comments.
became a running joke,” says Thomas. Buono chose to try the new Red Buono had both cameras rigged
“Now, if there’s something people say Dragon that night. “We don’t know with Ki Pro Minis recording ProRes
we shouldn’t do but we decide to go for exactly how the workflow will go, so I 4:4:4 “so that our editor, Adam Epstein,
anyway, we call it ‘the horse shot.’” didn’t want to try it on a logistically could start editing in ProRes immedi-
It isn’t just the scale that’s crazy shoot that would have us out on ately and we could just conform the 5K
increased. Not long ago, the show location till 7 a.m.,” he says. files at the color-grade stage,” he says.
might greenlight a film piece for every “The Epic has a lot going for it, “It was a really smooth process — no
other episode, but now it often features including 5K resolution and all these hiccups.” More critically, the workflow
three or four per show. That has led to super-high frame rates, but I always feel passed the test. Colorist Emery Wells of
the rise of a B unit (“the Beast Unit,” as I have to be a little more careful with the Katabatic Digital had spent the week
they call themselves): directors Matt shadows and highlights,” Buono testing a Red Rocket-X card (necessary
Villines and Oz Rodriguez and cine- observes. “The Dragon is supposed to to process the Dragon files), and deliv-
matographer Jason Vandermer. offer more dynamic range, and that’s ered the finished footage in time for the
“Now That’s What I Call what I’m most excited to see in this little show’s Saturday dress-rehearsal dead-
Christmas,” which Buono was filming experiment.” line.
when AC visited the set, was a walk-in- Though the Dragon is capable of — Patricia Thomson
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Cavision Re-imagines Electronic Slate The Trip Pro is available through International Supplies for
Cavision Enterprises Ltd. has introduced a series of $399, and comes with one small grid, five spare lenses, a pouch and
redesigned clapper slates, including a standard slate, a slate with a manual. A strobe and continuous version for DSLRs, called the Trip,
strobe light, a slate with stop- is also available.
watch, and a slate with both For additional information, visit www.lumosusa.com and
strobe and stopwatch. www.internationalsupplies.com.
The strobe-light feature,
which illuminates the film-title KGS Development Launches Pneumatic Bazooka
area, can be set to continuous, Key Grip Systems Development has introduced
fast-flash or slow-flash mode. This a pneumatic-bazooka camera support, which
function serves to obtain the comprises a triangular base, three pneumatic columns
attention of the crew when filming and two types of wheels.
is set to commence. The light auto- The pneumatic columns cover a range of
matically shuts off as the clapper 110cm (approximately 43") to enable quick and easy
sticks are closed. positioning of the camera. The combined wheels
The stopwatch function provides clock time in 1⁄25-second allow the bazooka to be used
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sound in post. blocking mechanism for
A sleek design and reinforced three-dimensional structure stable, locked-off shots.
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crisp text printed inside the acrylic surface. The small, lightweight Colorfront Unveils 2014 Lineup
lithium-ion battery provides three hours of “on” time and can be Colorfront has introduced its 2014 versions of On-Set Dailies,
recharged via USB or regular wall outlet. Express Dailies and Transkoder. The updates boast performance-
All versions are available with color or black-and-white clap- boosting advances for 4K and Ultra High Definition Television
per sticks, which feature a new hinge mechanism for ultra-smooth production and postproduction.
movement as well as a newly designed latch system — rather than On-Set Dailies 2014 introduces accelerated CPU and GPU
a magnet, which could cause interference with other devices — to processing of HD/2K/4K video via Nvidia’s latest Quadro K6000,
keep the sticks in the closed position. Tesla K20 and GeForce GTX Titan cards. The latest release also
Additional information and pricing can be found on Cavi- supports AJA Corvid Ultra with simultaneous HD/4K/UHDTV high-
sion’s online store, www.cavision.biz. frame-rate video output. Additionally, On-Set Dailies 2014 sports an
improved grading toolset with new primary and selective grading
Lumos Illuminates Trip Pro LED tools, masks and curves, and mapping for third-party control panels.
International Supplies, a distributor for the photo and video Playback and review tools have been significantly enhanced with
industry, has introduced the Lumos Trip Pro, a new timeline and editing features, plus extended Bin and Lookstore
portable, continuous LED light for HD camcorders functionality, which enables users to rapidly search for, organize and
and DSLRs. Built by DMLite, the Trip Pro boasts an manage media for an entire production. On-Set Dailies
adjustable color range from 3,200K to 5,600K as 2014 also features extended audio and video
well as 100-to-0-percent dimming with minimal format support, including embedded audio on
color shift. Sony F55, Arriraw, Red, QuickTime and MXF
The Trip Pro features flicker-free operation, a footage, rendering of DCPs, IMF AS-02 MXF, and
color-rendering index as high as 97 Ra at its support for the latest High Efficiency Video
tungsten setting, and a maximum Lux rating Coding H.265 video-compression formats.
of 560 at a distance of 3'. The light can be Express Dailies 2014 extends support
powered by an AC adaptor, a Canon LP-E6 across new MacPro, iMac and MacBook Pro platforms
battery, or an Anton/Bauer or V-mount and adds background rendering using the latest Nvidia
battery via a D-Tap power cable. GeForce GTX Titan and AMD FirePro graphics cards for fast 4K video

Autodesk Lustre software in an efficient,
intuitive workflow that integrates visual
effects and editorial finishing. Flame
Premium 2014 also features powerful new
3-D visual-effects creation tools, a graphics
processing unit pipeline that extends across
display, 4K deBayer and 4K deliverables. For the application for improved interactivity in
visual-effects plate pulls, Express Dailies 2014 the workflow, and enhanced real-time
also supports the export of 2K/3K/4K/5K/6K color-grading tools, helping simplify and
DPX, TIFF and EXR file formats. Express Dailies accelerate complex production tasks.
2014 also features enhanced grading capabili- “Expectations of visual-effects artists
ties with the addition of vignettes, gradients, and editors are higher than ever, and there’s
effects and filters on simple grades. Other no room for production bottlenecks that
enhanced features include a new timeline user can derail the creative process and delay
interface and editing features, LUT project delivery,” says Chris Bradshaw,
import/export, waveform and vectorscope, 2K senior vice president, Autodesk Media &
ProRes output, and live grading. Entertainment. “Flame Premium 2014 soft-
On-Set Live, which allows DITs or on-set ware’s holistic workflow and powerful new
graders to create and manage looks, preview creative capabilities allow customers to
footage and grade on live raw/SDI camera seamlessly shepherd the creative process for
signals, is included in On-Set Dailies 2014 with an entire project from start to finish.”
support for external 3-D LUT boxes and For additional information, visit
improved burn-in capabilities for time code, www.autodesk.com/flame.
watermarks, and camera and lens metadata.
Transkoder 2014, Colorfront’s stand- Digital Vision Unleashes Thor
alone, automated system for fast, high-quality Digital Vision, a supplier of color
digital file conversion, has been updated with grading, restoration and film-scanning solu-
a new, easy-to-use user interface, a multi-track tions, has introduced Thor, a dedicated
timeline, EDL conform editing tools, support hardware platform for advanced image
for subtitling, and automatic watch folder processing. Thor enables real-time process-
processing. Additionally, Transkoder 2014 ing for 4K and faster-than-real-time
features extended support for CinemaDNG, processing for HD and SD sources. Digital
R3D, Arriraw, F65/F55, Canon C500 and Phan- Vision plans to enable 8K processing this
tom camera formats, as well as deliverables year.
including DCPs, IMF AS-02 and HEVC. Thor will initially feature the award-
For additional information, visit winning DVO Clarity noise and grain
www.colorfront.com. management tool, followed by other tools
including DVO Dust 2.0, DVO Steady and
Autodesk Announces DVO Upscale. Thor will be available as part
Flame Premium 2014 of the Nucoda and Phoenix ecosystem, but
Autodesk, Inc. has announced the new will also function independently across
capabilities of its Flame Premium 2014 soft- multiple platforms, making the tools avail-
ware. The latest release of Flame Premium able to broadcasters and archives in a file-
combines the creative capabilities of Autodesk based or video environment, including live
Flame 2013 20th Anniversary Edition software, broadcast applications.
Autodesk Smoke Advanced software and “The enthusiastic feedback we have
received about Thor shows that there is a
great demand for better, faster image
processing,” says Kelvin Bolah, Digital
Telecine &
Vision’s managing director. “By incorporat- Color Grading
ing our DVO image-enhancement and
restoration tools into Thor, we have created
“Jod is a true artist with
a formidable toolset.”
a great passion for his craft.”
For additional information, visit
– John W. Simmons, ASC
www.digitalvision.se. ➣ Contact Jod @ 310-713-8388
Jod@apt-4.com
69
Dolby PRM with user calibration and
Integrates color manipulation of their
LightSpace CMS displays, and it has been
Blackmagic Enhances Light Illusion, a U.K.- extremely enjoyable seeing
UltraStudio 4K based color-management the results of this discussion
Blackmagic Design has introduced an specialist, has announced directly assist end users,”
updated model of UltraStudio 4K equipped the integration of its Light- says Steve Shaw, CEO of
with Thunderbolt 2 technology. The rack- Space CMS color-management system with Light Illusion. “The ability for color specialists
mount capture and playback device features a the Dolby Professional Reference Monitor. to self-verify calibration when needed
machined aluminum front panel with an inte- With this integration, LightSpace CMS users should appeal to users of the Dolby monitor,
grated color LCD as well as fast-to-use video can perform automated calibration of the helping ensure high levels of expected
and audio input buttons. The rear panel Dolby monitor and build custom profiles display accuracy.”
includes virtually every type of video and audio that can be loaded onto the monitor as 1-D LightSpace CMS has the ability to
connection, including 6G-SDI, HDMI 4K, and 3-D look-up tables. With custom 3-D integrate with a wide range of calibration
analog component/s-video/composite, as well LUT import capabilities, which allow for the probes, which enables users to choose their
as balanced analog and AES/EBU digital audio. direct application of calibration LUTs via own calibration workflows and level of
With the 20Gb/s speed of Thunderbolt LightSpace CMS, the system delivers a new equipment investment.
2, UltraStudio 4K boasts more bandwidth to level of flexibility for users of the Dolby PRM. For additional information, visit
work with higher-quality video and frame “In discussion with Dolby, we www.lightillusion.com and
rates. Users can capture and play back Ultra proposed how LightSpace CMS could assist www.dolby.com.
HD 4K YUV video at 60 fps and Ultra HD 4K
RGB video at 30 fps via the advanced 6G-SDI Sony Takes Storage on the Go easily switch between FAT32, HFS+ and
video connections. The Thunderbolt loop- Sony has introduced portable stor- NTFS formats, and an LED indicator lets
through allows connection of up to six devices, age solutions for professionals who need users know the status of data transfers. The
so users can connect fast disk arrays for high-speed, highly reliable data storage for drives are also stackable for easy daisy-
massive amounts of video storage with a backup and transfer of content in the field. chaining with a design that allows for
single Thunderbolt connection to their The line includes a 256GB solid-state drive increased airflow between each to reduce
computer. (PSZ-SA25) and two hard-disk models with heat build-up.
The 6G-SDI connections enable Ultra- capacities of 500GB and 1TB (PSZ-HA50 The drives come with a full three-
Studio 4K to support virtually every television and PSZ-HA1T, respectively). year limited warranty.
format; users can instantly switch between SD, Each drive For additional information, visit
HD, Ultra HD and 4K, making UltraStudio 4K features one pro.sony.com.
an ideal solution for post and broadcast users USB 3.0 and
working on design, editing, paint, color correc- two FireWire Avid Shares Storage with Isis
tion and visual-effects tasks. UltraStudio 4K is 800 interfaces, Avid has introduced the Isis 5500
also suited to 3-D workflows, as it features allowing users to transfer video at up to online shared-storage system, which
both interleaved/side-by-side and dual-stream 400MBps with the SSD model and provides critical capabilities to help small- to
capture and playback. 120MBps with the HDD models via USB mid-sized postproduction, broadcast,
UltraStudio 4K users can also take 3.0. At these speeds, users can transfer education and corporate facilities more
advantage of Blackmagic Design’s Desktop approximately 30GB of video to the SSD easily and efficiently deliver high-quality
Video 10, which has been optimized for high- drive in less than 90 seconds via USB 3.0. content by streamlining and accelerating
speed computers and the emerging Ultra HD The drives also connect to compati- editorial workflows.
television formats that require massive data ble Sony hardware such as the PMW-50 or The successor to Avid’s Isis 5000, Isis
speeds. Additionally, users of Blackmagic PMW-1000 decks. Each has a heavy silicon 5500 provides exceptional scalability, perfor-
Design DaVinci Resolve 10 will benefit from cover and protective case to withstand the mance and real-time collaboration, as well
the simultaneous capture and playback rigors of field production and reduce ship- as media access, sharing and protection.
support that lets them capture directly from ping damage. Built-in shock resistance can The 64TB engine doubles storage capacity
cameras on set and grade the live video with absorb falls of up to 7.5' for SSD and up to at the same price point as the Isis 5000 32TB
multiple nodes of color correction for live 6.5' for HDD. system, and Avid will continue to offer a
onset monitoring. The drives are compliant with the 32TB system at a 25-percent reduced rate.
The updated UltraStudio 4K replaces MIL-STD-810G standard, the IP5X dust- For additional information, visit
the previous model and is available now for resistant standard ant the IP4X splash-resis- www.avid.com. ●
$995. tant standard, so data can be used in a
For additional information, visit range of environments and conditions. Pre-
www.blackmagicdesign.com. installed formatting software allows users to

International Marketplace

CLASSIFIED AD RATES
All classifications are $4.50 per word. Words set in
bold face or all capitals are $5.00 per word. First word
of ad and advertiser’s name can be set in capitals with-
Classifieds
EQUIPMENT FOR SALE SERVICES AVAILABLE
out extra charge. No agency commission or discounts on
classified advertising.PAYMENT MUST ACCOMPANY ORDER. 4X5 85 Glass Filters, Diffusion, Polas etc. A STEADICAM ARM QUALITY SERVICE OVERHAUL
VISA, Mastercard, AmEx and Discover card are accept- AND UPDATES. QUICK TURNAROUND. ROBERT
Good Box Rental 818-763-8547
ed. Send ad to Classified Advertising, American
Cinematographer, P.O. Box 2230, Hollywood, CA LUNA (323) 938-5659.
14,000+ USED EQUIPMENT ITEMS. PRO VIDEO
90078. Or FAX (323) 876-4973. Deadline for payment
and copy must be in the office by 15th of second month
& FILM EQUIPMENT COMPANY. 50 YEARS
preceding publication. Subject matter is limited to items EXPERIENCE. New: iLLUMiFLEX LIGHTS &
and services pertaining to filmmaking and video produc- FluidFlex TRIPODS.
tion. Words used are subject to magazine style abbrevi- www.UsedEquipmentNewsletter.com AND
ation. Minimum amount per ad: $45 www.ProVideoFilm.com
CLASSIFIEDS ON-LINE EMAIL: ProVidFilm@aol.com
CALL BILL 972 869 9990, 888 869 9998.
Ads may now also be placed in the on-line Classi-
fieds at the ASC web site. World’s SUPERMARKET of USED MOTION
Internet ads are seen around the world at the PICTURE EQUIPMENT! Buy, Sell, Trade.
same great rate as in print, or for slightly more you CAMERAS, LENSES, SUPPORT, AKS & MORE!
can appear both online and in print.
Visual Products, Inc. www.visualproducts.com
For more information please visit
www.theasc.com/advertiser, or e-mail: classi- Call 440.647.4999
fieds@theasc.com.

Advertiser’s Index
AC 65, 73 Eastman Kodak C4 Panavision, Inc. 5
Adorama 11, 29 Film Gear (International), Ltd. Pille Filmgeraeteverleih
AFI 71 39 Gmbh 72
AJA Video Systems, Inc. 17 Filmotechnic USA 40 Pro8mm 72
Alan Gordon 73 Filmtools 69 Red Digital Cinema C2-1
Arri 7
Glidecam Industries C3 Sony Electronics, Inc. 22-23
Backstage Equipment, Inc. 8 Grip Factory Munich 65 Schneider Optics 2
Birns & Sawyer 72 Super16, Inc. 72
Blackmagic Design, Inc. 9 Jod Soraci 69
K5600 19 Technocrane 21
Canon USA Video 14-15 TV Logic/Preco, Inc. 66
Carl Zeiss SBE, LLC 13 Kino Flo 52
Cavision Enterprises 72 Lee Filters 41 Willy’s Widgets 72
Chapman/Leonard Studio Lights! Action! Co. 72 www.theasc.com 6, 8, 73,
Equipment Inc. 27 Lighttools 53 74
Cinebags Inc. 73
Cine Gear 63 Maccam 67
Cinematography Mac Tech LED 61
Electronics 8 Matthews Studio
Cinekinetic 72 Equipment/MSE 72
Cooke Optics 42-43 M.M. Mukhi & Sons 73
Movie Tech AG 72, 73
NAB 75
Next Shot 39
74
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American Society of Cinematographers Roster
OFFICERS – 2013-’14 ACTIVE MEMBERS Jack Couffer Rob Hahn Glen MacPherson
Richard Crudo, Thomas Ackerman Vincent G. Cox Gerald Hirschfeld Paul Maibaum
President Lance Acord Jeff Cronenweth Henner Hofmann Constantine Makris
Marshall Adams Richard Crudo Adam Holender Denis Maloney
Owen Roizman, Javier Aguirresarobe Dean R. Cundey Ernie Holzman Isidore Mankofsky
Vice President Lloyd Ahern II Stefan Czapsky John C. Hora Christopher Manley
Kees van Oostrum, Russ Alsobrook David Darby Tom Houghton Michael D. Margulies
Vice President Howard A. Anderson III Allen Daviau Gil Hubbs Barry Markowitz
Howard A. Anderson Jr. Roger Deakins Shane Hurlbut Steve Mason
Lowell Peterson, Jan DeBont Tom Hurwitz Clark Mathis
James Anderson
Vice President Peter Anderson Thomas Del Ruth Judy Irola Don McAlpine
Victor J. Kemper, Tony Askins Bruno Delbonnel Mark Irwin Don McCuaig
Treasurer Christopher Baffa Peter Deming Levie Isaacks Michael McDonough
Frederic Goodich, James Bagdonas Jim Denault Peter James Seamus McGarvey
King Baggot Caleb Deschanel Johnny E. Jensen Robert McLachlan
Secretary
John Bailey Ron Dexter Matthew Jensen Geary McLeod
Isidore Mankofsky, Florian Ballhaus Craig Di Bona Jon Joffin Greg McMurry
Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Ballhaus George Spiro Dibie Frank Johnson Steve McNutt
Andrzej Bartkowiak Ernest Dickerson Shelly Johnson Terry K. Meade
MEMBERS John Bartley Billy Dickson Jeffrey Jur Suki Medencevic
OF THE BOARD Bojan Bazelli Bill Dill Adam Kane Chris Menges
Curtis Clark Frank Beascoechea Anthony Dod Mantle Stephen M. Katz Rexford Metz
Richard Crudo Affonso Beato Stuart Dryburgh Ken Kelsch Anastas Michos
Mat Beck Bert Dunk Victor J. Kemper David Miller
Dean Cundey
Dion Beebe Lex DuPont Wayne Kennan Douglas Milsome
George Spiro Dibie John Dykstra Dan Mindel
Bill Bennett Francis Kenny
Richard Edlund Andres Berenguer Richard Edlund Glenn Kershaw Charles Minsky
Fred Elmes Carl Berger Eagle Egilsson Darius Khondji Claudio Miranda
Victor J. Kemper Gabriel Beristain Frederick Elmes Gary Kibbe George Mooradian
Francis Kenny Steven Bernstein Robert Elswit Jan Kiesser Reed Morano
Matthew Leonetti Ross Berryman Scott Farrar Jeffrey L. Kimball Donald A. Morgan
Stephen Lighthill Josh Bleibtreu Jon Fauer Adam Kimmel Donald M. Morgan
Oliver Bokelberg Don E. FauntLeRoy Alar Kivilo Kramer Morgenthau
Michael O’Shea
Michael Bonvillain Gerald Feil David Klein Peter Moss
Lowell Peterson Cort Fey Richard Kline M. David Mullen
Richard Bowen
Owen Roizman David Boyd Steven Fierberg George Koblasa Dennis Muren
Rodney Taylor Russell Boyd Mauro Fiore Fred J. Koenekamp Fred Murphy
Haskell Wexler Uta Briesewitz John C. Flinn III Lajos Koltai Hiro Narita
Jonathan Brown Anna Foerster Pete Kozachik Guillermo Navarro
ALTERNATES Don Burgess Larry Fong Neil Krepela Michael B. Negrin
Stephen H. Burum Ron Fortunato Willy Kurant Sol Negrin
Isidore Mankofsky
Bill Butler Greig Fraser Ellen M. Kuras Bill Neil
Kenneth Zunder Jonathan Freeman George La Fountaine Alex Nepomniaschy
Frank B. Byers
Steven Fierberg Bobby Byrne Tak Fujimoto Edward Lachman John Newby
Karl Walter Lindenlaub Patrick Cady Alex Funke Jacek Laskus Yuri Neyman
Sol Negrin Sharon Calahan Steve Gainer Rob Legato Sam Nicholson
Antonio Calvache Robert Gantz Denis Lenoir Crescenzo Notarile
Paul Cameron Ron Garcia John R. Leonetti David B. Nowell
Russell P. Carpenter David Geddes Matthew Leonetti Rene Ohashi
James L. Carter Dejan Georgevich Andrew Lesnie Daryn Okada
Alan Caso Michael Goi Peter Levy Thomas Olgeirsson
Vanja Černjul Stephen Goldblatt Matthew Libatique Woody Omens
Michael Chapman Paul Goldsmith Charlie Lieberman Miroslav Ondricek
Rodney Charters Frederic Goodich Stephen Lighthill Michael D. O’Shea
Enrique Chediak Victor Goss Karl Walter Lindenlaub Vince Pace
Christopher Chomyn Jack Green John Lindley Anthony Palmieri
James A. Chressanthis Adam Greenberg Robert F. Liu Phedon Papamichael
T.C. Christensen Robbie Greenberg Walt Lloyd Daniel Pearl
Joan Churchill Xavier Grobet Bruce Logan Edward J. Pei
Curtis Clark Alexander Gruszynski Gordon Lonsdale James Pergola
Peter L. Collister Changwei Gu Emmanuel Lubezki Dave Perkal
Jack Cooperman Rick Gunter Julio G. Macat Lowell Peterson

M A R C H 2 0 1 4
Wally Pfister Tom Stern Bob Bianco John Johnston Phil Radin
Sean MacLeod Phillips Robert M. Stevens Steven A. Blakely Mike Kanfer David Reisner
Bill Pope David Stockton Jill Bogdanowicz Marker Karahadian Christopher Reyna
Steven Poster Rogier Stoffers Mitchell Bogdanowicz Frank Kay Colin Ritchie
Tom Priestley Jr. Vittorio Storaro Jens Bogehegn Debbie Kennard Eric G. Rodli
Rodrigo Prieto Harry Stradling Jr. Michael Bravin Glenn Kennel Domenic Rom
Robert Primes David Stump Simon Broad Milton Keslow Andy Romanoff
Frank Prinzi Tim Suhrstedt William Brodersen Robert Keslow Frederic Rose
Cynthia Pusheck Peter Suschitzky Garrett Brown Lori Killam Daniel Rosen
Richard Quinlan Attila Szalay Ronald D. Burdett Douglas Kirkland Dana Ross
Declan Quinn Jonathan Taylor Reid Burns Mark Kirkland Bill Russell
Earl Rath Rodney Taylor Vincent Carabello Timothy J. Knapp Kish Sadhvani
Richard Rawlings Jr. William Taylor Jim Carter Franz Kraus David Samuelson
Frank Raymond Don Thorin Sr. Leonard Chapman Karl Kresser Steve Schklair
Tami Reiker Romeo Tirone Mark Chiolis Chet Kucinski Peter K. Schnitzler
Robert Richardson John Toll Denny Clairmont Jarred Land Walter Schonfeld
Anthony B. Richmond Mario Tosi Adam Clark Chuck Lee Wayne Schulman
Tom Richmond Salvatore Totino Cary Clayton Doug Leighton Alexander Schwarz
Bill Roe Luciano Tovoli Dave Cole Lou Levinson Juergen Schwinzer
Owen Roizman Jost Vacano Michael Condon Suzanne Lezotte Steven Scott
Pete Romano Stijn van der Veken Grover Crisp Grant Loucks Alec Shapiro
Charles Rosher Jr. Theo van de Sande Peter Crithary Howard Lukk Don Shapiro
Giuseppe Rotunno Eric van Haren Noman Daniel Curry Andy Maltz Milton R. Shefter
Philippe Rousselot Kees van Oostrum Marc Dando Steven E. Manios Jr. Leon Silverman
Juan Ruiz-Anchia Checco Varese Ross Danielson Steven E. Manios Sr. Garrett Smith
Marvin Rush Ron Vargas Carlos D. DeMattos Chris Mankofsky Timothy E. Smith
Paul Ryan Mark Vargo Gary Demos Frank Marsico Kimberly Snyder
Eric Saarinen Amelia Vincent Mato Der Avanessian Peter Martin Stefan Sonnenfeld
Alik Sakharov William Wages Kevin Dillon Robert Mastronardi John L. Sprung
Mikael Salomon Roy H. Wagner David Dodson Joe Matza Joseph N. Tawil
Paul Sarossy Mandy Walker Judith Doherty Albert Mayer Jr. Ira Tiffen
Roberto Schaefer Michael Watkins Peter Doyle Bill McDonald Steve Tiffen
Tobias Schliessler Michael Weaver Cyril Drabinsky Karen McHugh Arthur Tostado
Aaron Schneider William “Billy” Webb Jesse Dylan Andy McIntyre Jeffrey Treanor
Nancy Schreiber Jonathan West Jonathan Erland Stan Miller Bill Turner
Fred Schuler Haskell Wexler Ray Feeney Walter H. Mills Stephan Ukas-Bradley
John Schwartzman Jack Whitman William Feightner George Milton Mark Van Horne
John Seale Gordon Willis Phil Feiner Mike Mimaki Richard Vetter
Christian Sebaldt Dariusz Wolski Jimmy Fisher Michael Morelli Dedo Weigert
Dean Semler Ralph Woolsey Scott Fleischer Dash Morrison Steve Weiss
Ben Seresin Peter Wunstorf Thomas Fletcher Nolan Murdock Evans Wetmore
Eduardo Serra Robert Yeoman Claude Gagnon Dan Muscarella Franz Wieser
Steven Shaw Richard Yuricich Salvatore Giarratano Iain A. Neil Beverly Wood
Lawrence Sher Jerzy Zielinski Richard B. Glickman Otto Nemenz Jan Yarbrough
Richard Shore Vilmos Zsigmond John A. Gresch Ernst Nettmann Hoyt Yeatman
Newton Thomas Sigel Kenneth Zunder Jim Hannafin Tony Ngai Irwin M. Young
Steven V. Silver Bill Hansard Jr. Mickel Niehenke Michael Zacharia
John Simmons ASSOCIATE MEMBERS Lisa Harp Jeff Okun Bob Zahn
Sandi Sissel Pete Abel Richard Hart Marty Oppenheimer Nazir Zaidi
Santosh Sivan Rich Abel Robert Harvey Walt Ordway Michael Zakula
Bradley B. Six Alan Albert Michael Hatzer Ahmad Ouri Les Zellan
Michael Slovis Richard Aschman Josh Haynie Michael Parker
Dennis L. Smith Kay Baker Charles Herzfeld Dhanendra Patel HONORARY MEMBERS
Roland “Ozzie” Smith Joseph J. Ball Larry Hezzelwood Elliot Peck Col. Edwin E. Aldrin Jr.
Reed Smoot Amnon Band Frieder Hochheim Kristin Petrovich Col. Michael Collins
Bing Sokolsky Carly M. Barber Bob Hoffman Ed Phillips Bob Fisher
Peter Sova Craig Barron Vinny Hogan Nick Phillips David MacDonald
Dante Spinotti Thomas M. Barron Cliff Hsui Joshua Pines Cpt. Bruce McCandless II
Buddy Squires Larry Barton Robert C. Hummel Carl Porcello Larry Parker
Terry Stacey Wolfgang Baumler Roy Isaia Sherri Potter D. Brian Spruill
Eric Steelberg Bob Beitcher Jim Jannard Howard Preston Marek Zydowicz
Ueli Steiger Mark Bender George Joblove Sarah Priestnall
Peter Stein Bruce Berke Joel Johnson David Pringle

Clubhouse News
Society Welcomes Fraser, Cross and Salmon for Corleone, and the
Squires, Van der Veken dramas Katarakt, Emperor of Taste and
New active member Greig Fraser, Wolven. His credits include the features
ASC, ACS was born in Melbourne, Tied Together, Zot van A. and Wolf (2010),
Australia. He began his career as a stills and the short films Death of a Shadow
photographer before moving into cine- and Murk Light.
matography for Exit Films, whose projects
included national and international Bogehegn, Weiss, Killam
commercial campaigns, music videos, and Named Associates
long-form works such as the documentary New associate member Jens
P.I.N.S. Upon transitioning into the freelance Bogehegn is a founding member of
world in 2002, Fraser shot a variety of Zacuto, U.S.A. He holds degrees from
projects, including the short films Fuel, Drake University and Columbia College.
Lucky, Marco Solo, Love This Time and He met future business partner Steve
Stranded. His feature credits include Bright Weiss in 1986 while working as a director
Star (AC Oct. ’09), Let Me In (AC Oct. ’10), of photography and camera operator. In
Snow White and the Huntsman (AC June 2000, they formed Zacuto, which began
’12), Killing Them Softly (AC Oct. ’12) and as a production house before evolving into
Zero Dark Thirty (AC Feb. ’13). a rental facility and then a manufacturer of
Buddy Squires, ASC was born and custom camera-support accessories. With
raised in Cleveland, Ohio. His first foray into Zacuto, Bogehegn has helped design and
motion pictures came during high school, manufacture more than 340 camera
when he shot a visual essay about urban accessories.
pollution, complete with aerial shots over Steve Weiss has served as a
Squires photo by John Romeo. Lachman photo by Benjamin B. Woolsey photos by Alex Lopez.
industrial mills along the Cuyahoga River. photographer, director and producer for
While studying photography and documen- more than 30 years. Before founding
Photo of Clubhouse by Isidore Mankofsky, ASC; lighting by Donald M. Morgan, ASC.

tary at Hampshire College in Amherst, Zacuto with Jens Bogehegn, he and Boge-
Mass., Squires met and began collaborating hegn collaborated on more than 600
with Ken Burns, and after graduation, the corporate, commercial, political and fash-
pair formed Florentine Films. ion productions. Since 2000, Weiss has
Squires won an Emmy for his work focused on fine-art photography, Web-
on the cinematography team of America’s series producing and directing, and prod-
Endangered Species: Don’t Say Good-bye uct design. Through Zacuto Films, which
(1998), and he has earned another 10 he and Bogehegn launched in 2008,
Emmy nominations for his documentary Weiss has directed and produced such
work. He received an Academy Award Web series as The Great Camera
nomination for The Statue of Liberty (1986). Shootout, FilmFellas, BTS, Critics and Light
He has also been honored with the IDA and Shadows.
Outstanding Documentary Cinematogra- Lori Killam serves as marketing
phy Award (2007), as well as the Crystal executive at Panavision Woodland Hills.
Heart Award. His recent credits include She began her career with Panavision in
Salinger, The Central Park Five and Ethel. 1994, working in the camera-rental
A native of Belgium, Stijn Van der department as the customer-service super-
Veken, ASC, SBC studied film at the Insti- visor. From 1996-2000, she was an execu-
Top to bottom: Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS; tut des Arts de Diffusion. He began his tive assistant to ASC associate Robert
Buddy Squires, ASC; Stijn Van der Veken, ASC, SBC; career as a camera assistant and eventually Harvey. Killam was named marketing
Ed Lachman, ASC (left) and director Gaspar Noé at the began shooting Belgian television series, executive in 2001.
Galerie Cinéma in Paris.
including the documentaries Shadow of the

1. 2.
Lachman’s Photos Displayed

in Paris
The Galerie Cinéma in Paris
recently hosted Ed Lachman:
Photos/Montage, a show that presented a
collection of Ed Lachman, ASC’s still
photos and collages, as well as frames
from a number of the features he’s
photographed over the course of his
career. Highlights of the collection
included Polaroid photos Lachman took 3. 4.
during the production of I’m Not There
(AC Nov. ’07), as well as a frame from the
last shot actor River Phoenix completed
on the film Dark Blood. Lachman was on
hand in Paris for the show’s opening.
Woolsey Celebrates Centennial

Ralph Woolsey, ASC recently
celebrated his 100th birthday with a party
at the Clubhouse. Woolsey was joined by
family, friends and fellow members, many
5.
of whom stepped to the microphone to
6.
share recollections from Woolsey’s
1. Ralph Woolsey, ASC’s 100th birthday was celebrated
decades-spanning, storied career, during at the Clubhouse; 2. revelers turn their attention to
which he earned Emmy nominations for the man of the hour; 3. Robert Primes, ASC signs the
his work on the series Maverick, 77 guest book; 4. Woolsey admires his cake; 5. Richard
Crudo, ASC congratulates Woolsey; 6. ASC members
Sunset Strip and It Takes a Thief (he won Owen Roizman (second from left) and Bill Roe enjoy
for the latter). Woolsey’s credits also the party with their wives, Mona and Kathy;
include episodes of the series Lawman 7. 7. Woolsey thanks the attendees.
and Batman, as well as the features The
New Centurions, The Iceman Cometh, Errata
Mother, Jugs and Speed and The Great A caption on page 52 in last
Santini. ● month’s profile of Dean Cundey, ASC
(“Cool, Calm, Creative”), incorrectly
identified a subject as Cundey’s wife,
Tisha. Dean and Tisha are pictured at
right.
In the same issue, the photos
from the ASC Master Class (“Learning
from the Masters”) were all taken by Alex
Lopez, whose credit was omitted.

Close-up Rexford Metz, ASC
When you were a child, what film made the strongest impres- What has been your most satisfying moment on a project?
sion on you? Seeing an entire audience jump out of its chairs during Jaws when
Joan of Arc (1948). I was 11, and I watched Ingrid Bergman in a Long the dead man’s head appeared in the hole in the side of the fisher-
Beach theater twice a weekend for a month. I also loved the Buck man’s boat. I was the underwater cinematographer, and we shot
Rogers serials. that in [editor] Verna Fields’ swimming pool after the answer print
was finished!
Which cinematographers, past or present, do you most
admire? Have you made any memorable blun-
The work of Robert Surtees [ASC] was the ders?
real deal, realism on the screen, much like I made arrangements to do a short film
the work of Haskell Wexler [ASC]. Also, with Marlon Brando on his Tahitian island
who could forget Billy Fraker [ASC], Ph.D.? during his son’s 12th birthday party. The
location was a rundown dental clinic
What sparked your interest in photog- given to Marlon and his wife. The idea
raphy? was to film Marlon as he walked around
I always seemed to have a camera in my and explained the history of the flowers
hand. I had nine aunts and uncles and 25 growing there, the clinic and his family
cousins in Los Angeles, and I was desig- village. The Kodachrome I loaded in the
nated the family photographer. camera was the wrong speed. Enough
said.
Where did you train and/or study?
I studied fine-art photography at Los Ange- What is the best professional advice
les City College, and then I studied cinema you’ve ever received?
at USC and did a final year in UCLA’s ‘Never say no!’
theater-arts program.
What recent books, films or artworks have inspired you?
Who were your early teachers or mentors? Storaro’s Scrivere con la Luce (Writing with Light) trilogy and Zoom
Ralph Woolsey [ASC] was my main cinematography teacher at USC, magazine, the finest in fine-arts photography.
and Robert Surtees kept me on the straight path as my mentor. He
mentored me while he was training his son, Bruce. Do you have any favorite genres, or genres you would like to
try?
What are some of your key artistic influences? Anything black-and-white. I love to experiment with digital cameras
Raphael’s natural-light paintings, Edward Weston’s black-and-white like the Red Epic-M Monochrome.
prints, and the work of Charis Wilson, Weston’s wife, muse and
printer. If you weren’t a cinematographer, what might you be doing
instead?
How did you get your first break in the business? I would be a practicing artist and teaching fine-art black-and-white
In my first year after college, I shot a documentary short about Craig photography.
Breedlove’s land-speed record, The Spirit of America, which was
nominated for an Academy Award. I met Nelson Tyler and other Which ASC cinematographers recommended you for
great pilots like Dave Jones, James Gavin and John Sarviss. I was membership?
typed as ‘a jock cinematographer’ and was picked to shoot second Vilmos Zsigmond and Owen Roizman.
unit for Micky Moore, the greatest second-unit director; we made 30
Photo by Jennifer Braddock.
action films together over 35 years. John Sarviss and I are still shoot- How has ASC membership impacted your life and career?
ing aerials after 28 years as a team, most recently for Jack Green It has allowed me to associate with the world’s best cinematogra-
[ASC] on Left Behind. phers. I’m proud to be a member of the good ol’ boys, as Conrad
Hall [ASC] used to say. Cinematographers are a brotherhood. ●

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MARCH 2014

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