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On Our Cover: Iconic performer James Brown (Chadwick Boseman) belts out a song
in Get on Up, shot by Stephen Goldblatt, ASC, BSC. (Photo by D. Stevens, courtesy
of Universal Studios.)
FEATURES
28
42
54
66
42
Bad Blood
Four cinematographers, including ASC members Checco
Varese and Gabriel Beristain, lend chills to the vampire series
54
The Strain
DEPARTMENTS
10
12
14
20
76
80
81
82
84
86
88
Editors Note
Presidents Desk
Short Takes: Giants
Production Slate: And Uneasy Lies the Mind
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
In Memoriam: Gordon Willis, ASC
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Kramer Morgenthau
VISIT WWW.THEASC.COM
66
www.theasc.com
A u g u s t
2 0 1 4
V o l .
9 5 ,
N o .
EDITORIAL
MANAGING EDITOR Jon D. Witmer
TECHNICAL EDITOR Christopher Probst
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Benjamin B, Douglas Bankston, John Calhoun, Mark Dillon, Michael Goldman, Simon Gray,
David Heuring, Jay Holben, Jean Oppenheimer, Iain Stasukevich, Patricia Thomson
ONLINE
MANAGING DIRECTOR Rachael K. Bosley
VIDEO EDITOR Kinga Dobos
PODCAST EDITORS Jim Hemphill, Iain Stasukevich, Chase Yeremian
WEB DEVELOPER Jon Stout
BLOGS
Benjamin B
John Bailey, ASC
David Heuring
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 323-952-2140 e-mail: sanja@ascmag.com
CLASSIFIEDS/ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Diella Peru
323-952-2124 Fax 323-952-2140 e-mail: diella@ascmag.com
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. 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.
OFFICERS - 2014/2015
Richard Crudo
President
Owen Roizman
Vice President
Lowell Peterson
Vice President
Matthew Leonetti
Treasurer
Frederic Goodich
Secretary
Isidore Mankofsky
Sergeant At Arms
MEMBERS OF THE
BOARD
John Bailey
Bill Bennett
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Richard Edlund
Michael Goi
Matthew Leonetti
Stephen Lighthill
Daryn Okada
Michael O Shea
Lowell Peterson
Rodney Taylor
Kees van Oostrum
Haskell Wexler
ALTERNATES
Isidore Mankofsky
Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Robert Primes
Steven Fierberg
Kenneth Zunder
MUSEUM CURATOR
Steve Gainer
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This months issue spotlights a pair of movie musicals whose makers put some new spin on a familiar genre.
Get on Up, shot by Stephen Goldblatt, ASC,
BSC, offers a non-linear look at the turbulent
personal history of dynamic performer James
Brown. Recounting the shoot for Jean Oppenheimer (Funk Soul Brother, page 28), the cinematographer notes that the movies approach is
more a kaleidoscope of the life of James Brown
than an A-to-B biopic. The storyline jumps backand-forth in time, covering some 60 years, and the
photography reflects the changing periods.
The production was the first digital feature for
Goldblatt, whose imaging arsenal included the Arri
Alexa, Canons C500 and an Ikegami EC-35. The
latter camera was used to lend a vintage look to a
sequence depicting Browns 1971 concert at Olympia Hall in Paris; for this performance set
piece and others, the crew sought to replicate the look of period concert lighting. We could
have done all sorts of rock-and-roll effects, acknowledges Goldblatt, but we didnt because
they didnt exist back then.
On Jersey Boys, director Clint Eastwood also transitioned to the digital realm with the
help of Tom Stern, ASC, AFC. The pair detailed their approach for AC contributor and Eastwood biographer Michael Goldman (Capturing All 4 Seasons, page 42). Our goal was to
go down the list of everything that could screw us up, and make sure it didnt, says Stern.
After all, no one wants to walk up to the Man with No Name and explain things like latency,
bandwidth and gigaflops! The cinematographer reports that Eastwood, who has always
favored a fast pace on set, was exceptionally pleased with one aspect of the new workflow:
Instead of flipping mags every eight minutes, wed flip mags every 26 minutes, which for
Clint is like Christmas seven days a week!
Santa is probably still making his list, but the indie feature Happy Christmas is already
here for those of you who need an advance dose of holiday mishegas. Cinematographer Ben
Richardson bucked the digital trend on his collaboration with pioneering mumblecore director Joe Swanberg, shooting the movie, which premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film
Festival, on Super 16mm. Super 16mm was my first love, and we didnt know how much
longer we would have the option to shoot movies on film, Richardson tells Noah Kadner
(Shaking a Familys Foundation, page 66). When film represents a substantial portion of a
tight budget, each take is precious. We got some magic moments because of that focus.
Four cinematographers Checco Varese, ASC; Miroslaw Baszak; Gabriel Beristain,
ASC, BSC; and Colin Hoult signed onto the FX Network series The Strain to help executive
producer Guillermo Del Toro realize his ambitious vision of a vampire plague in New York City.
My hope is that if youre scanning your TV and you see this show, youll say, Oh my God
what is this? Varese tells ACs Canadian correspondent, Mark Dillon (Bad Blood, page 54).
This is a world thats about to end. The vampires are taking over, so nothing is pretty; everything is a bit gritty, sordid and disturbing.
10
Stephen Pizzello
Editor-in-Chief and Publisher
Editors Note
Though many of you might think it more a guilty pleasure than something to shout
about in a public forum, I have no hesitation in revealing that Planet of the Apes (the 1968
original, of course) is one of my all-time favorite movies. And why should I feel strange
about that? Its a fantastic science-fiction story adapted from an outstanding book and
molded into a hell of a ride by a director, cast and crew who were functioning at the top
of their game. Theres a multi-faceted hero, adventure, plenty of action, sex (well, at least
the intimation of it, between chiseled star Charlton Heston and his curvaceous human
companion, Linda Harrison) and a serious underlying theme. You also cant forget the apes
themselves the makeup actually works and the alien world in which were immediately immersed. Then theres the shock ending, whose effect was so strong that contemporary films, both cheesy and grand, continue to ape it 46 years later.
Director Franklin J. Schaffner had already enjoyed a long and successful career by the
time he signed on to shoot this simian saga. He started out in television during the late
1940s and went on to direct nine more movies after Apes, among them two that I often
find worming their way into my all-time Top 20: Patton (1970) and Papillon (1973). ASC
Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Fred Koenekamp was Schaffners most frequent
feature-film cinematographer, but for Planet of the Apes he chose to work with the
legendary Leon Shamroy, ASC.
These days, people tend to toss that word legendary around with blind abandon, but in Shamroys case the adjective is truly deserved. A past president of the ASC, he was born in 1901 and became a cinematographer in 1926 after working on the laboratory side for a number of years. Over the course of a career that included such
memorable films as Twelve OClock High (1949), The Robe (1953) and South Pacific (1958), he earned a record 18 Academy Award
nominations, with four wins.
Shamroy was also an early adopter of the 2.40:1 CinemaScope format, which he used to extraordinary effect on Planet of
the Apes. Check out the films 32-minute opening sequence, shot mostly in and around Utahs Lake Powell and Arizonas Glen
Canyon National Recreation Area. This section of the movie is a veritable clinic on how to execute epic-scale widescreen shots.
Certainly it ranks alongside the work of Freddie Young, BSC (who conducted his own widescreen tutorials with Lawrence of Arabia
and other classics) or the broad canvasses created by the cinematographers who partnered with Stanley Kubrick. That Shamroy
achieved his look without the help of todays digital tools makes it all the more impressive. In an almost completely day-exterior situation, theres barely a mismatched shot to be found, and we all know how difficult it can be to maintain that kind of consistency.
The rest of the movie offers a near-perfect blend of location and back-lot situations, interspersed with set work whose lighting and
compositions represent some of the last (and best) examples of a style that was going out of vogue. Combined with the movies
succinct, elegant pacing and a music and sound-effects track whose sophistication rivals anything youll hear today, Shamroys work
is elevated to something more impressive than youll find in most high-end dramas, let alone the science-fiction genre.
Its interesting to note that the hand-crafted qualities of Planet of the Apes were completely swept aside with the release of
Star Wars a mere nine years later, but both of these classics share those strands of DNA that make certain movies memorable. I intuitively recognized the creative significance of Apes when I first saw it at age 11, and apparently those feelings have stuck with me,
because Im still looning about it all these years later.
Even if the thought of watching Chuck Heston running around in a loincloth is not your cup of tea, I urge you to acquire a
copy of Planet of the Apes (the Blu-ray is amazing) and give it a chance. As a reader of this magazine, you owe that much to the
memory of Leon Shamroy.
Anyway, its summertime. Go ahead treat yourself!
Richard P. Crudo
ASC President
12
August 2014
American Cinematographer
Presidents Desk
Short Takes
August 2014
American Cinematographer
Cinematographer
Michael Pescasio
and director
Mark Pellington
turned a Vision
Research
Phantom Flex
camera test into
a multi-format
music video for
Bear Hands
single Giants.
INTRODUCING...
TM
www.cineverse.net
LOS ANGELES CHICAGO NEW ORLEANS MIAMI
Top: The filmmakers shot each scene with multiple cameras, including a Red Epic MX (left) and a
Sony Digital8 Handicam (right). Middle: 35mm film was also utilized for portraits of the band.
Bottom: Pescasio (at camera) lines up a shot with the band members.
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August 2014
American Cinematographer
Pescasio (left) and Pellington (middle) each operate a camera on location in downtown Los Angeles.
two open-face Arri 2Ks through some diffusion, powering [the lights] with a 6,500watt generator. If there is a flickering edge
light in there, its from 1K Par cans. The overall flicker, however, is from the sodium
vapors.
In fact, the potential for flicker from
the industrial lighting and lower-wattage
sources in downtown L.A. gave Pellington
the idea to add strobing throughout the
video, so three Martin Atomic 3000 DMX
strobe lights were rented for the shoot.
These 3,000-watt, 5,600K Xenon units
were wired to 20-amp DMX circuits and fed
to a small DMX controller operated by
gaffer Lou Ramos.
Lous a straightforward kind of guy,
and hes been around forever, says Pescasio. They call him Studio Lou because he
came up through the studio system. He was
beside himself, saying hed never worked
on anything like this before!
Shooting with the high-speed Phantom did require Pellington to adjust his
methodology and actually plan shots. At
first, Mark was thinking he could just grab
the camera and get some high-speed
stuff, says Pescasio. I had to explain that
he needed to tell the performers what to do
18
August 2014
did.
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Production Slate
August 2014
Private Ryan [AC Aug. 98], in which he used in-camera tricks and
other technological means to essentially break down the 35mm
image. The disorienting images that resulted had an inherent beauty
in the way they captured the feel of battle. I was also influenced by
the camerawork of Harmony Korines Gummo, Thomas Vinterbergs
The Celebration, Richard Linklaters Tape and Roman Polanskis
Repulsion Ive always been a big fan of the bold images in those
films.
My research led me to a community of filmmakers who were
shooting on iPhone cameras with 35mm lens adapters. Inspired by
their work, I purchased an iPhone 5 and a Turtleback SLR Jacket lens
adapter, then went to Division Camera in Hollywood to conduct
comparison tests against the Red Epic MX and Canon 5D Mark III.
The results blew my mind: The iPhone footage was raw, dirty,
vignetted and unlike anything Id seen before. I immediately fell in
love with the look, and I decided to fully embrace these unconventional limitations as powerful storytelling tools.
The Turtleback adapter incorporates a focusing glass with a
patterned texture, almost like a fingerprint. Hair, dirt and oil from my
hands would always get stuck on the glass, adding further texture
and imperfections that I completely welcomed. In fact, I elected not
to clean or replace any of the dirty parts, and at times I even added
dust or dirt.
Another interesting result of the focusing screen is a vignette
around the entire image. You can control this vignette by adjusting
the iris; the more you close down, the heavier the vignette gets.
Even at a mid-range f-stop of 5.6, the edges become extremely dark
and full of aberrations, and begin to deteriorate in beautiful and
American Cinematographer
Peter (Jonas
Fisch) endures a
mental collapse
in the feature
And Uneasy Lies
the Mind, which
director/
cinematographer
Ricky Fosheim
shot entirely on
an iPhone 5.
THE FINEST
ANAMORPHIC
GLASS
Fosheim (in white shirt) lines up a shot with Fisch and Michelle Nunes while employing a
lightweight dolly rig and a Turtleback SLR Jacket lens adapter.
August 2014
24
August 2014
American Cinematographer
TECHNICAL SPECS
1.78:1
Digital Capture
iPhone 5
Nikon Nikkor AI-S
The Turtleback adapter created a vignette that Fosheim could control by adjusting the iris
and changing focal lengths.
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August 2014
American Cinematographer
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August 2014
American Cinematographer
Unit photography by D. Stevens, courtesy of Universal Studios. Additional photos by James Shelton, courtesy of Stephen Goldblatt.
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30
August 2014
American Cinematographer
August 2014
31
Brown begins
working with
manager Ben Bart
(Dan Aykroyd,
top left), who
pushes the
singers
reputation as a
tireless live
performer.
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August 2014
American Cinematographer
The production
re-created
Browns 1971
Paris concert
inside the
municipal
auditorium in
Jackson, Miss.
www.theasc.com
August 2014
33
Browns 1962 Apollo Theater concert was staged inside a school auditorium. The exterior was partly
constructed along a row of abandoned stores in downtown Jackson (middle) and then completed with
visual effects (bottom).
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August 2014
American Cinematographer
The crew prepares to shoot a last man standing boxing match at the North Augusta Country Club.
August 2014
Goldblatt
expanded his
camera package
for the concert
sequences in
order to capture
the action from
an array of
vantage points.
38
August 2014
American Cinematographer
40
TECHNICAL SPECS
1.85:1
Digital Capture
Arri Alexa;
Canon Cinema EOS C500,
EOS 1100D;
Ikegami EC-35
Angenieux Optimo;
Panavision Primo;
Canon Cinema, EF
41
Capturing
All 4 Seasons
August 2014
American Cinematographer
Unit photography by Keith Bernstein. Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures and RatPac Entertainment. Lighting diagram courtesy of Ross Dunkerley.
Jersey Boys charts the trials and tribulations of singing sensations The Four
Seasons, from their early days in 1950s
New Jersey to their 1990 induction in
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
However, instead of replicating a stage
play with spontaneous eruptions of
song and dance, the film weaves the
title characters musical performances
which were performed live during
principal photography into an otherwise dramatic biography that follows
the Broadway shows narrative more
than its form.
According to his collaborators,
Eastwoods transition to an all-digital
workflow at the age of 84, on his
33rd directorial outing in 43 years
was seamless. The switch from film to
digital was prompted by the increasing
scarcity of film labs and the discontinuation of the directors preferred Fuji film
stocks. During prep on Jersey Boys,
Eastwood asked Stern which digital
system would allow them to continue
working with their particular methodology while capturing filmic imagery
with rich, deep blacks. Having tested
digital cameras at Eastwoods behest for
years, and having used digital systems
with other directors in Europe, Stern
was well prepared for the question; he
proposed shooting Jersey Boys with an
Arri Alexa XT camera, using the 4:3
sensor to shoot in the anamorphic
2.40:1 aspect ratio while recording in
ArriRaw to onboard 512GB Codex XR
modules.
Speaking with AC during
production of American Sniper,
Eastwoods next film and second to be
shot digitally, Stern says he opted for
the Alexa after determining that the
technology was sufficiently robust for
the demanding environment we work
in. We shoot fast, and if the tools arent
robust, we wont make our schedule. It
was pretty straightforward; our goal was
to go down the list of everything that
could screw us up, and make sure it
didnt. After all, no one wants to walk
up to the Man with No Name and
explain things like latency, bandwidth
and gigaflops! He knows a lot more
43
The filmmakers embraced a period-accurate lighting style as they re-created The Four Seasons
onstage and in-studio performances.
44
August 2014
American Cinematographer
Eastwood (below)
takes a seat next
to Lomenda for a
bar-interior scene.
The director
prefers to be
beside
his actors while
filming, and he
keeps tabs on the
framing with a
portable monitor.
Malpaso production companys editorial offices, which are also located on the
Warner Bros. lot.
Although Eastwood has never
been interested in video playback, or in
using a monitor to judge color, light or
focus, he has used a standard-definition
handheld monitor since Mystic River
(AC Dec. 03) to keep an eye on framing
and performances. With Jersey Boys, the
crew decided to try to send a high-definition signal to a handheld HD monitor for the director. Clint believes the
place of the director is right beside the
actors, and the 7-inch monitor is in his
hands simply to show him the framing,
explains Liz Radley, Eastwoods video
and computer-graphics supervisor.
Every HD system has its advantages and drawbacks, but we were not
able to find one that had close to zero
latency, with good and predictable
range, that was also very lightweight
and had ultra-quick recovery from
interruption of signal, Radley continues. An ideal portable system for Clint
wouldnt be affected when both the
transmitter on the camera and the
receiver on Clints monitor are moving,
45
August 2014
Top: A camera is
rigged to the
front of a car for
a robbery scene.
Middle and
bottom:
Projections were
used for a driving
sequence filmed
on a soundstage.
www.theasc.com
August 2014
47
August 2014
www.theasc.com
August 2014
49
The full cast comes together on a New York City street set to sing December, 1963
(Oh, What a Night) for the films grand finale.
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August 2014
American Cinematographer
Valli leaves his home and family for another show on the road.
52
TECHNICAL SPECS
2.40:1
Digital Anamorphic
Arri Alexa XT
Panavision C Series
53
Bad Blood
B
August 2014
American Cinematographer
Unit photography by Michael Gibson, courtesy of FX Networks. Visual-effects sequences courtesy of Mr. X Inc. Lighting diagram courtesy of Checco Varese, ASC.
BSC; and Colin Hoult joined executive producer Del Toro to help infuse the
first seasons 13 episodes with eerie,
cinematic flair. My hope is that if youre
scanning your TV and you see this show,
youll say, Oh my God what is this?
says Varese, who, sitting alongside chief
lighting technician Scotti Phillips, spoke
with AC in a Toronto restaurant the day
after wrapping principal photography.
Its very dark and different from what
you see every day.
Varese was initially set to alternate
episodes with Toronto-based cinematographer Baszak, but after he
finished work on the pilot, Varese was
called away to shoot the feature The 33
for a director he couldnt refuse: his wife,
Patricia Riggen. Baszak then logged five
episodes, and Beristain handled four.
Hoult, who frequently tackled 2nd-unit
cinematography duties when an
episodes 1st-unit director of photography was unable to shoot that material
himself, also photographed one episode
before Varese returned to Toronto to
shoot episodes 11 and 13.
Varese whose credits also
include pilots for the series The Unit,
Life, True Blood, Melrose Place (2009)
and Reign notes that he got the job in
part because Del Toro liked his work in
the American crime drama Night at the
Golden Eagle and the Argentine thriller
The Aura. Hailing from Lima, Peru, the
cinematographer launched his career in
the early 80s as a camera assistant on
National Geographic documentaries
before working as a CNN cameraman
and war correspondent for various
broadcasters in some of the worlds
deadliest locales. After transitioning into
Steadicam operating, his collaborators
included Del Toros frequent cinematographer Guillermo Navarro, ASC.
Varese provided additional photography
for Navarro and Del Toro on Pacific Rim
(AC Aug. 13), which also shot in
Toronto, and he jumped at the chance to
work on The Strain with Del Toro and
showrunner Carlton Cuse.
Varese began prepping the pilot in
mid-August 2013. Principal photography for the first episode began in late
Opposite: Dr.
Nora Martinez
(Ma Maestro,
left) combats a
parasitic form of
vampirism in
The Strain. This
page, from top:
Cinematographers
Checco Varese,
ASC (left, with
gaffer Scotti
Phillips); Gabriel
Beristain, ASC,
BSC (second from
left); Miroslaw
Baszak (right);
and Colin Hoult
(far left).
www.theasc.com
August 2014
55
Bad Blood
August 2014
Left: The pilot episodes airport tarmac set was staged at the Toronto Pearson International Airport.
Right: One of the LRX Mobile Robotic Lighting Systems used on the tarmac. Opposite: This lighting
diagram illustrates how Varese and Phillips approached the airport set.
www.theasc.com
August 2014
57
Bad Blood
This visual-effects sequence charts the creation of the Boeing 767s descent into New York, from
the photographed plate (top) to the finished frame (bottom).
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August 2014
American Cinematographer
Top left: Pilot director and series executive producer Guillermo Del Toro steps in front
of the camera to assist with an autopsy. Right, top to bottom: Through visual effects,
the victims heart is permeated with parasitic worms as another doctor examines it.
www.theasc.com
August 2014
59
Bad Blood
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August 2014
American Cinematographer
Bad Blood
Top: Actor Robert Maillet donned a dark hood and cloak to portray The Master on set.
Middle and Bottom: Mr. X added visual effects to show the vampire draining a victims
blood with a 5'-long stinger tongue.
62
August 2014
American Cinematographer
Dahl.
A digital version of The Master was created to match Del Toros vision of the malevolent character,
who, Mr. X President Dennis Berardi explains, moves with a spider-like walk, with tentacles
reaching out of him.
www.theasc.com
August 2014
63
Bad Blood
Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll, right) and the Center for Disease Controls Canary Team
investigate the quarantined airplane.
64
TECHNICAL SPECS
1.78:1
Digital Capture
Red Epic MX
Angenieux Optimo,
Arri/Zeiss Ultra Prime
65
Shaking aFamilys
Foundation
P
Cinematographer Ben Richardson
shoots Super 16mm on the indie
film Happy Christmas.
By Noah Kadner
|
66
August 2014
American Cinematographer
Frame grabs courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. All other images courtesy of the filmmakers.
Opposite: Life
abruptly changes
for Jeff (Joe
Swanberg, left)
and his wife,
Kelly (Melanie
Lansky, right),
when his sister,
Jenny (Anna
Kendrick), moves
into their home
in the film Happy
Christmas. This
page, top:
Swanberg, who
also directed the
feature, cast his
son, Jude, as his
onscreen scion.
Bottom:
Cinematographer
Ben Richardson.
67
Richardson embraced a naturalistic lighting style for the film. We would never tell the actors
exactly where to stand, he says, but we might position the camera to shoot three-quarters to
a specific window, which would give them a natural tendency to land in the area that was lit
most interestingly.
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August 2014
American Cinematographer
August 2014
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August 2014
American Cinematographer
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The household awakens to smoke after an inebriated Jenny severely overcooks a frozen pizza.
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August 2014
American Cinematographer
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August 2014
TECHNICAL SPECS
1.85:1
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Arri/Zeiss Ultra 16
Kodak Vision3 500T 7219
Digital Intermediate
August 2014
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The Red Giant Universe premium membership is available for
$10/month, $99/year or $399 for a lifetime license that will never
expire and includes all future Universe updates and upgrades.
For additional information, visit www.redgiant.com/universe.
Fujifilm Builds IS-Tower
Adding to its Image Processing System lineup, Fujifilm North
America Corp.s Imaging Division has introduced the IS-Tower imaging system.
The system includes Fujifilms IS-Tower software, which,
when used with the IS-100 processor, provides an extremely fast and
easy way to apply looks to any number of chosen cameras in an
instant, or to quickly create and save new looks on the fly. Designed
for multiple camera broadcasts with ACES color management, the
IS-Tower can accept live feeds from a mixture of digital cinema and
American Cinematographer
broadcast cameras.
The IS-Tower system also includes ISTower hardware, which comprises a small
rack-mounted unit with multiple camera
inputs and outputs for easy connection to
the IS-100 on-set live color-grading system.
The IS-Tower hardware, which is made to
order, features a fan-less design with eight
3G HD-SDI ins and outs, eight Ethernet ports
and redundant internal power supply for reliability in a 19"x3.5"x14" case.
Capable of supporting 4K workflows,
the IS-Tower system was developed in cooperation with Wowow, Inc., a major Japanese
broadcaster, and has been successfully field
tested on more than six live television broadcasts in Japan and the U.S.
For additional information, visit
www.fujifilm.com/products/motion_picture/.
AVS 4Kase Enables On-Set Dailies
Advantage Video Systems has introduced the 4Kase mobile postproduction and
editing system for use on set.
Based on a high-performance Mac
Pro workstation, 4Kase offers the ability to
input and output 4K data from most popular digital cinema cameras and performs
such tasks as dailies processing, media
backup, color management and editing, all
from a fully integrated system small enough
to fit in the trunk of a car.
4Kase replaces rack-mount DIT carts
that are bulky, costly to ship and difficult to
operate, says AVS principal Jeffrey Stansfield. It is smaller, faster and lighter, and can
be configured to meet the needs of individual production workflows. 4Kase provides a
streamlined workflow that carries the
creative intent of directors and [cinematographers] from the set through final post.
4Kase supports the latest cameras
Telecine &
Color Grading
Jod is a true artist with
a great passion for his craft.
John W. Simmons, ASC
77
August 2014
Additionally, Freakshow HD
provides complete integration services for
customers current devices and can create
custom turnkey solutions. The SuperFreak
sells for $14,869 and is available directly
from Freakshow HD or its retail partners,
including Abel Cine, Markertek and
Nebtek.
For additional information, visit
www.freakshowhd.com.
Imagineer Systems,
CoreMelt Power TrackX
Imagineer Systems, creators of the
Academy Award-winning Mocha Planar
Tracking technology, and CoreMelt, a
provider of advanced video plug-in effects,
have released TrackX powered by Mocha.
The latest Apple Final Cut Pro X plug-in to
come out of the strategic partnership
between Imagineer Systems and CoreMelt,
TrackX powered by Mocha leverages the
Planar Tracking technology to precisely
track camera motion, objects and people
for seamless visual effects and screen
composites.
Ideal for creating realistic screen
inserts, set extensions and sky replacements, TrackX lets FCP X editors easily track
and replace objects within a video such
as an image on a cell phone, TV screen or
sign as well as add graphics and text,
including lower-thirds, to follow objects in
motion. TrackXs customizable parameters
provide FCP X editors with controls to finetune translation, scale, rotation and
perspective motion of text and video, eliminating the need to do manual key framing. Designed to manage the most difficult
tracking challenges, Mocha technology
stays locked on through shaky, grainy and
motion-blurred video.
TrackX powered by Mocha is available now for $99. For additional information, visit www.imagineersystems.com
/products/SliceX_TrackX/ and www.core
melt.com/trackx/.
SpectraCal Calibrates with
DLC LUTs
SpectraCal, Inc., a provider of
display-calibration software, has announced a significant technological
advance in the process used to correct the
color performance of professional referAmerican Cinematographer
www.spectracal.com.
International Marketplace
80
August 2014
American Cinematographer
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Classifieds
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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 advertisers name can be set in capitals without extra charge. No agency commission or discounts on
classified advertising.PAYMENT MUST ACCOMPANY ORDER. VISA, Mastercard, AmEx and Discover card are accepted. Send ad to Classified Advertising, American Cinematographer, P.O. Box 2230, Hollywood, CA
90078. Or FAX (323) 876-4973. Deadline for payment and copy must be in the office by 15th of second month
preceding publication. Subject matter is limited to items and services pertaining to filmmaking and video production. Words used are subject to magazine style abbreviation. Minimum amount per ad: $45
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www.theasc.com
August 2014
81
Advertisers Index
AC 77
Adorama 11, 51
AJA Video Systems, Inc. C3
Alan Gordon 80
Arri 7
ASC 64, 85
Backstage Equipment, Inc.
73
Birns & Sawyer 80
Blackmagic Design, Inc. 5
Cavision Enterprises 80
Chapman/Leonard Studio
Equipment Inc. 19
Cinematography
Electronics 73
Cinekinetic 80
Cineverse 15
Cooke Optics 9
Denecke 81
Eastman Kodak C4
Schneider Optics 2
Siggraph 83
Sim Video 61
Super16, Inc. 80
Kingfilm USA 81
Kino Flo 41
Vantage Gmbh 21
82
Technicolor 35
Technocrane 25
Teradek, LLC 27
Toland App 75
Willys Widgets 80
www.theasc.com 39, 40,
73, 80, 81, 82
Yes Watches 52
In Memoriam
Gordon Willis, ASC died on
May 18 from complications with
cancer. He was 82.
Willis was born on May 28,
1931 in Astoria, Queens, New York
City. His parents had been dancers in
Broadway theater before his father
became a makeup man at Warner
Bros. in Brooklyn during the depression. In his youth, Willis considered a
career in acting, but after performing
in some summer-stock productions
during his teens, he became more
interested in stagecraft and lighting.
Willis served in the U.S. Air
Force during the Korean War, initially
working for the military air-transport
service before managing to join the Air
Force Photographic and Charting
Service in a motion-picture unit, where
he spent several years doing documentary work. After earning an
honorable discharge, Willis joined the
cameramans union as an assistant,
progressing from second assistant to first
assistant over the course of 14 years.
After shooting commercials and
working on a number of jobs at MPO Television Films, Willis got the chance to shoot his
first feature when he was hired by director
Aram Avakian to shoot the surreal 1970
drama End of the Road. Then, in 1972,
Willis got the break that would define his
career when director Francis Ford Coppola
tapped him to shoot The Godfather. Willis
readily conceded, Francis and I did have a
lot of disagreements while we were shooting the movie, but if it werent for him and
his vision of what the movie should be, it
never would have happened at the right
level.
Willis also forged an enduring collaboration with director Alan Pakula, for whom
he shot six films: Klute (1971), The Parallax
View (1974), All the Presidents Men (1976),
Comes a Horseman (1978), Presumed Innocent (1990) and The Devils Own (1997), the
final movie on which Willis served as director
of photography. Pakula, who died in 1998,
recalled his impressions of the cinematogra84
August 2014
working style mirrored and complemented his own approach to filmmaking. I always enjoyed dealing with
Woody as a person, Willis said. I
probably enjoyed him a lot more than
he enjoyed me, because Im Mr. Get It
Done. When youre collaborating with
Woody, its like working with your
hands in your pockets; its a very easygoing atmosphere.
Willis joined the ASC in 1975,
after having been recommended for
membership by Society member
Howard Schwartz. In 1995, the ASC
presented Willis with its Lifetime
Achievement Award. Additionally, in
2009, the Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences awarded Willis an
honorary Academy Award for his lifetime achievements in cinematography
after nominating him two prior times
for competitive Oscars to recognize his
work on Zelig (1983) and The Godfather Part III (1990).
Its common knowledge among
the informed that [Willis] stands beside Griffith, Welles, Ford and maybe a few others
as one of the industrys great originators,
says ASC President Richard P. Crudo. Just
as those men did before him, he not only
changed the way movies look, he changed
the way we look at movies. Its impossible to
overstate his influence over the past 40
years.
This is a momentous loss, one that
the world should take serious note of,
Crudo continues. If its safe to say there
will never be another Rembrandt, I have an
even safer bet for you: There will never be
another Gordon Willis.
Willis is survived by his wife of nearly
six decades, Helen; two sons, Gordon Jr.
and Tim; a daughter, Susan; and five grandchildren. Donations in his memory can be
made to the library at Perkins School for the
Blind, 175 N. Beacon St., Watertown, MA
02472.
Ed. Note: The October issue will
feature a full tribute to Willis life and career.
www.theasc.com
Clubhouse News
August 2014
Also elected to the Board of Governors were John Bailey, Bill Bennett,
Curtis Clark, Dean Cundey, George
Spiro Dibie, Richard Edlund, Michael
Goi, Matthew Leonetti, Stephen
Lighthill, Daryn Okada, Michael OShea,
Lowell Peterson, Rodney Taylor, Kees
van Oostrum and Haskell Wexler. The
alternates are Isidore Mankofsky, Karl
Walter Lindenlaub, Robert Primes,
Steven Fierberg and Kenneth Zunder.
Im profoundly humbled that my
colleagues have once again chosen me to
serve in this position, says Crudo. The
ASC is stronger than ever, and we look
forward to continuing our mission of
promoting the role of the cinematographer.
To be part of that in even a small way is both
an honor and a privilege.
J.L. Fisher and Cine Gear photos by Alex Lopez. Edlund portrait by Owen Roizman, ASC.
Clockwise from top left: ASC members speak at J.L. Fisher; Juliane Grosso Kresser (second from left)
and associate members Karl Kresser (far left) and Otto Nemenz (far right) present the Cine Gear Expo
Cinematography Lifetime Achievement Award to Adam Greenberg, ASC; Richard Edlund, ASC.
pated in speaking engagements and sponsored events throughout Cine Gear. Society
members Shane Hurlbut, Steven Poster
and Sam Nicholson joined fellow cinematographer Dallas Sterling for the Canon
session 4K, 2K or HD: Leading Cinematographers Try to Resolve the Resolution
Debate. Poster also joined Paul Cameron,
ASC for the discussion titled New Workflow Choices and the Director of Photography. Daryn Okada, ASC detailed his work
with Sonys F55 camera on the features Lets
Be Cops and Dolphin Tale 2, and Richard
Edlund, ASC led a session on digital/virtual
production sponsored by the Visual Effects
Society.
Jon Fauer, ASC moderated an Arrisponsored conversation with Buddy
Squires, ASC about the Amira camera, and
Curtis Clark, ASC moderated Three
Colorists and Two Cinematographers, a
conversation presented by Sony that also
included Bill Dill, ASC.
George Spiro Dibie, ASC moderated a lively session titled Dialogue with
ASC Cinematographers. After Dibie
encouraged the audience that we are here
to answer all your questions, the panel
comprising ASC members Bill Bennett,
Christopher Chomyn, Michael Goi, Tom
Houghton, Paul Maibaum, Guillermo
Navarro, Daniel Pearl, Cynthia Pusheck
and Nancy Schreiber tackled such
topics as grading their own images and
whether digital cameras have resulted in
smaller lighting packages. Isidore Mankofsky, ASC contributed additional questions
from his seat in the audience.
Over the course of the two-day
expo, Jacek Laskus, ASC, PSC; David
Stump, ASC and associate member
Douglas Kirkland each spent time at the
Societys booth, signing their recently
www.theasc.com
August 2014
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