American Cinematographer - February 2008 - (Page 32) Island of Lost Souls Taking advantage of the lighter traffic after the apocalypse, Neville tools around Manhattan in a Shelby Mustang. The filmmakers employed a number of tricks to capture the driving sequences, including a Russian Arm (above) and the Go-Mobile (top right). an angle to the windows so that when Neville goes right up to the window and rips down the blinds, the light bounces around, exposing the entire apartment. I sometimes diffused windows that were out of shot to soften the light that was hitting one part of the apartment. Sometimes it was going into an area of overexposure, but as long as the ratio was right, I knew I could control that in the digital intermediate [DI].” The plot of I Am Legend has two main arcs: the contemporary story of Neville’s struggle to survive in deserted New York, and flashbacks to the events that lead up to the biological disaster. The filmmakers shot the post-pandemic sequences in anamorphic 2.40:1, and the flashbacks in Super 35mm. “The contemporary night sequences show an empty urban landscape with no artificial light and a natural ambient night feel, but in the nighttime flashbacks, the city is full of life, and there is artificial light everywhere,” explains Lesnie. “By using spherical Primos almost wide open and 5218 forced 1 stop, I could maximize available light on location.” A pivotal flashback sequence involves Neville and his family (Salli Richardson and Willow Smith) driving down Dover Street to the East River, where a large crowd is waiting. In the ensuing chaos, Neville’s family is evacuated and he is forced to remain behind. The entire scene took nearly a week to shoot in January 2006, when the city experienced extremely cold weather, and involved permissions from more than a dozen agencies, 1,000 extras, a multitude of large military vehicles, Coast Guard boats, and two helicopters. “It was a large undertaking complicated by Francis’ desire to be able to cover the action in masters, as well as other setups,” recalls Lesnie. A handheld PanArri 235 follows Neville’s family through a crowded military checkpoint and down onto the helipad, where a Coast Guard helicopter flies into shot and lands. The camera was equipped with a 1540mm Angenieux Optimo Zoom, and Lesnie describes the combination as “a terrific one for tight situations. The zoom could be used surreptitiously to move into nicely sized close-ups.” Several cameras were running all the time, along with an aerial unit supervised by David B. Nowell, ASC. In order to maintain momentum, the location was set up to 32 February 2008
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