American Cinematographer - February 2009 - (Page 15)

Left: Along the way, Salinger teams with district attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts). Below: Cinematographer Frank Griebe (right) lines up the camera for director Tom Tykwer. to run through compositions that were not dictated by his movements; the character is often dwarfed by architecture, suggesting a tiny individual trapped within an immovable system. “Tom was concerned that these wide architectural images wouldn’t look sharp enough in 35mm, so I suggested shooting some scenes in 65mm with the Arri 765,” says Griebe. Tykwer agreed and also decided to shoot a few key close-ups of Salinger on 65mm to intensify the anxiety in his expression. “It provided a contrast and made a statement that his face is as important for us to look at as the pristine architecture shots that represent the perfectly shaped system,” says the director. Most of The International was shot on 3-perf Super 35mm, and the production used an Arricam Studio and Lite, an Arri 235 and Arri 435s supplied by Arri in Munich, which also provided the 765, grip gear, lighting equipment and lab work. Griebe had the second unit shoot some material 4-perf to give Tykwer more flexibility in post. “The Studio was our A camera, and we used the Lite for Steadicam and handheld work,” says the cinematographer. “The 235 can fit into tight spaces, and if Tom didn’t need sound for a scene, we’d shoot with the 235 or 435 to give us that extra flexibility. We shot every setup with two cameras, and there was so much dialogue we usually used the Arricams.” Repeating his choice of lenses from Perfume, Griebe combined Arri Master Primes with the 16.5-110mm Master Zoom and 24-290mm Angenieux Optimo zoom. “We didn’t use a lot of longer lenses,” he says. “It’s more of a classical style; we typically shot with a 27mm on the A and a 50mm on the B. Tom likes to use zooms because we can work quickly, and both zooms were T2.8, so I was shooting almost everything at that stop. I only shot wide open on the Master Primes once or twice. The Master Primes cut very well with the Master Zoom, but the Optimo is a bit softer, so I used it mainly if we needed a close-up with a very long lens. For some setups, I’d tell the B-camera operator to look for faces or little details, and the Optimo is perfect for that.” As Salinger delves deeper into the bank’s misdeeds, he comes to real- American Cinematographer 15

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - February 2009

American Cinematographer - February 2009 Contents Editor's Note Short Takes: Circus Production Slate: The International Reverte 2 Worlds in 3 Dimensions Dead Reckoning Embracing Anamorphic Citizen of the World Post Focus: Restoring Manhatta New Products & Services International Marketplace Classified Ads Ad Index Clubhouse News ASC Close-Up: Peter Suschitzky

American Cinematographer - February 2009

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