American Cinematographer - February 2009 - (Page 37)

and then rise up over the house, landing in the same composition as the film’s opening shot. Soft, yellow keylight and enveloping bounce fill rendered a more appealing color and contrast ratio than the standard cold, rainy look. With five different mo-co rigs in play, Brian Van’t Hul and Nic Marrison took the precaution of tracking each rig as it played back its version of the move. They compensated for variances that turned up, making all the elements track each other accurately. I like to think we all came out of Coraline’s 83-week shoot a little smarter about 3-D cinematography. Perhaps fellow first-timers will find the following notes useful: Besides getting more intuitive about setting up, we learned to make the most of a big 3-D moment — it takes planning, not overdoing IO distance. That includes using modest settings for several shots leading up to the big moment. We learned that a quick cut doesn’t register 3-D in the eyes of the viewer. The shot has to be onscreen long enough to fuse, and only then should you concentrate on the subject. Increasing IO is futile on a short shot; it exacerbates viewer difficulty and does not make the shot feel deeper. Although we strove to avoid “coming out” shots for pure gimmickry, Coraline includes a few legitimate uses of the effect. In every case, we made the emergence as slow as the tempo allowed so viewers could follow. We also did our best to connect emerging objects to the background — an outthrust hand was much more effective when the arm and shoulder were also visible. Most 3-D purists insist on staying sharp throughout the frame, the theory being that we concurrently fuse and focus on objects in the real world, and not doing both will cause eyestrain. We learned that backgrounds can be successfully shot A end a four-year college that’s as crea ve as you are. Five Towns College o ers the specialized training you need. Contact an Admissions Representa ve for more informa on or visit us at www. c.edu/signup. When you’re serious about music and the performing arts! FIVE TOWNS COLLEGE +90° (631) 656-2110 www.ftc.edu Dix Hills, NY 11746 super BOGIE – motorized – swivel range ± 90° powerful DC-motor continuous adjustable touch & go 0° – 90° handheld control unit with joystick and display www.denz-deniz.com 37 http://www.ftc.edu/signup http://www.ftc.edu http://www.ftc.edu http://www.denz-deniz.com http://www.denz-deniz.com

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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