American Cinematographer - February 2009 - (Page 41)

of 500-fps acting. The great thing about the Phantom was that we could instantly show them playback in beautiful slow motion on an HD monitor, and they could see that one little flick of an eye could turn into an incredible moment.”) With the help of gaffer John “Fest” Sandau, Pope bolsters the underwater atmosphere with “light projectors with patterns we thought looked like water,” says the cinematographer. “John pounded lights into reflecting boards and Mylar, which we shook around to make some sparkle. You can do the dumbest stuff in the world, and when you’re filming at 400 fps, suddenly you’re a poet.” The projectors, manufactured by Rosco, were “the simplest of all the ones we tested,” says Sandau. “Two wheels rotate in front of a light. You can put different lenses on it to get a tighter pattern with more throw or a wider pattern with less distance. [Key grip] Tony Mazzucchi and his crew rigged a pipe to hang off the bottom of a Condor, and we hung eight of these fixtures off that. They’re DMX-controllable, and when we needed the extra stop for high speed, we’d have three or four hitting the same space, and when we didn’t need the speed, we could spread them out to cover a bigger area. I think it’s the best water effect I’ve ever seen.” Photos and frame grabs courtesy of Lionsgate and Odd Lot Entertainment. The entire dry-for-wet effect is put to the test in a take that lasts no more than a few seconds: with air movers attacking the actors from all sides, King (playing the siren Lorelei Rox) leaps in the air, kicks her legs and shakes her hair while Macht (playing The Spirit) throws himself forward in a belly flop. The whole thing lacks a certain grace, to say the least, until the Phantom HD’s footage is played back. Suddenly, both actors appear to be suspended in the depths, hair and clothes swirling around them. Maschwitz shouts in excitement from behind the monitor, and it all clicks. Poetry. Pulp Sensibilities “I’m a cartoonist,” says Miller. “I believe in comic-book stories that are fun to draw and fun to write.” Outside of Miller’s own work, there is perhaps no better example of such a story than The Spirit, created by Will Eisner in a weekly series that ran from 19401952. Miller and Eisner were close friends until Eisner’s death, in 2005, and Miller notes, “Will’s influence on my work was seminal. His stuff was advanced beyond anything I’d ever seen before.” Over a career that spanned roughly six decades, Eisner pushed the limits of sequential art, challenging how stories could be told and ultimately ushering in the Opposite: The Spirit (Gabriel Macht) watches over Central City. This page, above: Ellen Dolan (Sarah Paulson) consoles her father, Police Commissioner Dolan (Dan Lauria). Below left: Director Frank Miller’s graphic sensibilities punctuate The Octopus’ (Samuel L. Jackson) reaction to The Spirit’s war on crime. Below right: Miller (in black) explains his vision to cinematographer Bill Pope, ASC. American Cinematographer 41

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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