American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 68

◗

Vision and Verve

Semler preps a shot of members of the Yanomami tribe in Venezuela for Tom Shadyac’s drama Dragonfly.

(a.k.a. Babe, the Gallant Pig), and that
he thought Semler was well suited to
develop and direct it for the screen.
Many months later, the two got
together in Los Angeles, where they
hammered out the first draft of the
script. Animatronics and computer
graphics weren’t advanced enough to
make the movie at that time, however.
The two friends were working
on the script when, according to
Miller, “one day, apropos of nothing,
Dean’s wife, Annie, said, ‘Indians.
Dean has to make a film about
Indians.’ Within a year, Dean was
making Dances with Wolves! But he
always kept an eye on Babe, calling me
periodically to find out where the
project stood.” Ultimately, Babe was
directed by Miller and shot by Andrew
Lesnie, ASC, ACS, but one of
Semler’s fondest memories is his
“thanks to” credit on the picture.
68

February 2013

Semler is largely self-taught, but
he says he learned a great deal from
gaffers, directors and other collaborators he met along the way. He considers Russell Boyd, ASC, ACS his
mentor, although the two have never
worked together. “Russell paved the
way for all of us,” he declares. Boyd
observes, “Dean is a very straight-upand-down guy and very honest. He is
gregarious and innovative. He has a
great sense of humor, and he doesn’t
bullshit. He won’t flatter anybody.”
In an e-mail to AC, Jolie echoes
Boyd’s comment: “I don’t think Dean is
capable of a lie. If he thinks something
is crap, he’ll tell you.” She says he also
provided valuable emotional support
on set. “Many times, in the middle of a
difficult scene, I would look over at
Dean, and he would smile and nod as if
to say, ‘Go on, you’re doing just fine.
I’ve got your back.’ And he always did.”
American Cinematographer

Semler worked with Ed Harris
on the Western drama Appaloosa
(2008), the actor’s second film as a
director. “Dean is a real trooper, a hard
worker and just a lot of fun,” says
Harris. “It was a tough shoot.”
So was Gibson’s Apocalypto (AC
Jan. ’07), which was shot in the jungles
of Mexico. Though Semler is enthusiastic about every project he works on,
he confesses that Apocalypto was “probably my most enjoyable film ever. I
loved where it was and what it was. I
was shooting on the [Panavision]
Genesis and could see dailies at the
end of every day and know we had it in
the can.” Gibson recalls with a laugh,
“Dean was like a kid in a candy store.
He has been at this game a long time,
and to still have that childlike enthusiasm is fantastic — and it’s infectious!”
Semler’s only major complaint
about digital is, “You have to sit in that



American Cinematographer - February 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - February 2013

American Cinematographer - February 2013
Contents
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Short Takes: Marilyn Manson’s “Slo-Mo-Tion”
Production Slate: House of Cards • Caesar Must Die
The World’s Most Wanted Man
War on Crime
Crumbling Pillars
Vision and Verve
Postcards from Poland
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Stephen Goldblatt
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - American Cinematographer - February 2013
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 1
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 2
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - Contents
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 4
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 5
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 6
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 7
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 9
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 11
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - Short Takes: Marilyn Manson’s “Slo-Mo-Tion”
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 13
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 14
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 15
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 16
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 17
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - Production Slate: House of Cards • Caesar Must Die
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 19
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 20
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 21
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 22
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 23
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 24
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 25
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 26
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 27
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 28
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 29
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 30
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 31
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - The World’s Most Wanted Man
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 33
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 34
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 35
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 36
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 37
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 38
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 39
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 40
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 41
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - War on Crime
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 43
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 44
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 45
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 46
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 47
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 48
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 49
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 50
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 51
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 52
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 53
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - Crumbling Pillars
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 55
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 56
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 57
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 58
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 59
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 60
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 61
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - Vision and Verve
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 63
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 64
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 65
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 66
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 67
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 68
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 69
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 70
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 71
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - Postcards from Poland
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 73
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 74
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 75
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 77
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 78
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 79
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 80
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 81
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - Classified Ads
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - Ad Index
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 85
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - 87
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - ASC Close-Up: Stephen Goldblatt
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - February 2013 - Cover4
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