American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 56

◗

A Space Opera's High Notes
Top: Abrams
directs Ridley as
she stands atop
the wreckage of
an Imperial AT-AT
walker. Middle:
Rey and Finn run
from TIE fighters.
This sequence
marked the only
instance when the
1st unit shot with
the 65mm format.
Bottom: Mindel
and crew prep a
scene on location
in England's
Puzzlewood in the
Forest of Dean,
Gloucestershire.

Force Awakens are entirely digital
creations: the Force-sensitive space
pirate Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong'o)
and the Dark Side's Supreme Leader
Snoke (Andy Serkis). Mindel filmed the
motion-capture actors with their liveaction co-stars on set. Face-mounted
cameras worn by the motion-capture
actors during takes recorded their
expressions for Guyett and his team of
artists to later incorporate into the digital models. "Once we got the flow, we
did takes with the live actors, and the
mo-cap actors [were] off-screen reading
their lines," notes A-camera 1st AC
Serge Nofield.
Otherwise, the strange characters
and alien creatures that inhabit the film
were built as practical puppets or
portrayed by actors in masks or prosthetics. "Shiny masks and armored suits
are fabulous to shoot because they
respond to the light in interesting ways,
and these days it's very easy to remove
camera reflections," Mindel remarks.
"For Kylo Ren and the other masked
characters like Captain Phasma
[Gwendoline Christie], we would bring
in a 1K Blonde and a colored gel -
sometimes a red, green or blue - just to
get a bit of contour on their masks."
For the alien creatures, he notes,
"there were no rules as to how they're
supposed to look. It's just a matter of
56

February 2016

American Cinematographer



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - February 2016

Contents
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - Intro
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 1
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 2
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - Contents
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 4
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 5
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 6
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 7
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 8
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 9
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American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 17
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 18
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American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 20
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 21
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American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 33
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 34
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 35
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 36
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 37
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 38
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 39
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 40
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 41
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 42
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 43
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American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 53
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 54
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 55
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 56
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 57
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