American Cinematographer - March 2008 - (Page 18)

Above: Mutu (center) checks the light for a dinner-table scene keyed from overhead by Kino Flos wrapped in black foil. Seated next to him is director Cristian Mungiu. Below: The cinematographer (center) and director (in background) check the frame. Mutu donned an EasyRig to achieve many of the film’s long tracking shots. have a streetlamp in that scene, but there weren’t any, so I created backlight by putting a Kino Flo in a tree and throwing a 5K onto a nearby roof,” says Mutu. “The intention was just to feel her presence. At the end of the alley was an actual sewage pipe that was emitting steam; that’s what created [the misty effect].” Otilia returns to the hotel room to find that Gabita has dumped the fetus on the bathroom floor, leaving a mess. After wrapping up the body and placing it in her purse, Otilia leaves, searching for a place to dispose of it in secret. The camera follows her as she walks past rows of buildings. Mutu notes that in the absence of streetlamps, Romanians frequently placed regular household bulbs above their front doors. He asked production designer Mihaela Poenaru to incorporate this detail into the set design, and the small bulbs serve as an ostensible light source on Otilia as she walks. This was augmented by a 150-watt China ball that was held close to Marinca. “An electrician carried the China ball on a stick while three others carried the cable and walked behind me,” says Mutu. “The alley was so long that we ran out of cable, so a second electrician carrying another China ball met us in the middle of the alley and continued from there.” Backlight was created by 6K HMIs gelled with 1⁄2 CTO and a few 5K tungsten units on nearby rooftops. Otilia enters a building and climbs the stairs to find a garbage slide. She throws the fetus down the chute. There were no practical lights in the stairwell, so off-camera, Mutu hung a few 150-watt bulbs covered with black foil to cut down the light level. When Otilia reaches the garbage dump at the top of the stairs, she is backlit with a Kino Flo. To film an early scene set in a university dorm room — a practical location on the third floor of a building — Mutu wore the EasyRig and filmed from a seated position on the fire escape outside the window. A couple of 6K HMIs were placed behind him, and fluorescent lights gelled with CTB were used inside. On most interior scenes, Mutu lit from above with Kino Flos wrapped with black foil to control spill. In the hotel room, he used a Kino Flo on the wall as a sidelight and placed 6Ks outside the windows. The light from outside proved so strong he decided to layer ND on the windows. “I improvised a lot,” he admits. “During production, one discovers many things.” The happiest accident occurred as the crew was finishing a day with a shot outside a tram station. There was a lovely sunset. “Cristian loved the atmosphere, so we quickly wet down the streets and had Anamaria walk through the area. We didn’t use any additional lights, and the lens was clean. Halogen and sodium lights coming from the tram station cast a beautiful mix of green and blue on the wet streets. We managed to shoot two takes, and we used the first one in the film.” ¢ 18 March 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - March 2008

American Cinematographer - March 2008 Contents Editor’s Note Short Takes: Bill Viola’s Ocean Without a Shore Production Slate: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days Production Slate: Chantal: A Night at the Pyramids Magical Mystery Tour Some Kind of Monster Tantalizing Television Making Sitcoms “Sexy” Post Focus: Mega Playground Helps Set Look for Sibling Post Focus: Visual Effects Society Launches White Paper New Products & Services International Marketplace Classified Ads Ad Index In Memoriam: John McPherson, ASC ASC Membership Roster Clubhouse News ASC Close-Up: Wayne Kennan

American Cinematographer - March 2008

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