American Cinematographer - March 2009 - (Page 45) “I’m always trying to find ways to give the actors and director more time, because the more options we have in the editing room, the better our chances of making a great show,” says Wagner. Recently, that has led to a greater reliance on zoom lenses. “On the last several shows, I’ve used Fujinon zooms because they’re incredibly good, incredibly sharp and match very well. Working at the speed I like to maintain, it’s good not to have to change lenses all the time.” Like Levy, Wagner tends toward wider focal lengths on The Unusuals to facilitate the comedy. “For example, we’d use a 21mm instead of a 35mm, or a 17 instead of a 21mm or 24mm,” says Wagner. Shooting quickly also means lighting for 360 degrees. On the precinct set, there are fixed walls and ceilings and no lighting grids. Wagner keeps the amount of equipment low and lights scenes rather than shots. “If you walked onto that set, you’d say it looks like a real place, not a set — there are no movie lights,” he says. “I light through windows and I use a lot of practicals. I control every light that goes on set and am very involved in where they’re placed. I push light through our 135-foot backing, and I also have 5Ks outside the windows. A lot of bounced light comes off the floors from that light.” “It’s all precision lighting, but with a lot less amperage,” observes gaffer Timothy McAuliffe. For night exteriors on a film shoot, continues the gaffer, “I’d usually put a Condor down the block with a 10K or MaxiBrute on it, but [with HD], I’m at street level with a Par can.” Wagner notes, “I don’t use Condors to light nights — when I see big crosslights, I think it looks like a TV show. It just doesn’t look right.” Instead, he carries sodium- and mercury-vapor lights mounted on plates; these are often placed in frame to mimic streetlights. “Film is not really good at low light levels,” says Wagner, “but HD allows you to see night as you actually see it by eye. Collateral [AC Aug. ’04] is a prime example. Often, people will walk by our monitors at night and say, ‘Wow!’ because it shows exactly what they’re seeing. “I love film — I’ve been a film cameraman for 40 years — but I truly love the potential of HD,” he concludes. “Truthfully, I’d love to shoot a series using only the EX3.” TECHNICAL SPECS 1.78:1 3-perf 35mm; High-Definition Video Panaflex Platinum, Millennium XL2; Sony CineAlta F23, PMW-EX3 Panavision, Angenieux and Fujinon lenses I 45 http://www.K5600.com http://www.K5600.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.