American Cinematographer - March 2011 - 34

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Master Plans
the same rooftop they have just left. “The idea is that they’re confronting the full power of the chairman, so reality is warping, and they’re caught in an infinite loop,” says Nolfi. To make the fantastic appear plausible, Nolfi wrote the Escher Stairs as one continuous shot, with the camera moving with David and Elise from the moment they enter the stairwell to the moment they step out onto the roof the second time. With that mandate, Toll spent prep time working with Russell, production designer Kevin Thompson and art director Steve Carter to determine how to achieve what Nolfi wanted. The solution involved a 50' SuperTechnocrane, a set onstage at Steiner that was about 75 percent greenscreen and 25 percent practical, and background plates shot from the roof of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. “I wasn’t sure how we would approach the Escher Stairs when I first read the script,” says Toll. “We wanted the shot to have a Steadicam-type feel, but doing the single continuous move with a Steadicam would have been very difficult — the actors would be running at full speed both up and down the stairs, and we also wanted the move to include a rise in camera height on the roof to see down into the city. So we decided to try it as a crane shot.” After doing a thorough set of storyboards, the team had previsualization company Proof create a 3-D animation of the scene. “Working with George and John,” explains Russell, “we decided to shoot the actors on a set that was a partially constructed stairwell with an upper and lower landing surrounded by greenscreen. From there, with the help of the grip, art and camera departments, we did a camera test to determine what should be built practically and what would be completed digitally in post.” “By working all this out in prep, we learned not only how we might do this shot, but also that only a small amount of the set could be a practical build because of the space required for the crane arm,” notes Toll. “Kevin

Top: Crane technician Paul McKenna (left) and A-camera 1st AC Chris Toll work with the SuperTechno to film part of the “Escher Stairs” sequence. Bottom: Grip Dana Hook lends a hand for another part of the shot.

hostess opened the door. Anthony couldn’t get out of the shot because the closet was too small, so Mark [Russell] had to remove him digitally in post. It was actually pretty funny when we were shooting because we were losing the light and going pretty fast, so we didn’t rehearse with the hostess, and she didn’t know Anthony would be standing there looking at her when she opened the door.” The most intricate sequence involving door transitions came to be
34 March 2011

known as “the Escher Stairs,” after graphic artist M.C. Escher, and it appears near the end of the film as David and Elise attempt to track down the chairman of the Adjustment Bureau to change their fate. After running through Bureau headquarters, the couple enters a stairwell, runs up two flights of stairs and emerges on a rooftop that offers a spectacular view of the city. Seeing no escape, they turn around, run back down the stairs and through the door, only to step out onto
American Cinematographer

American Cinematographer - March 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - March 2011