American Cinematographer - April 2011 - 64

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Sundance 2011: Spirited Images
vulnerable characters, were shot mostly in profile or three-quarters back. Young notes, “A lot of that is about confidence — characters who aren’t so confident about who they are, or we aren’t so confident about who they are. As the story unfolds and they become more confident, we start to wrap around and show more.” By contrast, Alike’s butch friend, Laura (Pernell Walker), “is very confident and walks into the camera quite a bit,” he continues. “She has nothing to hide!” Low angles enhance her swagger until a scene at the piers wherein she displays a vulnerable side. “That’s one of the first times we’re at eye level [with her].” Young also varied his lighting strategy for characters. Toplight predominates at the parents’ house, the mother’s workplace and Laura’s apartment, whereas Alike is treated with sculpted sidelight. “I was trying to suggest her complexity, and those angles on Adepero were really revealing,” says Young. “I’m really interested in African masks, and her face is like that, very chiseled and architectural.” Having photographed the Nigerian actress in several films since the Pariah short, he notes, “Adepero is my study. She has helped to confirm so many ideas about [capturing] black skin tone on emulsion that African and African-American cinematographers have been developing for decades. Malik Sayeed and Arthur ‘A.J.’ Jafa are my teachers in this area, and I think what I’m doing is on the continuum of what they have been developing for years.” In the Brooklyn brownstone, Young often lit from windows, but when he needed to hide sources inside, he used a “Pita Light” he and Koch devised: a 4'x4' frame and 1'x1' batten strip. “They’re bay lights, basically. They’re very flat and low profile because we use small pieces of lumber.” One frame carried an array of standard incandescent bulbs wired to separate dimmers; another was skinned with gels or diffusion. “Each corner has its own rope, so we could lower and pitch the diffusion based on where we wanted the light to be thrown. Because it’s held together with Duvatyne, we can cut the light without having to bring in stands.” “There’s this idea that in order to shoot film, you have to have big lights,” Rees observes, “but Brad and T.J. designed and built their own lights, which was a big factor in making this film possible.” The director is quick to add, however, that Young’s vision was far more important. “Brad brings an eye for the art, first. He’s not just a technician; he doesn’t just come and shoot what’s on the list. He’s always looking to elevate the story and add meaning to a shot. He’s a real storyteller.” — Patricia Thomson The Redemption of General Butt Naked Directors: Eric Strauss and Daniele Anastasion Cinematographers: Strauss, Peter Hutchens and Ryan Hill When Eric Strauss first read about reformed Liberia warlord Gen. Butt Naked in Robert Young Pelton’s book The World’s Most Dangerous Places,

Joshua Milton Blahyi, the leader of an infamous militia during Liberia’s civil war, is the focus of The Redemption of General Butt Naked, the cinematography prizewinner in the U.S. Documentary category.

April 2011

American Cinematographer

The Redemption of General Butt Naked photos courtesy of the Sundance Film Festival. Photo on this page by Ryan Lobo.

American Cinematographer - April 2011

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