American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 108

Close-up

Alar Kivilo, ASC, CSC
What has been your most satisfying moment on a project? Jessica Lange discovering Tom Wilkinson about to shoot himself in Jane Anderson’s Normal. Quinton Aaron being told that his father is dead in John Lee Hancock’s The Blind Side. Zac Efron being told he survived a rocket attack because of a picture of a woman in Scott Hicks’ The Lucky One. In all three of these scenes, the director and I found a poetic way of shooting that told the story in one simple shot and put the audience right into the character’s emotions. Also, the standing ovation for Taking Chance at Sundance was amazing. Have you made any memorable blunders? I used a star filter on a wide-angle lens that was stopped down to T22. ‘Screen-door filter’ would have been a more apt description. What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received? Don’t try to be someone you are not.

When you were a child, what film made the strongest impression on you? I played for hours in a sand pile, pretending it was the Sahara, after seeing Lawrence of Arabia (1962). That masterpiece has never lost its hold on me. Which cinematographers, past or present, do you most admire? At the top of my list are Gordon Willis, ASC and Conrad Hall, ASC. Willis taught me the importance of having a specific point of view when telling a story, and how crucial it is to distill ideas and emotions into simple, iconic images. When he shot an empty chair, it was not just a chair; it was a story. Hall taught me the art of presiding over ‘happy accidents,’ the importance of trusting your visual instincts and letting those guide your work. What sparked your interest in photography? I was given a still camera at age 16.

What recent books, films or artworks have inspired you? Where did you train and/or study? Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop ; Art in the York University. Streets at MOCA; Rivers and Tides, featuring the nature sculptures of Andy Goldsworthy; a retroWho were your early teachers or spective of Paterson Ewen and David Blackmentors? wood; all the TED talks; An Audience of Chairs Most of my teachers taught me indiby Joan Clark; The History of Love by N icole rectly through the pages of this magazine. I would read an article, see Krauss; and the Fogo Island artist studios designed by Todd Saunders. the movie, and then try the techniques whenever I had a chance to roll film through a camera. Nicholas Allen-Wolfe, CSC was my first Do you have any favorite genres, or genres you would like to mentor. He let me visit his sets, and I would sit in the corner and try? observe. He kept a very detailed record of his lighting plots, and I As long as the story is strongly tied into the human condition, I’d love studied them diligently. a crack at them all. What are some of your key artistic influences? Keith Carter, Vivian Maier, Sebastiao Salgado, Stephen Shore, William Eggleston, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Arvo Pärt, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Sebastian Bach, Edward Hopper, Rembrandt van Rijn, Glenn Gould, Sergei Urusevsky, Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky, John Fante, Raymond Carver and John Cheever. How did you get your first break in the business? After being recommended by Mark Irwin, ASC, CSC, I spent four weeks on a seismic research ship traveling from Newfoundland to Greenland. My assignment was to capture a storm at sea. The weather turned out to be the calmest in 200 years, but with that project I was officially a cinematographer. If you weren’t a cinematographer, what might you be doing instead? I would be a musician. Which ASC cinematographers recommended you for membership? Steven Poster, Mark Irwin and Rob McLachlan. How has ASC membership impacted your life and career? The pages of this magazine, which have provided me with valuable lessons, have now come to life in the form of my fellow members. ASC membership is an endless and readily accessible source of information and support. To be chosen as a peer by those whose work I have most admired fills me with a great sense of accomplishment. It gives me the confidence and the responsibility to go forth and do my best work. ●

108

April 2012

American Cinematographer

Photo by Suzanne Hanover, SMPSP.



American Cinematographer - April 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - April 2012

American Cinematographer - April 2012
Contents
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Short Takes: Polaris campaign
Production Slate: Footnote4:44 Last Day on Earth
Vice at the Vatican
Back to School
Sundance Standouts
Filmmakers’ Forum: Haskell Wexler, ASC
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Alar Kivilo
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - American Cinematographer - April 2012
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 1
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 2
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - Contents
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 4
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 5
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 6
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 7
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 9
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 11
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - Short Takes: Polaris campaign
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 13
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 14
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American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 16
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 17
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - Production Slate: Footnote4:44 Last Day on Earth
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American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 31
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - Vice at the Vatican
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American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 43
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - Back to School
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American Cinematographer - April 2012 - Sundance Standouts
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American Cinematographer - April 2012 - Filmmakers’ Forum: Haskell Wexler, ASC
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American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 86
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 87
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - New Products & Services
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American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 101
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - Classified Ads
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - Ad Index
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 105
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 107
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - ASC Close-Up: Alar Kivilo
American Cinematographer - April 2012 - Cover3
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