American Cinematographer - April 2012 - 81

at that target is looked at suspiciously.” But Burnat was eventually persuaded, in part because he had seen so many foreigners tell Bil’in’s story. “This is my life. I am there, and I am filming. I decided I had to make this film, not people who come from outside.” He also realized he had been compulsively filming his family life for years, as though subconsciously preparing for this possibility. Davidi observes, “I think my suggestion that he make a personal film was a relief to him, in a way.” The two filmmakers brought the project to Greenhouse Film Center. During his pitch, Burnat laid out the five broken cameras and told his story. “It was such a powerful metaphor for his life experience,” recalls Claire Aguilar, vice president of programming at Independent Television Service, which provided seed money for the project. In the documentary’s embryonic state, she notes, “the storytelling was rough, the footage was all over the place and the

formats were mixed, but it had an incredible premise.” The final film also incorporates footage shot by Davidi, Yisrael Puterman, Jonathan Massey, Alexandre Goetschmann and Shay Carmeli Pollack, as well as archival footage shot by Heitham Abu-Rahme, Bassam Hamad, David Reeb and Islam Amira. Most of the picture is 1.33:1, presented pillarboxed within the 1.78:1 frame. Now Burnat doesn’t hesitate to call himself a cameraman. “At the beginning, I was not professional, but by filming day and night, I gained experience. Nobody taught me. When you’re on the ground filming every day, you learn how to take pictures.” “You can really see Emad’s progress between cameras,” Davidi observes. “The shots become steadier and more calculated, and you see more close-ups, for example. “These are very difficult, violent situations to be filming in,” he adds.

Co-director Guy Davidi, an Israeli documentarian.

“You don’t just have to find the shot; you also have to let go of your own security. You’re risking your life, yet when you shoot, you don’t move.” Kino Lorber will release 5 Broken Cameras in the U.S. later this year. — Patricia Thomson ●

TDT ENCODED SYSTEM

VIRTUAL REALITY
en t The Egripm Package Encoding
The Egripment Encoded System, a fully Encoded Package for Virtual Studio’s or Augmented Reality is now available for several different Egripment Cranes including our TDT System and the 305/306 Remote heads, as well as optional encoders for use on track dollies. The Encoded Package for Egripment Cranes and Heads delivers high quality, precise and reliable crane operation in a much more affordable price range than other systems currently available for this market, while maintaining the same high standards that Egripment is known for throughout the world.

in combination can be utilized and llowing tested with the fo Engines : ering certiﬁ ed Rend TV, OR AD, VI ZR T, Neuro d Ventuz. Brainstorm an s can ional vendor Addit ented easily be implem

w w w.egripment.com
81

http://www.egripment.com http://www.egripment.com

American Cinematographer - April 2012

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