American Cinematographer - April 2018 - 116

FILMMAKERS' FORUM

Digging Deep Into My Vocation
By Sherri Kauk

One episode every two-and-a-half days. A new director
each week. Thirty weeks shooting back to back - for almost seven
months. I am an indie cinematographer being offered to shoot
Seasons 3 and 4 of the CBS Saturday-morning series The Inspectors. For emerging cinematographers who shoot one, maybe two
features a year - and with indie shoot schedules averaging 16-22
days - being able to stand on set every day is a boon. I am
pumped for this yearlong cinematography craft intensive. By the
end of the run in December 2017, I will have reframed how I speak
about the experience, understanding it more fully as an instruction
in craft, collaboration and sustainability.
Craft
Rewind to May 2017. I am settled into the stage in
Charleston, S.C., prepping for The Inspectors. Netflix has just
released director Sudhanshu Saria's debut feature, Loev, under its
exclusive worldwide acquisitions banner. We shot Loev in the
summer of 2015 in Mumbai and cities including Mahabaleshwar
and the Sandhan Valley. We shot for 16 densely humid days,
moving through 32 locations and racing to capture exteriors before
the monsoons released their summer fury.
Shooting and handheld-operating this ultra-low-budget
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April 2018

feature, I shifted strongly away from small-form camera bodies
and full-frame sensors. Initially, this put production in a monetary
bind, because Red Epics and Scarlets, Canon 5Ds, and the
Franken-rigs that support them were more readily available for our
budget level. We even tested the Red One. But Arri had just
released its Alexa XT, and its handheld form factor - echoing
16mm film-camera greats like Arri's own 416 and Aaton's XTR
Prod - and its ability to sensor-crop from 35mm to Super 16
made this the camera system best suited for Loev. Because Loev
consists of tension-developing, dynamically blocked long takes, I
needed to ensure we were laying down technically sound takes so
editorial would be building the film based on performance and not
technicalities.
Wanting to set up first-time focus puller Achyu Dwivedi and
myself for success, I pitched that we shoot Super 16 format for
dialogue and 35mm sensor for wide establishing shots. Our
producers at Bombay Berlin Film, Katharina Suckale and Arfi
Lamba, connected with Arri head of sales Hans Salzinger. Hans
pitched back: If I could light to one stop deeper to protect focus
concerns, the slightly older-model Alexa Classic in ProRes 4:4:4
would be a phenomenal indie camera option capable of delivering
big value. Forgoing raw streamlined the post workflow and helped
our shoestring budget.
Shooting handheld with the Alexa, with Arri's EVF as reference and my light meters at my hip, was cinematography set free.

American Cinematographer

Loev photos by Oankar Chavan. Murder Made Easy photo by Tim Davis. All images courtesy of Sherri Kauk.

A weekend
trip forces
childhood
friends Sahil
(Dhruv
Ganesh) and
Jai (Shiv
Pandit) to
explore their
true feelings
for one
another in the
romantic
drama Loev.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - April 2018