American Cinematographer - May 2007 - 49

With fire at their heels, the survivors race through a tunnel. on your toes.” Apart from the unpopulated London streets, light sources were used in many sets. The film’s prologue, set close to the time of the first film, takes place in a boardedup country cottage where a group of survivors has gathered. This sequence, along with other interiors, was shot onstage at 3 Mills Studios.“As the movie starts, we see candles being lit,” says Chediak. “I used a whole bunch of Christmas lights and peanut bulbs dimmed down 50 percent, and for overall fill I used China balls that were also dimmed down 50 percent. People are having dinner by candlelight, and then they let someone into the house; when they open the door, you can see that it’s daylight, and the daylight is very hot. I was using large tungsten sources for that, 20Ks and Dinos, usually gelled with 1⁄4 CTB. They continue with their meal, but then a woman hears something and goes to the window. Suddenly an infected person breaks the window and reaches in to grab the woman. Other ‘infecteds’ start breaking the boards over the windows, and more sunlight enters the house. In this case, infection is symbolized by the light.” After this opening, the story jumps to the time frame of the title. The setting is a London safe zone called District 1, in the Canary Wharf section on the Isle of Dogs. “We did a lot of research to see what the best area of London would be for a rebuilding effort if something catastrophic happened,” explains Fresnadillo. “[Canary Wharf] is the perfect place, because the river around the area is a natural barrier that protects it. It’s a small bubble of safety in the big city of London.” Inside District 1, there is crude electrical power and fluorescent lighting because reconstruction is underway. “We created all different flavors of fluorescents, sometimes a whitish type and sometimes more blue,” says Chediak. “The art department made them look like temporary fix- tures, so you can see the cords and cables, and we used them both as practicals and for lighting purposes. We used regular 55K fluorescents and some Kino Flos as well; they had a bit of a greenish texture, which I thought was really good for this movie. These are lights that the army has put in, and they’re saving energy, so only about half of them are on; it’s a half-light look that suggests emergency lights. In general we tried to create some contrast, but it’s not the extreme high contrast that you see in many horror movies.” When infection breaks out, the army calls Code Red, orders everyone out of the buildings and into an underground parking lot, and shuts off the building lights, relying on sodium-vapor work lights in the streets and night-vision devices to spot anyone who tries to escape. “We wanted to create this panicky sensation of lights being turned off, so my gaffer, Alex Scott, worked on a flicker box to flicker the fluorescents,” says Chediak. Such a American Cinematographer 49

American Cinematographer - May 2007

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