American Cinematographer - May 2008 - (Page 55)

various monitors all over the place, including two 50-inch plasma screens for the Wachowskis. Balancing those to tungsten got the image much closer to what we were seeing with our eyes.” When it came to lighting Speed Racer, “it was fluorescents and LEDs for the most part, and both are great ways to reduce heat and power consumption,” says Tattersall. “We used a lot of 8-foot Kino Flos and the new LitePanels 12-inch LED systems, which seemed to be appropriate for the HD look. I also used the 19-inch Ring Light, which was great; Andy and Larry called it ‘Vogue cover lighting.’ The 8-foot Kinos are versatile, they go up quickly, and we could easily bank them together in long lines or double and triple them up. They’re lightweight and cool, which was important with the amount of light we were working with. They make even enclosed sets more com- fortable. There were times when we turned to Maxi-Brutes, but we didn’t do it often.” Pondering the advancements in the digital-to-film workflow that he has witnessed firsthand, Tattersall says, “Without a doubt, the future of production is moving to HD. It’s kind of the obvious way to go. Most departments have seen the advantages of digital and moved in that direction. Production is one of the last departments to become completely digital, but it’s inevitable that it will; the potential advantages are too great to ignore. “For Speed Racer and similar effects-heavy shows, the principal photography secures the foundation of the image, and then the image is further developed and refined in post,” he continues. “Both John Gaeta and Dan Glass made incredible contributions to the image and the cinematographic elements of Speed Racer. They took our foundation and evolved it into what the movie eventually became. It’s not just a cinematic movie, but a cinematic/post mix, and staying in a digital medium from beginning to end made the whole workflow much more efficient.” I TECHNICAL SPECS 2.40:1 High-Definition Video Sony CineAlta F23; NAC Hi Motion; Vision Research Phantom, V10 cameras Zeiss Digiprime lenses Digital Intermediate Printed on Kodak Vision 2383 55 http://www.kinoflo.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - May 2008

American Cinematographer - May 2008 Contents Editor’s Note Global Village: The Fall Short Takes: ASC Laszlo Kovacs Short Takes: Heritage Award Winners Production Slate: Anamorph Production Slate: Fugitive Pieces Heavy-Metal Hero A Need for Speed Kink and the City Beautiful Minds A Hollywood Homecoming Post Focus: Paramount Restores The Godfather Filmmakers’ Forum: Levie Isaacks, ASC Teaches Marines to Shoot Movies New Products & Services International Marketplace Classified Ads Ad Index Clubhouse News ASC Close-Up: Antonio Calvache

American Cinematographer - May 2008

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