American Cinematographer - May 2008 - (Page 58)

Kink and the City Right: Much of the picture’s location work was shot with Panavision’s hi-def Genesis camera. In this shot, A-camera operator Duane C. Manwiller lines up a shot of McGregor on the New York subway. Below: In the subway station, director of photography Dante Spinotti, ASC, AIC (left) goes over an idea with director Marcel Langenegger. dows, bringing in minimal illumination to direct viewers’ attention to something or provide a bit of extra depth. “I generally ask my clients why they are shooting digitally, and Dante had a very definite answer,” says Rick Nagle, the production’s digital-imaging technician (DIT). “He said, ‘At night, the city has to play behind many scenes — out windows, on the streets, in driving 58 May 2008 shots — and our lighting has to work against that. We can’t bring up the city’s level, so we need a camera that will make the available levels work with our lighting. Film simply cannot do that, but the Genesis can.’ Several times, when the Genesis was pointed down a dark street or into an unlit alley, Dante would watch the monitor and marvel at how well the camera could see everything. He loved its ability to see into the darkness without introducing noise.” Nagle had the Genesis set to Panalog, usually with the camera’s gain set at 0 or +3dB. For the lowlight scenes, the shutter was turned off, giving the camera a sensitivity close to 1,000 ASA. “Dante had tested this approach and didn’t mind the possible smearing that can occur when the camera pans,” says Nagle. “Further, he seemed to like the grain that the gain would add, feeling that it added an organic layer to the electronic medium. It’s my job, of course, to point out possible problems that can occur when using this approach, but Dante was already aware of these things; he knew exactly what the results would look like. And I must say, the nightscapes of New York look absolutely amazing, almost surreal.” In a number of practical locations, Spinotti experimented with a technique to add very soft, directionless light to enhance mood. Gaffer Jay Fortune, who had worked

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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