American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 16
Clockwise from top left: Framing a shot on one of the Bad Girls; Gavras instructs one of the drivers; Chemetoff, wearing an EasyRig, readies himself for the next take.
sitting on top of the car. I also wanted to be able to see the people on the side of the road in relation to the cars.” All of the stunts were captured at 50 fps and 100 fps, which allowed Gavras to create speed ramps in post. The shutter was often squeezed down to 90 or 45 degrees to lend a staccato quality to the action. Between stunt setups, Chemetoff and Gavras photographed M.I.A.’s performance scenes in alleys, parking lots and open desert. Once, they used the fleeting moments between day and night to stage a performance in a field of burning barrels. “It’s more of a beauty shot, with the sun setting through the smoke [and providing] backlight,” Chemetoff notes. A couple of camera-side 4K HMI Pars gelled with
16 May 2012
brushed silk provided a bit of fill. Chemetoff used Schneider Classic Soft and LowCon filters “to gently work on the skin, because HD is — how do you say it? — less forgiving.” On the last night of production, the filmmakers staged their largest performance setup: a blingy, Bollywood-style parking-lot rally complete with a party bus and a transparent, neon-striped Peugeot wagon. Chemetoff broke out 1x1 Litepanels for close-ups and utilized two 20Ks, two 10Ks and the 4K Pars for wide shots. Shooting at T2.8, he pushed the Alexa’s ASA as high as 1,250 before seeing any adverse effect on image quality. “If you’re compressing your image and you’ve pushed too far with low light, you’ll get all that noise back,” he warns.
American Cinematographer
The entire video was captured in ProRes 4:2:2 Log C to SxS cards, with the filmmakers using a Rec 709 viewing LUT to monitor the action. “I don’t see the point of injecting a special LUT on set, because that will affect the way you light,” says the cinematographer. “You have to commit to a look by lighting differently. I’m not keen on doing too much manipulating in post, either.” “Bad Girls” was onlined by colorist Bertrand Duval at MediaLab Paris. Chemetoff describes the final look as something he would expect to see in the pages of National Geographic, “very sharp and detailed. Very accurate.” Though Chemetoff appreciates the praise “Bad Girls” has garnered, he prefers to take a more modest position on his work. “I’m not a negative person, but sometimes I can be irritating to Romain when we’re on set, because it seems like I’m never satisfied. Really, I’m deeply satisfied, but when I’m in the middle of making something, I tend to be a perfectionist. Something can always be better, and I have to keep challenging myself.” ●
American Cinematographer - May 2012
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - May 2012
American Cinematographer - May 2012
Contents
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Short Takes: M.I.A.’s “Bad Girls”
Production Slate: Person of Interest • The Raven
Harsh Realms
Wild Passion
Tales of Ordinary Madness
Top of Their Class
Center Stage for Cinematographers
Post Focus: Technicolor Restores Wings
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
In Memoria: Ric Waite, ASC; Herbert S. Alpert, ASC, CSC
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Darius Khondji
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - American Cinematographer - May 2012
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 1
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 2
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 3
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - Contents
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 5
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 6
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 7
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 9
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 11
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - Short Takes: M.I.A.’s “Bad Girls”
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 13
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 14
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 15
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 16
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 17
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - Production Slate: Person of Interest • The Raven
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 19
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 20
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 21
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 22
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 23
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 24
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 25
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 26
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 27
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 28
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 29
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 30
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 31
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - Harsh Realms
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 33
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 34
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 35
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 36
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 37
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 38
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 39
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 40
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 41
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - Wild Passion
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 43
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 44
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 45
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 46
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 47
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 48
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 49
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 50
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 51
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - Tales of Ordinary Madness
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 53
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 54
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 55
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 56
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 57
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 58
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 59
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 60
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 61
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - Top of Their Class
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 63
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 64
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 65
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 66
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 67
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 68
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - Center Stage for Cinematographers
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 70
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 71
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 72
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 73
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 74
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 75
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 76
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 77
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 78
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 79
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 80
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 81
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - Post Focus: Technicolor Restores Wings
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 83
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 84
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 85
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 86
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 87
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 89
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 90
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 91
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - Classified Ads
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - Ad Index
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - In Memoria: Ric Waite, ASC; Herbert S. Alpert, ASC, CSC
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 96
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 97
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - 99
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - ASC Close-Up: Darius Khondji
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - May 2012 - Cover4
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