American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 48
AT
railblazer’s T
ale
Don Burgess, ASC helps
Brian Helgeland visualize
Jackie Robinson’s dash past Major
League Baseball’s color line.
By Michael Goldman
•|•
A
t a crucial moment in 42, a drama about the period in
which baseball executive Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford)
teamed with the legendary Jackie Robinson (Chadwick
Boseman) to racially integrate Major League Baseball,
Robinson has simply had enough. Subjected to racist taunts
by Cleveland Indians manager Ben Chapman (Alan Tudyk),
Robinson storms into the tunnel leading from the dugout to
the locker room and vents his rage with a baseball bat on a
concrete wall. In the extensively annotated bible that the film’s
cinematographer, Don Burgess, ASC, maintained on the
production, Burgess wrote that director/writer Brian
Helgeland described Robinson in the tunnel as “the bull in the
slaughter chute, rebelling against what lies ahead.” The
sequence, he added, “should feel primal and bleak.” Helgeland
says he intended that the scene “not be pretty — no keylight
on faces, just blast light in there.”
48
May 2013
“We wanted to simulate bright sun coming in through
the tunnel opening to represent the harsh white world that, at
that moment, has brought Robinson to a breaking point,”
Burgess explains. “Then, Branch Rickey steps out of the shadows to help him make the right decision. The lighting was
inspired by the way Brian wrote the scene. I worked with
[production designer] Richard Hoover on the design of the
tunnel because it was important that Chadwick stand in the
sweet spot so the lighting effect would work. Richard built
one solid piece of wall, so that was the only place in the tunnel
where Chadwick could swing his bat and break it. This was a
good example of how a cinematographer works with the
production designer in prep.”
Gaffer Jim Tynes recalls, “We slammed an 18K
Arrimax into the tunnel from outside and made it as hot as we
could. There were some practicals in the tunnel, but it was the
18K coming through, with bounce cards, that did the trick.
The white light came straight off the floor as a shaft of
sunshine would. It’s a pretty iconic shot.”
Indeed, one of 42’s challenges was that it presents a
recognizable historical figure in a period piece loaded with
sports action that also had to be iconic, given how unique
Robinson’s moves were on the field. At the same time,
Helgeland wanted the look of the movie to be relatable for
modern audiences. He explains, “We wanted to acknowledge
that it was a period piece, but at the same time, we didn’t want
the images to feel old-fashioned. Jackie Robinson is still
American Cinematographer
American Cinematographer - May 2013
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - May 2013
American Cinematographer - May 2013
Contents
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Short Takes: “Suit & Tie”
Production Slate: Trance • The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Surviving the Future
A Trailblazer’s Tale
Conjuring Hope
The ABCs of DMX
Star Tech
Hot Shots
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Paul Maibaum
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - American Cinematographer - May 2013
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 1
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 2
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - Contents
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 4
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 5
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 6
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 7
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 8
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 9
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 11
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 13
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - Short Takes: “Suit & Tie”
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 15
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 16
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 17
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 18
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 19
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - Production Slate: Trance • The Reluctant Fundamentalist
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 21
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 22
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 23
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 24
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 25
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 26
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 27
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 28
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 29
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 30
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 31
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 32
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 33
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - Surviving the Future
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 35
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 36
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 37
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 38
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 39
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 40
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 41
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 42
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 43
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 44
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 45
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 46
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 47
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - A Trailblazer’s Tale
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 49
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 50
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 51
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 52
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 53
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 54
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 55
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - Conjuring Hope
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 57
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 58
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 59
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 60
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 61
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 62
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 63
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 64
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 65
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - The ABCs of DMX
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 67
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 68
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 69
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 70
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 71
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - Star Tech
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 73
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 74
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 75
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 76
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - Hot Shots
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 78
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 79
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 80
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 81
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 82
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 83
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 84
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 85
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 86
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 87
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 88
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 89
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 91
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 92
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 93
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - Classified Ads
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - Ad Index
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 97
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - 99
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - ASC Close-Up: Paul Maibaum
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - May 2013 - Cover4
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