American Cinematographer - May 2016 - 10

During the 1990s, major advances in computer-generated
imagery (CGI) led to a flood of movies that incorporated the
technology to greater and greater degrees, with varying
levels of success. Now, CGI is generally accepted as standard practice, whether the digital effects are applied in
spectacular, eye-catching style or in a subtler, virtually undetectable manner for "real world" scenes. The prevalence of
CGI has led some industry observers and professionals to
lament the less-frequent use of more "organic" motionimaging techniques, but as ASC President Richard Crudo
contended in his column last month, "intent is all that
matters." His point was made in reference to the multitude
of viewing platforms now available to potential audience
members, but aspects of Crudo's stance apply just as readily
to the use of CGI, which can also serve to "reduce the distance between artist and audience."
Bearing that objective in mind, this month's cover story spotlights The Jungle Book, a
logistically complex application of "virtual cinematography," featuring just one flesh-and-blood
performer: 13-year-old Neel Sethi, who portrays the human boy Mowgli. In Michael Goldman's
coverage ("Welcome to the Jungle," page 32), director Jon Favreau stresses, "We wanted to
put a live-action sensibility into something that could only be done in a computer."
Director of photography Bill Pope, ASC was tapped to supervise the capture of this intricate blend of live-action photography, motion capture and digitally rendered and animated
elements. Regarding the film's mandate for absolute realism, Pope explains, "We wanted
imperfect skies, lens flares, sky flares. We wanted all the things you would really run into if you
were shooting in the jungle and trying to maneuver there - all the things those hardships
would cause. So we built that into the photography. We wanted to put into [the viewers']
minds that we really went there and did this."
Yves Bélanger, CSC continued his collaboration with director Jean-Marc Vallée on
Demolition, a drama about a man's emotional breakdown after his wife's sudden death. The
duo's favored approach involves working quickly to shoot a lot of footage, mainly with a handheld camera and available light. "I've never seen Jean-Marc try so many versions of each line
and situation," Bélanger tells Mark Dillon ("Stripped Down," page 46). "A lot of decisions
were made on the editing table. Sometimes he was very precise about what he wanted, and
sometimes he would shoot a scene three different ways. There are a lot of shots in the movie
about 30 frames long that took a lot of work to get."
This issue's themed focus on television production ("Family, Friends and Infection,"
page 58) includes coverage of the shows Bloodline (featuring cinematography by Jaime
Reynoso, AMC), Hap and Leonard (shot by Ryan Samul) and Containment (shot by Nelson
Cragg; William Wages, ASC; and John Smith), in pieces written by Jean Oppenheimer, Iain
Marcks and Neil Matsumoto.
Finally, no May issue is complete without our annual pictorial recap of the ASC Awards
weekend ("A Valentine to Cinematographers," page 71), a three-day love-in for all who represent and appreciate camera artistry.

Stephen Pizzello
Editor-in-Chief and Publisher
10

Photo by Owen Roizman, ASC.

Editor's Note
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - May 2016
