American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 28
From left: First AC Scott Lipkowitz, director Paolo Sorrentino and
cinematographer Luca Bigazzi line up a shot.
own, and in those 10 minutes invent all the
frames for that day's shooting."
Sorrentino presents Bigazzi with very
precise ideas, whether conjured that day or
earlier. "Every day he brings a secret list of
frames that he keeps jealously hidden," the
cinematographer attests. "And this, I think,
is very fair, because it forces those working
with him to be ready for any occurrence."
A 360-degree lighting strategy was
maintained throughout the series, leaving
actors and camera free to roam. "I light
starting from the environments, being
aware of the kind of look the scene
requires, but never favoring technique or
elaborate light positioning. Above all, I try to
never change the position of the lights
during one sequence."
Contrary to common practice in Italy
and elsewhere, Bigazzi operates camera.
The other primary operators were Daria
D'Antonio and Luan Amelio, plus Alex
Brambilla on Steadicam.
"Throughout the 24 weeks of
shooting, we used every possible medium:
dolly, cranes, Technocranes, Steadicam,
drones, aerial and underwater shots,"
Bigazzi says, "but also handheld camera,
slider, mini jib, everything you could think
of. It was a conclusive experience - I could
say I authentically learned the job of cine28
May 2017
matographer only after completing The
Young Pope."
Likewise, nearly every kind of light
was deployed. Bigazzi explains that the
production used helium balloons quite
often "because of their soft quality and to
tackle the hugeness of the environments.
Then, as always, [we used] HMI and fluorescents, lightbulbs, candles. Throughout the
series, in the daytime the light of the
window had to be the main light, often a
blinding one [which was frequently
produced by 18K HMI Pars]. Even if it was
daytime, the large Vatican practicals [fitted
with standard bulbs] were on, and this gave
us those warm tones that contrasted the
cold lights of the exteriors.
"I must admit that in recent years I've
been using the new LED lights more and
more," he adds. "They're particularly wellsuited to digital filming, which requires a
very delicate use of lighting because of its
great sensitivity in reading shadows. Today,
any light risks being too invasive. Lightness,
softness, speed - this is what digital
cinema requires. I tried working [with this
degree of detail] in the past, but with great
difficulty, because film stock wasn't sensitive
enough. Now it's finally possible. I feel liberated and able to be much more daring."
Color timing was performed at
American Cinematographer
Margutta Digital in Rome, with two
colorists, Andrea Orsini and Paolo Verrucci
- the latter of whom oversaw the final -
devoted to the series. The grade was
performed with Autodesk Lustre in
3840x2160 UHD resolution. For Bigazzi,
"it's a decisive moment of my work," he
says. "Digital printing makes it possible to
render the true sense of a scene and to
correct every single defect that speed sometimes forces you to accept. It's a thrilling
phase, and my relationship with the colorist
is a source of great confidence and comfort
even [while we're shooting]."
Maintaining their feature-production
standards for a 10-part series wasn't easy.
As Sorrentino says, "Being Italians and this
being the first time we tried our hand at
such a huge production, the whole series
was a challenge."
Bigazzi's lingering memory is of the
relentless pace. "The speed at which Paolo
works, the concentration he requires from
everyone, make the set an electrifying but
extremely tiring experience," the cinematographer notes. "Twenty-four weeks at
a ceaseless rhythm was the limit of the
humanly possible. Only today can I say that
I 'survived' The Young Pope."
TECHNICAL SPECS
1.78:1
Digital Capture
Red Epic Dragon
Leica Summicron-C, Arri/Zeiss Ultra Prime,
Canon Cinema
●
Erratum
In AC's April 2017 coverage of The Path,
the caption for the bottom photo on
page 26 misidentifies the crewmember
behind the camera. Pictured is B-camera
operator Arthur Africano. AC regrets the
error.
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - May 2017
Contents
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 1
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 2
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - Contents
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 4
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 5
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 6
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 7
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 8
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 9
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 10
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 11
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 12
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 13
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 14
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 15
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 16
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 17
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 18
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 19
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 20
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 21
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 22
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 23
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 24
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 25
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 26
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 27
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 28
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 29
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 29A
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 29B
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 29C
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 29D
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 30
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 31
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 32
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 33
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 34
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 35
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 36
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 37
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 38
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 39
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 40
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 41
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 42
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 43
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 44
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 45
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 46
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 47
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 48
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 49
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 50
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 51
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 52
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 53
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 54
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 55
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 56
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American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 60
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American Cinematographer - May 2017 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - Cover4
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