American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 46
◗
Time Immemorial
Right: Fawcett
shares a moment
with his wife,
Nina (Sienna
Miller). Below:
Director James
Gray (gesturing)
discusses the
scene with
Hunnam outside
the minimal,
blacked-out set,
which enabled
the shot's
silhouette effect.
that we liked better on film," Khondji
recalls. "Working with film feels more
organic. I can push the negative, I can
flash it like we did with The Immigrant
- and we took flashing much further
this time."
Khondji's film flasher of choice is
Arri's VariCon, a peripheral unit that
occupies two filter slots in an Arri MB14 matte box. The VariCon uses a variable color and intensity light source to
illuminate a glass filter that fogs the
image, raising detail and sensitivity in
the shadow areas without affecting the
midrange or highlights. Khondji knew a
large portion of The Lost City of Z would
46
May 2017
be lit by warm firelight, and he used the
VariCon for the film's night exteriors as
well as day and night interiors to cool
the shadows, giving the negative a blue
record that colorist Yvan Lucas could
later manipulate in the digital intermediate.
As preproduction continued,
Khondji shot his own anamorphic tests.
"You're talking to a lens fanatic," he
admits, then proceeds to outline his
philosophy for selecting optics. "When
you choose anamorphic lenses you have
to choose the nicest ones, which aren't
necessarily the cleanest and the sharpest
- they're the most atmospheric. If you
American Cinematographer
were to photograph the same face with
five different 50mm anamorphic lenses,
you'd see what I mean. The face will be
thinner or fatter, or shrunk or
expanded."
For The Lost City of Z, Khondji
wanted to shoot his close-ups using a
wide-angle lens, but without deforming
faces, so he asked ASC associate Dan
Sasaki - Panavision's vice president of
optical engineering and lens strategy -
to optimize a 50mm C Series prime for
close focus. First AC Eric Swanek
worked with Panavision London's
Charlie Todman to round out the lens
package with stock C Series, 135mm
and 180mm E Series, and assorted
USG anamorphic primes, as well as an
AWZ2 40-80mm (T2.8), an ATZ 70200mm (T3.5), and an anamorphized
Angenieux 25-250mm HR (T3.5)
zoom. Panavision London also provided
the production with its cameras, including an Arricam ST; two Arricam Lites;
and, as a backup camera set to a 172.8degree shutter, an Arriflex 435
Advanced.
The lenses had to be fast to
accommodate shooting by firelight, and
Khondji's preference for working at or
close to the widest aperture. "With
anamorphic I always shoot between
T2.5 and T2.8," he comments. "With
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
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 57
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 58
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 59
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 60
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 61
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 62
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American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 65
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 66
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 67
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American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 70
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 71
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 72
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 73
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American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 82
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American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 84
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 85
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 86
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 87
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - 88
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - May 2017 - Cover4
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