American Cinematographer - June 2008 - (Page 26)

A Pentax K110D digital SLR is housed in a weatherproof box atop a grain elevator to capture some time-lapse sequences. augments light through a trailer’s window to tame contrast inside. “We like to be energy-efficient,” notes Merians. “I love working with natural light and enhancing what’s already there. Outside, I’ll diffuse a 4-by-4 shiny board with silk to light our subjects. We have 400-watt and 200-watt Jokers, and I’ll diffuse them and just light the subject and let the background fall off. If it’s too windy outside and we have to bring people into a trailer, I like to use our prelit interview space, an environment we can control, where the walls are dark. If the only option is another FEMA trailer, the walls are white and the space is tight, so I’ll light through the window with a Joker and diffusion and keep the background elements simple, abstract shapes.” For action that lends itself to a sterile look — such as town meetings that take place in a FEMA trailer — Merians usually puts ND on windows and lets the overhead fluorescent practicals, a mix of 5500°K and 3200°K fixtures, light the scene. She sets the white balance in these rooms to look cool. The ongoing process of shooting B-roll material gives the filmmakers a chance to capture some of the area’s lyrical beauty. Merians notes, “People here talk about the sky being their ocean — it’s a huge part of the visual landscape. You can see sky 360 degrees because everything is flat, and there are these huge, gorgeous cloud formations. It’s like having a cyc behind the entire world. We’re always trying to capture things framed against that incredible sky. “We get 25-mph winds almost every day, and that’s part of the story,” she continues. “Anything we can do to convey the wind helps give viewers an idea of what things are like here. We get shots of debris flying around, trees shaking, construction workers falling over and materials blowing all over the place. The town was always windy, but now it’s worse because all the trees and 26 http://www.lumapanel.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - June 2008

American Cinematographer - June 2008 Contents Editor's Note Short Takes: "100 Days, " Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings Production Slate: Mongol Production Slate: Greensburg Vintage Indy A Prince in Peril Women's World 90 Years of Precision Post Focus: A 3-D Imax Work Flow for Wild Ocean Post Focus: 3cP Incorporates ASC CDL on State of Play Filmmakers' Forum: John Baily, ASC New Products & Services International Marketplace Classified Ads Ad Index ASC Membership Roster In Memoriam: Gayne Rescher, ASC Clubhouse News ASC Close-Up: Rob McLachlan

American Cinematographer - June 2008

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