American Cinematographer - June 2008 - (Page 33)

pretty big set, about 700 feet long by 200 feet across, and it had eight large windows,” recalls Devlin. “We brought in six 15-6K Bebee Night Lights for the hallway, and they were a real benefit to us because we could easily move them from location to location for the main unit.” Several 18Ks outside the windows helped create fill in the massive space. Kaminski recalls, “I was getting small shafts of light, but not as much as I wanted because the glass in the windows was very old and thick. We did our basic overall lighting and put some light in front of the lens to fill in the shadows and create some eyelight for the actors. We made it look a little more glamorous than I normally would.” The story then shifts to Peru, where Jones and others make their way to an ancient Mayan temple that is believed to house the Crystal Skull. A car chase in the canopied jungle combines shots filmed on location on the Big Island of Hawaii with bluescreen photography of the actors and vehicles on mechanical gimbals. Kaminski captured traveling shots with a 30' Technocrane mounted on a Camera Cars Unlimited insert car and a waterproof 32' Hydrascope crane with a Wescam XR remote head. The cinematographer worked closely with visual-effects supervisor Pablo Helman of Industrial Light & Magic to maintain visual continuity. “On all of the day exteriors, it was challenging to achieve that glossy, highkey Hollywood look because we were constantly trying to overpower the sun,” notes Kaminski. “I often wished I had more contrast between highlights and keys. You start using the sun as your key, and you can’t create a backlight. You’re already at a T22, so to get a stop and half over, you’re at a T40-46! Suddenly, an 18K becomes an eyelight.” Adds Devlin, “For the location work in Hawaii, we established a base stop of T4.5 and then used all Indy maintains his insouciance even as he’s “boxed in” by Spalko and her minions. This scene is set in the cavernous warehouse seen at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. “The set was so large you could actually drive a car across it at 25 miles an hour!” recalls Kaminski. “It also called for a lot of smoke, and when you have smoke, you can see light sources, and the whole thing can quickly start looking too theatrical.” To maintain a degree of realism, gaffer David Devlin worked with the show’s art department to install an array of extremely bright overhead fixtures that could appear in the shots. American Cinematographer 33

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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