American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 14

Production Slate Fateful Encounters An evil hag unleashes her fury on bankloan officer Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) in Drag Me to Hell, shot by Peter Deming, ASC. Supernatural Wrath by Iain Stasukevich Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell begins by presenting its heroine, Christine Brown (Alison Lohman), with a seemingly simple moral dilemma. An ambitious loan officer eager for a promotion, Brown needs to prove to her superiors that she’s capable of making tough decisions; in this case, it means denying an elderly woman (Lorna Raver) an extension on her delinquent mortgage payment. Unfortunately, the old woman vows revenge and places a powerful curse on Brown, literally transforming her life into a living hell. “It’s the classic tale of a girl in trouble, not a blood-andguts horror movie,” says cinematographer Peter Deming, ASC. “I’d liken it to 14 June 2009 Poltergeist or something by Hitchcock.” The film presents two worlds; each feels equally real to Brown, but their differences suggest the possibility that the demon terrorizing Brown is a figment of her imagination. For the “ordinary world” of the bank, Deming used soft, natural lighting, adding little to no color. “We set up Christine’s everyday world in a palette of gray and desaturated colors,” notes production designer Steve Saklad. “Initially, our climate had to be restrained so the camera and lighting could transition us to that other place when things get amped up.” Deming worked with gaffer Michael LaViolette to make the most of practical fixtures. For example, a scene showing the old woman’s attack on Brown in a parking garage was shot in a real garage, and after running tests with Kino Flos and HMIs gelled with Plus Green, Deming and LaViolette decided to augment the location’s existing mercury-vapor lamps with an additional half-dozen of the fixtures. “When you’re gel-packing a tungsten or HMI source, you’re losing light, and you have to keep the gels from burning,” notes LaViolette. However, the practicals posed their own challenges, particularly when it came to controlling and even effectively mounting them. Also, once the lights were turned off, it took time for many of them to come back on. The filmmakers also wanted to embrace existing fixtures for the movie’s numerous night exteriors. “There’s sodium-vapor light everywhere in Los Angeles at night,” says Deming. “We Drag Me to Hell photos by Melissa Moseley, SMPSP. Photos and frame grabs courtesy of Universal Pictures.

American Cinematographer - June 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - June 2009

American Cinematographer - June 2009
Contents
Editor's Note
Short Takes: A 65mm Microsoft Installation
Production Slate: Drag Me to Hell Downloading Nancy
A Bold, New Enterprise
Back to the Future
Making History Fun
Testing Digital Cameras
Assessing Previs
Post Focus: Cinematographers, Colorists and the DI
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Ad Index
Classified Ads
ASC Membership Roster
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Alan Caso
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - American Cinematographer - June 2009
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 1
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 2
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - Contents
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 4
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 5
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 6
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 7
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - Editor's Note
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 9
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - Short Takes: A 65mm Microsoft Installation
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 11
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 12
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 13
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - Production Slate: Drag Me to Hell Downloading Nancy
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 15
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 16
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 17
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 18
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 19
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 20
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 21
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 22
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 23
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 24
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 25
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 26
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 27
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - A Bold, New Enterprise
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 29
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 30
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 31
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 32
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 33
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 34
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 35
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 36
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 37
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 38
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 39
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - Back to the Future
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 41
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 42
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 43
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 44
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 45
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 46
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 47
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 48
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 49
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 50
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 51
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 52
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 53
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - Making History Fun
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 55
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 56
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 57
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 58
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 59
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 60
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 61
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 62
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 63
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - Testing Digital Cameras
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 65
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 66
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 67
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 68
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 69
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - Assessing Previs
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 71
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 72
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 73
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 74
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 75
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 76
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 77
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - Post Focus: Cinematographers, Colorists and the DI
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 79
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 80
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 81
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 82
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 83
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 85
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 86
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 87
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 88
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 89
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 90
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 91
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 93
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - Classified Ads
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 95
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - ASC Membership Roster
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 97
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - 99
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - ASC Close-Up: Alan Caso
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - June 2009 - Cover4
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