American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 58

◗

Very French Revenge

Right: This frame grab of the accident that sends a stray bullet into Bazil’s head illustrates Nagata’s effort to mix cold colors into the warm palette Jeunet favors. Below: Bazil lies critically wounded in the video store.

cents with practicals, and added warm ceiling light through diffusion on Bazil. During the exchange of gunfire outside, the bikers slide down sodium-yellow streets in a garish landscape featuring green and mauve façades and blue neons set up on a bridge. “It’s cruel lighting, with a dirty feel to it,” says Nagata. Later, when Bazil tucks in under a cardboard cover alongside the river, there is a similar mix of green practical fluorescents, colorful lamps in the background, and an orange streetlight on the hero. Some night scenes are set on a rooftop where Bazil does a crude form of wiretapping by dropping microphones down chimneys. Nagata’s crew suspended 6K helium balloons just outside frame to create a blue moonlight cast, and lit Bazil’s face with an orange wash. “That’s intentional,”
58 June 2010

says Jeunet. “I wanted the feeling to stay warm. It’s that simple.” The film’s main interior set is the junkyard “cave” where the

“It’s cruel lighting with a dirty feel to it.”

Micmacs live and work. The production shot for some 10 days in the set, created by production designer Aline Bonetto. Nagata lit the cave with warm pools of light using suspended
American Cinematographer

250-watt and 500-watt practicals. Hidden Kino Flo tubes added small alcoves of other hues: gold, green and orange. Nagata added an underexposed toplight by shining space lights gelled with cyan through a Grid Cloth ceiling above the open parts of the set. The final effect is an image made of warm highlights and subtle, cooler darks. “If the tungsten bulbs were 2,700°K, then I had, say, 3,600°K to 4,000°K coming from above,” says the cinematographer. One of the most elegant lighting setups is the stylish, dark-walled apartment of arms dealer Marconi (Nicolas Marie). Nagata says he asked Bonetto to cover the set with a translucent ceiling made of “a material used for lampshades, like a plastic resin.” Nagata hung space lights above, creating a very soft toplight, which he complemented with practicals and a soft fill — “very little, almost nothing” — to bring out the eyes of the armed Africans who take Marconi prisoner. Nagata created the fill with one of his favorite fixtures, a Source Four Leko, through a Chimera. Jeunet notes that the lighting setup was “very practical because we could shoot extremely quickly. The metal of the guns, the gangsters’ black skin, and the set are magnifique. It’s a very beautiful light.” ➣



American Cinematographer - June 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - June 2010

The International Journal of Motion Imaging - June 2010 Vol. 91 No. 6
Features
Slings and Arrows (Robin Hood)
Desert Storm (Prince of Persia)
Very French Revenge (Micmacs)
Painting Towns White (The White Stripes)
Departments
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Short Takes: Land and Bread
Production Slate: Winter’s Bone • Harry Brown
Post Focus: Enhancing Frozen
Tricks of the Trade: Using Red’s False Color
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads/Ad Index
ASC Membership Roster
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: John Schwartzman
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - The International Journal of Motion Imaging - June 2010 Vol. 91 No. 6
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 2
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 3
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 4
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 5
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 6
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 7
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 9
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 11
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - Short Takes: Land and Bread
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 13
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 14
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 15
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - Production Slate: Winter’s Bone • Harry Brown
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 17
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 18
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 19
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 20
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 21
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 22
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 23
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 24
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 25
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 26
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 27
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 28
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 29
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - Slings and Arrows (Robin Hood)
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 31
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 32
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 33
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 34
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 35
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 36
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 37
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 38
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 39
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 40
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 41
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - Desert Storm (Prince of Persia)
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 43
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 44
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 45
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 46
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 47
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 48
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 49
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 50
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 51
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - Very French Revenge (Micmacs)
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 53
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 54
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 55
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 56
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 57
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 58
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 59
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 60
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 61
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 62
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 63
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - Painting Towns White (The White Stripes)
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 65
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 66
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 67
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 68
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 69
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 70
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 71
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - Post Focus: Enhancing Frozen
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 73
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 74
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 75
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 76
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 77
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - Tricks of the Trade: Using Red’s False Color
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 79
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 81
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 82
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 83
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 84
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 85
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 86
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 87
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 88
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 89
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 90
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 91
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 93
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - Classified Ads/Ad Index
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 95
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - ASC Membership Roster
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 97
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - 99
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - ASC Close-Up: John Schwartzman
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - June 2010 - Cover4
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