American Cinematographer - June 2012 - 64h

An Epic Surf Movie With A Twist
Sure a global, civilization-ending apocalypse has wiped out the
world as we know it, but maybe things aren’t so bad after all. That’s
the idea director Joe Guglielmino sought to explore in his latest surf
documentary, Year Zero. Guglielmino runs the entertainment division
for Globe International, a surf and skate gear and apparel maker.
“If anyone is going to survive an apocalypse with smiles on their
faces, it would probably be surfers, because as long as everyone
is safe and they can fi nd a wave, they are pretty happy,” says
Guglielmino, who was inspired by the conceptual surf fi lms made by
George Greenough and Jack McCoy in the 1970s and 1980s.
Though categorized as documentaries, conceptual surf fi lms
like Year Zero are experimental in nature and almost music
video-like. “Surfi ng itself and communing with nature is a
psychedelic experience in that it is
transformative,” he explains. “The
goal is to try to get the viewer as
close to that experience as possible
by using high frame rates to slow
down time and music to really
drive that home, honing in on little
moments.”
A big part of his aesthetic, and by
extension the Globe brand aesthetic,
is the use of KODAK Super 16mm
Film to capture the visuals. “I’ve
always had an incredible affi nity for
fi lm — the tactile nature of it; loading
mags with your hands; its durability and ruggedness; the incredible
latitude and versatility of the Kodak stocks; and of course, the look,”
he notes. “It has an incredible quality that is still unsurpassed, in my
opinion.”
As far as a cost comparison, he says shooting and processing fi lm
versus renting and shooting high-end high defi nition was practically a
wash. The crew also needed minimal gear to get through customs as
effi ciently as possible, and oftentimes they have to swim to beaches
with their gear in watertight Pelican cases.
“Our production schedule is very different than traditional fi lms,
in that we are completely location based and also completely at
the whim of Mother Nature,” he explains. “We have to chase swells
to the far corners of the globe and often fi nd ourselves waiting for
weeks once we get there for everything to line up just right so we
can get what we need. When we tested and priced everything out
based on length of rentals, durability, etc., and compared Super
16mm against the best digital cameras and workfl ows, we decided
that shooting fi lm was the best option for us.”
Starring Globe-sponsored riders who are well known in the surf
community, Year Zero was shot in Western Australia, Indonesia,
Mexico, Southwest France, the north coast of Spain and Costa
Rica. Exact locations are never identifi ed because when it comes to
discovered waves, surfers are a protective bunch.
Their gear consisted of tripods, a couple ARRI SR-2 High Speeds and
two 35mm CANON 15-600mm zooms modifi ed for Super 16 (one
by Optex, one by Century Precision
Optics), which doubles the focal
length. Cameras were loaded with
KODAK VISION2 50D Color Negative
Film 7201 and KODAK VISION3 250D
Color Negative Film 7207. After the
12-month shoot, around 40,000 feet
of fi lm had been shot.
Guglielmino’s longtime director of
photography, Scott Soens, actually
taught him how to shoot because
they realized two angles on the
same action were better for editing.
“Normally, I manned the longer lens,” says Soens, “and then Joe
would be just a little bit wider and at more of a straight-on angle,
which was free of obstructions in front of the lens in order to get
the clip that makes the trick. I would experiment with foreground,
ramping speeds, rack focusing, extreme angles and we can cut
back and forth between the two angles. I usually speed ramp
after the surfer drops in, right when he starts his session and then
return to normal speed after he’s fi nished.”
Adds Guglielmino, “With long focal lengths, we try to build the
frame so that you’re not just seeing a guy and ocean. We want
a background, a foreground and to have the athlete performing
between the two and then maximize the amount of action
happening in the frame.”
American Cinematographer - June 2012

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