American Cinematographer - June 2013 - I6

Aguirresarobe reteams
with Allen for
Jasmine
Blue
Javier Aguirresarobe, AEC, ASC brings a unique sensibility to
his work. A master with more than 100 narrative fi lms and six
GOYA Awards to his credit, the Basque-born cinematographer
has collaborated with Pedro Almodóvar (Talk to Her), Milos
Forman (Goya’s Ghosts), John Hillcoat (The Road), James Ivory
(The City of Your Final Destination), and Alejandro Amenábar
(The Sea Inside).
In 2007, Aguirresarobe teamed with Woody Allen on
Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The collaboration clicked, and the
duo recently reunited for Blue Jasmine. “Prior to Vicky Cristina
Barcelona, I studied the light and
camera movement in Woody’s
fi lms,” says Aguirresarobe. “I found
that almost all of them distilled
to a similar style and way of
storytelling. I saw a preference for
warm tones. All of them obey a
similar visual concept.
“From my point of view,
the universe of Woody Allen
possesses a very defi nite visual
aesthetic that includes not only
the photography but also the
wardrobe, the production design,
and the color palette,” he adds.
“My goal was to comply with this
aesthetic universe — the one he wishes for his movies — and
also to help him to mold his language in the making of shots and
sequences.”
The fi lmmakers agreed that fi lm was the right choice.
The entire movie was shot on KODAK VISION3 500T Color
Negative Film 5219, utilizing ARRI/ZEISS Master Prime lenses.
Aguirresarobe says that texture is a very important concept
in his approach. “It’s the texture of the fi lm, but it’s also the
texture of the light that is projected on the screen,” he explains.
“That is one of the main elements, and it deeply affects all the
other elements. To me, texture is what makes the difference
between one cinematographer and another. The texture and
the material depend on the story, of course. But when the story
moves you, it motivates you to add your own personality to it.
“The special texture of color provided by KODAK Films
is important to me, especially for skin tones and faithful
reproduction of the true colors of
the scene we are shooting. Blue
Jasmine went to the DI process
with such a base of color and
thickness that we could gain
access to the defi nitive tones very
quickly. The negative provides an
enormous fl exibility at the color
correction stage, and it provides a
wonderful image texture.”
Lead actor Cate Blanchett
worked with two different
treatments in makeup, wardrobe
and lighting. The fi rst was for
scenes depicting fl ashbacks to her
life in New York City, where she
lived an abundant existence. The second treatment is set in San
Francisco, where she is searching for a new way of living. San
Francisco is the setting for confl ict, and New York is the setting
for opulence.
“In both ambiences, she gets light that fi ts a leading actress,”
says Aguirresarobe. “I wanted to paint an attractive, beautiful
American Cinematographer - June 2013

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