American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 28

Top: Oak and
Everdene
converse in the
graveyard after
the supposed
death of her
husband.
Bottom:
Cinematographer
Charlotte Bruus
Christensen lines
up a shot.

Dorset, where Hardy himself was born -
the movie combines an earthy naturalism
with a sweeping romanticism. "From the
beginning, Thomas wanted a warm film,
with skin tones staying true to the color of
candlelight," Christensen relates. "Instead
of correction filters, I used different densities
of Tiffen's Antique Suede on the lens,
because they have less orange. They were
removed only for moonlight and a couple
of day shots when I wanted to play with the
blue sky."
In addition to the Antique Suede,
Christensen employed Schneider Optics'
Black Frost filters on nearly all daylight
scenes and some night scenes. For close-up
singles of Schoenaerts, however, she
frequently removed the filtration.
"Matthias' skin is so true to Hardy's description of Mr. Oak that it would have been a
shame to add softness," the cinematographer says. When shooting Mulligan, Chris28

June 2015

tensen played with the level of softness in
order to support the character of
Bathsheba; when Bathsheba is alone on
screen in close-up or medium shot, Christensen also used the 40mm Ultra Speed,
shooting at T2 or T2.5 to isolate her in a
shallow depth of field.
"Simplicity" is how Christensen
describes her lighting philosophy. "One
[primary] light source. When I light, it is to
create shadows, not the light. One of the
major decisions my fabulous gaffer, Alex
Scott, and I made was to go with tungsten
for both daylight exteriors and interiors. Our
aim was to achieve a rich, old-style romantic
look and feel; 5K, 10K and 20K Fresnels
really facilitated that. I wanted to achieve
the film's look in-camera; I didn't want to
create it in the grade. For close-ups, I like to
muddle the light a bit on the faces and used
white poly board or tracing paper to
bounce, or we'd put a Hampshire gel, with
American Cinematographer

its beautiful texture, in front of the lamp." Arri
Lighting Rental in London supplied the lighting package.
The film begins in total darkness. A
door opens to reveal Bathsheba standing
outside in a sunny garden. The camera
remains stationary as she steps into the room
and disappears into the blackness. "It's not a
'film black' where you can see a little bit of
the room," stresses Christensen. "It's [pure]
black." Bathsheba walks through the blackness and re-emerges in the center of the
room, where an open window reveals she is
in a stable.
"The camera was on tracks, on the
11:1 zoom," the cinematographer explains.
"As Carey steps into black, we start tracking
and zooming. When she reappears, I am on a
different focal length and the zoom has
stopped. We then cut to a tighter shot of her,
and I am hand-holding the camera, which
increases the sense of intimacy."
An 18K HMI was shone through the
window, just outlining Bathsheba's face. It
was "directed through the shrubbery outside
the stables, giving a dappled effect," says
Scott. Quarter CTS with Hampshire Frost was
used to soften the lamp and add warmth.
HMIs were generally used for moonlight, as in a night exterior in which Bathsheba
and Boldwood walk in the forest - a scene
the filmmakers agreed should not feel romantic. An 18K on a Condor provided backlight
through the trees, but the key light was the
lantern Mulligan carried. "The lantern was
pre-prepped with a double-wicked candle
and a small mirror to reflect the light," Scott
explains.
"It was the only thing lighting Carey
and Michael's faces," adds Christensen.
Bathsheba again rejects Boldwood and walks
away; 4K and 6K HMI units gelled with 1⁄8
Blue partially light Bathsheba's path, whereas
the disappointed suitor walks off into
complete darkness.
For night interiors, such as the candlelit
dinner that Bathsheba throws for the 20 or so
farmhands in her employ, Christensen used
what she calls "one of my favorite stocks,
5213. It's quite a slow stock and falls into
shadows quickly, which is exactly what I
wanted for the dinner." Antique Suede on
the lens and CTS on the movie lights cast the
scene in soft, warm light. A black-skirted soft
box above the table contained four 2K Spring
American Cinematographer - June 2015

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