American Cinematographer - July 2008 - (Page 37)

The shoot began with the bank-heist sequence, which was shot in the Old Post Office. The scene was a trial-by-fire of the Imax idea and was chosen in part because it unfolds in the daytime. Built in 1921, the Old Post Office features a granite-and-marble lobby where most of the heist action takes place. Huge windows lined one wall, where gaffer Cory Geryak and his crew used a dozen 80' Condors with 7K Xenon lamps to mimic shafts of sunlight. Additionally, 100K Softsuns came through giant bay windows at both ends of the space. Existing fluorescents were augmented by new high-output fluorescent fixtures. “Stylistically, it was a fairly uncomplicated lighting setup, but because of the size and shape of the Imax frame, which left very little room to hide lights, the setup was huge in scale,” says Pfister. The most complicated exterior situations in Chicago were the chases on Lower Wacker Drive and a series of rooftop scenes. The filmmakers had shot a major chase on the same two-mile stretch of Lower Wacker for Batman Begins and knew the stacked thoroughfare would offer several advantages: it’s effectively a covered set, so weather is less of a concern, and the overhead concrete offers places to mount additional lights. Pfister’s crew positioned Par cans to highlight the arches that line the river side of the street and stationed BeBee Night Lights on Upper Wacker and the overhead deck of lanes to throw light on the background buildings across the river. “With two miles of road to light up, there’s only so much you can do, even on a budget like ours,” says Geryak. “We’d shot anamorphic on Batman Begins at a T2.8, pushing the film half a stop, so we knew we could get away with it. In situations like Lower Wacker, sometimes it’s better to create points of light. For one section, we had a foundation of existing sodium-vapor lights and For a key scene involving Batman, Dent and Police Lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman, at left in bottom photo), gaffer Cory Geryak and his crew had to find a way to light a circular Steadicam move that would show the scene’s actors and background in 360 degrees. Key grip Mike Lewis solved the problem by devising an overhead rig containing Kino Flo tubes. The rig was skirted around the sides and aimed through Light Grid. American Cinematographer 37

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - July 2008

American Cinematographer - July 2008 Contents Editor's Note Global Village: Torn from the Flag Short Takes: On a Tuesday Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E Batman Looms Larger A Not-So-Super Hero Spy vs. Spy Laugh Factory Post Focus: CineSynce Streamlines Dark Knight Effects New Products & Services International Marketplace Classified Ads Ad Index In Memoriam: Burton "Bud" Stone, Honorary ASC Clubhouse News ASC Close-Up: Bill Taylor

American Cinematographer - July 2008

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