American Cinematographer - July 2008 - (Page 54) Spy vs. Spy Dean Semler, ASC, ACS captures covert mayhem for the action comedy Get Smart, an adaptation of the popular 1960s television series. by Noah Kadner Unit photography by Tracy Bennett ostalgia buffs and re-run junkies fondly recall the TV series Get Smart, a spy spoof that amused home viewers from 1965-1970. Created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, the show satirized the Cold War and James Bond movies, featuring Don Adams as hapless Agent 86, Maxwell Smart, and Barbara Feldon as his considerably more competent partner, Agent 99. Together, they fought the crime syndicate Kaos, often armed with nothing more than sight gags and one-liners. After being revived as a feature in 1980 (The Nude Bomb) and a short-lived TV series in the early ’90s, Get Smart is back as a big- N budget feature. The project reunited director Peter Segal and cinematographer Dean Semler, ASC, ACS, who had previously collaborated on The Longest Yard and The Nutty Professor 2. In this new version, Smart (Steve Carell) and Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), under orders from The Chief (Alan Arkin), set out to prevent the villainous Siegfried (Terence Stamp) from unleashing nuclear war. Get Smart is the fourth feature Semler has shot with Panavision’s high-definition Genesis camera, following Apocalypto, for which he earned an ASC nomination (AC Jan. ’07); Click; and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry. “Because we can see dailies and judge focus instantly, we can reshoot right away if we need to, rather than two or three days later,” he notes. “And directors like it because they can keep rolling and working with the actors.” “Dean completely sold me on the idea of doing Get Smart digitally,” says Segal. “One of the best parts was that the executives from Warner Bros. could witness his entire process in the color-timing tent on the set. And Steve Carell said he felt subliminally more relaxed and improvisational because he didn’t hear the clock ticking as film ran through the mag.” One key to Semler’s success with the Genesis is EFilm’s 54 July 2008
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 American Cinematographer - July 2008 - American Cinematographer - July 2008 (Page Cover1) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - American Cinematographer - July 2008 (Page Cover2) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - American Cinematographer - July 2008 (Page 1) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - American Cinematographer - July 2008 (Page 2) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Contents (Page 3) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Contents (Page 4) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Contents (Page 5) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Contents (Page 6) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Contents (Page 7) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Editor's Note (Page 8) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Editor's Note (Page 9) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Global Village: Torn from the Flag (Page 10) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Global Village: Torn from the Flag (Page 11) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Global Village: Torn from the Flag (Page 12) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Global Village: Torn from the Flag (Page 13) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Short Takes: On a Tuesday (Page 14) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Short Takes: On a Tuesday (Page 15) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Short Takes: On a Tuesday (Page 16) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Short Takes: On a Tuesday (Page 17) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 18) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 19) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 20) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 21) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 22) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 23) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 24) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 25) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 26) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 27) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 28) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 29) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 30) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 31) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 32) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 33) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 34) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 35) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 36) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 37) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 38) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 39) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 40) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 41) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 42) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 43) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 44) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 45) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - A Not-So-Super Hero (Page 46) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - A Not-So-Super Hero (Page 47) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - A Not-So-Super Hero (Page 48) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - A Not-So-Super Hero (Page 49) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - A Not-So-Super Hero (Page 50) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - A Not-So-Super Hero (Page 51) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - A Not-So-Super Hero (Page 52) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - A Not-So-Super Hero (Page 53) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 54) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 55) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 56) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 57) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 58) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 59) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 60) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 61) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 62) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 63) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Laugh Factory (Page 64) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Laugh Factory (Page 65) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Laugh Factory (Page 66) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Laugh Factory (Page 67) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Post Focus: CineSynce Streamlines Dark Knight Effects (Page 68) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Post Focus: CineSynce Streamlines Dark Knight Effects (Page 69) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Post Focus: CineSynce Streamlines Dark Knight Effects (Page 70) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Post Focus: CineSynce Streamlines Dark Knight Effects (Page 71) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Post Focus: CineSynce Streamlines Dark Knight Effects (Page 72) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Post Focus: CineSynce Streamlines Dark Knight Effects (Page 73) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - New Products & Services (Page 74) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - New Products & Services (Page 75) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - New Products & Services (Page 76) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - New Products & Services (Page 77) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - International Marketplace (Page 78) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Classified Ads (Page 79) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Ad Index (Page 80) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Ad Index (Page 81) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - In Memoriam: Burton "Bud" Stone, Honorary ASC (Page 82) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - In Memoriam: Burton "Bud" Stone, Honorary ASC (Page 83) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Clubhouse News (Page 84) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Clubhouse News (Page 85) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Clubhouse News (Page 86) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Clubhouse News (Page 87) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - ASC Close-Up: Bill Taylor (Page 88) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - ASC Close-Up: Bill Taylor (Page Cover3) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - ASC Close-Up: Bill Taylor (Page Cover4)
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