American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 56
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A Cultural Cataclysm
Top: The streets are strewn with corpses in the wake of the Japanese invasion. Bottom: Large-scale action scenes mingle with tight close-ups, like this one of Kadokawa.
field, which produce very poetic images,” he and Lu also wanted to shoot most of the movie handheld, and to get very close to the actors. The filmmakers therefore decided to shoot Super 35mm. They shot mostly 3-perf but used 4-perf when they couldn’t find enough cameras modified for 3-perf work. Cao operated the A camera, and Lei He, a longtime collaborator, oper56 July 2011
ated the B camera; both shouldered Arricam Lites. For large-scale action scenes that required additional cameras, an Arri 535B, a Moviecam Compact and an Arri 235 came into play. (All cameras were rented from Cinerent Beijing.) Cao recalls that the filmmakers’ primary visual reference was the photography of three people: Robert Frank, whose work the cinematograAmerican Cinematographer
pher describes as “quiet but very powerful”; Robert Capa; and Lu Nan, whose series on Chinese Catholics “expresses a kind of human dignity,” says Cao. The cinematographer’s decision to light some scenes with only candlelight was influenced by the artist Georges de la Tour, while the “extreme framing” in Pasolini’s The Gospel According to St. Matthew is echoed in City of Life and Death ’s tight close-ups of individual characters and some medium to wide shots framing groups of people. Cao favored 40mm for close-ups and extreme close-ups, 27mm for medium to wide shots, and 75mm or 100mm lenses for some “beauty female close-ups.” When filming crowds, he and He would remain in one place as the actors moved around or past them. Keeping his feet firmly planted on the ground, Cao moved his body slightly to give these scenes a kind of floating feeling. “Chuan joked that I was playing tai chi with the camera,” he recalls. For most of his work on the film, Cao decided to mix Arri/Zeiss Master Primes and Ultra Primes and Cooke S4 primes. (Angenieux Optimo 17-80mm and 24-290mm zoom lenses were used occasionally.) “In black-and-white, the contrast of a lens can have an effect like [a different] color tone in color film,” he notes.
American Cinematographer - July 2011
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - July 2011
American Cinematographer - July 2011
Contents
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Letters
Production Slate: Larry Crowne • Mortal Kombat
Monster Out of the Box
Ring of Power
Shot Down in Flames
A Cultural Cataclysm
Ascending Cinematography’s Summit
Post Focus: Prime Focus New York
Filmmakers’ Forum: Jim Matlosz
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
In Memoriam: Gerald Perry Finnerman, ASC
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Bruno Delbonnel
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - American Cinematographer - July 2011
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 1
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 2
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Contents
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 4
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 5
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 6
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 7
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 9
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 11
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Letters
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 13
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Production Slate: Larry Crowne • Mortal Kombat
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 15
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 16
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 17
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 18
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 19
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 20
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 21
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 22
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 23
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Monster Out of the Box
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 25
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 26
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 27
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 28
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 29
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 30
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 31
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 32
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 33
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 34
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 35
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Ring of Power
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 37
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 38
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 39
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 40
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 41
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 42
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 43
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 44
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 45
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Shot Down in Flames
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 47
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 48
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 49
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 50
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 51
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 52
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 53
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - A Cultural Cataclysm
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 55
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 56
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 57
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 58
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 59
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 60
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 61
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Ascending Cinematography’s Summit
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 63
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 64
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 65
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 66
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 67
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 68
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 69
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Post Focus: Prime Focus New York
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 71
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Filmmakers’ Forum: Jim Matlosz
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 73
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 74
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 75
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 77
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 78
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 79
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Classified Ads
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Ad Index
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 83
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - In Memoriam: Gerald Perry Finnerman, ASC
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 85
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 87
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - ASC Close-Up: Bruno Delbonnel
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - July 2011 - Cover4
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