American Cinematographer - July 2014 - 73

worked with directors from the earliest
stages of the script.
Their script analysis led to decisions about visual design. "I'm not a
look-book kind of guy," says Michôd.
Nor did he offer Braier any films as
reference points. But they and production designer Jo Ford homed in on heat,
decrepitude and scarcity of electricity as
a way of evoking a society in collapse.
They shot on practical locations
in the dead of summer, when temperatures routinely soared to 110°F. For the
characters, heat was one more hostile
element. "It's another instrument in this
symphony of survival," says Braier. "If
your car breaks down and you have no
water, you're going to die." For the
actors, it was a performance enhancer.
"They'll all tell you that there's something about that heat that you wear like
your costume," says Michôd.
Lack of water leaves the world
dirty, so dirt was the starting point for
production design. Ford filled baggies
with soil at every location during the
scout, and this became her baseline
color, the bare canvas for an earth-toned
palette, along with the outback's dusty
green saltbush. A patina of grime
dressed every location, garment and
face. "We used coffee for aging," says
Braier. "Every set was sprayed, and we
made textures on the wall, creating this
brownish derelict look. We were also
lighting with coffee; sometimes I'd ask,
'Can you make that corner a little
darker?' By the end of the movie, we

Top: Day interiors were lit through windows to help establish a world with limited electricity.
Middle: Braier lines up a shot over Pearce's shoulder. Bottom: The cinematographer shoots with
diffused light for an interior scene.

www.theasc.com

July 2014

73



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American Cinematographer - July 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - July 2014

Contents
American Cinematographer - July 2014 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - July 2014 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - July 2014 - 1
American Cinematographer - July 2014 - 2
American Cinematographer - July 2014 - Contents
American Cinematographer - July 2014 - 4
American Cinematographer - July 2014 - 5
American Cinematographer - July 2014 - 6
American Cinematographer - July 2014 - 7
American Cinematographer - July 2014 - 8
American Cinematographer - July 2014 - 9
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