American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 34

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Looks That Kill

Braier's notes offer a partial summary of her strategy for a sequence in which Jesse spots a mysterious
man who turns out to be a prominent fashion photographer. Lighting fixtures that were visible in some
of the screen grabs were later erased via postproduction visual-effects work.

thing to feel like a static photographic
image." (See sidebar, page 36.)
Refn's signature style also includes
the use of slow motion. As Braier notes,
"We shot most of the film at 24 fps, but
some at 60 fps - using the slow motion
to create different emotional textures and
heighten specific moments."
The production also employed
bold contrast between heavily saturated
colors, and an almost tactile sense of
texture. Both Braier and Hostetter
34

July 2016

referred to the work of American artist
James Turrell and late French fashion
photographer Guy Bourdin for inspiration. Bourdin, Hostetter notes, "was a
total master of texture. This had a huge
influence on us. The textures of surfaces
can really help add a sense of dimension.
Plus, Guy's work was all about sex, death
and glamour, which was perfect for this
story."
Braier and Tapia devised a lighting plan that would further accentuate
American Cinematographer

the film's colors and textures. "For the
opening scene, two 4-foot T12 [fluorescent] practicals, with 1⁄2 Minus Green
added, were placed camera-left of the
sofa," recalls Tapia. "A 4-by-4, 3,200degree Kino, with 250 diffusion, loomed
over the back of the couch [and was later
erased in post], providing a toplight that
brought out the texture of the wallpaper
and added shine to Jesse's dress. Finally,
a Source Four - with a 19-degree lens
and both a 3⁄4 CTB and a theatricalstyle Deep Blue - added a pronounced
blue tint from camera-right of the sofa."
To provide contrast with the interior lighting, Braier had two Digital
Sputnik LED units placed at street level
to up-light the limited view through the
window. The DS LEDs had been
recommended to her by Greig Fraser,
ASC, ACS, who used them on the
upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
"He is in love with the Sputniks," Braier
says with a laugh. "Greig called Kaur
Kallas, co-founder and CEO of the
company, and said, 'You have to help
Natasha.'"
The DS LED units are the brainchild of Kallas and his brother Kaspar
(see New Products and Services, AC
Oct. '15). "Our system is based on a
modular [concept], with individual light
modules serving as the basic building
blocks," explains Kaur Kallas. "The DS 3
has a single power supply that controls
up to three individual light modules,
which can either be grouped together or
used separately; the DS 6 has six light
modules pre-built into a frame; and we
are now launching a DS 1, which is a
single light module that can be powered
by batteries. You can also panel the light
modules into whatever shape or size you
want - rather like Legos!"
Braier says Tapia bought a DS 3
set that was used throughout the shoot,
"and Kaur very generously lent us additional units for our bigger scenes. I
played a lot with color on this film, and I
couldn't have done it without their lights,
which can be set up very fast. They
trained our guys how to use the
Sputniks, and they taught Manny and
me a lot about digital colorimetry. Kaur

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - July 2016