American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 52

◗

The Aliens Strike Back
a great hard light."
The cinematographer also takes an
unorthodox approach to his lighting of
bluescreen, which surrounded many of
the project's soundstages. Instead of
reaching for the traditional Kino Flo or
cyc lights - or even space lights
- Förderer elected to line the entire
ceiling of the stages with day-blue
colored muslin. He would then bounce
light into the muslin, to both serve as
toplight and to gently light the
bluescreen with soft fill from above.
When he needed some "punch" on the
bluescreen, he placed a BBS Lighting
Area 48 remote-phosphor LED fixture
on the floor - literally, with no stands
or base - and pointed it as necessary.
"We had 20 of those Area 48 fixtures
to fill in holes where needed," the
cinematographer says. "They fit in tight
spaces behind cars, rocks or even people."
To light the muslin-bounce setup,
Förderer employed combinations of
Digital Sputnik LED fixtures, 4K and
9K HMI Pars, and Area 48 units. "We
had seven stages, including a huge
ice-hockey stadium, in Albuquerque
that were all lined with 360-degree
bluescreen," the cinematographer recalls.
"I didn't rig any lights on the ceiling. It
would have been so expensive to have all
these stages pre-rigged with lights that
just sat there as we moved from one stage
to another. Muslin is lightweight and
easy to hang, and then you only have a
couple units on the ground to bounce
into it. It's much better than a perm lined
with space lights, and much more
efficient and less 'source-y.' I think it's a
common mistake when shooting on
stage - it doesn't represent natural
daylight realistically. The sky is a large,
soft [source], and that's what I try to
replicate with a perm full of fabric." He
adds that the muslin bounce "reflects a
much cooler color onto skin."
The muslin also served the
production well in terms of Emmerich's
preference for using practical cars on
stage. "With cars there are glass and
reflections," Förderer says. "I really prefer
to use the muslin ceilings in these
situations, as it provides a much more

Top and middle:
Morrison and
other ESD pilots
prepare to take
flight in fighter
craft that
combine alien
and human
technology.
Bottom: The
filmmakers
capture an
onscreen media
event in an ESD
base.

52

July 2016

American Cinematographer



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

Contents
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - Intro
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 1
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 2
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 3
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 4
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - Contents
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 6
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 7
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 8
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 9
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 10
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 11
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 12
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 13
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 14
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 15
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 16
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 17
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 18
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 19
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 20
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 21
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 22
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 23
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 24
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 25
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 26
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 27
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 28
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 29
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 30
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 31
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 32
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 33
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 34
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 35
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 36
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 37
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 38
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 39
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 40
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 41
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 42
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 43
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 44
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 45
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 46
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 47
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 48
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 49
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 50
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 51
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 52
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 53
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 54
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 55
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 56
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 57
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 58
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 59
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 60
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 61
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 62
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 63
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 64
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 65
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 66
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 67
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 68
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 69
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 70
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 71
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 72
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 73
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 74
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 75
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 76
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 77
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 78
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 79
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 80
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 81
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 82
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 83
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 84
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 85
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 86
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 87
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - 88
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - July 2016 - Cover4
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