American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 25

compact Model 11 Dolly, which kept the
crew light on its feet while achieving the
"fluid yet precise" feeling the project
required. Beyond increasing shooting efficiency, the Primo 11:1 also allowed for the
slow zooms seen throughout the piece,
which were achieved with the aid of Preston
Cinema Systems' Digital Micro Force 2
zoom controller. "We ended up doing those
ultra-slow zooms a lot, and they weren't
always planned," Soffer notes. "I just did
them when it felt right because we wanted
the camera to be constantly moving,
whether on a dolly, zoom or both."
For Soffer, this was all part of a larger
goal to match his camerawork to the surreal
nature of the story. "The camera placement
and movement within each shot was felt
out as we went along," the cinematographer explains. "It was a very organic experience [reminiscent] of the way you cover
performance in a music video. This
approach kept my first AC, Max Batchelder,
on his toes!" Camera and lens equipment
was supplied by Panavision New York.
Soffer was admittedly "pretty
stumped at first" by the challenge of lighting the Custom House, with its 50'-high
ceilings and the inability to create rigging
due to the historical nature of the location,
along with the requirement of shooting at
night. Compounding the challenge was the
fact that Soffer would need to light the
space entirely from house power, as there
was nowhere the production could place a
generator within the building, and they
could not afford an outdoor generator on
one of Manhattan's busiest streets. Additionally, the house lights would not be
usable because they created what Soffer
describes as a "very bright and flat look. We
wanted something moody and directional,
and to control spill off the walls for a performance space that didn't feel overly theatrical."
To solve these issues, Soffer and
gaffer Mike Kim devised a way to re-create
the look of a helium balloon light using two
light stands on wheels. Each stand
supported a 20' Matthews Speed Rail
Menace Arm kit with two 22" fully dimmable 1K Jem Balls on the ends, thus providing
a rig that allowed for easy movement out of
frame when necessary. "It really ended up
working for us, because we needed a light-

Top: Soffer and gaffer Mike Kim rigged 1K Jem Balls from 20' Menace Arms in order to emulate
the look of helium-balloon lighting. Above: Working in the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom
House in New York City, the crew captures a high-angle shot of Max R.A. Fedore, who directed
and stars in the short.
www.theasc.com

July 2017

25


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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - July 2017

Contents
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 1
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 2
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - Contents
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 4
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 5
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 6
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 7
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 8
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 9
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 10
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 11
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 12
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 13
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 14
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 15
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 16
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 17
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 18
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 19
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 20
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 21
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 22
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 23
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 24
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 25
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 26
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 27
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 28
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 29
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 30
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 31
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 32
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 33
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 34
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 35
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 36
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 37
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 38
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 39
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 40
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 41
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 41A
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 41B
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 42
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 43
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 44
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 45
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 46
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 47
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 48
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 49
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 50
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 51
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 52
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 53
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 54
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 55
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 56
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 57
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 58
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 59
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 60
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 61
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 62
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 63
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 64
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 65
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 66
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 67
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 68
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 69
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 70
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 71
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 72
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 73
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 74
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 75
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 76
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 77
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 78
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 79
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 80
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 81
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 82
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American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 84
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 85
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 86
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 87
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - 88
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - July 2017 - Cover4
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