American Cinematographer - August 2008 - (Page 31) Panavision didn’t have a 65mm, so we asked them to make one. We feel it’s the best lens we’ve ever had.” However, Maier notes that in general, “we usually only used a prime if Bill needed to shoot at a T2, for handheld work on additional cameras, or if there was a particularly distinct focus pull.” The main cameras were the Panaflex Millennium XL and Panaflex Platinum, but for the production’s most ambitious night exterior, a foot chase covering 12 blocks in downtown Vancouver, the filmmakers added the Genesis to the mix to take advantage of its lowlight capability. In the scene, Mulder and another FBI agent (played by Amanda Peet) pursue a suspect down city streets, through a tunnel and into a building that’s under construction, winding up on the roof. Two Millennium XLs, two Genesis and a Platinum were used in various configurations to capture the action, which was shot over eight nights, and Maier was sometimes sent into the fray with a Panasonic AG-HVX200 “P2” camera (record- ing at 720p) to capture Mulder’s point of view at “a full-on, flat-out sprint,” he recalls. Point of view — usually that of predator or prey — has always been a key component of The XFiles’ visual scheme, and in planning the chase coverage, Carter and Roe discussed the best way to put viewers in the characters’ shoes. They watched the foot chase in the pilot for Millennium (AC Oct. ’96), another series Carter created, and the chase in The French Connection. Carter explains, “The chase in Millennium came out of my love of the chase in Seven, where we’re seemingly always in someone’s point of view; the filmmakers do break that rule, but you’re in the chase, not Above: As Roe looks on, A-camera 1st AC Stephen Maier preps the camera that will capture chase action from a Libra head/crane arm. Left: The filmmakers prepare to shoot some of the chase from an insert car. Seated on the front are (from left) director Chris Carter, B-camera operator Michael Wrinch and B-camera 1st AC Cory Budney. 2nd AD Roger Scott Russell is standing. On top of the car are (front to back) grip Reid Cohoon, Librahead technician Randy Morton and Roe. American Cinematographer 31
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