American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 34
•|•
Big Bang Theory
•|•
across) and recorded as 32-bit floatingpoint EXR files. The finished images were exported to EFilm’s DI suite as 10-bit log DPX files. “The greatest challenge of this project is that Terry Malick’s approach is the opposite of the way we commonly work in visual effects,” say Glass. The director, he explains, wanted to avoid defining the imagery ahead of time and often used the word “Tao” to convey an organic search for unpredictable images. “Terry objects if there’s a sense of the human hand [in the image], of someone interfering with the process,” says Glass, “so our work involved a lot of experimenting. The goal was to create glimpses of natural moments.” To get these images, Malick organized a series of shoots he called “Skunkworks” over three weekends at a studio in Austin, Texas. A small group led by visual-effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull (2001: A Space Odyssey) experimented with liquid tanks, flashlights, glass paperweights, dry ice, pinhole flares and sundry objects to shoot elements that were then layered to represent cosmological images. “The material that came out of those shoots was really rich and fantastic,” says Glass. “We tried to create interesting visual imagery first, and then figured out how to shape it and where to place it in the film.” A shot of light lattices in the early universe was primarily constructed with layered light leaks recorded with a Red One without a lens — flashlights were shone through glass objects like paperweights. “There’s an organic core to the image, a kind of natural beauty,” says Glass. A dark eclipse image was shot with a polystyrene planet on a pole in front of a light shining through dry ice. In post, the colors were finessed and tiny details of planetary fragments were added. A cloud-like nebula beginning to form was a 4'-wide pool of half-andhalf poured into a water tank and shot
T
he 20-minute “creation” sequence in The Tree of Life depicts the birth of stars, the beginning of life on Earth, a memorable interaction between two dinosaurs, and a meteor crashing into the Earth, among other cataclysmic events. The sequence begins with the formation of early stars and ends over 5 billion years from now, when the sun will, according to scientists, shrink to a small “white dwarf.”
August 2011
In creating the sequence, artists led by senior visual-effects supervisor Dan Glass worked with an array of material, including 65mm and 35mm motion-picture film; digital footage captured with the 4K Dalsa Evolution, the Red One and the Phantom HD high-speed camera; and large-format Canonstills. Real and virtual elements, like the CGI dinosaurs, were layered and composited in 5K (5,464 pixels
American Cinematographer
34
American Cinematographer - August 2011
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - August 2011
American Cinematographer - August 2011
Contents
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Short Takes: The Arrival
Production Slate: Rise of the Planet of the Apes • Femme Fatales
Cosmic Questions
Darkest Arts
An All-American Hero
Once Upon a Time in the West
Post Focus
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Tom Houghton
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - American Cinematographer - August 2011
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 1
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 2
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Contents
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 4
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 5
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 6
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 7
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 9
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 11
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Short Takes: The Arrival
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 13
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 14
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 15
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 16
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 17
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Production Slate: Rise of the Planet of the Apes • Femme Fatales
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 19
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 20
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 21
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 22
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 23
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 24
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 25
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 26
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 27
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Cosmic Questions
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 29
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 30
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 31
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 32
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 33
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 34
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 35
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 36
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 37
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 38
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 39
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Darkest Arts
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 41
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 42
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 43
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 44
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 45
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 46
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 47
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - An All-American Hero
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 49
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 50
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 51
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 52
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 53
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 54
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 55
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 56
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 57
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Once Upon a Time in the West
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 59
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 60
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 61
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 62
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 63
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 64
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 65
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 66
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 67
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 68
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 69
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 70
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 71
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Post Focus
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 73
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 74
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 75
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 77
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 78
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 79
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 80
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 81
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Classified Ads
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Ad Index
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 85
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 87
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - ASC Close-Up: Tom Houghton
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Cover4
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