American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 42
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Darkest Arts
Throughout Part 1, Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) hide out in a tent as they attempt to both evade Voldemort and find a way to destroy him. The top image is a unit still; the bottom image is a frame grab.
say, ‘Oh, I have an idea: let’s do it this way,’ when there are already 300 lights rigged,” says Serra. “Everything was just so big. I was fortunate to have a wonderful gaffer in Chuck Finch. The first time I shot a film in England [ Funny Bones, 1995] he was on it, and he helped me a great deal, so it was very good to work with him again.” Finch, who also served as gaffer on the second, fourth and sixth Potter films, notes, “These sets were basically always lit with the same units, but it was down to how the individual cinematographers wanted to handle them. The
42 August 2011
approach has stayed broadly the same: big, soft sources [positioned] as far back as possible. Most of the sets were lit from outside with Quarter Wendy Lights and 20Ks, and for the closer work, we went down to various soft sources like [Lowel] Rifa lights.” A sophisticated and versatile dimming system gave Serra control over the lights and allowed him to stamp his own style on the lighting. “I would talk with Chuck about what we were going to do a few days before we went onto the set,” recalls the cinematographer. “Everything was
American Cinematographer
controlled from a wireless dimmer board, and I had the dimming operator with me all the time. If the actors decided to go for another position and we had to change the lighting setup, we could just bring different lights up or down.” The Visilink dimming system, based on a Chamsys desk and running alongside WYSIWYG, was developed by Panalux and allowed console operator Andy Mountain to make instant adjustments via a tablet computer. “We had control over every single light,” says Finch. “For the Wendy Lights, which are four pods of 650-watt bulbs, we had control over each individual pod. It was a massive cabling job. Sometimes we had up to 1,000 dimming lines.” The filmmakers wanted a darker look for Deathly Hallows to reflect the more mature themes. Harry is a year older in each successive adventure, so the storylines have become increasingly complex as the series has progressed. “I must say, I was surprised by how dark they were prepared to go with the visuals,” Serra observes. “Throughout my career, producers have argued that if images are dark, the audience won’t see them, but on this film it was the oppo-
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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