American Cinematographer - September 2007 - (Page 62)

Baroque Visions on a close-up, while the other covered the entire scene. Because Univisium is a 3-perf format, we could shoot for 25 percent longer without stopping to reload. It also reduced the cost of film and lab work by 25 percent. Technicolor Rome processed the negative, and we saw film dailies in Italy and digital dailies on a 50inch plasma screen in Belgrade. I spent several weeks at Technicolor supervising the answer print with color timer Antonio Salvatori and the transfer to HD video master with colorist Nazzareno Neri. We did the answer print at 3-perf and printed the interpositive and master separations at 3-perf, then went to 4-perf for the internegative, maintaining the 2:1 aspect ratio within the frame. The release prints are standard anamorphic prints that can be screened around the world. Did you use Technicolor’s ENR process? Storaro: Yes. The combination of ENR and printing on [Kodak] Vision Premier gives the blacks a special kind of sheen that is important in Caravaggio’s paintings. We also use rich black backgrounds in scenes where we reveal the darkness in his soul. How did you simulate the light from the era in which Caravaggio lived and worked? Storaro: In 1600, there was natural sunlight and moonlight, and artificial sources such as torches and candles. We gave a lot of thought to the angles and colors of light, and whether a scene was happening in a place that was lit by one or 300 candles. I have been using a theatrical dimmer board since One From the Heart [1982]; it allows me to control lighting from a single place while we’re shooting. We designed lighting during rehearsals, and while we were shooting we used the board to control transitions from day to night and color changes. I used chromatic nuances ranging from red to orange Storaro and an actor look on as the crew preps a crane shot. Lazarus I believe Caravaggio symbolically completed his creative journey. Where did you shoot Caravaggio? Storaro: First we went to Sicily, where Caravaggio lived and worked. We filmed scenes at exterior and interior locations, including a beautiful castle that looks the same as it did 400 years ago. There we shot scenes re-creating parts of his life in Naples and on the island of Malta. We were in Sicily and other parts of southern Italy for two weeks. We also shot in Rome for two weeks at locations that included an ancient church; the castle where Caravaggio witnessed the execution of Beatrice Cenci; and a beautiful, old building where we re-created the interiors of Cardinal Del Monte’s palace. After that we spent six weeks on the backlot at Belgrade Studios [in Serbia], where we recreated the center of Rome. [Production designer] Giantito Burchiellaro and I spent two weeks going through the film scene by scene, discussing the needs of every department, and the director was with us, making notes. We had to meet a second time after changes in the script created the need for dif- ferent settings. How did your use of the Univisium 2:1 format affect your approach to the show, and how did it affect the postproduction? Storaro: I have photographed all of my films in Univisium since Tango [1998], and I have also transferred any anamorphic film I’ve ever done, including Apocalypse Now, Tucker and The Last Emperor, into 2:1 video masters. I have loved that [frame] since I first saw Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, and I composed all of those anamorphic films in 2:1 using a special ground glass. For Caravaggio, Technovision Rome supplied us with two Arri 535B cameras modified by Arri in Munich for the 2:1 Univisium aspect ratio. That was important because there are plans to release both television and cinema versions of the film. Audiences should experience films the way filmmakers intended them to be seen, whether they’re watching a cinema screen or a TV. With Univisium, the composition is exactly the same in the TV and cinema versions. We used two cameras because we only had 12 weeks to cover a long and complicated script; one camera was usually 62 September 2007

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Contents Editor’s Note Global Village DVD Playback Production Slate Bourne Again Cultural Immersion Baroque Visions Once Upon a Time in Bucharest Short Takes Post Focus Filmmakers’ Forum New Products & Services Points East International Marketplace Classified Ads Ad Index ASC Membership Roster Clubhouse News Wrap Shot

American Cinematographer - September 2007

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