American Cinematographer - September 2008 - (Page 22) Left: In one of the documentary’s stylized re-enactments, one of Petit’s coconspirators on “le coup,” JeanLouis Blondeau, uses a bow and arrow to pass a fishing line between the two towers. This guideline enabled Petit to later pass the walk cable across to Blondeau. Right: Director James Marsh (standing at left) confers with cinematographer Igor Martinovic (sitting at camera). Below: Interview segments interspersed throughout the film show Petit today. stocks are not developing as fast as color,” he notes. “What Kodak has achieved in the last few years with Vision2 and Vision3 is an incredible reduction in visible grain. That hasn’t been done in black-and-white film, so one has to be careful when using it. If you don’t have enough control of the environment, you can get grain in the highlights.” Martinovic frequently pulled the stock one stop in processing. What’s more, he knew he’d be able to control the locations, at least in part. All of the rooftop scenes were shot at Silvercup Studios, while the break-in scenes were filmed on an empty floor in World Trade Center 7, the first tower to rise since the terrorist attacks. This practical location offered glimpses of the Manhattan skyline from virtually the same perspective as the fallen towers. Since its construction had just been finished, it was also in pristine condition, just as the Twin Towers were in 1974. To create suspense within the crime story, the filmmakers “used visual tools from film noir, such as strong, long shadows and silhouettes,” says the cinematographer. “By shooting through different materials in front of the camera, we created surveillance-type shots with obstructed views. We even filmed people looking directly into the camera, referencing police mug shots, and added a light passing over their faces for an additional effect.” Once Petit’s team starts tiptoeing up the stairs with the cable, the tone becomes more comic. The actors cast exaggerated shadows (“Dare I say it? We actually looked at Murnau,” says Marsh), and Martinovic shot at 12 fps and 18 fps to achieve a silent-film look. He adds, “In the wider shots, we didn’t cut into the action, but let it happen in front of the camera for a longer time,” recalling silent-era slapstick. For Marsh, the comedic elements were essential. “What I love about what [Petit and his crew] do is that it’s completely pointless but completely brilliant — they suffer just to do something beautiful. What makes it funny is they passionately want to do this, and the emotions are so operatic.” For scenes atop the towers, the filmmakers pushed the effects further to create a poetic, otherworldly look. “By the time you get to the roof, it begins to look like a fairytale,” says Marsh. “The nature of the story is like a fairytale; it’s an impossible quest.” Here again, Martinovic pulled the film one stop to soften contrast. In addition, he used Tiffen ½ Black diffusion, and that diffusion was further enhanced in the digital interme- diate (DI), carried out at Molinare in London. The key light was a 20K (5K for close-ups) that flashed like the airline warning light that once topped the World Trade Center, with three Ninelight Maxi-Brutes providing fill. “It was originally a red light, but because we were shooting black-and-white that wasn’t an issue,” says Martinovic. “My gaffer, John Frisbie, helped tremendously with shooting dramatizations.” On all the reenactments, he adds, “our goal was to create a graphic look with instantly recognizable action that could speak for itself.” Petit’s high-wire act is then shown in black-and-white stills. As impressive as these shots are, they beg a question: why didn’t he film his crowning achievement? There actually was a 16mm camera atop the towers — Petit had obtained it for the big day and enlisted his friend, Jean-Louis Blondeau, to shoot his stunt. But it took five hours for Blondeau to pull the industrial-strength cable to its proper tautness. “Jean-Louis was so exhausted after that, he couldn’t physically pick up the camera,” says Marsh. “The camera was loaded and ready to go, but once he got his strength back, the police were swarming the building. “If it had been filmed, we would have seen that footage millions of times by now, and its power would have been diminished by endless repetition,” he adds. “The fact that it wasn’t filmed makes the movie much more surpris¢ ing.” 22 September 2008
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