American Cinematographer - October 2008 - (Page 10)

Short Takes Paying Homage to Hit Films by Iain Stasukevich In DirecTV’s “Fourth Wall” commercials, well-known scenes from popular films are interrupted when a main character turns to the camera and addresses the audience. Here, Craig T. Nelson reprises his role in Poltergeist to espouse the benefits of satellite television. I t’s late at night, and young Carol Ann Freeling (Heather O’Rourke) is communicating with ghosts through the television in her parents’ bedroom. She turns to her sleeping parents and says, “They’re here.” Her father, Steve (Craig T. Nelson), sits up and says, “No, they’re not,” even as an ethereal energy begins to fill the room. Then Steve turns to the camera and starts talking about satellite TV service. TV viewers have been witnessing this and other similarly bizarre moments thanks to DirecTV’s “Fourth Wall” campaign, which takes a memorable scene from a well-known movie and has one character — always played by the original actor — break the “fourth wall” to pitch DirecTV. Erich Joiner, who has directed seven of the “Fourth Wall” spots, including American Pie and Misery, explains, “What we’re essen- tially doing is reshooting a few shots that we edit into the scene’s existing footage.” He begins by studying the movie and then sits down with an editor to create an animatic for the commercial, with the scene’s new elements (in storyboard format) edited in for timing. “I’m usually involved before the cinematographer is,” he says. “When the cinematographer comes in, we’ll watch the animatics and talk about how we should achieve the look.” To mimic Matthew Leonetti, ASC’s work on Poltergeist, Joiner turned to cinematographer Dan Mindel (Domino), with whom he’d collaborated on other commercials. New footage makes up about half of the spot’s 30 seconds and is generally photographed in one setup. After accepting the Poltergeist job, Mindel had only a week to prep, and once on set, he had 10 hours to get it right. “It didn’t take much to get the idea,” recalls Mindel. “We watched the DVD a few times, and then we watched the animatic to see where our clips would fit in. Matching the direction and color of the light on the set was the trick.” The Freelings’ bedroom was 10 October 2008 Photos by Frederic Reshaw. Images courtesy of Deutsch Inc.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - October 2008

American Cinematographer - October 2008 Contents Editor's Note Short Takes: DirecTV's "Fourth Wall" Campaign Production Slate: Prison Break Production Slate: Need for Speed: Undercover Middle East Intrigue Kingdom of Light Memoirs of a Spook Landmark Gains Post Focus: An Overview of the ASC CDL Filmmakers' Forum: Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC New Products & Services International Marketplace Classified Ads Clubhouse News ASC Close-Up: Ross Berryman

American Cinematographer - October 2008

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