American Cinematographer - October 2008 - 16

Production Slate A Cross-Country Escape and a Cinematic Video Game Michael (Wentworth Miller, left) and Bellick (Wade Williams) confer in a Panamanian prison in Prison Break ’s third season. “We’re always pushing the frame with weight on one side or the other,” notes cinematographer Fernando Arguelles, who currently shares director of photography duties with Jeffrey Mygatt. “That gives the image an off-balance feel, which adds tension to the story.” Painting a Prison Drama by Leland Price It’s a light shooting day, the final day of an episode of the Fox television drama Prison Break. We’re at a small motel in Santa Monica, Calif., and cinematographer Fernando Arguelles moves rapidly between the video village and the room where the scene takes place. He’s passionate and full of energy. His native Spain has just won the European Cup in soccer, and he wears the team’s signature red jersey. Arguelles’ 10-year-old daughter, Claudia, is also on the set. She has been deputized by 1st AD Brian Faul to yell “rolling” into his walkie-talkie. Later, Arguelles talks about the look of Prison Break and how it has evolved since the show’s debut four years ago. “Imagine a television show where the lead characters escape from a prison in Illinois, travel around the country trying to evade the authorities, end up in a prison in Panama, and escape once again to Los Angeles. Each season has a slightly different color palette, and the scripts often contain scenes that feature another season’s look — for example, during the episodes set in Panama, we sometimes had to cut to scenes from the Chicago storyline, so we had to re-create that look. As the story shifts back and forth, keeping track of the various looks is one of the big challenges.” Arguelles has been a director of photography on Prison Break since the series’ second season. He began his film career in Spain, where he studied at the Universidad Complutense of Madrid Image Sciences, and then came to the United States to attend the American Film Institute, where he earned an MFA. His credits include the features Star Time and The Shooter and the series Walker, Texas Ranger. Typically, two cinematographers take turns shooting episodes of Prison Break. Christopher Manley, ASC and Robert LaBonge shot the first season, which was filmed entirely in Chicago; LaBonge kicked off the second season, shot in Texas, and then handed the reins to Arguelles, who shot 17 of those episodes; and Arguelles and Jeffrey Mygatt (24) have collaborated on seasons three, shot in Texas, Florida and Panama, and four, which has so far filmed in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. “My fellow directors of photography have done an excellent job and deserve a lot of credit,” says Arguelles. “We all have to make sure our work is consistent from episode to episode. “For example, the look of Chicago is blue, desaturated and somber, almost monochrome,” he continues. “The palette in Texas, which we used for a variety of locations around the country, keeps that desaturated look but adds a bit more color. Season three, set in Panama, leaned toward warm browns, even chocolate tones, with hints of tropical yellow/green. This season, set mostly in Los Angeles, is a hybrid — less rich than Panama, but not as cold as Chicago.” The prison in Panama is an interesting case study for the look of Prison Break. Production designer Philip Leonard modeled the set on actual prisons in Mexico and one depicted in the Brazilian film Carandiru (2003). The prison exterior was created at an abandoned correctional facility in Texas; an exterior patio surrounded by high walls was added to the existing structure, and this was where the prisoners often hung out. The interior set, featuring 56 cells, was built onstage at Las Colinas Studio in Dallas. Prison Break is shot in 3-perf 1.85:1 and framed for 16x9 hi-def broadcast. Mygatt and Arguelles shot season three, set in the Panama jail, on Kodak Vision 200T 5274 and 500T 5279. “Visualize the scene: a broken-down, lawless prison where even the police have no real authority,” says Arguelles. “Terrible men are doing drugs on the inside, and rain and searchlights are going on outside. It’s a crazy, surreal atmosphere. The main character, Michael Scofield [played by Wentworth Miller], walks into 16 October 2008 Prison Break photos by Fernando Arguelles, courtesy of Arguelles.

American Cinematographer - October 2008

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