American Cinematographer - October 2008 - (Page 39)

would influence the color on the actors’ faces. I think we shot everything at T2.8 or T2.8 1⁄2, but without the footage, we didn’t know when there’d be a light or color change.” Rather than guess wrong, “we decided to use one color and do the alterations in the DI.” “Ridley wanted the Predator video screens to look a lot different from normal media, which are a warmish color,” says colorist Nakamura. “We graded all those background plates very cold, and Ridley came in for a session where we just painted all the background images. From there, I could take the foreground images of the guys in the control room and put a little colorcorrection in areas where the light would be bouncing off faces and control panels. We sent that material to Sony Pictures Imageworks, and they put it together.” The white light from the faux monitors created one problem: “It caused a little wraparound light that looks like a halo around the actors’ heads,” says Nakamura. “It didn’t lend itself to being an easy key, so they had to do a little more work there.” Back on location, the biggest ongoing challenge for Witt and his crew was keeping pace with Scott, who was always open to last-minute inspiration. “We might have something pre-rigged, even pre-lit, and Ridley would come in and say, ‘We’re going to change our direction completely and shoot over here,’” recalls Cronn. “So on the spot, we’d break down our unit and move as quickly as we could to whatever the new shot entailed.” Witt knows the drill well. “It happens in every shot,” he says with a laugh. “I think it’s difficult for many cinematographers. You have to put up lights for a three-camera scene and understand there’s a 95- percent chance Ridley will add a fourth camera that looks in that direction. This means you have to hang more lights than you normally would, and that takes time, but I enjoy the challenge.” I TECHNICAL SPECS 2.40:1 Super 35mm Arricam Lite, Studio; Arri 435, 235 Zeiss and Angenieux lenses Kodak Vision2 500T 5218, 250D 5205, 50D 5201 Digital Intermediate Printed on Kodak Vision 2383 39 http://www.mole.com http://www.mole.com

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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