American Cinematographer - October 2008 - (Page 71)

with rope to give us some ambient night light.” Green, orange and red gels accented other lamps outside the bus. “We also strung Christmas bulbs a few yards behind the bus and moved them, so from inside you can see moving points of light that are deeply out of focus,” adds the gaffer. The existing interior practicals in the period-correct bus didn’t work, so the crew bought a handful of inexpensive puck lights with small halogen bulbs from a hardware store. These were rigged for 120-volt power, and the painter dressed the wires to conceal them. A few 100-watt Peppers were bounced into seat backs to light actors, and small Litepanels LEDs — sometimes handheld and sometimes mounted — were used to throw additional light onto an actor’s face or accent architectural details inside the bus. To film the games, the pro- duction used a number of football fields and stadiums in the Chicago area. For one night game, Morgenthau notes, “I chose to turn off the existing stadium lights and use tungsten fixtures. The existing lights weren’t bright enough for high-speed work, and they had a discontinuous spectrum that would have resulted in a less full-looking 80 negative.” The crew ringed the stadium with five 80' Condors with two 12-light Maxi-Brutes in each; they needed enough light to shoot at a T2.8 at 60 fps. “We lit mostly from one side or the other to create a silhouette-y feeling,” says Morgenthau. “There was a lot of dust and dirt kicked up on the field, which really worked magic with the 24 Truss Image 80 20K 6 16 I Beam w/ Trollies from Chain Motors The production shot scenes taking place in a variety of press boxes on one set that was adapted to depict each situation. The set, diagrammed below in two views, was roughly 60' wide with two sections, one more open and another more private, as dictated by the script. Large glass windows were gimbaled so reflections could be eliminated. Beyond the windows were large greenscreens that were replaced with plates shot at various stadiums. Three 20Ks, simulating sunlight, were hung overhead on trolleys and chain motors. A line of white card, beadboard or foamcore reflected light from Par cans that were typically gelled with 1⁄4 blue to mimic skylight. 12 Bounce 32 20 A B C A B C A B C A B C 5 A B C A B C A B C Pipe Set Platform 60 Press Box v3 64 Par Can w/ FFS & 1/4 CTB American Cinematographer 71

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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