American Cinematographer - November 2007 - (Page 104)

Points East A Writer’s Life by Patricia Thomson An earnest graduate student (Lauren Ambrose) seeks to write her thesis about a semi-reclusive author (Frank Langella) in the literary drama Starting Out in the Evening. dynamic force in the indie-film world for a short time, Independent Digital Entertainment, known as InDigEnt, recently closed up shop. The final film made under its banner, Starting Out in the Evening, is as strong as any of the 16 that preceded it, but in many ways it’s the least typical. The New York-based InDigEnt was created in 1999 to support lowbudget digital features. Projects were typically shot on DV camcorders, such as the Sony PD-150, and exhibited a raw, handheld aesthetic. Budgets were $250,000-$500,000, and shoots were limited to 18 days. Starting Out in the Evening breaks the mold in style and format. InDiGent wanted the production to use a Sony XDCam PDW camcorder, but director Andrew Wagner and cine- A matographer Harlan Bosmajian lobbied for 35mm. “We didn’t win that argument,” says Bosmajian with a laugh. Instead, the film was shot on high-definition (HD) video — a first for InDiGent — but this wasn’t decided until three days before the shoot commenced. Production struck a last-minute deal with Voom HD Networks for supplementary financing and a Sony HDW-F900, and rented another F900 and Zeiss DigiPrimes from Abel Cine Tech. In contrast to the look of most InDiGent productions, Starting Out in the Evening has a restrained sensibility. “We wanted to be very clean and elegant,” Bosmajian offers. “We never wanted to feel the camera imposing an emotional quality onto the characters.” Based on a novel by Brian Morton, the story centers on Leonard Schiller (Frank Langella), a novelist in Manhattan whose time has passed. His books are out of print, and his latest manuscript remains unfinished after 10 years. Into his ordered, solitary life walks a bold graduate student, Heather (Lauren Ambrose), who intends to write her thesis about him. Initially resistant, Schiller gradually relents, at first because of the prospect of rekindled interest in his writing, and then, as Heather pushes personal boundaries, because of reawakened emotions. Schiller’s other key relationship is with his daughter (Lili Taylor), who is engaged in her own struggle for love and has to analyze her priorities when her ex-beau (Adrian Lester) reappears. “Our guiding creative principle 104 November 2007 Photos by Annabel Clark, courtesy of Roadside Attractions.

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American Cinematographer - November 2007 Contents Editor’s Note Global Village DVD Playback Production Slate Deconstructing Bob Dylan Honoring a Lost Friend Night Terrors Losing Control TV’s Top-Rated Short Takes Post Focus New Products & Services Points East International Marketplace Classified Ads Ad Index Clubhouse News ASC Close-Up

American Cinematographer - November 2007

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