American Cinematographer - November 2007 - (Page 16)

Above: Andrew brings the game to an end with a desperate plea. Below: Cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos, BSC (center) and director Kenneth Branagh (with finder) line up a shot. a space marked out exactly as the set would be constructed while Zambarloukos, with operators Simon Baker and Luke Redgrave, worked out every camera position and movement in advance. This method allowed them to maintain a 24-day shooting schedule. “At the end we brought Pinter in to have a look at the rehearsal, and it was one of the best experiences of my life,” recalls Zambarloukos. “Ken and I wheeled him around in his wheelchair to the different camera angles we had planned, and we’d basically watch a scene from each position, with Ken yelling ‘Action’ and ‘Cut’ like he would on the set.” Many of the camera positions lingered on seemingly innocuous details, such as the characters’ hands, in order to heighten the sense of tension and hidden agendas. “We did shots that ran for a minute and a half, and we never tilted up to get a character’s face,” says Zambarloukos. “It was a really risky thing to do, and we didn’t shoot coverage for such things. When you have two actors of this caliber, you realize how much they can actually do with their hands and a glass and some ice. They can sustain something like that for a minute, two minutes; it was fascinating to watch.” Wyke’s home is rife with surveillance cameras, and images from these units play a key role in the story. Zambarloukos obtained an Image Intensifier night-vision attachment from Panavision and mounted it between the 35mm camera and lens; this allowed him to film either at night or during the day with NDs and Polarizers — the only filters he used on the shoot. Although he deliberately approached the film as though it were bound for a traditional postproduction workflow, the film ultimately went through a digital intermediate (DI) at Midnight Transfer in London. Zambarloukos is adamant that with such a route, the conventional IP-IN process is unnecessary: “When you’re going DI, you don’t need it — you just lose two generations.” Though the show was on a tight schedule that required shooting five or six pages a day, Zambarloukos says the atmosphere on set was jovial, especially when Caine entertained the company with anecdotes about making the earlier Sleuth. “He’s a great raconteur and very funny,” says the cinematographer. “We’d be just about to start a take, and he’d turn around to Jude and say, ‘Jude, if you feel yourself going out of focus, just take a little step forward.’ Of course, everyone cracks up and you have to reset, but he does it with good humor and makes everyone feel at ease.” I 16 November 2007

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - November 2007

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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