American Cinematographer - November 2007 - (Page 66)

Night Terrors vided space to mount a couple of generators, lights and cameras,” recalls Willems. “Stunt performers were able to jump on and off of the digger as it was towed.” To give the machine a menacing, beastly quality, he mounted extra lights on the front and top of the digger, pointing straight into the lens. “It gave the scene more aggression and also lit the vampires on top of the digger. I had a Kino Flo built inside the canopy to provide some fill.” A variety of simulated travel sequences in a car, set mostly at night, were also filmed. “We couldn’t pull the car on an A-frame because there wasn’t enough space to turn around in the set, so a small rig was built on the back of the car that could hold a 3K generator,” says Willems. “This meant actors were able to drive the vehicle themselves. The lighting is compromised a little, but the driving looks much more real. A second platform was built onto the side of the vehicle for an operator, and with a Kino Flo coming in from the windscreen, off we went! This was my approach for Above, a citizen tries to use a trench digger against the vampires, with unfortunate consequences. Because of the inherent danger in using the actual trenchdigging tractor throughout the entire sequence, the art department constructed a replica of wood and rubber that could be towed on a large boat trailer (right). A 4'-wide platform built around the tractor provided space to mount generators, lights and cameras. Willems created a directionless soft light with Kino Flos and Redheads, which he kept 3 stops under. Much of the action in 30 Days of Night involves tractors, cars and other industrial equipment typical of an oil town. In a particularly violent night sequence, one of the townsmen takes on the vampires with a trench-digger, a vehicle with a huge chainsaw mounted at the front. Much carnage ensues before the digger is driven into the local hotel, which is blown up with dynamite. “The actual trench-digging tool is extremely dangerous, so the art department built an exact replica made of wood and rubber that could be safely run throughout the sequence.” The vehicle was placed on a large trailer normally used for transporting boats, and towed by a truck. “A 4-foot-wide platform was built around the digger, which pro- 66 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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