American Cinematographer - November 2008 - (Page 60)

Thunder Down Under moonlight created by 20Ks and Par cans. Around the perimeter of each set, Conway and his team placed six rows of 1K Par cans, all controlled by a dimmer, to provide backlight — up to a T11 on 200-ASA stock — for dayexterior scenes. The Pars could also double as soft fill light to match location footage. “Iain rigged half gridcloth into the gantries,” explains Conway. “When required, it was simply unfurled in front of the Par cans, and what was originally the backlight quickly and easily became fill.” Additional 20Ks were brought in lower, behind the gridcloth, if Walker needed to push light in under the actors’ hats and fill in the eyes. Walker used Kodak Vision2 200T 5217 for all bluescreen work onstage. “I rated it at 120 ASA and knew that with Shaun’s lighting setup, we could shoot at T4½ to T5.6,” she notes. “This gave me room to accommodate any high-speed shooting Baz might want to do.” For location exteriors, she used Vision2 100T 5212 rated at 64 ASA and shot at similar T-stops. Nights, interiors and sunset scenes shot on location were filmed on Vision2 500T 5218. “All three stocks matched perfectly,” notes the cinematographer. “In general, I avoided putting color in front of the lens for day exteriors,” she continues. “That way, Baz could have as many options as he needed in the timing. Also, Catherine’s sets and costumes are so precise in their use of color to compliment or contrast with the landscape that I didn’t need to add much.” Australia was shot in Super 35mm. Walker recalls, “Baz and I also discussed digital options and anamorphic, and ultimately, we decided negative was the best acquisition format and Super 35 was the best choice for us. We wanted the depth of field spherical lenses give you, and the visual-effects department wanted a fullgate negative, which would also give Baz the option to re-rack the frame.” Above: The Drover and Sarah attempt to round up some of her property. Below: Walker monitors the filming of the cattle drive. ing large, complex setups in wide shots, combined with his desire for maximum flexibility, required Walker to adopt a 360-degree lighting system for all the stage work. Rigging gaffer Iain Mathieson and his crew spent a week prepping each stage. Conway notes, “The key to matching exterior sets in the studio with the location footage was a large amount of ambience and soft fill. To provide Mandy with a good ambient level of 2 stops under key, we scrimmed 6K space lights for an overcast day feel. For night scenes, we’d skirt the space lights with black and put in Half CTB.” Walker was happy to shoot night exteriors onstage. “Shooting night exteriors in our isolated desert locations would have been hard because we wanted an even, glowing moonlight, which would have been logistically difficult to create there. To maintain the desired look, it was good to have the control a studio offers. We shot against black rather than bluescreen, and the visualeffects department digitally extended the shots, including the lighting on the landscape.” Walker opted for a soft moonlight look, which she created with space lights and diffused Par cans gelled with ½ CTB. For a scene with a lighthearted tone, she recalls that Luhrmann wanted a “1950s studio-movie moment,” which was lit with harder, dappled 60 November 2008

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American Cinematographer - November 2008 Contents Editor’s Note Letters Short Takes Production Slate Forging a Bond The Making of a President Thunder Down Under Habitat for Inhumanity Saluting Television’s Top Talents Post Focus New Products & Services International Marketplace Classified Ads Ad Index Clubhouse News ASC Close-Up

American Cinematographer - November 2008

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