American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 70
*|*
W
An Immersive Collaboration
ith as much as 80 percent of Steve
Jobs shot on Steadicam, operator
Geoff Haley had to work very closely
with director Danny Boyle and cinematographer Alwin Küchler, BSC.
Here, Haley relates his experiences.
American
Cinematographer:
How did you come to work on this
project?
Geoff Haley: Alwin interviewed
a number of high-quality operators. I
didn't think I had much chance of
landing the gig, given the competition,
but Alwin and I got on quite well, and
to my shock, he offered me the job,
pending additional approval from
Danny Boyle. So I had a Skype interview with Danny before even reading
the script, as it was being kept securely
under wraps. He doesn't normally use a
lot of Steadicam, but it was his tool of
choice for this movie. The average
scene length was around 10 pages of
rapid-fire dialogue, and we had some
that were as many as 20 pages. Danny
referenced Birdman [shot by
Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC; AC
Dec. '14], in which they would do
maybe 10 takes of a carefully choreographed, long, uninterrupted oner. We
were also going to do a lot of uninterrupted takes with the camera traveling
long distances, but unlike Birdman,
Danny's intention was to shoot plenty
of coverage to be able to manipulate the
pacing and performances in post. So we
would also shoot reverse masters,
followed by two-shots, over the shoulders, close-ups and so on. We might
end up shooting some 80 takes of a 10minute-long scene. It was incredibly
exhausting, and there were times I
thought I'd run out of steam, but the
actors' incredible performances and
Danny's rare mix of empathy, passion
and artistry fueled my adrenaline.
What is one particular challenge
you faced?
Haley: Even though I was
improvising the coverage based on the
movement of the actors, all the different passes needed to be cuttable and fit
together like a jigsaw puzzle in the editing room. Remembering which pieces I
70
November 2015
had already gotten and which I still
needed during a 10-minute-long
moving scene with four actors was not
easy, especially when you are shooting a
180-page Aaron Sorkin script.
How did you manage focus?
Haley: My focus puller, Greg
Irwin, had challenges just traveling
through those tight, practical backstage
spaces. We also didn't use marks very
much because the scenes were so long
and so involved. Additionally, the
lenses were often very long, and the
depth of field shallow. I have no idea
how Greg managed it.
How do the different camera
bodies affect the Steadicam?
Haley: Traditionally, the heavier
the rig, the more stable the Steadicam
behaves, because it's basically a weight
balancing on a giant spring. The 16mm
camera was nice and light and I was
able to do longer takes, but [it was] also
a little more skittish. This dovetailed
nicely with the 1984 sequence because,
in my eyes, Steve was a little bit immature, skittish and rough around the
edges, personally and with Apple. In
the second act, he's more mature -
post-Apple with Next - and the heavier 35mm camera feels more grounded,
with more weight. Finally, the last
sequence is the digital Alexa with no
moving parts. On a Steadicam, any
moving part introduces a tiny piece of
motion that's impossible to completely
counteract, so those Alexa shots are
laser-precise and symmetrical. None of
this was a conscious or intentional
choice; it was one of those happy accidents I began to notice unfolding in the
story during dailies.
How did you know when a take
was good?
Haley: Danny said to me in the
interview, 'I may be asking you to try
some nearly impossible shots at high
speeds in very confined spaces. Your
"success" ratio might only be 50 to 60
percent. But that'll be okay and we'll
push through technical mistakes and
missed lines.' We all had to become
comfortable with failing, and to keep
right on going and maintain the energy
American Cinematographer
*|*
- knowing the editor would find the
best pieces. However, I would let
Danny know when I thought we didn't
get a specific moment, especially after a
few tries at it.
How did Steve Jobs compare
with your other operating experiences?
Haley: Steve Jobs was shot
primarily on Steadicam, but we also did
scenes where I operated on dollies or
handheld. I'd operate A-camera and
Alwin might operate B-camera. Alwin
was always finding those striking
moments that ended up in the trailer,
while I was getting the meat and potatoes of a given scene. We developed a
shorthand during my luxuriously long
prep. I'm typically accustomed to starting a day or two before production
begins, but this production had the
foresight to bring me in three weeks
early. It was really helpful for me to be
part of the location scouting, prelighting and rehearsals. I got to spend time
in the spaces and start imagining the
best angles to tell the story. I've always
wondered what it would be like to have
that level of involvement during prep,
and found it an invaluable tool in doing
my job effectively.
What was your favorite scene to
shoot?
Haley: The scene where we first
meet Chrisann Brennan [Katherine
Waterston], the mother of Steve's
daughter Lisa. It starts in a hallway and
continues into a dressing room. That
was an extremely emotional scene with
Michael [Fassbender] and Katherine
really pouring their hearts out. At a
certain point I started to feel more like
a privileged observer than a technician
shooting a scene; I was so drawn into
the narrative that I was able to forget I
was part of making it. I moved through
every inch of the dressing room with
the camera - following, spinning
around them and passing between
them. I've never had an experience so
completely disassociated from the technical work, one in which I could delight
simply in the emotional power of the
moment.
- Noah Kadner
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - November 2015
Contents
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 1
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 2
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - Contents
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 4
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 5
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 6
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 7
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 8
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 9
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 10
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 11
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 12
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 13
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 14
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 15
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 16
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 17
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 18
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 19
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 20
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 21
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 22
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 23
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 24
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 25
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 26
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 27
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 28
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 29
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 30
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 31
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 32
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 33
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 34
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 35
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 36
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 37
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 38
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 39
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 40
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 41
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 42
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 43
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 44
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 45
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 46
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 47
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 48
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 49
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 50
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 51
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 52
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 53
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 54
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 55
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 56
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 57
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 58
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 59
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 60
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 61
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 62
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 63
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 64
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 65
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 66
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 67
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 68
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 69
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 70
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 71
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 72
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 73
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 74
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 75
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 76
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 77
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 78
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 79
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 80
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 81
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 82
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 83
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 84
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 85
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 86
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 87
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 88
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 89
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 90
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 91
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 92
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 93
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 94
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 95
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 96
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - Cover4
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