American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 22

matographer and look through their location photos and lighting references. A
large part of my job is to extend the
photographed world into the digital world,
so the more information that a cinematographer can share about their intent, the
easier my job becomes.
"Having spent a number of years
working in commercials between
features, I learned very quickly that my
relationship with the cinematographer is
critical to my success," Russell continues.
"There can be unnecessary tension
between cinematographers and visualeffects supervisors. We each put a lot of
faith in the other's abilities, yet we have
very different methods for achieving
results.
"Most of the issues I've had have
stemmed from a lack of trust that the end
result will look 'right' - which is a very
subjective thing," he adds. "In those
cases, I find it's imperative to perform tests
early on for the entire [workflow]. If you're
worried that something isn't going to look
the way you want it to, then let's shoot a
test and make sure everyone is thinking
the same thing. Everyone learns something and you then have a solid example
that you can point to and say, 'Yes, this is
exactly it,' or 'we should adjust the lighting in the foreground plate so it blends
better with the digital background' -
whatever the case might be."
Asked how collaborators might
improve communication, especially if the
relationship begins with a certain amount
of static, Russell offers, "It starts with
acknowledging that we're all after the
same goal, which is to make the best
product possible. It might seem like we're
at odds on set, but oftentimes it's because
we've had previous experience with something that we're hoping to avoid, whether
it's that we've struggled with poorly lit
greenscreen or that we've had to spend
too much time fixing things in post that
could have been fixed on set. But we're
still all working toward the same end
result. The more information the cinematographer and visual-effects supervisor
can share, the easier that becomes. If we
welcome each other as part of the creative
team, then we can all achieve the best
results."
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Russell submits, "My ideal working
relationship with a cinematographer is
one where we share ideas and collaborate
on how to achieve those ideas in the most
practical and efficient way possible. What
might be easy for me in post might be
extremely complicated to do in camera -
although it's more often the opposite. I've
found the best situations have been the
ones where I was able to collaborate with
the cinematographer and the director
early in the process to solve problems
before it's too late."
Russell can point to particular
working relationships that have formed a
template he hopes to follow with future
collaborations. "Working with Fred Elmes
[ASC] on Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche,
New York was a great collaboration for
me," he says. "We all had very limited
resources, so it was essential to maximize
all of our tools early on. Another great
experience was working with John Toll
[ASC] on The Adjustment Bureau. There
were a number of scenes where we
married different locations together with
seamless digital transitions; John was a
great collaborator in those situations, and
we built up a trust through the course of
production. Working with Bradford
Young [ASC] on A Most Violent Year was
a similar experience. Bradford had very
clear ideas about how he wanted things
to look, and we worked together to find
the best solutions in each situation."
Without a doubt, communication
is the key to a good production. Often the
onus is on the cinematographer to refine
that communication across departments
to ensure a smooth experience. The effort
is well worth it. As Russell emphasizes,
"When we work together, everyone
●
wins."
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - November 2017
