American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 47

Photos by Kimberley French, SMPSP, courtesy of
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.

Opposite and this
page, above:
Photojournalist
Alex Martin (Kate
Winslet) and
neurosurgeon
Ben Bass (Idris
Elba) fight for
survival after
their plane
crashes on a
remote
mountaintop in
the feature The
Mountain
Between Us. Left:
Cinematographer
Mandy Walker,
ASC, ACS lines up
a shot.

300 miles east of Vancouver - which
stood in for northern Utah's High
Uintas Wilderness. Eight of those days
were spent at the top of the mountain, at
an altitude of nearly 11,000'. The other
three weeks were spent at lower elevations that corresponded to the couple's
descent: the tree line at around 7,000',
then down to approximately 3,500'
where the production built a back lot
and set up base camp.
Based on the novel of the same
name by Charles Martin, The Mountain
Between Us is very much a story of man
against nature, and director Hany Abu-

Assad was determined not to take any
shortcuts. As most of the movie's action
comprises Ben and Alex's treacherous
descent, Winslet and Elba struggled
through 3'-5'-high snow throughout
their time on the mountain - with
greenscreen employed only for a couple
of minor fixes, as well as for a shot of a
cougar slinking around the crash site and
Ben's slide down the mountain. The
physical demands on both cast and crew
were grueling. Fortunately, Walker's
crackerjack Canadian team had extensive experience shooting in such conditions. First AC Doug Lavender; key grip
www.ascmag.com

Mike Kirilenko; and camera operators
Peter Wilke, SOC and Roger Vernon,
CSC - the latter of whom also served
as 2nd-unit cinematographer - pulled
off one small miracle after another.
"Hany's mantra on the film was
that it should look harsh and rugged, but
also beautiful," says Walker, who sat
down with AC over the course of several
color-timing sessions. "You see the
obstacles and the danger but also the
beauty of the landscape.
"We could only shoot during
daylight hours because the helicopters
that transported us up couldn't fly in the
November 2017

47



http://www.ascmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - November 2017

Contents
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 1
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 2
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - Contents
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 4
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 5
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 6
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 7
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 8
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 9
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 10
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 11
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 12
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 13
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 14
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 15
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 16
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 17
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 18
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 19
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 20
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 21
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 22
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 23
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 24
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 25
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 26
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 27
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 28
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 29
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 30
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 31
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 32
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 33
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 34
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 35
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 36
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 37
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 38
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 39
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 40
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 41
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 42
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 43
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 44
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 45
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 46
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 47
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 48
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 48a
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 48b
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 49
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 50
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 51
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 52
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 53
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 54
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 55
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 56
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 57
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 58
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 59
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 60
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 61
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 62
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 63
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 64
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 65
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 66
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 67
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 68
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 69
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 70
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 71
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 72
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 73
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 74
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 75
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 76
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 77
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 78
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 79
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 80
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 81
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 82
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 83
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 84
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 85
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 86
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 87
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - 88
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - November 2017 - Cover4
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