American Cinematographer - December 2007 - (Page 63)

In Golden Compass, every human is accompanied by a demon, a shape-shifting animal that embodies the person’s soul. All of these creatures were computer-generated (CG), as were characters such as an armored polar bear, so the actors had to interact with beings that were not physically present in almost every scene. “It’s difficult, and the key is to allow the actors to move as naturally as they would normally,” says Weitz. “We had a great visualeffects supervisor, Michael Fink, who gave us quite a lot of latitude in terms of how much we could move the camera and the actors.” Faced with a high volume of shots incorporating CG elements, Fink distributed the work to a number of different visual-effects facilities. “The vendor for the bear was Framestore CFC, while the principal demons were all done at Rhythm & Hues, with support from Tippett Studio,” he says. “Background demons were created by Cinesite, which was also the prime vendor for Bolvangar [where Lyra’s kidnapped friend is taken] and quite a few other environments. Digital Domain did the collapsing ice-bridge sequence and about a third of the Bolvangar shots. Quite often we had three or four facilities working on the same shot; it was incredibly complicated.” Golden Compass was conceived as a 35mm project, but Braham suggested that digital acquisition might be a prudent alternative given the amount of digital post work being planned. Ultimately, though, the filmmakers followed the more traditional path. “I brought the [Panavision] Genesis into the discussion because I’d just shot Flyboys [AC Oct. ’06] with it and was really impressed,” says the cinematographer. “This kind of project is absolutely made for the digital medium, but I think there were already enough variables. It seemed to be outside the studio’s comfort zone, and that’s understandable; they had a very complex movie on their hands and had not done anything like that before.” Once the decision was made to stick with 35mm, Braham chose a Panavision package comprising Panaflex Millenniums and Millennium XLs and Primo lenses. Knowing the picture would go through a digital intermediate (DI), he decided to shoot in Super 35mm. “It was always going to be a widescreen picture, and I’ve been a great advocate of shooting anamorphic in the past, but nowadays, with the DI, it seems to me that there’s a much greater advantage in shooting spherical because of the wider range of lenses, and particularly the close-focus lenses. If you’re shooting wide and close, then that becomes relevant. Shooting Super 35 and finishing with a DI is a very successful way to work now.” Weitz was keen to shoot the film in the style of a David Lean epic, and he and Braham settled on a fluid style that features an almost constantly mobile camera. “I think in some ways the camera tells the story by moving, and sometimes that’s more satisfying than doing it in lots of cuts,” notes Braham. “It’s also a neat way of showing this world without standing back and showing it. The camera choreography is complex, but we hope it doesn’t come across like that. I shot it mostly with wide lenses, anywhere between 21mm and 40mm, because that’s a neat way of putting the actors in the context of the sets and the backgrounds without consciously showing [those elements] After introducing London as a glamorous setting, Braham segued to a greenish hue to suggest the city’s dark underbelly. American Cinematographer 63

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American Cinematographer - December 2007

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