American Cinematographer - December 2016 - 30

Right: Green
tones were
employed for
scenes dealing
with James'
addiction and
withdrawal.
Below: A single
set, constructed
at Twickenham
Studios, served
as the separate
apartments of
James and his
neighbor Belle
(Ruta
Gedmintas).

18mm and 21mm for Bob's field of view.
Shipsey took the opportunity to have
a little fun with the idea of a "cat cam." He
recalls, "If any cast were required to act
directly to the cat [camera], then I would
attach small orange-tape ears to either side
of the lens - partly because the idea
amused me, but also to give a point of focus
for the actor."
The a7R IIs, which were placed in
LockCircle BirdCage Pro rigs to make them
more ergonomic, recorded 4K footage in
24p to Atomos Shogun recorders in Sony's
XAVC codec; the cameras recorded in
Picture Profile 7, which is the camera's S-Log
profile. That profile was then augmented
with customized gamma, saturation and
detail in order to match the Alexa Pluses,
which captured 2K ProRes 4:4:4:4 in Log C
to SxS cards. For his on-set monitoring of
the Alexas, Wunstorf eschewed a Log C to
Rec 709 conversion in favor of live grades
performed by digital-imaging technician
30

December 2016

John Miguel King, whose work was then
passed on through the post pipeline for
matching.
The Alexas lived at their native ISO of
800, but the sensitivity of the a7R IIs fluctuated based on shooting conditions and
ranged from 800 up to 2,000 for dimly lit
interiors and night scenes. Both cameras
utilized Angenieux Optimo zooms - 1540mm (T2.6), 28-76mm (T2.6), 45-120mm
(T2.8) and 24-290mm (T2.8). The a7R IIs
were outfitted with Sony E-mount to PLmount adapters to accommodate the Optimos. Sony/Zeiss Sonnar primes - as well as
a package of Zeiss Distagon and Planar
DSLR primes - were also employed, specifically with the second-unit a7R IIs.
Prior to Wunstorf's arrival in London,
he began communicating with one of the
production's 2nd-unit cinematographers,
Ann Evelin Lawford, via Skype to discuss
camera tests and begin identifying the ideal
settings for matching the Arri and Sony
American Cinematographer

cameras. Wunstorf and Lawford also
consulted with Sony Europe's 4K workflow
specialist Pablo Garcia Soriano for guidance.
Camera tests took place at Movietech
Camera Rental at Pinewood Studios. The
footage was then graded by Molinare senior
colorist Asa Shoul. Shoul also performed the
final grade, which was completed with FilmLight Baselight at the cameras' respective
native resolutions for a 2K DCP final deliverable.
"We tested the Alexa and Sonys side
by side, in the presence of plenty of cats
roaming and meowing," Lawford explains.
"We also tested the Sonys on their own to
best suit the needs and requirements for
[the second] unit. We adjusted every possible setting one could find in the camera's
menu, and we replicated different shooting
conditions [such as] nighttime, rig movement, cat movement, rolling shutter, stabilization, etc."
Wunstorf adds, "It's a little extra
work in the digital intermediate, but it was
amazing how the cameras matched up.
There is a lot of Sony footage intercut with
the Alexa." The digital grade also included
tweaks to match the color of the various
Bobs' eyes, as well as a slight overall brightening and increase in saturation. Before
that, Wunstorf notes, "the film felt a little
too somber."
The story's bleakest passage comes
at the outset, as James is living on the streets
of London before bottoming out with a
heroin overdose in a stranger's unlocked car.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - December 2016