American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 49

photochemically at Deluxe Laboratories in Hollywood with timers Clive Noakes and Jim Passon, “and we just matched the look of the print in the DI with [colorist] Yvan Lucas [at EFilm],” he says. “There were very few adjustments. “Steven and I make the movie on the set,” he emphasizes. “I do not create the look of the movie in the DI, just as Steven does not create the movie in the editing room. That’s not the way we work. An important part of our process is screening 35mm film dailies, which we did with an Arri LocPro throughout the shoot.” Kaminski shot War Horse on two Kodak Vision3 negatives, 250D 5207 and 500T 5219, both of which he often pulled one stop, and he developed a filtration strategy that involved using Classic Soft and Coral filters together for Devon sequences and other idyllic passages, and then transitioning to Double Fog filters for the muddy look of war. Finally, for the triumphant return of the hero, he layered on sunset grad filters. Principal photography lasted 63 days and took place mostly on practical locations close to London. Many key crew were longtime collaborators of both Spielberg and Kaminski, including Acamera operator Mitch Dubin, Acamera 1st AC Mark Spath, lighting director (supervising gaffer) David Devlin and key grip Jim Kwiatkowski. Their British counterparts were Bcamera/Steadicam operator George Richmond, B-camera 1st AC Jonathan “Chunky” Richmond, gaffer Eddie Knight and key grip David Appleby. When Spielberg is in the director’s chair, one hallmark of the production is speed, and Kwiatkowski recalls telling Appleby that War Horse would be “the fastest movie he’d ever worked on.” It was June 29, and the grips had just been handed six previsualizations for complicated action scenes. Production was set to start Aug. 1. “Steven’s schedules are always like a race,” Devlin observes. “He loves the energy of shooting quickly and seeing the film made right before his eyes. Even if he had 300 days to shoot a film, he’d shoot it in 50.”

Opposite page: Albert (Jeremy Irvine) bonds with his family’s new horse, Joey. This page: After Albert’s father (Peter Mullan) pays top dollar for Joey, he endures the ire of his wife (Emily Watson, middle) and landlord (David Thewlis, bottom), who threatens to repossess the Narracotts’ farm unless they make their rent payment.

Photos by Andrew Cooper, SMPSP and David Appleby. Photos and frame grabs courtesy of DreamWorks.

Another hallmark of a Spielberg production is complex camera choreography. “Steven is extremely versatile with the camera, which means his movies are always challenging to shoot,” says Kaminski. “He likes really big shots, and his camera always moves.” “Every shot is elaborately choreographed,” adds Dubin. “He always shoots them as complex masters. Even though a lot of the shots might be cut up in the end, it’s better for the actors if we shoot the entire scene.”
ww.theasc.com w

Achieving big, complicated shots very quickly would be a challenge under any circumstance, but the particulars of the War Horse shoot ratcheted up the difficulty. For starters, some locations were quite remote. The Devon sequences were shot in Dartmoor National Park, a large moorland crossed by rocky roads. “Getting generators in there was a challenge,” Devlin recalls. “One generator had to be placed almost 1,700 feet away, so it required a lot of
January 2012 49


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American Cinematographer - January 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - January 2012

American Cinematographer - January 2012
Contents
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Short Takes: String Theory
Production Slate: The Descendants • ASC Awards Preview • HPA Awards
Cold Case
Animal Instincts
Lord of War
Go with the Flow
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Rodrigo Prieto
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - American Cinematographer - January 2012
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 1
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 2
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - Contents
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 4
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 5
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 6
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 7
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 9
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 11
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - Short Takes: String Theory
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 13
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 14
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 15
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 16
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 17
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 18
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 19
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - Production Slate: The Descendants • ASC Awards Preview • HPA Awards
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 21
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 22
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 23
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 24
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 25
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 26
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 27
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 28
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 29
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 30
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 31
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - Cold Case
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 33
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 34
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 35
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 36
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 37
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 38
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 39
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 40
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 41
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 42
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 43
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 44
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 45
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 46
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 47
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - Animal Instincts
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 49
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 50
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 51
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 52
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 53
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 54
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 55
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 56
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 57
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 58
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 59
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 60
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 61
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - Lord of War
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 63
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 64
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 65
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 66
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 67
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 68
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 69
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 70
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 71
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 72
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 73
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - Go with the Flow
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 75
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 76
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 77
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 78
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 79
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 80
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 81
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 82
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 83
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 84
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 85
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 86
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 87
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 89
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 90
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 91
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 92
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 93
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 94
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 95
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 96
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 97
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - Classified Ads
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - Ad Index
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 101
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 103
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - ASC Close-Up: Rodrigo Prieto
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - January 2012 - Cover4
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