American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 66

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Lord of War
Ackroyd. “You think you’re seeing in more directions than you really are. It’s an illusion that works well; by creating a 360-degree world, you make the audience feel totally involved.” The production had a featurescale grip-and-electric package, but the work in Pancevo rarely called for any major setups. “I wouldn’t light a day exterior, particularly a battle scene,” says Ackroyd. Instead, he worked with 1st AD Zoran Andric to time the shoot so he could keep the actors backlit by the sun. As the battle calms and elsewhere, he used mirrors and 6'x6' Griffolyn bounces to redirect daylight into a scene. “I try not to use big lights [on day exteriors] because you’re losing the battle if you’re trying to fight nature,” he says. As Marcius advances on Aufidius and the Volscians, distant 6K HMI Pars and 18Ks diffused with silk, Grid Cloth, 250 or 251 combined with strategic T-stop pulls helped keep the exposure even while the camera moved through the war-torn apartment blocks. Tiffen NDs and Schneider True Polas were used to keep the [12:1] Optimos open to T2.8 whenever possible, “although when you’re at the end of a 24-290mm, you need a little more depth-of-field than that, maybe a T5.6 or T8,” Ackroyd adds. The face-off between Marcius and Aufidius was shot in a damaged wing of the Hotel Yugoslavia. “These two figures emerge like ghosts from the mist,” says Fiennes, who describes this scene as one of the more theatrical moments in the film. “The film has two sides — it bursts into movement in the battle zones, and then there are the more formal confrontations.” Ackroyd made sure to keep the cameras from getting between the two soldiers as they grappled for domination. “The camerawork is all from what I call ‘outside the circle,’” he says. “You’re an observer, always over someone’s shoulder. Rarely is there a clean single of anyone.” Because the cameras were seeing in all directions, key lights were difficult

Top: Marcius bows to his mother (Vanessa Redgrave) as he is honored by Rome for his bravery in battle. Bottom: Marcius eventually finds himself at odds with Rome’s fickle politicians.

Driscoll, and B-camera 1st AC Drasko Pejanovic pulling focus directly from the lens.“I guess it’s a thing from my documentary days,” says Ackroyd. “I’d rather have the focus puller on a gear wheel than using a remote focus, because that way he can feel your movements and watch the action, and if you
66 January 2012

need to make a change yourself, you’re able to use your left hand to grab the focus wheel.” Cameras were positioned to cover action simultaneously and intercut in different directions, revealing new information with each shot. “No part of any location was out of bounds,” says
American Cinematographer



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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