American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 18
AMC_0114_p016_p020_00 short takes 11/23/13 4:44 PM Page 18
Top: A flashback reveals the source of the vet's torment. Bottom: Lu rides out a long night at the motel.
to counter that by using lenses that have
certain imperfections because I want the
image to have a more organic feel."
Because he didn't have the luxury of
preparing a shot list or storyboards, Madsen
carefully surveyed the motel room on the
first day of shooting. While scanning for
potential problems, he found only pluses.
"There was a big window, which gave us
keylight, and it had an opaque curtain,
which helped us shape or cut the light."
The curtain was either drawn to
varying degrees or closed entirely, depending on the ambience Madsen sought or the
18
January 2014
time of day he was trying to simulate. "For
night scenes, we closed the curtains almost
completely, allowing just a little bit of light
to seep in and provide a 'moonlight' glow,
and we changed the camera's color temperature from 5,600°K to 3,400°K," says
Madsen.
The night scenes were shot at T2 at
ISO 800, and Madsen made creative use of
the room's two built-in practicals. "The
fixtures were slightly recessed in the ceiling,
so they created nice pools of toplight and
prevented spill from hitting the walls, which
kept the backgrounds darker and helped
American Cinematographer
separate our foregrounds," Madsen says.
"The cool glow from the large TV set
provided additional fill, and we put a 150watt bulb in a cheap scoop to bounce soft
tungsten light from the bathroom door into
a dark corner of the room."
The window curtain also proved
useful as Madsen began planning an overhead shot of Lu lying in bed. To simulate a
flash of lightning, a crewmember whipped
the curtain open and shut. "It was a simple
theatrical lighting trick," Madsen comments. "We discovered the effect accidentally while we were playing around with the
curtain!" The lightning dissolves into an
arresting flashback that helps to explain Lu's
troubled state of mind: a blindingly bright
image of the soldier in his battle fatigues,
pointing his rifle at a group of Iraqis. The
action is obscured, but a bloodied hand is
visible among the smoke and debris, indicating that the mission has gone wrong.
The motel room offered other pleasant surprises. In an early montage
sequence, Lu is shown shadowboxing,
doing pushups and drinking alcohol. To
vent his angst, he punches a bathroom wall.
The crew could not actually damage the
wall, but they didn't have to. "When we
explored the bathroom, we discovered
these two big holes in the wall," Madsen
says. "So, we staged a shot with Nate
American Cinematographer - January 2014
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - January 2014
Table of Contents
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 1
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 2
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - Table of Contents
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 4
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 5
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 6
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 7
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 8
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 9
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 10
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 11
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 12
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 13
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 14
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 15
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 16
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 17
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 18
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 19
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 20
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 21
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 22
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 23
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 24
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 25
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 26
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 27
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 28
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 29
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 30
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 31
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 32
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 33
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 34
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 35
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 36
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 37
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 38
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 39
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 40
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 41
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 42
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 43
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 44
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 45
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 46
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 47
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American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 49
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 50
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 51
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American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 53
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 54
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 55
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 56
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 57
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 58
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 59
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 60
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 61
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 62
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 63
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American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 65
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American Cinematographer - January 2014 - 70
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American Cinematographer - January 2014 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - January 2014 - Cover4
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