American Cinematographer - January 2019 - 62

Light Fantastic

The crew maneuvers a crane-mounted camera for the "Trip a Little Light Fantastic" musical number.

The movie was shot in and
around Central London in a wide range
of locations, including at some famous
landmarks, as well as on several large
stages at Pinewood's Shepperton
Studios. Beebe opted to shoot the feature
primarily on Arri Alexa SXT cameras,
with the production carrying three of
them as well as one Alexa Mini. The
majority of the feature was captured
with anamorphic glass, and the picture
was framed for the 2.39:1 aspect ratio
throughout.
According to digital-imaging
technician Peter Welch, the production
recorded raw at various sensor modes
- primarily 4:3 2.8K, as well as Open
Gate 3.4K and 16:9 2.8K. "We applied an
extraction of 90 percent for our
[Panavision] Primo V series 14.5mm
[spherical] lenses, as [they] exhibited a
vignette on the 4:3 sensor [for certain
shots]," Welch adds.
Beebe used a wide range of
Panavision G and T Series Anamorphic
Prime focal lengths, plus Panavision
ATZ 70-200mm (T3.5), ALZ11 48550mm (T4.5) and AWZ2.3 37-85mm
January 2019

(T2.8) anamorphic zooms.
As the cinematographer explains,
it was decided early on "that we wanted
to be in the 2.40 aspect ratio, and that this
movie needed to have a big-screen feel.
That was another way we could tip our
hat to the original film. The [images
produced by] the anamorphic lenses
offer a certain kind of nostalgia. [It's] the
quality of the glass, and the falloff you
get because of the anamorphic squeeze."
The handful of shots captured
with Panavision Primo V spherical
lenses were useful in reducing camera
weight, as well as in allowing for reframing in post, thanks to the extra image
height. A handheld Stabileye gyro-stabilized gimbal system - featuring a
remote hand wheel and frequently used
with the Alexa Mini - was often
employed for the Primo V-captured
sequences. The Stabileye and Primo V
rigging was used "for fast dramatic
movement during the big dance
sequence in 'Trip a Little Light Fantastic,'
and the bicycle journey to Big Ben
through the narrow London streets at
night," Beebe says.
ASC 100th Anniversary

A-camera/Steadicam operator
and Association of Camera Operators
member Peter Robertson notes, "When
the Stabileye is used, it is normally
carried by [one or two] grips, and I
remotely control it from a set of hand
wheels. We are connected via open-mic
radio headsets, so I can direct the grips
into position."
Marshall built in a two-month
rehearsal period to work out major songand-dance numbers - choreographing
performers, lights and cameras to work
seamlessly together. "Dion was always
right there shooting the rehearsals with
me, and that put us ahead of the game,"
the director says. "That gave us a
template for how we were going to deal
with these challenges. Those rehearsals
really saved us."
"Dion recorded those performances simply on a handheld Sony a7S
digital camera with an onboard monitor,
to allow for reviewing [later, when] planning scene coverage and shots with Rob,"
Welch says. "Costume and set-decoration
tests were also carried out [using SXT
cameras paired with G Series lenses]."

American Cinematographer - January 2019

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