American Cinematographer - January 2019 - 64

Light Fantastic

pp: The C camera is readied for a high-angle shot in the Fidelity Fiduciary Bank set.
p: Multiple cameras frame up on Meryl Streep, who portrays Cousin Topsy.

64

Dion's requirements - around
Pomfort's LiveGrade software for on-set
color and the chosen ACES workflow,"
Welch continues, noting that Mary
Poppins Returns was one of the first
Disney features to rely entirely on the onset ACES color pipeline.
Regarding camera movement,
Robertson notes, "Rob Marshall's work
explores the area between theater and
cinema. The choreography of the camera
is very much driven by the musical
soundtrack and the movement of the
actors and dancers. Rob and Dion have
their camera moves worked out to the
January 2019

beat, often with a ready-made score, so
it's always demanding for operators and
grips to coordinate their timing in a
unified way, especially when swinging a
75-foot crane around."
The production's three-camera
system was employed both for "the
musical numbers on stage and also
when filming the regular drama,"
Robertson offers. "On location, the
limited time we had on busy London
streets with transient light made it a
must to set more than one camera. It's
also important on dance routines, and
when working with three child actors, to
ASC 100th Anniversary

ensure that continuity of action is
achieved, and cutting options were
offered to our editor [Wyatt Smith]."
Beebe adds that the "very limited working hours with our young cast" were
another factor in opting for multiple
cameras.
The filmmakers report that the
challenges involved with shooting on
location in London were numerous. By
way of example, Robertson notes,
"Permissions and road lock-offs meant
that we had a small window to achieve
our shots, and multiple takes were often
out of the question. Chapman/Leonard
telescopic cranes and remote Scorpio
Stabilized Heads were used extensively
to solve the problem of getting the
camera into position over roads and
public walkways, especially when
shooting the opening number, 'Under
the Lovely London Sky.' The sky in
London has a fickle nature and doesn't
always reveal itself, so being in position
to capture its transient light is often a
combination of meticulous planning,
blind faith, and a generous portion of
good luck.
"Visual effects obviously played a
big part in [re-creating] the London
skyline of the past, while blending it to
the built sets and natural light of our
shots," Robertson adds. "It was often
bizarre to drop down on a crane move
from a modern skyline of skyscrapers
and construction cranes to a scene of a
lamplighter on a bicycle weaving his
way past a horse and a cart on a foggy
street."
"Location work is always challenging on period movies," Beebe says.
"We had quite a lot of scene work and
two big musical numbers that required a
lot of location shooting. 'Trip the Light' is
one of our most ambitious numbers, and
required starting on location in Central
London at night in a heavy fog. As the
number [makes] its way through the
narrow London streets, more 'leeries' [or
streetlamp lighters] join the dance and
we begin a journey from our real world
into a magical fantasy. Eventually, we
transition from location onto [three
different sets] on two separate sound
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