American Cinematographer - January 2019 - 80

Opposites Attract

The curtain rises on a performance by Zula and the troupe.

80

tion and adjusting lighting; adding,
subtracting and moving objects within
the frame. Pawel is always trying to
capture that one magical moment when
all the elements will synchronize in one
take. For me, this is cinema."
Both director and cinematographer wanted the look of 35mm for Cold
War, though budgetary limitations
prevented them from shooting on film.
Zal - also known for the features
Loving Vincent, The High Frontier and The
Here After - suggested shooting on
Arri's Alexa XT and grading for the
appearance of 35mm. "We built a
simple set for our actors, put them in
January 2019

costume, and shot scenes both on 35mm
and the Alexa, using the same lenses
from the same angles," Zal says. "We
tested a variety of lenses, fabrics, and
shades of gray, and we experimented
with lighting. We [graded and] found a
look we liked on 35mm; then we
decided to find an equivalent on the
Alexa and master it to the point where it
would be hard to distinguish [from
35mm]. For shooting, we created LUTs
- one for day, the other for night."
Zal opted for the Arri/Zeiss Ultra
Prime lenses he'd employed on Ida,
which he says performed beautifully on
Cold War. "The majority of the film was
ASC 100th Anniversary

shot on the 32mm, which is like the
human eye," he notes. "That [focal
length] also works best in terms of showing people in their surroundings."
Angénieux Optimo 24-290mm (T2.8),
19.5-94mm (T2.6) and 45-120mm (T2.8)
zooms were pressed into service as well.
All were supplied by rental company
Out of Frame in Warsaw.
Pawlikowski, Zal, and production-designer duo Katarzyna Sobanska
and Marcel Slawinski spent a full six
months discussing and prepping for the
film. "We spent about 30 days going on
recces, placing production people at
every location, and trying out different
camera angles," Zal recalls. "We were
very well prepared, but when you actually start shooting a film, it can take on a
life of its own. You always need to be
aware of what reality is giving you, and
throw away [ideas] that no longer
work."
Regarding his decision to frame
for the 4:3 aspect ratio, Pawlikowski
notes, "It is a very good format for
portraits and double portraits. It is much
more precise in what you show and
don't show. Ida was [also] shot 1.33:1,
and was quite flat. We wanted more
depth in Cold War, which is a very intimate love story."
Preproduction was followed by
seven months of shooting - from
January through August 2017 - but
with many breaks in the schedule to
accommodate the weather and the availability of the professional folk ensemble
that appears in the movie. The feature
was shot in Poland, Croatia and Paris.
Paris interiors were captured in Poland.
The filmmakers eschewed stage work for
the production, shooting on practical
locations and on location-built sets.
"Contrast was one of the most
important elements in the film," Zal
notes. "It is present in every layer, starting from the construction of the shot and
the frame, the way the scenes connect, all
the way to the 'emotional temperature'
between our characters. Not only in
terms of lighting, but also production
design and locations - different grains
of wood, different shades of gray, props
American Cinematographer - January 2019

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