American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 48

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High Stakes

Top: The degenerates hole up in a motel room after hitting it big on a very fortuitous bet. Bottom: The quartet works through a scene set in a diner.

lights, flags and reflectors were banned from trackside areas, except for the uppermost reaches of the grandstand. The Humane Society also prohibited camera cars from following directly behind horses while they were running. Mann’s first directive was that the camera had to put viewers inside the visceral swirl of jockeys and horses. His second directive: no cranes. “[Crane arms] are too clumsy,” he observes. “On
48 February 2012

the track, you can’t get that kind of an arm where you want it, and you can’t move it spontaneously enough. There’s no second take on any of this stuff, so being facile, light and low-tech was absolutely the way to go.” “Michael is very low-tech in that he doesn’t like remote heads or cranes,” says Grillo. “On all the movies I’ve done with him, we’ve rarely used a Technocrane, and only when absolutely
American Cinematographer

necessary. He’s always searching for a way to get a shot that feels organic and not so highly polished.” The solution evolved step by step. First, Mann and Dryburgh studied some renowned horseracing features. From Seabiscuit (AC Aug. ’03)they borrowed the animatronic horse used to film jockey dialogue during the races. This legless steed was mounted on a platform that could also hold a second jockey straddling a saddled-up dolly. “We’d use long lenses tight on the actors, handholding the camera to give those shots a lot of movement,” says Grillo. Key grip Charles Bukey also consulted Kim Heath, the rigging grip on Secretariat (AC Nov. ’10) who was instrumental in developing that film’s “polecam” system: an Olympus E-P1 attached to the end of a 12' pole. “We very much embraced the polecam concept,” says Dryburgh. This enabled the crew to drop the camera an inch over the jockey’s shoulder. Next, the filmmakers tested lipstick and lightweight digital cameras. “A lot of them tested well in static situations but didn’t perform very well when vibrations and speed were added to the



American Cinematographer - February 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - February 2012

American Cinematographer - February 2012
Contents
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Short Takes: NASA time-lapse footage of Earth
Production Slate: Extremely Loud and Incredibly CloseAct of Valor
Saving the Whales
High Stakes
A Very Bad Cop
Cinema, Italian Style
Filmmakers’ Forum: Hiro Narita, ASC
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Roberto Schaefer
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - American Cinematographer - February 2012
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 1
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 2
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - Contents
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 4
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 5
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 6
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 7
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 9
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 11
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - Short Takes: NASA time-lapse footage of Earth
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 13
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 14
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 15
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 16
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 17
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - Production Slate: Extremely Loud and Incredibly CloseAct of Valor
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 19
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 20
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 21
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 22
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 23
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 24
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 25
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 26
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 27
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 28
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 29
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - Saving the Whales
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 31
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 32
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 33
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 34
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 35
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 36
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 37
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 38
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 39
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 40
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 41
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - High Stakes
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 43
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 44
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 45
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 46
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 47
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 48
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 49
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 50
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 51
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 52
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 53
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - A Very Bad Cop
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 55
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 56
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 57
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 58
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 59
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 60
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 61
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - Cinema, Italian Style
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 63
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 64
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 65
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 66
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 67
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 68
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 69
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 70
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 71
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - Filmmakers’ Forum: Hiro Narita, ASC
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 73
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 74
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 75
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 77
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 78
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 79
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 80
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 81
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - Classified Ads
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - Ad Index
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 85
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - 87
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - ASC Close-Up: Roberto Schaefer
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - February 2012 - Cover4
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