American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 56
◗
A Space Opera's High Notes
Top: Abrams
directs Ridley as
she stands atop
the wreckage of
an Imperial AT-AT
walker. Middle:
Rey and Finn run
from TIE fighters.
This sequence
marked the only
instance when the
1st unit shot with
the 65mm format.
Bottom: Mindel
and crew prep a
scene on location
in England's
Puzzlewood in the
Forest of Dean,
Gloucestershire.
Force Awakens are entirely digital
creations: the Force-sensitive space
pirate Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong'o)
and the Dark Side's Supreme Leader
Snoke (Andy Serkis). Mindel filmed the
motion-capture actors with their liveaction co-stars on set. Face-mounted
cameras worn by the motion-capture
actors during takes recorded their
expressions for Guyett and his team of
artists to later incorporate into the digital models. "Once we got the flow, we
did takes with the live actors, and the
mo-cap actors [were] off-screen reading
their lines," notes A-camera 1st AC
Serge Nofield.
Otherwise, the strange characters
and alien creatures that inhabit the film
were built as practical puppets or
portrayed by actors in masks or prosthetics. "Shiny masks and armored suits
are fabulous to shoot because they
respond to the light in interesting ways,
and these days it's very easy to remove
camera reflections," Mindel remarks.
"For Kylo Ren and the other masked
characters like Captain Phasma
[Gwendoline Christie], we would bring
in a 1K Blonde and a colored gel -
sometimes a red, green or blue - just to
get a bit of contour on their masks."
For the alien creatures, he notes,
"there were no rules as to how they're
supposed to look. It's just a matter of
56
February 2016
American Cinematographer
American Cinematographer - February 2016
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - February 2016
Contents
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - Intro
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 1
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 2
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - Contents
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 4
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 5
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 6
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 7
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 8
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 9
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 10
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 11
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 12
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 13
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 14
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 15
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 16
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 17
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 18
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 19
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 20
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 21
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 22
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 23
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 24
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 25
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 26
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 27
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 28
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 29
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 30
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 31
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 32
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 33
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 34
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 35
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 36
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 37
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 38
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 39
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 40
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 41
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 42
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 43
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 44
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 45
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 46
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 47
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 48
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 49
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 50
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 51
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 52
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 53
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 54
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 55
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 56
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 57
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 58
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 59
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 60
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 61
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 62
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 63
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 64
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 65
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 66
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 67
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 68
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 69
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 70
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 71
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 72
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 73
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 74
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 75
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 76
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 77
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 78
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 79
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 80
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 81
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 82
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 83
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 84
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 85
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 86
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 87
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 88
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 89
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 90
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 91
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 92
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 93
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 94
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 95
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - 96
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - February 2016 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1218_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1118_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1018_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0918_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0818_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0718_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0618_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0518_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0418_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0318_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0218_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0118_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1217_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1117_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1017_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0917_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0817_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0717_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0617_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0517_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0417_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0317_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0217_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0117_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1216_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1116_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1016_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0916_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0816_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0716_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0616_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0516_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0416_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0316_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0216_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0116_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1215_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1115_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1015_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0915_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0815_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0715_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0615_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0515_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0415_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0315_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0215_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0115_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1214
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1114
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0914
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0814
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0714
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0614
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0514
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0414
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0314
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0214
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0114
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1213
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1113
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0913
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0813
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0713
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0613
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0513
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0413
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0313
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0213
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0113
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0912
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0812
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0712
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0512
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0412
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0312
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0911
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0811
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0711
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0611
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0511
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0411
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1110
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0810
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0710
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0510
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0410
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0110
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com