American Cinematographer - April 2020 - 38

Rehired Gun

"David Sinfield is a brilliant
gaffer - full of creative ideas, always
positive, and exceptionally prepared
and competent," says Sandgren. "He
runs an amazing crew - [and] at one
point during production he had more
than 1,000 SkyPanels rigged in overhead light boxes, eight 100K SoftSuns,
and a 200K SoftSun rigged on different soundstages at Pinewood."
The main unit usually ran one
camera, but seated-dialogue scenes
were covered by two. (The B camera
was initially operated by Oliver
Loncraine, but when he left to serve as
cinematographer on another project,
Ossie McLean stepped in.) "Cary likes
to tell the story efficiently, with as few
cuts as possible," Sandgren notes.
"Also, we both love a curious camera.
We often worked out blockings where
the camera is almost its own character, observing the intimacy of the
characters as it explores the scope of

A-camera operator Jason ewart frames up as Sandgren eyes the scene.

the sets. That could include a 360degree turn, so mostly we shot in
single-camera style, having the
second camera leapfrog to the next

Optics Spotlight

For the production of No Time To Die, Imax supplied the
Hasselblad lenses for its cameras, and Dan Sasaki, Panavision's
senior vice president of optical engineering and an ASC associate
member, developed custom high-speed close-focus Panavision
lenses with an Imax mount for 15-perf in 40mm (T2.6), 50mm (T2),
80mm (T1.9) and 300mm (T4) focal lengths, as well as a 4601,430mm (T8) zoom. The Imax Hasselblad lenses were 40mm (T4),
50mm (T2.8), 60mm (T3.5), 80mm (T2), 110mm (T2), 150mm (T2.8)
and 350mm (T4). Panavision Sphero 65 lenses were paired with the
Panaflex System 65.
After much testing, cinematographer Linus Sandgren, ASC,
FSF chose Panavision G Series Anamorphic Primes for the Panaflex
Millennium XL2 - a strategy inspired by E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
(shot by Allen Daviau, ASC). "I was looking to re-create the redcircle lens flares Allen got on those beautiful old spherical lenses,"
says Sandgren. "I wanted a lens that would be a workhorse but also
have beautiful flares that weren't overly dramatic. I have mostly
used the C Series, which I love and which have a lot of attitude, and
the Primo Anamorphic Primes, which were nearly perfect for us but
too heavy. I wanted lenses with a sharp look that are lightweight
and fast, with interesting impressionistic characteristics.
Dan Sasaki helped us experiment to find the E.T. look by
modifying the T Series with built-in IR filters and various coatings,
which looked quite interesting but still wasn't exactly what I was
looking for."
Sandgren even reached out to Steven Shaw, ASC, E.T.'s 1st
April 2020

setup." On heavy action sequences,
however, the crew ran up to five
cameras.
The production's 2nd unit -

AC, who recalled shooting with an uncoated Panavision spherical
lens.
It was 1st AC Jorge Sánchez who suggested using the G
Series. "We shot some tests, and wow, how they performed!"
says Sandgren. "They're fast and sharp, and I learned to love them
more than the Cs. They're beautiful and gentle but with lively, soft
flares."
For his part, Fukunaga says, "I love Panavision anamorphics. I'd had more experience with the C and E series, so I was
interested to see how the G Series performed in the variety of
dark and light sets we had."
Go-to focal lengths were 80mm for the Imax cameras,
50mm for the System 65, and 40mm for the XL2. Referring to the
latter, Sandgren notes, "A 40mm lens is probably most true to
reality when it comes to how the depth in the space falls off.
When shooting spherical 35mm, I often find a 40mm too tight to
see the width of a set, but with anamorphic, it accommodates for
that and also enables you to move in for a close-up."
He also shot interiors at T2.8 on both camera formats,
stopping down to T5.6 or T8 for day exteriors. "The G Series
performs so well at T2.8, whereas other anamorphic lenses might
not," Sandgren observes. "I like it when practical lights such as
neon signs, car headlights and fluorescent tubes expose naturalistically, and I find T2.8 provides the most appropriate exposure
on 5219."
- Mark Dillon

American Cinematographer - 100 Years

American Cinematographer - April 2020

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