American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 16

Production Slate
In the Argentinian thriller The Man Next Door, an existential standoff ensues when the affable but coarse Victor (Daniel Aráoz) attempts to build a window that directly faces the showcase home occupied by his smug, aesthetically fussy architect neighbor, Leonardo (Rafael Spregelburd).

I

A Window into the Soul By Noah Kadner

Winner of the cinematography prize in the World CinemaDramatic category at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the intimate thriller The Man Next Door (El Hombre de al Lado) is set almost entirely in the Curutchet House, a famous Le Corbusier structure in La Plata, near Buenos Aires, Argentina. The celebrated ramps and spiral staircases of the house date from the 1950s; it was the sole residential structure that Le Corbusier designed for the Americas. The film’s plot is a classic tale of familiarity breeding contempt. Leonardo (Rafael Spregelburd) is a meticulous, successful architect living a tranquil life with his wife, daughter and maid in their designer home. Their bliss is interrupted in the opening shot of the movie, as their brash next-door neighbor, Victor (Daniel Aráoz), begins demolishing a wall to build a window looking right into Leonardo’s home. The two men attempt to settle their differences amicably, but tension simmers just beneath the surface, and the dispute slowly escalates into a full-blown existential crisis for Leonardo. The Man Next Door was co-directed and co-shot by Argentinian filmmakers Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat. Longtime collaborators, the duo previously created a variety of experimental video-art exhibits and several programs broadcast on Argentinian television. Cohn and Duprat also have two features to their credit: Yo Presidente, a documentary about several former Argentinian presidents, and El Artista, which won a host of awards during its 2009 festival run.
16 May 2010

Cohn and Duprat planned The Man Next Door over a fouryear period. “It took us all those years of negotiation to secure the location, because the house is uninhabited and set up like a museum,” recalls Cohn. “We knew the concept really required that special principal location in order to work as a story. The script, written by Gastón’s brother, Andres, is not exactly based on real events, but Andres had a neighbor somewhat similar to Victor.” Cohn and Duprat shot The Man Next Door on their own Sony PMW-EX1, a relatively inexpensive high-definition prosumer camera. “We previously shot El Artista with this camera,” notes Duprat. “We like its image quality, and it’s the camera that responded best to the minimal lighting setups we planned to use on this film. It also enabled us to shoot with the smallest possible crew. Our sound recordist mixed boom and wireless mics directly into the camera, so we could check sound and picture as we shot.” The film opens with a split screen showing simultaneous interior and exterior perspectives of the demolishing of the wall. It was the only shot that utilized two cameras, one on either side. A scenic flat was constructed on top of an existing structure to stand in for the wall. “If we’d broken down a real wall of this historic Le Corbusier house, we’d probably be doing this interview from jail,” says Cohn with a smile. “It was a complicated shot that we had to get right on the first take, because we only had a single fake wall prepared.” Cohn adds, “We shot mostly in chronological order. We were simultaneously editing on a PC running Sony Vegas as we shot, so we would quickly see how the story was coming together.

American Cinematographer

The Man Next Door photos courtesy of the Sundance Film Festival.



American Cinematographer - May 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - May 2010

American Cinematographer - May 2010
Contents
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Short Takes: ASC Heritage Award Winners
Production Slate: The Man Next Door • Academy Sci-Tech Awards
Armor Wars
Wonders of the Sea
Lost and Found Families
Dark Secrets
Deep Visual Roots
Post Focus: Restoring A Star Is Born
Tricks of the Trade
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Fred Elmes
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Intro
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - American Cinematographer - May 2010
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 1
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 2
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Contents
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 4
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 5
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 6
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 7
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 9
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 11
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Short Takes: ASC Heritage Award Winners
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 13
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 14
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 15
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 16
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 17
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Production Slate: The Man Next Door • Academy Sci-Tech Awards
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 19
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 20
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 21
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 22
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 23
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Armor Wars
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 25
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 26
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 27
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 28
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 29
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 30
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 31
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 32
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 33
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 34
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 35
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 36
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 37
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 38
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 39
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Wonders of the Sea
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 41
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 42
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 43
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 44
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 45
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 46
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 47
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 48
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 49
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Lost and Found Families
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 51
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 52
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 53
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 54
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 55
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Dark Secrets
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 57
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 58
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 59
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 60
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 61
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 62
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 63
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 64
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 65
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 66
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 67
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 68
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 69
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 70
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 71
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Post Focus: Restoring A Star Is Born
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 73
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Tricks of the Trade
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 75
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 77
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 78
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 79
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 80
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 81
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 82
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - 83
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Classified Ads
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Ad Index
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - ASC Close-Up: Fred Elmes
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - May 2010 - Cover4
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