American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 53
Footage from representative scenes was taken through to a 35mm print and screened blind at FotoKem. Everyone agreed that the Alexa most closely represented the look they wanted. “It was really unanimous, from Disney’s head of production, Sean Bailey, on down,” says Shah. “The dynamic range was what sold us on the Alexa. We lit a scene at the main location, a school, that featured an actress walking through a hot splash of sunlight. It was 8 stops over key, but instead of clipping, the Alexa rolled off more naturally, as your eye would perceive the scene. “Blown highlights are one of the real tells of a digital format, and you could never get away with such extremes of contrast on any other digital camera without it looking electronic,” he continues. “When I’ve shot with other digital cameras — Red, the F35, a [Panavision] Genesis or [Thomson] Viper — I’ve always had to protect those highlights like a fanatic. With the Alexa, we found a format that could capture the extremes of brightness and darkness necessary for a story about the extremes of the teen heart.” Introduced in April 2010, the Alexa features a 3.5K CMOS sensor and a PL mount, and records up to 60 fps at 1920x1080 high-definition internally to ProRes 422 or externally to Arri’s proprietary ArriRaw format. The camera also outputs an uncompressed 1080PsF 4:4:4 RGB stream, suitable for uncompressed capture using external recorders. “We found the camera to be very user-friendly,” says Shah. “It has great ergonomics and very clear onboard menus. Its viewfinder is the nicest electronic one I’ve seen yet. Of course, it’s not the same as an optical viewfinder. It wasn’t quite sharp enough to judge critical focus; that still has to be evaluated on a big reference monitor.” Eager to see its new camera put through its paces in a feature-film workflow, Arri offered the production support that included access to Stephan Ukas-Bradley, the company’s U.S.
ww.theasc.com w
Opposite: Despite an early antagonism, Nova (Aimee Teegarden) and Jesse (Thomas McDonell) grow close in Prom. This page, top: Justin (Jared Kusnitz) asks Mei (Yin Chang) to the big dance in creative fashion.Middle: Cinematographer Byron Shah (far right) and company prepare a close-up of Chang. Bottom: Shah confers with director Joe Nussbaum as camera operator Paul Sanchez (far right) frames a shot.
Photos by Richard Foreman Jr., SMPSP, courtesy of Disney Enterprises, Inc.
May 2011
53
http://ww.theasc.com
American Cinematographer - May 2011
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - May 2011
American Cinematographer - May 2011
Contents
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Short Takes
Production Slate
Living Out Loud
A Saint and a Sinner
First Dance
Decoding Digital Imagers: Part 1
A Hollywood Affair
Post Focus
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
In Memoriam
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - American Cinematographer - May 2011
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 1
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 2
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - Contents
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 4
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 5
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 6
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 7
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 9
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 11
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - Short Takes
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 13
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 14
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 15
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 16
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 17
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - Production Slate
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 19
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 20
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 21
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 22
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 23
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 24
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 25
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 26
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 27
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - Living Out Loud
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 29
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 30
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 31
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 32
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 33
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 34
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 35
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 36
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 37
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 38
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 39
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - A Saint and a Sinner
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 41
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 42
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 43
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 44
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 45
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 46
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 47
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 48
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 49
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 50
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 51
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - First Dance
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 53
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 54
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 55
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 56
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 57
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 58
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 59
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - Decoding Digital Imagers: Part 1
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 61
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 62
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 63
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 64
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 65
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 66
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 67
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 68
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - A Hollywood Affair
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 70
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 71
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 72
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 73
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 74
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 75
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 76
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 77
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 78
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 79
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 80
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 81
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - Post Focus
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 83
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 85
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 86
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 87
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - Classified Ads
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - Ad Index
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 91
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - In Memoriam
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 93
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 95
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - ASC Close-Up
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - May 2011 - Cover4
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