American Cinematographer - May 2011 - 54
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First Dance
manager of technical services. Otto Nemenz supplied the filmmakers with two Alexas, a set of Cooke S4 prime lenses and an Angenieux Optimo24290mmzoom lens; grip and lighting gear was provided by Paskal Lighting. Of the S4 primes, Shah notes, “I’d tested Cooke Speed Panchros, thinking they’d give us their lovely lowcon look, but on the Alexa they looked muddy, not at all the way they look on film. But the S4s looked fantastic on the Alexa, delivering open blacks with a lot of detail, and smooth skin texture. We shot most of the movie between T2 and T2.8, lending the characters a subtle separation from their backgrounds to heighten the intense emotions of the moment.” Prom is set in Michigan, but the production shot the movie exclusively in Los Angeles. Shah’s key crew included 1st AC Ethan McDonald, gaffer Jack English, camera operator Paul Sanchez and key grip Patrick Heffernan. Footage was fed at 1920x1080 24p from the Alexa’s HD-SDI port to an outboard Codex Digital recorder capturing to the Codex’s native RAW format. “The Codex files were transcoded by FotoKem to DPX and laid off to LTO tape,” explains Shah. “It was a bit of a challenge because I calibrated my monitor to the Alexa’s Rec 709 color space LUT, so I was seeing a lot less latitude than what the Codex was actually picking up. But I knew what we were truly getting, and I could also monitor raw to confirm if needed.” “With a lens on, the Alexa is a little front-heavy, and the Codex recorder helped to act as a physical counterbalance, adding weight to the back of the rig,” notes McDonald. “We used an EasyRig backpack harness to make things easier. The complete package — camera, recorder and lens — was small enough and light enough to handhold comfortably.” Shah used varying degrees of lens filtration, often a mix of Tiffen Low Con and Smoque filters. “Sometimes we combined them with ND/IR
Top: Nova leads a meeting outside the shed that houses the school’s prom decorations. Middle: After the shed burns down, Principal Dunnan (Jere Burns, center) tasks Jesse with helping to remake the decorations. Bottom: Jesse and Nova restore a water fountain in the school’s art room.
54
May 2011
American Cinematographer
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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