American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 54

Optics Spotlight
Handheld
Anamorphic

◗

Friend in Need

*|*

O

ver the last two years, Björn
Charpentier, SBC has shot with
anamorphic lenses on all of his projects
but one - and always handheld, despite
the popular notion that the lenses are too
heavy for such work. For Beirut, he hoisted
a 45-pound package - an Alexa XT
fitted with a 75mm Optica Elite MK-IV
- onto his shoulder for well over half the
shoot, swapping to more compact
Japanese Kowa Prominar anamorphics
"depending on the mood of the scene and
sometimes for practical reasons," he says.
He purchased his set of Elites four years
ago, and the Kowas specifically for this
production.
Regarding the Elites, Charpentier
notes, "It's a very soft-contrast glass that I
like very much. I don't like my blacks too
crushed." Adding to their unique look,
"they don't have a classical blue-streak
flare; it's more like a veil. They're sharp on
the eyes, but still soft on the skin tones.
And they're fast." While mostly set at T4.0
for the production, that faster capability
was essential to pushing the edge of darkness in Beirut. "I have a technician in
Belgium, Olivier Tordeurs, who maintains
my lenses, and he reorganized every glass
element so I can use my anamorphics wide
open with little loss of contrast and sharpness." Due to the fragile mechanics of the
Elites, Charpentier sends them for maintenance every six to 12 months.
The vintage Kowas came out for
small interiors, cars and high-energy
sequences. "Every time there's danger or
suspense, I used the Kowas," he says.
Regarding their more aggressive flare, he
adds, "It's a white, transparent, horizontal
flare. Kowas are a bit colder in the look,
but in color grading that's easy to correct."
The cinematographer visited a
personal trainer for lower-back maintenance before heading to Morocco, in order
to achieve proper posture for the long
haul. "Let's face it," he says, "a commercial
is a three-, four- or five-day shoot. Now
suddenly it's 34 days."
- PT

54

May 2018

Charpentier shoots from the hip.

fortable. You're never going to re-create
that kind of gnarliness on a back lot in
Culver City."
The CIA situation room - a
windowless interior in the basement of
the U.S. Embassy - made multiple
appearances. "We were going for a
different look in that world," Anderson
notes. "It's a very cool, green-toned look,
in contrast to the exteriors of Beirut,
which veered more towards a warmer,
gritty, smoky patina." Because the scenes
there required a lot of camera movement, Charpentier used the lighterweight Kowas and lit for 360 degrees.
"Everything there was a practical," the
cinematographer attests. "We didn't
bring an eyelight, Kino Flo or SkyPanel
- not one professional film light."
Built inside a school, the spy
bunker was keyed with the kind of
green-tinged fluorescents popular in the
1970s. "Daylight-balanced 765 fluorescent tubes that were uncorrected, meaning there was a lot of green in them," the
cinematographer describes. "I thought
in Morocco it would be really easy to go
into an old warehouse and find those
lights, [but] we had to ship them in from
Germany." These old fluorescents hung
over the main office, while 10,000K
classic 4' household fluorescents lit the
glassed-in, soundproof inner sanctum.
Warmer 3,200K tungsten desk lamps,
American Cinematographer

all on dimmers, dressed the office space,
and several red control lights added
accents. "All those gave me a mixture of
colors, but also depth in my frame,"
explains Charpentier, who set the
cameras at 4,800K, and shot at T2.8 and
800 ISO. "It gave me a very rich atmosphere."
By far the most complicated
sequence was the movie's climax, when
the characters converge at the Green
Line for the prisoner exchange. This
bombed-out no-man's-land wasn't
supposed to have any electricity - nor
moonlight, per Charpentier's rules.
Adding to the challenge, the director
wanted some select 48-fps shots, and
everything needed to be done in two
short summer nights.
"I begged Brad to give me one
broken streetlight to have some motivation for light, because otherwise it's
pitch black," says Charpentier. They also
incorporated a burning car - and thus
began the layering of light and color
temperatures. "Because we had this
[mercury-vapor] streetlight in the center
of the frame where the exchange
happens, I put a SkyPanel [at 5,200
Kelvin and dialed in with 46 points of
Green] on top of an adjacent building,
which gave me a little toplight [motivated by] the streetlight."
The bulb in the streetlight was



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - May 2018

Contents
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 1
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 2
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - Contents
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 4
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 5
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 6
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 7
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 8
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 9
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 10
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 11
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 12
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 13
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 14
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 15
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 16
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 17
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 18
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 19
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 20
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 21
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 22
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 23
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 24
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 25
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 26
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 27
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 28
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 29
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 30
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 31
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 32
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 33
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 34
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 35
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 36
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 37
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 38
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 39
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 40
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 41
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 42
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 43
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 44
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 45
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 46
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 47
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 48
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 49
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 50
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 51
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 52
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 53
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 54
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 55
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 56
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 57
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 58
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 59
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 60
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 61
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 62
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 63
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 64
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 65
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 66
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 67
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 68
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 69
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 70
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 71
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 72
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 73
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 74
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 75
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 76
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 77
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 78
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 79
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 80
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 81
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 82
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 83
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 84
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 85
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 86
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 87
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - 88
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - May 2018 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0424
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0324
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0224
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0124
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1223
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1123
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0923
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0823
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0723
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0623
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0523
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0423
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0323
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0223
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0123
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1222
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1122
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0922
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0822
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0722
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0622
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0522
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0422
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0322
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0222
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0122
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1221
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1121
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0921
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0821
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0721
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0621
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0521
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0421
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0321
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0221
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0121
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1220
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0920
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0820
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0720
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0620
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0520
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0420
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0320
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0220
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0120
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1219
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1119
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0919
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0819
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0719
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0619
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0519
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0419
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0319
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0219_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0219
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0119_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0119
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1218
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1118
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0918
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0818
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0718
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0618
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0518
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0418
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0318
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0218
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0118
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1217
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1117
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0917
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0817
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0717
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0617
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0517
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0417
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0317
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0217
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0117
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1216
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1116
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0916
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0816
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0716
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0616
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0516
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0416
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0316
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0216
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0116
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1215
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1115
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0915
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0815
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0715
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0615
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0515
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0415
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0315
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0215
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0115
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com