American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 24

same space where we would do the bigger
Columbia recording later in the film."
Cornwall employed a combination
of 10' 23-bulb and 4' 10-bulb battens to
light the small studio, using 130-volt 75watt spots for a warm tone and 110-volt
85-watt spots for a cooler tone. "I loved the
simplicity of it," says Jur. "Latifah looked
beautiful and the lighting felt real."
For Smith's triumphant return to
New York, Jur changed the lighting so it
would have less contrast. "When she finally
gets her big recording contract and she's in
that beautiful Columbia recording studio
with all those musicians, I wanted an almost
shadowless feel," he points out. For this
scene, he employed 4K Umbrella Balls from
Filmwerks.
Almost every theater the production
occupied would double for a separate location. For example, the film's opening and
closing performances were filmed at the
Fox Theatre in Midtown Atlanta, which also
housed the hospital room where Smith
awakes after being assaulted during a night
on the town. Rees had designed a continuous camera move that followed Latifah
from the hospital room to the stage. "The
plan was to put her in a dress that would
look like a hospital gown from the back and
an evening gown from the front," says Jur.
During one of the more challenging
periods of Smith's career, she shares a tenement apartment with her older brother
Clarence (Tory Kittles). The interior was
constructed onstage in an Atlanta warehouse district. "The sets had hard ceilings
and, in keeping with the 1920s, very few
practical lights," says Cornwall, who carried
a practical kit of period lightbulbs and
fixtures to help motivate the film lighting
provided by SourceMaker LED Blankets.
"You can tape [the LED Blankets] to walls or
ceilings; they're bi-color, dimmable and
come in many sizes," the gaffer continues.
"They're one of the main reasons our
production designer, Clark Hunter, could
give us sets close to the actual size of a real
period apartment."
On more than one occasion, Jur
found himself on a set lit to period accuracy
and in need of a boost in exposure. Rather
than tweaking the Alexa's sensitivity -
"800 ASA seems to be where it's happiest,"
the cinematographer offers - he preferred

Top and middle:
The crew shoots
Bessie's first
recording
session. Bottom:
Cinematographer
Jeffrey Jur, ASC
enjoys a break
from shooting.

24

June 2015

American Cinematographer



American Cinematographer - June 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - June 2015

Contents
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 1
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 2
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - Contents
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 4
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 5
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 6
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 7
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 8
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 9
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 10
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 11
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 12
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American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 14
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American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 17
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 18
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 19
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 20
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 21
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American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 24
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 25
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 26
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 27
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 28
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 29
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 30
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 31
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American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 33
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American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 35
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American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 37
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 38
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 39
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 40
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 41
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 42
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 43
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 44
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 45
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 46
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 47
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 48
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 49
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 50
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 51
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American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 53
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American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 80
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 80a
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 80b
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 80c
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 80d
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 80e
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 80f
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 80g
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 80h
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - 81
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American Cinematographer - June 2015 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - June 2015 - Cover4
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