American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 14

Short Takes

Weight of the World
By Debra Kaufman

In director Luciano Podcaminsky's 10-minute short The Back
of My Mind, a nameless man, played by actor Guillaume Dolmans,
trudges through his bleak life, as his woes begin to appear as a literal
weight on his back. As time progresses, that weight grows from a
small backpack to an immense, unbearable burden, crushing his
spirit and finally destroying him completely. Podcaminsky, who wrote
the script with Sebastián Wilhelm, wanted to convey the "almost
universal" feeling that we all "carry a heavy weight on our backs and
in our minds." Cinematographer Federico Cantini adds that "it's like
a modern-day version of Franz Kafka's 'Metamorphosis.' You don't
know anything about him, but everyone can identify with him."
In his native Argentina, Podcaminsky is a well-known
commercial director at Landia, a top Spanish-language global
production company headquartered in Buenos Aires. Although
Cantini works as a commercial cinematographer in Argentina, the
two didn't meet until they both came to Los Angeles and began
working together on commercial shoots. Podcaminsky immediately
thought of Cantini for his new indie project. "Federico is someone
with a great intellect and mind," he says. "I wanted this deep and
dark feeling, and he was perfect to create that atmosphere."
For his part, Cantini was happy to jump into the project -
and as soon as possible. "[Podcaminsky] was still finishing the script,
14

June 2017

and I really like to get involved early in the process," the cinematographer says. "I like to be part of the selection of locations because
they're so important to helping with the general mood of the story."
After scouting locations from Venice Beach to the downtown Arts
District, they chose Willow Studios in an industrial downtown Los
Angeles neighborhood recommended by executive producer Claudia Antonucci of Indie Air Films. During the two-day shoot, they also
captured some scenes on downtown L.A. streets.
"We liked the monochromatic look, which sells the idea that
our protagonist lives in this ageless world," Cantini notes. "You
can't tell if it's 1990 or 2020. In advertising, we usually create images
that are eye-candy - colorful, fun and beautiful, with the camera
moving all the time - and we wanted to go completely the opposite of that. We tried for the most cinematic, classic look, nothing
very modern."
In that vein, Cantini adds, "there's nothing more timeless
than Panavision anamorphics." Indeed, choosing the Panavision G
Series lenses was his "first call," even before the camera. Cantini
reached out to Panavision's Rik DeLisle, whom he had met while
attending an ASC Master Class in Los Angeles, ultimately renting an
Arri Alexa Plus. The cinematographer notes that "of all the digital
cameras, [this one was] the most similar to the film-look" they were
going for. The production recorded ProRes 2K anamorphic files to
SxS cards and framed for a final 2.39:1 aspect ratio.
Cantini notes that taking the Master Class helped him evolve

American Cinematographer

Photos and frame grabs courtesy of the filmmakers.

The nameless lead character (played by Guillaume Dolmans) in the short The Back of My Mind succumbs
to the crushing weight he bears through his day-to-day existence.

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