American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 18

Left: Cinematographer Federico Cantini lines up a shot of Dolmans.
Right: Cantini (left) checks a light while crewmembers affix the weight to Dolmans' back.

tiny bathroom, and Cantini used a greenish
hue to depict his growing illness and
unease.
Podcaminsky and Cantini together
made the decision to shoot the production
chronologically. "The story is compressed,"
says Cantini. "You only have 10 minutes to
see this character, who starts normally and
ends up with this huge weight on his back.
Shooting it chronologically made it easier
with makeup and props." The four increasingly large backpacks were designed and
built by prop master Valentín Cosentino of
Paterlan in Buenos Aires, with the assistance
of Gabriel Drzazga and Martín Fojo. Nicole
Hawkyard did the makeup and David Kauffman and Angeles Partal designed the
costumes.
The director and cinematographer
also agreed that the camera should move as
little as possible. "We wanted a slow pace,
and [decided] not to cut unless it was necessary," says Cantini. "We tried to block the
scenes so the character moves around the
frame and we stay still. It was the right
choice. It's a contemplative story, so we
wanted the camera to be a non-active
witness."
Because the apartment set was so
small, that decision created some challenges. "We wanted to do long takes with
18

June 2017

the actor moving into the frame," says
Cantini. "To do that, we had to choreograph the actor carefully and try to keep all
the action in the frame - and keep it interesting to look at. We did that by changing
the light and the direction of the light, so
every scene is different, even though the
framing is similar."
One particularly challenging scene
takes place in a practical bathroom location,
which was not much bigger than a closet.
"The camera was big, the bathroom was
tiny," says Cantini. "It was impossible to get
a medium shot or a wide shot. I used all
practical lights and shot his reflection in the
mirror. We also came up with the idea of
focusing on his neck, since we hold our
problems in the neck."
Cantini says he is most pleased that
they were able to create "several different
moods and sensations in a very small place.
At the end of the day, 80 percent of the
story is inside the apartment. The goal was
to tell the story as simply as possible in the
smallest number of shots, with one actor
and no dialogue, and that was the most
demanding aspect."
At the movie's end, Podcaminsky
used CGI from Laposta in Buenos Aires to
create a weight on the man's back that is so
heavy that he falls and is crushed. "The
American Cinematographer

camera then cuts to early in the morning,"
says Cantini. "He's on the ground without
the backpack, and people walk by him, as if
he's just another homeless person. Then
there's a close-up of his eyes, and he opens
them."
The movie was edited by Gustavo
Panich in New York, and post-produced by
Damián Brillantino, Nicolás Cantarelli and
Pablo Tufaro at Laposta in Buenos Aires.
Cantini is also quick to acknowledge
Gustavo Bulgach, who recorded the music at
East Venice Records Studios in Los Angeles.
Color correction was completed by
Jorge Russo, Cantini's colorist for the past 15
years, at Pentimento Color Grading in
Buenos Aires. Russo performed the grade
with Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve in
2K resolution for a 2K DCP final theatrical
deliverable. "Jorge really helped out on this
one," Cantini says.
"It was a challenge to make this
short look like a classic film," Cantini says. "I
found it complicated to do that while at the
same time trying to have something visually
interesting and natural-looking in every
frame - with a little bit of strangeness, indicating that we're inside his mind. But in the
end we were able to tell a story with only
framing, lighting and the actor's subtle
performance."
●



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - June 2017

Contents
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - Intro
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 1
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 2
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - Contents
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 4
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 5
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 6
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 7
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 8
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 9
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 10
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 11
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 12
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 13
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 14
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 15
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 16
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 17
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 18
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 19
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 20
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 21
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 22
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 23
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 24
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 25
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 26
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 27
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 28
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 29
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 30
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 31
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 32
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 33
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 33A
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 33B
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 34
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 35
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 36
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 37
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 38
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American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 40
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 41
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 42
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 43
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American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 50
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American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 58
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American Cinematographer - June 2017 - 60
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American Cinematographer - June 2017 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - June 2017 - Cover4
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