American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 38

Impressionistic Cinema These frame grabs of two different scenes — Charlotte’s lunch with Léa (top) and Chéri’s breakfast with his mother after his honeymoon (bottom) — illustrate Khondji’s approach to Charlotte’s home, where the goal was “a gaudy and dark interior, slightly on the cool side,” says the cinematographer. Relying on hues a bit warmer and a bit cooler than the 3200°K rating for his Fuji film stock, Khondji used amber background practicals to complete the color range. In the top frame, note the gleam of sunlight on the wall at right — the only touch of hard sunlight in the room. Khondji acknowledges many painterly influences on the pictorial style of Chéri, and a couple of sequences readily evoke painters of Colette’s era. A brightly colored sequence with world-weary Chéri seated in the famous Maxim’s restaurant reminds one of Renoir, and when Charlotte and Léa walk in a lush garden, it looks like a Monet. “That shot in the garden was found by Alastair Rae, our camera operator,” recalls Khondji. “He went scouting with his finder, and when he showed it to me, it was wonderful! It is the most impressionistic shot in the film. For me, it creates a whole world of imagery.” Gallot adds, “That shot was so beautiful and so strange that the lab called me to ask how we did it. I told him it was just an old 75mm Kowa!” Khondji enhanced the softness of the image by shooting at a wide-open stop with an ND.9 filter on the lens. The difficulty with lighting Maxim’s restaurant was that the camera moves freely about, turning 360 degrees in a room full of mirrors. Khondji and his gaffer, Franck Barrault, decided to create toplight with dozens of household bulbs strung on wires overhead. “It’s the principle of the Dino or the Wendy Light: shadows don’t exist because there are too many sources,” explains Barrault. The bare bulbs were dimmed down, providing a soft, warm light that was supplemented by the practicals on the tables. Chéri’s seduction of Léa takes place in Charlotte’s glass-enclosed winter garden, or conservatory, which is also the setting for a bizarre tea party later in the movie. The challenge for Khondji was to provide consistent lighting in the conservatory throughout the lengthy dialogue scenes, and to handle varying backlight. He had the offscreen part of the conservatory covered with a white silk through which he shone several Dinos gelled with ¾ CTB, providing soft, slightly warm daylight that was partially compensated for with an LLD filter on the 75mm Classic lens. The outside lights could be dimmed or increased to follow the weather. The seduction scene also has a few strokes of bright sunlight on the 38 July 2009

American Cinematographer - July 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - July 2009

American Cinematographer - July 2009
Contents
Editor’s Note
Short Takes: Puppy Love
Production Slate: Moon and Séraphine
Big Guns
Impressionistic Cinema
Risk and Valor
Terror on the Tracks
Post Focus: Mega Playground’s DP Dailies
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
In Memoriam: Jack Cardiff, BSC
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Mark Irwin
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - American Cinematographer - July 2009
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 1
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 2
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - Contents
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 4
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 5
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 6
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 7
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 9
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - Short Takes: Puppy Love
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 11
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 12
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 13
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - Production Slate: Moon and Séraphine
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 15
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 16
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 17
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 18
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 19
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 20
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 21
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 22
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 23
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - Big Guns
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 25
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 26
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 27
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 28
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 29
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 30
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 31
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 32
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 33
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - Impressionistic Cinema
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 35
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 36
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 37
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 38
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 39
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 40
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 41
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 42
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 43
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - Risk and Valor
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 45
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 46
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 47
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 48
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 49
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 50
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 51
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - Terror on the Tracks
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 53
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 54
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 55
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 56
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 57
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 58
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 59
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - Post Focus: Mega Playground’s DP Dailies
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 61
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 62
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 63
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 65
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 66
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 67
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - Classified Ads
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - Ad Index
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 71
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - In Memoriam: Jack Cardiff, BSC
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 73
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 75
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - ASC Close-Up: Mark Irwin
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - July 2009 - Cover4
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