American Cinematographer - August 2008 - 16

Production Slate Blazing Action and Frigid Drama nantly a two-camera shoot. A-camera operator Lawrence Karman used a Panaflex Platinum, and B-camera operator Matthew Petrosky wielded a Panaflex Millennium XL; the lenses were Panavision Primo primes and zooms. “We knew several scenes were going to be heavily improvised, so we basically set two cameras almost looking at each other,” says Orr. “We’d shoot wide over-the-shoulders to cover all the actors in a scene at the same time. That was certainly a challenge to light, but it was a choice that really aided the movie. It allowed the actors to go off the script, and [Green] was still able to cut the scene together. “We tried to keep the camera moving whenever it was appropriate,” he continues. “We were predominantly on a dolly, and we’d go back and forth on the track, panning and zooming with the actors as they moved. There was a bit of Steadicam, and a lot of handheld in the action sequences.” Pineapple Express is the first of Green’s films to be shot in Los Angeles, but Orr notes that the filmmakers “tried to make the movie non-specific in terms of locale.” In addition to extensive location work, a number of sets were constructed onstage at Sony Studios. “I have a difficult time shooting in places that are not alive,” admits Green. “I like the chaos and uncertainty of practical locations. Stages are boring and stuffy; it’s like being on an airplane too long or in the pouch of a marsupial.” Getting out of the studio, an early scene features Dale driving through town with the wheel in one hand and a joint in the other. To lend the scene what Orr describes as “a floating, woozy feeling that we wanted to establish early on,” the car was towed from a truck with a 30' Technocrane, “I was eager to work in comedy,” says director David Gordon Green, who has been known for dramatic features such as George Washington (2000) and All the Real Girls (AC April ’03). The opportunity to tickle the ribs finally presented itself when Green met with producer Judd Apatow, actor Seth Rogen and writer Evan Goldberg on the set of Knocked Up. Green recalls, “We quickly discovered they were making studio comedies in much the same manner that I and my gang were making low-budget dramas. We decided to blend the teams and make a movie.” The result is Pineapple Express, an action comedy that follows process server Dale Denton (Rogen) and his pot dealer, Saul Silver (James Franco), as they run for their lives after Dale has the misfortune of witnessing a murder. For the project, Green reteamed with cinematographer Tim Orr, a regular collaborator. In their previous outings, they 16 August 2008 Pineapple Express photos by Darren Michaels and Dale Robinette, courtesy of Columbia Pictures. Caught with his pants down, process server Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) nevertheless manages to rescue his pot dealer, Saul Silver (James Franco), from a burning barn in Pineapple Express, shot by Tim Orr and directed by David Gordon Green. High Comedy by Jon D. Witmer often found inspiration in American cinema of the 1970s, but for Pineapple Express (which takes its name from a rarefied strain of marijuana), they “wanted to make it feel like a movie from the ’80s, and we looked at movies like Midnight Run, Running Scared and 48 Hrs.,” says Orr. The filmmakers decided to shoot Pineapple Express in 3-perf Super 35mm. “We chose to shoot widescreen because we wanted to be able to fill the frame with subtle set decorations during the more dialogue-driven scenes, and then, when the action kicks in, use it to catch all the excitement and explosions we could,” says Green. Orr adds, “We discarded anamorphic due to the production logistics; we knew we’d be shooting a lot of locations, a number of action sequences and low-light situations, and we also had a significant amount [of work] inside cars. We thought spherical lenses would just give us greater flexibility in terms of lighting, space and camera movement.” The production was predomi-

American Cinematographer - August 2008

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