American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 18

Top: Myrna is a
dreamer, often
thinking of a
lost love.
Bottom:
Kitchens,
director Ian
Samuels (green
shirt), Yerrid and
crew prep a
scene.

augmented well by [Andreadis]. I'd turn stuff
off or do negative fill. Because of the sheer
number of location moves I kept it as simple
as I could."
Kitchens' lighting package included a
K5600 Joker-Bug 800 HMI, Par cans and
Source Four ellipsoidals, as well as two 4'
four-bank Kino Flos, with tungsten, daylight
or cool-white tubes as appropriate. "The
palette is very much city: metal halide,
sodium vapor and daylight," the
cinematographer explains. "There's very little
tungsten."
Regarding Myrna's pronounced
18

August 2015

proboscis, Kitchens says, "One of the
challenges was that her nose is so big that if
you backlight her, you get a huge head
shadow across her nose, which is pretty bad.
We were trying to keep her looking good in
that way. But most of my lighting decisions
were based on the story, the idea of this
being a natural, realistic character. There's a
lot of trash in the movie, and we wanted it
to feel like she's always hanging out with
trash. So it wasn't so much about making
her look good as it was making her fit into
the environment and making her feel like a
real person in a real world - a real alien."
With an eye toward realism, the
filmmakers preferred in-camera solutions to
the problems of placing Myrna convincingly
in her world, but not to the complete
exclusion of digital effects. "We looked for
ways to do it practically, but sometimes it's
not possible," Kitchens explains. "When we
have shots of her walking, it's four people
walking her, so we'd [shoot] a locked-off
plate. A lot of [the digital-effects workload]
was wire removal."
The cinematographer acknowledges
the work of producer and postproduction
supervisor Ki Jin Kim, who helped prepare
the footage for the color grade. The
production was finished at Prettybird in
Culver City, Calif., under colorist Quinn
Martin Alvarez, who worked with DaVinci
Resolve Lite. Kitchens was only able to attend
the first of the two grading sessions.
American Cinematographer

"Afterwards, Ian really pushed this through
himself," he notes. "He was there for both
sessions. This was a large labor of love for
him, and I think it shows."
Kitchens has fond memories of
enjoying "a lot of freedom, creatively, from
MTV. But there were some requirements that
we had to fulfill production-wise. When
you're shooting in L.A. and you have to pay
for permits, that's most of the budget
gone." One particularly iconic location was
the Sixth Street Viaduct bridge, where, as
Kitchens says, "everyone shoots car
commercials. We wanted to shoot Myrna
walking for a transitional element, and some
production assistant was telling us to hide
when this car would come by with a Russian
Arm - they were not interested in seeing
Myrna in this car commercial." He sighs. "I
think she'd have made a good
spokesperson."
●



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

Contents
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 1
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 2
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - Contents
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 4
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 5
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 6
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 7
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 8
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 9
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 10
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 11
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 12
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 13
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 14
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 15
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 16
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 17
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 18
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 19
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 20
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 21
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 22
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 23
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 24
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 25
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 26
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 27
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 28
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 29
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 30
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 31
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 32
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 33
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 34
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 35
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 36
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 37
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 38
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 39
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 40
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 41
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 42
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 43
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 44
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 45
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 46
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 47
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 48
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 49
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 50
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 51
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 52
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 53
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 54
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 55
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 56
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 57
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 58
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 59
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 60
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 61
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 62
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 63
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 64
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 65
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 66
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 67
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 68
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 69
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 70
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 71
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 72
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 73
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 74
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 75
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 76
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 77
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 78
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 79
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 80
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 81
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 82
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 83
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 84
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 85
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 86
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 87
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 88
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0424
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0324
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0224
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0124
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1223
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1123
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0923
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0823
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0723
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0623
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0523
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0423
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0323
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0223
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0123
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1222
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1122
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0922
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0822
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0722
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0622
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0522
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0422
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0322
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0222
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0122
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1221
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1121
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0921
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0821
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0721
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0621
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0521
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0421
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0321
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0221
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0121
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1220
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0920
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0820
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0720
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0620
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0520
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0420
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0320
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0220
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0120
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1219
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1119
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0919
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0819
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0719
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0619
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0519
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0419
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0319
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0219_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0219
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0119_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0119
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1218
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1118
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0918
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0818
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0718
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0618
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0518
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0418
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0318
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0218
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0118
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1217
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1117
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0917
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0817
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0717
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0617
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0517
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0417
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0317
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0217
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0117
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1216
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1116
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0916
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0816
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0716
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0616
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0516
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0416
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0316
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0216
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0116
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1215
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1115
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0915
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0815
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0715
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0615
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0515
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0415
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0315
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0215
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0115
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com