American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 65

Unit photography by Scott Garfield, SMPSP, courtesy of The Weinstein Co.

Opposite: Billy
Hope (Jake
Gyllenhaal) fights
for redemption
after personal
tragedy takes him
to rock bottom in
the feature
Southpaw. This
page, top: Fight
manager Jordan
Mains (Curtis "50
Cent" Jackson)
leaves Hope as the
boxer spirals out of
control. Bottom:
Cinematographer
Mauro Fiore, ASC
lines up a shot.

ally deal with his breakdown," the cinematographer says. The idea they came
up with was twofold. First was the look
they hoped to achieve from each of the
four fight scenes in the movie: "Reality,"
explains Fuqua. "As close to reality as
you could possibly get in a film."
Second was to tell Hope's story
through each fight. "We didn't do a lot
of specific storyboarding," Fiore says.
"We tried to let the action lead the
concept. Antoine wanted the first fight
- which takes place at Madison Square
Garden - to be the introduction of the
fighter and his character. It's very observational, with an objective viewpoint."
The fights that follow become increasingly subjective. In the second fight,
notes Fiore, "we are slowly getting into
the ring with him, and into his head."
And it's a brutal match - or as Fuqua
puts it, "self-punishment. A sense of
guilt and an attempt at suicide."
By the time the film reaches the
final fight, "we've mounted cameras
onto the fighters, so you become part of
Billy's mind and expression," Fiore says.
"You experience the fight the same way
he does."
Fuqua's ambitious plan was to

shoot all four fights in the first two
weeks of production. "We had a lot of
doubt at first," admits Fiore. "Jake and
the other fighters had to be prepared to
go all the rounds of each fight without
stopping, and we were rolling the whole
time. It was exhausting for them, but it
ended up being incredible, due to Jake's
preparedness and Antoine's intensity in
getting the action in a continuous run."
Each fight was highly choreographed, says Fiore, thus calling for
www.theasc.com

substantial rehearsal time. "We had
monitors for every camera, the same
way you would in TV coverage, and we
ran through what everyone would be
doing," says the cinematographer. "We'd
specifically communicate after we
filmed each fight; we'd play back and
observe, and talk about what we could
do to improve."
The filmmakers turned to HBO
World Championship Boxing as their
model, particularly for the first fight. To
August 2015

65



http://www.theasc.com

American Cinematographer - August 2015

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
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American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 28
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 29
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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
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American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 40
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American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 42
American Cinematographer - August 2015 - 43
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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
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