American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 22

Right: Nuttgens
operates the
camera for a shot
looking past
Foster as an
exploding truck
gives cover for
Tanner to flee the
police. Below:
Hell or High
Water marks the
sixth feature
collaboration
between
Nuttgens and
director David
Mackenzie.

incredibly dynamic. I was particularly
struck by an early shot in which the
camera chases the brothers' stolen
Camaro. The Camaro makes a sharp
turn, the camera does the same and
then moves in for a two-shot through
the driver's-side window. How did you
execute that move?
Nuttgens: We were on a motorcycle with a sidecar, with [an Alpha Stabilized
remote] head. Unfortunately what
happened was after we turned to come
alongside the Camaro, there was a joint in
the road, and every time we hit that bump
the camera would hit the edge of its yoke
and jam at 45 degrees, and we couldn't
release it during the take. So, in post, we
22

August 2016

used all of the latitude we had to push into
the image to correct the horizon. We probably did about eight takes of that, and then
David ended up cutting between takes in
the edit.
For shots of the boys, we never
wanted to side-mount [the camera] directly
onto the vehicle unless it was going to be at
crazy speed. We used mounts for Jeff
because his sequences are much more
sedate. [This differentiation underscored]
two sets of lives going at different paces.
Everything else that was on the cars was
Russian Arm. The Russian Arm guys were
beyond belief. It's a really amazing tool.
The final shot of the film is also
remarkable. It starts from a high angle
American Cinematographer

as Bridges walks away from Pine
outside of the farm, then pans across
the property and cranes down into the
dry grass as Bridges drives away, with
the sun low in the sky flaring the lens.
Nuttgens: That was our one day
with Jeff and Chris, and there was a whole
preamble to shoot that's not in the final
film, plus seven pages of dialogue. So we're
coming to dusk and David says, 'Let's go to
the Technocrane. We've still got to do the
final shot.' The final shot was done in 20
minutes, from setting it up to getting the
two takes.
The Technocrane guys were fantastic, and the guy on the arm was our dolly
grip, Eli Schneider, who's a complete natural
and just has an innate sensibility for moving
a camera. They knew we weren't going to
rehearse. Watching people work instinctively to achieve something [and] catching
the perfect light makes filmmaking a really
joyful process. And that's what's fantastic
about working with David. He's super-intuitive, and I can tell you, until the bell rings,
he's going to get something.

TECHNICAL SPECS
2.39:1
Digital Capture
Arri Alexa XT Studio
Vantage Film Hawk V-Lite;
Angenieux Optimo, A2S

➣



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - August 2016

Contents
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - Intro
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 1
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 2
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - Contents
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 4
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 5
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 6
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 7
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 8
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 9
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 10
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 11
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 12
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 13
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 14
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 15
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 16
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 17
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 18
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 19
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 20
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 21
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 22
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 23
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 24
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 25
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 26
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 27
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 28
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 29
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 30
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 31
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 32
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 33
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 34
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 35
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 36
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 37
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 38
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 39
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 40
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 41
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 42
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 43
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 44
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 45
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 46
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 47
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 48
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 49
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 50
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 51
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 52
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 53
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 54
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 55
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 56
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 57
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 58
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 59
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 60
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 61
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 62
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 63
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 64
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 65
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 66
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 67
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 68
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 69
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 70
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 71
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 72
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 73
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 74
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 75
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 76
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 77
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 78
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 79
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 80
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 81
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 82
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 83
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 84
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 85
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 86
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 87
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 88
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - Cover4
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