could use the format to enhance the blocking, with positions for the actors that were strong dramatically, concentrating on their faces - and the wide vistas could serve as 'bumpers' to make sure that the movie didn't get too claustrophobic or become too 'talky.' I thought that would work well in order to give the film some breathing space and not bog down the audience's attention. Did anything surprise you about the 65mm format? Macat: I noticed a couple of things when we tested the Alexa 65. The wide shots were incredible, especially with the Prime DNA 28mm lens, which is just amazing - it's so wide and sees so much detail. But the focus drops off differently than it would with a [Super 35mm] lens. I always try to shoot exteriors around a 5.6 - and in this format, shooting exteriors around a 5.6 feels sort of equivalent to shooting spherical Super 35mm around 2.8. This has the effect of drawing the audience's focus into the areas of the frame that are sharper, and making the rest of the picture drop off in focus in a way that's like an impressionistic painting. I thought that could be an interesting way to highlight the performers. We used this selective focus to our advantage in scenes like the wedding, when Michelle Williams recognizes that the father of the bride is the person she'd had a relationship with when she was young. Even though there's a sea of people in the shot, the eye and the audience is drawn to discovering just [Crudup's character]. www.ascmag.com That's one of the most memorable shots in the movie. Without any dialogue, the viewer immediately recognizes the reveal - and Isabel's shock. Macat: That's an example of using the format to the advantage of September 2019 39http://www.ascmag.com