American Cinematographer - October 2021 - 39

AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER ASCMAG.COM
be exciting, and I was bored processing grip-and-grins at [Naval Air Station]
Point Mugu. I'd never dove! I've just gotta move! "
In many respects, Hollywood was ready for someone like Romano by
the time he landed his first industry job: assisting underwater cinematographer
Al Giddings on For Your Eyes Only (AC Aug. '81). As an experienced
diver and photographer, he was a novelty on set. " For many years,
the chance of successfully filming underwater on a movie was less than
50-50, " he says. " Most of the time, you could find a guy who kind of knew
how to dive and tell him where to point the camera, or you'd find someone
who really knew cameras but was worried about drowning and getting
the shot at the same time. "
Reliable equipment was another problem, so Romano, following advice
from Giddings, learned machining. " In those days you were lucky
to find equipment that didn't flood and let you understand where your
frame was, " he says. " No kidding - it was a lot of wind-up Bolex cameras
and old, incandescent Birns & Sawyer lights. I realized pretty quickly
that I'd need to build my own equipment in order to pursue my goals. "
Romano built his first underwater housing, designed to be used with
Cinema Products' 16mm Gizmo, in the machine shop at Industrial Light
& Magic, where he was assisting visual-effects cinematographer and
future ASC member Bill Neil on such projects as Poltergeist and E.T. the
Extra-Terrestrial (AC Jan. '83). He worked on the housing in his spare
time, calling it the HydroFlex.
A few years later, he built three housings for the Arri 35-3 in the machine
shop at another VFX house, Boss Film Studios. The 35-3 was the
go-to 2nd-unit camera of its day, and Romano's brand-new HydroFlex
housings were soon in demand. A business was born that continues
today.
Romano credits his early VFX experiences not only with helping him
birth HydroFlex as a company, but also elevating his underwater work.
" Thanks to that foundation, I know how to cheat the frame. In that void
of a background, there are so many ways to use the camera to help tell
the story and get the shot. "
Romano also strove to advance underwater lighting. Incandescents
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF PETE ROMANO,
ASC. THE ISLAND PHOTO (PREVIOUS
SPREAD) BY CHIP MATHESON. BALLERS
PHOTO (THIS SPREAD) BY NICHOLAS
" SODAPOP " FRANCHOT.
were the norm until the mid-1980s, when Romano and Richard Mula,
his business partner at the time, adapted HMIs for James Cameron to
use underwater on The Abyss (AC Dec. '89). But Cameron had to be convinced.
" Jim was adamant that he wanted a 10K incandescent, " Romano
recalls. " I said, 'We can't do that. It's so big you'd need at least 500
pounds of ballast to get it underwater.' I knew a 1.2K HMI was best for
the job in terms of size, intensity and beam penetration, but Jim was
having none of it. So I set up a test.
" I put a 20-by-20 silk on a frame and set up a 10K, a 5K and a 2K, and I
had a 1.2K HMI off to the side. I threw on the 10K, and the Spectra analog
meter went up to a 5.6. Jim said, 'That's it, that's exactly what I want!'
Meanwhile, Richard and I had ramped up the HMI, which was ready to
go. So I said, 'Kill the 10K and put on the 1.2K.' Jim glared at me, but when
that light came around and hit the Spectra, the light meter's needle buried
itself on the far end. Jim said, 'Okay, I get it.' The 1.2K became the
OCTOBER 2021 / 39
Ballers (pictured, left)
" We're at Acton Water Stage, and
the pool's surrounded by custom
blacks. We also put a scaffolding
tent over this end of the pool
with a silk on it to create a soft,
shadowless palette. The fiberglass
ladder I'm on is one of my favorite
tools. I use it as a stable perch
when we've set up a shot and
are waiting for the actor to get
ready. Sometimes I use it as a
launching pad and then swim in
to do a smooth move. Sometimes
I'll have talent on the ladder with
me, like if we need a close-up and
the actor is apprehensive; they
can stand on the ladder with their
head above water and then drop
down to a seat when it's time to roll
camera. Sometimes I use a ladder
to execute a shot.
" In Transformers: The Last
Knight, there's a scene where Mark
Wahlberg is sinking, and Josh
Duhamel swims down, grabs him
by the hand, and pulls him back
up. I put Mark on the lower part of
the ladder with a hookah rig and a
mask; Josh, with another hookah
rig, was holding onto the top of the
ladder, and I was hanging onto the
ladder between them. Mark's hand
came up, Josh's hand came down,
and boom, I got the shot. You need
control to get a precision shot like
that underwater. "
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American Cinematographer - October 2021

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