American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 50
◗
Questions of Perspective
Petit's dream of
walking a wire
suspended
between the
twin towers of
the World Trade
Center is made
possible by his
diverse team of
collaborators
(below).
height limit, my sun never went super
high, which was great, so we had a
daylight that was at a constant of somewhere between 9:30 to 11 a.m. When
we finally wrapped on stage and went to
Jordan for our location work, we tried to
maintain that angle as much as we
could. This approach, of shooting on
stage first, was only possible because of
the detailed location scout we did in
prep.
The only other extensive greenscreen work we did was for the scenes
set in space - for example, aboard the
NASA ship, [where we had] to have the
ceilings replaced and extended due to all
50
November 2015
the wire work we did with the actors to
simulate zero-gravity weightlessness.
Virtually everything else was shot on
real physical locations around Budapest
or on stage.
On The Walk, we obviously had
quite a bit of greenscreen work, but we
did build an entire rooftop set for the
Trade Center. With some adjustments,
we just used the same set for both roofs.
But the length of the wire we used on
stage was exactly the length of the
distance between the real Twin Towers:
140 feet. So a realistic sense of perspective between Joseph Gordon-Levitt and
the physical rooftop set was maintained
American Cinematographer
throughout that scene as he walks
between the buildings. That's a very
subtle thing, but it delivers an illusion of
realism that would be ruined if we were
not consistent. Sure, we cheated it a little
bit sometimes, but we always knew
where we could do that because we
understood what the reality was.
The Martian seemed to call for a
very realistic lighting and photographic approach to support a more
realistic story - as opposed to, say,
Prometheus. Is that how you read the
script?
Wolski: Prometheus is a sci-fi
film, while The Martian is a drama
about science that's set in the near future
[of 2035], and everything is plausible.
We had experts from NASA and JPL
and the European Space Agency. There
are some elements that are not quite
real, of course, but 90 percent is
absolutely plausible. And that was in the
back of my mind whenever we had a
lighting issue. The Hub, for example,
was lit almost entirely with practicals
built into the sets [by production
designer Arthur Max's department].
And this was done in a way to also
contrast our interiors with the Martian
exteriors. Inside, we are quite monochromatic, clean and modern, while the
exterior is so vibrant. Even the Mars
'daylight' we have coming into the
American Cinematographer - November 2015
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - November 2015
Contents
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 1
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 2
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - Contents
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 4
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 5
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 6
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 7
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 8
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 9
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 10
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 11
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 12
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 13
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 14
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 15
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 16
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 17
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 18
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 19
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 20
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 21
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 22
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 23
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 24
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 25
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 26
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 27
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 28
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 29
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 30
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 31
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 32
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 33
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 34
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 35
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 36
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 37
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 38
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 39
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 40
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 41
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 42
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 43
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 44
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 45
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 46
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 47
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 48
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 49
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 50
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 51
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 52
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 53
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 54
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 55
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 56
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 57
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 58
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 59
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 60
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 61
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 62
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 63
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 64
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 65
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 66
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 67
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 68
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 69
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 70
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 71
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 72
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 73
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 74
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 75
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 76
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 77
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 78
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 79
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 80
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 81
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 82
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 83
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 84
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 85
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 86
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 87
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 88
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 89
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 90
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 91
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 92
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 93
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 94
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 95
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - 96
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - November 2015 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1218_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1118_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1018_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0918_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0818_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0718_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0618_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0518_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0418_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0318_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0218_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0118_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1217_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1117_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1017_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0917_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0817_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0717_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0617_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0517_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0417_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0317_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0217_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0117_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1216_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1116_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1016_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0916_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0816_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0716_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0616_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0516_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0416_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0316_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0216_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0116_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1215_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1115_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1015_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0915_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0815_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0715_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0615_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0515_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0415_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0315_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0215_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0115_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1214
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1114
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0914
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0814
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0714
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0614
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0514
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0414
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0314
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0214
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0114
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1213
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1113
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0913
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0813
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0713
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0613
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0513
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0413
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0313
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0213
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0113
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0912
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0812
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0712
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0512
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0412
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0312
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0911
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0811
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0711
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0611
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0511
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0411
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1110
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0810
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0710
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0510
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0410
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0110
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com