American Cinematographer - November 2021 - 48

HEROIC EXTRACTION
Tech Specs:
1.85:1
For reenactment footage shot by Ian Seabrook:
Cameras: Arri Alexa Mini LF
Lenses: Zeiss Supreme Prime, Supreme Prime Radiance
Divers Volanthen (left) and Stanton arrive in Chamber 9 -
re-created here in Pinewood's Underwater Stage.
non-blue flare - [so] the flares [wouldn't all] look similar. "
Rating the camera between 1,000-1,600 ISO, he shot at T4 " to not
only give focus puller Dean Thompson a chance, but also to mask the attimes
lack of set I was shooting around, " Seabrook notes. He adds that
he had conducted tests at 800 ISO on the Alexa with the Zeiss primes
wide open and found the veiling glare too significant when the divers'
headlamps hit the lens, creating a washed-out look. The lifted blacks of
the veiling glare also revealed the limitations of their set, so Seabrook
elected to shoot at a higher ISO in order to stop down and control the
flaring and lifted blacks. " Also, I felt the lenses performed better when
[they weren't] wide open, " Seabrook notes, " but there were times when
I opened up to [as wide as a] 2.8. I was in daily communication with
[supervising colorist and ASC associate] Stefan Sonnenfeld at Company
3 about my levels. Dailies were [performed] by Company 3 in London
and beamed to Stefan in Los Angeles, who examined the grade and LUT,
[which I] and DIT Joe Steel had selected. "
Special-effects coordinator Chris Hubbard used industrial-strength
" We were all keen to represent
the divers' incredible work
properly, and everyone was
deeply invested in telling
this story. "
pumps to give the water a level of turbidity that matched what the divers
had experienced in Tham Luang, where monsoon rains and raging
floodwaters had created near-zero visibility.
Lighting the Heroes
To create a " no-light " look underwater, Seabrook and underwater gaffer
Aaron Keating embedded the Astera Helios and Titan LED tubes
and HydroFlex HydroFlo fluorescent tubes in the set. " I would do a few
passes with the camera to see if I could see any sources glowing, which
I would correct if I did, " says Seabrook. " Aaron and I devised a chocolate-and-coral
gel combination that we used at 3,000K so the [light from
the] Asteras wouldn't look white; this accurately represented the divers'
helmet lights bouncing against the mud and rocks. [Mobile-LED-lamp
manufacturer] Scurion also gave us some lights, and we added ND [gel]
- and in some cases diffusion - to the [lamp] heads. We used Opal
[diffusion] on some and 216 on others.
" I used 12'x12' blacks to drape between the gaps in the sets and act
as negative fill, " he adds, " and we bounced light from portable custom
underwater LEDs, Titan tubes and HydroFlo sources into Grifflon underwater
- below [the divers] and to whichever sides of the cave set we
were looking at - to add a bit of ambience. "
Pooling Talents
David Katznelson, BSC, DFF and Picha Srisansanee performed cinematography
duties for The Rescue's interview material - Katznelson in the
U.K. and Srisansanee in Thailand.
As unusual as the project was, " it was a great collaboration, " Seabrook
says. " We were all keen to represent the divers' incredible work properly,
and everyone was deeply invested in telling this story. "
48 / NOVEMBER 2021
American Cinematographer - November 2021

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