American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 57

started doing that on Shame but did
much more of it on this movie," he says.
"I spent a lot of time taking stills, which
allowed me to see the different qualities
of the light at different times of day, and
then used Adobe Lightroom to grade
them and reframe them in 2.40:1. I then
went through them to see what was
unique about each location, where the
angles were and what the compositions
might be in relation to the scene. I sat
down with Steve after I put all those
[elements] together, and they informed
our approach on the day of shooting.
"But the beauty is that [despite]
all the prep Steve and I do, the only
thing that matters is what happens on
the day, when the actors are there," he
continues. "If one of them walks one
way instead of another, everything we've
planned could just go out the window.
Responding to that is so exciting, and it
makes every day a challenge and fun.
And one of the great things about Steve
is that he recognizes when we're going
down a dead end, so we don't waste time
- his focus is absolute."
Certain choices have remained
consistent in Bobbitt's work with
McQueen, and one is their use of the
widescreen aspect ratio. On 12 Years a
Slave, they achieved this by shooting 4perf Super 35mm. "When the audience
sees that wide frame, they immediately
know it's a feature film," the cinematographer says. "Also, from an operating
point of view, there are so many more
compositional possibilities. Depending
on where you put the subject in the
frame and how you move around him,
you can make things much more
dynamic and heighten the emotional
elements."
Bobbitt, who does his own operating, uses a single camera on a scene to
avoid compromising the lighting. "If
you maximize for one shot, the other
shot suffers, and you've watered down
your aesthetic. I find that when I'm
operating, I can focus on the frame
because thoughts about the next setup
or the next lighting issue go to the back
of my brain." Looking at a monitor
doesn't focus his attention in the same
57



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American Cinematographer - December 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - December 2013

Contents
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - Contents
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 2
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 3
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 4
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 5
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 6
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 7
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 8
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 9
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American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 11
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 12
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American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 18
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 19
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American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 28
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 29
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 30
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American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 38
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American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 40
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American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 43
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American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 50
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American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 57
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 58
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American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 63
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 64
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - S-1
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - S-2
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - S-3
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - S-4
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - S-5
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - S-6
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - S-7
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - S-8
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - S-9
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - S-10
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - S-11
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - S-12
American Cinematographer - December 2013 - 65
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American Cinematographer - December 2013 - Cover3
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