American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 57

Steadicam
operator Chris
Haarhoff (top,
second from left)
maneuvers around
Keaton in Riggan's
dressing room.
The crew placed
three 20Ks outside
of the room to
simulate daylight
coming in through
the window.

wings would be shot inside the actual
St. James.
The camera was in constant
motion, executing dozens of 360-degree
moves, with Lubezki following characters or pedaling backwards in front of
them, scaling catwalks and descending
to the stage. A good part of the movie
was shot handheld. Lubezki operated
an Arri Alexa M with a 4:3 sensor rated
at 1,250 ASA and framed for a 1.85:1
release; the rest was shot on a
Steadicam, with operator Chris
Haarhoff wearing an Alexa XT. Only
two lenses were used: an 18mm Leica
Summilux-C (T1.4) and a 14mm
Arri/Zeiss Master Prime (T1.3). Arri
CSC in New Jersey provided the
camera gear.
"When we got into very tight
spaces, we favored handheld," says
Haarhoff. "The M could get closer to
the faces than the Steadicam and
brought a real intimacy to the shots. We
kept the profiles of both cameras really
low - no matte boxes, no filters - so
we could get as close as possible to the
actors." Some scenes were shot with
both Steadicam and handheld, and

Iñárritu decided which version to use
during editing.
"One of the hardest things for me
was being able to hand-hold the camera
for such long periods," acknowledges
Lubezki, who was usually holding the
Alexa M at arm's length to get it as close
as possible to the actors. The filmmakers
considered handing off the camera from
www.theasc.com

one operator to the other, but it looked
awkward in playback and they scratched
the idea.
Lubezki says he specifically chose
the M because it offers a separate head
and body that, for Birdman, were tethered via a 15' fiber-optic cable. He held
the lens and sensor housing, while 1st
AC Gregor Tavenner carried the
December 2014

57



http://www.theasc.com

American Cinematographer - December 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - December 2014

Contents
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 1
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 2
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - Contents
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 4
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 5
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 6
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 7
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 8
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 9
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 10
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 11
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 12
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 13
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 14
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 15
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 16
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 17
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 18
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 19
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 20
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 21
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 22
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 23
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 24
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 25
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 26
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 27
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 28
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 29
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 30
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 31
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 32
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 33
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 34
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 35
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 36
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 37
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 38
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 39
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 40
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 41
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 42
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 43
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 44
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 45
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 46
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 47
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 48
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 49
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 50
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 51
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 52
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 53
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 54
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 55
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 56
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 57
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 58
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 59
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 60
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 61
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 62
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 63
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 64
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 65
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 66
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 67
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 68
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 69
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 70
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 71
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 72
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 73
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 74
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 75
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 76
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 77
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 78
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 79
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 80
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 81
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 82
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 83
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 84
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 85
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 86
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 87
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 88
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 89
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 90
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 91
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 92
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 93
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 94
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 95
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 96
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 97
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 98
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 99
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 100
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 101
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 102
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 103
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 104
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 105
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 106
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 107
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 108
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 109
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 110
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 111
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 112
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - December 2014 - Cover4
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