American Cinematographer - November 1988 - 71

Fog-silhouetted
camera

captures

Clayton and
frontman Bono.

keep

up

with the band. The minute

same

time

heard that

with the band while at the
reloading. The assistants
had to pull focus as well as hold sun
guns at an angle that wouldn't look
flat. We also had to keep in front of
the band at all times."
"The difference between
a

good and

a

bad location

go on stage
cleared the location with the

we

of the club, rushed in the
equipment, turned on the sun
guns, and were shooting in a mat¬

light. Yet it
allowed

ter

of three minutes."
While

road,

Brinkmann used DuArt in New

was

Double X which

to shoot in most of these

U2: Rattle and Hum in¬

cludes concert

footage shot in
during the
stop at McNichols Arena in

35mm black and white

band's
the

on

us

locations."

manager

was not

much the location itself, but rath¬
the amount of preparation we

so

we

they might

Denver, Colorado. Since the
certs

were

con¬

scheduled in the middle

York to process

the black and white
footage. DuArt's fine reputation for

of the tour and because the band

had," Brinkmann emphasizes.
"When

both 16mm and black and white

would not allow any alterations to
their stage show, both Joanou and

er

couldn't prelight we just
the superspeed lenses to
wide open and hoped for the best.
As an example, at a small blues club
in Chicago called the Checkerboard
Lounge, there was no point in even
taking a reading. The funny thing
we

set up

that most of the time it ended

was

up

After
even

a

while, Brinkmann

crew were

wanted the

did

some

able to

adapt to

the most difficult situations.

us

Brinkmann states.

"We arrived

was

were

very

image quality
knew it

we

going to be blown

up to

35mm."

their concert. An

hour-long jam
play¬
ing with a number of famous blues
musicians including Stevie Ray
Vaughn. "By this time we were pre¬
pared for this type of thing,"

our

for
giving

gamma

the 16mm because

on

session resulted with the band

regular

concerned about
was

local club called Antoine's after

black and white

the best results. We

During the band's stop in Austin,
a

on

16mm black and white

Texas, the musicians decided to go
to

tests

and had DuArt blow them up to try
out different gammas. We found
out that the

looking great."

and his

confirmed

by Brinkmann. "We
documentary footage to
look grainy but we didn't want it to
fall apart," Brinkmann says. "We
was

Using Kodak's Double X
for low light situations and Plus X
for some of the exteriors, Brink¬
mann

two.

became torn between the

"Plus X

stock, but

was

we were

a

far

mix because oftentimes

November 1988

superior

forced to inter¬
we

had

no

Brinkmann went into these two

days of shooting completely un¬
of what was going to happen.
The lighting was designed
on
paper by Brinkmann and then
handed to the band's lighting direc¬
aware

tor, Peter Williams, to

incorporate
complicated computerized
lighting board. Brinkmann had
worked out the lighting cues in his
head but was never given the op¬
portunity of a rehearsal. There had
been a basketball game the night
before the shows in Denver making
it impossible to even build the stage
until the next morning. Brinkmann
into his

handed his notes to Williams

on

the

morning of the first show in Den¬
ver. Joanou and Brinkmann had
seen numerous

shows in the

of the tour but this

American

was

Cinematographer

course

their first

69
American Cinematographer - November 1988

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