American Cinematographer - October 1989 - 52

table. If we feel that it's right for
the moment to lay back, that's
fine.
"Most of the interiors at
Glenn and Jimmy's house were

a

storyboarded because the house
we used was
very small and
cramped. It's a beautiful place,
but we had to be very sure of
what we were doing-there
would be no time for screwing
around. Also, it was the first big
location we were going into. I
always try to storyboard in shoot¬
ing order, so if I can't finish the
whole movie, at least I can get the
first couple weeks done. Obvi¬
ously, it's important to have
that involve stunts or ef¬
fects done ahead of time-scenes
where the people need the infor¬
mation.
"I think I stick to my sto¬
scenes

ryboards more rigidly than most
directors, but not so rigidly as to
force a director of photography
into a bad situation. There are
certain times when I'll say 'It has

Above: Green but

chilly Vancouver
doubled for
Seattle.

to be this

Right:

own

Close and Woods

way,' for reasons of my
that have to do with the

story or the characters. But within
that framework, I want the cine-

share the joy of
parenthood.

matographer's suggestions.
Those collaborations, between
the director and the cinematogra¬

pher or the editor, are by far the
most fun thing about making
movies. That's what makes it all

worthwhile," Kaplan says.
Both Lindley and Kaplan
had worked in Vancouver before;

familiarity with the city worked
to their advantage. "It's a beauti¬
ful city," says Kaplan, "and we
used that whenever we could,
without being distancing, to

work for what's coming

dramati¬
cally later in the picture. But the
point is, one of the elements that
pulled the scene together was
John's desire to make the picture

visual-something that he can be
proud of. That's his job."
The bus station

but many of the

scenes were

Cinematographer

interesting by having Jimmy and
a convertible. John
Lindley is very familiar with

Glenn drive

came

October 1989

film's

scene

the lo¬

knockout. We made it even more

Vancouver,

American

cation scout,

on

beach, and that drive is just a

didn't have the time to

carefully de¬
signed and storyboarded in ad¬
vance. When time permitted,

greatly enhanced

enhance the visuals. There's a
scene where the four main char¬
acters drive from a motel to a

board the whole

story¬
picture," relates
Kaplan. "This was not a problem
for Immediate Family, because it's
not necessary to storyboard a
scene with two people talking at

was

50

Kaplan included Lindley in the
storyboarding process. The na¬
ture of many of the scenes made
extensive boarding unnecessary,
but Kaplan nevertheless carefully
planned ahead in some cases.
"I storyboard a lot, but I

so

when the

scene

up, he knew exactly which
road to shoot it on-it's a beauti¬
ful stretch."
While previous collabo¬
ration

helps in choosing

a

cine-
American Cinematographer - October 1989

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