American Cinematographer - May 1990 - 60

people.
"Tony wanted a visual
perspective which made the
audience feel like they were silent
participants. He had some very
good visual ideas, but there weren't

lot of discussions about

a

lighting,

angle or move¬
the freedom to
interpret visualization of his di¬
camera

ment. He gave me

rection."
Most photography was
done with a single Panaflex G

though there was always
body available as
backup. Occasionally, handheld
camera,
a

second

ARRI

cameras were

used, par¬

ticularly for action sequences
where Kemper wanted to maxi¬
mize coverage for scenes that
would be time-consuming to
repeat.

Simulated

moonlight gives
the barn loft
scenes a

ful mood.

peace¬

ity for sunlight coming through
each window in every scene, and
he used HMI lights to boost illu¬
mination to that level.

"It

was

easy to

predict,"

Kemper said. "Summer light is
summer light.
It never got
brighter. The level just went

together on film, there is an elec¬
tricity which flows from one

down in cloud cover. If we had to
match a cloudy day look, we

simply diffused the HMI lights. It
was fast and easy. We did it by
eye. It was a real team effort.
After a while, the grips and gaf¬
fers knew exactly what we

"Daryl is irresistible on
film," Kemper said. "You can
model her face with light. She
takes three-quarter sidelight from
above the lens beautifully from
either side. Tony didn't want her
to look glamorous, just beautiful

needed. I could talk to them in
shorthand and with hand sig¬
nals."
The main thing was

and down-to-earth."
On the other hand,
Moore looked best in flat light.
On two shots, Kemper lit Hannah

watching out for unlikely back¬
grounds. For example, the views

first, and then he flattened
Moore's light with a separate unit

from

which

some

windows weren't

appropriate for the setting. Some¬

was

handheld either

contained or confined feeling.
The 1:85 aspect ratio helped us to

and movement so the audience
could see everything in master

establish

feeling of intimacy
between Dudley and Daryl. A
wider aspect ratio would have

shots," Kemper said. "There was
an ensemble cast, so there are

American

May 1990

student activi¬

background. In those

instances, Kemper let the win¬
dows go

hot or he varied the di¬
photography.

rection of

The movie

the 1:85

was

shot in

aspect ratio. "That was

a

a

Cinematographer

"My favorite lens is
55mm because that focal length
borders on the more isolated look

with
explained.

you get

many sequences

with 14

a

longer lens," he

There is

definitely right for this film,"
Kemper said. "The story calls for

ties in the

were

from 35mm to 55mm.

character to the other.

alongside or below the lens de¬
pending on the angle of photog¬
raphy. The light on Moore's face
was
always soft and even.
With the exception of the
patient's rooms, which were
comparatively small and con¬
fined, the settings were spacious.
"It was kind of fun figuring out
camera placement, lens choices

times there

58

drawn them apart." If you sepa¬
rate Moore and Hannah from
their screen presences, they seem
to be an unlikely couple to cast in
a romance. But when
they're

Kemper used a wide
angle lens for master shots, and
his closer-in work was primarily
done with focal lengths ranging

or

15

movement

on

a

lot of

dollies,

camera

even

in

confined settings. An actor
would come into a room with the

following while he

camera

walked over to another character.
There would be a hold on a twoshot while there is dialogue. Then
the camera would follow the
second actor

walking someplace

else, maybe to a mirror where the
audience could pick up
tions of the first person.

the reac¬
It would

still be a two-shot, but in a differ¬
ent kind of way.
"We established that

style of photography throughout
the film with both the characters
and camera always moving,"

Kemper said. "The action took us
to the dialogue, and the dialogue
led

us

ence

to the

action,

so

the audi¬

always feels it is in the

middle of the scene."

Generally, the camera
dolly and not always on
Very often, it was just on

was on a

tracks.
the floor for

more

freedom of

movement. The widest

used

angle lens

by Kemper was 14 mm and
American Cinematographer - May 1990

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