American Cinematographer - September 1990 - 46

Dickerson made

spectacular use
Xenons at the
Club American.

of

of actors, Lee is noted for
working fast and on a low budget
(Mo' Better Blues is considerably
below the $20 million plus of the
average studio movie). This
pany

means

Dickerson

comes

into pre-

production earlier than most di¬
rectors of photography and as¬
sumes more responsibilities.
"Sometimes," Dickerson says,

"during pre-production, Spike
becomes stretched

so

thin with

rehearsals, casting, etc. that he
relies upon me to design and
shotlist

some

complex

of the

especially

sequences.

editing and is

a

tion in Manhattan and

Brooklyn,

testament to Lee's trust in Dicker¬

Dickerson used Kodak 5245 for

son's eye.

"Spike requires me to
beyond the usual responsibili¬
ties of a director of photography,"
Dickerson says. "In many re¬
spects, I am a sort of co-director.
Especially since he spends a lot of

day exteriors and 5297 for day

act

interiors. The 5295

time in front of the

limited its use.
"One sequence where the
new 96 became useful," Dicker-

camera.

"I think

Spike and I have
been together so long, that we've
developed a kind of telepathy,"
Dickerson says. "I always get an
impression of a film's look upon
first reading the script. When I call
Spike and talk to him about it I
have similar ideas. In
of blocking scenes, Spike
and I work from a combination of

was

used for

night time interiors and exteriors.
Some 5296 stock was used on a
few sequences, but Dickerson
noted that availability of the stock

"was when Bleek prac¬
on the
Brooklyn
Bridge." The Bridge scene espe¬
cially challenged Dickerson's
crew of
operator John Newby and
son

says,

tices his horn

designed the shots for
in Do The Right
Thing; also the climactic alley fight

feel

in Mo' Better Blues ,"

storyboards and on-set improvi¬

Charles Houston. "Our camera
was on a Louma crane and we

sation.

pan and crane from

"I

the riot sequences

Dickerson

says. The alley fight, in which
Lee's character, Giant, is brutally
beaten by thugs, is intercut with

blistering jazz set by Bleek's
group, highlighted with a wither¬
ing solo by Bleek. The sequence is
capped by Bleek walking off stage
and getting his jaw broken by the

a

thugs in the alley, as the club
patrons empty into the alley.
The

44

music, and crisp

American

scene

blends action,

Cinematographer

we

terms

"Certain scenes," Dicker-

says, "are pre-designed to be
shot a certain way: specific angles,
son

compositions, etc. Many times,
our
set-ups come from blocking
on set rehearsals. We
bring the
actors in and rehearse while Spike
and I walk around them to find
our

angles."
Shot almost 80%

September 1990

on

loca¬

camera

assistants Pam Katz and

Jonathan Burkhart, and gaffer

the night time
cityscape to the Brooklyn Bridge,"
according to Dickerson. "I shot at
low light levels, about two foot
candles, and used mostly avail¬
able light. I put one bounce light
on Denzel and two PAR
lights on
the bridge tower, far in the back¬
ground, just to bring up the detail
a bit. With
any other stock, I
would have needed much more
American Cinematographer - September 1990

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