American Cinematographer - February 1993 - 54

film.

Only a few other cinematog¬
raphers were experimenting with it
at the time; there are always some
risks with a new film. Sayles

even on

wanted

points out, "Our job is full of com¬
promises. You take thrusts into the
future by experimenting. You hope
they work. If they do, you soar. If
they don't, you're miserable. The
more
experience you have, the
more it should be
possible for you
to experiment. What I see and put

an

ultra-rich look with

deep stops, and Wexler figured that
using the 97 was the way to get it
with

a

limited schedule and small

equipment budget.
The lack of funds gave
opportunity to do some

Wexler

an

serious

tinkering. Instead of laying

tracks, he had special wheels built
for the dolly, which allowed him to
use an

abandoned train track

run¬

ning through the middle of town
for long exterior tracking shots.

The world's

brightest
controllable

light source

light
coming from graphite flame lamps
on

the miners' hats. He also

sprinkled aluminum glitter (ob¬
tained from Christmas decoration

worked

in

the

ing the director make the picture. I
like to be close to the moment of

photography.
man

"There are other camera¬
who think of photography it¬

self in a more artistic way," he says.
"I'm really more interested in

in the early Twenties,

where

when miners

things

without equipment, time or money
and got an Oscar nomination."
For Blaze, Wexler liberated
the camera. The film featured at
least 70 Steadicam shots made with
a custom Panavision camera

weighing only about 15 pounds.
Sometimes he used the lightweight
camera

in combination with

Steadicam

on a

a

a

shock ab¬

sorber, allowing the camera to glide

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February 1993

photography leads me. The
experience of filmmaking is what I
find interesting - and what I can
learn from that experience.
"I think the people who
run the
industry today think of this
as a
product, as if we are manufac¬
turing shoes or cars," he says. In a
way, calling something an artistic
film is like giving it the kiss of
death. Art films aren't supposed to
be popular. That doesn't mean a
popular film is less artful. But there
is a certain sense of scorn for people
who speak of this as an art form.
"People in this industry
speak with a louder voice than the
average person," he says. "We can
make people feel passion, hate or
love because of the potency of our
voice. We can't separate the content
of the movies we make from the art
of recording images on film. It's a

great privilege and a great respon¬

sibility.

dolly. The image

stabilizer acted like

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52

will become lazy and do what
have always done."

mines," he explains, "so I knew
what to expect. The movie was set

ries about how Haskell did

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lem is that the more experience you

Wexler once defined him¬
self as a camera-man, pronouncing
it as a hyphenated word. "I like the
idea that I am the one who is clos¬
est to the camera," he says. "Me and
the camera; somehow we are help¬

faces, he used reflective

alumninum cards to bounce

Richardson, ASC (Eight Men Out),
recalls, "Sayles was filled with sto¬

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people with whom I have worked
throughout the years. But the prob¬

actors'

films produced without any finan¬
cial assistance from a major studio.
The next cinematographer who
worked with Sayles, Robert

Los

the screen is in a sense the sum
of all I have learned from all of the
on

you
you

Award, given annually by the hidependent Feature Project/West to

Nationwide: 515/673-0491 * 800/354-4448

directions, Wexler

have, the greater the possibility that

worked in utter darkness except
from the glow from the graphite
flames on their hats."
In addition to his Oscar
nomination for Matewan, Wexler
won
the Independent Spirit

MOBILE LIGHTING, LTD.

new

shooting in a coal mine on a mini¬
mal budget. In order to light the

"I've

musco

craft in

Wexler never flinched at the idea of

packages) on the walls. In the fin¬
ished product, the glitter resembles
drops of water glimmering in the
pitch-black tunnels.

cxxo

bumpy ground.
Regarding his proclivity
for experimenting and pushing the

"Anyhow," he concludes
with

a

grin, "that's my speech." ▲
American Cinematographer - February 1993

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