American Cinematographer - August 1993 - 34

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lighting scenarios has given him a
welcome sense of freedom on the
set. The duo enhanced that free¬
dom by making the Steadicam a
major part of their plans; in fact,
approximately 60 percent of An¬
other Stakeout was shot with a
Steadicam operated by Clothier.
The second-unit brigade, led by
director D.J. Caruso and cinema¬

tographer John Bartley, also took
advantage of the technology by
making extensive use of the Motocam, a motorcycle with a Steadicam
mounted

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performances

is completely different.

In those pic¬

they don't have to cut because the
scenes

work. Pictures were shot that

Steadicam extensively in his televi¬
sion work, says that the approach
allowed him to give Badham true

Wagner. "The scene worked better
continuous cat-and-mouse
confrontation. If we had filmed the
as one

scene

conventionally, the rhythm

between the actors might have
taken on a more studied approach.
The Steadicam seemed very appro¬

priate, but it did create some cin¬
ematographic difficulties. The
apartment we were filming in was
all glass, from floor to ceiling, and
overlooked Vancouver. There

was

really no place to put the lights ex¬
cept at the points where the actors
stopped, and they might stop at a
different spot during each take. We
could have hung a lot of fixtures,
but when you do that you end up
saying, 'O.K., we can stop there, but
not there'
and that's extremely
limiting. Instead, I went back to my
philosophy of taking what you're
given, the situation or elements,
and making it the best you possibly
can. This allows
you to think more
freely, accessing the situation from
various points of view.
"I've gotten to the point
-

where if an actor or director doesn't
want

tape marks, I don't use them,"
Wagner concludes. "Because in real
life, people don't always fall into
the best light. It's a bit of a contriv¬
ance if
people are always turning
around with their teeth sparkling.
That's not to say that I don't at¬
tempt to make the actors look their
best at all time, but there are other

anywhere he wants," Wagner
notes. "Of course, shooting in anamorphic Panavision meant that
we had to find
ways to hide lights
and find exposure balances be¬
tween dynamic hot and shadowed
portions of the set, with hotter
lamps and longer projected
throws." One particularly

given

directorial
authority. "The
Steadicam allows John to move

of the Steadicam

a scene

in which

Madeleine Stowe,

effective

during
Dreyfuss and
occurs

reprising her
original role as Maria, have a
stormy argument about the state of

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pair through various rooms in
the house they are sharing, which
created an interesting problem for

approaches, introduced by fashion
photographers, that have revolu¬
tionized the ways in which we can
make our actors look good. I hate
to say this, because I love the old
Hollywood photographers, but
taking away the old Hollywood
look and trying to get into a whole
new
photographic approach, a new
way of seeing, is, for me, part of the
great adventure of cinematogra¬
phy. Learning to take what you are

use

32

create

Wagner, who has used

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Cmlwu).

can

which are not going to get mangled
in the editing. It's a dynamic that
we used to see a lot in the Thirties
and Forties, although the approach

way for economic rather than aes¬
thetic reasons, but the filmmakers
found a way to make it effective."

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how much of the
do that way. The ad¬

see

tures, the masters go on forever.
You find yourself wondering,
'When are they going to cut?' But

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especially effective for foot
chases, including a particularly
whimsical interlude involving a
dog and a cat.
"I've been using Steadi¬
cam since
Saturday Night Fever,"
Badham says, "but on my last two
pictures, I've made a really aggres¬
was

their relationship. The conflict takes
the

August 1993

with

give

may

force you to re-observe

perceptions, which can
greater creative freedom

new

you

than you

thought existed."
American Cinematographer - August 1993

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