American Cinematographer - February 1995 - 76

had to
either

hand models to match

use

Tommy Lee Jones or Jeff
Bridges, and we had to match
lighting and camera angles."
Ramsey used mostly

Problem:
Harsh

sunlight,
high winds

Eastman 5293 stock, the same stock

Levy used. "When we needed to go
faster,

we

used either 5296

or

98.

We

exposed it pretty much nor¬
mally. We used an Arri 3 that had
been converted over to Super 35;
the whole movie was shot in Super

Solution:
Scrim Jim™,
a

modular

35."

diffusion and

Blown

reflector

light
panel system

second

Away was Ramsey's
on a feature film; his
the title sequence in direc¬

job

first was

tor Ron Howard's The

Paper. On
job, he first met producer
Arcaro, who thought of him when
McClatchy Films landed the Blown
Away job.
McClatchy says he and
Ramsey wanted the macro footage
that

"For

of setup,

light weight, variety
quality of fabrics and its versatility
I already own, Scrim Jim™ has
ease

Dave McKenna,

Producer/Director,

to have

a Hitchcockian feel. "When
the audience is watching the film,

they have an idea of what they're
about to see; they have information
about what's going to happen that
the characters do not."

689 and

The F. J. Westcott
1447 Summit

you our catalog.

Toledo, Ohio

F.J. Westcott Co.

Update to Super 16
■

With

without

chansing your lenses!

OpTex optical conversion kits, the well-loved Zeiss 10-100 T2 and

RTH Cooke Varokinetal 9-50 T2.5 16mm

Super 16 format
16mm

-

zoom

and you can continue to

lenses convert

use

perfectly to

the lenses for Standard

productions! The factory-fitted units (retro-fitting service available)

convert the Zeiss to a versatile

10.8-60mm T3

-

two

12-120mm T2.4 and the Cooke to

high quality

zoom

lenses with

an

performance in the
The lenses

are

a handy
impressive

new

format.

available in

He cites
little girl is

which

a

action

scenes.

one

scene

in

lighting a stove
rigged with explosives. "We were
working with very ordinary ob¬
jects. Shot one way, the stove ig¬
niter wouldn't have been anything
special, but if you use noir-ish
angles, it seems exaggerated and
very suspenseful. The same is true
of the Dolphin explosion. That's a
fast-moving sequence with classic
The action

cut with scenes of

was

inter¬

ticking clock.
We had close-ups of the Rube
Goldberg detonator, with mercury,
balls and running, moving, kinetic
macro
objects intercut with the ki¬
netic fight, which kept the motion
going."
Despite the challenges,
McClatchy was pleased with how
a

the

macro and insert
sequences
turned out. "Greg Ramsey was
able to match beautifully the look

established

by Peter Levy. You're
principal
photography stops and the macro
unit shots begin, which, of course,
is the only acceptable result."
not aware of where the

Arri

and Aaton mounts

or

via

OpTex adaptors to any mount.

Cost of conversion is probably less than

hiring

single production. So change

Super 16

your

Bayonet, Arri PL,

up now to

a

Super 16
-

zoom

lenses! Call for full details.

USA SALES

ZGC

for

a

without changing

Incorporated. 264 Morris Ave, Mountain Lakes,NJ 07046

Phone: (201) 335-4460. Fax: (201) 335-4560

INTERNATIONAL SALES

OpTex. 20-26 Victoria Road, New Barnet, Herts, EN4 9PF. UK.
Tel: 44-81-441 2199. Tlx: 8955869 OpTex G. Fax: 44-81-449 3646.
American Cinematographer - February 1995

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - February 1995
