F E B R UA RY 2 0 1 7

AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER • FEBRUARY 2017 • ROGUE ONE – EDWARD LACHMAN, ASC – RON GARCIA, ASC – PHILIPPE ROUSSELOT, ASC, AFC – NANCY SCHREIBER, ASC • VOL. 98 NO. 2
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 7 V O L . 9 8 N O . 2

An International Publication of the ASC

On Our Cover: Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) disguises herself as an Imperial ground-crew
member while leading a band of Rebels on a desperate mission to steal the plans for the
Galactic Empire’s dreaded Death Star in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, shot by Greig
Fraser, ASC, ACS. (Photo by Jonathan Olley, courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd.)

FEATURES
30 Rebel Assault
54
Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS and a team of collaborators
detail their journey to a galaxy far, far away for
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

54 Masterful Vision
Edward Lachman, ASC receives the Society’s
Lifetime Achievement Award

64 Shot From the Heart 64

Ron Garcia, ASC is honored with the
Career Achievement in Television Award

72 French Evolution
Philippe Rousselot, ASC, AFC’s globe-spanning career is
saluted with the International Award

78 Energy and Instinct

72
Nancy Schreiber, ASC earns the Presidents Award for her
devotion to the craft and its practitioners

DEPARTMENTS
10 Editor’s Note
12 President’s Desk 78
14 AC Special Focus: Rising Stars of Cinematography
84 New Products & Services
90 International Marketplace
91 Classified Ads
92 Ad Index
94 Clubhouse News
96 ASC Close-Up: Cort Fey

— VISIT WWW.THEASC.COM —
 •ACCESS APPROVED•
New digital outreach
by American Cinematographer means
An International Publication of the ASC
more in-depth coverage for you.

WEB EXCLUSIVES
Designing and building the galaxy of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Veterans of the Star Wars series, senior visual-effects supervisor John

Knoll and co-production designer Doug Chiang, discuss their work
on the new film in extended interviews.

“I’ve been designing in Star Wars now for over 20 years, and a good
seven of those were spent working directly with George Lucas, which
gave me a really strong understanding of what makes a Star Wars
design. And so, when I started working with Gareth Edwards, I
knew how far we could bend the rules and what we should do to
anchor this film with Episode IV.”
— Doug Chiang

John Knoll and Doug Chiang photos by John Wilson. Additional photos by Jonathan Olley. All images courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd.
“We’re depicting locations and showing vehicles that are directly
referencing A New Hope, so you want them to feel like the same thing.
But our general mantra was, ‘Match your memory of it more than the
reality.’ Sometimes you go look at the actual prop in the archive
building, or you look back at the actual shot from the movie, and you
go, ‘Oh, I remember it being a little better than that.’”
— John Knoll

Find them at www.theasc.com/site/blog/web-exclusives

AC DIGITAL EDITION — ROGUE ONE SPECIAL

Haven’t had enough? Go even further behind the scenes of the latest
Star Wars adventure in our multi-page photo supplement that will be
exclusive to the February 2017 American Cinematographer digital edition.

To subscribe, go to www.theasc.com/ac_magazine/digital_edition.php

Get all this and much

more via theasc.com and our
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www.theasc.com
 F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 7 V o l . 9 8 , N o . 2
An International Publication of the ASC

Visit us online at www.theasc.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF and PUBLISHER

Stephen Pizzello
————————————————————————————————————
WEB DIRECTOR and ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
David E. Williams
————————————————————————————————————
EDITORIAL
MANAGING EDITOR Jon D. Witmer
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Andrew Fish
TECHNICAL EDITOR Christopher Probst
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Benjamin B, Rachael K. Bosley, Mark Dillon, Michael Goldman, Simon Gray, Jay Holben, Noah Kadner,
Debra Kaufman, Iain Marcks, Matt Mulcahey, Jean Oppenheimer, Phil Rhodes, Patricia Thomson
PODCASTS
Jim Hemphill, Iain Marcks, Chase Yeremian
BLOGS
Benjamin B; John Bailey, ASC; David Heuring
WEB DEVELOPER Jon Stout
————————————————————————————————————
ART & DESIGN
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Marion Kramer
PHOTO EDITOR Kelly Brinker
————————————————————————————————————
ADVERTISING
ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Angie Gollmann
323-936-3769 Fax 323-936-9188 e-mail: angiegollmann@gmail.com
ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Sanja Pearce
323-952-2114 Fax 323-952-2140 e-mail: sanja@ascmag.com
CLASSIFIEDS/ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Diella Peru
323-952-2124 Fax 323-952-2140 e-mail: diella@ascmag.com
————————————————————————————————————
SUBSCRIPTIONS, BOOKS & PRODUCTS
CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Saul Molina
CIRCULATION MANAGER Alex Lopez
SHIPPING MANAGER Miguel Madrigal
————————————————————————————————————
ASC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR John Krasno
ASC EVENTS COORDINATOR Patricia Armacost
ASC PRESIDENT’S ASSISTANT Delphine Figueras
ASC ACCOUNTING MANAGER Mila Basely
————————————————————————————————————
American Cinematographer (ISSN 0002-7928), established 1920 and in its 97th year of publication, is published monthly in Hollywood by
ASC Holding Corp., 1782 N. Orange Dr., Hollywood, CA 90028, U.S.A.,
(800) 448-0145, (323) 969-4333, Fax (323) 876-4973, direct line for subscription inquiries (323) 969-4344.
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6
 American Society of Cinematographers
The ASC is not a labor union or a guild, but
an educational, cultural and professional
organization. Membership is by invitation
to those who are actively engaged as
directors of photography and have
demonstrated outstanding ability. ASC
membership has become one of the highest
honors that can be bestowed upon a
professional cinematographer — a mark
of prestige and excellence.

OFFICERS - 2016/2017
Kees van Oostrum
President
Bill Bennett
Vice President
Lowell Peterson
Vice President
Dean Cundey
Vice President
Levie Isaacks
Treasurer
David Darby
Secretary
Roberto Schaefer
Sergeant-at-Arms

MEMBERS OF THE
BOARD
John Bailey
Bill Bennett
Curtis Clark
Richard Crudo
Fred Elmes
Michael Goi
Victor J. Kemper
Stephen Lighthill
Daryn Okada
Woody Omens
Robert Primes
Cynthia Pusheck
Owen Roizman
John Simmons
Kees van Oostrum

ALTERNATES
Roberto Schaefer
Mandy Walker
Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Oliver Bokelberg
Dean Cundey

MUSEUM CURATOR
Steve Gainer
8
 Editor’s Note You know another Star Wars movie has arrived when your
managing editor saunters into the office wearing a screen-
accurate Rebel Alliance parka — despite the fact that the
thermometers at the AC editorial offices in Los Angeles rarely
drop to the frigid temperatures of Hoth. Granted, it was rainy
out — and even a tad nippy — when Mr. Witmer proudly
dropped his co-workers’ jaws with the limited-edition attire,
but the jacket’s style and functionality is somewhat under-
mined by the fact that Jon would never consider hanging it
on a public coat hook, especially if the hanger were located
in some “wretched hive of scum and villainy.”
Elsewhere in the office, associate editor Andrew Fish
and photo editor Kelly Brinker could be overheard bantering
about X-wing fighters and other finer points of the Lucasfilm universe, which recently
expanded its narrative with the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. My own conversa-
tions about the movie began two winters ago in Poland at the Camerimage festival, where
cinematographer Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS expressed his excitement about the project while
sipping Zubrowka cocktails. His battle plans — which ultimately included deployment of Arri’s
brand-new Alexa 65 camera, paired with vintage Ultra Panavision 70 lenses — are expertly
achieved in the finished picture, which is chock full of action amid otherworldly settings that
benefit greatly from the gritty, naturalistic look that Fraser helped director Gareth Edwards
achieve.
The filmmakers welcomed senior European correspondent Benjamin B onto the Rogue
One sets at Pinewood Studios just outside London. Our in-depth coverage (“Rebel Assault,”
page 30) includes Benjamin’s firsthand account of the visit, as well as comments he and Witmer
gathered in interviews with Fraser; ASC associate Dan Sasaki, Panavision’s vice president of opti-
cal engineering and lens strategy; production designer Doug Chiang (who shared those duties
with Neil Lamont); and senior visual-effects supervisor John Knoll.
Fraser notes, “I love Lucasfilm because we said to them, ‘Here’s a camera no one’s ever
shot a feature film with, and some 50-year-old lenses, which are kind of funky, and we want
to shoot the movie with them.’ A lot of more conservative studios would say, ‘Nah, let’s use
what we used on the last movie.’ But Lucasfilm has the integrity and artistic vision to say, ‘Yes.’
And the guys at Arri and Panavision made it happen.”
This issue kicks off with a special-focus piece: “Rising Stars of Cinematography,” featur-
ing a group of up-and-coming talents profiled by Jim Hemphill (page 14). The article also
includes valuable advice and counsel from Hollywood agents who represent both new and
veteran cinematographers.
Several such seasoned cinematographers are saluted in our pages as they are being
honored this month at the annual ASC Awards ceremony: Edward Lachman, ASC, who will
receive the Lifetime Achievement Award (“Masterful Vision,” page 54); Ron Garcia, ASC, who
adds the Career Achievement in Television Award to his résumé (“Shot From the Heart,” page
Photo by Owen Roizman, ASC.

64); Philippe Rousselot, ASC, AFC, whose European panache is being recognized with the Inter-
national Award (“French Evolution,” page 72); and Nancy Schreiber, ASC, a trailblazer who
richly merits the Presidents Award (“Energy and Instinct,” page 78).

Stephen Pizzello
Editor-in-Chief and Publisher
10
 President’s Desk
Dripping With Light!

I feel compelled to write about the current fashion in cinematography, what we might refer to as “extreme real-
ism.” Extreme — and controversial — it certainly is. Where some cinematographers have left their impressions
with closely controlled lighting and precise balancing, others have made their signature with unorthodox lighting
and framing approaches, relying heavily on available light and spontaneous, handheld camera movement. But
how do you know when something is genuine as opposed to a trick or a fad?
There is historical precedent. For instance, the New Wave cameramen broke with a tradition of formalism
and encouraged a fluid reality defined by inspiring camera movement and unpretentious lighting. But in today’s
world, digital capture has provided us with the ability to register available-light situations that can be absolutely
riveting — or plainly boring and uninteresting.
I recently ran into Andrzej Bartkowiak, ASC, and when I spoke to him about the naturalism he has so
eloquently executed during his career — specifically in Prince of the City — he smiled and commented that he
used a lot of light. I was aware of rumors that he preferred to light with the “stray light” of carbon arcs and that his hard-gel
budgets could demand many thousands of dollars — but, in the end, who cares? He created a most wonderful and unique
realism in Sidney Lumet’s signature dramas.
Then there is the late Harris Savides, ASC, who infused American Gangster’s naturalism with poetry; Roger Deakins,
ASC, BSC, whose images of undeniable reality for Prisoners are hauntingly unforgettable; and, most recently, Greig Fraser, ASC,
ACS, whose visual language in Lion is so eloquently explored and emotionally strong that it made me cry.
What sometimes makes me cry for altogether different reasons is the “DSLR fad” that assumes you can follow the style
of the cinematographers mentioned above by simply setting the chip to 3,200 ASA and dialing the iris like a wheel of fortune.
Searching for some common factor that separates the exceptional from the mundane regardless of style, I turned to
art, and juxtaposed in my imagination the works of Rembrandt and Jackson Pollock.
Rembrandt can be seen as the extreme of realistic perfection. His work demonstrates great attention to lighting and the
representation of human expression. Notable are his dramatic and lively presentation of subjects, devoid of the rigid formality
that his contemporaries often displayed, and a deeply felt compassion for mankind, irrespective of wealth or age.
Pollock’s abstract expressionism, on the other hand, is characterized by his wild embrace of color and shape. He
produced his images in a revolutionary way, throwing acrylic paints on large canvases; he moved further and further away from
the usual painter’s tools — easel, palette, brushes, etc. — preferring instead to use sticks, trowels and knives to drip his paint.
His methods, in fact, at one point earned him the nickname “Jack the Dripper.”
Rembrandt and Pollock form a most unlikely pair, but I needed some theoretical common ground as a point of reference
when considering similarly disparate representations of cinematography. And I found that common ground in these artists’
expression of emotion.
Rembrandt’s case is quite clear; his enormous body of work in oil paintings, etchings and drawings all speak to the
human condition. Pollock’s world is more obscure, but his images are undeniably riveting. And when viewers are confronted
with the works of either artist, they experience the same emotional moment: tranquility.
Pollock once said, “When I am in my painting, I’m not aware of what I’m doing. It is only after a sort of ‘get acquainted’
period that I see what I have been about. I have no fears about making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the paint-
ing has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess.
Photo by Jacek Laskus, ASC, PSC.

Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well.”
Maybe it’s in that statement that we can find a way to make sense of the “realism” that drives cinematography these
days. Maybe we should give ourselves over to the emotional experience of an image instead of cherishing the technological
yardsticks. Maybe we should let our light “drip.” In the end, it’s all about what you feel.

Kees van Oostrum

ASC President

12 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 AC Special Focus
Rising Stars of
Cinematography
By Jim Hemphill

Every accomplished cinematographer has an origin story, and

AC has set out to capture a few as they happen. From an immense
field of worthy candidates, we present the tales of 10 up-and-
coming directors of photography whose impressive work to date in
commercials, music videos, shorts, series and features promises stel-
lar achievements in the years to come: Carmen Cabana; Bjorn
Charpentier, SBC; Ruben Impens, SBC; Kira Kelly; Jakub Kijowski,
PSC; Oona Menges; Becky Parsons; Quyen Tran; Pieter Vermeer; and
Ed Wu.
At this point in their careers, these promising cinematogra-
phers have all managed to find agency representation through firms
that include Agency for the Performing Arts, Worldwide Production
Agency, ICM Partners, Intrinsic, Claire Best and Associates, Lenhoff &
Lenhoff, Dattner Dispoto and Associates, William Morris Endeavor
Entertainment, and Murtha Skouras Agency. Throughout our cover-
age, a number of their agents share advice for others who aspire to
a career behind the camera.

Carmen Cabana
Growing up in Colombia, Carmen Cabana dreamed of a
career in filmmaking. “I never wanted to sit behind a desk and follow
a routine schedule,” she says, explaining her decision to move to the
U.S. in 2005. She trained at the Art Institute of California – Los Ange-
les, where she planned to pursue a career as a writer until she real-
ized she had other strengths. “Midway into my education I objec-
tively realized that I had no talent for writing, but my fellow students
kept asking me to shoot their shorts because they thought I had a Cinematographer Carmen Cabana on set.
good eye.”
Cabana photo by Gustavo Brum.

The emphasis at the Art Institute was in postproduction and raphers and consuming as many American Cinematographer articles
screenwriting, which Cabana ultimately saw as a benefit. “Having as she could — in fact, she credits AC circulation director Saul Molina
knowledge in other aspects of filmmaking has given me an advan- as her number-one mentor. “He introduced me to the magazine and
tage by allowing me to understand other people’s jobs,” she to the first books that shaped me as a cinematographer,” she recalls.
explains. “When I work I am conscious of the needs of others and I Cabana received what she considers to be her big break on
see the big picture.” her second feature, Cartas a Elena (Letters to Elena), which came
Cabana filled in the gaps in her education by reading books about under surprising circumstances. “My friend who was doing a
like Masters of Light: Conversations with Contemporary Cinematog- very low-budget comedy needed extras in swimsuits, so I put an ad

14 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 on Craigslist,” she remembers. “A
producer, Peter Odio, saw the ad, and for
some reason he contacted me. He told me
he was not interested in wearing a Speedo
for our car-wash scene, but that he was
looking for a female director of photogra-
phy who could speak Spanish.” Cartas a
Elena put Cabana on the map, leading to
multiple features and to the cinematogra-
pher’s highest profile work to date on
season two of the Netflix series Narcos.
Cabana has earned accolades for
her action photography on the show, and
revels in the opportunities it has created for
her. “I love action, and Narcos gave me an
opening to do things I have never done
before — explosions, car chases, shootouts,
miniature work — and to use tools that I
never had available due to budget restric-
tions.”
From left: First AC Iurie Bustiuc (inside tracking car); cinematographer Bjorn Charpentier, SBC;
When asked what’s next, Cabana and 1st AD Ahmed Hatimi on location in Tangier, Morocco, for High Wire Act.
excitedly responds with a long list of
projects and ideas; she’s especially inter- was a career changer for me,” he says. anamorphic format with vintage glass on
ested in creating VR content while continu- Charpentier enjoys moving back Arri’s Alexa Plus 4:3 with an XR Module
ing to pursue her aspirations in features and forth between film and digital — upgrade. “Over the last two years, I’ve
and TV. “I dream of shooting a show like sometimes on the same project. “I shot been shooting an epic sci-fi story titled
American Horror Story or Westworld,” she several commercials where I combined Behold a White Horse. Every shot looks
says. Laughing, she adds, “Just putting that both,” he says. A Jeep commercial that extremely expensive, even though we shot
out there.” spans various time periods, for example, it with a small budget and with small light-
“was shot on Alexa, Super 8mm, 16mm, ing setups, as we wanted to keep our foot-
Bjorn Charpentier, SBC and even on the iPhone, all in one project.” print to a minimum. The idea was to take
Belgian cinematographer Bjorn He adds, “The advantage of digital is that items away from the existing locations and
Charpentier, SBC was always a movie lover, you can push the image further because to turn lights off instead of adding them.”
but one film in particular made an impres- you can see the direct result on the moni- For director Brad Anderson’s High
sion. “When I saw The Rock, directed by tors. You don’t have sleepless nights wait- Wire Act, “Brad wanted to push the limits
Michael Bay and shot by John Schwartz- ing for the prints. Also, the sensitivity is of darkness and night scenes. The theory
man, ASC, I was blown away by the greater, so I can use less light and a smaller was that we would light everything from
dynamic framing and lighting,” he recalls. generator, and I have fewer reloads with within the location with lots of practicals
“That film made me interested in photog- digital, so the director can keep shooting and a lot of murky industrial lights and old
raphy.” and find more emotional moments with fluorescents. Given the aesthetic we were
Charpentier began his formal train- the actors.” going for, I shot with a lot of reflected light,
ing at the Narafi campus of the Luca School In terms of his narrative feature which meant that all the sources in the
of Arts in Belgium, and went on to work work, Charpentier is particularly excited frame would have to be shiny — the walls
with Danny Elsen, NSC, SBC as a camera about a pair of features that he shot in and even the makeup.” Charpentier
assistant. Charpentier’s career was further
facilitated by a Belgian directing duo
Charpentier photo by Aziz Maazouz.

On the agent-cinematographer relationship:

known as “Norman Bates,” who brought
“It’s a partnership. We’re in the same two-man canoe. We have to be in
him on board for several international sync and operate in tandem to move smoothly through calm waters and
projects. through rapids. I have to find what works for each client and tailor that; it’s
Now, Charpentier divides his time not just one-process-fits-all. Some clients are great communicators; others
between commercials, music videos and need help in the promotional area, selling their personality and selling their
features. He recently received high honors artistry. A lot of cinematographers disdain self-promotion, and that’s why
at Cannes with a promotional spot called they need an agent.”
100 that he shot for Leica, which won a — Charles Lenhoff, Lenhoff & Lenhoff
Grand Prix and a Gold Lion in 2015. “That

www.theasc.com February 2017 15

 Left: Ruben Impens, SBC frames a shot. Right: Cinematographer Kira Kelly on set for the upcoming feature Skin in the Game.

teamed with production designer Arad kind of thing.” was all shot on the Red One.”
Sawat and supervising art director Ian Bailie While still in school, Impens began Impens adds that he “likes film a lot,
to achieve that plan, and is quick to praise working as a clapper loader for director of but in a small country like Belgium, our
his collaborators on all of his projects. That photography Walther Vanden Ende, who budgets are low and the film stock can
said, he singles out one partner as most became a mentor along with another become a big part of the budget — 15
deserving of the credit for his work: “My Belgian cameraman, Jan Vancaillie, SBC. He percent of your money goes to processing
wife supports me all the way. That is the worked as a focus puller for several years and stock.” Currently Impens hopes to
main reason I can do what I love.” while shooting footage on the side, and ulti- work on Van Groeningen’s next project, a
mately found a valuable partner in director film he’s developing to shoot in America.
Ruben Impens, SBC Felix Van Groeningen. Their film The Broken “At this point I think I’ve done something
Ruben Impens, SBC, also from Circle Breakdown was nominated for a Best like 15 features, so I’m becoming a little
Belgium, visited a film set as a teenager and Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2014, more selective in terms of the scripts,” he
immediately knew that he wanted to partic- though Impens is more partial to their prior says. “I really want to focus on the most
ipate in making movies. “At that point I collaboration, The Misfortunates. “That was challenging stories possible.”
didn’t know I wanted to be a director of the first time I thought to myself, ‘Maybe

Impens photo courtesy of the filmmaker. Kelly photo by Howard Barish.

photography — I just knew that I was inter- I’m not bad at cinematography,’” he says Kira Kelly
ested in filmmaking,” he recalls. He enrolled with a laugh. “It’s a movie with a lot of Like many of the cinematographers
at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, flashbacks and different time periods, and profiled in this piece, Kira Kelly is comfort-
where his first year was spent studying both we shot it digitally but treated it with differ- able in a variety of genres and styles, jump-
directing and still photography. “It was kind ent looks for different sections — black- ing back and forth between documentary
of a strange situation that the school didn’t and-white, grain, etc. When we screened it and narrative features, as well as music
really have a cinematography program. It’s and people asked what different film stocks videos and commercials. She recently
mostly for directors, still photographers and we used, I knew we had done something garnered acclaim for Ava DuVernay’s 13th,
other artists — design, sculpture and that right, because we didn’t use film at all — it a powerful documentary about mass incar-
ceration. “I’m beyond proud of that
movie,” she says, noting that she shared
On advising a cinematographer:
cinematography duties on the project with
“You don’t want to force anybody to take a project; you can only give
your opinion or your perspective. That’s what you’re there for. You never Hans Charles.
want it to result in an awkward relationship if somebody doesn’t take your Kelly worked as a gaffer in New York
advice. For me, everything is based on, ‘Is this the right project for the City after discovering her passion for the
cinematographer?’ You have to take the money away and just look at the camera department in film school. “In high
creative aspects, the client, and the director as well.” school I loved movies, but I couldn’t have
— Kristen Tolle-Billings, Worldwide Production Agency told you the difference between a director
and a producer,” she recalls. “I went to

16 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 be a good gaffer, and that ended up influ-
encing a lot of my shooting work,” she
recalls.
When director Tom Gustafson gave
Kelly her first major opportunity as a cine-
matographer on his feature Were the
World Mine, she realized that she had a
choice to make. “I started getting calls,”
she says, “and I would have to ask, ‘Are you
calling me to gaff or are you calling me to
shoot?’ I ultimately decided to just stop
gaffing altogether and focus on working as
a director of photography.”
Since then, Kelly has built up a wide-
ranging résumé that includes not only sear-
ing documentaries like 13th, but YouTube
Red’s comedy series Sing It! and Hulu’s East
Los High. Though she loves all of it, she
finds documentary filmmaking particularly
Above: Jakub “Kuba” Kijowski, PSC (second from right, holding camera) on set. rewarding and notes that it informs her
Below: Cinematographer Oona Menges (far right) lines up a shot for the series fiction work. “I think my documentary work
Different for Girls while director Campbell X (wearing hat and glasses) looks on.
makes me a better director of photography
for narrative projects,” she explains. “On a
show like East Los High, I have more than
enough support — there are trucks with
almost every kind of light I could need.
Sometimes on a documentary, it’s just you,
or you and a 1st AC and maybe a gaffer if
you’re lucky, and you’re often going into
locations you haven’t scouted before. That
pared-down approach makes me a more
instinctive cinematographer, and it prepares
me to walk on a narrative set and really
make the most of whatever time and
resources I have.”

Kijowski photo courtesy of Intrinsic. Menges photo by Paula Harrowing.

Kuba Kijowski, PSC
As a teenager growing up in
Warsaw, Poland, Jakub “Kuba” Kijowski,
college at Northwestern University, just PSC struggled in school due to his dyslexia.
north of Chicago, and as a freshman you “I found writing to be a real problem,” he
On whether to take a project: basically just work on older students’ says. Luckily, some of his teachers discov-
“If something is reasonably good projects. I worked in a number of areas, and ered that he had a passion for visual story-
and you’ve got a special director
on one project I ended up in the electrical telling and encouraged his interest in
who’s managed to get a great cast,
it’s probably worth it. Or if it’s an department.” She adds with a laugh, “We photography. “We were still in the analog
amazing script with an unknown worked on a rig that, in hindsight, probably era, so I spent my days in a darkroom that I
director, then maybe that’s worth wasn’t even all that great, but I got really had set up in my bedroom,” he recalls.
the gamble. You have to look at excited about creating this rig that the audi- His interest in visual arts led him to
all the pieces and help the client ence doesn’t even see — they only see the enroll at the prestigious Lodz Film School,
make a decision based on all the effects it creates.” where he studied under cinematographers
variables.” After film school, Kelly worked her Witold Sobocinski, PSC and Jerzy Wójcik,
— Bill Dispoto, way up in the electrical department on vari- PSC; the former received the ASC’s Interna-
Dattner Dispoto and Associates ous sets, ultimately gaffing for director of tional Award in 2002. They and director of
photography Zeus Morand. “I learned a lot photography Jolanta Dylewska, PSC taught
from him about lighting and what it takes to him that “the job is not about technical

18 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 On having a point of view:
“When you’re building your body of work, be mindful of what you
want to say, and craft your own point of view by identifying the
filmmakers you want to work with, maintaining those relationships and
building a portfolio with them. Sometimes young cinematographers are too
focused on getting as much done as possible, and they lose sight of quality.
Think about what drives you as an artist, and then work on
translating that into your body of work.”
— Louiza Vick, Worldwide Production Agency

The Lure director Agnieszka Smoczynska on art form dependent on capturing energy:
her new film, about a woman with memory “My overall philosophy is that light is a spirit.
loss who is reunited with her family — “a When this concept is embraced, magic can
psychological drama that we want to film happen.” Although she loves digital tech-
like a horror story,” according to Kijowski. nology, she worries that it sometimes works
Kijowski finds inspiration in the against the creative process. “We can be
content of his films, looking for the precise too focused on all the bells and whistles,
visual corollary to the emotions and story. “I with clinical and polished films as a result,”
believe that finding an aesthetically appro- she says, adding that the digital world has
priate visual form for a story contributes to also “produced a generation of producers
Cinematographer Becky Parsons.
its success,” he explains. “Then once you and directors who think we now have such
start telling the story, you move to a higher powerful sensors that our jobs are practically
tricks but about telling a story,” Kijowski level. You become an author.” obsolete — ‘if you can see it, shoot it.’ They
says. Dylewska brought Kijowski fully into don’t understand that exposure is the least
the fold when she took him on as a camera Oona Menges of it.”
operator for Agnieszka Holland’s In Dark- Oona Menges grew up with cine- Menges says that her best experi-
ness. “We worked in Germany and in matography in her blood — her father is ence with digital was on a series called
Poland with an international crew and Academy- and ASC Award-winning director Different for Girls. “We sent the ‘mags’
cast,” he recalls of the massive production. of photography Chris Menges, ASC, BSC. straight to [colorist] Matt Watson at Shed
“It was a great experience working with a “My parents’ friends were all filmmakers London with no downloading or DIT on set.
big crew on an original, creative film.” and Magnum photographers, so I have He then uploaded the rushes for the execs
After In Darkness, Kijowski quickly always been around cameras and discus- in New York and for us on-set in London. So
rose to prominence as a cinematographer in sions of images,” she says. we were treating it exactly as though it was
Poland, receiving a Camerimage nomina- Menges has an impressive list of film, but with all the positive contributions
tion in 2013 for the minimalistic psycholog- mentors that includes Ivan Strasburg, BSC; of digital.”
ical drama Floating Skyscrapers. “We were Robert Alazraki, AFC; Ashley Rowe, BSC; Menges’ devotion to an intimate
searching for visual expression that would Angus Hudson, BSC; Barry Ackroyd, BSC; relationship with her images leads her to
underline the loneliness of the two main Robby Müller, NSC, BVK; John Mathieson, continue to operate whenever possible. “I
characters,” he says. BSC; Alan Almond, BSC; and Chris Seager, have worked with operators and enjoyed
His next feature, The Lure, was a BSC. Not surprisingly, Menges got an early it,” she says, “but I feel disconnected when
“fairytale for adults” that won the World start, working as a runner on set while still I don’t have my eye to the camera.”
Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for a teenager before graduating to clapper
Unique Vision and Design at the 2016 loader when Sandi Sissel, ASC gave her the Becky Parsons
Sundance Film Festival. “The story takes position on the film No Secrets. Becky Parsons also became inter-
place in Warsaw in the Eighties and involves “I was beaten into shape by two ested in movies thanks to her father, though
two young mermaids who appear innocent excellent camera assistants, Jacqui Comp- in her case her dad had no ties to the film
Parsons photo by Richard Groot.

but are in fact bloodthirsty beasts,” Kijowski ton and Sue Zwilling,” she recalls, adding business. “He was a layout designer and
explains. “I aimed at presenting this duality that her days as a loader and focus puller typographer — nothing to do with the film
of innocence and brutality, beauty and taught her the importance of prep. “You or television industry,” she explains, “but he
repugnance, obviousness and mystery by have to surround yourself with the best and always had the latest consumer video
merging opposing aesthetics. I wanted to most positive crew you can, and remain cameras and TVs, and was — and is — an
link the colorful, fairytale world of a dance flexible and ready to grab opportunities. avid follower of film.”
club with the vicious naturalism of sordid There is no room for ego.” Living in London, Parsons would
interiors.” Kijowski plans to reunite with For Menges, cinematography is an often stumble across productions shooting

20 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 was singled out by critics, and she loved the
opportunity to shoot monochrome in a
period setting. “It was a pleasure to see a
moving black-and-white view of the world
through the eyepiece, and to work with
contrast alone,” she says.
Having shot in both color and black-
and-white, and on film as well as digital,
Parsons remains open to the possibilities
inherent in all formats. “I feel blessed that I
am from a generation that knows well
what it is to shoot on film,” she says — and
adds that “digital sensors able to dip more
and more into the low lights create a whole
new set of choices for the cinematographer.
The study of this craft is wonderfully
endless.”

Quyen Tran
Quyen Tran came to the cinema via
Quyen Tran at work on Mogadishu, Minnesota. still photography and photojournalism,
disciplines that continue to inform her work
in the streets. “I remember seeing a witz, ASC. “She went on to shoot The as a director of photography. “Hailing from
Steadicam in action for the first time as a Wire,” Parsons recalls. “Her handheld work a photojournalistic background, I’m always
young kid at Billingsgate Market. That was was impeccable.” Parsons was also looking to tell the story in the most
the first time I thought about the different mentored by photographer John Glover, economical way possible,” she explains.
jobs in moviemaking.” Parsons studied whose influence on her work, she says, has “With stills, you have one frame to tell a
photography, performance art and audiovi- been profound. story. Sure, it can be beautifully composed
sual mixed media at the Wimbledon School Both the celluloid and digital work of and lit, but what is the essence of that
of Art (now Wimbledon College of Art) in Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC continue to frame? Why does it exist? What’s behind
England before moving to Halifax, Canada, inspire Parsons and shape her own philoso- those eyes?”
to complete her studies at the Nova Scotia phy when it comes to cinematography. “I It was while shooting stills on an
College of Art and Design. agree with his aversive attitude toward NYU thesis film that Tran caught the movie
Although her degree was in photog- creating stunning images simply for the bug and decided to apply to film school
raphy, she was shooting short films before sake of creating stunning images,” she herself. She attended UCLA, where she
she graduated, and after college she took explains. “The job is more about creating met cinematographer-in-residence Roger
whatever jobs she could get to gain experi- images that are in service of a larger Deakins, ASC, BSC, who became a valued
ence. “I carried sandbags, put lights purpose.” Parsons skillfully applied that mentor, along with Johnny Simmons, ASC.
together, and at leaner times joined other theory to her work on Weirdos, a coming- In fact, she still implements a piece of advice
departments like set dressing,” she says. of-age story set in the 1970s that garnered from Simmons regularly. “He said, ‘Anyone
She ultimately found work as a camera widespread acclaim at last year’s Toronto can get the job done, but how do you want
assistant on such projects as the TV movie International Film Festival — and is set for to do the job?’ — which really stuck with
Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story, wide theatrical release in Canada on March me,” she says.
which was photographed by Uta Briese- 17. Parsons’ black-and-white photography Tran also received some valuable
extracurricular education by spending time
Tran photo by Wilson Webb, SMPSP.

in her sister-in-law’s editing room, where

On interviewing:
she had the opportunity to study footage
“A very important aspect of the agency’s work is making sure you, the
cinematographers, have as much information as we can give you about the from films like There Will Be Blood. “I got to
people you are going to meet in the interview. Make sure you’ve seen the see [ASC member] Robert Elswit’s dailies,
films they’ve done before, and know the surrounding elements, such as the which was insanely amazing,” she recalls.
cast, the production designer, the line producer, the first AD, the locations. “That taught me a lot about coverage and
Think about what kind of crew you might take with you, and go into the gave me a totally different perspective from
interview with visual references.” what I was learning in the classroom.”
— Claire Best, Claire Best and Associates Tran’s time at UCLA led to her first
job as director of photography — when she

22 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 printing in the darkroom, and as a still
photographer I was one of the last photo- On diplomacy and
journalists to switch to digital,” she says. collaboration:
“However, I quickly learned to adapt to the “You’re dealing with people all day
long when you make films, and
new format, and there seemed to be a lot
your talent will stay in a box if
less waste, which is important to me.” you don’t figure people out — a
At the time of this writing, Tran had director or producer who doesn’t
just shot a pilot for HBO called Mogadishu, know what they want or
Minnesota, and was prepping for the communicates in a way you’re not
presentation of two narrative features at used to. It’s more than just your
Sundance entitled The Little Hours and art; it’s a collaborative medium,
Deidra & Laney Rob a Train. She reiterates and you’re dealing with different
her belief that it’s ultimately all about story: people and different scenarios,
“Technical aspects aside, as long as I’m schedules, budgets and conditions.
telling meaningful and impactful stories, I’m There are so many variables that
go into it. You have to be able to
a happy shooter.”
adapt and figure it out.”
— Paul Hook, ICM Partners
Pieter Vermeer
Dutch director of photography Pieter
Vermeer also found his way to cinema via math (2016). These films allowed Vermeer
still photography. “Both of my parents are to flex different creative muscles than he
artists, so I grew up in a visual environ- had been accustomed to with his shorter-
Cinematographer Pieter Vermeer. ment,” he explains. At the same time, form work. “Commercials and features are
Vermeer was becoming exposed to the quite different animals,” he says. “In a film,
shot a professor’s movie before graduating work of filmmakers like Bertolucci, Fass- you have so much more time to tell your
— and she then moved on to projects like binder, Polanski and Scorsese. “I became story and to develop your shots and scenes;
Girlfriend (2010), a $150,000 feature star- more and more interested in telling stories in commercials, you have 30 to 60 seconds
ring a young man with Down syndrome. with a camera as opposed to just dealing and generally the main purpose is to sell
“On that set I learned a lot about people with a single image,” he says. something.”
with Down syndrome, and it really changed His first break came with an intern- While working in features, commer-
me,” she says. “It made me a more ship operating a primitive form of video cials and music videos has allowed Vermeer
compassionate human being.” assist for director Pieter Verhoeff. “Eventu- to shoot extensively on film negative, he has
Tran was similarly affected by her ally, Pieter took me on to his next movie, fully embraced the digital revolution. “I like
work on the award-winning documentary where I worked in the electrical depart- the latitude and color space of digital,” he
American Revolutionary: The Evolution of ment,” Vermeer recalls. Vermeer went on says, having shot his last three features on
Grace Lee Boggs. “Director Grace Lee and I to work as a grip and gaffer on a number of Arri Alexa cameras. “Don’t get me wrong, I
worked on that for six years, and it really films in the Netherlands, ultimately becom- sometimes miss the texture and grain that
changed the way I see the world today. It’s ing a director of photography in commer- come with shooting film. Unfortunately, in
the reason I started gardening, it’s the cials. “I went international, shooting my experience the infrastructure for shoot-
reason why I became more interested in commercials in France, England, the U.S. — ing on film is slowly disappearing; it’s diffi-
politics, and all of that makes me a better which led me to relocate to New York in cult to find the right people and the right
storyteller.” 1997.” labs.”
Tran’s interest in conservation Through music videos and commer- When shooting digital anamorphic,
informs not only her approach to story- cials, Vermeer met director Elliott Lester, Vermeer tries to take the sharp edges off by
telling, but also her feelings regarding the who asked the cinematographer to shoot using older glass like Panavision C and E
film-versus-digital debate. “I used to love his features Nightingale (2014) and After- lenses. “I’m always trying to deconstruct the
Vermeer photo by Jan Welters.

On making a good impression:

“What comes first: the agent or the project? Often it’s the project, so how do you get the project? Socializing. You
need to make the contacts. There are some cinematographers whose talent may be no better than the next person’s,
but they still rise to the top because people like them. As agents, we have to sell your disposition as well as your
talent. Do the producer and director want to see your face every day at 7:30 in the morning? We often look for
people who aren’t divas — that can be career suicide when you’re just starting out.”
— Jonathan Silverman, Intrinsic

24 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 On showcasing your work:
“Always present your work as if it’s
the only shot you’ll ever have, in a
clean, easy-to-navigate way, with
important directors highlighted
and music to complement the
images. Most importantly, it
should show only the best work,
not all of your work. Imagine that
every viewer only has five minutes
to see what best demonstrates who
you are and what you are capable
of. Make it count.”
— Shari Shankewitz,
William Morris Endeavor
Entertainment

Ed Wu on set for the upcoming feature Legacy, directed by David A. Armstrong.

image a little in digital,” he says, adding that by reading a book called What I Really his class. But in the end, you learn so much.
he spends a great deal of time in the final Want to Do on Set in Hollywood. “I read I think it’s rare in our industry, or as artists, to
color correction fine-tuning the image. “The the description for ‘cinematographer’ and be critiqued critically in a nonjudgmental
possibilities for finessing it there are fantas- that was it,” he says. way, where the stakes aren’t that high.”
tic,” he asserts, “though in the end it’s all As an undergrad, Wu bought a After AFI, Wu developed relation-
about taste and vision — how your taste as Canon EOS 5D Mark II, eventually amass- ships with cinematographers Rachel Morri-
a cinematographer allows you to find a ing enough good material to get into the son and Edu Grau through the mentorship
visual interpretation that helps tell the American Film Institute, which is where he program at Film Independent’s Project
story.” feels he truly became a cinematographer. Involve. “They’ve helped me wade through
“It really opened my eyes to ask how the political aspects and nervous break-
Ed Wu camera placement affects how we relate to downs of bigger challenges on bigger
Cinematographer Ed Wu didn’t start a character in a scene, or whose perspec- projects,” he says. Through Project Involve,
out with aspirations to work in the camera tive the shots are from and why,” he Wu also met the producer of Sleight, which
department — in fact, he didn’t have aspi- recalls. was Wu’s first feature. It premiered at
rations to work in movies at all. He began as AFI gave Wu something important Sundance to critical acclaim and a positive
a classically trained musician, and through- in terms of mentorship as well. “At AFI we audience response, but Wu notes that he
out his pre-college years, he recalls, “I had many professors who were mentors to still feels like a newcomer. “In all honesty,”
always thought that was what I was going me,” he says. “Stephen Lighthill, ASC; Bob he says with a laugh, “I’m still breaking in.”
to do. I think it has a big influence on how I Primes, ASC; Sandra Valde-Hansen; Tal ●
approach cinematography. Listening to and Lazar — but the most influential for me
playing classical music, you have an attach- was Bill Dill, ASC. He taught me so much Thanks to Mark Dillon for interviewing the
ment to the instrument and how you about how to ask questions about what’s agents. For additional agent comments, visit
express the notes on the page. You feel it. driving the camera.” Wu recalls that Dill’s www.theasc.com in February.
With cinematography, I have to tune out tough-love style could be a bit much for
what’s around me and think about how the some students. “He doesn’t hold anything
camera movement feels and how it’s back when he breaks down your films,”
emotionally impacting me.” Wu recalls. “I’ve heard of students crying in
Wu photo by Prarthana Joshi.

Wu developed an interest in film-

making while working on a video-yearbook
On getting an agent:
project in high school, but he still didn’t real- “It’s about concentrating on your work. Don’t spend the majority of your
ize that cinematography was where he day trying to find an agent. Try to find projects, and artists to work with,
belonged. “I didn’t even know what the and do some really good work. Do something special so the agents are the
name for that job was,” he remembers. He ones after you. We’ll find you when it’s time.”
laughs as he recalls that he finally became — Ann Murphy, ICM Partners
aware of the role of director of photography

26 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 Rebel
Assault
Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS and a team of
colleagues detail their behind-the-scenes exploits
for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story — a galaxy-
spanning adventure 40 years in the making.
By Benjamin B
with Jon D. Witmer

•|•

30 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 Opposite: Imperial
Death Troopers charge
into the fray in Rogue
One: A Star Wars Story.
This page, left: Flanked
by Rebel Alliance
Intelligence officer
Cassian Andor (Diego
Luna) and
reprogrammed Imperial
security droid K-2SO
(Alan Tudyk), Jyn Erso
(Felicity Jones) embarks
on a mission that will
lead her to the secret
plans for the Galactic
Empire’s ultimate
weapon, the Death Star.
Below: Shooting with
an Arri Alexa 65 camera
and Ultra Panavision 70
lenses, cinematographer
Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS
lines up a shot of Darth
Vader, the Dark Lord of
the Sith, whose
menacing timbre was
once again provided by
James Earl Jones.
Unit photography by Jonathan Olley, Giles Keyte and John Wilson. Photos and frame grabs courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd.

S
ince Star Wars: Episode IV – A New
Hope premiered in 1977, audiences
have known — thanks to the film’s
famed opening crawl — that “Rebel
spaceships, striking from a hidden base,
have won their first victory against the
evil Galactic Empire. During the battle,
Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans
to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the
Death Star, an armored space station
with enough power to destroy an entire
planet.” Now, with Rogue One — the first
standalone “Star Wars Story” set outside
the episodic films of the Skywalker saga
— Lucasfilm tells the full tale surround-
ing those Rebel spies: Jyn Erso (Felicity
Jones), Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), K-
2SO (Alan Tudyk), Chirrut Îmwe from Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, of his visit, as well as Q&As with Fraser;
(Donnie Yen), Baze Malbus ( Jiang Wen) Doug Chiang — who would share ASC associate Dan Sasaki, Panavision’s
and Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed). production-design duties with Neil vice president of optical engineering and
Lucasfilm President Kathleen Lamont — and a team of artists began lens strategy; Chiang; and Knoll.
Kennedy green-lit the project based on a exploring design concepts. Gareth
pitch by Industrial Light & Magic’s chief Edwards was soon brought on to direct, Visiting the Set
creative officer and senior visual-effects and Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS to shoot. Security is tight when I arrive at
supervisor, John Knoll, who also served During production, Fraser invited Pinewood Studios — not unlike that of
as Rogue One’s visual-effects supervisor AC senior European correspondent the Galactic Empire’s Citadel facility on
alongside Mohen Leo. As Knoll and Benjamin B to visit the Rogue One set at the planet Scarif. Instead of stolen
Gary Whitta refined the story, which Pinewood Studios near London. What Imperial codes, I hand over my ID and
would receive additional script service follows is Benjamin’s firsthand account sign the non-disclosure agreement. And

www.theasc.com February 2017 31

◗ Rebel Assault

Right: In Rogue
One’s opening
sequence, Galen
Erso (Mads
Mikkelsen) is
discovered by the
Empire after
living in hiding
with his family on
the planet
Lah’mu. Below:
Death Troopers
lay waste to the
Erso farm. The
Lah’mu exteriors
were shot on
location in
Iceland.

by this unique combination of 50-year

old anamorphic lenses with a large-
format digital camera.
I later contact Mike Blanchard,
Lucasfilm’s director of postproduction,
who provides an overview of Rogue
One’s workflow. The Alexa 65 was shot
in its open-gate format of 6560x3100
pixels, which yielded full-resolution
frames at a 2.65:1 aspect ratio when the
1.25:1 anamorphic ratio of the Ultra
Panavision lenses was de-squeezed. The
ILM working resolution for most
visual-effects shots was 2253x944 pixels
(with 10-percent padding for reposi-
tioning and 3D conversion); ILM then
instead of donning an ill-gotten officer’s witnessed a fateful interaction between delivered shots for the digital grade at
uniform, I place an opaque piece of tape Jyn’s father, Galen (Mads Mikkelsen), 4506x1888 pixels, which reflected the
over my iPhone’s lenses. and Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), final 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The DI, super-
As I enter Lucasfilm’s area of the the Empire’s director of advanced vised by Company 3’s Shane Harris and
facility, I run into two friends from weapons research — are now on the run performed by colorist Mitch Paulson at
Panavision: Lee Mackey from U.K. from Imperial forces. EFilm with Blackmagic Design’s
technical marketing, and ASC associate During a break between setups, DaVinci Resolve, was done at
Dan Sasaki. Together, we are led to a cinematographer Greig Fraser, ASC, 4506x1888 with center-crop extraction
staging area filled with a dozen white- ACS greets us with some footage on a for a final delivery of 4096x1716 pixels.
clad stormtroopers with helmets 4K monitor. Rogue One was shot with Back on set, digital-imaging
removed, casually eating on their break. Ultra Panavision 70 lenses — updated technician Dan Carling explains that
We then proceed to a vast, dark sound- versions of Panavision’s vintage Ultra Codex Vaults are used to down-res the
stage with a water-slicked floor. This Panatar anamorphic primes — on Alexa 65 footage to 4K for later use in
“wet set” represents the planet Eadu, Arri’s Alexa 65 camera. Fraser praises the DI. For every scene, he adds, Fraser
where Jyn and Cassian — having the quality, clarity and subtlety created chooses the camera’s color-temperature

32 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 Left: Orson
Krennic (Ben
Mendelsohn),
director of
advanced
weapons research
for the Imperial
Security Bureau,
requires Galen’s
scientific mind to
realize the
completion of the
Death Star.
Below: Fraser
hefts the camera
as a Death
Trooper is
prepared for a
shot on the
Iceland location.

setting, and then a LUT and a CDL are

applied to the Arriraw log signal to
create the 2K dailies.
There’s a gloomy, dangerous
atmosphere to the set’s hilly terrain.
Fraser tells me, “The idea [for Eadu]
was a planet with an eternal dusk.” Fire
hoses are regularly turned on to keep the
mist level up, and are later employed for
a torrential rain sequence. A 10' fan
churns a strong headwind at the actors.
The pyrotechnics crew has laid trigger
wires; small red traffic cones cordon off
areas where explosions will soon erupt.
Director Gareth Edwards yells,
“Action!” The camera is on a crane
handled by key grip Gary Hymns, a
veteran of Star Wars: The Force Awakens into frame, positions himself where the the 50mm and 100mm. At Fraser’s
(AC Feb. ’16); it follows Jones and Luna actors were, and aims a laser pointer at request, Sasaki has modified the 65mm
as they run, with stormtroopers in the camera to double check the for a close-focus distance of only 19",
pursuit and explosions dotting the back- distance. The crew is 80 days into the another challenge for this talented AC.
ground. A flashlight passes through the shoot and, Marcuson notes, “So far Gaffer Perry Evans, whose credits
frame, creating a distinctive, complex we’ve only done two static shots.” He with Fraser include Zero Dark Thirty
flare. The Rebels crest a hill and are adds, “There are a lot of shots of people and Snow White and the Huntsman (AC
suddenly illuminated by a bright shaft running towards the camera” — always June ’12), explains that the cinematog-
of light — representing the cargo shut- difficult action for a focus puller. rapher opted to light Rogue One almost
tle that Rook and K-2SO have Marcuson notes that the most entirely with LEDs, including Digital
procured. “Cut!” commonly used lenses on Rogue One are Sputnik units, Creamsource fixtures
First AC Jake Marcuson — who the 65mm and 75mm — roughly from Outsight, LiteGear’s LiteRibbon,
had previously worked with Fraser on equivalent to a 35mm or 40mm lens in and units from Arri Lighting. Lighting
Zero Dark Thirty (AC Feb. ’13) — runs the Super 35mm format — along with this set are some 30 Creamsource Sky

www.theasc.com February 2017 33

◗ Rebel Assault

where Edwards is handholding an

Alexa 65, capturing the action.
Fraser stands some 20' away from
the gimbal, looking at the video assist
and overseeing the interactive lighting,
which is provided by a gigantic LED
screen surrounding the set in a U-
shaped configuration. Supplied by
VER, the screen measures approxi-
mately 160' long and 20' tall, and is
made up of 627 lightweight, high-
brightness WinVision Air 9mm LED
panels. Additional panels above, below
and in mobile configurations provide
Inside the
Rebellion’s
complete coverage for the set.
secret base on The imagery that plays on the
Yavin 4, Rebel LED screen shows a planet as seen from
Alliance leader
Mon Mothma
space, then closer views of the planet’s
(Genevieve landscape as the U-wing “flies” over it.
O’Reilly, top) This setup allows the set to be lit by the
and Cassian ask
for Jyn’s help in
actual image of the planet. It’s a tech-
finding her nique I first saw pioneered by
father. Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC on
Gravity (AC Nov. ’13); the Rogue One
application takes this concept of light-
ing real actors with virtual landscapes to
a larger scale.
units, rigged in an overhead grid and by DMX, with the help of desk opera- After thanking Fraser for his kind
dialed to 12,000K, with Arri SkyPanels tor Will Burns. invitation to visit him in this galaxy far,
used as cyc lights to illuminate the Fraser kindly invites me to return far away, I hop on the shuttle to the
surrounding painted-backing sky. for a visit the following day on a differ- nearby Tube stop. It’s not exactly travel-
Digital Sputnik units create red and ent soundstage. After once again navi- ing through hyperspace, but my journey
green laser effects, and a crane-mounted gating the security checkpoints, I arrive back into the real world feels all the
configuration of nine of these fixtures to see a 20' cube, whose pitch, yaw and brighter for having witnessed this
provides the cargo shuttle’s beam of roll are controlled by a giant gimbal Alliance of filmmakers hard at work on
light. Evans adds that nearly every light mechanism. Inside the cube is the inte- their shared vision of hope and heroism
source on the production is controlled rior of the Rebels’ U-wing starfighter, in the face of overwhelming odds.

34 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 Cinematographer Greig Fraser,
ASC, ACS
Fraser’s credits include Bright
Star (AC Oct. ’09), Let Me In (AC Oct.
’10), Killing Them Softly (AC Oct. ’12),
Foxcatcher (AC Dec. ’14) and Lion; for
his work on the latter, he received the
Golden Frog at the recent Camerimage
International Film Festival in Poland.
Rogue One marks his largest production
to date, and his first collaboration with
director Gareth Edwards.

American Cinematographer:
What’s it like working on a Star Wars
movie?
Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS: It’s
incredible! I was able to work with the
best technicians and the best equipment Above: The crew
in the world. With Gareth Edwards, we re-creates a shot
wanted to be attentive that the look be from Star Wars:
Episode IV – A
consistent with A New Hope, which is New Hope of a
seared in our brains. We weren’t neces- Rebel sentry
sarily trying to reproduce what it actu- tracking a ship’s
departure from
ally looked like, but how we remember the Yavin base.
it — there’s a difference between reality Left: The Rebel
and the remembrance of reality. Part of hangar at Yavin 4
was built at
our research was to look at the 4K Cardington
scanned versions of A New Hope and Studios. Below:
The Empire Strikes Back. They look The crew
captures a
fantastic, but they don’t look how I gathering of the
remember them. Rebel council.
I understand that the Rogue One
LUT was based on the Kodak 500T
5230 negative that you used on Killing
Them Softly and Foxcatcher.
Fraser: That’s right. The blacks
are milky and creamy; it’s a low-contrast
stock, so when you add a little bit of
contrast in the DI, it doesn’t feel digital
— it still feels very filmic. It’s my go-to
look.
It’s a funny story, because after
Foxcatcher I gave some short ends to
an Australian film student at NYU.
Then, when I was prepping Rogue One,
John Knoll told me that ILM could
make a LUT based on sampling any
film stock. That 5230 Kodak stock
didn’t exist anymore, so I called the
student and said, ‘Do you have any of
that film stock left?’ He checked and
said he had a 100-foot short end in his
fridge — and that’s what ILM used to

www.theasc.com February 2017 35

◗ Rebel Assault

make the LUT. That’s the kind of

exchange that filmmaking is all about.
Can you talk about your daring
choice of pairing the Alexa 65 camera
with Ultra Panavision 70 lenses?
Fraser: We tested a lot of combi-
nations, and that seemed the best choice
for the movie. But it really was a bold
choice. I love Lucasfilm because we said
to them, ‘Here’s a camera no one’s ever
shot a feature film with, and some 50-
year old lenses, which are kind of funky,
and we want to shoot the movie with
them.’ A lot of more conservative
studios would say, ‘Nah, let’s use what
we used on the last movie.’ But
Lucasfilm has the integrity and artistic
vision to say, ‘Yes.’ And the guys at Arri
and Panavision made it happen; they
made the mount and the flange distance
work.
The Ultra Panavision lenses are
far from optically perfect.
Fraser: A lot of people are terri-
fied about 65 digital being too sharp, but
if you combine it with the right glass, it
can be more forgiving than 35mm with
sharp lenses. So you end up with 65 that
is more flattering, and in my opinion, it
mimics the human eye. The eye sees
flaws, but we gloss over them. If you’re
speaking to an older person, you’re not
sitting there looking at their crow’s feet;
Top: A Star Destroyer hovers over the Imperial-occupied Jedha City. Middle: The blind warrior-monk
Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen) dispatches a group of stormtroopers. Bottom: Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen)
you’re absorbing their character and
supports Chirrut from in front of a downed X-wing fighter. their aura. As filmmakers we need to
ensure that that’s what our equipment

36 February 2017 American Cinematographer

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 Left: Imperial
defector Bodhi Rook
(Riz Ahmed,
gesturing) pleads his
case to Benthic Two
Tubes (Aidan Cook,
right) and other
members of Rebel
extremist Saw
Gerrera’s militia.
Below: Fraser
(operating the
camera) and crew
capture the scene on
stage, in front of a
backing.

does: that it absorbs the aura rather than

the minutia. And these lenses on this
camera see the world that way, like no
other system.
You know, I’m a lens geek. And
these lenses are the most beautiful,
extraordinarily exquisite lenses I’ve ever
seen and shot. They’re warm — but not
in a color sense. Whenever I put them
on the camera I feel this love, this warm
glow. They are a work of art!
Did you really manage to light
Rogue One entirely with LEDs?
Fraser: We did have one set with
HMIs — the Scarif control tower —
but effectively, yes. I put the argument
forward to production and to the rental
company that, with these lights — the speaking with Kaur and Kaspar Kallas feel. If I could do everything with
Digital Sputniks, the Creamsources, the from Digital Sputnik, they think of it natural lighting, I would, because I
Arri SkyPanels, the Litegear differently. They come from the post- think it’s the most beautiful. But we
LiteRibbon — there were enough LED production side, and they say, ‘Let’s have to light because we’re working on
tools to do an entire movie with just manipulate color like we do in the DI.’ stages and we have to illuminate the
LEDs and natural light. Everybody But instead of talking about a two- actors and action — not to mention
agreed, and a lot of the cost was offset dimensional image, you can make it hyperspace! So you have to come up
by big savings in energy, wiring and gels. three-dimensional. You can sit on set with ways of either controlling natural
Do you feel you get more precise and do each source; you can go, ‘Let’s light or coming up with lighting that
colors with LEDs, and perhaps four- desaturate this one, let’s take some blue looks just as natural.
color LEDs? out of that one and add some red there.’ One example is our set at
Fraser: Yeah, with RGB plus What was your overall lighting Cardington Studios. It’s a massive stage,
White or RGB plus Amber, you get approach for Rogue One? which used to be a hangar for blimps;
colors that you can’t get quickly with Fraser: It’s the combination of it’s also where George Lucas shot the
gels. The traditional way is to think in soft lighting, soft lenses and a sharp first Star Wars in 1977. We used that
terms of ¼ or ½ Blue or Orange, but format that gave us the right look and stage for the [Rebel Alliance base in

www.theasc.com February 2017 37

◗ Rebel Assault

Right: The Death

Star moves into
position over the
moon Jedha.
Below: Saw
Gerrera (Forest
Whitaker)
reunites with Jyn
in his hideout
near Jedha City.

remote head, and an electrician used the

wheels to move the beam as it came
down to the stage.
Can you recall a particularly
challenging lighting setup?
Fraser: It’s funny — the thing I
feared photographing the most was
Darth Vader’s shiny black helmet,
because it reflects everything! So we did
a series of tests over several weeks with
my gaffer Perry Evans to make it look as
natural as possible. We ended up with
full silks about 10 feet above his head,
the] pyramids of Yavin 4. We opened bounced very bright light in, so the light far away from the source. And we
the giant stage doors, but they let in so became the background. oriented the seams in such a way as to
much light that I had to control it. The During my set visit, I saw the get a kind of ‘mohawk,’ with a dark area
riggers put together an amazing Roman giant walls of LED panels used as separating two streaked-out white
blind system that I could pull up in background for the shots inside the U- patches.
stages. So we made a gap at the bottom wing ship. There’s a range of camera
of the door that you see in frame, and Fraser: That was used for all the motion in Rogue One, including hand-
another gap at the very top, above the stuff inside the ship, and all the environ- held, Technocrane and dolly moves.
frame line, to get light into the back ments it goes through: hyperspace and Fraser: Gareth is a very good
section of the set. different planets. We shot that way for handheld operator, and that really
Did you shoot a lot of blue- three or four days. We put shower- worked, for example, for the intimate
screen? curtain diffusion in front of the LED stuff inside the U-wing. But we also
Fraser: Gareth has a background screen to get rid of moiré. discussed our enjoyment of well-orches-
in visual effects, so he and John Knoll We also used lights for effects. trated dolly shots. With a bit of plan-
got along very well. And interestingly, On the wet set you visited, we used 4- ning, foresight and time you can do a
Gareth wanted to do as little process by-4 DS units to simulate the light from really well-connected dolly shot that
screens as possible, so we shot very little X-wings flying above and bombing the goes from one story to another. We feel
bluescreen, but we did do some black planet. [Special-effects supervisor] Neil that a dolly does that much better than
screens and white screens. In one scene Corbould helped to build a trolly a Technocrane, which doesn’t do starts
that takes place in a control room high system of steel girder to run DS lights and stops very well, so you often find
above the surface of Scarif, the beach from one end of the stage to another; we that the camera keeps moving through a
planet, we shot on a stage, and rather could fly over, but we couldn’t drop scene and doesn’t quite have the feel of a
than light a bluescreen outside the set, down. For a landing-light effect, we put grounded, heavy camera. Don’t get me
we simply put white outside and nine Digital Sputniks on a crane with a wrong — a Technocrane is an incredibly

38 February 2017 American Cinematographer

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A massive array
of WinVision Air
9mm LED panels,
provided by VER,
are positioned
around a
spaceship
interior on a
gimbal rig (left),
enabling an
interactive
hyperspace
lighting effect.

handy and useful tool on set. This is just Lucasfilm, my amazing crew, and our 1960s; they have a 1.25:1 anamorphic
my opinion, and I’m happy to discuss it gutsy and progressive suppliers. We’d squeeze, which yields an aspect ratio of
with anyone over a beer! never done it before, but we said, ‘If 2.76:1 when shooting 65mm film for
What’s it been like working with there’s a problem, we’ll work out how to 70mm release.
Gareth Edwards? solve it.’ And we did. It wasn’t all plain Gregor met Greig by chance at
Fraser: Gareth is an incredibly sailing technically, but we got through Panavision, and told him that he should
strong, visceral storyteller. He does the it. I love making movies that challenge try out ‘these glorious lenses.’ Greig
classic thing of painting a picture that me and push the medium. And Rogue immediately saw the merits, but being
says a thousand words. One certainly did that. vintage lenses, he was concerned they
Gareth loves improvisation, and would be difficult to focus and wouldn’t
the LED system worked out very well Panavision vice president of be fast enough. He also wanted lenses
for that, because I could stand outside a optical engineering and lens strategy with a much closer focus and a greater
360-degree set with my desktop opera- Dan Sasaki choice of focal lengths. So the lenses
tor and change levels and coloring on Sasaki worked closely with Fraser went through a lot of changes to meet
the fly. I could easily change the color of and oversaw the engineering of the Greig’s needs — being an artist, he
a wall mid-take or on the second take. Ultra Panavision 70 lenses used on really wanted to define his look and
In fact, the first take with Gareth is Rogue One. AC spoke with Sasaki at the push the limits.
often a shooting rehearsal, and there’s recent Camerimage International Film We made brand-new 65mm,
nothing like a shooting rehearsal to get Festival. 135mm and 290mm lenses. The other
everybody’s blood pumping. Everybody lenses have the same casting but with
steps up and performs. American Cinematographer: Is it new primes. The lens rings were also
You were at the forefront of two correct that Greig was introduced to standardized to normal matte-box size.
technologies on Rogue One: You used the Ultra Panavision lenses by Gregor It must have been difficult to
an Alexa 65 with Ultra Panavision 70 Tavenner, who was Robert make the lenses faster.
lenses, and employed LEDs almost Richardson, ASC’s first assistant on Sasaki: It was. It was a tricky
exclusively. Was that scary? The Hateful Eight [AC Dec. ’15]? process to keep the lens compact; right
Fraser: I had a mixture of fear Dan Sasaki: Yes, the Rogue One off the bat we knew we were going to do
and excitement, and it was only possible lenses were originally reinvented for The a lot of redesigning to achieve the T2
because of the support from Gareth Hateful Eight. The Ultra Panatars were aperture. We had to create our own
Edwards, the encouragement of developed in the late 1950s and early custom spherical components to fit into

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Right: The crew

captures a scene
with Luna on the
Eadu “wet set,”
built on stage at
Pinewood
Studios. Below:
Cassian takes
aim at the
Imperial
installation on
Eadu.

overall look of the film.

The Panatars have these amaz-
ing, intricate flares. Did you also
change the lens coatings for Greig?
Sasaki: The flares in The Hateful
Eight worked because the stop was
slower, and Bob Richardson was light-
ing differently than Greig. Greig liked
the flares, but he wanted to control
them a little more. I can see why he
made that call. In the film’s trailer you
can see that there are a lot of open bays
with very powerful lighting, and these
lenses are having to pass a lot of uncon-
trolled light. Without saying too much,
we did alter the coatings, making sure
that we retained the flares, without the
liabilities of too much veiling glare and
the existing housings. We also rebuilt a 70 lenses are far from perfect, but they ghosting.
lot of the mechanics. Unfortunately, we have a lot of personality. Did you consult with Arri to
didn’t have the luxury of time to build Sasaki: Some optical aberrations help ensure the Ultra Panavision
new mechanical transports. offer a roll-off that resonates with our lenses would work with the Alexa 65
How much time did you have to visual system. This phenomenon can camera?
do this? make images seem more natural, with Sasaki: Yes we did. We were
Sasaki: We completed the series greater dimensionality. You may not invited to meet with the Arri engineers
in about two and a half months. We pick this up by looking at the lens on a in Munich in 2015 to see how we could
ended up with nine focal lengths — 35, test bench — especially since our faces put Panavision lenses, including the
40, 50, 65, 75, 100, 135, 180 and aren’t made of orthogonal grids. Primo 70s and the Ultra Panatars, on
290mm. In addition, we had to double [Laughs.] The innate optical qualities of their new 65 camera. We wanted to see
up for most of the focal lengths. the Ultra Panatars connected with what how our lenses interacted with their
Optically, the Ultra Panavision Greig and the director wanted for the low-pass filter and pixel pitch. I remem-

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Right: The crew

readies a rain-
soaked scene on
the Eadu
landing-platform
set, where
Krennic
addresses Galen
and his team of
Imperial
scientists.
Below: Jones
and crew work
through the
onstage
downpour.

Episode IV, so we knew right away that

the designs had to dovetail seamlessly
and stay true to Episode IV. One of the
things we discussed was, ‘How about if
we approach the film as if these were
sets and designs that George Lucas had
built back in the late-Seventies but
never shot on?’
I found Gareth to have the same
visual sensibility as George. And what I
mean by that is Gareth looks at icons,
silhouettes, shapes. He looks at the
overall design for the logo: What is that
logo shape? And it goes back to a lesson
that I learned from George, which is,
‘When you design something, you
should be able to redraw it in a matter of
two or three seconds.’ It’s distilling the
ber that when we screened our tests tion-design duties on Rogue One with idea down to its essence, and it comes
with the Ultra Panatars, the images Neil Lamont. down to basic shapes. Gareth had that
looked both beautiful and unique. instinctual ability.
American Cinematographer: It was really fun to interpret this
Production designer Doug How did you and Gareth Edwards through Gareth’s lens, in terms of the
Chiang begin to tackle the design for Rogue shapes that he liked, which were very
Chiang has a long history in the One? much in line with what George and
Star Wars galaxy, having worked as Doug Chiang: We had many [original trilogy concept artists] Ralph
design director for Episode I – The different conversations about what he McQuarrie and Joe Johnston were
Phantom Menace (AC Sept. ’99) and a liked, what he wanted to do, and what drawing. And so, in designing Rogue,
concept-design supervisor for Episode II new component he could add to this often I would go back and look at
– Attack of the Clones (AC Sept. ’02), then film. Based on John Knoll’s story treat- Ralph’s work in terms of, ‘Maybe we can
returning as a concept artist for The ment, we knew that the film would take update this; maybe we can adapt this
Force Awakens. Chiang shared produc- place maybe a month or two before into an element that we can use in our

44 February 2017 American Cinematographer

◗ Rebel Assault
virtual set model back into the art
department for further refinements. It
was great to get that information early,
because it also started to inform the
overall scale of the sets. One of the
things we discovered was that, with
almost all the sets, we could scale them
down by 20 or 30 percent without
losing the visual impact — and that’s a
huge cost savings.
For Greig it was wonderful
because he was able to start talking
about how to light the sets — how do
we make them feel very real? One of the
things he was adamant about was that
the sets would be minimally lit, mean-
ing as much as possible we used practi-
cal lights to make it feel like a real space.
And that started to inform set design:
Maybe the ceilings should be lower so
we can actually build in practical light
Above: Tudyk sources. Those were all questions we
sports his could start addressing right away.
motion-capture
suit while
Having that kind of concrete informa-
performing as tion so early was invaluable; it makes the
K-2SO. Right: designs so much more powerful and
Senior visual-
effects
more real when you can think about the
supervisor lighting plan along with the set design.
John Knoll Did the decision to shoot with
discusses a
scene with
the Alexa 65 large-format camera
Tudyk. system impact your work?
Chiang: Yeah, it made it a lot
harder! [Laughs.] Harder in the sense
that we had to build the sets at a greater
fidelity. The request is often to build as
designs.’ And Gareth was totally on to the stages. Typically when we design much of the sets as possible and in 360
board with that. a set and get it preliminarily approved, degrees, but that’s a really tall order
What did your early interac- we would go to the stage and mark it because some of the Star Wars sets can
tions with Greig Fraser entail? out on the floor and figure out, ‘Is this be quite vast, and the budgets and the
Chiang: Greig came aboard room the right size? Is that wall in the schedules just don’t allow that. So for us
maybe two or three months into the right place?’ This step is important to the challenge was to be as efficient as
whole design process, when we were get an overall sense of the set for staging possible, to maximize our effort. One of
trying some new tools in terms of and construction purposes. VScout the saving graces was that, in terms of
design. We had a virtual-set preview shortcuts that process. the shooting style, Gareth and Greig
system called VScout, which was being And what I found fascinating was liked the shallow depth of field, and so
developed by ILM’s advanced develop- that Gareth and Greig were able to that gave us some freedom. But the
ment group. I took Gareth and Greig adapt quickly and go in the virtual catch was we didn’t quite know where
through that, where we would take an volume, put in their virtual camera, and they were going to put the camera! So,
early concept model of a set from the art say, ‘Well, if we stage things here, that ultimately we had to build the sets so
department and project it up into a 3D interesting part of the set is out of that they held up regardless of where
space at 1:1 scale. And it was great frame, so let’s move that down.’ And we the camera was placed.
because Gareth and Greig could walk could move that part of the set in real How did the use of LED panels,
through a set months before we had time so that we could start to mold the which surrounded the ships and
anything built, and before we even got virtual set. Then we would take that enabled real-time interactive lighting,

46 February 2017 American Cinematographer

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Right: The crew

prepares to
shoot an
X-wing cockpit
surrounded by
LED screens.
Below: Another
image from A
New Hope is re-
created, this
time of an
Imperial pilot in
the cockpit of a
TIE fighter.

theme parks. He has since served as a

visual-effects supervisor for the Star
Wars Trilogy Special Edition (AC Feb.
’97), The Phantom Menace, Attack of the
Clones and Episode III – Revenge of the
Sith. For Rogue One, Knoll worked
alongside co-visual-effects supervisor
Mohen Leo.

American Cinematographer:
Can you tell us about using giant LED
screens for backgrounds instead of
bluescreens?
John Knoll: All of our major
spaceship cockpit scenes were done that
way, with the gimbal in this giant horse-
shoe of LED panels we got from VER,
and we prepared graphics that went on
affect your work? looked and felt very real. the screens. One thing that’s very hard
Chiang: The LED screens were It all goes back to reinforcing the to shoot on visual-effects films is a vehi-
really wonderful tools in terms of how illusion that this is a real place and not a cle traveling through a complex lighting
we could light these sets so that they felt movie set. I think it’s an important qual- environment. For example, if you’re
believable. For instance, when we were ity to achieve. It’s a nuanced thing, and flying through a city, this building in
in the Death Star command center, we even though the quality of visual effects direct sunlight would be bouncing light,
wanted to see things on the viewscreen today can get to that photo-real point, if another one might be painted a lighter
where traditionally it would have been a you can achieve it all in-camera, the color, and another one might be darker
giant bluescreen; we wanted the interac- more authentic it feels. and cooler — so the lighting environ-
tive reflective quality of what you would ment around the vehicle should really
actually see. Even though we ultimately Visual-effects supervisor John be changing almost every frame. And
had to replace some of those images Knoll that’s really hard to do well on a sound-
with higher-fidelity images in postpro- Knoll began working at ILM in stage with conventional instruments, so
duction, they were enough to give a 1986, and his contributions to the Star it feels a little artificial. If you can gener-
sense that the quality of light on the Wars saga go back to the first iteration of ate the environment around the vehicle
actors and the reflections on the set the Star Tours attraction for the Disney and have that playing back on the LED

48 February 2017 American Cinematographer

◗ Rebel Assault
them based on location photography?
Knoll: It was all computer graph-
ics, but computer graphics done to try
and match live-action references. For
example, one of the first days of shoot-
ing we had was in Jordan for the scenes
on the planet Jedha. We shot a bunch of
live action there, and we also shot a
bunch of aerials with a helicopter. So we
were looking at all this aerial footage to
generate the environments for the cock-
pit shots; even though they’re
computer-generated, we matched
contrast values and colors from our live-
action plates.
Greig said that part of the look
of the movie comes from emulating
film negative.
Knoll: Greig and I started talking
very early on in the show. We had that
Above: Working conversation at the beginning: ‘Are we
on location in the shooting on film? Are we shooting digi-
Maldives, director tally?’ I’m a fan of modern digital
Gareth Edwards
operates the cameras; I like their stable colorimetry,
camera while their signal-to-noise characteristics and
shooting the their tremendous light sensitivity. But
climactic battle on
the planet Scarif. you hear a lot of people saying that
Below: Edwards there’s sort of a harshness or coldness to
directs the action digital, and that film has a warmth to it.
as Tudyk and
other Rebels About two-thirds of those characteris-
listen. tics come from the lens that you’re
using, and you can use the same lens
with the digital body. And I’ve become
screens, then you can get all kinds of environments. Then we had a more and more of the opinion that the
subtlety of travel and color and bright- TouchDesigner setup on set that rest can be emulated perfectly well digi-
ness, and it looks a lot better. remapped from that 360 environment tally. I think that when people say
Another example is the shiny onto the actual geometry of the LED warmth, they’re really talking about this
helmets of the pilots in the X-wing screens. That mapping was live and nonlinear color response that a lot of the
cockpits. In previous films nothing controlled by the gyro of an iPad, so film stocks have, whereas the digital
outside the cockpit was reflected in the that if you wanted to have the ship bank cameras are a little truer in that they
helmets, but here, because we had pre- to one side, you just turned the iPad and more faithfully reproduce what you see
animated the whole space battle, you it would make the whole environment to your eye. But people like the styliza-
can see a planet or the interactive light on the LED screens bank. tion that film has.
from a laser actually reflected in the We also set up other interactive Something that we’ve been doing
helmets, and we got that without any lighting cues, like lasers or explosions, or here for years is mixing imagery from
additional effort. It’s just a wonderful bit the scene where we flew the U-wing different sources — we take imagery
of realism, which makes everything that through a nighttime storm down to that we’ve shot with our digital cameras
much better. crash-land on the planet Eadu. We had and mix it in with film-originated
How did you control the anima- buttons that we could press on the footage. To do that, we’ve carefully
tion on the LED screens during controller so we could mix in those characterized the different film stocks
shooting? different animation sequences live. and cameras that we use, so that when
Knoll: For the environments Were the environments that imagery comes into the system, we
around the ships, we animated were mapped onto the LEDs entirely linearize it in the most accurate way we
sequences that were full 360-degree fabricated with CG, or were any of can; we work on it in that linear space,

50 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 ◗ Rebel Assault
methodology on the show. Even
though we shot with the Alexa 65, it’s
From left: got a film emulation on the color
Construction response. This was the first project I’ve
manager Paul
Hayes, been involved with where we shot the
supervising art whole movie on digital cameras and
director Al then applied this film lattice.
Bullock, Fraser
and co- Greig paired the Alexa 65
production camera with Ultra Panavision 70
designer Doug lenses. Did that combination pose any
Chiang examine
the Rebel base. challenges for the visual-effects work-
flow?
Knoll: The Alexa 65 is a very
large format, and we were shooting with
and we invert that transform on the way bring it in in the normal fashion, but put the Panavision Ultra 70s mostly with
out. And so, if you have a show that’s it out with a film curve?’ That way we very open T-stops, so we had a very
shot on film, when you correctly can get the best of both worlds, where shallow-depth-of-field look on this
linearize that imagery on the way in, and we have all the advantages that you get movie. And when you’re putting a back-
then you take footage that’s shot with a from shooting with digital cameras, but ground behind a character, and either
digital camera and you linearize that we have that nonlinear response that’s the character or the background is really
correctly, you can mix the two of them carefully measured from film and out of focus, that can be challenging —
and when you put it out, it all blends. applied to the final image. And Greig like when we rack focus from Felicity to
From there, what seemed to me was really intrigued by that idea. We did the background, all her edges go really
like the obvious thing was, ‘Why don’t a couple of tests, and he seemed really soft, and that soft edge is much wider
we just take the digital imagery and happy with the results. So that was the with this camera than what we ordinar-

52
ily deal with. It happens on every show, Knoll: Yeah, we took a 4-by-8 me. Let’s just make the most beautiful-
but disentangling foreground and back- sheet of black foamcore, we punched looking image.’
ground was particularly extreme on this little 1⁄8-inch holes through it in a grid, One of the things I love about
show. and then backlit that. So basically it’s a ILM is that everyone here likes chal-
And then the lenses have this field of little white dots. We framed up lenges. That’s why we’re here. You know,
really odd defocus characteristic. With each one of the lenses so the grid filled we want to do the hard thing that really
most lenses we’ve dealt with in the past, the frame, and then we racked them pushes us. That’s where the really amaz-
the shape of the bokeh is fairly contin- through the entire focus range. By ing discoveries happen, and we really
uous across frame. But with these doing that, you have a pretty clear refer- feel proud to have achieved something
lenses, the shapes were very different ence of what an out-of-focus circle of when you face those sorts of unknowns.
across the frame. In the center of frame confusion looks like at each different ●
they’d be ellipses that were that 1.25:1 place in frame. And then we sent the
aspect ratio. But then as you went away footage back to ILM as a reference for For additional Rogue One coverage, visit
from the center of frame off to the the guys who were writing the focus www.theasc.com in February.
sides, they would start to squeeze hori- tool.
zontally; on a couple of lenses they Were you ever tempted to say:
would almost become lines towards the ‘How about using the regular Alexa or
edge. And then as you went up verti- other lenses?’ TECHNICAL SPECS
cally in the frame, they would start to Knoll: No, no! I love this. The
tilt so they were angled perpendicular Alexa 65 is an amazing camera. I like it 2.39:1
to a line from the center of lens. We a lot. And the weird defocus character-
had to write a new defocus tool to istic of the Ultra Panavision lenses really Digital Capture
emulate that look. contributed a lot to the beauty of the Arri Alexa 65
Was that new tool based on cinematography on this film. So no, I’m
mapping each individual lens? all for saying: ‘Don’t make it easier for Ultra Panavision 70

53
 Rogue One:
From Concept
to Screen
It required courage untold and heroic sacrifice, and more than a little trust in the Force,
for the Rebel Alliance to successfully steal the secret plans to the Galactic Empire’s
dreaded Death Star. Bringing that tale to the screen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
called for similarly herculean efforts from a cast and crew working around the globe.
Here, in this digital-edition exclusive, AC offers a pictorial summary of the production,
including early concept art, behind-the-scenes action on stage and on location, and
final frames that incorporate visual effects.

“Rogue One Ensemble,” a concept painting by Jon McCoy, depicts characters (from left) Baze Malbus (who would be played by Jiang Wen),
Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen), K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and Cassian Andor (Diego Luna).

Digital Exclusive February 2017 American Cinematographer

 2.

1.
Unit photography by Jonathan Olley, Giles Keyte and John Wilson. All images courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd.

3.
1. Preparing to shoot on the Eadu landing-platform set at Pinewood Studios.
2. The Rebels — including Imperial defector Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed, bottom left)
— assemble at their hidden base on the fourth moon of Yavin. 3. Ahmed and Jones
at work for a scene in the cockpit of a stolen Imperial cargo shuttle.
4. Cinematographer Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS hand-holds the camera for a gathering
of the Alliance High Command. 5. Rebel leaders debate their options.
4.

5.
www.theasc.com February 2017 Digital Exclusive
1. Concept artist Andrée Wallin’s painting “Star Destroyer Over Jedha Version 2A.” 2. Imperial cargo shuttles and TIE
fighters in the air over Jedha City. 3. Director Gareth Edwards frames a shot of Jones. 4. Capturing the action around an
Imperial combat assault tank as stormtroopers square off against attacking Rebel forces.

1.

2.

3. 4.
Digital Exclusive February 2017 American Cinematographer
 1. 2.

1. Fraser behind the

camera as Wen awaits
the call to action.
2. Edwards confers with
Luna. 3. A SuperTechno
crane holds an Arri
Alexa 65 camera in
position for an X-wing
cockpit shot. 4. Fraser
supervises a similar
setup, backed by a
WinVision Air 9mm LED-
panel array provided by
VER. 5. Another view of
the LED panels, which
enabled real-time
interactive lighting for
flying shots.

3.

4. 5.
www.theasc.com February 2017 Digital Exclusive
 1.

2.
3.

4.

1. Concept artist Thom Tenery’s painting “Scarif Exterior Version 1A.” 5.

2. Edwards and Fraser plan their next shot. 3. A Steadicam frames Yen
as he makes his move for the master switch. 4. Fraser shoulders the
camera as he steels himself for a dolly shot through the sand.
5. Dressed in his motion-capture suit for his performance as
reprogrammed Imperial security droid K-2SO, Tudyk (right) listens
in while Edwards blocks the action.

Digital Exclusive February 2017 American Cinematographer

 1. Rebel troops face overwhelming odds as Imperial AT-ACT walkers
defend the beach on Scarif. 2. The crew marches into the fray. 3. Fraser
gets a close-up of a Rebel soldier under fire from Imperial
shoretroopers. 4. Crewmembers maneuver a crane for a shot of
stormtroopers patrolling the beach. 5. The cinematographer takes flight
aboard a GF-16 crane.

1.

2. 3.

4. 5.

www.theasc.com February 2017 Digital Exclusive

 Masterful Lifetime Achievement
Award honoree
Edward Lachman, ASC

Vision
reflects on a globetrotting
career behind the camera.
By Jon Silberg

•|•

54 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 Opposite: Edward
Lachman, ASC is
the recipient of
this year’s ASC
Lifetime
Achievement
Award. This page,
left: Lachman on
the set of Carol.
Below: Camera
operator Craig
Haagensen and
Lachman ready a
shot with Rooney
Mara during the
production of
Images courtesy of Edward Lachman, ASC and the ASC archives. I’m Not There photo by Jonathan Wenk. Carol photos by Wilson Webb, SMPSP.

Carol.

E
dward Lachman, ASC, recipient of From Heaven (AC Dec. ’02), I’m Not
this year’s ASC Lifetime There (AC Nov. ’07) and Carol (AC Dec.
Achievement Award, admits he’s ’15), all with director Todd Haynes; The
always felt like something of a Limey (AC Nov. ’99) and Erin
visual gypsy in the motion-picture Brockovich, with Steven Soderbergh;
industry. Though he grew up in Light Sleeper and Touch, with Paul
Morristown, N.J., the cinematogra- Schrader; and The Virgin Suicides, with
pher’s influences, early credits and acco- Sophia Coppola. He stresses, though,
lades read more like the CV of a that his work is the result of his collabo-
European émigré. To name just a few of rations with his crew that he’s worked
his international honors, he’s the only with over many years, particularly gaffer
American to have received Germany’s John DeBlau, key grip Jim McMillan,
Marburg Camera Prize; last year, he and operators Craig Haagensen and
received a BAFTA nomination and a Mitch Dubin.
BSC Award; he’s received Both Lachman’s father and
Camerimage’s Bronze, Silver and Gold grandfather worked in the film-exhibi-
Frogs, as well as a Cinematographer- tion industry, the former converting
Director Duo Award from the festival; vaudeville houses to movie theaters, the
and he’s taken home a Golden Osella latter running cinemas in New Jersey
cinematography award from the Venice and distributing carbon-arc projector
Film Festival. Furthermore, he’s worked lamps for a French company and, later, father was also an amateur photogra-
with many known European directors, having the foresight to introduce xenon pher, but as a child I shied away from
including Werner Herzog, Wim bulbs and projectors as their replace- and actually abhorred cameras. I always
Wenders, Volker Schlöndorff, George ment. However, Lachman insists that had the feeling, like Eastern thought,
Sluizer, Ulrich Seidl and even French this early introduction to the medium that your photographic image could
New Wave auteur Jean-Luc Godard. had no bearing on his own career path. steal your soul — now I know it does!”
He has also exhibited photography, “When I was young,” he recalls, “I used Instead, his artistic impulses
videos, and art installations in galleries to go to movies with my father and sing steered him in the direction of art
and museums throughout the world. to the musicals on the screen and fill the history and painting. While taking
Lachman’s extensive and eclectic bags with popcorn at the concession courses at Harvard and Columbia, he
list of credits includes such visually stand. So I was around film my whole began to see film as an art form, and he
arresting independent features as Far life, but I didn’t take it very seriously. My ultimately completed his education at

www.theasc.com February 2017 55

◗ Masterful Vision
Ohio University’s film program, which
was run at the time by famed filmmaker
and cinema historian Joseph L.
Anderson. While studying Italian
neorealism and Vittorio De Sica’s
deceptively simple Umberto D., shot by
G.R. Aldo, something connected for
Lachman. “It was told entirely through
the construction of images,” he says of
the film, which has very little dialogue.
“I was studying studio art, and the idea
that you could convey such a powerful
story through images really enticed me.”
While writing his thesis on direc-
tor Bernardo Bertolucci’s Before the
Revolution, he attended a press screen-
ing of Bertolucci’s The Spider’s
Stratagem, where he met the director.
“Bertolucci was so intrigued with my
knowing his early work that he invited
me that evening to join him in his box
Top: Mitch Dubin
(left), Lachman
for the New York Film Festival premiere
and Scott Stern on of The Conformist,” the cinematographer
the set of Les recalls. “When it was over, he turned to
Petites Guerres.
Middle, from left:
me and asked me what I thought. I
Madonna, future nearly fell out of the box!”
ASC member After graduating, Lachman
Francis Kenny,
Dubin, Lachman
began shooting and operating on docu-
and Susan mentaries. He operated for Albert and
Seidelman on the David Maysles on Christo’s Valley
set of Desperately
Seeking Susan.
Curtain and Grey Gardens, and for
Below: Dubin and Werner Herzog on several documen-
Lachman pose taries, including the German director’s
with the subject of
the documentary
first film partially shot in America,
Mother Teresa. Stroszek. He photographed Wim
Wenders’ Tokyo-Ga, an exploration
about Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu
and his themes about the loss of family
and culture in post-World War II Japan.
He’s continued to shoot and direct
documentaries in between narrative
projects throughout his career.
As a young filmmaker in the New
York City of the late 1970s, Lachman
had the opportunity to work with some
of the era’s foremost directors of
photography, either operating or shoot-
ing second unit. He operated a second
camera for Robby Müller, NSC, BVK
on the U.S. portion of Wenders’ The
American Friend. He worked with Sven
Nykvist, ASC on the crime drama King
of the Gypsies for director Frank Pierson,
and operated on Hurricane for director

56 February 2017 American Cinematographer

Jan Troell. He also shot second unit for
Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC on the
New York sections of Bertolucci’s La
Luna. “It was the best film school I
could ever attend,” he states of this
period. He could see firsthand how
these masters worked and interacted
with their crews. Nykvist, he says, “could
remember every shot he’d ever done. So
of course I would ask him about work-
ing with Ingmar Bergman, and he was
more than forthright — to the point
that the director asked us to stop talking
about Bergman films and work on his
film! He did everything the simplest
way possible. If someone else would use
a 10K, he’d use a 2K soft light.” Müller,
Lachman notes, “used natural sources
and ambient light, mixing the different
types of sources and color temperatures
working with wide-open stops on the
lens. He was a master at controlling the
image with ND gels, wanting to capture
the authenticity of what the light was on
the location.” Storaro, on the other
hand, “created his own stylized light for
an ‘umbra’ look. I learned how he used
highlights and shadow for a chiaroscuro
look, how he orchestrated the lighting
and could move the lights within a
scene.”
After some opportunities shoot-
ing indie features — such as Union City
with Deborah Harry from the famed
group Blondie, and The Lords of
Flatbush, starring a pre-Rocky Sylvester
Stallone — Lachman’s first break on a
full-fledged studio feature came when
he was hired to shoot Desperately
Seeking Susan, a distinctively mid-’80s
movie directed by Susan Seidelman and
featuring Madonna in a saturated,
enticing, foreboding East Village that is
contrasted with the middle-class pastel
life of Rosanna Arquette’s character.
Some cinematographers might be
content, their first time on a show of this
size, to keep a low profile and take few
— if any — chances, but even at this
early stage in his career, Lachman was
devoted to exploring what’s behind the
image. “It never made sense to me as a Top: Lachman lines up a shot for True Stories. Middle: The cinematographer measures the light
during the filming of Mississippi Masala. Bottom: Lachman shoulders his camera while hiking up
Forties screwball comedy,” he says of a volcano for Werner Herzog’s documentary La Soufrière.
Susan, “but visually, I felt I could create

www.theasc.com February 2017 57

◗ Masterful Vision

Left: The cinematographer at work on the set of Erin Brockovich.

Above (from left): Steadicam operator Kirk Gardner, Lachman, director Todd Haynes
and gaffer John DeBlau on the set of Carol.

this expressionistic, nightmarish world Lachman then connected with with motivated sources to reinforce Julia
for Madonna’s New York City, inspired British director Marek Kanievska to Roberts’ Oscar-winning performance
by [German Expressionist painters] help bring to the screen Bret Easton as a struggling, humiliated working-
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Emil Ellis’ novel Less Than Zero, which class mother who overcomes obstacles
Nolde. I used gels to create a lot of chronicles the excesses of sex, drugs and to help victims of corporate negligence
yellow and green light at night moti- nihilism among privileged youth in L.A. and, in doing so, finds her sense of
vated by the light in the streets. People The cinematographer used lighting purpose.
on the crew said, ‘Eddie, you’re going to “that would inverse day and night. These “Ed was an influence on me
get fired!’ I said, ‘No, it’s fluorescent and people primarily lived at night, through before we even met,” says Soderbergh.
tungsten light from the street’s light drugs, and slept during the day. So we “He’s the best kind of obsessive: curious,
sources. I’m just pushing it a little bit found ways to give an edge and a enthusiastic, unpretentious and, best of

Erin Brockovich photo by Bob Marshak. Carol photo by Wilson Webb, SMPSP.
further than usual.’ I didn’t get fired, but contrast to the lighting of the night all, thrilled to share his ideas and expe-
people looked at me like I was weird.” scenes to indicate it was their day. Then, riences. His passion is infectious; when
The cinematographer’s approach during the day, the challenge was to you’re in close proximity to an artist
impressed musician David Byrne, the make everything feel nocturnal.” with his level of dedication, technical
lead singer of Talking Heads, who asked The cinematographer was skill, courage and imagination, it’s
Lachman to undertake an offbeat, becoming more noticed when he impossible not to be inspired and
experimental film titled True Stories. teamed with Soderbergh. The Limey — excited by the work at hand.
Byrne, always looking to expand his starring Terence Stamp as a British ex- “Ed used the Polaroid extensively
artistic visions, was directing the film, con out to avenge his daughter’s death when we were working together, and
which was based on a script he’d written — pays homage to the fractured, shift- he’d be so caught up in looking at the
with playwright Beth Henley. The look ing story perspective and dislocation of result he’d just let the discarded backing
at middle America has a unique visual characters of 1960s neo-noir thrillers fall wherever he was standing or walk-
style that supports the songs’ mixture of such as Get Carter and Point Blank; ing,” the director continues. “We
satire and warmth toward the subjects. Lachman used a handheld camera and referred to these as ‘Lachman drop-
“We referenced William Eggleston and expressionistic color palettes for the pings,’ and the image of all of us trailing
amateur photographers’ photos that film’s locations, which established a him to pick them up still makes me
would come out of a Fotomat with a strong tone for the actions of the charac- laugh. I’m thankful for his great work,
snapshot sensibility, off-balance framing ters. For Erin Brockovich, the cinematog- and even more thankful for his friend-
and not necessarily cinematic lighting,” rapher drew from his documentary ship and guidance.”
Lachman says of his inspiration. experience, creating naturalistic lighting Lachman’s longest creative

58 February 2017 American Cinematographer

◗ Masterful Vision
where the light is motivated from, we
realized it didn’t matter. That is not at all
how Russell Metty and Douglas Sirk
used light, color and the movement of
the camera the way they did. It was done
for expressionistic and stylistic reasons
to engage you in the emotions of the
story.”
Lachman has been behind the
camera for all of Haynes’ directorial
outings since Far From Heaven, includ-
ing two that feature Cate Blanchett: I’m
Not There and Carol. Blanchett vividly
remembers the Polaroids Lachman took
during the production of both shoots.
The images, she says, “delve into the
atmosphere not only of the movie but of
the process. He knows the exact
moment to take the shot in the same
way he knows exactly where to put the
camera. It’s a rare gift. And it’s a gift to
an actor as the perspective of the camera
tells you where your audience will be
both physically and psychologically. It
keeps the performances alive and
engaged and focused. Ed is not only
inside the frame, he is inside every
performance.”
Although he remains a strong
supporter of film, Lachman has
embraced digital shooting on a number
of projects, including director Robert
Altman’s final feature, A Prairie Home
Companion, for which he used a Sony
F900; the experimental television
project Cell Stories, which he directed
and shot with multiple cell phones; and
director Todd Solondz’s Life During
Top: Lachman at work in Beirut. Bottom: With assistance from DeBlau, the cinematographer Wartime and Wiener-Dog, photo-
frames the action for Mildred Pierce (2011).
graphed with Red and Arri cameras,
respectively. But for both Carol and the
collaboration has been with Haynes, melodrama’s heightened gestures in Haynes-directed HBO miniseries
who recalls the impression made by the framing and fluidity of camera move- Mildred Pierce (AC April ’11), the cine-
cinematographer’s work on Schrader’s ment, and its saturated and expression- matographer shot on Super 16mm
Light Sleeper. “When I was looking for istic colors, to infuse the story with an motion-picture stock — and was, in
someone new to work with for Far emotional understanding in the spirit turn, nominated for an Oscar and an
From Heaven, I remembered seeing his and style of the 1950s films directed by Emmy, respectively. He used Kodak
incantations of night scenes and cars,” Douglas Sirk and shot by Russell Double-X black-and-white negative,
Haynes reflects. “When we met, he Metty, ASC. “It was a world where rather than the far more common prac-
came toting a bag full of art books. contemporary ideas of what natural tice of converting color images in post-
Later on I was in his apartment in L.A., light sources are, and what natural production, for I’m Not There and
and literally all his walls were covered anything is, was challenged by the Haynes’ upcoming feature Wonderstruck.
with art and photography books.” expressionistic camera,” Haynes He even purchased the equipment of
Far From Heaven made use of explains. “When we were talking about the now-defunct Film Lab New York

60 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 ◗ Masterful Vision
Instead, he says, “I find working in film
with exposure that defines grain struc-
ture, and the way colors render through
microscopic RGB layers, conveys a
sense of depth and emotions to the
images.”
For the types of filmmaking
Lachman most enjoys, and from an
artistic point of view, the industry’s push
toward higher resolution and greater
dynamic range is misguided. Haynes, a
kindred spirit, opines, “There is a kind
of emotional purity about the [film]
medium. We adore celluloid and its
imperfections, and that’s why we ‘down-
graded’ to 16mm on Mildred Pierce and
Carol.”
Haagensen operates and Lachman studies the scene for The Lifetime Achievement
Haynes’ upcoming feature Wonderstruck. Award from the ASC affirms once
more that Lachman — the New Jersey
rather than see it destroyed; it’s currently His fondness for celluloid, he native with a passport for global cinema
sitting in storage in the hope that says, isn’t only based on its ability to — has indeed found a home among his
“someone will come to their senses and capture more detail or more dynamic fellow directors of photography. He was
open a lab in New York again,” range than digital images — those invited into membership in the ASC in
Lachman explains. battles are less relevant every year. 1994, and about the Society, he

62
enthuses, “You feel like you’re part of a
family here that cares about the struggle
we all have to go through to create our
images.” Still, upon hearing the news of
the award from ASC President Kees
van Oostrum, Lachman demurs, “I was
astonished that I would receive this. I
always felt like a bit of an outsider to all
the great talents here.”
But for those who know
Lachman, have worked with him or
simply admire his staggering body of
work, the honor couldn’t find a more
deserving recipient. As Blanchett says,
“With Ed, the feel on set is always
experimental, always searching, full of
ideas, alternatives and fresh perspec-
tives. We had next to no time on the
films I’ve worked on with Ed, which
makes what he achieved even more
remarkable — playful, masterful and Lachman captures last light at sunset.
breathtakingly surprising.” ●
 Shot
From the
Heart Ron Garcia, ASC,
recipient of the Society’s
Career Achievement in
Television Award, reflects
on his career behind
the camera.
By Rachael K. Bosley

•|•

64 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 Opposite: Ron
Garcia, ASC on set
for the “Scorched”
episode of the
series Numb3rs.
This page, left:
Garcia and actor
Sheryl Lee confer
on the “Red
Numb3rs photo by Cliff Lipson, courtesy of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Portrait by Owen Roizman, ASC. All images courtesy of Ron Garcia, ASC and the ASC archives.

Room” set from

the series Twin
Peaks. Below: A
portrait of Garcia
by Owen Roizman,
ASC.

F
or Ron Garcia, ASC, it all started through rigorous self-education, hard
with a favor for a friend. It was 1966, work, and a handful of serendipitous
and Garcia was 26 years old and encounters that typify the adage “only in
happily employed as a design drafts- Hollywood,” Garcia forged a filmmak-
man at McDonnell Douglas, working on ing career that encompassed producing
the DC-9 aircraft. He recalls, “My friend and/or shooting B movies, including the
was fiberglassing racing boats, and one of drive-in hit Machismo: 40 Graves for 40
his clients wanted a promo to show at a Guns; learning the finer points of cine-
trade show, so my friend said to me, matography at Zoetrope Studios during
‘Let’s go shoot a boat race.’ We had no production of Francis Ford Coppola’s
idea what we were doing, but I knew experimental musical One From the
someone who’d worked on The Endless Heart; shooting television projects for
Summer with Bruce Brown, so I called Michael Mann (Crime Story), David
him for advice. We rented a 16mm Lynch (Twin Peaks), and Ridley and
camera from Birns & Sawyer and went Tony Scott (Numb3rs), among others;
out to Lake Havasu. Little by little, we and playing an active role in ASC
figured it all out, and by the end of it, I Technology Committee initiatives for
was bitten. I fell completely in love with 10 years. When Garcia receives the
the whole process and decided to learn ASC Career Achievement in Television
everything I could about it.” Award this month, it will cap a list of
At 27, Garcia stepped away from honors that includes two Primetime
the aerospace industry, though not with- Emmy nominations, a CableACE matographer, whose credits also include
out some difficulty. “I’d worked on a few Award and four ASC nominations. the features Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With
projects that needed a secret atomic When he reflects on these laurels, Me (AC Sept. ’92) and The Great White
clearance, so I had to be debriefed, and however, Garcia emphasizes that it was Hype.
those guys refused to believe I was quit- practicality rather than passion that led Garcia’s entrée into the union
ting so I could handle props on a Civil him to television and, as his reputation world was the TV series Hunter (1985),
War movie shooting in Bronson Canyon in the field grew, kept him there. “I which he joined in its second season. “A
in Hollywood,” he recalls, laughing. “I didn’t want to be ‘typecast’ in television, friend, Stu Segall, from my independent
said, ‘What’s wrong with that?! Let me but I found I was well suited to its pace days had become a TV producer on
outta here!’” and demands as a result of my early low- Hunter, and he knew I could do a lot
Over the next five decades, budget experiences,” says the cine- with a little, so he called me up. On my

www.theasc.com February 2017 65

◗ Shot From the Heart

His work quickly caught the eye of

Michael Mann, who was searching for a
cinematographer for the Las Vegas
drama Crime Story. “My interview with
Michael was a brief conversation at
Hugo’s [restaurant],” Garcia recalls. “He
said, ‘I like your work, and I want you to
shoot my show.’ Then he said something
I loved: ‘Don’t hand me a mundane show.
I want you to take chances and give me
something different, and if you fail in the
look, we’ll reshoot it. I’ll back you up.’
And one time I did fail — I went too far
— and, to his credit, we reshot. The
production designer on the show, Hilda
Stark, did impeccable work; I’d walk into
her sets, and they were already lit with all
that neon. I’d throw in a little light and
push Fuji to 1,000 ASA all the time.”
After shooting a full season of
Crime Story, Garcia teamed with David
Clockwise from top left: Garcia (left) on set in the 1970s, praying the camera will fire up; camera Lynch on the Twin Peaks pilot, but only
assistant Laurie Towers and Garcia as flower children on set; lining up a shot. after his agent, Scott Harris at Innovative
Artists, insisted he meet with the direc-
first day of shooting, an actor asked, better than Kodak, and I kept using it tor. “I loved Eraserhead and liked The
‘When is Ron going to start lighting?’ when I moved into television, where Elephant Man, but I hated Blue Velvet,
And the producer answered, ‘He’s everyone else was shooting Kodak. I was and when I read the script for Twin
already lit. We’re ready to roll!’” shooting 500-ASA Fuji and using Peaks, I didn’t get it and threw it on the
Garcia believes his early adoption mostly practicals — I didn’t know from floor — I thought it was Peyton Place in
of Fujifilm negative, a key component of a lot of lighting equipment. Nobody the woods!” says Garcia. “My agent said,
his low-budget aesthetic, also helped his ever had any money in the independent ‘Ron, take the meeting!’ And when I met
television work stand out from the pack. world, so I learned to make do. I mixed David, I thought he was a sweetheart.
“Fuji was always less expensive than color temperatures quite a bit, which He’s a real-life Jimmy Stewart character,
Kodak, and that made it popular in the became my trademark. I got a lot more and a true artist and filmmaker.”
low-budget world. I’d been using it since out of Fuji because of the double layer of Garcia discovered Lynch wanted a
1973, mostly because I felt it telecined blue [in the emulsion].” palette that was atypical of the Pacific

66 February 2017 American Cinematographer

Northwest. “David looked at my Michael
Mann stuff and said, ‘Ron, do you have
something warm?’ I’d just finished a
period piece about nuclear-weapons test-
ing in the desert [Nightbreaker], which
received a CableACE nomination, so I
showed him those dailies, and he said,
‘Yeah, okay.’ The rest is history!” In
consultation with Fujifilm technicians,
Garcia achieved Twin Peaks’ distinctive
warm palette by doubling the 85 filter
when shooting 500-speed tungsten stock
and using a single 85 with slower,
daylight-balanced stocks. (His podcast
about this project is one of the most
popular AC has yet produced:
www.theasc.com/site/podcasts/twin-
peaks-pilot-1990-ron-garcia-asc/.)
Garcia received his first ASC
Award nomination for Twin Peaks; he
was also nominated for the award — and
received an Emmy nod as well — for part
one of the miniseries Murder in the
Heartland. He received additional ASC
nominations for the telefilms Divas and
The Day Lincoln Was Shot, and he won a
CableACE Award for the HBO telefilm
El Diablo. The Day Lincoln Was Shot also
earned Garcia his second Emmy nomi-
nation. “I loved doing miniseries and
movies of the week because that’s where
you could really get your teeth into some-
thing creatively,” says the cinematogra-
pher. “I had a blast shooting an
after-school special for Diane Keaton’s
first narrative film as a director [The Girl
With the Crazy Brother]. I loved working
with her!”
Garcia became an ASC member
on Aug. 9, 1994, after being proposed for Top: Garcia
membership by Society members measures the light
Linwood Dunn, Philip Lathrop and on actor Esai
Morales on the set
Steven B. Poster. He notes that it was of Rainy Day
through a chance encounter with young Friends. Middle:
Italian cinematographer (and future Garcia on set for
an AT&T
ASC member) Vittorio Storaro that he commercial in
came to know Dunn and Lathrop, both 1987. Bottom: The
ASC legends. He explains, “I met cinematographer
poses with a
Vittorio around 1980, when he came to Panavision camera.
California to complete scenes for Warren
Beatty’s Reds. A producer, Marty
Hornstein [known for his work on the]
Star Trek [franchise], had hired me to
shoot ‘Washoe,’ the signing chimpanzee,

www.theasc.com February 2017 67

◗ Shot From the Heart

Clockwise from top left: Director/actor Rob

Morrow and Garcia on set for the “Growin’ Up”
episode of the series Numb3rs; the
cinematographer hangs loose on set for the series
Hawaii Five-0; Garcia takes a seat on the process
stage for Hawaii Five-0.

because it takes a little time. I watched

Phil place all these lights with no diffu-
sion, we got to talking, and he took me
under his wing. This was at a time when
a lot of cameramen never shared their
secrets — and I didn’t know any
cameramen, to tell you the truth. Who
was going to teach me? I’d learned
whatever I could by doing some pretty
flat-looking films at a rate of one every
year-and-a-half. By the time I got
another feature, I’d forgotten what I’d
learned on the last one! But Storaro,

Numb3rs photo by Cliff Lipson, courtesy of CBS Broadcasting Inc.

giving birth for Robert Towne’s production-design. I did get to shoot Dunn and Lathrop all took the time to
[planned Tarzan film], and Storaro was one week of pickups for Francis, with talk to me. Storaro and Dunn, espe-
shooting tests for Robert. Vittorio and I Teri Garr, Nastassja Kinski and Fred cially, changed my whole philosophy
met and became good friends when we Forrest. It was amazing!” about cinematography.”
discovered we’d both been studying the At the time, Dunn was serving as Garcia recalls a seminal moment
psychology of color and reading some of a special-effects consultant at Zoetrope, when he showed Storaro a short film he
the same books. and Lathrop was brought in to apply his had shot a few years earlier: “I was hired
“When Coppola began prepping hard-light expertise to an experimental to shoot a car-by for a film, and had
One From the Heart,” Garcia continues, short for Coppola, who was testing 2,000 feet of Fujifilm stock left over, as
“Vittorio asked me to help him put nascent high-definition digital tech- well as an Angenieux 25-250mm
together a crew — he couldn’t bring all nologies. “Lin Dunn was like a god to zoom, an Arri IIC, a tripod and an
his key crew over from Italy — and me, and he was still pin-sharp at 90,” OConnor head for the rest of a week-
producer Gray Frederickson hired me as says Garcia. “I just peppered him with end — so I called two friends and
his standby cinematographer. I spent a questions, and he answered them. The decided to make a short. I made up an
year at Zoetrope, earning my ‘master’s same was true of Phil Lathrop, who was abstract story about two strangers, one
degree’ watching Storaro shoot, a black-and-white hard-light master. I from the 1920s and one from the
Coppola direct and Dean Tavoularis was never a hard-light cameraman 1960s, who meet in a [time warp]. We

68 February 2017 American Cinematographer

◗ Shot From the Heart
heels for that group,” says Garcia. “It’s
what the ASC is truly about: art, tech-
nology and fellowship. The committee
is mostly engineers, very few camera-
men, and they all come in, take off their
‘company’ hats, roll up their sleeves, and
work on digital-camera and post stan-
dards for the industry. Curtis has done
Right: Garcia an amazing job with it; I think the
shreds a light-
stand-turned-air- committee’s work is helping the entire
guitar while on motion-picture industry.”
set in Tanzania As part of his work for the
in 2014.
Below: The Technology Committee, Garcia co-
cinematographer produced the first ASC-DCI Standard
surrounded by Evaluation Material project, which
his crew on
location in 2015. established and documented voluntary
specifications for an open architecture
for digital cinema. As chair of a subcom-
mittee, he developed a “connectivity
manual” — with visual-concept assis-
tance from cinematographer Tim Kang
and graphic designer Ben Michaels —
that explained the Academy Color
Encoding System, a device-independent
color-management and image-inter-
change system that can be applied to
almost any current or future workflow.
The manual depicted the ACES inter-
face from camera to theatrical projec-
tion. The charts were completed and
presented to the Tech Committee.
Garcia has since taken up sculpt-
ing, working on his art in Taos, N.M. In
addition, last fall he volunteered to
mentor film students at the University of
New Mexico and taught visual-arts and
cinematography fundamentals to
teenagers at a local charter school. He
remains open to stepping behind the
camera again if an inspiring indie should
come along. “I stayed in television until
my daughter, my fifth child, finished
college, and once she did, I realized I had
went out to Pasadena and shot it all the heart.’ I was really changed by that. earned some ‘me’ time — so I now enjoy
available-light. I couldn’t afford to soup It freed me to experiment with what my making my personal art. When I shoot
it, so I put it in the closet. Two years later, photography should be, and from then again, I want to work with young film-
I had it souped, cut it together, added a on, I got a lot of work — thanks to Art makers, and I want it to be an indepen-
soundtrack and started knocking on Tostado.” dent project. I want to have fun like I did
doors. Art Tostado at CFI had snip- Garcia’s contributions to the when I was a snot-nosed filmmaker with
tested and color corrected it for me. ASC include 10 years of service on the a small crew, and everyone was there
When I brought it to Zoetrope and Technology Committee, chaired by because we all loved what we were
showed it to Storaro, he said, ‘Ron, this is Curtis Clark, ASC. “It was Steve Poster doing.” ●
beautiful. Don’t copy anybody. This who encouraged me to volunteer for the
movie is from the heart; you shoot from Tech Committee, and I fell head over

70 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 French
Evolution
Philippe Rousselot, ASC, AFC is honored with the
Society’s International Award for decades of cinematic artistry.
By Iain Marcks

•|•

72 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 Opposite: French cinematographer Philippe Rousselot, ASC, AFC studies the light. This page, left: ASC associate Douglas Kirkland’s portrait of
Rousselot for Kodak’s “On Film” campaign. Right: Rousselot considers a setup.

I
n the May 1989 issue of American because it’s a gift. The ASC Award is a would be horrified by the state of the
Photo on p. 72 by David James. Photos on p. 73 by ASC associate Douglas Kirkland (left) and Zade Rosenthal, SMPSP (right).

Cinematographer, contributor Nora very serious award because it comes world today.”
Lee wrote the following about from your colleagues, people who really In the mid-1950s Rousselot
Philippe Rousselot, ASC, AFC’s understand cinematography. I’m very attended a winter ski camp where
camerawork on the Stephen Frears film grateful and honored.” Weimar-era German expressionist,
Dangerous Liaisons: “Rousselot doesn’t Rousselot has seen much through postwar Italian neorealist, and American
believe that a cameraman should draw the lens of his camera, during a storied classic films were screened for a small
attention to himself or to his work. The career that spans continents (The audience of movie buffs, of which
better a cameraman is, the fainter his Emerald Forest, The Bear), time Rousselot was the youngest. Also shown
signature becomes.” The cinematogra- (Interview With the Vampire, The Nice were several films by the French poet-
pher himself added, “When you start Guys), other worlds (Charlie and the director Jean Cocteau, including Beauty
your career you want to show off what Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Beasts and and the Beast (photographed by Henri
you can do. You want people to be able to Where to Find Them) and the afterlife Alekan, another International Award
see the result of your work. As you grow (Constantine). Thinking back to his first honoree) and Testament of Orpheus
older you want to come on the set, do feature film as a cinematographer — (photographed by Roland Pontoizeau).
your job, and have people hardly notice 1970’s Le Clair de Terre, for French The 11-year-old Rousselot was
that you’ve even been there.” director Guy Gilles — Rousselot notes, enchanted. “These films made me aware
Thirty-three films later, Rousselot’s “When you first embark on a journey, that a medium existed between the story
contributions to cinema have once again you know nothing. It can be both a and the audience,” he recalls, “that the
propelled him into the spotlight, as the curse and a blessing, depending how you light and camera angles were chosen and
All images courtesy of Philippe Rousselot, ASC, AFC.

American Society of Cinematographers manage to survive.” decided upon through a work process
honors him with the 2017 International Rousselot’s journey began long — hence the presence of people respon-
Award. First bestowed in 1992 to British before he even conceived of picking up sible for these kinds of decisions.” In
cinematographer Freddie Young, BSC, a camera. He grew up in Lorraine, part essence, he realized that “there was
the award recognizes an esteemed camer- of the northeastern region of France someone behind the camera.”
aperson whose creative taste and body of that borders Germany, Belgium and It was a galvanizing experience
work bridge both language and geograph- Luxembourg. The cinematographer for Rousselot, and soon after, he
ical divides. recalls the postwar industrial landscape resolved to become a filmmaker. “I read
“Awards are both the best thing of his childhood as drab, war-torn and anything I could find that related to
and the worst thing depending on how hastily rebuilt, without a history of its cinema, from Sergei Eisenstein’s Film
you take them,” says Rousselot. “My feel- own. His French father was a lawyer and Form and Film Sense to Cahiers du
ing is that there are two dangers: One is his Russian mother a writer-translator. Cinéma,” he reminisces. “I lured my
to take it seriously, because it boosts your Rousselot describes his parents as parents into driving for miles to distant
ego. The other is to not take it seriously, “open-minded, secular intellectuals who towns to see every possible film.” ➣

www.theasc.com February 2017 73

◗ French Evolution
films, indie features, and no-budget
avant-garde art projects, after which
Rousselot ventured behind the camera
Right: Director to shoot small features like Le Clair de
Stephen Frears Terre and Absences Répétées. At the same
and Rousselot
on set for
time, he began working as a clapper
Dangerous loader for a more established cine-
Liaisons. matographer: future ASC member
Below: The
cinematographer
Néstor Almendros.
at work on “Before I met Néstor, I saw La
Interview With Collectionneuse, and I was stunned,”
the Vampire.
Rousselot recalls. “It did not look like
anything else, and it looked beautiful.
You could not see how it was lit, even if
it had been lit at all — and still, it had to
have been. Néstor came from Cuba,
from the documentary world, and he
wasn’t affected by the traditions that
dominated commercial cinema. When
other directors of photography would
use 15 lamps and twice as many flags,
Nestor would use one lamp and a white
sheet. He would invent his own ways of
lighting based on observation and logic.
On top of that, he was intelligent,
cultured and had great taste.”
While working as an assistant
for Almendros on My Night at
Maud’s, Claire’s Knee and Chloe in the
Afternoon — all directed by Éric
Rohmer — Rousselot continued to
moonlight as a cinematographer in his
Rousselot then attended the moving the camera had to be discarded own right, at one point shooting
School of Vaugirard — one of France’s because now it could all be invented on cosmetic and fashion advertisements
two official state universities for cinema. the run.” for fashion-model-turned-photogra-
“The good things I learned at school I In the late 1960s, the state-owned pher/director Sarah Moon. “Sarah has
learned in reverse, by questioning the Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision a fantastic world of her own and was
rules and finding solutions through their Française (ORTF) produced documen- often given a blank check to imagine,
complete opposite,” he says. Rousselot tary content with a focus on sociological write and shoot her work,” Rousselot

Interview With the Vampire photo by François Duhamel.

and his classmates were instructed to interests; this attracted the attention of says. “Working with her taught me
follow the more formal patterns of think- many forward-thinking directors, jour- how to light a face, and it taught me
ing about lighting and camerawork, nalists and cameramen, including an obsessive attention to detail.”
which Rousselot — who ultimately Rousselot. Shortly after leaving The 1970s were an interesting
dropped out of the program — found Vaugirard, he found work with a small time in France, as Rousselot explains.
impossible to apply in practice, especially company that loaned crew and equip- “Society does not evolve in a linear fash-
at a time when the craft of cinematogra- ment to ORTF, as an assistant to a ion,” he says. “It shows crests and
phy was rapidly changing in France. Spanish news cameraman named troughs, like light-waves. This period
“This was an historical moment, Francisco Espressate. “There must have was more like a trough, with an older
in fact,” Rousselot notes. “The Éclair 16 been a short supply of people,” Rousselot generation ebbing along in a traditional
had just come out — the first silent, reflects, “because all I was asked in my way of making films.”
portable movie camera, which you could interview was if I owned a changing bag The civil unrest of May 1968 not
also sync to a portable sound recorder. and possessed a driver’s license.” only ground the French economy to a
So everything we had been told in His apprenticeship under standstill, but altered the way people
school about lighting and exposure and Espressate led to assistant work on short thought about and engaged with poli-

74 February 2017 American Cinematographer

tics, society and culture. The Nouvelle
Vague of Rohmer, Godard, Chabrol,
Rivette, and their peers at Cahiers du
Cinéma had laid waste to established
concepts of formalism and, along with
their “policy of authors,” paved the way
for a renewed interest in cinematogra-
phy as a singular art form. New cameras
and faster film stocks with better color
response meant more features were
being shot in color. “French cinema was
just waiting for a new generation of
cinematographers,” says Rousselot.
It was also in the 1970s that
Rousselot started to grow his reputa-
tion as a feature-film cinematographer
with a distinctive and unorthodox
approach to the craft. “Diabolo Menthe
was a huge commercial success and got
me a bankable reputation,” he recalls.
“On others, such as Paradiso and Pour
Clémence, I started playing with colors
in a way that was unusual at the time,
which led to my being asked by J.J.
Beineix to shoot Diva.”
Filmed in 1981, Diva is a crime
thriller about a young Parisian motorcy-
cle courier who secretly records the
performance of a famous American
opera singer, only to find himself a
target of criminal bootleggers, corrupt
police and murderous cartel henchmen.
Famous for its energy, inventiveness,
and a thrilling motorcycle chase through
the Paris Métro, Diva was later land-
marked by film scholar Raphaël Bassan
in La Revue du Cinéma as the beginning
of the cinema du look movement, in
which young directors such as Beineix,
Luc Besson and Leos Carax put a
premium on style and spectacle.
Rousselot is reluctant to slap a
label on his work, and denies employing
a particular cinematographic style. His
loyalty is to the story, and “Diva was a
funny, unusual script, full of visual foot-
notes and gorged with ambition,”
Rousselot says. “[On set] we exagger-
ated everything — every color, every
move. The reception went way beyond
our expectations, and even though the
European critics reviled the film — its
look, everything — in the U.S. they
loved it.” ➣
◗ French Evolution
John Boorman on The Emerald Forest
and Hope and Glory marked another
step in the cinematographer’s creative
Right, from left: evolution. “John set challenges which
Director Robert seemed at first sight unachievable and
Redford,
Rousselot and a did not leave you any exit, but he also
crewmember on trusted you and gave you the means to
location for A find your way,” Rousselot says.
River Runs
Through It. “Hope and Glory was the first time
Below: I used China balls,” the cinematogra-
Rousselot pher adds, “which were smaller versions
checks his meter
while working of the homemade space light I was
on Planet of the already using. I also started using
Apes (2001). dimmer boards to light complicated
camera moves.” Boorman’s nostalgic
portrait of suburban English life on the
cusp of World War II won the 1987
BSC Award for Best Cinematography,
and also garnered Rousselot his first
Academy Award nomination.
In 1988, he won an ASC Award
for Outstanding Cinematography in a
Theatrical Release for Jean-Jacques
Annaud’s The Bear. He was nominated
for the BAFTA Award for Best
Cinematography with 1988’s Dangerous
Liaisons, and he won an Oscar in 1993
for the camerawork in Robert Redford’s
epic ode to early 20th-century
Americana, A River Runs Through It.
(Ever eager to deflect attention away
from himself, he joked at the time, “Did
I win the award, or did Montana?”) He
Rousselot won a César award for shot in the dark, then the light will rise, would receive another César in 1995 for
Diva’s cinematography in 1982. Four and we will see.’ This experience led me La Reine Margot, a meaningful recogni-
years later, he would win the award to a simpler attitude about my work.” tion for a film he is particularly fond of.
again, for a very different kind of And rather than be defined by a To this day, Rousselot gratefully
photography in Alain Cavalier’s particular style or technique, Rousselot credits the collaborators with whom he
Thérèse. In her introduction to the prefers to think in terms of taste. “It is shares authorship of the film image —
film’s British television premiere, difficult to describe taste, especially one’s directors, actors, set designers, props and
British historian Marina Warner own,” he opines. “It is all in the details. I locations people — for any plaudits he A River Runs Through It photo by François Duhamel.
observed that “the film’s restrained tend to never use backlight unless it is receives. “Cinematographers are not
spectrum, its dove grays, bisters, waxy totally justified. I like when foreground painters with blank canvasses,” he
whites, recall the quiet images Gwen and background blend into each other, remarks. Yet in spite of a holistic sensi-
John painted in Normandy of nuns and I try to leave in the dark whatever I tivity to the details of his craft — or
reading, praying.” She attributes this dislike or deem unnecessary to the story. perhaps because of it — his work
accomplishment to Cavalier, while I wish I could achieve something as continues to be singled out for the atten-
almost exactly describing the creative beautiful as the light in early Italian tion and appreciation of filmmakers and
tastes of the film’s cinematographer. Renaissance painting — so simple, no film buffs around the world. Unwilling
“In Thérèse, we did not want the effect, no artificial drama, so strong.” to account for anyone’s taste other than
light to indicate anything, to produce Rousselot notes that alterations to his own, the cinematographer offers,
any effect, or to aim at emotions,” says his personal taste are often influenced by “Cinema is cinema in all countries.” ●
Rousselot. “On the first day of prep, the people he works with, and his two-
Alain told me, ‘We will start the first film collaboration with English director

76 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 Energy
and
Presidents Award honoree
Nancy Schreiber, ASC
chooses art before gear and

Instinct
steadfastly supports the
next generation
of filmmakers.
By Patricia Thomson

•|•

“I
like being physically active, which is why I’m so
glad I didn’t become a psychologist. I would not
have been able to sit still,” says Nancy Schreiber,
ASC, over tea in her New York loft. This year’s
winner of the ASC’s Presidents Award is indeed
crackling with energy. Yesterday she flew in from Los
Angeles, where she keeps another flat; today she
spontaneously joined the anti-Trump demonstrators
marching past her building; and tomorrow she flies to
Poland for Camerimage, where she’ll participate in
the Forum on Diversity in Cinematography
— which will include a screening of the trailer for
Women of Light, a documentary about women cine-
matographers in which she is featured.
That energy is reflected in her filmography,
with more than 100 credits as director of photogra-
phy, plus another 40 as operator, gaffer and electri-
cian. But between the lines are her essential traits:
grit, which enabled her to bushwhack her way into a
predominately male field, and a desire to help others,
especially women treading the same path. As a film
electrician, Schreiber was the first female gaffer in
New York’s NABET Local 15, and she was the
fourth woman in the ASC and served on its board for
seven years. She has mentored countless students and
sponsored aspiring ASC and ICG members. “I’ve
made it my mission to support these qualified women
and get them in,” she says. It’s a personal mandate
that has earned her Women in Film’s Kodak Vision
Award, ICG’s Kodak Cinematography Mentor of
the Year honor, and the gratitude of many women
and men.
And Schreiber wasn’t kidding about that
psychology career. In high school, she recalls, “I was
working with underprivileged kids in the inner city of
Detroit and thought I’d be a social worker.” She
majored in psychology at the University of Michigan,
but her minor was art history — a natural fit, with her
mother being a docent at the Detroit Institute of

78 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 Arts, her father a home-movie buff, and
her high school affiliated with the
Cranbrook Academy of Art. Those years
were filled with ceramics, modern dance,
music (she sneaked out to hear Joni
Mitchell at a coffee house at age 14), and
fledgling efforts at photography (one
project: again sneaking out, this time
after the Detroit riot of 1967 to photo-
graph the devastation.)
Also in high school, Schreiber
spent a seminal four months as a
foreign-exchange student near
Amsterdam, whose museums drew her
like a magnet. “Seeing the masters —
Photo on p. 78 by Bruce Birmelin. Photos on p. 79 by Peter Polymenakos (top) and Erin Brown (bottom). All images courtesy of Nancy Schreiber, ASC.

Rembrandt, Vermeer — and how they

use light, I was very affected by it.” And
even while studying psychology, the arts
remained a draw. She took a photogra-
phy course and shot “crazy black-and-
white, arty abstracts,” she says. Through
her involvement in the burgeoning
women’s movement, she helped on film
projects, where her interest in the techni-
cal side began. She also ran a theater for
the Ann Arbor Film Co-Op. “We
showed all the Nouvelle Vague and
Italian directors, but the only time we
made money was on Bergman and Marx
Brothers films. That theater was my film
education.”
Schreiber followed a boyfriend to
New York and landed in a Greenwich
Village sublet on the corner of Bleecker
and MacDougal. “It was the center of all Opposite: Society member Nancy Schreiber is the recipient of this year’s ASC Presidents Award.
the insanity of hippiedom and activism. This page, top: Schreiber measures the light while handholding the camera. Bottom: The
I had to fight my way to the front door.” cinematographer operates on a recent shoot.
She loved New York and stayed.
A crash course in film proved she learned quickly under gaffer Marty junket across China in 1973, a year after
pivotal. “The students were a few Andrews and cinematographer Bob Richard Nixon’s historic trip. “We took
Vietnam vets and myself,” Schreiber Baldwin, and had her epiphany: “I found 70 cases of equipment, because there was
says. “I’m thankful for my teacher, Jim I had an aptitude. I realized that cine- nothing there,” says Schreiber, who
Pasternak. He was totally inspiring. I just matography was so much about light, served as gaffer and periodically took
picked up a movie camera, took risks which tied in with the art I’d seen all my over AC duties. “I learned how to load
— and caught the bug.” life — and I just fell into this exciting mags. In those days, a lot of documen-
A Village Voice ad led to her first world without looking back. It’s weird taries didn’t have gaffers, so I’d usually do
film job: “Production assistant, $50 a how these things happen.” both.”
week. They wanted someone with a van” A year later, Schreiber was Throughout the 1970s and ’80s,
— which her roommates happened to recruited to work with co-directors Schreiber mixed it up, doing electric for
have — “so I got hired.” The movie, a Shirley MacLaine and Claudia Weill on features, gaffing on documentaries and
political satire called The Werewolf of The Other Half of the Sky: A China commercials, and operating camera. She
Washington, was so understaffed that Memoir. Nominated for an Oscar and credits producer-director Mark
Schreiber ended up working as best-boy Golden Globe, the documentary follows Obenhaus with giving her that push.
electric. “I had no experience. Zip.” But a women’s group on their kaleidoscopic She’d gaffed on his vérité series Six

www.theasc.com February 2017 79

◗ Energy and Instinct
American Families, and the working rela-
tionship continued. One gig, a commer-
cial to promote Pippin on Broadway, was
directed by Bob Fosse. “Mark was the
cinematographer, and as he came out of
documentaries, I was able to show my
stuff by lighting gorgeous sets and
talented dancers,” Schreiber says. When
Obenhaus emerged from dailies, to
which she was not invited, he told her,
“‘Nancy, you’ve got to start shooting,’”
Schreiber recalls. He began loaning her
his 16mm camera. Another early
supporter — who lent her lights — was
gaffer Bobby Vercruse (a.k.a. Bobby V.),
who owned film trucks and hired her as
an electrician. She cut her teeth on
student shorts.
The first camera Schreiber
purchased was an Éclair NPR, followed
by an Aaton. In order to break into docu-
mentary shooting — then the only path
for female cinematographers — she
directed and shot her own film, Possum
Living, about Dolly Freed, author of the
eponymous cult classic on being jobless
and living off the land. “I needed to have
a reel to show that I could shoot hand-
held, since I had only shot narratives,” she
says. “But then the film went through the
roof on the festival circuit! It played with
Lee Grant’s Willmar 8 in New
Directors/New Films. That was a huge
deal, but it was not easy at that time to be
accepted as a director/cinematographer.”
By the 1990s, her phone was regu-
larly ringing. One project involved a new
technology called “high definition.”
Japanese public broadcasting organiza-
tion NHK was looking for a way to intro-
duce HD to the U.S., and teamed up
with the American Film Institute. Their
first documentary, 1992’s Visions of Light,
would cleverly put the technology —
specially shipped in from Japan, along
with the engineers — smack in the face
of the world’s greatest cinematographers
by using HD cameras for their inter-
views. Schreiber remembers them being
curious, but a bit skeptical. “They’d come
in the trailer and say, ‘Oh, that’s interest-
Top: Schreiber finds an angle in West Virginia. Middle: The cinematographer at work on one of ing.’ But nobody wanted to shoot it. The
her many documentary credits. Bottom: Schreiber and crew on set for the feature Butter (1998). camera system was so unwieldy; the elec-
tronics were in a large trailer, and you

80 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 Above: Dolly Freed steps in front of the camera for the documentary Possum Living, which
Schreiber both shot and directed. Right: The cinematographer at work in Louisiana.

needed a lot of light. The camera was recalls Meg Ryan in Cheryl Hines’ ship. “I remember showing work and
physically hot, and it had a cord several Serious Moonlight: “She was sitting on a being interviewed and being incredibly
inches thick running out to the trailer, couch with a mirror looking at the light- nervous. I was worried about getting in
where the Japanese engineers would be.” ing! These leading ladies know how to with my ‘little indie movies.’”
Co-directors Stuart Samuels and Todd light themselves. I’d always try to make it It was in fact a little indie
McCarthy were thrilled to conduct in- right before they came to set, so they movie, shot on MiniDV no less, that
depth interviews, thanks to the camera’s would never complain.” won Schreiber a Sundance Film Festival
ability to run uninterrupted for an hour, In the 1990s Schreiber began Cinematography Award — Greg
but Schreiber just remembers the baking getting dramatic-feature work. Among Harrison’s November (AC May ’04),
heat. “The interviews were extensive and her personal favorites from that decade: produced by InDigEnt, an early cham-
I was fascinated listening to my idols, but Chain of Desire, a La Ronde-type indie pion of digital cinema. “InDigEnt had
I had a hard time not keeling over from that netted her an Independent Spirit a great model of small digital movies
the heat,” she relates. But on this and her Awards nomination; the jazz movie Lush with great actors,” Schreiber notes.
next NHK HD project, Route 66 — Life, which starred Jeff Goldblum and “Crewmembers received the same rate,
which employed the same camera — she Forest Whitaker and was loaded with $100 per day, but we saw back-end —
applied lessons learned from earlier musical numbers by Lennie Niehaus; and I still get small deferral checks to this
Betacam work. Using low light, long Neil LaBute’s sophomore outing Your day.” This was actually Schreiber’s second
lenses and wide apertures, “I tried to trick Friends & Neighbors; and Ann Hu’s Sundance award, the first of which she
the camera to be more filmic, and to not period drama Shadow Magic, which took shared for the documentary My
look like video,” she explains. “This did Schreiber back to China. America... or Honk If You Love Buddha.
not make the engineers too happy, and The 1990s also brought her back November, starring Courteney
they kept saying, ‘More light!’” to Detroit for her first shoot there: an Cox, was Schreiber’s first experience with
The work accelerated. “I knew MTV video of Aretha Franklin. Her Panasonic’s AG-DVX100, the
how to light and shoot people, so I kept mother came to watch her work for the company’s then-new 24p camcorder.
getting hired for that — in particular, [to first time, and remarked, “‘There sure are “The camera was so inexpensive that we
Possum Living photo by Lisa Rinzler.

shoot] women.” She adds, “Kevin Bacon a lot of men.’ She had absolutely no idea could take it scouting and test on the
found and hired me to light his wife, what I did,” Schreiber recalls with a spot,” the cinematographer says. Seeing
Kyra [Sedgwick], when he directed laugh. “All she knew was there was a lot the movie projected on the giant Eccles
Loverboy.” On the Emmy-nominated of travel, it was very unstable, and she screen at Sundance, however, made her
The Celluloid Closet, she crossed paths sure wished I’d get a ‘real’ job.” cringe, though she opines that it ulti-
again with Shirley MacLaine. First thing Two years later, in 1995, Society mately didn’t matter. “I got the award,”
the actress said was, “Nancy, I know members John Alonzo, Adam Holender she says, “but I’ll never forget how horri-
you’ll keep that camera high and the key and Steven Poster successfully recom- ble early digital projection was. It is
light low, right?” Similarly, Schreiber mended Schreiber for ASC member- funny to think that I chose to bake in the

www.theasc.com February 2017 81

 ◗ Energy and Instinct
television. “I photographed many pilots
in the mid- to late-2000s, such as USA’s
While shooting a
PBS series on In Plain Sight,” she notes. “Pilots were
abstract fun. There was more time and you could
expressionism, set the look, but I didn’t really much
Schreiber
(bottom right) think about doing episodic television
captures an until The Comeback,” a 2005 HBO
exchange pseudo-reality show featuring Lisa
between Dustin
Hoffman (seated) Kudrow as an ex-A-lister trying to
and Steven rekindle her career. “All my documentary
Spielberg, with handheld experience was very useful,”
Willem de
Kooning in the says Schreiber, who picked up after
background. Clark Mathis’ pilot. “I still think it’s bril-
liant, but ahead of its time.”
Schreiber’s recent series have
look on November using an extreme color can. I’m more of an instinctual cine- included the Web series Blue, Lifetime’s
palette. Today, we never bake in the look; matographer. I’m not one who has to The Client List, and — just last year
[we shoot] raw or log. But I wanted to have all the new toys. It concerns me that — FX’s Better Things and ABC’s politi-
make sure my palette would carry so many young people focus so much on cal thriller The Family, the latter of
through distribution.” the technology and not the art.” which was created and executive
Schreiber considers herself an Schreiber is also “camera agnostic. I use produced by former ShondaLand writer
early adopter — open to what’s new — them all — Arri, Sony, Panasonic, Jenna Bans. “The Family was quite edgy
but doesn’t fetishize gear. “Certainly, I Canon, Red and Panavision.” for ABC, and I got to do some interest-
did embrace all the technologies coming Alongside features and documen- ing work,” says Schreiber, who alternated
along, but I’ll still shoot film as often as I taries, Schreiber has done her share of episodes with James Chressanthis, ASC,

82
GSC, after Fabian Wagner, BSC shot forced out of their homes; and Jeff she says. “When I started shooting in
the pilot. Bans praises Schreiber’s strong Grace’s music-infused Folk Hero & New York, I always had women assis-
vision and “her truly collaborative nature Funny Guy. This spring, Schreiber heads tants. This seemed to raise a lot of
and desire to create the best shot — and to England to shoot another directorial eyebrows, but I never even gave it a
show — possible,” the producer says. debut: John Meyer’s Being Dead, based second thought.”
“The fact that she’s a blast to be around on the bestseller about the murder of Schreiber has mentored, then
after 12 hours of shooting is just a bonus. husband-and-wife scientists. hired, men and women from AFI as well
The cast loved her, the crew loved her, The fact that there is starting to be as Film Independent’s Project Involve.
and incoming directors felt instantly at an increase in female directors is encour- One mentee, Marie Chao, worked her
ease.” aging to Schreiber, who has also shot for way up the union ladder — starting as a
Schreiber hopes to keep shooting Katherine Dieckmann, Cheryl Dunye, loader until she was operating on
television. “Even though it’s tight for Barbara Kopple and Anne Heche. November. As Schreiber observes,
time,” she notes, “you have larger crews Encouraging, too, is the improvement in “There are some wonderfully talented
and more money for gear than on small the ASC’s numbers: Compared to four women coming up in grip and electric,
indie movies. Having said that, I like the women being admitted in the 1990s and and I think our women ACs are top-
intimacy of indie movies and I still do three in the 2000s, seven have gained notch. Having said that, I really like
like to shoot them.” entry since 2010. “The times are chang- creating a lovely balance on my sets with
Indeed, Schreiber was recently in ing, which is so gratifying,” she notes. women and men.”
Trinidad shooting Moving Parts, a film “But we want to be recognized not as As for her latest achievement, she
about sex trafficking by first-time direc- women cinematographers, but as cine- says, “This business can be really diffi-
tor Emilie Upczak. Other features shot matographers who happen to be cult, but there’s nothing more rewarding
by Schreiber and opening this year women.” than being recognized by your peers —
include Amy Glazer’s Kepler’s Dream, a For her part, Schreiber has always so even getting into the ASC, and then
young-adult film; Rosemary Rodriguez’s been proactive about giving women a leg receiving the Presidents Award, is simply
Silver Skies, about a group of retirees up. “I know how challenging it can be,” mind-boggling.” ●
 New Products & Services
• SUBMISSION INFORMATION •
Please e-mail New Products/Services releases to
newproducts@ascmag.com and include full contact
information and product images. Photos must be
TIFF or JPEG files of at least 300dpi.

Sony Enhances FS7 Camera pounds. The 6x zoom, with an 18-110 focal range, uses a new,
Sony has expanded its FS Series Super 35mm professional fully mechanical/servo zoom switchable system that is capable of
family with the addition of the FS7 snap zooms and entirely devoid of lag. The lens is compatible
II camcorder. The new model with Sony’s Alpha Mount System cameras, including the a7
builds on the original FS7’s series interchangeable-lens cameras and professional Super
strengths by adding 35mm 4K camcorders such as Sony’s FS7 or FS5.
advanced features The lens benefits from Sony’s Smooth Motion Optics
including Electronic design, which is developed to optimize performance during
Variable ND technology, motion-image capture. This lens design eliminates undesirable
a lever-lock-type E- characteristics and artifacts that do not affect still-image capture
mount, and a new but can severely limit a lens’ usefulness for motion shooting,
mechanical design for faster and such as ramping, loss of focus while zooming, breathing, and
easier setup. The new FS7 II camcorder also supports Sony’s optical axis shift.
Alpha Mount System, which includes more than 70 lenses. The FS7 II supports the XQD memory-card format,
The FS7 II is designed for long-form shooting and produc- designed for capturing and transferring high-bandwidth, high-
tion applications, especially documentaries and independent resolution files. Sony has also introduced the QD-G256E XQD
features. Sony has also introduced an FS7 II kit model, which card — with a 256GB capacity — which enables a recording
includes a new E-mount Super 35mm lens (model SELP18110G) time of approximately 45 minutes at 4K 60p and 3.5 hours at
that covers Super 35mm and APSC sensors. 2K 30p. Combined with a read speed of up to 440MB/s and a
The camcorder’s Electronic Variable ND Filter system, write speed of up to 400MB/s, users can shoot for longer with-
combined with its large sensor, delivers greater exposure control, out needing to change media cards.
with the option of preset or variable operation modes. Variable For additional information, visit www.sony.com/fs7ii.
ND mode allows the user to vary the density of the ND filter
during shooting and to transition seamlessly between steps. The Arri Introduces Master Grips
camera’s expanded ND operations also enable fine exposure Expanding its range of Electronic Control System acces-
adjustment by relegating the iris to set the depth of field, sories, Arri has announced four new Master Grip handgrips,
prevent soft focus caused by diffraction, and prevent color shift which offer fingertip control of Arri and third-party cameras and
caused by stacking multiple external ND filters. Preset mode, lenses when shooting handheld.
useful in selecting the most appropriate filtration range for Increasingly, the previ-
changing light conditions, lets users assign three ND settings to ously separate worlds of cine
the filter turret. Auto ND mode is also available, allowing expo- and documentary equipment
sure to stay at a fixed level while adjusting the depth of field with are merging; additionally, small
iris control. cameras like the Alexa Mini
The FS7 II’s new E-mount gives users the ability to change feature a reduced user inter-
lenses by rotating the locking collar rather than the lens itself. face, requiring external
This means that in most cases lens-support rigs don’t need to be camera controls. Responding
removed, saving time during a production. to these trends, Arri’s Master
The FS7 II also features several design updates for Grips combine effective
comfortable and functional use in the field. The camera’s “tool- camera stabilization with
less” mechanical design lets users make on-the-fly changes to comprehensive lens and
the camera’s setup and operation; for example, no tools are camera control. Lightweight and built to Arri’s quality standards,
required to adjust the Smart Grip or viewfinder positions. The the Master Grips are available in four versions: right-side and
viewfinder eyepiece provides a third stabilizing contact point left-side grips, with either a rocker for super-smooth zooming or
when shooting handheld; durable square section rods and lever- a thumb wheel for iris or focus adjustments.
clamps on the LCD and camera body provide simple and precise Based on the classic Arriflex handgrips, the Master Grips
front-to-back VF adjustment while retaining level positioning. follow a proven ergonomic design. With controls that are easy
The new E-mount Super 35mm lens available with the to reach but still protected from accidental triggering, they allow
FS7 II kit model is compact and lightweight, weighing only 2.4 for prolonged handheld operating without discomfort or strain.

84 February 2017 American Cinematographer

Constructed around a lightweight
magnesium cast housing, the Master
Grips are solid, rugged and reliable.
The Master Grips provide full
control of focus, iris and zoom settings
on cine lenses, including adjustable
motor speed, zoom response and motor
limits. They also offer a comfortable way
to control the integrated servomotors of
ENG and EF lenses (from Alexa
Mini/Amira SUP 5.0 — initially, only iris
support is available for EF lenses).
Mounted on tripod pan arms or studio
pedestal heads, the Master Grips can be
used as focus and zoom controls for
multi-camera setups, such as when using
the Amira in Multicam mode. Camera
control functionality includes user-button
access and record start/stop for Arri and
third-party cameras; the latter requires
the LCUBE CUB-1 accessory, updated
with CUB-1 SUP 2.0.
With an intuitive user interface,
the Master Grips are easy to set up either
via the integrated touch screen or physi-
cal buttons. The controls are fully config-
urable, and a status readout boosts user
confidence, with the multilingual display
allowing menus and status to be read in
English, Chinese, Spanish or German.
Available accessories include the
LCUBE CUB-2, a miniature signal
converter that integrates the 12-pin
Hirose ENG protocol into the LBUS
ecosystem; it provides two options for iris
control: auto-iris from the camera or
manual iris from a Master Grip. Handgrip
extensions are available in three lengths
— 80mm, 160mm and 240mm — and
feature a lightweight 15mm tube design,
a solid-steel Arri rosette, and cable clips.
Pan-arm clamp adapters of various sizes
allow Arri Master Grips to be used on all
common pan arms, including Sachtler,
OConnor and Vinten. The Rod Mounting
Bracket RMB-4 attaches to the top-right
of the Amira body and holds a standard
15mm or 19mm rod; it provides a solid
mount for lens motors while retaining
free back-and-forth movement of the
sliding shoulder pad, viewfinder and
handle for optimized shoulder balance.
Also available is a sturdy, compact
and purpose-designed case that can
safely hold a set of two Master Grips,

85
 three motors, handgrip extensions, Atlanta caters to Georgia’s production and transcoding to OTT fulfillment and
LCUBE converters and cables. A new set community; among other assets, the playout.
of cables, in dedicated lengths and with facility’s showroom displays VER’s propri- The highly configurable orchestra-
angled connectors, provides optimized etary, content-driven LED and green- tion layer within Cubix works with the
cabling solutions for the Master Grips. screen lighting system, which has been asset-management and automation
For additional information, visit used in features such as Gravity and Furi- layers, allowing many different work-
www.arri.com. ous 7. Farther south, VER operates a New flows to be quickly configured and recon-
Orleans camera prep and service facility figured as required. It provides support
VER Preps Cameras Across U.S. in the Elmwood/Jefferson Parish region, for fully automated operation as well as
To support productions shot and VER Camera Miami offers a compre- more complex creative ones. Cubix can
throughout the U.S., VER has invested in hensive technical service department be securely accessed via multiple Web
state-of-the-art camera-prep facilities and with lens calibration, projection and portals for many different use cases, all
increased services across the country. camera maintenance for productions in providing the highest levels of trans-
VER’s Cineverse service remains at the southern Florida. Additionally, a new VER parency and efficiency.
core of each facility, providing expert Chicago recently opened near Midway For additional information about
camera-prep staff, lens technicians, Airport. Kodak’s services, visit
camera engineers and 24/7 technical For additional information, visit www.motion.kodak.com.
support. www.ver.com.
VER’s inventory includes top Space Instruments Launches
professional cameras and lenses, and is Kodak Manages Assets Gear Head in U.S.
backed by an experienced prep and engi- With Ortana Berlin-based engineering com-
neering team that understands real- Kodak has chosen Ortana’s Cubix pany Space Instruments has introduced
world production environments. “Our asset-management and orchestration the latest version of its Gear Head to the
goal is to provide the best equipment platform as the basis of a new service: U.S. market, following years of develop-
combined with deep technical expertise Kodak Media Asset Management Solu- ment and a successful product launch in
in one place, so filmmakers can expand tions. Europe.
their creative vision,” says Vince Pace, Kodak Media Asset Management The compact Gear Head version
ASC, VER’s executive director of camera. Solutions offers a package of service solu- 2.1 measures 15" wide, 8.9" high and
“By offering strategically located hubs tions with end-to-end tailoring, including 14.1" deep, making it easy to transport.
with consistent service and the very best scanning, distribution and long-term digi- It offers a tilt range from +40 to -40
personnel, we find that crews appreciate tal archiving. The new solution allows degrees, and the pan axis can freely
their experiences so much they think of content owners to take advantage of the rotate 360 degrees; the well-balanced
us wherever they’re working.” trusted, dependable format of Kodak hand wheels enable stepless adjustments
VER’s headquarters in Glendale, film in combination with the agility and in all directions, and both axes provide
Calif., houses a new camera-prep facility. flexibility of truly orchestrated workflows brakes to hold the Gear Head in place.
The airy, garage-style design — created for management, augmentation, distrib- The Gear Head is also capable of variable
by JSDA Inc. — provides an expansive ution and archive. speeds in both axes, providing greater
space for camera crews to do thorough The Ortana Cubix platform control for operators; the slow speed has
checkouts of their equipment. Ready for encompasses all the required workflows a gear ratio of 60 turns of the hand
productions of any size, the facility boasts for media management, processing and wheel to 360 degrees, while the fast
20 camera-checkout bays; high-tech lens delivery. It offers a unified configurable speed is 30 turns for 360 degrees.
projection and sensor calibration rooms; platform for easy deployment on site, in Engineers at Space Instruments
video and audio prep; and hospitality and the cloud or both. Every element is have designed the Gear Head with long-
meeting areas, all with easy drive-up designed to be secure, multi-tenanted, lasting, smooth-operating, all-metal
loading. Along with VER Camera, the and file- and format-agnostic. construction, with anodized aluminum
spacious campus offers a state-of-the-art Integral to Cubix is an asset- surfaces and moving parts of brass and
R&D lab, a machine shop to create management layer supporting a wide stainless steel. Weighing only 25 pounds,
custom gear, plus an array of other range of needs, including the ability to the Gear Head can support payloads up
production gear, including lighting, configure content hierarchies and editor- to 55 pounds. It is adaptable to common
audio, rigging and media servers. ial schemas. Cubix also provides full mounts including the Mitchell base and
Opened earlier this year, VER support for workflows based on discrete 100mm and 150mm tripods.
Camera New York’s 18,000-square-foot media such as tape and film. Incorporat- Space Instruments also offers a
West Side space provides easily accessible ing selected market-leading third-party number of accessories, including a Tilt
prep space and an experienced team in software, it can seamlessly drive devices Plate, which can linearly and steplessly be
the heart of Manhattan. VER Camera for applications ranging from bulk ingest adjusted from 0-90 degrees with knurled

86 February 2017 American Cinematographer

 screws to lock it in place; broadcast and streaming, the editor can
two slits on the full mark commercial blacks or credits for
length of the tilt automated processing down the line;
plate allow for the markers in a DCP workflow can indicate
desired positioning intermissions or automatically trigger a
of the camera change in lighting within the theater-
anywhere on the management system at the first frame of
plate with standard the end credits. High-dynamic-range and
¼" screws. The company also offers the wide-color-gamut support is also
Extension/Riser Plate, which provides the included for IMF. Additionally, a new set
operator with much-needed space to of quality-control features have been Orwo Film Offers
maneuver bigger cameras in any possible integrated in order to ensure accuracy of Black-and-White Negative
position without colliding or getting too input materials and encoded IMPs and Owned and operated by Campbell
close to the Gear Head. DCPs. An automatically generated report Representation Inc., Orwo North America
All Space Instruments Gear Heads contains information about image qual- is the exclusive North American represen-
are individually handcrafted in Germany, ity, as well as results of a variety of other tative of Orwo FilmoTec GmbH, manufac-
and the company also offers customized quality-control checks that can be applied turer of Orwo film for cinematography,
production. during media processing; a red or green still photography, sound recording, archiv-
For additional information, visit light gives the user a quick indication on ing and the lab/processing industry.
http://gearhead.space-instruments.org/. whether or not issues were detected. The Orwo name derives from Orig-
The universal IMF exchange format inal Wolfen; the film-manufacturing
Fraunhofer Enhances EasyDCP provides flexibility in handling multiple company was founded in Wolfen,
The Fraunhofer IIS Department of versions of content. Little to no redun- Germany, as an offshoot of the Agfa film
Moving Picture Technologies, a provider dancy is created when adding dubbed or company. FilmoTec revived the brand in
of future-oriented solutions for enhanced subtitled versions; this significantly 1998 and continues to manufacture a
digital-media workflows, has introduced reduces storage space and encoding time. range of Orwo products in the original
its latest innovations for interoperable Well-defined metadata in IMPs, along Orwo film factory in Wolfen.
master format (IMF) workflows with the with transcoding rules from output profile Orwo’s black-and-white camera
EasyDCP Software Suite. With more than lists, allow for the automatic creation of negatives comprise Universal Negative
1,500 licensees worldwide, EasyDCP is a distribution formats — such as H.264 or Film UN 54 (100 ASA) and Negative Film
leading solution for the creation, playback QuickTime — to fit the specific device or N 74 Plus (400 ASA). Both are available in
and quality control of digital cinema pack- screen. This is key for cost- and time-effi- Super 16mm (single and double perfora-
ages (DCP) and interoperable master cient distribution workflows. tion, 100' daylight spools, and 400' and
format packages (IMP), both based on Additionally, Fraunhofer IIS’ Lici 1,000' cans) and 35mm (100', 400' and
ISO and SMPTE standards. codec is now being implemented within 1,000' cans). The company also offers
Among the latest additions to the keyboard/video/mouse solutions. Lici Positive Print Film PF2, in addition to a
software suite is a timeline-based user offers a cost-effective transmission solu- range of duplicating, sound recording,
interface for arranging and editing input tion for remotely used monitors in profes- holographic, leader and specialty films.
materials when composing an IMP or sional image- and movie-production Projects that have been shot with
DCP; no separate editing tool is necessary environments so a lower-cost wire or Orwo film include the short Day of the
to conform the material before importing fiber infrastructure can be used. Also Heist and the feature The Mutineer, both
it into EasyDCP. The software now ideal for use in cameras and other multi- directed and shot by John Jaquish. To
supports markers that indicate certain media applications, Lici reduces image watch the short, visit https://vimeo.com/
events along the editing timeline. For data streams’ bandwidth while maintain- ondemand/dayoftheheist; to see a
example, inside an IMF workflow for ing resolution and dynamic-range trailer for the feature, visit
enhancements. The result is the visually https://vimeo.com/83291158.
lossless transfer of 2K, 4K and 8K content Orwo North America offers a 10-
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systems. For additional information, visit
For additional information, visit www.orwona.com. ●
www.iis.fraunhofer.de and www.easy
dcp.com.

88 February 2017 American Cinematographer

International Marketplace

90 February 2017 American Cinematographer

Classifieds
CLASSIFIED AD RATES EQUIPMENT FOR SALE
All classifications are $4.50 per word. Words set in 4X5 85 Glass Filters, Diffusion, Polas etc. A
bold face or all capitals are $5.00 per word. First
word of ad and advertiser’s name can be set in capi- Good Box Rental 818-763-8547
tals without extra charge. No agency commission or
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tion. Words used are subject to magazine style ab-
breviation. Minimum amount per ad: $45 www.visualproducts.com Call 440.647.4999

www.theasc.com February 2017 91

 Advertiser’s Index
AC 85 Dattner Dispoto and Associates Red 28-29
Adorama 19, 59 52 Samy’s DV & Edit 39
Agency of Performing Arts Deck of Aces 91 Schneider Optics 2
27 Digital Sputnik Lighting Super16, Inc. 90
AJA 47 Systems 43
Alan Gordon Enterprises 91 DMG 83 Teradek, LLC C2-1
Arri 11, C4 Tiffen 77
Fluotec 75
Arri Rental 41 Friends of the ASC 95 VER-LA 5
ASC Master Class 8
ASC Film Manual 82 Groupe TVA/Mels Studio and Warner Bros. Television Publicity
Post 69 21
B&H Photo-Video-Pro Audio Willy’s Widgets 90
87 Hexolux/Visionsmith 90 www.theasc.com 91, 92
Backstage Equipment, Inc. J.L. Fisher 62
75
Blackmagic Design 13 Kino Flo 53
Camerimage 93 Lee Filters 71
Canon USA C3 Lights! Action! Co. 90
Cavision Enterprises 90 LUX Machina Consulting 51
Chapman/Leonard Mole-Richardson/Studio
Studio Equip. 61 Depot 90
Cinebags, Inc. 91 Movietech AG 90
Cinelease 25
NAB 89
Cinematography
Nila, Inc. 85
Electronics 75
Cinekinetic 90 Outsight Pty Ltd 49
Claire Best 23 P+S Technik Feinmechanik
Cooke Optics 9 Gmbh 90
CW Sonderoptic Gmbh 45 Panasonic System
Communications Co. 7
Panavision Inc. 17
Panther Gmbh 63
PED Denz 91
Pille Filmgeraeteverleih
Gmbh 90
Pro8mm 90

92
 Clubhouse News

Chapman photo courtesy of Camerimage. Prieto photo by Kerry Brown, courtesy of Paramount Pictures. Kline photo by Lee Christian, courtesy of the American Cinematheque.
Society, AC Attend Camerimage matographer-in-Residence at the University
The 24th Camerimage International of California, Los Angeles’ School of
Film Festival recently wrapped in Bydgoszcz, Theater, Film and Television. Prieto’s resi-
Poland. Michael Chapman, ASC received dency, which includes a number of work-
the Lifetime Achievement Award. Greig shops and screenings, began in December
Fraser, ASC, ACS won the festival’s Golden and continues for the remainder of the
Frog for his work on the feature Lion, while 2016-’17 academic year.
Bradford Young, ASC took home the “As cinematographers, we manipu-
Silver Frog for Arrival (AC Dec. ’16) and late light and utilize composition, texture,
Anthony Dod Mantle, ASC, BSC, DFF color and movement in an attempt to
received the Bronze Frog for Snowden. In capture the essence of something very
the First Look - Pilots TV Competition, elusive: emotional truth,” Prieto says. “Our

Photo of Clubhouse by Isidore Mankofsky, ASC; lighting by Donald M. Morgan, ASC.

Robert Elswit, ASC won for The Night Of, goal is to transport the viewer into
“The Beach.” Numerous ASC members emotional states that feel authentic and
were also in attendance, and many — palpable. Film negative is an essential tool
including Dod Mantle, Larry Fong, Jacek for cinematographers to reproduce the
Laskus, Suki Medencevic, Roberto subtle nuances of feelings on actors’ faces,
Schaefer, Dante Spinotti, John Toll, as well as to create visual environments to
Checco Varese and Robert Yeoman — embody these emotions. I am deeply
participated in panels or workshops, or honored and very grateful to the UCLA
served on the festival’s juries. Additionally, School of Theater, Film and Television, and
AC senior European correspondent Kodak for naming me Cinematographer-in-
Benjamin B moderated a discussion about Residence.”
the late Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC, HSC with This is the 17th year of the residency
a panel that included AC editor-in-chief and program, which UCLA TFT professor
publisher Stephen Pizzello; Dod Mantle; William McDonald — an ASC associate
Laskus; Dick Pope, BSC; Nancy Schreiber, member — established in 2000. Steve
ASC; and Yeoman. Bellamy, president of motion picture and
entertainment for Eastman Kodak Co., says,
Prieto Named Kodak “The Kodak Cinematographer-in-Residence
Clockwise from top left: ASC members Michael Cinematographer-in-Residence Program is a very important part of our
Chapman, Rodrigo Prieto, Richard H. Kline and at UCLA company’s ethos and history, and we’re
Steve Yedlin.
Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC has honored to continue to support it. Rodrigo
been named the 2016-’17 Kodak Cine- Prieto is an amazing talent and a wonderful

94 February 2017 American Cinematographer

person whose masterful 35mm film
photography … will stand the test of time
like the greatest paintings and statues.
Rodrigo joins an esteemed list of cine-
matographers generous enough to pass on
their incredible knowledge and insight to
the next generation.”

Yedlin Discusses Pixel-Counting

Preoccupation
Steve Yedlin, ASC recently
presented a short demo at the ASC Club-
house, followed by a discussion on the
topic of acquisition and pipeline evaluation
for high-resolution exhibition. Yedlin’s demo
challenges some of the common precon-
ceptions about the correlation between
resolution and perceptual viewing experi-
ence, and it includes footage from six
contemporary cameras, including digital
systems as well as 35mm and 65mm
motion-picture film.

Fraser, McGarvey Enjoy Coffee,

Conversation
The Society recently held two Coffee
& Conversation events at its Clubhouse in
Hollywood, one with Greig Fraser, ASC,
ACS in conversation about the feature Lion,
and the other with Seamus McGarvey,
ASC, BSC discussing his work on Nocturnal
Animals. Both events were moderated by
AC contributor Jim Hemphill.

Kline Joins King Kong Tribute

Richard H. Kline, ASC recently
joined an American Cinematheque tribute
screening of King Kong (1976) at the Aero
Theatre in Santa Monica, Calif. Ray Morton,
author of King Kong: The History of a
Movie Icon, moderated the tribute Q&A,
which featured Kline and makeup artist Rick
Baker. Also participating were Richard
Kraft of Kraft-Engel Management, who
spoke on behalf of the film’s
composer, John Barry; actor Jack O’Hallo-
ran; and Martha De Laurentiis, wife of the
film’s producer, Dino De Laurentiis. ●
 Close-up Cort Fey, ASC

When you were a child, what film made the TV show Fastlane. I credit the show’s regular
strongest impression on you? cinematographer, the immensely talented
I am firmly of the Star Wars generation. I was 7 Nathan Hope, for putting me in that slot.
years old when we spent half the day standing in
a line around the block. Everybody was excited — What has been your most satisfying
it was an event! The communal excitement and moment on a project?
joy of that experience has always stayed with me. The most satisfying moment is when I look back
at the day’s work and feel like we did something
Which cinematographers, past or present, do new. I am always striving for more of those kinds
you most admire? of moments.
As a teen, I watched vintage Seventies movies like
Klute, The Parallax View, All the President’s Men Have you made any memorable blunders?
and The Godfather, all photographed by Gordon Willis [ASC], and Each episode of Cold Case on CBS required a new flashback look
I loved the look. I still find his style strikingly modern and so inter- based on the time-period of the story. One onerous combination
esting. The cinematographers today that make ‘perfect’ seem so was a prison escape through a real cave with flashlights shot on
easy — [ASC members] Robert Elswit, Roger Deakins and 16mm black-and-white reversal film. I just barely missed the
Emmanuel Lubezki. stock’s 3 stops of latitude. All you saw on the screen were white
dots floating on a black screen!
What sparked your interest in photography?
I grew up in Seattle, where my father was an editor and camera- What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received?
man. I’d tag along on his jobs and watch the camera crew in action. ‘Change your shoes at lunch’ — director Fred Toye.
Occasionally, I’d score a tiny on-screen role — my first gig was a milk
commercial when I was 6. In seventh grade, I started taking photos What recent books, films or artworks have inspired you?
and loved the combination of technique and creativity. I am inspired by great buildings, and recently I visited the Oslo
Opera House. It’s this angular glass and marble shell with a curvy
Where did you train and/or study? wood core, all sitting right on the water. It’s open and airy, yet
I majored in history at the University of Pennsylvania, where I was solid and very permanent feeling. The amount of work and
photo editor for The Daily Pennsylvanian. After that, I worked commitment to create such a unique and beautiful building is
alongside my father in Seattle as a production assistant, loader and humbling.
second camera assistant. A year later, I attended the graduate film
program at USC. Do you have any favorite genres, or genres you would like
to try?
Who were your early teachers or mentors? I love action movies. I’ve shot quite a bit of action, but I think it
The Daily Pennsylvanian had a professional and award-winning would be great fun to do a big actioner. James Bond!
photo department, and most of the learning involved senior
photographers teaching the younger ones how to shoot. At USC, I If you weren’t a cinematographer, what might you be
was a student of Robert Estrin, ACE, and later his teaching assistant. doing instead?
Bob was a fantastic editor who taught me a lot about the musicality Perhaps architecture. It’s a career that blends technical thinking
of storytelling and how important rhythm is to individual shots as with a creative eye, much like cinematography.
well as whole sequences.
Which ASC cinematographers recommended you for
What are some of your key artistic influences? membership?
I love how street photography can create so much drama from the Michael Watkins, Michael O’Shea and John Bartley. They’re
mundane world that swirls around us all day. They create composi- talented and kind artists — and I’ll be forever grateful!
tions that focus attention or build drama — all in a moment. My
favorites: Saul Leiter, Vivian Maier and Robert Frank. How has ASC membership impacted your life and career?
It’s impossible to not be inspired and invigorated when
How did you get your first break in the business? surrounded by these people. It’s an incredible opportunity we
I was given the huge opportunity to step up from action-unit cine- have to learn, share and support each other as artists and crafts-
matographer to first-unit for two episodes of the Fox/Warner Bros. people in this difficult and isolating business. ●

96 February 2017 American Cinematographer