Ac Ac1122

November 2022 The International Publication of the American Society of Cinematographers
House of the Dragon
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NOVEMBER 2022 VOL. 103 NO. 11
On Our Cover:
Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) is
chosen by her father, King Viserys (Paddy Con-
Contents
sidine), to be his heir to the Iron Throne in House
of the Dragon. (Photo by Ollie Upton, courtesy
of HBO.)
30
Features
18 Crafting Legacy for House of the Dragon
The show’s visual team creates new looks for the ambitious Game
of Thrones prequel series.
30 Back to the Battlefield

for All Quiet on the Western Front
James Friend, ASC, BSC helps director Edward Berger
reimagine a classic war story.
38 Consummate Professional
Stephen H. Burum, ASC is honored at Camerimage.
42 Evoking Emotion
Polly Morgan, ASC, BSC shares her creative strategies
for Where the Crawdads Sing and The Woman King.
50 5-25-77: An ASC Odyssey

An indie filmmaker achieves his feature dream with assists
42
from the Society and AC.
54 Iconic Indies
ASC members recall their work on breakthrough independent films.
Departments
8 Letter From the President
10 Shot Craft: ASC MHL and FDL
58 Global Village: RRR
62 New Products and Services
68 Clubhouse News
72 Wrap Shot: Beaulieu 4008
VISIT ASCMAG.COM
2 / NOVEMBER 2022
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Stephen Pizzello
WEB DIRECTOR and PUBLISHER

David E. Williams
EDITORIAL
MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Fish
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Max Weinstein
SHOT CRAFT and TECHNICAL EDITOR Jay Holben
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Rachael K. Bosley
VIRTUAL PRODUCTION EDITOR Noah Kadner
WRITER/RESEARCHER Tara Jenkins
ASSOCIATE WEB EDITOR Brian Kronner
CONTRIBUTORS
Benjamin B, John Calhoun, Mark Dillon, Sarah Fensom, Michael Goldman,
David Heuring, Debra Kaufman, Michael Kogge, Iain Marcks, Matt Mulcahey,
Jean Oppenheimer, Phil Rhodes, Patricia Thomson, Peter Tonguette
CREATIVE DIRECTION and DESIGN

Edwin Alpanian
ADVERTISING
ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Angie Gollmann
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SUBSCRIPTIONS, BOOKS and PRODUCTS

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Saul Molina
ASC CEO Terry McCarthy

ASC SPONSORSHIP and EVENTS DIRECTOR Patricia Armacost
CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER Alex Lopez
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER Natalia Quiroz
MEMBERSHIP ADMINISTRATOR Salvador Maldonado
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE and ACCOUNTING Thanh Lai
ACCOUNTING June Mabbun
American Cinematographer (ISSN 0002-7928), established 1920 and in its 103rd 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.
Subscriptions: U.S. $50; Canada/Mexico $70; all other foreign countries $95 a year
(remit international Money Order or other exchange payable in U.S. $).
Advertising: Rate card upon request from Hollywood office. Copyright 2022 ASC Holding Corp. (All rights reserved.)
Periodicals postage paid at Los Angeles, CA and at additional mailing offices. Printed in the USA.
POSTMASTER: Send address change to American Cinematographer, P.O. Box 2230, Hollywood, CA 90078.
4 / NOVEMBER 2022
p. 4-7 Masthead and ASC Board V4.indd 4 10/5/22 2:29 PM

JULY 2022 / 5

THE WORLD’S LEADING
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL American Society of Cinematographers
ON MOTION IMAGING The ASC is not a labor union or a guild,

but an educational, cultural and
DELIVERS THE INSIDE STORY professional organization. Membership is

by invitation to those who are actively en-
OF MODERN CINEMATOGRAPHY.
gaged 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 2022/2023
Stephen Lighthill
President
Amelia Vincent
Vice President
John Simmons
Vice President
Shelly Johnson
Vice President
Steven Poster
Treasurer
Gregg Heschong
Secretary
Christopher Chomyn
Sergeant-at-Arms
MEMBERS
OF THE BOARD
Curtis Clark
Richard Crudo
Steven Fierberg
Michael Goi
Shelly Johnson
From new camera systems and lighting options to the creative Ed Lachman
use of virtual-production methods, American Cinematographer Patti Lee
examines the latest tools and techniques, while maintaining Charlie Lieberman
sharp focus on essential creative collaborations and the Stephen Lighthill
Lowell Peterson
artistry of visual storytelling. Lawrence Sher
John Simmons
• Print Edition – Learn from the best John Toll
and build your permanent reference collection Amelia Vincent
• Digital Edition – Access AC magazine content Robert Yeoman
anywhere you are while on the go ALTERNATES
• AC Archive – Dive deep into more than John Bailey
100 years of information and inspiration Eric Steelberg
Jim Denault
Patrick Cady
Dana Gonzales
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
MUSEUM CURATOR
store.ascmag.com/collections/subscriptions Steve Gainer
6 / NOVEMBER 2022

THE
POWER
OF RED
“To me RED is much more than just
a camera; it’s about the relationships.
The support of Jim, Jarred and the
RED team over the last fifteen years
has meant so much to me. Not just as
a cinematographer, but as a person.”
Steven Meizler
Director of Photography
www.RED.COM
JULY 2022 / 7

Letter From the President
PHOTO BY LIAM STRONG, COURTESY OF JACKSON WILD.

PORTRAIT BY MICHAEL M. PESSAH, ASC.
Stephen Lighthill, ASC (top row, third from left), Paul Atkins, ASC (second from right),
and ASC CEO Terry McCarthy (far right) in Austria with Jackson Wild participants.
WE ARE PLEASED THAT THIS ISSUE of AC will be distributed at accomplished natural-history cinematographer — and I presented Cin-
Camerimage 2022 — the festival’s 30th edition! — as many of us return ematography Awards and mentored nine young natural-history cinema-
to the annual event after two years of shunning international travel due tographers from all around the world.
to the worldwide pandemic. Camerimage stands unchallenged as the This month, we also celebrate the long-gestating indie film 5-25-77,
premier cinematography festival in the world and is a gathering place which features a fictionalized cameo by American Cinematographer
for those of us who want to support cinematographers worldwide, show magazine’s longtime former editor, Herb A. Lightman (yes, that really
our community spirit and, of course, talk tech endlessly. We gather in was his name). It is in the genre of Almost Famous, which also dra-
groups, formal and informal, to discuss issues critical to the advance- matized a director’s transformative early life experience (and featured
ment of the art and craft of cinematography, whether those conversa- a lovely job of cinematography by John Toll, ASC; see it if you love
tions address working conditions, workflow, diversity, or the erosion of rock music). 5-25-77 also has cameos by AC magazine and the iconic
authority. ASC Clubhouse — built when there was nothing next door but orange
All of these pressing issues, and more, were also discussed at the groves. The more we look back on where we have come from, the more
ASC International Cinematography Summit, held this past June at our we see where we can go in the future.
Society’s Clubhouse in Hollywood. Representatives from more than 40
cinematographic societies attended, and each shared a short reel of
their fellow members’ work.
The ASC is proud to note that the reel showed by the Ukrainian
Guild of Cinematographers (UGC) at the Summit will also be shown at
Camerimage this year. The emotional presentation shows Ukrainian cin-
ematographers who have put aside their cameras and donned military Stephen Lighthill
uniforms to fight for their country against the Russian invasion. President, ASC
Many ASC members will serve on juries and appear at seminars
during the festival, and we are delighted that the Society’s own Stephen
H. Burum will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for his amazing
body of work.
In September, the ASC also partnered with the Jackson Wild
Summit, held in Austria. For three days, Paul Atkins, ASC — a hugely
8 / NOVEMBER 2022
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OUTSTANDING
OPTICAL PERFORMANCE
LEITZ ZOOM
See you at CAMERIMAGE 2022
WWW.LEITZ-CINE.COM
JANUARY 2022 / 9
p. 8-9 Presidents Desk V4.indd 9 10/5/22 2:30 PM

Shot Craft By Jay Holben
ASC MITC Report: Media Hash List

and Framing Decision List
IMAGES COURTESY OF THE ASC.

The ASC is globally recognized we highlight two of MITC’s latest en- become a de facto cross-platform Jesse Korosi, which is led by the
as a collective of extraordinary deavors: the Media Hash List (MHL) standard for RGB primary color Motion Imaging Workflow Commit-
cinematographic talent, but it has and Framing Decision List (FDL). grading,” Clark continues. “Our tee, chaired by ASC associate Greg
also been a technological leader for ASC Media Hash List and Framing Ciaccio.
the motion-picture industry since Protecting Creative Intent Decision List follow a similar de- “The two working groups, attend-
its inception. In the early 1920s, the “MITC is fortunate to have a very velopment path; both recognize a ed by top industry technologists
Society formed a research commit- talented, skilled team with a passion need for solutions regarding their and crew leads, bring deep industry
tee to assess panchromatic film and to innovate,” says MITC Chair Curtis respective functions to reinforce experience to the table,” says Ci-
incandescent lighting, among other Clark, ASC. “As we transition from the new, software-defined, digital accio, senior director of postpro-
inventions. Today, the ASC Motion the traditional, linear motion-im- motion-imaging workflow — always duction for original content at Imax.
Imaging Technology Council (MITC) aging workflow, a new, non-lin- with a focus on helping to facilitate “They worked remotely throughout
carries that torch. ear, software-defined workflow and protect the filmmaker’s creative the pandemic to ensure continued
MITC participants — more than paradigm is emerging. It requires intent.” progress. I’m truly excited about the
400 active ASC members, associate new, software-based solutions that MHL and FDL initiatives, which, like
members, manufacturers, engineers effectively and efficiently manage Project Leadership the ASC CDL, aim to provide solu-
and technologists — volunteer their image data and metadata while The efforts we’ll be discussing are tions to current industry problems.”
time to “leave their company hats at always protecting the filmmaker’s the work of the ASC MHL Working
the door” and collectively work to creative intent. Group, chaired by Patrick Renner, ASC MHL
improve the tools and technologies “The foundation for the [soft- and the ASC FDL Working Group, The ASC Media Hash List is an en-
that facilitate the cinematographic ware-defined workflow] was chaired by David Hall. Both fall gineering effort aimed at preserving
process. created with the advent of our ASC under the Advanced Data Manage- the integrity of media files and cre-
In this installment of Shot Craft, CDL [Color Decision List], which has ment Subcommittee, chaired by ating a chain of custody that helps
10 / NOVEMBER 2022
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Shot Craft
A flowchart illustrating the path of the ASC Framing Decision

List (FDL) from preproduction through distribution.
MITC participants “leave their company hats these, but to embrace them and Files generated in the camera
make them all work in harmony. The are transferred to dozens of hard
at the door” and collectively work to improve
ASC MHL is a standardized “wrap- drives, SANs, cloud services, etc. —
the tools and technologies that facilitate the per” for existing hash types, much and any time a file is copied, it can
like .mov is for many different types be corrupted, sometimes beyond
cinematographic process.
of video files. The MHL reformats recoverability. If there’s a power
the existing hash-list data into a surge during the file transfer or,
to track down problems and solve the integrity of data files recorded proprietary structure and includes a worse, a loss of power — ever had
them quickly. (We’ll venture into the from the camera. When a DIT ac- considerable amount of information the power on the DIT cart acciden-
techno weeds a bit here, but bear cepts a media card from the camera that hasn’t been collected in hashes tally pulled mid-transfer? — the
with us!) assistant and downloads that card before, such as validating directo- MHL would report this damage and
A hash list is a series of numeric to hard drives, they do so through ries (not just individual files), the also note who had the last copy of
code values that represent the a software program that can verify individual and system that created the file that was verified as good.
contents of a digital file. In simple the integrity of the copy through a the original file, and the software Perhaps one of several visual-ef-
terms, it’s a kind of shorthand checksum process. Further, these used for the transfer. When a new fects facilities working on a project
transcription of a file’s contents, or programs can assign a hash to each copy is made of this file, a new MHL receives a corrupted media file, but
a “manifest” that is unique to that file transferred off the card, which is created, so that a chain of custo- doesn’t discover the error until a
file. If the file is altered, so too is the helps to identify the integrity of the dy is formed; this records how many week or two after they’ve ingested
hash list. This provides a method of file in a numeric shorthand. times the file has been copied, and the media. How can they figure out
tracking a file’s origins — and copy There are several kinds of by whom. You can therefore tell, where the error originated? The
iterations and integrity as compared existing hash types, among them for example, when you are looking MHL solves this problem.
to the original. C4, MD5 and xxHash — and the at the third copy of a file — and “It also allows you to catch a
How is this relevant to cinema- Advanced Data Management Sub- can confirm that it is an exact copy problem with an initial download
tographers? It’s about maintaining committee’s goal is not to replace without errors. before the camera card is cleared
12 / NOVEMBER 2022

NOVEMBER 2022 / 13

Shot Craft
In this illustration, the FDL’s “framing intent” (bottom row, inner border) and
“framing protection” (bottom row, outer border) areas of the canvas maintain
framing consistency for images derived from two separate cameras.
“The FDL is a gamechanger. There’s no other rules and some of the scripts that so, they are very rarely utilizing the
we’ve written that are now provided native aspect ratio of a given digital
application available to automate and bring
through an online portal in a GIT sensor or film-gate shape, but rath-
efficiencies to framing decisions.” repository.” er some portion thereof. The tradi-
The ASC MHL is currently in its tional method for communicating
beta phase, with a full version 2.0 framing intent is to print frame lines
and it becomes unrecoverable,” together to create one unified to be released soon. One beta-test on a piece of paper that coincide
adds Korosi, the manager of profile structure that was for the program was the ASC MITC StEM2 with the frame lines etched or inked
duction technology solutions for betterment of the industry. These (Standard Evaluation Material 2.0) on a ground glass, or digitally creat-
Netflix and the 2016 recipient of the companies donated substantial time project, The Mission, which em- ed in an electronic viewfinder, and
HPA Emerging Leader Award. “All of and resources to create this file ployed MHL with great success. then photograph that paper with
the companies creating file-trans- format under the leadership of the the camera and pass this footage
fer software had their own way ASC MITC. ASC FDL along to postproduction.
that hash values were presented “We wrote the specification The ASC Framing Decision List This process is never pixel-ac-
within their checksums. Many of and the rules for how this manifest offers a solution to an increasingly curate. It is often confused, lost,
these tools addressed the creation checksum should be generated, and prevalent problem — albeit not a misinterpreted or miscommunicat-
of proprietary enhancements to now it’s up to software developers new one — that’s of particular inter- ed. When footage is delivered to
their checksums as a strategic such as Pomfort and Imagine to est to directors of photography. On VFX vendors, is it the full capture
advantage. However, the ASC is the implement it,” Korosi continues. “Any any given project, the director and frame of the camera? Or is it al-
immensely respected body that was data-management application could cinematographer make specific de- ready cropped to a specific aspect
able to bring all of these companies implement this and utilize these cisions about framing, and in doing ratio? If the intent is to crop several
14 / NOVEMBER 2022

ASC MITC Chair Curtis Clark, ASC.
aspect ratios from the same original, do they use The data in the FDL starts with the framing in-
common topline, common center or some other tent, defined by the cinematographer in-camera
relationship? When the director is in the editing or through an external application that can be
room, do they recompose shots? Do they zoom loaded into the camera to generate frame lines.
in and reposition to create a new frame? Do Secondary to that, there is an option for framing
they stabilize? And how are the original — and protection, a percentage of area outside the
post-filming — framing intentions passed along framing intent that can be utilized for reframing
to the rest of the post team? or stabilization. These two areas are enclosed in
All this is to say that framing is far from auto- a defined canvas, which may be all or part of a
mated once filming is complete. particular sensor.
“Right now, it’s a very manual process in And the canvas can be changed. For in-
the online, and people are spending hours in a
$500- to $600-per-hour room making these re-
stance, if a particular lens has vignetting that is
undesirable, the canvas can be reduced — with
Hawk lenses are
positions, generally eye-matching shot-for-shot the framing-protection canvas area reduced in conveniently available
for an entire show,” Korosi says. “It’s these kinds proportion to the smaller framing-intent area. in Los Angeles, directly
of problems that I’m excited for our committees The final information produced is the framing
to be working on. Archaic practices can be auto- decision, a combination of all these data points
from the manufacturer.
mated and done with precision; this will relieve that defines the specific area within the image Find the right package
post artists of tedious tasks and allow them to data that conveys the final composition to be
for your creative goals at
concentrate on their creative jobs. The FDL is used. This data enables pixel-accurate framing in
a gamechanger. There’s no other application a single, quick step, eliminating confusion, mis- Hawk Anamorphic LA.
available to automate and bring efficiencies to interpretation or error. If that framing is changed
framing decisions.” by the director or cinematographer during post,
The data of the FDL can be written into those data alterations will stay with the media.
a sidecar JSON file, or the globally universal With the MHL, Korosi and his team began
unique identifier (UUID) that references the coding the data almost immediately and went
framing information can be embedded into file through many iterations, each of which required
headers, such as original camera files or EXRs. rewriting the code. For the FDL, they took a
[email protected]
www.hawkanamorphic.com

Shot Craft
File management for the ASC MITC StEM2 production

incorporated the ASC MHL (example of code at bottom) for
all media passing through the DIT station (top).
different approach, carefully defin-
TOP PHOTO BY RAINA VIRGINIA.

ing how the data would be recorded
and implemented before writing
a single line of code. To that end,
they have solicited input from the
industry and refined their concept
several times.
“Rather than getting caught up
in semantics of how the code was
grammatically written, we focused
on the nuts and bolts of how it
should work,” Korosi says. “We’ve
already proven that we move much
faster because of that approach.
At this year’s NAB Show, we had
a prototype of the specification
in Colorfront, and demonstrated
that we could apply the metadata
reframing at the click of a button. It
was a really effective proof of con-
cept. We’re pretty far into writing
The MHL is about the actual specification now, and it
maintaining the should be complete by the end of
this year.”
integrity of data files
exported from the Collective Work
“The people working hard to create
camera. the MHL and FDL are doing it for
free, on their own time, because
they believe the ASC is the home
for such initiatives,” Korosi says.
“They’ve put aside their own need
to sell products and have done
collective work for the benefit of
the industry. When we bring people
to the table at the ASC, they rec-
ognize that we’re part of the global
representation for the preservation
of the cinematographer’s intent and
creative input in the filmmaking
world. Everyone is there to make
sure what we do is furthering that
creative freedom and empowering
ASC members and cinematogra-
phers around the world.”
Jay Holben is an ASC associate

member and AC’s technical editor.
16 / NOVEMBER 2022

Crafting Legacy for
House of the Dragon
18 / NOVEMBER 2022
p. 18-29 House of the Dragon V4.indd 18 10/5/22 2:34 PM

ASC member
Fabian Wagner,
director-showrunner
Miguel Sapochnik and
a trio of alternating
cinematographers
discuss the new looks
they helped create for
the HBO prequel series.
D
By Matt Mulcahey
uring its eight-season run,

Game of Thrones became the
most-watched show in HBO
history and the most Em-
my-decorated narrative series
ever to air. While regaining that
viewership and critical prestige
for its new prequel, House of the Dragon, is cer-
tainly a priority for the network, veteran Game of
Thrones cinematographer Fabian Wagner, ASC,
BSC felt that replicating the look of the original
series wouldn’t be the proper path.
“I’ve got to be honest — I was a little reluctant
in the very beginning because I didn’t want to
repeat myself,” says Wagner, who photographed
three episodes of House of the Dragon, including
the pilot. “I wanted to make this new show as dis-
tinct as possible.”
NOVEMBER 2022 / 19

CRAFTING LEGACY FOR HOUSE OF THE DRAGON
UNIT STILLS BY OLLIE UPTON. ALL HOUSE OF THE DRAGON IMAGES COURTESY OF HBO.
Previous spread: King Viserys Targaryen
(Paddy Considine) confers with his daughter,
Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock). This page:
Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) meets
with daughters Baela and Rhaena (Shani
Smethurst and Eva Ossei-Gerning).
A New View of Westeros Fire, Blood and Glass

Set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones (AC May ’12 and July House of the Dragon is adapted from George R.R. Martin’s 2018 novel Fire
’19), during a time of relative peace and prosperity, House of the Dragon & Blood — about the Targaryen’s family history — whose title inspired
finds Westeros ruled by King Viserys (Paddy Considine) of House Tar- the names of the show’s simultaneous shooting units. Unlike a typical
garyen. The show’s central conflict revolves around who shall succeed block-shooting approach, whereby one cinematographer completes a
Viserys on the Iron Throne, with potential heirs including the king’s el- “block” of episodes before handing off the crew to the next, House of the
dest daughter, Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock in adolescence and Emma D’Arcy Dragon used a “cross blocking” schedule, in which multiple cinematog-
in adulthood), and his brother, Daemon (Matt Smith). raphers worked simultaneously. So, while Wagner might have been toil-
Much like its predecessor, the new series offers an absorbing con- ing with the Blood Unit on the Iron Throne set at Warner Bros. Studios
coction of palace intrigue, gore-soaked battles and skies alight with Leavesden for a scene in Episode 1, another of the show’s cinematog-
fire-breathing beasts. But unlike Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon raphers — among them, Pepe Avila del Pino, AMC; Alejandro Martinez;
incorporates a different camera and lens package, a wider aspect ratio, and Catherine Goldschmidt — might have been working on a backlot set
a new show LUT, an HDR-centric grade, and virtual-production work. with the Fire Unit for a different episode.
The show reunites Wagner with Miguel Sapochnik, who directed six Whereas Game of Thrones was shot mostly on various Super 35-sized
of the eight Game of Thrones episodes filmed by the German-born cin- Arri Alexa sensors paired with Cooke and Angénieux lenses, the Blood
ematographer, including “Battle of the Bastards” (from Season 6) and and Fire Units on House of the Dragon were outfitted with Arri Rental
“The Long Night” (Season 8). Alexa 65s for A-cam and Arri Alexa Mini LFs as additional cameras. “We
Sapochnik — who served as executive producer and co-showrunner have these amazing, gigantic sets, which are an absolute joy to light,”
on House of the Dragon in addition to his directing duties — notes that says Wagner. “I suggested to Miguel early on that we should look at
when he first met Wagner, he recognized “a deftness in the way he lit shooting large format on the Alexa 65 to really capture the feel of them.”
things, which was very much about lighting spaces and not faces.” He For lenses, Wagner chose the Arri Rental Prime DNAs and DNA LFs,
adds that “the idea of doing this new show without him would’ve filled along with Fujifilm/Fujinon Premista zooms (28-100mm T2.9 and
me with dread.” 80-250mm T2.9-3.5). Canon 200mm and Nikon 300mm long primes
rounded out the set. Wagner says he tended to live around a T4 — partly
20 / NOVEMBER 2022

AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER ASCMAG.COM
BOTTOM PHOTO BY THEO WHITEMAN, COURTESY OF HBO.
to emphasize the fine detail of the production design, and partly to give
his focus pullers a fighting chance. He also favored the wider end of his
lens set, frequently leaning on the 28mm and the 35mm. However, he
developed a particular affection for the Prime DNA 58mm, one of three
“T Type” lenses in the package — with distinct focus falloff around the
edges of the frame.
New Rules / No Rules

Because Game of Thrones’ story extended to the far reaches of Westeros,
the show employed a vast library of LUTs to distinguish the different
locations. However, for the King’s Landing-centered House of the Dragon,
Wagner opted for a single show LUT. One of the primary features of that
LUT — created by DIT Ian Marrs and colorist Asa Shoul (see sidebar,
page 22) — was pushing the exposure down a stop so the cinematog-
raphers could indulge in the show’s penchant for darkness, while still
retaining information in the digital negative.
“I call it an ‘underLUT,’” Wagner says. “It’s a LUT that shows the image
Top: Daemon takes a moment at Dragonstone, his
one stop darker, so you still expose the image correctly and have room
family’s castle. Bottom: Fabian Wagner, ASC, BSC shot
to play.
the pilot as well as Episodes 6 and 7.
“Game of Thrones was a very high-contrast show, and this has a much
softer curve,” he continues, adding with a laugh, “but there’s still a lot of
shadow, which was something Game of Thrones was always famous — or
sometimes infamous — for.”
The inclusion of Marrs — a frequent collaborator of Wagner’s — on
NOVEMBER 2022 / 21

vv JIRA
CRAFTING HISTORY FOR HOUSE OF THE DRAGON
The ocean glistens on

the shores of Driftmark.
the crew also offered an added benefit for the cinematographer. “I love together for a very long time, and I trust him 100 percent.”
operating,” Wagner says, “and when we had three or more cameras, I Wagner’s trust extended to his fellow House of the Dragon cinematog-
would always jump on one because I could totally rely on Ian to make raphers. Says Martinez, who shot Episodes 4, 5 and 9 for director Clare
sure everything was the way that we’d talked about. We’ve worked Kilner: “The first thing that Fabian told us was, ‘You can do whatever you
Spotlight on Color | Hues, Grain, HDR

When colorist Asa Shoul presented his first pass of the House of the close-ups — with fine face or hair detail, or with dragons that
Dragon pilot to Miguel Sapochnik, the showrunner replied, “It looks a looked too sharp.”
bit too Game of Thrones.” Having just finished a five-week preparatory Working in Baselight, Shoul graded on Sony BVM-X300
binge of the entire series, Shoul understood the note. monitors. Unlike Game of Thrones, the HDR version became the
“This is not a criticism of the original show — which I thought was primary deliverable. “It’s much easier to get the HDR version right
graded beautifully — but I think Miguel felt the last couple of seasons and then go down to SDR than the other way around,” says Shoul.
had gotten more contrasty, and the shadow detail had gotten crushed “The HDR is going to be the one that lives forever. That’s the one
a bit,” says Shoul. “For House of the Dragon, we talked about seeing that everyone sees on their newer TVs and iPads.” He adds that
that detail, because the costumes and the sets are very rich and it’s a the season was graded in HDR at 1,000 nits in Rec 2020 color.
more colorful world they live in than Game of Thrones. For me, it was Before beginning work, Shoul created a new LUT as a start-
like the 1920s — an age of wealth, prosperity and enjoyment.” ing point, tweaking the show LUT used on-set to account for
In Game of Thrones, King’s Landing took on a golden hue to elements that were imperceptible on production’s SDR monitors.
contrast the city to the cool Northern environs of Winterfell. With “What no one realized on-set was that the LUT was making
House of the Dragon largely unfolding in the former locale, that visual highlights very gold or pink. The skies were going a bit of a crazy
counterpoint became unnecessary. “We went with a more neutral look, color, which you could only see in HDR.”
while letting colors come through as long as they weren’t too bright It’s an example of why Shoul hopes to see the adoption of HDR
and gaudy,” Shoul says. monitoring throughout the entire production workflow. “If we’re
“For example,” he adds, “each character’s costume colors often finishing in HDR, we should be monitoring in HDR. Sometimes,
represented their house. Queen Alicent (Emily Carey) wears green to VFX will come down and see their work in HDR for the first time,
the wedding in Episode 5 to show her allegiance — and [Alicent’s fami- and they’ll see skies or flames be different colors, and they’ll say,
ly] the Hightowers are referred to in later episodes as “the Greens.” ‘Oh, it didn’t look like that on our monitors.’”
Also, each dragon has a specific color, so that they are more easily Shoul compares the shift in dynamic range to the transition in
identifiable in flying duels. The neutral grade meant that, where possi- audio technology from mono to 5.1 surround sound. “HDR gives
ble, we didn’t apply a color wash or tint to scenes.” you these new tools, but just because you can now put a dog
To add a touch of the imperfect to the pristine Alexa 65 and Mini barking in the background on one of the tracks doesn’t mean it’s
LF images, Shoul used a LiveGrain selection based on Kodak Vision3 not going to be distracting. It’s the same with HDR. If it’s used
500T 5219. “The LiveGrain gave it a more filmic look, and I also added incorrectly, it can look gimmicky and distracting. What we try to
diffusion across the board just to break up anything that felt too digital do is use it to make the viewing experience more immersive.”
or sharp,” he notes. “I used other softening tools as well, at times on — Matt Mulcahey
22 / NOVEMBER 2022

vv JIRA | Updates for ADV-14191: Sales News & Updates Newsletter July 2022
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want. I’m not going to give you any rules.’ If we wanted to change the
lights or even change the whole mood, we were able to. It was an amaz-
ing way to work.” He adds that Wagner “was an amazing collaborator
and an inspiration for all of us.”
Goldschmidt, who shot Episode 8 with director Geeta Vasant Patel
— and was named one of AC’s Rising Stars of Cinematography earli-
er this year (AC Aug. ’22) — notes that her late entry on the production
forced her to approach coverage in especially unique ways. “Some of the
sets had already been shot to the nth degree,” she says. “So, we thought,
‘Where can we put the camera that people haven’t put it before?’ For ex-
ample, the art department was more than happy to fly out a wall that had
never moved before, so that we could put the camera there. Everybody
on the show wanted us to put our stamp on what we were doing, and
wanted to help us do that.”
She adds that the series’ cross-blocking schedule led to an unusually
long production period for her — seven months for a single episode.
“Sometimes, we would only shoot one day a week, but it was great to be
Top: Rhaena is consoled by her mother, Lady Laena
able to have that time with the sets and with Geeta,” she says.
Velaryon (Nanna Blondell). Bottom: The crew tracks
Another Wagner proclamation: “There’s no such thing as too dark.”
with Alcock on the Iron Throne set.
Del Pino, who shot Episodes 2, 3 and 10, wasted little time testing that
statement. “On my first day, we did a whole scene that I lit only with one
practical torch,” he says. “No lights. The whole G&E team was getting
anxious because they had nothing to do.”
Goldschmidt also pushed the boundaries of darkness — and found
them. “We tried a few things on our first day of shooting and we were
told to pull back a little,” she says. “Turns out there was such a thing as
“On my first day, we did a whole too dark!”
scene that I lit only with one Widening World

practical torch. No lights.” One boundary Wagner was happy to be free from was the original series’
24 / NOVEMBER 2022

OUR
FIRST
100
YEARS
Expanded Second Edition
LIMITED PRINTING
Published by the ASC Press, this
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Cinematographers in celebration of the
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with profiles of its 15 founders and many
outstanding members.
With 204 pages, this expanded second

edition adds new profiles and more
rare photographs, including a special
presentation of 50 new ASC members
inducted since 2019 — who will help
shape the organization for the next
100 years.
Featured ASC cinematographers include

Néstor Almendros, John A. Alonzo,
Michael Ballhaus, Michael Chapman,
Stanley Cortez, Allen Daviau, Arthur
Edeson, William A. Fraker, Conrad L. Hall,
James Wong Howe, Halyna Hutchins,
Judy Irola, László Kovács, Andrew Lesnie,
Russell L. Metty, Arthur C. Miller, Brianne
Murphy, Nicholas Musuraca, Sven Nykvist,
Giuseppe Rotunno, Harris Savides, John
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Toland, Joseph Walker, Haskell Wexler,
Gordon Willis, Vilmos Zsigmond,
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Available now at store.ascmag.com

Top: Camera operator Joe

Russell films a fraught scene
between Alicent Hightower
(Olivia Cooke, right) and
Rhaenyra (now an adult and
played by Emma D’Arcy).
Middle: Russell and crew work
on a scene that employs genuine
firelight as an offscreen source.
Bottom: Showrunner Miguel
Sapochnik holds court.
1.78:1 aspect ratio. Wagner and Sapochnik hoped to expand all the way
to 2.4:1, but HBO balked at going full widescreen. The cinematographer
and showrunner didn’t give up easily, going as far as setting up 2.4:1
framelines and framing their early scenes to protect for that ratio in case
the network later relented.
“We fought very hard, but at some point we realized it was a losing
battle,” says Sapochnik. “However, I don’t think [the instinct to compose
for the wider frame] ever really left us.” House of the Dragon ultimately
settled in at 2:1. “It’s such a cinematic show with such an incredible scale
that it just lends itself to widescreen,” says Wagner. “Every single set and
shot benefitted from that wider frame.”
Lighting the Throne

While location work on the series was done in Portugal and Spain, most
of the show’s cavernous sets were constructed at Warner Bros. Studios
Leavesden — near London — where production commandeered seven
stages. That included a stage to create this series’ version of the Iron
Throne set. The throne itself is quite similar to the one depicted on Game
of Thrones, but scores of fused and warped swords that surround it are
new to the audience.
“I remember going into that set for the first time on Season 4 of Game
of Thrones and thinking, ‘I don’t have a clue how to light this,’” says Wag-
ner. “The key for me on House of the Dragon was lighting that space in
a way that created flexibility. I shot four scenes there, and I wanted to
create four very different lighting scenarios that I could move between
as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
To create that flexibility, Wagner used three soft boxes filled with Arri
SkyPanel S60s — one over the throne itself, one in the middle of the
room and one toward the entrance. Shooting through the room’s tall,
thin windows were Luxor Lights from Light Synthesis — which Wagner
26 / NOVEMBER 2022

refers to as “LED Wendys” — and 24Ks; the former were bounced into Rhaenyra contends with private grief.
Full Silk to give a soft throw of light, and the latter were employed when
hard light was desired.
A candle-laden chandelier was rigged overhead with gas flames, and
smaller sources dotted the room to illuminate specific areas. To cre-
ate shafts of light, 10K Molebeams were blasted through haze pumped
onto the set. Greenscreen was placed outside the throne-room windows
when necessary — but Wagner favored either blowing out the windows
for daytime scenes by overexposing the white background outside, or
darkening them for night by placing black material over the white.
This marked the first time Wagner had used Luxor Lights, and he
quickly became enamored with them. “The throw and the quality of the
light is amazing. I also liked them for practical reasons. We were shoot-
ing through the summer, and it would have been incredibly hot in those
sets if we used actual Wendys or purely tungsten lights.”
Del Pino was equally impressed with the fixtures. “The rigging gaffer
showed me these super punchy LED lights that were round and about
2 feet in diameter,” he says. “I started using them on almost every set.
I would make a row of eight or nine of them and put a little bit of thin
diffusion in front so it would basically become a 12'x2' source. I liked to
put them above windows, just out of frame.”
NOVEMBER 2022 / 27

“Everybody on the show wanted us to Martinez’s time in the throne room included a 25-page night wed-
put our stamp on what we were doing.” ding scene in Episode 5, which he personalized with a brigade of tung-
sten Source Four Lekos. Says Martinez, “Set dec had these long, beautiful
tables with candles on them, so we decided to point [roughly] 100 Lekos
straight down from the top of the studio to bounce off the tables.”
Virtual Assist
In the world of House of the Dragon, only three sources of light exist:
firelight, moonlight and daylight. When shooting exteriors around
Leavesden, that daylight was often unreliable — though Wagner says
the English weather was an improvement over Game of Thrones’ Irish
base of operations. “In London, there’s no consistency to the weather,
but Northern Ireland was definitely more unforgiving,” he recalls. “In
Ireland, you could literally have four seasons in one day, which is what I
experienced on ‘Battle of the Bastards.’” That said, England’s notoriously
overcast weather wasn’t a problem on Leavesden’s V Stage, a new virtu-
al-production facility with upwards of 2,600 LED panels offering up faux
sunlight on demand. House of the Dragon was the first show to use the
new 7,100-square-foot wraparound virtual-production environment.
Wagner’s time on the V Stage included an extended sequence set
on the bridge to Dragonstone, the ancestral seat of House Targaryen. A
practical location in Northern Spain was used for the bridge on Game of
Thrones, but a virtual set proved more feasible, considering the 20-odd
characters — and flying dragons — required for an Episode 2 standoff.
The V Stage was also used extensively for dragon-riding sequences.
When filming these scenes, Wagner opted for a hybrid approach: For
wide shots, the LED panels were turned blue, essentially morphing the
space into a bluescreen stage. For close-ups, sky backgrounds were
placed on the LED panels as in-camera composites.
For an extensive dragon-fight sequence in Episode 10 — shot by del
28 / NOVEMBER 2022

Pino — storyboards, animatics and sophisticated previs sequences were Opposite page: Vaemond Velaryon (Wil Johnson) stands
created. But first, the original Top Gun and a pair of Harry Potter dragons his ground during battle. This page: Houses Targaryen
served as inspiration. “We worked on that sequence for a year. I started and Velaryon gather seaside for a funeral.
putting together an edit with airplane sequences from Top Gun and from
other dragon films, just to have a sense of what camera movements we
would like to use,” del Pino says. “From there, director Greg Yaitanes and
I choreographed the sequence with toy dragons from Harry Potter — just
holding them with our hands and shooting it with an iPhone. We were
basically playing like little kids. That was really fun.”
To supplement the interactive lighting provided by the V Stage’s
LED panels, del Pino rimmed the top of the stage with SkyPanel S60s.
Shooting desk operator Danny Cunningham also took over control of
the LED panel luminance to expedite lighting changes. “We had a very
steep learning curve, but we got to a point where the workflow was five
times faster than when we started,” says del Pino, who spent roughly 30
days on the V Stage.
Wagner had his own virtual-production learning curve as well. “I
started off using much more film light — and then, gradually, I learned
to embrace this new aspect of filmmaking and began using the volume
itself to light,” he says. “I can’t say I liked [shooting on the V Stage] initial-
ly, but I did eventually start to enjoy it. I’m quite excited about spending
more time in there and pushing things even further.”
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NOVEMBER 2022 / 29

Back to the Battlefield
for All Quiet on the
Western Front
James Friend ASC, BSC and director Edward Berger
immerse the audience in the action.
By Mark Dillon
30 / NOVEMBER 2022
p. 30-37 All Quiet V6.indd 30 10/5/22 2:39 PM

Opposite, from right: Young German soldiers Paul (Felix Kammerer),
Tjaden (Edin Hasanovic) and Stanislaus (Albrecht Schuch) navigate
the horrors of World War I. This page: Stanislaus (center) and his
D
fellow infantrymen face a grave situation.
irector Edward Berger was determined to give the Patrick Melrose and the series Your Honor. “James is incredibly talented
World War I epic All Quiet on the Western Front a new and knowledgeable,” the director says. “He’s such a movie geek.” He adds
interpretation — and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, that Friend likes to explore “how to use the camera to create what the
which has brought war to Europe again, has thrown characters feel, and visualize what’s in their ‘stomachs.’ We sit for weeks
his sentiment into sharp relief. All Quiet is “a Germanon end and talk about shots and break down scenes. I’ve learned from
story that had to be told from a German perspective him. He’s my most important collaborator.”
— the perspective of terror, guilt, shame, horror and Friend notes that although he was deeply affected by the landmark
pain,” says Berger, who also served as producer and co-writer. “Germany 1930 film, and vividly remembers its “snapshots and iconic imagery,” he
has an unfortunate legacy of expertise in that, [and the Russo-Ukrainian resisted relying on it as a visual reference. “It’s not something I wanted
War] is going on right now. We can share these stories with the world to draw upon,” he says. “We have a few gentle nods to the original, but
and learn from each other. This story just never gets old.” we didn’t want to be influenced by it in any way. The first thing I did was
A German production team mounted the new adaptation of the nar- read the book multiple times and immerse myself in that. Then I studied
rative — which is based upon Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel that photography in the trenches from that time, to help me visualize the
spawned the 1930 Academy Award-winning feature directed by Lewis book and the soldiers’ conditions, and details such as costumes.”
Milestone and shot by Arthur Edeson, ASC, and the 1979 TV movie di- Friend did, however, find inspiration in a rich tradition of war films:
rected by Delbert Mann and shot by John Coquillon, BSC. This new fea- the Soviet World War II drama Come and See, which he admires “for its
ture for Netflix follows German teen Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer) and realism, harrowing nature, and its approach to photography and pal-
his classmates as they are swept up in a tide of nationalism and galva- ette”; Apocalypse Now, which he calls “one of my favorite movies and a
nized by their teacher to enlist and fight for their country, only to be met
big visual influence”; Gallipoli, another “movie I adore”; Paths of Glory,
with disillusionment and death. Stanley Kubrick’s classic World War I tale; and the Peter Jackson-helmed
documentary They Shall Not Grow Old. He adds that above all else, “I
Larger Tapestry wanted to look at the larger tapestry of the historical landscape, and also
Berger tapped British director of photography James Friend, ASC, BSC give the audience the feeling that we’re in Paul’s shoes — going through
to help craft the film’s look after the two collaborated on the miniseries it with this kid and what he experiences.”
NOVEMBER 2022 / 31

BACK TO THE BATTLEFIELD FOR ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
“The soldiers’ uniforms were designed to be

James Friend, ASC, BSC and director Edward Berger (pictured at
bottom, from right) decided to introduce a cloud of yellow smoke
camouflaged and blend in. So, we would
to a battle scene to break free of the typical “war movie” palette. find any excuse to add a pop of color.”
UNIT STILLS BY REINER BAJO. ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF NETFLIX.

Coloring Carnage Battle-Testing Cameras
One way the film places viewers up close to its fraught battle scenes is The filmmakers stuck to their meticulously designed storyboards as
through its varied color palette. “The soldiers’ uniforms were designed much as possible. On such a large-scale film, featuring battle scenes
to be camouflaged and blend in,” he says. “So, we would find any excuse with up to 400 extras, one might expect them to have run three or more
to add a pop of color.” For example, when Paul and his comrades find cameras — but they attest it was mostly a one-camera show.
themselves under attack from a tank division, the vehicles appear from “There was no compromise from Edward. He would always go for the
behind a dramatic cloud of yellow smoke. (See image above.) best frame, even in the harshest shooting environment,” says A-camera/
“I don’t know if that color is historically correct,” Friend says. “It was Steadicam operator Danny Bishop — a member of the Association of
dreamt up in a hotel suite between Ed and me as we did visual notes and Camera Operators and the Society of Camera Operators, and a BSC as-
thought, ‘What horrible, acrid color can we introduce that will pop?’ We sociate member.
didn’t want the film to have that desaturated, almost black-and-white Before choosing the cameras that would optimally capture the scope
‘war movie’ feel that has been visually exhausted.” and detail of the production, Friend says they “tested pretty much ev-
erything, but I knew in my heart what we wanted to achieve and how
we were going to achieve it — and the [Arri Rental] Alexa 65 instinctu-
ally felt right. The larger-format sensor seemed the correct grammar for
the film: framing for Paul and his comrades and allowing them to move
throughout a wider frame, but still keeping things engaging for the au-
dience. And you have all the beauty of slightly longer lenses, with the
field of view of wider glass.”
After testing, Friend and Bishop concluded that they would employ
the Alexa 65 as their primary camera and Arri’s Alexa Mini LF, with its
smaller form factor, for many of the battle sequences. “I learned that the
Alexa 65 and the Mini LF go hand-in-hand beautifully,” Friend says. “We
would have an establishing shot on the 65, then go into the Mini LF, and
no one would notice any difference. In the DI suite, even I sometimes
couldn’t remember what was shot on the 65.”
Vast Terrain, Cramped Train

For the battle sequence in which the Germans attack the French trenches
32 / NOVEMBER 2022

The crew transformed the abandoned Milovice

air base into a perilous war zone.
at sunrise, the crew had run of the immense, abandoned, Soviet-era Mi-
lovice air base, located in the Czech Republic, where they constructed
trenches for both sides in the conflict, separated by about 300 meters of
no-man’s land. They built three paths that provided more solid footing
for Bishop and the grips amid the surrounding muddy terrain.
Berger says he often likes the camera to be rock solid on a tripod or
dolly, but various other tools were employed to execute camera move-
ment. “We [shot] handheld in certain moments and used the Steadicam
where necessary,” the director adds. “But on the battlefield, it was hardly
possible for Danny to walk or run with a Steadicam. The terrain would
have been impossible to maneuver. So, the Stabileye [handheld gyrosta-
bilizer] became the right piece of equipment for that. We couldn’t have
gotten what we did without it.”
The camera mounted to the stabilized head was used in multiple
configurations with Bishop and Friend operating remotely. “There’s a
scene at the beginning of the film where the camera moves through a
trench, which was done with one grip holding it,” Friend recalls. “And for
when our hero climbs out of the trench, we mounted the Stabileye to a
Technocrane, lifted it up out of the trench with him, then disconnected
it from the crane and handed it to two more grips who would continue
on foot and run across the battlefield with it [in one continuous shot].
It was [also] sometimes as rudimentary as someone holding a bar with
the Stabileye.”
Spotlight on Color | A Timeless Look

“Sparkle.” startling and impactful.”
This was the term used by director Edward Berger, cinematogra- Daniel created a show LUT he describes as “cooler in the mid-
pher James Friend, ASC, BSC and colorist Andrew Daniel to describe tones and blacks, but low-contrast at the bottom end, so we could
what they were adding to All Quiet on the Western Front in the finish- blast contrast in the grade if needed. We kept saturation pretty
ing process. muted to allow latitude later on.
Says Friend, “It basically means boosting the highlights and “I like to get our basic ideas down using the LUT as a spring-
increasing the contrast between the brightest points and the darker board and build from there,” he continues. “I created an S-curve
shadows, so that everything looks a bit brighter, and adding a bit of for the bottom end across day scenes and a separate one for night
color to allow everything to pop.” scenes. It was always about getting the most out of the shot and the
Daniel, who serves as senior colorist at Goldcrest Post in London, scene.”
notes that “sparkle” played a major part in doing justice to All Quiet on Daniel employed Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve software,
the Western Front’s literary and cinematic legacy. “We wanted to push which he commends for its color management, its ability to quickly
saturation and contrast,” he says. “We wanted it to feel classy and execute paint-outs and re-sizes, and its grain plugin. “We spent
modern, but also timeless — like a movie that existed for years, but is a decent amount of time reframing shots to make sure we were
only being discovered now.” To that end, Daniel and the team created getting the full force of explosions and gunfire, as well as impactful
a “subtle grain structure to feed throughout.” performance scenes,” he adds.
Since khaki and green naturally dominate the film’s palette, He performed the grade over 14 days at the UPP post house in
Daniel punched up other colors for more separation and depth. This Prague — near where the production shot — with Friend, Berger and
included the hue of blood, which flows freely in the tragic tale. “Blood seasoned visual-effects supervisor Frank Petzold (Armageddon,
was treated forensically,” he says. “We never wanted it to be just Starship Troopers) in attendance. “It was great to have access to
red. Sometimes it was darker in tighter shots, and then we would all of them and have open discussions,” the colorist says. “It was a
accentuate and brighten it for wider shots with a lot of movement, as collaborative experience where all ideas were on the table.”
in no-man’s land. In those cases, we wanted to let the pops of red be — Mark Dillon
NOVEMBER 2022 / 33

Top: Using a Stabileye handheld gyrostabilizer,

the crew traverses the air base’s muddy terrain
to shoot a combat scene. Bottom: A bird’s-eye
view of the trenches constructed at the air base.
Scenes that take place inside a train were shot at the nearby Barran-
dov Studios in Prague, with the set constructed between two LED walls.
(See opposite page.) “Everyone associates the 65 with big landscape pho-
tography,” Friend says, “but we shot everything in the confined space in
the train on the 65, moving it through the space — all off of a dolly and
GFM [Grip Factory Munich] jib arm —and that’s where the camera really
came to life. It was a more immersive way of telling the story.”
Mixing Glass
The production was captured in LF Open Gate 4.5K format with spher-
ical lenses, but cropped to a final aspect ratio of 2.39:1. “I like to give
as much around the frame as possible if we need to reframe things,”
Friend says. “We looked at large-format anamorphic lenses, but I was Arri supplied a Zeiss Compact Prime CP.2 21mm T2.9. “They detuned it
concerned about the action work on the battlefield. It looked glorious, slightly, softening it, and it worked beautifully on the Mini LF,” Friend
but the weight of the lenses with the dynamic camera moves and shoot- says. He adds that the primary lenses for the Mini LF were the 28mm and
ing stop in low light was a major consideration. So, spherical was the 35mm Prime DNAs and the 37mm Blackwing7.
right decision.” For early scenes set at Paul’s school — also shot on the Alexa 65 —
Friend notes that seeing the eclectic lens list applied to Joker by Law- such as when the students crowd a stairway as their teacher delivers a
rence Sher, ASC gave him the confidence to shake things up. “He shot on rousing speech from the landing above, the filmmakers turned to Arri
a huge variety of lenses, and that was one of the greatest-looking mov- Rental Prime 65 S glass. Friend explains that the DNAs and Blackwing7s
ies of the last decade,” the cinematographer says. “His lens choices felt behaved unpredictably in high-contrast situations due to the detuning,
true to the story. He delivered perfectly, and for me it was a revelation. and the flares could be overwhelming. “The Prime 65 S lenses have a
Lenses pave the groundwork for the visuals and allow for you to mix and soft, classical look,” Friend says. “They felt a little bit warmer, crisper and
match.” more optimistic.”
For most exteriors shot on the Alexa 65, Friend used slightly de- The filmmakers almost always favored the wide end of the spectrum
tuned Arri Rental Prime DNA lenses. The cinematographer notes that — keeping Paul’s journey in the front of their minds, per their overar-
for some interiors, particularly those with backlit windows, the DNAs ching aim. “The camera is with him nearly all the time,” Friend explains.
flared a bit more than he wanted for the look he was aiming for, so he “We needed wider lenses as we moved the camera through the space to
switched to his own set of Tribe7 Blackwing7 lenses. For a wider option, represent his point of view.”
34 / NOVEMBER 2022

The cinematographer aimed “to give the

audience the feeling that we’re in Paul’s
shoes — going through it with this kid
Scenes set inside a train were captured with the aid
and what he experiences.” of a pair of LED walls at Barrandov Studios in Prague.
Fire in the Sky

Particularly challenging nighttime exteriors included a scene in which
Paul and his friend Albert (Aaron Hilmer) are on guard duty at the front
and ill-advisedly fire on an unidentified moving object in no-man’s land.
For this sequence — in which military flares are seen in the night sky
— Friend employed Sony’s Venice camera, using the Rialto system and
shooting at 2,500 ISO. “I wanted interactive lighting from the flares,”
Friend says. “And as sensitive as the Alexa sensor is, we needed just a
little bit more from the dual native ISO of the Venice.”
The flares, descending slowly on parachutes, provided an orange
glow on the battlefield, which was supplemented by fog and 18K Arri-
max fixtures behind 12'x12' Half Grid on condors to the left and right of
the battlefield. Friend describes the effect as “lovely rays of light going
through the trees and all the settings and props.”
Gaffer Daniel Kafka also procured a then-new Arri Orbiter LED unit,
which proved useful for its ability to read and match ambient light. The
crew would fire a test flare and the Orbiter would read its light intensity,
color and flicker, recording it to a lighting console operated by Petr Sita.
HMI LED
JOKER ALPHA SLICE
NOVEMBER 2022 / 35
HorizHalf 2021.indd 1 1/6/21 9:25 PM

Tech Specs: Aspect

2.39:1ratio: 16:9
Cameras:
Cameras Sony
| Arria7R
Rental
II, a7S
Alexa
II; Canon
65; Arri
EOSAlexa
5D Mini
MarkLF;III; Sony
Red DSMC2
Venice;Helium;
DJIRed
Mavic
Epic2 Dragon
Pro w/ Hasselblad
(for VFX plates)camera
Lenses:
Lenses Zeiss
| ArriLoxia,
Rental Canon,
Prime Sigma,
DNA, Prime
Rokinon,
65 S;Fujinon
Tribe7Alura
Blackwing7;
Zooms
Zeiss Compact Prime; Arri/Fujinon Alura
To capture night-sky military flares, Friend filmed

exteriors at 2,500 ISO. Below, a dolly-mounted Orbiter
is employed onstage to simulate a streaking flare.
In addition, the crew built a massive 60'x60'x40' soft box, containing

approximately 30 Arri SkyPanels wrapped in Full Grid and suspended
from a large crane. The flare’s color and flicker qualities, recorded by
the Orbiter, were sent from the console to the soft box, which replicated
those characteristics and allowed the crew to control the intensity.
With this system in place, when a flare was on-camera, it was a prac-
tical source illuminating the shot, with the Arrimaxes backlighting the
smoke for visual separation,. Then, when the scene cuts to a view of the
actors, they were lit by the soft box emulating the light of the flare.
For this night exterior, the Orbiter was used exclusively for its abili-
ty to read and record the flare’s light properties. However, Friend notes
that the fixture was used for illumination as well — in particular, when
mounted to a dolly to light “an interior bunker scene, as an effect to sim-
ulate the flare’s movement across the night sky.”
Against the Gleam

For daytime battle scenes, extreme care was taken in choosing shooting
direction. Friend notes that this was the most planning he had ever done
in regard to sun paths. “I told Ed and the producers that I wanted to
shoot against the light as much as possible,” he says. “When you’ve got
all this special-effects atmosphere — black smoke and fog — it looks
best backlit. Ed jumped in with both feet.” While the production would
often wait for cloud cover, the cinematographer credits Kafka and the
crew with helping to devise rigs that allowed them to fly large grids and
silks over the trenches and shoot in direct sunlight when necessary.
36 / NOVEMBER 2022

“I wanted to shoot against the

light as much as possible.”
Leaving It All on the Field
Friend and Berger agree that this was the most difficult shoot of their
careers. Handling hundreds of extras and such a significant amount of
special effects is surely never easy, but these factors were only further
complicated by the muddy battlefield in which they were working, which
could cause heavy equipment such as a 50' crane to get stuck, resulting
in significant delays.
“It was physically and mentally exhausting,” Berger says. “We created
complicated, two-to-three-minute-long shots that included tanks and
detonating bombs. We almost cried from exhaustion and because of the
fear we wouldn’t get what we wanted that day and wouldn’t be able to
come back and redo it. But the crew went the extra mile. And it took a toll
on them emotionally, as they went through this journey with our actor
Felix. It rubbed off on them.”
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NOVEMBER 2022 / 37

Consummate
Professional
Stephen H. Burum, ASC accepts the
Lifetime Achievement Award from Camerimage —
a distinction earned through dedication
and determination.
By David E. Williams
38 / NOVEMBER 2022
p. 38-41 Burum V6.indd 38 10/5/22 2:42 PM

IMAGES COURTESY OF THE ASC ARCHIVE.
Opposite: Stephen H. Burum, ASC checks his light while shooting

Mission: Impossible (1996) in Prague. This page: Director Caleb
Deschanel, ASC (left) and Burum (right) at work on The Escape Artist
W
(1982) — the cinematographer’s first mainstream feature.
hile the art and craft of cinematography are Burum notes. “They had a whole different way of thinking about visual
frequently discussed, Stephen H. Burum, ASC storytelling, as opposed to using a soundtrack as a kind of crutch.” While
would also like the term profession to be part earning his undergraduate and graduate degrees, Burum shot some 70
of the conversation. And in accepting the 2022 short films for other students.
Lifetime Achievement Award at the 30th an- Fueled by determination, Burum’s subsequent career path was circu-
nual EnergaCamerimage International Film itous; it included a stint as a documentary cinematographer at Disney,
Festival later this month in Toruń, Poland, the service in the U.S. military, and assignment to the Army Pictorial Center
esteemed cinematographer will address this. in New York, followed by years of assisting other cinematographers and
A third-generation Californian who was born and raised in the rural working on commercials, non-union features and live television. After
community of Dinuba, near Fresno, Burum took the first step on his gaining entry to the camera union in the “E” (electronic) category — des-
career path during his early teens, when a friend purchased a Kodak ignated for shooting videotape, not film — he photographed TV specials,
Brownie 8mm camera. He recalls, “We shot some of my model airplanes children’s programs and variety shows. He also began working in visu-
and tried to make a little story. I was hooked!’ al effects, and shared a 1981 Creative Technical Craft Primetime Emmy
After seeing a picture in Life magazine of a soundstage at UCLA’s The- Award for Cosmos, the landmark PBS project that explored outer space
ater Arts department (now the School of Theater, Film and Television) with Carl Sagan.
and reading the accompanying article about their film program, one of In the late 1970s, Burum’s UCLA classmate Francis Ford Coppola in-
the few in the country at the time, Burum wanted to enroll. “I went to vited him to the Philippines as 2nd-unit director and cinematographer
my high-school guidance counselor for help,” he says, “and I was told on Apocalypse Now, which involved close collaboration with Vittorio
in quite a disparaging and reductive way, ‘UCLA is not a trade school.’ Storaro, ASC, AIC. Burum did more 2nd-unit work on The Black Stallion
When I replied that being a filmmaker is a profession, just like being a with director Carroll Ballard and cinematographer Caleb Deschanel,
lawyer or a doctor — two other things taught at UCLA — the counselor ASC. And when Deschanel directed The Escape Artist the following year,
got pretty upset. I quickly found a new counselor.” he gave Burum his first opportunity to earn a credit as director of pho-
Burum’s mentors at UCLA included such legendary filmmakers as tography on a mainstream feature film.
Arthur Ripley, Dorothy Arzner, Henry Koster and Charles G. Clarke, ASC. Burum received ASC Award nominations for The Untouchables in 1988
“All of our teachers started their careers working on silent pictures,” and The War of the Roses in 1990. He won the ASC Award for Hoffa, for
NOVEMBER 2022 / 39
p. 38-41 Burum V6.indd 39 10/5/22 2:42 PM

CONSUMMATE PROFESSIONAL
Burum sets a shot while on location in Thailand

filming Casualties of War (1989), directed by
frequent collaborator Brian De Palma.
which he also received an Oscar nomination, in 1993. His eclectic body

“Accepting this award is special, because
of work includes the features Something Wicked This Way Comes, Rumble
Fish, The Outsiders, Body Double, St. Elmo’s Fire, Casualties of War, Carlito’s Camerimage is one of the few festivals
Way, The Shadow, Mission: Impossible, Snake Eyes and Mission to Mars. He that honors camerawork, which is the
was honored with the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.
heart of cinema.”
“The motion-picture business started with a person holding a cam-
era, photographing a subject, and it has since grown into what it is today,
with all the complexities of each department and all the specialization
required to accomplish a storyteller’s vision,” says Burum. “And under-
standing how that system works, [the collective effort involved in taking]
a creative thought and [putting] it on the screen for others to see, is not
40 / NOVEMBER 2022
p. 38-41 Burum V6.indd 40 10/5/22 2:42 PM

Top: Burum with director Danny DeVito while shooting Hoffa
(1992), for which the cinematographer earned an ASC Award and
an Oscar nomination. Bottom: Burum, De Palma and 1st AD Joe
Napolitano on the set of The Untouchables (1987).
OPTICS
UNDERSTOOD
The Cine Lens
Manual
Co-authored by Jay Holben and Christopher Probst,
ASC, The Cine Lens Manual is a journey through the
world of cinema lenses, investigating every possible
aspect — from the formation of glass to today’s top
cinematographic optical tools.

• Details 300 lens families
• 836 pages cover 140 years of cinema-lens history
• 1,500 full-color illustrations including photo-
graphs, diagrams and graphics
• Covering optical design, optomechanical design,
evolution of motion-picture formats, the history and
genealogy of purpose-built cinema lenses, modifying
lenses, testing, and maintenance

“The Cine Lens Manual is my new bible... engrossing and immensely
graspable for all filmmakers.”
— Reed Morano, ASC
easy. It demands extensive training, experience and dedication — things “I can’t put the book down. It’s brilliant what Holben and Probst have
created. This is a must for every cinematographer.”
every cinematographer brings to the table as a professional filmmaker.
— Markus Förderer, ASC, BVK
Without those qualifications, you cannot succeed. Accepting this award
is special, because Camerimage is one of the few festivals that honors “It’s an essential text for all filmmakers.”
camerawork, which is the heart of cinema.” — Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS
Look for more of our conversation with Burum on our website at “The Cine Lens Manual is truly invaluable.”
— Russell Carpenter, ASC
ascmag.com/articles/burum-camerimage.
Available now at store.ascmag.com
NOVEMBER 2022 / 41
p. 38-41 Burum V6.indd 41 10/5/22 2:42 PM

Evoking Emotion
Cinematographer Polly Morgan, ASC, BSC discusses her two
latest films, Where the Crawdads Sing and The Woman King.
By Tara Jenkins
42 / NOVEMBER 2022
p. 42-49 Polly Morgan V4.indd 42 10/5/22 2:43 PM

P
olly Morgan, ASC, BSC has had a remarkable year, shoot- Long Journey
ing both the film adaptation of the bestselling novel AC was invited to visit Morgan in the coloring suite at Company 3 as
Where the Crawdads Sing and the historical epic The she and colorist Walter Volpatto were finishing the final grade for The
Woman King. Given just three days between wrapping Woman King before its September premiere at the Toronto Internation-
Crawdads in Louisiana and scouting for Woman King in al Film Festival (TIFF). The cinematographer was quick to acknowledge
South Africa, Morgan barely had time to pause between the long journey that has led her to this point in her career. “I was 21
shoots — which, she says, kept her “really dialed in and when I moved to Canada,” she says. “TIFF was underway, everyone was
focused.” Despite her demanding schedule, Morgan still hasn’t felt a dip so excited about it, and I went to see a screening of a movie. I’m just now
in energy, diving right into shooting the independent film Marmalade, thinking, ‘Oh, my God — I have my own movie at TIFF!’ It’s this weird
directed by her husband, Keir O’Donnell. circle that’s come around; between 21 and 43, it took me 22 years.”
Opposite: Society member Polly Morgan. This page, top:

Kya (Daisy Edgar-Jones) becomes a murder suspect in
Where the Crawdads Sing. Bottom: Nanisca (Viola Davis)
leads her warriors on a battle charge in The Woman King.
NOVEMBER 2022 / 43

EVOKING EMOTION
THE WOMAN KING PHOTOS BY ILZE KITSHOFF; WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING PHOTOS BY MICHELE K. SHORT.
ALL IMAGES AND FRAME CAPTURES COURTESY OF SONY PICTURES.
Edgar-Jones, director Olivia Newman
and Morgan prepare to shoot a scene
for Crawdads on location in Louisiana.
Morgan adds that it was an experience in her youth that first focused I slowly started to shoot independent movies. My fifth movie, The Truth
her sights on filmmaking. “When I was a teenager, a film crew came to About Emanuel, went to Sundance. I got signed by an agent, and then
use our house as basecamp,” she says. “I’d never seen a film crew in ac- it was just a slow crawl from low-budget indies to British TV, then to
tion before, and I didn’t know how the roles were broken down — so American TV and now studio movies.”
that was the beginning of my education. It’s been a long road from being Morgan’s step-by-step career path has strengthened her resolve to
a 13-year-old in a West Sussex farmhouse, watching a film crew and succeed in the long term. “I want my career to have longevity,” she says.
thinking, ‘This is what I want to do.’ Now, 30 years later, here I am.” “I’m really happy and grateful that I’ve been fortunate enough to have
Success is not a new experience for Morgan, who was nominated for shot the films I’ve done, but I still want to be on the industry’s radar in
an ASC Award in 2020 for her work on the FX series Legion (AC July ’18) 20 years.”
and named one of Variety’s 10 Cinematographers to Watch in 2016. But
she stresses that the opportunities she enjoys today were hard-won over Where the Crawdads Sing
many years. “After I graduated from AFI, it was a rocky road at first, but In selecting new projects, Morgan gravitates toward stories with
44 / NOVEMBER 2022

Tech Specs: Where

Aspectthe Crawdads
ratio: 16:9 Sing 2.39:1
Cameras: Sony a7R II, a7S II; Canon
Cameras
EOS 5D| Arri
MarkAlexa
III; Red
Mini
DSMC2
LF Helium;
DJI Mavic 2 Pro w/ Hasselblad camera
Lenses | Panavision VA
Lenses: Zeiss Loxia, Canon, Sigma, Rokinon, Fujinon Alura Zooms
Top: In a flashback scene from Crawdads, Kya as a

young girl (Jojo Regina) experiences isolation in the
ramshackle house abandoned by her family. Bottom:
Years later, inside the house, Kya works on one of her
nature illustrations.
universal themes, operating under the belief that “in a broad sense, we
are all united through similar desires and needs,” she says.
Material that taps into the cultural zeitgeist, like Where the Crawdads
Sing, meets this clear and simple criterion. Based on Delia Owens’ hugely
popular 2018 novel, the film follows Kya (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a young
woman who is abandoned by her family and forced to raise herself in
1950s North Carolina. “Like millions of other people, I read and fell in
love with the book,” she says. “Kya’s story resonated with me because
I grew up in a remote area where I spent a lot of time alone in nature.
That experience shaped who I am and made me determined and resil-
ient, much like Kya.”
When Morgan learned that Olivia Newman was set to make Owens’
novel into a movie, she fought hard to meet with the director — and
when she finally did, the two discovered that their respective lookbooks
for the film were remarkably similar. Once she landed the job, the cine-
matographer felt “personal pressure to do the book justice”; to that end,
she strove first and foremost to capture the essence of its setting in the scheduling so that boating back to basecamp for lunch would allow for
American South. filming only in the “prettier light of the mornings and afternoons.”
Where the Crawdads Sing takes place primarily in the marshlands. Morgan worked closely with production designer Sue Chan to coor-
With Louisiana standing in for the Tar Heel State, the crew worked on a dinate the shoot with the sun’s path, carefully calibrating the physical
tight 45-day shooting schedule, inadvertently in the thick of a harsh nat- placement of Kya’s cabin. “With the right orientation and scheduling,
ural environment. “Hurricane season came early and we had some really I was able to backlight and sidelight all of the day-exterior work,” she
challenging weather,” she says. “We lost so much time because all our explains. As an example, the cinematographer notes the first time the
sets got flooded. We had to shut down; Kya’s house became a mud bath. audience sees Kya as a child (Jojo Regina), as she pulls a feather from the
We spent hours watching lightning from our cars — and you wouldn’t river and holds it up to the sun; it’s a jump back in time that comes im-
even know it while watching the movie.” mediately after a scene in which adult Kya, standing accused of murder,
When the clouds would part, the sun presented Morgan with its own is incarcerated. “We could backlight the feather,” Morgan says, “which
challenges during outdoor shoots. Uncontrollable sunlight out on the made a powerful transition from the claustrophobic gloominess of her
water was a concern, so she worked with production to ensure careful prison cell.”
NOVEMBER 2022 / 45

EVOKING EMOTION
Top: Nanisca and her

cohorts return from
battle in The Woman
King. Bottom: Izogie
(Lashana Lynch)
advises her protégée,
Nawi (Thuso Mbedu).
Morgan chose to shoot Crawdads in larger format with the Arri Alexa The Woman King
Mini LF. “I wanted to create this immersive feel of nature, with a wider The shooting style of Morgan’s next film, The Woman King, called for a
angle of view so we could really draw audiences into Kya’s experience very different approach — using three to five cameras at all times to
and help them fall in love with the natural world, like she did. Olivia and capture the historical drama’s epic scale. Despite the contrasting tech-
I both felt that there should be spherical flares — more of a veiling flare, niques, Morgan asserts that Crawdads “was actually the perfect movie to
with pretty blooming highlights.” prepare me for The Woman King. After I wrapped Crawdads, I had a three-
To help achieve this look, Morgan worked with ASC associate Dan Sa- day break, and then I hopped on a plane to South Africa to join a direc-
saki of Panavision to create a set of prototype lenses — a new series of tor’s scout. I was thinking, ‘This feels so bizarre, because my mind is still
sphericals called VA primes — that produced the kind of characteristics in the marsh.’ The Crawdads shoot taught me so much about being out
the cinematographer was aiming for. Says Morgan, “Dan handcrafted a there in the wilderness in places that were inaccessible, and about how
lightweight set of lenses with oval bokeh, warm flares and an exaggerat- to think quickly and prioritize scheduling — not just scheduling scenes,
ed falloff in-focus to enhance the three-dimensionality of the subjects.” but also coverage, so that I could make the natural light work for me as
46 / NOVEMBER 2022

best as I could.”
The Spring Balance
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and starring Viola
rig, suspended from a
Davis, who also served as producer, The Woman King is a
Manitou, is pictured here
fictionalized account of the real-life Agojie — an all-wom- sans gimbal and attended
an military unit that protected the West African Kingdom to by operator Dale
of Dahomey from the 1600s through the early 1900s. Set in Rodkin.
the 1820s, the film follows Agojie General Nanisca (Davis),
whose regiment takes on a promising yet rebellious new re-
cruit named Nawi (Thuso Mbedu) as the soldiers prepare to
battle an imposing enemy.
While Morgan’s approach to Where the Crawdads Sing
had been “to make the environments as exquisite as possi-
ble,” during her initial conversations about The Woman King,
she stressed to gaffer Oliver Wilter that she “didn’t want to
make this movie ‘perfect’ — which really went against my
instincts, especially with an ensemble cast of women. I
wanted to make them look good, but I also didn’t want to
make it feel glossy or overly commercial. It deals with the
slave trade, a horrific part of history — so it’s real, and some
of the material is raw. We approached the scenes set in the
port of Ouidah — one of the busiest slave ports in Africa —
in a different way than in the rest of the movie to show the
ugliness in the sale of human life.”
Morgan helped to depict the disparity between the
women living and training in the relative comfort of Abom- Rigged for Battle
Production on The Woman King was intensely physical, with many castmembers
ey — the capital of Dahomey — and those enduring the
performing their own stunts after undergoing months of rigorous combat and
squalor of the slave port by transitioning from controlled,
weapons training. To showcase the actors’ newly acquired skills, Morgan sought
lush cinematography to a more handheld, in-the-trench- to capture the film’s battle scenes as kinetically as possible. It was a goal that
es approach. While shooting the port scenes, the cinema- necessitated extremely quick camera moves, which were facilitated by an inno-
tographer refrained from keeping the sun off the actors, vative rigging system: The camera, often mounted on a DJI Ronin gimbal, was
instead encouraging them to lean into the heat and allow attached to a drop cable, which was attached to a spring balance — a type of
themselves to look sweaty. “It was a sea of inhumanity, and mechanical force gauge — suspended from a Manitou crane.
we wanted to contrast that with the beauty and richness of This “Spring Balance” rig enabled Morgan to shoot the film’s action in a re-
Abomey,” she says. “I used a higher contrast ratio for the active manner, following the actors’ movements closely without going handheld.
port scenes, so the highlights felt hot and ugly and we had “It was a unique system taken from car manufacturing,” Morgan says. “The
less warmth than in other parts of the movie.” camera could be adjusted up and down, and locked in position. It was a hybrid
of handheld and Steadicam that enabled us to move the camera freely, but still
In contrast, for scenes in Abomey, “we used 60-by-60
keep it smooth.
overhead diffusion to soften the sun and had 20-by-20
“The spring-balance [mechanism] was rigged directly under the basket
bounces on Manitous to reflect the skylight back onto the or forks on the Manitou, with a long cable attached to it,” she adds. “It had a
actors,” Morgan says. “I also used a polarizer to control the 2-meter draw and we would do fine adjustments so that the camera and remote
bright highlights on the skin.” head would hang in a neutral position in space. The crane would be extended to
The Woman King predominantly takes place in outdoor a height that would give us a radius of camera movement that was needed for
settings. For the film’s many night-exterior scenes, which a particular stunt. Often, it would be at top height to give us the widest radius
nearly always featured characters’ dark skin tones, Morgan possible. It was an incredible system, as we could really dial in the amount of
again consulted with Sasaki — this time to modify a set of tension or scope of movement needed quickly, and it allowed us to be part of
Panavision’s T Series anamorphic lenses to reduce the con- the action and do long takes.”
trast in her images and preserve detail. “Sometimes, we had a Ronin attached and operated on the wheels,” the cin-
ematographer adds, “and sometimes the camera was attached directly to the
For most of the shoot, Morgan paired these optics with
cable without the gimbal, so we could respond faster with the action.”
the Arri Alexa Mini LF, but brought in the Arri Rental Alexa
With multiple cameras always working, Morgan would supplement the
65 for location work in KwaZulu-Natal, a tropical locale Spring Balance rig with a camera on a gimbal on Flowcine GLink arms, and also
where sequences such as the opening battle and the clifftop a Technocrane on a drivable base that she could reposition quickly.
at the end were shot. When shooting with the 65, the cin- The cinematographer opted to shoot each fight sequence in 48 fps with a
ematographer paired the camera with Panavision Pana- 360-degree shutter, which facilitated motion grading in post to create a 24-fps
speeds that were customized to match the T Series. look without excessive motion blur.
To avoid front-lighting the actors in large daytime ex- — Tara Jenkins and Andrew Fish
terior scenes, particularly on the grounds of the royal
palace where the Agojie live, Morgan devised a plan: “In
NOVEMBER 2022 / 47

EVOKING EMOTION
Tech Specs: The Woman

Aspect ratio: King
16:9 2.39:1
Cameras: Sony a7R II, Cameras
a7S II; Canon
| ArriEOS
Alexa
5DMini
MarkLF,III;
Arri
Red
Rental
DSMC2Alexa
Helium;
65
DJI Mavic 2 Pro w/ Hasselblad
Lenses | Panavision
camera T Series, Panaspeed
Lenses: Zeiss Loxia, Canon, Sigma, Rokinon, Fujinon Alura Zooms
Top: Izogie demonstrates her

prowess during hand-to-hand
combat. Bottom: The Woman King
director Gina Prince-Bythewood
and Morgan confer at the monitor.
anticipation of the afternoon light, I would figure out a moment in the

scene where I could flip the key so it would still be backlit and sidelit.”
Using 3D virtual-reality goggles and the interior-design rendering
software Enscape, Morgan and production designer Akin McKenzie sur-
veyed future set-builds, such as scenes that take place in “the Baths” —
the pools where the Agojie bathe — from multiple angles to determine
the positioning of practical light sources and architectural elements.
Common Cause
With great pride, Morgan asserts that Where the Crawdads Sing and The
Woman King both stand apart from other recent releases for the same
important reason: “A group of women ran the set on both films. And
these films were not only made by women filmmakers, but also had real
women-driven stories.”
Ultimately, it’s the emotional weight of stories like these that inspires
Morgan to help bring them to life. “What I love about both films is that
they evoke emotions. Not only is The Woman King action-packed, but at
its heart, it’s about a mother-daughter relationship and the sisterhood
of these incredible women. Yes, there’s a sense of scope and grandeur
in both of these movies, but they aren’t really about spectacle — they’re
intimate dramatic stories.”
48 / NOVEMBER 2022

NOVEMBER 2022 / 49

5-25-77:
An ASC Odyssey
A long-gestating indie film is partly inspired
by the Society and its flagship magazine.
P
By Rachael K. Bosley
atrick Read Johnson was not the first budding filmmak-

icons in special photographic effects, among them Douglas Trumbull
er to arrive at the ASC Clubhouse in 1977 with a reel, a
and ASC members Linwood Dunn, L.B. “Bill” Abbott and Frank Van der
reverence for Kubrick’s 2001, and an encyclopedic recall
Veer. “Herb’s idea was that he would interview them and I would ob-
of every American Cinematographer issue he’d struggled
serve,” says Johnson. “He introduced me as ‘a kid from the Midwest who
to procure in his rural hometown, but he was neverthe-
makes little movies,’ and they were charmed, I think because so many of
less unique. them had started that way.”
He was 15. Lightman’s tour of the industry came to include a spontaneous chat
Tucked under the boy’s arm was a VFX-heavy Super-8 oeuvre that with Steven Spielberg, who was working on Close Encounters of the Third
had become the talk of the town in Wadsworth, Ill. His proactive mother,
Kind at Future General Corp. when the pair came looking for Trumbull
recognizing a passion that could not be developed (or even fully under-
— and a visit to a certain VFX start-up out in the Valley that was franti-
stood) locally, had flipped open a copy of AC and cold-called the maga-
cally trying to finish a movie called Star Wars. There, a young special-ef-
zine’s editor, Herb A. Lightman, in search of career advice for her son.
fects cinematographer (and future ASC member) named John Dykstra
When Lightman offered some encouraging words — it was Hollywood, greeted Lightman with an apology. Johnson recalls, “Someone had bur-
after all — she sent the boy to L.A. for his spring break. glarized Lucasfilm’s office the night before and stolen boxes of photos
“I showed up at the Clubhouse and introduced myself, and Herb’s jaw
and transparencies — basically the entire visual record of what ILM was
dropped — my mom hadn’t told him I was coming!” Johnson recalls. “He
doing — so John said, ‘I’m sorry I can’t give you anything you can use in
said, ‘Oh! Well, we can’t leave you out on the street.’” the magazine, but I’ll walk you through the shop and show you a couple
of clips.’ Well, he showed us the opening scene, then the next scene, then
Hollywood Connections the next …. He kept saying, ‘Now watch this next part!’ Two hours later,
Lightman proceeded to arrange interviews with some of the leading we’d seen the whole movie, complete with grips in shot, World War II
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dogfight footage and storyboards cut in. It was half horrifying and half
the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.”
Industry Ambitions
It was a week that changed Johnson’s life, illuminating a potential ca-
reer path and sparking friendships that would blossom when he moved
to Los Angeles several years later to begin working in the industry.
And many of those colleagues came into play on Johnson’s semiauto-
biographical coming-of-age comedy, 5-25-77, which follows young Pat-
rick Read Johnson (John Francis Daley) from his film-crazy childhood
in Wadsworth to his departure for Hollywood after he sees Star Wars,
motivated by the interlude with Lightman (Austin Pendleton). Though
the movie takes its title from Star Wars’ original release date, Johnson
actually had a different George Lucas film in mind when he conceived
it. “I wanted to make an American Graffiti for my generation,” he says.
An independent feature nearly 20 years in the making, 5-25-77 ul-
timately involved three cinematographers: David Blood, Ken Seng and
Scott Ressler. (A fourth, Shaw Fisher, assisted more recently in myriad
ways, including with the color correction.) In 2004, after lining up Chi-
cago producer Leigh Jones, Johnson began shooting the Illinois-based
production in Wadsworth, with Blood at the camera. The original finan-
cier vanished as that work was wrapping up. “We’d spent $180,000 and
had 75 percent of the movie, but no Hollywood sequence,” says Johnson.
“So, we cut footage together with a 25-minute ‘Scene Missing’ card in
the middle of it and started showing it to potential investors. It was very
effective, because they could immediately see that what was missing was
necessary.”
In 2006, with new financiers aboard and another $750,000 in hand,
Johnson resumed shooting, this time with Seng. “We’d shot all the Mid-
west scenes on Super 16 spherical, and I wanted California to look great
Opposite page: In an affectionate nod to 2001: A Space Odyssey,
— I wanted 35mm anamorphic,” Johnson says. “I told Ken the lenses
aspiring director Pat Johnson (John Francis Daley) visits the
should be the most aberrant, flaring … I said, ‘I want “problems!”’ And he
awe-inspiring ASC Clubhouse. This page: After Johnson lands
brought out these old Russian anamorphics that were perfect. They were in the offices of American Cinematographer, editor Herb A. Lightman
clunky and chunky and felt like the time.” (Austin Pendleton) has a phone chat with the budding auteur’s mom,
Janet (Colleen Camp, bottom).
The ASC Gets Its Close-Up
The key Hollywood interiors, including Lightman’s office at the ASC,
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5-25-77: AN ASC ODYSSEY
Tech Specs:
ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF PATRICK READ JOHNSON AND

MVD ENTERTAINMENT GROUP.
were filmed in a defunct toy store outside Chicago. “It had been stripped
down to its industrial basics, which was perfect for the look of Future
General and ILM,” notes Johnson. “For the sequences in both of those
places, somebody mounted the lens a degree or two off of vertical, so the
anamorphic distortion is slightly tilted to the left, like a Dutch anamor-
phic. I thought about correcting it [in post], but then I thought, ‘It’s Pat’s
memory, why perfect it? Leave the rough edges.’ So we did.”
Though a three-walled set was built for Lightman’s office, the larger
ASC Clubhouse interiors were shot in the actual building — during two
shoots some 10 years apart. Ressler was at the camera for both of them.
The 2001-inspired sequence takes a spacesuit-clad Patrick into the
Clubhouse, through the foyer and to the door of Lightman’s office. “The
Clubhouse interior has a formality to it not unlike the hotel in 2001,”
Johnson says, “and I thought, ‘I can make it the bedroom at the end of
the universe, because it’s literally where Pat is going to find out if he gets
to move to the next level.’
“Initially, I never dreamed we’d have a chance to shoot in the Club-
house,” the director continues. “We got permission to spend a day film-
ing the exterior in 2006, and while we were doing that, Ben Toguchi, the
elderly caretaker, actually recognized me from my original visit! He said,
‘I remember you! You’re that kid Herb took all over the place.’ I couldn’t
believe it. I told him what we were doing, and he said, ‘Why aren’t you
shooting inside? Come on.’ And he opened the door and let us in. We did
a couple of quick shots in the foyer, improvising completely, and then
ran away.”
With a laugh, Ressler recalls, “I kept thinking, ‘Are we supposed to be
in here?’ We had a film camera and an anamorphic wide-angle lens from
Panavision. At one point, Patrick wanted a handheld POV shot as Pat’s
walking, and I did not have any handheld equipment, so it was tricky to
From top: Living a cineaste’s dream, Johnson enters the ASC;
get that. There might have been a fixed eyepiece, but it was so long ago
the 5-25-77 crew prepares to shoot a backyard alien landing
I can’t remember. We had a lighting kit in the car, but we didn’t take any
for one of Johnson’s homemade movie epics; actor Emmi Chen
portrays Pat’s girlfriend, Linda. lights inside out of respect for the institution. It was available light.”
After performing further edits on the film, Johnson realized he needed
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From top: While paying homage to Jaws, Johnson’s best friend and
filmmaking partner, Bill (Steve Coulter), endures a “bloody” mishap;
director Patrick Read Johnson (far right) and crew prepare with
Pendleton; actor Kevin J. Stephens as a young Steven Spielberg.
a few more shots in the Clubhouse, and “the ASC graciously agreed to let
us back in,” he says. This material was captured in 2016 with Johnson’s
Sony a7S II, with Ressler and Fisher working in tandem. “We filmed an
exterior sequence out front with doubles [for Pendleton and Daley],”
says Ressler. “We also did various shots of the interior, including Pat’s
double in the spacesuit for later face replacement.”
A Professional Finish
Relationships Johnson forged over the course of his career, which began
with jobs in model shops and evolved into directing (Spaced Invaders,
Baby’s Day Out, Angus), helped him achieve an impressive degree of
verisimilitude in 5-25-77. For example, for the Close Encounters set visit,
Richard Yuricich, ASC loaned Johnson his original matte paintings and
advised on the “cloud tank” work, while Greg Jein loaned the filmmak-
er his Devils Tower model and mothership miniature; for the ILM se-
quence, Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz and longtime ILM visual-effects
supervisor John Knoll helped to facilitate Lucasfilm approvals.
But the relationship that started it all was with AC and the late
Lightman, who edited the magazine from 1966 to 1982. “Herb was the
moment, the connection, the nexus and the spark,” says Johnson. “He
opened the door, saw this goofy kid standing there and didn’t slam it
shut. And he could have — easily.”
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Iconic Indies
ASC members recall early films
that became breakout hits.
R
Compiled by Stephen Pizzello
enowned cinematographers rarely get their starts

working on big-budget productions with endless re-
sources and equipment trucks stocked with expen-
sive gear. Many earn those kinds of privileges after
ascending industry ladders from the lower rungs —
and in some cases by making their reputations with
visually intriguing projects shot in the realm of inde-
pendent cinema.
Outstanding indie projects can also emerge from the work of estab-
lished directors of photography who find that photographing such pro-
ductions can reinvigorate their creativity or allow them to experiment
with techniques they can later bring onto larger sets and locations.
In the following pages, a roster of ASC members recall their work on
classic indie films that drew widespread acclaim and became important
milestones on their career paths. We hope their recollections will pro-
vide inspiration for a new generation of cinematographers who aspire
to Society membership.
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She’s Gotta Have It (1986)
Cinematographer: Ernest Dickerson, ASC
Spike Lee’s breakthrough film was an indie in every sense of the word,
according to Ernest Dickerson, ASC: “We shot She’s Gotta Have It on short
ends, in black-and-white Super 16mm, during 12 intense, hot days in
the summer. It really was like a big student film, and the crewmembers
SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT STILL COURTESY OF AJ PICS/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO.

were all folks we knew from our classes at NYU. We would do what we’d
always done on our student films — improvising a lot as we went along.
Most of the locations weren’t scouted; we would just show up, figure out
the best way to shoot the place, and then go with it.
“Spike had never acted before, and he only did it because the actor he’d
selected fell out at the last second. Of course, that meant that whenever
Spike was in front of the camera, I had to help direct. It wasn’t my first
film, though, and on one of my previous projects, The Brother From An-
other Planet, [director] John Sayles had also acted in front of the camera.
“All the money [on She’s Gotta Have It] was deferred, and we got the
equipment from Carl Schietinger at TCS, the company that serviced the
school cameras at NYU. We knew them, so we were able to trade on our
relationships to get the film made for what was basically just pocket
money.”
Blue Velvet (1986)

Cinematographer: Frederick Elmes, ASC
David Lynch’s neo-noir classic sent shockwaves through the film world
when it unspooled before audiences who were stunned by the mov-
ie’s dreamlike images and surreal twists and turns. Cinematographer
Frederick Elmes, ASC offers, “The story, to me, is about a young man’s
descent into a world he’s never been exposed to, a world that is [both]
frightening and intriguing, [so] I somehow had to capture the fact that
he’s going through a change. It was my job to set up a situation visually
where you went along with him on that trip.”
In one of the movie’s most unsettling sequences, amateur detective
Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) is taken for a joyride by psycho-
pathic criminal Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), his henchmen, and the
mysterious nightclub singer (Isabella Rossellini) whom Jeffrey — and
Frank — are both fixated upon. Elmes explains, “We decided that be-
cause they needed to appear to be driving very fast, the best way to give
the impression of speed was actually to keep the car stationary and move
the lights very quickly past the car while we jiggled the car and the cam-
era. That sequence was all done with the camera handheld and the car
Opposite: Isabella Rossellini portrays troubled torch singer standing still, while bouncing up and down as a lot of people worked
Dorothy Vallens in Blue Velvet. This page, top: Nola Darling
lights that moved past very quickly. It was all choreographed in such a
(Tracy Camilla Johns) and one of her boyfriends, Jamie
way that we gave the feeling that they’re out on the road, [and it] … al-
(Tommy Redmond Hicks), discuss their relationship in She’s
Gotta Have It. Bottom: Unpredictable criminal Frank Booth lowed us to create the illusion that they were going faster than they ever
(Dennis Hopper, left) takes the wheel during a terrifying could have to pull off that effect. We couldn’t drive a car that fast, safely,
joyride in Blue Velvet. and make the effect we ultimately achieved.”
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ICONIC INDIES
sex, lies and videotape (1989)
SEX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE STILL COURTESY OF MAXIMUM FILM/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO.
Cinematographer: Walt Lloyd, ASC
Director Steven Soderbergh’s examination of sexual repres-
sion and voyeurism shook the industry’s Richter scale and
helped make the Sundance Film Festival a prime showcase
for hot new titles and talent. “That film was responsible for
quite a few people’s careers, including my own,” says cine-
matographer Walt Lloyd, ASC. “I had only shot two features
before that, and they were both low-budget Cannon films.
“In order for a film to get noticed the way sex, lies and
videotape did, it has to be incredibly unique and different,”
he adds, “and it’s to Steven’s credit that [the movie was so
bold], especially in terms of its subject matter. We knew
going in that it was a ‘talking heads’ picture, with lots of
dialogue, so we did everything we could to make the story
interesting and build up the tension. One of our techniques
was to always keep the camera moving, but you can hardly
see it because the camera is moving so slowly. Half the time
I was pushing the dolly with my foot, ever so slightly, just to
increase the tension in a scene. I’m not even sure that was
entirely necessary, because the performances were so won-
derful. I’ve always appreciated the fact that Steven gave me
the opportunity to shoot it.”
Clerks (1994)
Cinematographer: David Klein, ASC
Filmed in just 21 days for $27,000 during off hours at a
real-life convenience store in Leonardo, N.J., Clerks had a
primary crew of three people: writer-director-editor Kevin
Smith, cinematographer and future ASC member David
Klein (then just 20 years old), and producer-editor-sound
mixer Scott Mosier. It surprised everyone, Klein included,
when Miramax picked up Clerks for theatrical distribution
after the film premiered at the 1994 Sundance Film Festi-
val, which launched Smith’s career and became the first of
many collaborations between the director and Klein.
“We didn’t know what we were doing — that’s why the
camera never moves!” Klein recalls now, with a laugh. “[It’s
also] why you have these six- and seven-minute scenes that
are just one shot. I remember one — the ‘salsa shark scene’
— in which [actors] Brian [O’Halloran] and Jeff [Anderson]
were on top of an ice cooler, having a conversation, and
Kevin was not happy with it at the end of the night. We de-
cided we were going to reshoot it the next day. So I asked,
‘Well, what do you want me to do with the film?’ Kevin just
said, ‘Throw it out.’ Because we didn’t want to pay for the
processing and printing. That’s how little money we had.”
Top: Ann (Andie MacDowell) finds herself drawn to one of
her husband’s old college pals, Graham (James Spader), in
sex, lies and videotape. Bottom: Actor Brian O’Halloran and
director Kevin Smith on location for the Clerks shoot.
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Pi (1998)
Cinematographer: Matthew Libatique, ASC
Brooklyn native Darren Aronofsky met Queens native and future ASC member Mat-
thew Libatique after they’d both enrolled at the American Film Institute, where they
teamed up to shoot a short film called Protozoa.
Aronofsky envisioned their first feature together, Pi, as an intense character study
partially inspired by his avid consumption of books by “freaky conspiracy theorists.”
He notes, “In film school we started off doing ‘portrait films,’ which are basically like
little vérité documentaries focusing on one person. I decided to do something similar
with Pi, homing in on Max [Sean Gullette] and building the movie out of his head.”
Libatique recalls, “Darren wanted to shoot Pi in black-and-white for both aesthet-
ic and budgetary reasons. He wanted the most contrasty black-and-white possible,
with really white whites and really black blacks. I tested a number of 16mm stocks
during prep, but we decided to go with reversal stock after watching [the jazz docu-
mentary] Let’s Get Lost. Once we saw what could be done, we did more research into
reversal film, and I fell in love with the idea of shooting the film that way.”
Memento (2000)
Cinematographer: Wally Pfister, ASC
Director Christopher Nolan and cinematographer Wally Pfister, ASC put themselves
on the map with this breakout Sundance hit, a twisty neo-noir starring Guy Pearce as
a man suffering from a form of amnesia that leaves him unable to create new memo-
ries. The project kick-started the pair’s fruitful filmmaking collaboration on six more
productions of increasing scale and complexity, including Insomnia, their Batman
trilogy, The Prestige and Inception.
The duo shot Memento in both color and black-and-white to delineate subjective
and objective perspectives. However, “Chris was looking for a very natural approach
to the photography,” Pfister told AC. “He didn’t want it to get in the way of the story.
The camera supports Chris’ philosophy, his dialogue, and the structure of the film.
That goes for the lighting as well. Chris didn’t want big shafts of light, or any smoke
at all. The coverage is the same: You get the pieces that you need, and nothing more.”
Donnie Darko (2001)

Cinematographer: Steven Poster, ASC
This mind-bending indie was shot on a tight schedule with just two-dozen produc-
tion days and one day for pickups. Lending Steven Poster, ASC a hand as camera
operators were Society members Richard Crudo and Bing Sokolsky, as well as fu-
ture member Steve Gainer, who also performed 2nd-unit duties. “You hit the floor
running and put all your energy into making all the shots on a given day,” Poster
says. “If you don’t get the day’s work, whatever you miss simply isn’t in the film!”
The cinematographer credits the ability to work efficiently to the time he had
with director Richard Kelly in prep: “Because Richard was a first-time director … I
wanted to have three or four days with him alone to sit down and read the script
and decide what we were going to do. It was a tremendously creative time. When
we came out of those four days, we knew what the movie was. We sailed through
that production in a way that was so exciting and energizing. It allowed me to do
some things that I had been working at doing, but never really achieved. I’m a very
technical guy, but I had a personal goal of wanting to work more intuitively. I want-
Top: Sean Gullette plays a paranoid mathematician in Pi.
ed to let it come from my heart, not my head. I was able to do that all the way
Middle: In Memento, Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) suffers
through, from day one through the end of production.”
from a form of amnesia that prevents him from forming
new memories. Bottom: Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Poster considers Donnie Darko to be “a seminal moment in my career. It wasn’t
Gretchen (Jena Malone) are joined by the sinister just some little film that I tossed off. It was very important to me artistically.”
Frank (James Duval) in Donnie Darko.
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Global Village By Iain Marcks
Shooting Stars for RRR
K.K. Senthil Kumar, ISC seeks a director S.S. Rajamouli on the collaboration, including the 2007 color palettes and unrealistic
delicate balance when working feature RRR (Rise Roar Revolt) feature Yamadonga (starring camera moves — in favor of a
with major actors. “When I’m — which happens to showcase Rao), the 2009 film Magadheera more classical cinematographic
dealing with big superstars, I both actors. “It’s absolute chaos. (starring Charan), and Baahubali: approach. The filmmakers devel-
have to keep in mind that people Everyone’s whistling, shouting, The Beginning and Baahubali 2: oped this look in preproduction,
are coming to the movie to see clapping.” The Conclusion in 2015 and 2017 examining documentaries and
them, so I have to present them in Charan and Rao are two — with each production more ex- features from the film’s period
the best possible light,” he says. of the biggest screen idols in pensive, ambitious and successful setting, adopting techniques that
“At the same time, my job as the Telugu cinema — or “Tollywood,” than the last. Set in 1920, RRR were germane to the period and
cinematographer is to help my the immensely popular south- continues that tradition as the discarding the ones that weren’t.
director tell the story in the best ern Indian film industry whose most expensive Indian film ever “We did lots of test shoots, which
possible way, so I need to balance growing box-office performance made, telling a fictionalized ac- helped us understand our visual
both throughout the film. I always has brought it toe-to-toe with count of two real-life revolution- style,” the cinematographer says.
try to keep the audience’s atten- Bollywood, and whose fans tend aries, Komaram Bheem and Alluri That visual style emerges
tion on the story and not distract to take movies and their stars Sitarama Raju (Rao and Charan, in part from an openness to
them.” very seriously. respectively), who join forces to improvisation. “When you don’t
When a new film starring the Senthil (who prefers to be overthrow the colonial rule of the fix yourself with rules, you tend
likes of Ram Charan or N.T. Rama referred to by his first name) British Raj. to come up with your own unique
Rao Jr. is released, “the crowds and Rajamouli bear some re- language,” Senthil continues.
in the theaters must be seen to sponsibility for the audiences’ Freedom to Explore “For instance, we didn’t have a
be believed,” adds the cinema- expectations, having produced a Senthil avoided the use of overt standard approach to lenses,
tographer, who worked alongside string of hits over their 20-year stylization — such as extreme like designating a lens only for
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Opposite: Indian revolutionary Komaram Bheem
(N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) wields a water hose as
a weapon. This page: Actor Ram Charan as
revolutionary Alluri Sitarama Raju.
“When I’m dealing with superstars, I have to keep in mind choreographed and test-filmed
that people are coming to the movie to see them, so I have before the start of principal pho-
tography. Says Senthil, “We filmed
to present them in the best possible light.” the stunt team on a rehearsal
stage, and sometimes on location,
as the actors performed suggest-
close-ups or things like that. will not be enough,” Senthil animals unleashed at an imperial ed shots — [either] on multiple
During the abduction of the Gondi explains. “It’s the starting point fête. “These are big, action-heavy cell phone cameras, Canon 5Ds or
girl, Malli [Twinkle Sharma], at for production design, costumes, sequences, so we had to be sure Red cameras.”
the beginning of the film, I used action and visual effects — and about what we wanted to convey
extreme close-ups to capture the then we improvise from there.” in every shot,” Senthil says. “We Practical Sets and Locations
characters’ emotions and to get A few examples of the se- needed a very collaborative effort While RRR featured an immense
the audience into the minds of quences previsualized in Unreal between different departments to roster of visual-effects artists and
the characters. We made those Engine by John Griffith at his get our desired result.” technicians — more than a dozen
decisions in the moment.” visual effects studio, CNCPT, The scene in which Raju supervisors across 11 companies
This flexibility was made possi- include Bheem’s introduction in single-handedly defends an im- are credited — Senthil maintains
ble through a previsualization and a forest, where he attempts to perial police outpost from a mob that most of what’s on the screen
storyboarding process for some catch a tiger with his bare hands; of Indian anti-colonialists was can be considered practical,
of the film’s biggest sequences, Raju and Bheem’s first encounter, planned and developed through because so many of the elements
“where lots of people have to be where they cooperate to save a a process called stunt visualiza- originated in-camera.
on the same page to understand young boy from a train wreck on tion — or “stuntvis” — by which He cites the riot at the police
the director’s vision, and words a bridge; and a menagerie of wild complex action sequences are outpost as one example: A
NOVEMBER 2022 / 59

Global Village Tech Specs: RRR 1.90:1, 2.39:1
Camera | Arri Alexa LF
Lenses | Arri Signature Prime
From top: An action set piece featuring a fiery train wreck on

a bridge was achieved with the aid of miniature effects plates;
a human tower assembles for a musical celebration of the
heroes’ friendship; Senthil and crew on set.
“I wanted the image to be extremely crisp

and sharp.”
practical set was constructed of dancers there and got to shoot

and close to 3,000 extras were at Mariinskyi Palace, the home
brought in, with digital crowd of the president. It’s a beautiful
extensions used only for the far place and we had a wonderful
background. For the sequence in experience shooting there.”
which Ram and Bheem save the
boy, Senthil shot miniature effects Lighting for Realism
plates for the bridge and explod- RRR was designed for release in
ing train. Even at a distance, char- Imax and Dolby Vision, which led
acters seen flying through the air Senthil to select the Arri Alexa
are played by live stunt actors. LF and Arri Signature Primes for
“We did not believe in ‘create his camera and lens package.
it in post’ or ‘fix it in post,’” Senthil “The Signature Primes gave me a
says. The one exception to this sharp, clean and extremely natu-
rule involved animals — hence the ralistic image, with this magical,
title card before the film assuring cinematic look,” he says. “What
the audience that many of the I like about the Alexa LF is the
creatures are digital creations. organic quality that it gives to the
“Otherwise,” he notes, “we always image, and the shallow depth of
tried to achieve the maximum field is very much like film, so if
amount of work on location and the light looks right to me, it will
then enhance it with VFX.” look right on camera.”
Much of RRR’s action takes For Senthil, “looking right”
place in Delhi, but most of it was meant the imagery should feel
shot in Hyderabad, Telanga- realistic, so he lit in a manner that
na, the epicenter of Tollywood. was “majorly source-inspired,”
Sets were constructed at Alind aiming to make the shots “feel
ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF D.V.V. DANAYYA AND DVV ENTERTAINMENT.

Aluminum Industries Limited — an like they are lit by the source in
industrial complex repurposed the frame — with light through
for film production — as well as onscreen windows, or lampposts
Ramoji Film City and on location or fire, etc., as motivation.”
in Gandipet. Other locations The cinematographer was
included Siddhpur; Gujarat (“a more concerned with enhancing
place preserved in time,” says the mood than being bold, but
Senthil); and a forest in Sofia, the often found ways to do both.
capital of Bulgaria. “We shot the “There’s a courtroom sequence
most energetic dance number, where the imperial police are try-
for the song ‘Naatu Naatu,’ in ing to figure out who has come to
Kyiv,” Senthil adds. “We needed take the kidnapped girl,” he says.
lots of foreigners for the scene, “It had to feel like it was actually
but getting them into India was happening, but we also wanted
too difficult because of the Covid lots of drama, so I added alternat-
restrictions. One of the first ing shafts of light and shade. I put
countries to open for filming was the officer in charge of the search
Ukraine, so we found a great set in direct sunlight, so he gets lots
60 / NOVEMBER 2022

The wild-animal-attack sequence was one
of several scenes that called for careful
previsualization.
of attention.” says. “Soft diffusion requires a lot release the movie in as many During production, Senthil had
Lighting the courtroom was of light, and HMIs and tungsten formats as possible, so people monitored his work in Rec 709,
especially tricky, Senthil adds, lights also generate a lot of would have the opportunity to see without the use of a LUT. “I try to
because “the sun is very far from heat, and that can wear out the it in their favorite format,” he says. start with as clean an image as
us, and getting parallel beams actors’ makeup. LEDs are easy on “We even did a release in 3D.” In possible, knowing that it will be
of light to simulate sunbeams actors; they don’t generate heat, a first for an Indian film, RRR was improvised in the grade,” he says.
inside the studio was challenging. so I can pump as much light as I also released in Dolby Cine- “I like deep blacks, and we didn’t
I lit the courtroom by reflecting want onto the actors. And using ma, a format that incorporates have to tweak the contrast much,
Arrimax lights, using mirrors that LEDs greatly reduced our power Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. because we took everything into
added distance to the [source] consumption.” “We still don’t have Dolby Vision consideration during the shoot.”
and helped [create] those parallel theaters in India, but we thought Senthil is delighted with RRR’s
beams.” Format and Finishing this would be the best way to global success and attributes it
Traditional tungsten and HMI Senthil operated for the produc- preserve the film for the future,” to cinema’s universal resonance.
units were used as larger sources, tion’s single photography unit, Senthil notes. “When people go to the movies,
but closer in, the actors were lit shooting in Open Gate mode with The finishing work for RRR they want their stars to look like
with Arri SkyPanels. “I’m a fan of an eye for Imax’s 1.90:1 aspect was performed in Hyderabad, at stars,” he says. “They want cine-
the big, soft source, and I diffuse ratio, but protecting for 2.39:1 ANR Sound & Vision at Annapurna ma to be like cinema.”
the light a great deal, especially D-Cinema, the principal release Studios, by colorist Bvr Shivaku-
when I’m filming people,” Senthil format in India. “We wanted to mar, who delivered a 4K master.
NOVEMBER 2022 / 61

New Products and Services
For more of our latest tech reports, visit
ascmag.com/articles/new-products.
Red Launches V-Raptor XL

Red Digital Cinema has latest IPP2 workflow and color and 3-Pin 24V auxiliary power Charger, Red Pro CFexpress
released the V-Raptor XL 8K management. The camera will outputs, and a Gig-E connector 2TB cards and card reader, a
VV camera. Featuring the continue to use the updated for camera control and PTP top handle with extensions,
same multi-format 8K sensor Redcode Raw settings (HQ, MQ synchronization. The XL’s new a riser plate, top and bottom
found in the V-Raptor body, and LQ) to enhance the user three-stage cooling system with 15mm LWS rod support
the system enables filmmakers experience with simplified format thermoelectric heat exchanger brackets, and a DSMC3 Red
to shoot 8K large format or 6K choices optimized for various will more effectively maintain 5-pin-to-Dual-XLR adapter.
S35. Users can always capture shooting scenarios. sensor temperature in extreme Red collaborated with
at over 4K, including when The new XL system features environments. The camera body Angelbird, Core SWX and
the camera is paired with S35 an internal electronic ND system measures 7.5"x6.5" and weighs Creative Solutions to produce
lenses. The sensor features of 2 to 7 stops with precision almost 8 pounds. The standalone the purpose-built accessories
the highest recorded dynamic control of 1/3- or 1/4-stop camera system is available in included in the Production
range of any Red camera; the increments. It has dual-power both V-Lock and Gold Mount Pack, and most of them will be
sensor scan time is 2x faster options with both 14V and options. available to order individually
than any previous Red camera 26V battery compatibility; an The bundled Production Pack via Red and authorized Red
and allows users to capture up interchangeable lens mount; and is also available now. In addition dealers.
to 600 fps at 2K. wireless timecode, genlock and to the camera, it includes a For more information, visit
The V-Raptor XL features camera control for remote and DSMC3 Red Touch 7" LCD red.com.
Red’s proprietary Redcode virtual-production readiness. Monitor with DSMC3 RMI Cable
Raw codec, allowing The XL incorporates a and Sunhood, a Redvolt XL-V (or
cinematographers to capture professional I/O array with XL-G) Batteries Red Compact
16-bit raw and leverage Red’s front-facing 3G-SDI, 2-Pin 12V Dual V-Lock or Gold Mount
62 / NOVEMBER 2022
p. 62-67 New Products V4.indd 62 10/5/22 2:51 PM

Leitz Announces Hugo
Primes
Ernst Leitz Wetzlar has announced the Leitz
Hugo primes, which will have an LPL mount as
well as the traditional cine orientation of focus
and iris scales, expanded focus scales with
a 270-degree rotation, and increased close-
focus ability.
Leitz Hugo primes will initially be available
as a set of seven full-frame lenses, from 21mm
to 90mm (all T1.5), with 18mm and 135mm
focal lengths to follow. A 50mm (T1) lens will
also be available. Existing M 0.8 lenses will be
eligible for a conversion to Hugo lenses in the
future.
For more information, visit leitz-cine.com.
Planar Introduces Venue Pro

VX Series
Planar has introduced the Venue Pro VX Series, a family of
indoor, fine-pixel-pitch, LED video-wall displays. Designed
to support hanging, stacked or wall-mounted installations,
the solution offers support for HDR-ready content, a wide
color gamut (including up to DCI-P3 color space) and
compatibility with a wide range of cameras.
The Venue Pro VX Series features magnetically
attachable cabinets with quick locks for single-person
installation. It also includes mechanical features to suit
both temporary applications and fixed installations. The
series is available in 1.9- and 2.5-millimeter pixel pitches
and is compatible with Brompton LED processors and
Colorlight LED controllers.
For more information, visit planar.com.
Sony Ci to Integrate with

Teradek Encoders
Teradek and Sony Electronics have announced that Sony’s
Ci Media Cloud will natively integrate with Teradek’s Serv
4K and Prism Flex encoding solutions.
The integration will enable any camera used on set, in
studio or remotely to upload footage to Ci directly from
Teradek’s encoders, allowing film and broadcast teams to
review, edit and deliver proxy files in a matter of minutes.
Content can be clipped, reformatted and shared without
ever leaving the cloud.
Teradek Serv 4K and Prism Flex will connect to Sony’s
Ci with a unique eight-digit code — no additional apps
required. Serv 4K also provides local iPad client monitoring
and a Gold/V-mount solution for camera-back setups.
Prism Flex offers live streaming and point-to-point
decoding.
For more information, visit teradek.com and
cimediacloud.com.
NOVEMBER 2022 / 63

NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
QolorFlex
LED Tape
City Theatrical is expanding
its line of QolorFlex LED tape
and accessories with QolorFlex
NuNeon Tunable White HiQ
High CRI LED tape.
A sealed LED linear product
that is IP67-rated for indoor
and outdoor use, QolorFlex
LED tape has a CRI greater
than 94, a color-temperature
range of 2,700-6,500K and
a 120-degree beam angle.
It is sold in 16' reels through
City Theatrical distributors
worldwide and can be cut to
the user’s specs. Operating
on 24VDC, the tape can be
powered and controlled by a
Sony Introduces FX30 variety of QolorFlex Dimmers
and power supplies for
Sony Electronics, Inc., has looks, such as Sony’s S-Cinetone, through various audio inputs.
smooth, flicker-free dimming.
announced the FX30 4K Super 35 and can shoot single stills. The The camera features two
It is ETL-listed and CE- and
cinema camera. The FX30 (model camera offers advanced image- memory-card slots that are
RoHS-compliant.
ILME-FX30) features a back- processing capabilities with the compatible with CFexpress Type
City Theatrical offers
illuminated, 20.1-megapixel APS-C Bionz XR processing engine. A cards — including the new
four other QolorFlex HiQ
Exmor R CMOS sensor with a dual The FX30 features Sony’s still large-capacity CEA-G320T and
High CRI LED tapes in color
base ISO (800/2,500) to deliver and video autofocus, with settings CEA-G640T cards — and SDXC/
temperatures that include
high sensitivity, low noise and that include Real-time Eye AF, SDHC cards. It also features
3,200K, 6,000K and 2,700-
more than 14 stops of latitude. Real-time Tracking, Detailed an innovative heat-dissipation
6,500K in a single chip, as well
The camera supports a variety AF setting and AF assist. Focus structure for uninterrupted
as QolorFLEX 5-in-1 HiQ High
of video-recording codecs. It Map makes it easy to visualize 4K/60p recording, reliable power
CRI LED tape, a 5-in-1 24V LED
can shoot in high frame rates, depth of field, and Breathing for extended recording and a
Tape with a CRI greater than
including 4K at 120 fps and full Compensation offers a stable durable magnesium-alloy chassis.
95.
HD at 240 fps. The camera also angle of view when focusing. A comprehensive selection
For more information, visit
has the ability to shoot 4K Super The camera includes effective of E-mount lenses, high-
citytheatrical.com.
35 (16:9) by oversampling from stabilization for run-and-gun performance microphones and
6K at up to 60 fps. Both 16:9 shoots using Active Mode, made other components offers flexible
recording modes can shoot at 10- possible by the optical in-body systems for a broad range of
bit 4:2:2 while the HDMI Type-A five-axis image stabilization. The creative needs.
port outputs 4K 16-bit Raw for an FX30 also includes timecode The Sony FX30 can be
external recorder. sync. purchased with or without the
Like other Sony Cinema Line The camera has a flat-top XLR handle.
models, the FX30 features Log design with threaded accessory- For more information, visit
shooting modes by enabling Cine attachment points, making it easy pro.sony.com.
El, Cine El Quick and Flexible ISO to use for shooting handheld,
modes for recording with the capturing low-angle shots or
S-Log3 gamma curve. All three mounting on a gimbal. It also
modes allow video shooting while features an XLR handle unit,
monitoring with an appropriate which can be used to capture
LUT to preview the final image. low-angle shots and also allows
In addition, the FX30 includes filmmakers to capture audio
a selection of built-in cinematic
64 / NOVEMBER 2022

Nanlux Releases
Evoke 1200B
Nanlux has released the Evoke 1200B bi-
color LED spotlight. Adapting two 1,200-watt
bi-color LED chips in dot-matrix format, the
Evoke 1200B offers a luminance level of
5,600K up to 61,030 lux at 9' (with reflector
RF-NLM-26, sold separately) and a variable
CCT range of 2,700-6,500K.
Five dimming curves are available via DMX Your Super 8 and 16mm
control: Linear, Exponent, Logarithm, S-Curve Film Lab for 50 years
and Gamma 2.2. The fixture can be connected
to a DMX console via 5-pin cable or controlled
wirelessly through the built-in LumenRadio
TimoTwo module. A new heat-management
system offers three fan speeds. CAMERAS.
For more information, visit nanlux.com/en/.
FILM.
Sigma Unveils 20mm, PROCESSING.

24mm DG DN Art Lenses
Sigma Corp. of America has unveiled the 20mm SCANNING.
f/1.4 DG DN Art and 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art
full-frame wide-angle prime lenses. Designed
exclusively for mirrorless cameras, the lenses
offer improved sharpness from edge to edge,
enhanced portability, and a manual aperture ring
that can be de-clicked for video use.
818.848.5522 • pro8mm.com
New features include manual focus lock,
which allows the user to set focus manually and
lock it in place. A rear filter holder provides an
opportunity to use rear-mounted filters for various
effects without causing distortion or vignetting.
Both lenses are available for Sony E-mount and CABLE MANAGEMENT
L-mount systems.
For more information, visit sigmaphoto.com. RIP-TIE RIPWRAP
FAST
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Power Gems G A F F E R ’ S TA P E .
- P R E - P E R F O R AT E D AVA I L A B L E .
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and fluoropolymer coating of PCBS to protect - ORGANIZE YOUR CABLES.
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In addition, the Gen 2 is fitted with silicon- - R E U S A B L E , L E S S M AT E R I A L

GOING TO LANDFILL.
carbide components, greatly reducing heat
buildup within units. Temperature-controlled
2” WIDE 1” WIDE
fans ensure proper operation in high ambient
150 FT 150 FT
temperatures. The Gen 2 can operate any lamp
from 6K to 18K. Its modular design allows users 75 FT 75 FT
to pop out a faulty module and repair it when 30 FT 30 FT
convenient.
For more information, visit powergems.com.
Rip-Tie, Inc. 883 San Leandro Boulevard, San Leandro, CA 94577

2021 Rip-Tie is a registered trademark of Rip-Tie, Inc.
Made in USA www.riptie.com

NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Chrosziel Unveils
Meta Mount
Chrosziel GmbH has
announced the Meta Mount,
an E-mount-camera-to-
PL-mount-lens adapter
with electronic contacts for
metadata communication and
lens control. Mo-Sys Introduces
When the Meta Mount is
used with cine lenses with
MoRail
Mo-Sys Engineering has released the MoRail,
LDS or Cooke/i Data, metadata
a motorized rail that enables creative pan-tilt-
such as iris setting, focus
zoom and ENG camera moves in newsroom
distance and zoom focal length
environments. MoRail supports all major PTZ
are transmitted through the
and ENG camera systems weighing up to
adapter, appearing in the
33 pounds, transforming static shots into
viewfinder and on the monitor,
repeatable creative shots with controlled
and are recorded in the video
parallax movement.
file for use in postproduction.
Included in the MoRail package is a Mo-
When the Meta Mount is
Sys controller that enables rail height and
used with an ENG servo motor-
camera position to be set in addition to pan,
controlled broadcast lens, the
tilt, zoom, focus and iris.
Focus/Iris/Zoom servos can be
For more information, visit mo-sys.com.
controlled through the camera
and are compatible with Sony
FX9, FX6 and FX3 hand grips,
Ad Index
RCP or the camera’s web GUI.
For more information, visit
chrosziel.com.
Blackmagic Design Inc. 3

Brompton Technology
(Carallon Ltd.) 27
Carl Zeiss SBE, LLC C4
Cine Lens Book 41
Creamsource / Outsight Pty. Ltd. 17
Creative Solutions / Teradek C2-1
Elation Lighting 37
EnergaCamerimage 49
Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH 9
Filmotechnic USA 11
K5600 35
Nanguang Photo & Video Systems /
Nanlux 13
Power Gems Ltd. 29
Pro8mm 65
Red Digital Cinema 7
SmallHD Releases Smart 5 Series Rip-Tie Inc. 65
SmallHD has introduced the Smart 5 series of five touchscreen monitors. The solution is ROE Visual Co. Ltd. C3
available in three versions: the Indie 5, the Cine 5 and the Ultra 5.
The Studio – B&H 23
The Indie 5 offers 1,000 nits of brightness and optional camera-control functionality. The
Vantage GmbH / Hawk 15
Cine 5 offers 2,000 nits of brightness and a joystick control and back button that allow for
quick adjustments, even when the user is wearing gloves. The Ultra 5 features 3,000 nits
William F. White International Inc. 5
of brightness; a locking power adapter; an Ethernet port for Arri camera control; and large, AC Manual 67
front-facing buttons for maximum control in all conditions. AC Subscription 6
For more information, visit smallhd.com. ASC Our First 100 Years 25
ASC Master Class 71
66 / NOVEMBER 2022

AMERICAN
CINEMATOGRAPHER
MANUAL
NEW EDITION!
The revised 11th edition of this essential technical
reference is now exclusively available for pre-order
from the American Society of Cinematographers.
Containing entirely new chapters and substantial

rewrites of entries from the previous edition, this
hardback book designed for on-set use is a must-have
for cinematographers and other motion-imaging
professionals.
Edited by M. David Mullen, ASC and ASC associate

member Rob Hummel, contributors to this edition include
Society members Bill Bennett, Christopher Chomyn,
Richard Crudo, Richard Edlund, John C. Hora, Levie
Isaacks, Dennis Muren, James Neihouse, Sam Nicholson,
Steven Poster, Christopher Probst, Pete Romano,
Roberto Schaefer and David Stump.
Topics covered in this new edition of our

“filmmaker’s bible” include:
• Evaluating digital cameras

• Taking ownership of your sensor
• Measuring light
• The color science behind modern lighting instruments
• Virtual production/emissive screens GET YOUR
• Digital versions of day-for-night and infrared
cinematography
COPY NOW!
• Imax/large-format cinematography
• Specialty lenses
• Variable frame rates
• ASC Color-Decision List (ASC CDL)
• Academy Color Encoding System (ACES)
Order today — for yourself or as a

gift — at store.ascmag.com

Clubhouse News
Latest Bulletins From the Society
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE FILMMAKERS.

Checco Varese, ASC Gary Baum, ASC
Mike Gioulakis Welcomed as New Gioulakis has also shot three ASC Members Among 2022 Emmy Honored this year for his
ASC Member features for director Mike Ott: the Winners multi-cam work on How I Met
Well known for his collaborations documentary California Dreams, Society members Gary Baum and Your Father, Baum earned his 11th
with directors M. Night Shyamalan, and the scripted dramas Lake Los Checco Varese were among the Emmy nod and third win. He was
David Robert Mitchell and Jordan Angeles and Pearblossom Hwy. The winners announced during the Tele- previously recognized for the series
Peele, new ASC member Mike cinematographer’s other credits vision Academy’s 74th Primetime Gary Unmarried, 2 Broke Girls, Mike
Gioulakis earned his BFA at Florida include The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Creative Arts Emmy Awards. & Molly (for which he won in 2015),
State University. He gained expe- directed by Michael Showalter; Eleven Society members The Millers, Superior Donuts and
rience behind the camera shooting Under the Silver Lake, also directed were nominated: Autumn Durald Will & Grace (for which he won in
music videos and shorts, while also by Mitchell, which premiered at the Arkapaw, Baum, Ava Berkofsky, 2018).
working as a gaffer on features and Cannes Film Festival; and the hit Mark Doering-Powell, Wolfgang Recognized for his work on the
commercials. After moving to Los thriller Us, directed by Peele. Held, Gregory Middleton, Donald limited series Dopesick, Varese
Angeles, he had the opportunity Gioulakis recently completed A. Morgan, M. David Mullen, Ben earned his first Emmy nomination
to shoot the feature John Dies at the upcoming Netflix crime feature Richardson, Steven V. Silver and and win.
the End, which screened at the Reptile, the directorial narra- Varese.
2012 Sundance Film Festival. This tive-feature debut of Grant Singer. The winners in the cinematogra-
eventually led to his shooting the He also shoots commercials for cli- phy categories were announced on
breakthrough horror hit It Follows, ents that include Uber, Coca-Cola, the evenings of Sept. 3 and 4 during
directed by Mitchell. The picture Google and Estée Lauder. the Creative Arts Emmy ceremonies
earned Gioulakis a 2016 Film Inde- held at the Microsoft Theater in Los
pendent Spirit Award nomination Angeles.
and brought him to the attention of
Shyamalan, launching their working
relationship.
His feature projects with Shya-
malan include Split and Glass from
the Unbreakable trilogy and the
Apple TV Plus series Servant. Their
latest feature collaboration, the
thriller Old, was released in 2021.
68 / NOVEMBER 2022
p. 68-71 Clubhouse News V4.indd 68 10/5/22 2:52 PM

TOP PHOTO BY ANDREW ROGERS. BOTTOM PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ASC ARCHIVE.
Latest ASC Master Class Wraps in Hollywood Dates and Deadlines Announced for ASC Awards
An ASC Master Class session was held on Sept. 12-16, with students par- The 37th Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards gala will take
ticipating in demonstrations and discussions that took place at the historic place on March 5, 2023. Recognizing excellence in cinematography, the
ASC Clubhouse, Arri’s facility in Burbank, the Zeiss offices in Sherman ASC Awards honor the extraordinary work of directors of photography
Oaks, Panavision’s headquarters in Woodland Hills and Picture Shop in who have excelled in the art and craft of visual storytelling in feature films,
Hollywood. episodics and documentaries. The annual ceremony will be held at the
Lighting instructors included ASC members Robert McLachlan, Arman- Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., and live-streamed worldwide.
do Salas and Jon Joffin. Michael M. Pessah, ASC conducted a seminar To be eligible for an ASC Award, a theatrical feature must have a release
on cinema history; Christopher Probst, ASC and ASC associate member date between Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2022. The deadline for theatrical-feature
Jay Holben conducted a discussion on optics; Craig Kief, ASC detailed entries is Dec. 5, 2022.
his approach to lighting and shooting in an LED volume; and Patrick Cady, For all TV categories, a show must air or stream between Dec. 1, 2021
ASC participated in a discussion with director Tara Nicole Weyr, using their and Nov. 30, 2022. The deadline for these submissions is Nov. 28, 2022.
collaboration on the TV series Bosch as a case study. Eligible documentaries would need to release or air between Jan. 1 and
The final ASC Master Class session for 2022 will take place on Nov. Nov. 20, 2022. The deadline for documentary submis-
7-11, with a special focus on shooting film. Details can be found at sions is Oct. 31, 2022.
theasc.com/asc/education/master-class. The ASC will also bestow its Spotlight Award to
highlight a creative, unique indie feature. ASC members
nominate and vote on winners in this category.
Above: Students attend the September 2022 ASC Master
Class, whose instructors included Society members Jon Honors including the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award
Joffin (center, on dolly), Armando Salas (middle row, fourth and Board of Governors Award will also be presented
from right) and Charlie Lieberman (bottom row, far right). during the March 5 ceremony.
A complete timeline for the Awards and addition-
al details can be found at theasc.com/asc/awards/
dates-deadlines.
NOVEMBER 2022 / 69

Clubhouse News
TOP PHOTO BY THEIK SMITH. BOTTOM PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ASC ARCHIVE.
Society and ICLS Members Meet at CineSocial NY Above, from left, ASC members Dejan Georgevich,
ASC members joined participants from the International Cinema Lighting Frank Prinzi, Fred Murphy and Mauricio Rubenstein
are joined by veteran chief lighting technicians Cody
Society (ICLS) in Industry City, Brooklyn, on September 17, for a lively and
Jacobs, Michael Bauman and Dave Samuel.
informative panel Q&A between cinematographers and gaffers, held during
the Lux Lighting CineSocial NY 2022 event.
ASC Education & Outreach Members

Dine With Students
In honor of longtime committee chair George
Spiro Dibie, ASC, Society members recently par-
ticipated in an Education & Outreach luncheon
at Carnival Restaurant in Sherman Oaks, Calif.
The Lebanese eatery was one of Dibie’s favorite
meetup spots, and he was well-known there.
Participating ASC members George Mooradi-
an, Ernest Dickerson, Gregg Heschong, Chris
La Fountaine and Steven V. Silver met with
students from the College of Southern Nevada,
led by John C. Aliano, program director of the
school’s Videography & Film program. The event
was sponsored by Nanlux Americas and coordi-
nated by ASC associate member Mark Bender.
Ernest Dickerson,
ASC joins students
for an Education &
Outreach luncheon to
honor Society member
George Spiro Dibie.
70 / NOVEMBER 2022

MASTER CLASS
LEARN FROM THE BEST
The American Society of Cinematographers’ in-person Master Subjects and activities include:
Class program is designed for cinematographers with an • Multiple interactive lighting demonstrations
intermediate to advanced skill set. This five-day immersive • Presentation on virtual production and shooting with LED walls
seminar is taught in Los Angeles by some of the finest directors of • Color-grading workshop at a post facility
photography in the world. • Analysis of cinematography from notable films of the past
• Presentations about cameras, lenses and future technologies
Enrolling in the ASC Master Class will enable you to hone your
craft while making valuable professional connections that Upcoming sessions:
can jumpstart your career. Prominent Society members and November 7-11 (Shooting-on-Film Focus)
associates serve as instructors, offering invaluable experience January 23-27, 2023
and insights not only on the creative and technical aspects of the May 22-26, 2023
cinematographer’s profession, but on business-related topics
as well. Learn more and register at theasc.com/asc/education/master-class

Wrap Shot
Beaulieu 4008
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ASC ARCHIVE.

Super 8 film was introduced in 1965, and Beaulieu was quick to provide professional-level support for the new format
with tools such as the Beaulieu 4008. An example of the camera is seen here, disassembled on a technician’s work-
bench. A major upgrade of the company’s earlier 2008 model, it featured reflex viewing and a precision-engineered
electric movement that was rugged (and repairable), unlike the many amateur models from other makers that came
before it. Available from the French manufacturer with a C-mount Angénieux f/1.9 8-64mm or Schneider Kreuznach
Optivaron f/1.8 6-66mm zoom, it was designed for independent filmmakers seeking a cost-effective and highly mobile
camera. The 4008’s build quality not only earned it many faithful users, but ensured that it would continue to be em-
ployed many decades after being deemed “obsolete” — much like the Super 8 format itself.
The visual attributes of Super 8 have also been embraced by leading cinematographers for use on feature films that
include Black Rain (shot by Jan De Bont, ASC; AC Sept. ’89), Natural Born Killers (Robert Richardson, ASC; AC Nov. ’94)
and Super 8 (Larry Fong, ASC; AC July ’11); TV series such as American Horror Story (Michael Goi, ASC, ISC) and This Is
Us (Yasu Tanida) — and countless music videos and commercials.
Today, refurbished and upgraded 4008s — serviced and supported by the company Pro8mm, celebrating its 50th
anniversary under the guidance of ASC associate members Phil and Rhonda Vigeant — continue to create impressive
images. Indeed, the Emmy-nominated series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (Todd Banhazl and Mihai
Mălaimare Jr.; AC April ’22), which premiered just this year, showcases the camera’s inimitable qualities.
Society member Isidore Mankofsky’s personal 4008 is now on display at the ASC Clubhouse.
— David E. Williams
72 / NOVEMBER 2022
p. 72 Wrap Shot V4.indd 72 10/5/22 2:54 PM

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November 2022 The International Publication of the American Society of Cinematographers

House of the Dragon

Cover 1_OFC.indd 1 10/5/22 2:21 PM

30 Back to the Battlefield

50 5-25-77: An ASC Odyssey

p. 2-3 TOC.indd 2 10/5/22 2:25 PM

Designed for Film and Television No Subscription Costs

High Performance for Large Files

WEB DIRECTOR and PUBLISHER

CREATIVE DIRECTION and DESIGN

SUBSCRIPTIONS, BOOKS and PRODUCTS

ASC CEO Terry McCarthy

p. 4-7 Masthead and ASC Board V4.indd 4 10/5/22 2:29 PM

p. 4-7 Masthead and ASC Board V4.indd 5 10/5/22 2:29 PM

ON MOTION IMAGING The ASC is not a labor union or a guild,

DELIVERS THE INSIDE STORY professional organization. Membership is

p. 4-7 Masthead and ASC Board V4.indd 6 10/5/22 2:29 PM

p. 4-7 Masthead and ASC Board V4.indd 7 10/5/22 2:29 PM

PHOTO BY LIAM STRONG, COURTESY OF JACKSON WILD.

p. 8-9 Presidents Desk V4.indd 8 10/5/22 2:30 PM

p. 8-9 Presidents Desk V4.indd 9 10/5/22 2:30 PM

ASC MITC Report: Media Hash List

IMAGES COURTESY OF THE ASC.

p. 10-17 Shot Craft V5.indd 10 10/5/22 2:33 PM

THE WORLDS LARGEST CAMERA CAR COMPANY.

p. 10-17 Shot Craft V5.indd 11 10/5/22 2:33 PM

A flowchart illustrating the path of the ASC Framing Decision

p. 10-17 Shot Craft V5.indd 12 10/5/22 2:33 PM

p. 10-17 Shot Craft V5.indd 13 10/5/22 2:33 PM

p. 10-17 Shot Craft V5.indd 14 10/5/22 2:33 PM

p. 10-17 Shot Craft V5.indd 15 10/5/22 2:33 PM

File management for the ASC MITC StEM2 production

different approach, carefully defin-

TOP PHOTO BY RAINA VIRGINIA.

Jay Holben is an ASC associate

p. 10-17 Shot Craft V5.indd 16 10/5/22 2:33 PM

p. 18-29 House of the Dragon V4.indd 18 10/5/22 2:34 PM

uring its eight-season run,

p. 18-29 House of the Dragon V4.indd 19 10/5/22 2:34 PM

A New View of Westeros Fire, Blood and Glass

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New Rules / No Rules

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CRAFTING HISTORY FOR HOUSE OF THE DRAGON

The ocean glistens on

Spotlight on Color | Hues, Grain, HDR

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scene that I lit only with one Widening World

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