American Cinematographer - January 2008 - 72

A Rogue Politician Goldblatt a chance to work with some of Chapman-Leonard’s newest “toys:” a 32' Hydrascope, which features a waterproof telescoping crane, arm and base; an Amphibian 2-Axis remote head; and a G-3 gyrostabilized head. A key scene that establishes Wilson’s interest in the Afghans’ plight begins with an underwater shot. The camera pulls back, surfacing through bubbles, to reveal Wilson (Tom Hanks), another man and three women sitting in a hot tub. The camera keeps pulling back, revealing another dozen partygoers lounging on couches or dancing. Beyond them, visible through floorto-ceiling windowpanes, are the neon lights of Las Vegas. (Visualeffects supervisor Richard Edlund, ASC took care of the background.) “The problem going from underwater to above water is that you can have droplets of water coming off the lens or the filter in front of the lens,” says Goldblatt. “So just as the lens was breaking the surface, an air hose mounted to the matte box blew a burst of air onto the optical flat, removing any residual moisture.” Four 1K HydroPars were placed at the bottom of the hot tub with a piece of Plexiglas over them. Even after much tinkering with the light levels, the water seemed a bit bright around the women, so Goldblatt later worked with colorist Steve Scott at EFilm to tame the brightness in the DI. The production began shooting in Morocco, which was standing in for Afghanistan, Israel and Pakistan, in October 2006. The biggest set piece was an enormous refugee camp constructed in the Atlas Mountains. It took three months to build and was completely destroyed by a catastrophic storm that forced the entire crew to evacuate the site. As the cavalcade of trucks neared the base of the mountain, a rising flash flood brought them to a sudden halt. They quickly Above: Wilson aims to thwart the Soviet Union in Afghanistan with the help of CIA agent Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Right: Hanks and Hoffman discuss a scene with director Mike Nichols. afford us greater flexibility [in the DI],” says Goldblatt. The cinematographer filmed day exteriors on Kodak Vision2 50D 5201 and Vision2 250D 5205. “5201 is so sharp I love using it,” he declares. “When we were losing light, I’d switch to 5205, which isn’t quite as good but cuts well [with 5201].” He used Vision2 500T 5218 for all studio and night work. Panavision provided the camera package, which comprised a 72 January 2008 Panaflex Platinum and Millennium XL; Primo primes (17.5mm to 150mm); a 4:1 (17.5–75mm) Primo zoom; an 11:1 (24-275mm) Primo zoom; a 15-40mm Angenieux Optimo zoom; and several Technocranes. Lighting equipment for the Morocco segment of the shoot was furnished by Samuelson of London, while U.S. lighting needs were met by the Los Angeles company Pigtails. Charlie Wilson’s War also gave

American Cinematographer - January 2008

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