American Cinematographer - January 2008 - 73

Wilson enjoys the view of D.C. from his balcony with Jane Liddle (Emily Blunt), the daughter of one of his supporters. headed back up the mountain, only to discover that in the 20 minutes it had taken to descend, a landslide had obliterated the road. A nearby stream, rerouted by the landslide, was now gushing down what had been the road. According to Steadicam/Bcamera operator Will Arnot, everybody jumped out of their trucks and started digging. “We got on all fours and just started kicking and moving earth and rocks. We diverted the stream and [pushed] the landslide to the side to create a path we could drive up.” They made it back to the top of the mountain, where they rode out the rest of the storm in a ski lodge. Rather than rebuild, the production returned to the States and built a replacement camp at California’s Mystery Mesa. Although the layout of the Morocco camp had been dictated by topography, Goldblatt could orient the Mystery Mesa camp any way he wanted. “It was up to me to say where the sun was going to be,” he recalls. “Using a compass and Wheeler Sun Predictor software I’d loaded onto a Windows Mobile PDA, I was able to give the construction department exact coordinates for sunrise three months in advance, and the camp was built to [those specifications].” With characteristically understated humor, he adds, “It’s a good thing I got it right.” The first camp scene opens with Wilson, his congressional aide, Bonnie (Amy Adams), and their Afghan escort driving from a makeshift helipad to the refugee camp. The jeep is backlit by the sun, creating a semi-silhouetted look. Swirling dust, courtesy of large Ritter fans, added to the effect. Rather than mounting the camera directly onto the jeep for close-ups, Goldblatt asked key grip Charles Saldaña to build a small wood platform and attach it to one side of the vehicle. Steadicam operator David Emmerichs stood on the platform and, though tethered for safety, was able to walk and shoot as the jeep was in motion. “It gives a feeling of fluidity because the camera is not locked onto the jeep’s occupants,” says Goldblatt. The platform was then mounted on the back of the jeep, with the camera facing forward. Desperate refugees run past both sides of the vehicle to reach a United Nations truck that is just pulling up with food. Wilson is deeply affected by the sight and vows then and there to help the Afghans. To suggest the squalor and misery of the camps, Goldblatt wanted a harsh, blownout look. “I wanted it almost to hurt your eyes to look at the scene, but film today has such extraordinary latitude that you can’t get enough blowout in the highlights.” To get that aura of radiating heat, he turned to the DI. Working on EFilm’s proprietary EWorks system, colorist Scott made a high-contrast key matte that isolated the highlights in the images; then he took a glow filter and put it through the mattes. Next, he added depth to the blacks, pulling the low end of the blacks down so the glow didn’t overtake all of the blacks. He carefully avoided crushing any of the detail in the low end. An enthusiastic proponent of the DI, Goldblatt offers one proviso: “You can’t make the image in the DI; American Cinematographer 73

American Cinematographer - January 2008

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