American Cinematographer - February 2007 - 33

lighting. Upstairs, in Potter's attic
bedroom and workspace, the filmmak¬
ers created a more inviting atmosphere
with softer, warmer light. "The golden
light brings an audience to empathize

and
energy," says Dunn. That is reflected in
the framing: characters associated with
the countryside are often shown
enveloped by the landscape. "When we
shot Heelis, her future husband, there's
a free and easy way of framing. It's a
natural way of doing it, because there's
more greenery and flowing shapes. The

with the inner emotions of the character

lines within the frame are softer and

Renee is

more

covered wagons and Zip lights, using a
mixture of CTO, apricot, and straw

house [in

[gels]." Once the Potter household had
electricity, the look became cooler with
slightly more fill, though Dunn retained
hot splashes in the background. There
also was more toplight and an altered

severe

balance between interior and exterior.
"In a small, low-ceilinged set, heat is of
paramount importance," notes Dunn.
"We used mostly small, focusable 650-

and 1000-watt units with cutters, nets,

gels, and mirrors to create some inter¬
esting backgrounds. They're so often
beautifully out of focus, so there is
always the suggestion of another story
waiting to be told around the corner. I
love to intrigue the audience and draw
them in by using these sorts of tech¬
niques."
Another contrasting element was
the downstairs world of the parents vs.
the upstairs children's quarters. "Beat¬

terribly strict, and
quite corseted,
harsh," says Dunn. "I live in a

rix's parents were
London at that time
hard and

was

and it's

London] that dates to 1870,

beautiful house, but it's rather
and Gothic." This was the tone
a

downstairs, which utilized cooler, harder

creating," says the cinematog¬
rapher. "Beatrix disappears into her
wonderful world, and we are privileged
to join her. My team created an ambi¬
ence where the imagination could flour¬
ish. We used a plethora of colored gels
English rose, pale salmon, loving
amber, pale gold, and chocolate, to
name a few. Beatrix's parents rarely
come up into that room, and when they
do, the air suddenly gets more chilly."
This upstairs/downstairs con¬
trast is paralleled in Potter's other
refuge, the Lake District. "As a child,
when she's running free with her
-

wonderful

sense

of freedom, space

lateral in the

countryside. In town,

Beatrix is corseted and the frame is

too."

Dunn, too, felt the magic of the
countryside. "We filmed in the
vegetable patch where Beatrix Potter
actually played as a child, and in places
she drew. The Potters' summer house is

still owned

by the family who owned it

100 years ago.

Every

summer,

Beatrix

got to escape into this wonderful world
of creatures. I can see it now in my
head: the wall where the cat is sitting
and where the rabbits might be. It was

wonderful,

a

privilege."

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