American Cinematographer - March 2007 - 26

different continent," says Bobbitt.
"[The differences] could be really simple
things, like the breed of sheep. Architec¬
on a

turally, Morocco tends to be much more
colorful than Iraq. The landscape is more
verdant." Nonetheless, the filmmakers

found

appropriate substitutes. "One of
Philip's many strengths was his ability to
recognize a good location," says the
cinematographer.
Bobbitt's
past
experiences
helped keep even the smallest details
accurate. Haas notes,

"The fact that

Sean had lived in

Iraq allowed him to
know certain things. For instance, the
first time

did the

we

scene

with the

sheikh

eating with his henchmen, [the
meal] was sort of daintily served. Sean
said, 'No, no, no! They'd have mounds of
rice and be eating with their hands.' He
was

Above: U.S.
forces attack

a

village where
they think
Americans

are

being held.
Iraqi

Below: An

resistance
leader (Driss

Roukh) explains
why he won't
let Annie leave.

with

qualms about returning to
the Middle East. "Having spent so much
time in the Middle East and knowing its
history, it was obvious to me that the
invasion of Iraq was going to be a disas¬
on

no

ence

as

a

news

cameraman

that

cinched the deal, because that

fantastic collaborator because

a

he'd been there and had

a sense

of what

realistic."

style of
handheld camerawork was key to The
Situation's look. Though the director
admires the war films Apocalypse Now,

was

ter. It was also obvious that the Ameri¬

Full Metal Jacket and Circle of Deceit,

public wasn't getting all the truth

"they struck me as too operatic," he
says. "Actually, Circle of Deceit was
shot in Lebanon during the civil war, so
they figured out a way to do it with real
fighters, but there were all kinds of dolly
shots. You know it's just a movie." He
observe events, not present them."
The picture was shot at practical

Baghdad,
largely
achieved during the digital-intermediate
(Dl) process, which was carried out at
EFilm in Los Angeles with colorist Brian
George. The Green Zone, shot at the
Royal Nautical Club, appears plush and
colorful. "The Green Zone is basically a
bit of America in the middle of Bagh¬
dad," says Bobbitt, "so we were looking

locations in Morocco

for

can

about what

a

ation is very

disaster it

was.

The Situ¬

important because it's
telling the story that isn't being told in
the news. One of the script's greatest
strengths is telling the story of Iraq from
the Iraqis' point of view; they come
across as people, not stereotypes.
They're just like you and me, trying to
survive in an extremely complicated and
dangerous environment."
For Haas, it was Bobbitt's experi¬

wanted the

the

summer

because

camera

in The Situation "to

over

of 2005. "It

we were

five weeks in

was a

re-creating

bit tricky,
a country

To

visually organize the film,

Haas and Bobbitt came up with different
looks for the three key locations: the

Green Zone, Arab-controlled

and Samarra. These looks

a

more

of

a

richer color

smooth, fluid

were

camera

palette, with slightly

saturated colors and

a

broader range

colors." The Arab sections of

which used Rabat

as a

and

more

of
Baghdad,

stand-in, have

a

harder feel, with a restricted color

palette and desaturated colors. This is
taken

even

further in Samarra, where

the filmmakers

use

like colors and

a

desaturated, desert¬

less-controlled

style of

handheld camerawork.
Bobbitt operated an Arri 16SR-3
Advanced mounted with Zeiss Super

Speed lenses, and he used Kodak
night and interior

Vision2 500T 7218 for
scenes,

and Vision2 250D 7205 and 50D

7201 for
over

day. "I'd

to use the

24 March 2007

never

shoot anything

T4," he says. "I was always trying

depth of field

as a way

of
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