American Cinematographer - March 2007 - 48

Hollands Mata Hari
Lindenlaub

deploys an
Egripment
Javelin
to

crane

capture

sweeping
shots of

a

dance party.

od-authentic train that

was

actually

moving through the countryside,"
says Lindenlaub. "We rigged lights
outside the train's windows because
couldn't

we

the

two

a

the windows, it's about

characters. I wanted

simply, and we ended
rear-projection."
In concert with

rely on the natural light

in Holland in the winter. We built

pany

up

to

do it

using video

Dutch

com¬

that specializes in outdoor

superstructure on top
and put

of the train
Kino Flos through windows

the compartment set

on one

side and small HMIs with

through windows

the

on

other side. In the end, that saved the

inside the com¬
pany's facility and used a Sony 4K
projector to project high-definition
(HD) background plates that
Lindenlaub's 1st AC, Vincent Geijsel,
had shot on the real train (using

was already dark outside on
the last setup, but we used our lights
and the windows were dirty, so you

three Arri 35-3s) while the main unit

almost can't tell.

was

day. It

"For the

scene

in Miintze's

compartment, Paul didn't want to
shoot in the real train while it

moving, because he wanted
control

for this

first

was

more

encounter

between his lead characters," contin¬
ues

cinematographer. "He want¬

be able to put the camera where
wall might be, and he didn't want

ed
a

the

to

the

actors to

be

too

stressed. So

we

filmed that onstage

filming the actors in another
the help of visu¬
al-effects supervisor Hans van
Helden, Soho Images had transferred
the images to HD. "It worked really
well," says Lindenlaub. "I've used that
method again since. It's so much bet¬
ter than greenscreen because you can
see what
you're matching to through
compartment. With

the viewfinder."
Both

ing the
into

a

now

reveal what he

ence

were

ed

done with

is not about what

Verhoeven gets

into

a scene

Germany, was his focus puller.
two did a great job for us.

Those

by hav¬

Steadicam operat¬

by Sebastian Meuschel from

any paper

scene

a

Berlin; Franz-Xaver Kringer, also

Lindenlaub

side, and the

she sees," says

into the environment and into

and

way

or

the character's head. These shots

tle bit of exterior that's visible

the

one cam¬

the
cinematographer. "For example, as
the person comes through a door,
you're facing him or her, and then
the camera pivots around over the
person's shoulder to look into the
scene. It means the cinematographer
has to light for at least 180 degrees all
the time, but I really started to like it.
It's an organic way to get the audi¬

tional

admires

than

geous. "Paul likes to come into a
with the protagonist and then

their collaboration
taught them to think in new ways
about staging for the camera.

out¬

more

convinced that doing so

scene

Verhoeven say

on

character

in certain circumstances is advanta¬

in Holland. I
greenscreen; it would
have been very expensive for the lit¬

wasn't keen

a

environment, whereas

of using

is

era,

from
Lindenlaub

follow

camera
new

Verhoeven, who has always been
wary

a

entertainment, the filmmakers built

diffusion

46 March 2007

you see out

"Also, Paul doesn't use tradi¬
master shots," he adds. "He

draws beautiful little
ferent

he

storyboards on
find, and uses dif¬
angles that he thinks

can

camera
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