American Cinematographer - May 2019 - 45

we wanted. Once we sorted this [out],
we installed LED ribbon into the practicals and added it to the effect.
"When we shot at Trellick
Tower," Mone continues, "we used
the SkyPanel [S360-C] to create the
color change, as two days previous
[the software was] released to control
each of the 12 [light engines] in the
360 head, individually."
Mone adds that the Translite
material in Colin's apartment -
which created the exterior cityscape
that appears through the on-set
window glass - was front-lit with
Panalux FloBanks for day-interior
shots, while "old-school SkyPans [lit
from] behind the Translite for night."
The gaffer further reports that
the production's workhorse lighting
fixtures tended to be Arri's SkyPanel
S360-C and S60-C LED units, and
Aladdin's Bi-Flex1, Bi-Flex2 and BiFlex4 flexible bicolor LED panels.
The day-interior scene in the
upstairs section of Colin's apartment,
- where Stefan meets Colin's partner,
Kitty (Tallulah Haddon) - was shot
at Trellick Tower as well.
It can be argued that
Bandersnatch has between five and 10
"main" endings, as well as additional,
smaller ways to end given narratives.
But the reality that may be tough for
some viewers to accept is that the
production - which was edited by
Tony Kearns - has no "correct" path
or ending. As Slade notes, even an
ending that might be one of the filmmakers' favorites "wouldn't be the
right way."
Despite this, the director and
cinematographers agree there is one
ending they most prefer. [Ed. Note:
Spoilers!] The sequence depicts fiveyear-old Stefan - having emerged
from the mirror - riding a train with
his mother, and then cuts to presentday Stefan dead in his psychiatrist's
office. Polonsky photographed the
first section on 35mm film, on a
moving train and employing predominately natural light, while Morton
shot the latter via digital capture.

pp One of Bandersnatch's numerous possible endings includes a scene featuring a young Stefan
(A.J. Houghton) with his mother (Fleur Keith), shot on Super 35mm on a moving train. p For another
ending, captured on Arri's Alexa 65, the filmmakers shot in the style of an action film. Morton recalls,
"We went crazy with handheld and increased contrast, and used the Clairmont Image Shaker."

Mone notes that the office was lit via
Arri's 18K Arrimax through 1 ⁄ 2 CTS
and into two 4'x4' mirrors and two
3'x3' mirrors. Additionally, two
ungelled 6Ks were aimed into the

background, and a 6K bounce was
employed for the side window.
"When you come back to the
doctor's office," says Morton, who
describes this sequence as his

Super 16mm, Super 8mm and broadcast-camera capture were called upon
to enhance period accuracy, particularly for instances when action appears on a
television screen within the production. The filmmakers' realism mandate even
extended to photographs depicted in an on-screen book, which were captured
on 35mm film. "Because we were doing something so metaphysical, it was
important to me to try and use the actual formats, rather than approximate the
look of a format," Slade explains. Morton adds, "[It] helps legitimize the craziness
[as the story progresses], when the things that you know from the era feel real.
That's what helps give the rest of the piece some reality."
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American Cinematographer - May 2019

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