American Cinematographer - July 2009 - 27

the digital zoom lenses are so sharp, fast and compact. We had some very complicated handheld moments where we’d be following the gang in an action sequence, and the operators would have to jump on the sideboard of a car and drive away with them. These cameras and lenses were great for that. “We shot most of the picture using three F23s, but we also had a Sony F950, which we used with the T950 adapter, and a Sony EX1; we used those as D cameras for action pieces and in tight spaces — the EX1 was especially great for car interiors,” he continues. “In terms of image quality, the cameras were very, very close. There was a little difference in dynamic range, but we could easily smooth that out in post. Once the images were colored, the exposure was enhanced, the grain was minimized, and the details were enhanced, the images were indistinguishable from each other, and the footage intercut perfectly.” (The project’s final DI workflow, carried out at 2K, comprised the scanning of 35mm material at LaserPacific, a digital grade at Company 3, and a filmout at EFilm. Release prints were made at Technicolor.) Mann chose to stay in the Rec 709 (ITU-R BT.709) color space as opposed to shooting in a film rec. “We prefer shooting in video color space because we can always see on set exactly what we’re going to get,” says Public Enemies co-producer Bryan H. Carroll, a longtime collaborator of Mann’s. “The monitor shows us the final image, and that allows us to bulletproof the system more easily. Being able to see the final image on set means you can push the medium further than you would otherwise, because you can see exactly when certain image characteristics start to become undesirable.” The filmmakers decided to establish the story’s period primarily through the use of practical locations. “In addition to period wardrobe, vehicles and props, practical locations add heavily to the atmosphere,” says Spinotti. “By shooting digitally, we were able to work with the existing lighting at many locations and maintain a level of realism that is very hard to achieve with movie lighting. Very few things suggest an atmosphere better than a real location; the way things are painted, the relationship between interior and exterior, and all of the other physical details tend to establish visual truth in a very tangible way. Shooting digitally, you see locations in a different way. When you walk into a location and know you’re going to shoot film, you have to set little rules — for example, you’ll need to get an exposure here that’s at least T2.8 at 500 ISO — but not so with digital.” The production traveled to many of the actual sites where Dillinger and his gang had their exploits, including the Little A road flare illuminates Dillinger’s arrival at an airport after he is captured by the authorities — a major news event that draws a media throng. Spinotti explains, “Our prop master, Kris Peck, found a 1933 newsreel about Dillinger’s gang and broke it down frameby-frame, and we discovered that they lit some of the news scenes with large flares — road flares, basically. Our special-effects coordinator, Bruno Van Zeebroeck, tracked down some very bright military flares that created a light that was quite beautiful.” American Cinematographer 27

American Cinematographer - July 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - July 2009