American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 63

made the Afghanistan scenes feel truly foreign.” To maintain the visual severity, Elmes’ crew rarely used fill of any kind. “That hard sunlight was difficult to control, but it gave us the look we wanted,” he says. “Around the camps, we had cooking fires going, and the smoke backlit by the sun lent those scenes atmosphere.” The small, dark interiors featured in the Afghanistan scenes proved problematic at first. “There are many scenes that depict Sam and another soldier in one sort of holding pen or another, and those situations scared the hell out of me,” Elmes acknowledges. “It’s two guys in a dark room, four hard walls and a small doorway, and maybe a hole in the roof to light through. There was one window that they could look out of once in awhile. It was a challenge to find interesting ways to create the sense of time passing. In the end, it proved to be satisfying.” Large HMIs couldn’t be brought to the remote location, so Elmes and his crew got creative with smaller fixtures. In one case, Elmes smashed a 6K Par into a slit window and let it go 4-5 stops over.“Once the light started to bounce around in the small space, it did some nice things. Film emulsion is very good at seeing that, and it turned out great.” Elmes used film stock, lenses and camerawork to further differentiate the movie’s foreign and domestic looks. In the war zone, he crafted a grainier, desaturated look by using older Cooke Speed Panchro lenses and Kodak Vision2 Expression 500T 5229 without an 85 filter. The camera, an Arricam Lite or Arri 235, was usually handheld. “Those scenes have a rougher feeling overall,” he says. “In the structure of the editing, it works pretty well because there is a serenity to the scenes in the suburban house and an overall nervousness to the scenes in Afghanistan.” Elmes says he likes the Speed Above: Enemy forces capture Sam and fellow soldier Joe Willis (Patrick Flueger). “The hard sunlight [in New Mexico] was difficult to control, but it gave us the look we wanted,” says Elmes. Left: The soldiers endure harsh conditions during their captivity. “Those situations scared the hell out of me,” Elmes admits. “It’s two guys in a dark room, four hard walls and a small doorway, and maybe a hole in the roof to light through. There was one window that they could look out of once in awhile. It was a challenge to find interesting ways to create the sense of time passing.” American Cinematographer 63

American Cinematographer - December 2009

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

American Cinematographer - December 2009
Contents
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Short Takes: We Are ODST
Tomorrow’s Technology
Production Slate: Red Cliff
Production Slate: The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond
Remixing Fellini
A Tapestry of Textures
Healing a Family
An Exceptionally Sly Fox
Post Focus: Virtual Sets for V
Filmmakers’ Forum: David Stump, ASC
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads/Ad Index
2009 AC Index
ASC Membership Roster
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Paul Ryan
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - Intro
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - American Cinematographer - December 2009
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - Contents
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 2
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 3
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 4
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 5
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 6
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 7
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 9
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 11
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - Short Takes: We Are ODST
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 13
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 14
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 15
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 16
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 17
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - Tomorrow’s Technology
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 19
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 20
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 21
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - Production Slate: The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 23
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 24
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 25
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 26
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 27
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 28
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 29
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 30
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 31
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 32
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 33
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 34
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 35
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - Remixing Fellini
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 37
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 38
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 39
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 40
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 41
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 42
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 43
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 44
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 45
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 46
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 47
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - A Tapestry of Textures
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 49
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 50
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 51
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 52
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 53
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 54
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 55
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 56
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 57
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 58
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 59
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - Healing a Family
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 61
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 62
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 63
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 64
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 65
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 66
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 67
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 68
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 69
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - An Exceptionally Sly Fox
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 71
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 72
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 73
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 74
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 75
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 76
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 77
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 78
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 79
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 80
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 81
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - Post Focus: Virtual Sets for V
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 83
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 84
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 85
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - Filmmakers’ Forum: David Stump, ASC
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 87
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 88
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 89
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 91
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 92
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 93
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 94
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 95
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 96
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 97
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 99
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - Classified Ads/Ad Index
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 2009 AC Index
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 102
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 103
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 104
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 105
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 106
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 107
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - ASC Membership Roster
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 109
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 111
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - ASC Close-Up: Paul Ryan
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - December 2009 - Cover4
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