American Cinematographer - November 1990 - 64

forget about."
Zwick, Francis and Gar¬
wood had careful discussions

concerning the color scheme,
another detail with major implica¬
the movie's look.
"There was nothing there
that wasn't of the same, or very
similar color temperature," states
Zwick. "The dark blue uniforms,
or the mottled browns of their

tions

on

clothes, the dark greens of the
trees, the black faces - even
white faces were dirty all the time
and the faces were brought
down by soot and grime and the
effects of being outdoors. If there

-

was

brick, it

really smoked

was

and aged, and the tents were
teched down to within an inch of
their lives. This was all part of an
overall attempt to give that feel to

it, and to avoid having to impose
a feel in post
production.
Above: In the at¬

humidity, and we learned

of confu¬

an tre¬
mendous amount. Two or three
shots went into the film, establish¬

feel them in every

sion and vio¬
lence was par¬

ing shots that help put in mind the
illusion of scale, but mostly it was

drama is confined within a very
small playing area because you
don't have the time to do it right.
"What Norman Gar¬
wood's production design gave

tack

on

Fort

Wagner, the
sense

tially a result of
innovative light¬
ing techniques.

a

wonderful rehearsal."
So through a number

of

methods, with efficient communi¬
cation, the visual aesthetic begins
to take shape and definition in the
minds of the director and the cine¬

matographer - hopefully the
same shape. Decisions are then
as to which technical proc¬
will best to translate those
ideas to the screen. Every detail is
considered with the broader goals
in mind. Nebulous concepts beget

made
esses

means: cranes, dolly
track and filter packages. Here the

practical

split personality of the director of
photography - part technician
and part artist - is of paramount
importance to the success of the
film. Zwick continues:
"Gordon Hayman,

the
operator, showed me that I could
still accomplish what I wanted -
a

60

personal drama

-

by using

shot. So often
in period movies you have one
establishing shot, and then your

in

instances, was a
360 degree opportunity to move
these people through space, and
me,

so many

the accumulation of detail here
and there would just imbue one
with a sense of truth of the time.
With that in place, I could concen¬
trate on the personal drama."
For many important

character moments, Zwick and
Francis would choose a longer
lens in order to obscure back¬

grounds and draw attention to
faces. But generally, Zwick's trust
in the production design enabled

"We decided early to use
smoke in an unusual way," he
continues. "I think the 'tradi¬
tional' use of smoke, as it's come
to be considered, is one in which
smoke is not identified as such;
it's merely a diffusing element in
a room. The
'Ridley Scott look.'

Obviously, it's been adopted by
every commercial on American
television. It's a wonderful look in
its place, but to me and to Freddie
it

was a

modern look.
"But we realized that this

period in which smoke was
intrinsic aspect of every moment
in life. 'The smoke of a thousand

was a
a

circling camps' - that's the line
from the song. It was an industrial
time in the north, so there was
black smoke. There were tent

fires, the cook fires, wood burning
stoves in

every building, lamps,
all of this produced
'motivated' smoke. And so we

trains

-

him to feel confident with shorter
focal lengths. "I went with shorter
lenses more than I ever have be¬

tried, in every shot that we could,

fore," he states.

tion and

"In some films, the sets
call attention to themselves, and

The purpose of the smoke was not
overall diffusion, but a diffusion
that could be felt over the light

to fill the frame with the
sources

justifica¬

for that smoke.

shorter lenses. I'm much more
accustomed to a modern, long

everyone says,

lens feel. But there

prin¬
cipal characters in this film, and

can

production design is that which

sharp negative."

the seventh character

Three battles form the
structural foundation of Glory.

were

six

"Aren't they

great sets?" But that kind of set
subvert the drama. The best

this

invests the character with

a sense

regiment of 700 guys. I wanted to

of truth, but which you

finally

American

November 1990

Cinematographer

was

accomplish

a

different look and still have

a

sources, so as

to
American Cinematographer - November 1990

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