American Cinematographer - October 1998 - 47

West, The Last Seduction) is

DirectorJohn Dahl (Red Rock
for

known

his

stunningly
atmospheric neo-noir thrillers,
but he speculates that, in terms
of the look, Rounders may be his
darkest film to date
even
though,
as he quips, "No one
gets shot and no
-

one

dies." A character-driven drama

in the

high-stakes world of New
underground poker clubs, the
story takes place predominantly at
night or in dimly lit bars and card
set

Yorks

clubs. To obtain the look and

tone

he

wanted, Dahl turned to French-born

cinematographer Jean Yves Escoffier
(Les Amants du Pont Neuf, Trois
Hommes et un Couffin, Good Will
Hunting).
Born in Lyon, Escoffier knew
by the age of 7 that he wanted to be a
cameraman.
"My parents were
activist Catholics and had a passion
for filmmaking," he recounts. "They
would organize screenings for people
in the neighborhood, and we'd watch
the

movies

at

home."

Escoffier

fulfilled his dream,

studying cine¬
matography at L'ecole Louis Lumiere

Russian card shark Teddy KGB

Malkovich)

which he attends until his best friend,

card
cheat convicted of credit-card fraud,

Worm

His first film

as a camera

assis¬

legendary Jean Gabin
and a young, up-and-coming actor
named Gerard Depardieu. Escoffier's
credits as a director of photography
include several pictures with Leos
Carax, including the widely admired
Les Amants du Pont Neuf. His first
American picture was Nick Kazan's
Dream Lover, which

he followed with

is released from

expressions in the actors' eyes.

However, I like to go as close to
natural as possible. I like to design
the tension, the darkness and the

brightness the
to you."

way

life would give it

Escoffier made extensive use of

prison and has to

Kino Flos

Rounders, carrying 12

shot

entirely in New York
City, where underground card clubs
abound, albeit clandestinely. The

out

with

is

bit

filmmakers wanted

3200s with the

-

almost

produc¬
underway, Kino Flo came

a

rich, dark look

atmospheric, but nothing
too clever or designed. Walls and
clothes were kept dark; yellows, reds
and browns were the predominant
colors used. Escoffier relied heavily
on practicals; one scene, set in Teddy

-

a

a

2900° Kelvin

warmer

fixture. Escoffier
Kino

very

bulb, which

than their tungsten

beginning of the film,

Mike McDermott

(Matt Damon)

bets his entire bankroll of $30,000 in
a

high-stakes

game

against seedy

throughout the
film, with

KGB's club, utilized 47 of them. "I
like dark walls because film is about

people; each time

you

we

have

a

bright

could shoot the

the light is naturally, but obvi¬
ously, if you do that, you would have
many

cosmetic problems, and it

would be

impossible to read the

too

cameraman

Jean

Yves Escoffier

Kino Flo

fixtures fitted
with 2900°K
tubes.

replaced all of his

newer

Flos

bulbs.

can

be

set

up

quickly, and they also save an enor¬
mous amount of
grip work. The
Wall-O-Lites consists of 10 fluores¬
cent

tubes mounted in

a

reflector-

backed frame,

and the

his

light

used

routinely relying

was

carts

tion would be if

between

hand.

on

and

full

two

way

choose

young

a

tion got

-

as

school. At the

must

a

playing poker

out

Warm soft

of other Kinos. Just before

set

well

passion for the game and a more
legitimate road to success via law

talent for

(John
Malkovich) deals

help him win the needed money.

as

diffusion frame around it and use the

a

Teddy

KGB

Wall-O-Lites

on

lighting to be in intimate
relationship with the set. I don't like
anything artificial. The ideal situa¬

who

with

card shark

pay off a huge gambling debt.
McDermott returns to the game to

also like the

Rounders is about
man

Opposite and
above: Russian

was

wall, the wall is stronger than the
character. I like the reverse [situa¬
tion]," explains the cameraman. "I

Will Rock.

Phot s

a

subtle

making a perfect
square of illumination and providing
a uniform direction of
light. To keep
the light from spilling everywhere,
Kino Flo came up with the idea of
putting an egg crate over the entire
fixture. "Normally, you would put a

Excess Baggage, The Crow: City of
Angels, Gummo, and Grace of My
Heart. The cameraman recently
wrapped Tim Robbins's The Cradle

Mirocamurfxte.sy

(Edward Norton),

The movie is

starred the

(John

and loses it all. He

gives up poker and enters law school,

in Paris.

tant

-

source

like

lamp," explains
spills everywhere
grips have to put flags all
a

Escoffier. "But it

around." The egg crate eliminates all
of the cutting and flagging. For
reasons

Escoffier can't fathom, Wall-

O-Lites aren't used

as

widely

as one

American

Cinematographer 45
American Cinematographer - October 1998

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