American Cinematographer - November 1999 - 51

units to

help model the actors on a
shot-by-shot basis. In those
instances, we'd usually screw a baby
plate into a wall - that [damage]
only helped add to the 'aging' of the
house."
A

good percentage of Fight
at night, often in menac¬
ingly dark locales. In fact, even
during daylight scenes, the frame was
often weighted with deeply shad¬
owed areas. For nighttime scenes set
inside the house, Cronenweth kept
the light from the Skypans outside
Club

occurs

the windows, but he notes that he
"knocked

added

them

some

down and

way

blue and diffusion to

them." An added visual motif of the

night scenes was the home's faulty
electricity, which is caused by
numerous leaks and water damage.
"For the greater part of the film,
you'll notice practical that flicker
every once in a while. The only time
you really see a drastic change is
during a storm sequence, when
there's a big power failure. That
created an interesting lighting
dilemma since there was very little
'moonlight'
coming
through
windows. In
the

some

instances,

we

had

lit

by candles, and I shot
wide-open at a T 1.9 to get as much
interactive candlelight as possible."
actors

The basement

set

USA: Phone (888) 418-2200

PRAZISIONS-ENTWICKLUNG DENZ
Otto-Hahn-Str. 12-14- D-85521 Ottobrunn
Phone

+

49 89

-

62 98 66 0

*

Fax

+

49 89

-

(Munich)

62 98 66 20

E-Mail: info@denz-deniz.com
tML

http://www.denz-deniz.com

"Renting a camera deserves
as much care as buying one!'
T. Carl

Schietinger,

President, Technological Cinevideo Services, Inc.
"Often the decision
of what and where to
rent is made too

range

of state-of- theequipment

art camera

and the experience
and expertise to
advise you skillfully.

quickly and without
considering the
consequences.
For example, your

can

Cinevideo Services,
people who, over the
years, have built a

ill-suited for your

customer service.
We're rental special¬
ists with repair and
sales capabilities that

particular shoot. And
of course, there is
the high cost of

equipment break¬
down. That's why it
is important to

go

beyond most other

camera

houses."

I invite you to
*

on Stage 15
the Fight Club's
ramshackle brawling ring. The set

Fox,

serves

as

designed with a low, pipe-laced
ceiling and cement floors littered
with junk in the corners. Fincher and
was

Cronenweth wanted

to

lend the

set a

bit of a boxing-ring vibe,

and "played
fights in the center of the room,
using four China-hat practical
hanging from the ceiling to create a
ring-like setting," the cinematogra¬
pher notes. "The China hats were
specifically styled lamps that had a
kind of submarine-style cage around
the

a

PH-212 bulb that

we

dimmed

down. We also had additional Kino
Flo tubes, wrapped

in muslin and 1/4

CTO, hidden up in

the ceiling studs.

TECHNOLOGICAL CINEVIDEO SERVICES, INC.
630 NINTH AVENUE

call:

212-247-6517

Jfl

of Lou's

Tavern, also constructed
at

limit your

by renting from
Technological

reputation for integri¬
ty, dedication and

equipment could be

choose a rental
house with a wide

"You
risks

*

SUITE 1004, NEW VORK.NY10036
212-247-6517 * FAX-212-489-4886

RENTAL. SALES

*

SERVICE
American Cinematographer - November 1999

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - November 1999
