American Cinematographer - November 1999 - 70

PLACE CINEMA HISTORY

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A Less-Than-Civil War

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Jack Bull Chiles (Skeet Ulrich) enjoys a dugout visit from the widow Sue Lee (Jewel).
The claustrophobic cave was lit using natural-looking light streaming through either
the open door or holes in the rough-hewn wood.
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phic format. "This was Ang's first
anamorphic film," the cameraman
points out, "so he was learning about
the size and shape of the frame. It
his choice

was

website:

phic, and I

www.cinematographer.com

to

shoot in

was very

because I like the format

Introducing UltiMate

anamor¬

supportive
lot, and I

a

felt that the scope of the film lent
itself to it. I think widescreen can be

well, because you
an
anamorphic
frame better than you can in 1.85:1."
Moviecam Compacts, fitted

very
can

intimate

hold

with Joe

two

as

faces in

Dunton's JDC 2.35 Research

anamorphic lenses,
most

used for

were

of the show. "We found that the

lenses looked best between
and

The Ultimate Director's Finder
FOR 35 AND 16MM MOTION PICTURES

a

T2.8

4," Elmes specifies. "That
brought out the quality that Ang and
I liked in terms of sharpness and
overall feeling." Both daytime and
nighttime interiors, along with most

adjustable handle,
location without

you

won't want to be

on

the set

or on

one.

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Throughout shooting, Elmes
adorned his lens with

a

net

made of a

fine material he had found

fabric

store.

to

be

to

take

just
a

at a

local

"I found the JDC lenses

bit too sharp, so I wanted
little bit of that edge off."
a

For handheld and Steadicam

shots, Elmes switched to

light¬
weight Moviecam SL, which he
found

to

have "a great

on a

a

anamorphic
groundviewfinder generally has

viewfinder." He adds, "The

glass

I

usually have those removed. That
temptation of using
them as a marker for anything, or a
reference for dividing things in half."
so

eliminates the

He credits camera/Steadicam opera¬
tor Tom Lohmann for finding that

good dividing line on his own. "Tom
is a great operator, and he brought a
lot

to

the film. There

were

times

when

Ang and I had figured out a
dolly move, and it wasn't quite work¬
ing because we couldn't get the
timing right. It was always Tom who
could fix it. He knew just where we
should be and what the
to

camera

had

do to make it better."
The

a

exteriors, were lit to that stop range.
As the name says, UltiMate is the ultimate handheld or
tripod-mounted director's finder-featuring interchangeable
lens mountings, multiple camera-type/format-type ground
glasses-for a variety of shooting formats.
UltiMate16 is the only finder on the market today speci¬
fically designed for Super-16/16mm formats, providing a
magnified, suitably large viewing image for the user.
Both versions of the UltiMate are available with an optional
modular, 1/2-inch CCD video-tap. And with its comfortable,

crosshairs in the middle of the frame,

cinematographer benefi¬

ted from the efforts of first assistant
Chris Goss, second assistant Roger
Branit and dolly grip Darrell

Sheldon,

as

well

as

the work of Peter

Fernberger, who provided additional
photography.
Most day exteriors were shot
using Kodak EXR 5248 and a
Harrison & Harrison 85B filter,
which Elmes

prefers for the quality it

lends to skin tones. When he needed
exposure for
shaded exteriors and

heavily treeday and night
interiors, he employed Eastman's

more

Vision 200T 5274. "The 200T allows

enough range to use the shade
effectively," he explains. "I like the

you
American Cinematographer - November 1999

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