American Cinematographer - December 1999 - 63

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The Lightweight
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mentioned seemed

to

fit what

dolly is
charge.

We shot in 1.85:1 for the
reason.

I do love

concept.

Transportation and set up by
one person - that's what
call Foxy.

we

doing.

were

crane

Platform use up to 4.4 m (14.5")
Remote use up to 7 m (23")

I Foxy

Foxy Crane System
we

same

PANTHER GMBH

widescreen, but

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until

they start showing films more
completely on television or on video,
it's too painful for me to watch only
half of my film on the screen.
Apparently,
you
used
Steadicam quite sparingly.
Burton: That's true,

PANTHER

e-mail:

Form follows function.
The Foxy pyramid.

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The multiple assistant.

The Foxy equa
5 pieces
of equipment.

but Chivo

and I

agreed that we should only use
that technique when it was appropri¬
ate. Often when you see that kind of
stuff in a movie, it's a bit showy and
it takes you out of the narrative. We
only did it when it felt right for the
story. The Steadicam work in The
Shining was great, but it was perfect
for that particular story.
What type of balance did you
strike between digital effects and
more traditional
special effects?
Burton: We've tried to do

much of the effects work live

c

o
■■I
During conversation:
"All requirements, which have been initiated by Dolly Grips or Camera men,
have been considered. The dolly is simply made with regard to easy ope¬
ration for the user. With the new crab and steer the grip possesses new
possibilities. In particular he will be pleased about the cut in weight. The
most important point, however, is in my opinion the reliability.
I want to use this dolly again in my next production. For one thing to give
the grips a chance to make experiences with the new equipment and espe¬
cially I believe that they will be very satisfied with the innovations of the
Panther Evolution. The Panther Evolution has been especially designed
to meet the requirements of those persons who work with this equipment.
And this a big advantage."
Michael Ballhaus

as

as

possible. We wanted to keep the digi¬
tal stuff to

of the

a

minimum, which is

reasons we

built

so

one

many sets,

and pumped so much smoke into
the rafters. As amazing as digital

technology is, you can still feel it on
the screen while you're watching a
movie

-

there's

a

certain thinness to

it. To my

mind, when you know that
anything is possible technically, it
tends

to

diminish

film somehow.

a

Digital technology is very interesting
and certainly has its place in filmmaking, but when you're watching a
movie like Black Sunday you really
feel as if you're there. When you
combine the stagebound sets with
the actors, their costumes and every¬

thing else, you really feel as if you're
within that particular world, because
it has

a more human quality. There
might be a certain shot looking down

that's done with

a

cheesy

miniature model, but it still

some¬

how feels real in the

of the

on a

town

film. In other words,

context

even

though it's

unreal, you still feel the reality of it.
That's the vibe we were trying to
capture on Sleepy Hollow.

■

o
>
American Cinematographer - December 1999

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