American Cinematographer - December 1999 - 66

Paging 007
London-based

Digital Film at
The Moving
Picture

Company

provided

a
number of

impressive
visual effects
shots for The
World is Not

Enough. Top:
Bond's latest

gadget - a
special pair of
X-ray glasses -
allows him to
view concealed
weaponry,

other
things. Middle:
A helicopter
among

attack

of the

Guggenheim, the stunt itself
on location in Spain. "Bond
jumps out of the building in a wide
shot, which was done by a stunt guy
on a
bungee rig," Biddle recalls. "We
then built a 30' tower alongside the
building and brought Pierce
[Brosnan] up there to get some
close-ups of him at the halfway
point. The bloke upstairs who's hold¬
ing the rope lets go and allows it to
was

on a

refinery
complex was
partially
created with a
series of
miniatures

photographed
by Paul Wilson,
with actor
Pierce Brosnan

composited into
the shots later.
Bottom: Bond
examines a

slide

Carlyle), which

on

reveals the
bullet lodged in
the villian's
brain.
Volumetric

3-D animation

supervisor.

Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao,
Spain, provided an unexpected turn
of events when the traditionally
warm, dry Spanish weather suddenly
became rainy. Biddle elected to
change his plan of attack on the spot.

ing scenes set near the Guggenheim
using short lenses, but switched to
longer lenses in order to diminish the
depth of field and minimize the
appearance of any rain.

"In the scene, Bond is

he takes his leave

collecting
some money in a building across the

Golden Panaflex

Once Bond

and

grabs the money,
through a window
begins rappeling down the

cameras

outfit¬

lenses, supplied by

Panavision London. Asked why he
prefers this combination, Biddle
replies, "The Panaflex is a really
rugged camera, and I like the older
lenses. They're more forgiving, and I
think they're better 'movie' lenses. We

also carried
435 with

a

[Panavised] Arriflex

for

high-speed work.
Although it's not a sound camera, the
Arri has some really good things
built into it, like speed-ramping and
some

us

other features."
Biddle

used

an

array

of

building's wall to the street below -

Eastman Kodak film stocks

Michael wanted

until

film: Vision 500T 5279, Vision 800T

he

desperate grab for Bond's rope, leav¬
ing him hanging precariously
halfway down the side of the build¬
ing. While the action inside the office

way

from the Guggenheim, but

a great backdrop, so
opted for the museum," Biddle
says. "That was his call, which was
really good, but because of the
weather, it was a bit of a challenge to
get the shots we needed." The cine¬
matographer had anticipated shoot¬

62 December 1999

rest

ted with C-series

rendering

by
Nigel
Hardwidge,
Digital Film's

the floor, which takes

of the way down to the
pavement."
Shooting The World Is Not
Enough in anamorphic, Biddle relied

his nemesis,
Renard (Robert

overseen

across

Bond the

holographic 3-D
projection of

software
allowed the
internal
structure of the
skull and brain
tissue to be
visualized. The
shot was

shot

was

one

of the villains makes

filmed

Studios

on

using

a

a

set at

a

Pinewood

TransLight backing

on

the

5289, EXR 5248, and EXR 5245.
These emulsions

their

were

selected for

ability to cover a wide variety of

shooting situations. "I like to use
Kodak,"
the
cinematographer
remarks. "The range

is all there, and I
American Cinematographer - December 1999

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