American Cinematographer - February 2000 - 74

From

Stage to Screen

Cameraman

I've done some compositing on
high-definition video, but I didn't
want a video look.
Kyle understood
my desire to lend, those sequences a

Luciano Tovoli
and Taymor plot
a

shot. Because
both of the

filmmakers

are

surreal, handmade look that was a bit

strong visual

funky; I didn't want them to be slick.
I wanted to keep that same raw qual¬
ity that we'd lent the Penny Arcade
Nightmares in the stage version. We
provided Kyle with the raw footage
for the sequences, and he put them
together based on my descriptions of

stylists, their
collaborative

approach

on
Titus was a
close one.

what I wanted

to see. It was an

inter¬

esting collaboration.
You also used Mad Cow's

Nightmares,' to reveal the inner
landscapes of the characters' minds.
In the

film, these interludes

shot

were

against bluescreen and then
composited digitally. What made
you opt for that approach?
Taymor: The Penny Arcade
Nightmares were composited by Kyle

Cooper [of the Los Angeles-based
design firm Imaginary Forces],
who has done some striking title
sequences for various films, includ¬
ing Seven. I knew I was going to do
those sequences digitally ahead of
time. If we'd done them optically, it
would have been really frustrating.
visual

Over 15

Time-Slice system during the film's
climactic banquet sequence to

heighten the key moment by 'freez¬
ing' it. The use of similar cameraarray systems has become very
popular in television commercials
and feature films such

as

The

Matrix. Did you simply feel as if
that instant in the story required a

year's service in feature films,

commercials and music films
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American Cinematographer - February 2000

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