American Cinematographer - September 2000 - 84

Stephen Burum, asc
"There is

so

much talk about

but I don't think that will be

a

technology today,
dominant factor

for

determining the future of this industry. It's
important for cinematographers to master all
the new tools, so they can use them where
they fit. We used digital technology to replace
the sky in many exterior scenes when we shot
Mission to Mars, but we also used low-tech techniques when they
were the best way to solve problems. We made reflectors out of
copper foil I bought in a hobby store to fill the shadows on Mars with

reddish light. When the astronauts were working on the surface of the
planet, I put a bounce in their steps by overcranking at 32 to 36

frames per second in some scenes and at 48 fps on
Those

techniques

tighter shots.

subtle ways of telling the audience they were
witnessing something happening on the low-gravity surface of a
planet that is washed in reddish light. If you make it too obvious, it
were

doesn't work. The

big question for the future isn't whether film or
digital technology will prevail, but rather how we can tell better sto¬
ries with more

interesting characters."

Mission to Mars, Mission:

Impossible, Hoffa, The War of the Roses, The
Untouchables, Body Double

David Darby
"I

just spent two weeks shooting a car commercial with as many as
in formats that included Super 8, wind-up 16mm and

14 film cameras,

35mm.

Helicopters were always flying; intervalometers were control¬
ling time-lapse shots; Arriflex 435 cameras were changing speeds and

Nancy Schreiber, ASC
"There is

no

doubt that the

shutter

digital revolution is

here. A former music-video director I used to
work with

digital camera and inex¬
pensive editing system. He now directs, shoots

cameras

and edits corporate

majority of

now owns a

videos

as a one-man

band.

But that is

just one scenario for the future.
Fortunately, most directors and producers still
think of this work

as an

artistic collaboration. I believe

we

will be

shooting film for quite a while longer. We have many options in our film
stock choice, and we have choices in how we treat or manipulate our
films with specialized lab processes such as

pushing, pulling, bleach
bypass, cross processing, etc. We have enormous choices of filtra¬
tion, which at this point in time allow those of us working in celluloid
subtle control

angles constantly. At one point, 10 35mm cameras were
synced at 96 fps, rigged together with identical focal length lenses,
traveling on a camera car on a dry lake bed. There is no way video

the artistic

could have been used that way.

"Then there is the
my

question of film latitude. Having shot the
work backlit for 15 years, I know rather intimately

what happens with a frame full of backlit water, dust or smoke.
Today's films hold incredible texture in the highlights that would have
been considered 'blown-out' or 'too far gone' just a few years ago.
The point is, with film you can go as far as you need to on either side
of key and record the look of life.
"Film is an

organic recording medium. Add light to that equa¬
tion, and if you have any emotion in your story, you should be

shooting film. Period. That is just a feeling I have, but what else is
supposed to be about? Of course, it's a business also,

image. I'm not closed-minded to
the technology. I've shot most of the digital video formats from mini
DV to high-def, and I feel these are powerful tools for certain types of
projects. The majority of Blair Witch 2 ms shot on 35mm, but I did
use a bit of digital video and a mini DV camcorder for certain points
in the story. It's common today to mix formats and technologies, and I

this business

feel this trend will continue. Some

earth would any

more

over

ocratic because of its low cost

people believe video is more dem¬
and because just about anyone can
'movie,' then distribute it on the

which is another
makes

reason why the film-production infrastructure
infinitely more sense. The same car job mentioned above

could not have been shot in the same number of hours with the
number of setups

commercial result had it been shot

using a 24p camera. Why on
cinematographer want to tell a director, 'Sorry, we
can't do that, and we won't be able to do that, either.' With film, you

pick up a camera and create a
Internet. However, this doesn't necessarily make them great story¬

can

tellers."

Darby has shot numerous commercials, and documentaries and recently
completed the feature True Rights.

Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows, Shadow
and

Magic, Buying the Cow, Your Friends
Neighbors, Celluloid Closet, Lush Life, Chain of Desire, Visions of Light

same

and achieved the varied and diverse look of the

do it all."

Nancy

Schreib

phot
by

Douglas
Kirkland
American Cinematographer - September 2000

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - September 2000
