American Cinematographer - October 2001 - 40

A

Ripping Yam

Top:London

were

locals drown
their sorrows at
the Ten Bells

used
and

pub, but the

falling down, so we
background action
smoke, creating more move¬

ment

drinks often
cost the

poverty-stricken
indigents their
fare for

a

as

research
"even

during
day, these

lower-class
locales would
be smoky from

lanterns,
candles and

fireplaces. The
lanterns put out

pretty

Fortunately, the
art department
very savvy

possible,

we
used smoke

to

in the

backlight it.

light the smoke
you'd be able

a

so

footman, Netley
(Jason Flemyng),
antagonizes
streetwalker

Mary Kelly
(Heather
Graham).

modate Ian, we ended up shooting
all of the stuffy upper-crust scenes in
the first few weeks. When the studio

the

footage, they came back to us
implore you to use your
style! Move the camera more!' Finally
the night shoot came, and they could
see what we were doing. But I'm sure
they were thinking, 'We didn't ask for
a Merchant Ivory film!"'
Deming notes that the story¬
boards
for
the
non-dialogue
sequences in the film called for a lot
saw

and said, 'We

of camera movement. "There
lot

the murders themselves, so we

tried

moving quite a
bit," he says. "For most of the
dialogue scenes, however, the move¬

to

keep the

ments are

camera

subtler

-

we

keep things moving, but we didn't
want to be distracting. Whenever
possible, you want to block the
camera

wanted

to

with the actors, and then get

the

performances in one take with¬
out cutting. That helps in avoiding
that kind of cutty, head-shot-tohead-shot pace, which is usually less
interesting [to watch]. We also
wanted to give the editor a chance to
intercut things, so we blocked the
camera

to

suit the drama and took it

from there."
Careful

were a

of

connecting-tissue scenes
going from here to there, as well as

36 October 2001

parts

on

the

same

set

and

the filmmakers. "We wanted to

lot of violence,

we

decided to

use a

lot of crimson red

to see it

over the
shots." Bottom:
The Ripper's

depth

were a

was

Instead, I'd side¬

without it

more

a fairly dark, ominous film that
stylized but still had a sense of
reality," says Albert. "Since we knew
going in that we didn't want to show

backgrounds,

taking

lot

make

but I tried not
to

a

everything is attached. We shot
things from different entrances."
Selecting a color palette and
lighting that would be appropriate
for the horror and hysteria of the
time was of paramount importance

would collect on
the walls.

that; when

and energy.
"The sets had

realize we're

noxious smoke,
so a lot of soot

to

more

tight corridors, and certainly
of the story called for the
settings to feel very claustrophobic
and disorienting. All of the locations
where the murders took place were
very faithfully recreated, but their
proximity to one another was exag¬
gerated a bit for our needs.
Obviously, the murders happened
over a few square miles, and we
certainly couldn't build that. But in
shooting those sets, I think we mixed
things up enough so that you don't

revealed that

was

lot

well," he continues. "There

some

filmmakers'

some

a

lot of

bed

to sleep in that
night. According
to Deming, the

the

drunk and

blocking also helped

suggest the formality of the uppercrust scenes. "A lot of those scenes

to

entail

people sitting behind desks,
talking in offices," Deming notes,
"whereas the Whitechapel [scenes
are] just the opposite. Those narrow
streets were crowded, and people

throughout the
film. We have crimson everywhere
in the wardrobe, the carpets, the
wallpaper, the wine, and even in the
bloody meat that someone's eating.
We don't really show anything that
graphic, but our use of blood colors
helps viewers feel like it's horrific.

-

That almost kind of backfired

on us

small way,
viewers in a test
in

because all of the
screening described
the film as being gory, regardless of
whether they loved it or hated it! But
there's only one throat cut on
camera. For the most part, [the
violence is portrayed through] sound
and impressions.
"The primary colors in the
film are mostly earth tones like
a

maroons,

"Peter

browns and tan," he adds.

came

look that has

up

with

a warm,

a

nighttime

chocolate feel."
American Cinematographer - October 2001

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