American Cinematographer - November 2001 - 65

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also

helped the visual-effects people
with the face-replacement tech¬
niques they were employing to make
it seem as though Jet's battling
himself." (See sidebar on page 62.)
The fight sequence on the
catwalk called for another speedshift technique. Parts of the fight
included the use of hydraulically
assisted cable rigs. During the fight,
Li runs forward and is suddenly
pulled back at a gravity-defying,
accelerated rate. Hydraulics provided
the main power, but a human touch
was
necessary to provide fine control
of Li's vertical movement during the
stunt.

Three

men

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worked the ropes

in concert with Li and the

hydraulic
rig, doing take after take to get just
the right motion. According to
McLachlan, the goal was to get
enough flight without the stunt look¬
ing completely ethereal.
The catwalk was later removed
from the power plant
structed on a stage at

and recon¬
L.A. Center

Studios

greenscreen

to

work. For

facilitate

some

shots, Li

was

JLI
/

filmed
*

separately as his bad and good selves,
so

that

one

I

-I-it

self would be fast and

blurred, while the other would
SoftSun 3.3K

relatively normal. Although
actors have appeared with "them¬
selves" in films for years, when a
character is fighting himself there's
the additional problem of creating
the impression of impact. Add to that

appear

the fact that

needs

one

cult sequence.

Brainstorming sessions and a
tests were required. "We shot
greenscreen of the guys fighting at
different speeds," says Jeff Kleiser of

lot of

which

handled

many of the

show's effects. "The trick
was to
choreograph them so they
could have impact while moving at
different speeds. You have to have a
motion-control

fast for when

is worth,

228,000 Watts.

of the characters

significantly quicker
than the other, and you've got a diffi¬
to appear

Kleiser-Walczak,

ure,

camera

that

can

go

you're shooting high¬
speed, and can repeat the move at a
slower speed when you're shooting at

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Attitude

Sawtke,
61
American Cinematographer - November 2001

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - November 2001
