American Cinematographer - August 2002 - 88

cinema.

He

resource

for Thomas,

became

an important
helping to cast
James Ferguson, who plays his partner
in the film, and to guide the other cast
members during rehearsals.
Although the production design

eye-opening to step back and see how
people did special-effects shots. For
most of the year after we finished the
principal photography, that's what we
did the most work

of Claire is meant to hark back to the

You

early 1900s, Thomas points out that
camera and editing styles are more

a

like those of films made in the mid-

Claire party,

of the editing tech¬
niques are even more modern. In terms
of composition, the goal was to make

take musicians

some

a

just need a sketch pad, a lens and
Thomas will

soon

host another

this time to raise
on

vals. After Claire

money to
the road for festi¬

completes the film-

festival circuit, Thomas will let local
groups use the film to raise
for AIDS/HIV organizations.

each

symphony

want

funds

image almost frameable. "I didn't
to shoot something for the
perfunctory reason of making a point,"
Thomas says. "I wanted it to be
communicative and visually pleasing."
In two key sequences, Claire
cries, and the tears glow brightly
as they roll down her cheeks. Thomas
achieved the effect by breaking
open glow sticks and using the

You don't need

motor."

the

1920s, and

on.

monitor, and you don't need six people.

Additional information

on

the movie is

available at www.clairefilm.com.

his eye. "I
directors of

like to collaborate with my
photography and learn from
them," Little X remarks. "Every one is
different, and I let them play to their
strengths."
Cameron says the emphasis for
the Keys video was on "classic story¬
telling and framing." He notes that a
glamorous, high-concept video wouldn't
have been right for the artist; the simplic¬
ity of the scenario allows the audience to
see her abilities for what they are.
Little X began preproduction by
drawing thumbnail sketches of the video
and discussing ideas with Cameron. The
filmmakers wanted the song to dictate
the video's visual rhythm, which led them
to use shots that are much longer and

fluid inside. Most of the other effects
achieved in very

old-fashioned
with film rolling repeatedly
through the Mitchell for double and
triple exposures.
After the company shot its five
days of exteriors and two weeks of
interiors, Thomas and Mellinger did
countless pickups, sometimes working
by themselves as they captured inserts
were

ways,

and elements that would become part
of multiple exposures. "Given our
limited resources, I had to wait until I
had

enough money to have the footage
processed," Thomas recalls. "I tried not

to rush it too much."

Classic

Thomas says that he's drawn to
the warmth of cardboard and wire

Simplicity
by Stephanie Argy

effects, and he fondly remembers

watching the artists making his card¬
board scenery. He says he felt as
though he was witnessing preparations
for an Easter pageant. "That's the excit¬
ing part to me, and if it looks cheesy,
that's part of the whole package. I just
don't have any interest in digital
effects. What's the point? They all look
like

car

commercials to me, or car

commercials look like movies."

Mellinger says he also enjoyed
working with old-fashioned effects.
"From my perspective, it was really
84

August 2002

According to director Little X,
Grammy Award-winning singer/song¬
writer Alicia Keys had a simple concept
for the video for "How Come U Don't Call
Me

Anymore?": she wanted it to show
her waking up and going to perform a
concert. "It was up to us to give it some
style," he says.
The video marked Little X's first

collaboration with director of

photogra¬
phy Paul Cameron, whose work on
Swordfish (see AC March '01) and Gone
in 60 Seconds (AC June '00) had caught

specific than those typically found
flowed very
slowly, with large musical breaks - 'I
keep your number by my bed'
break,
more

in music videos. "The song

...

break, break," Little X recites as an

exam¬

ple. "We knew what should go where
well ahead of time."
Little X

particularly wanted the
at the end of the video

concert sequence

to feel like a real concert,

big blast of light

but without

a

Keys. According to
Cameron, the hard part about the
sequence was that they only had one day
to shoot it. Keys was midway through a
on

tour at the time of the

shoot, and

although Cameron had hoped to

use

the
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