American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 56

Infinite Abilities
Maher (who shot the

stills from
City was tiled in XMen) was responsible for acquiring
and wrangling tons of information

which New York

to

create

CG versions of various

locations and sets, including

props,

Cerebro.
camera

"On

our

truck,

we

visual-effects

carried

two

Beaumont VistaVision cameras, as

well

as

measuring and data-acquisi-

tion gear, computers, fax machines
and scanners," Fink says. "Bill used a
D100

and a Nikon
fisheye lens for High
Dynamic Range Imaging [HDRI], a
technique for building virtual envi¬
ronments that shows the placement
of the lights and their effect on the
existing parts of the set. In order to
make CG locations photo-real, we
need to recreate the dynamic range
of the real place, as opposed to what
you might record on film at just one
particular f-stop. Bill was in charge of
shooting HDRI images, which were
used to light our CG objects. He'd
shoot a hemisphere moving through
17 stops of exposure on every set;
Cerebro had 12 lighting cues in one
digital

N90S with

Bill had to shoot an HDRI
which took half a day!

scene, so

for each

camera

a

cue,

At the

deepest stop, the HDRI turns
lights to little pinpoints, which is
essentially what they are in CG, and
at the opposite end turns the shad¬
ows into something that you can
really see. We've used HDRI in virtu¬
ally every CG shot in the movie, and
it's very powerful - you can light a
scene in
days, whereas before it took

the

Scenes within
Cerebro

are

shot

against
greenscreen to
facilitate the
later addition of

weeks. To think that I used
up on set
a

CG elements.

to

show

with a spiral notebook and

pencil!"
In

one

Cerebro sequence, after
a wormhole the
around in a circle and

flying through
camera comes

finds Xavier and

Logan looking up at
spherical map of Earth, which
forms the expanding interior walls of
Cerebro. The map is dotted with
colored lights indicating mutants
and humans, and crowds of people
emerge from those lights. Suddenly,
Xavier spots Nightcrawler, who flies
a

52

April 2003



American Cinematographer - April 2003

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - April 2003

American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 1
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 2
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 3
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 4
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 5
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 6
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 7
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 8
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 9
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 10
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 11
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 12
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 13
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 14
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 15
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 16
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 17
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 18
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 19
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 20
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 21
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 22
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 23
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 24
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 25
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 26
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 27
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 28
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 29
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 30
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 31
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 32
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 33
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 34
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 35
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 36
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 37
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 38
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 39
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 40
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 41
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 42
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 43
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 44
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 45
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 46
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 47
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 48
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 49
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 50
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 51
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 52
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 53
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 54
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 55
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 56
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 57
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 58
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 59
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 60
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 61
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 62
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 63
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 64
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 65
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 66
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 67
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 68
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 69
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 70
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 71
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 72
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 73
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 74
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 75
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 76
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 77
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 78
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 79
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 80
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 81
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 82
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 83
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 84
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 85
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 86
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 87
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 88
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 89
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 90
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 91
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 92
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 93
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 94
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 95
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 96
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 97
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 98
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 99
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 100
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 101
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 102
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 103
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 104
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 105
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 106
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 107
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 108
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 109
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 110
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 111
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 112
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 113
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 114
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 115
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 116
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 117
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 118
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 119
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 120
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 121
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 122
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 123
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 124
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 125
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 126
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 127
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 128
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 129
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 130
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 131
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 132
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 133
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 134
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 135
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 136
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 137
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 138
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 139
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 140
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 141
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 142
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 143
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 144
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 145
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 146
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 147
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 148
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 149
American Cinematographer - April 2003 - 150
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1209
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1109
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0909
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0809
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0709
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0609
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0509
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0409
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0309
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0209
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0109
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1208
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1108
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0908
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0808
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0608
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0508
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0408
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0308
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0208
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0108
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1207
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1107
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac1007
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0907
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0807
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0707
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0607
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0507
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0407
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0307
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/acbest2006
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0207
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0107
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200611
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200609
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200608
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200607
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200606
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200605
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200604
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200603
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200602
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200601
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200512
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200511
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200510
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200509
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200508
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200507
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200505
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200504
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200503
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200502
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200501
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200412
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200411
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200410
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200409
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200408
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200407
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200406
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200405
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200404
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200403
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200402
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200401
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200312
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200309
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200308
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200307
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200306
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200305
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200303
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200302
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200301
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200209
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200208
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200207
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200206
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200205
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200204
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200203
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200202
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200201
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200110
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200109
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200108
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200107
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200106
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200105
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200104
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200103
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200101
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200007
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200006
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200005
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200004
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200003
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200002
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac200001
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com