American Cinematographer - December 2003 - 118

FROM THE
ASC ARCHIVES
ANR THE PAGES
of mmm
mtmmmm
MAGAZINE

dialogue scenes." The interior was
precisely duplicated in Stage B of
Dublin's Ardmore Studios, where two

The

Writer of Light
Cinematography of

Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC

Paperback
ISBN 0-935578-18-8
136 pages, 28 Illustrations
Actual size 7.25" x 9.25"

series of New York

this, gaffer James McGuire followed the

for

skyline backings, one
day and one for night, were painted
outside the set windows. For day scenes,
"we lit the backings with eye and bounce
lighting to get a nice, even illumination
and then overexposed it so it felt more
realistic," says Quinn. "We projected
skylight through the tops of the windows
and pushed some ambient light in when
necessary. For night, we used more
uplight, as though it was projecting up
into the windows from the street. We

frequently handheld camera with Lowel
Rifa-lites, holding them under the lens.
Quinn, who earned Independent
Spirit Awards for his work on Leaving
Las Vegas (see AC Feb. '96) and Kama
Sutra (AC Feb. '97), shot In America in
the standard 1.85:1 format, using a
Panaflex Millennium XL equipped with
Primo lenses. Focal lengths generally
ranged from 27mm to 40mm. "When we
used longer lenses, it was generally

rear-lit the

outside to minimize what

bit from the front to create the feel of the

see," he notes. A street fair and other
exteriors were shot in Dublin, but the

backings to have a nice land¬
scape with hot windows, and lit it a little
skyline in the distance."
Inside, Quinn's lighting style was
based on Sheridan's desire for "magic
realism." The cinematographer, who shot
on

Kodak Vision 500T 5279 and Vision

200T 5293, says, "Jim really likes a
dramatic feel, and he encouraged me to
be

New Wave King

The

Cinematography of

Laszlo Kovacs, ASC

Paperback
ISBN 0-935578-19-6

approximately 140 pages
Actual size 7.25"

x

9.25"

Compiled and edited
by Ray Zone
Order online at
112

www.theasc.com

Morton), Johnny (Paddy
Considine) and their daughters (Sarah and
Emma Bolger) enjoy a night on the town.

Sarah (Samantha

daring and dark when it made sense."
Indeed, although In America is hopeful in
spirit, it does deal with dark matters; the
family is mourning the loss of a third
child, and they discover that a friendly
neighbor (Djimon Hounsou) is terminally
ill. But "Jim didn't want [the look] to be
just down and dark, he also wanted it to
have a little sparkle," says Quinn. "I
found a way to keep a lot of shadow and
mood, but played with color to lift it out
of the depressing area, and I made sure
that the light hit the actors' eyes. You can
always see what's going on in their
faces,

even

in dark scenes." To achieve

we

would

filmmakers didn't want to

sion of

betray the illu¬
being in New York.

visit to Manhattan was
place the actors in some
establishing shots and exterior loca¬

Still,

a

necessary to

tions. In America

was

filmed in 2001,

production was scheduled to
arrive in New York soon after September
and the

attacks]
happened while we were shooting on
stage in Dublin," recalls Quinn. "For a
little while, we weren't sure if we'd be
able to go to New York. The city let us
shoot, but we had to stay out of down¬
11.

"In fact, the [terrorist

town as much as we

could,

so we

chose

locations."
The sobering experience resonated with
the film's subject. "The story is about
trying to hold family together, trying to
find yourself and do the right thing, and
dealing with loss," says Quinn. "It's a
uptown and out-of-the-way

human drama."

■



American Cinematographer - December 2003

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