American Cinematographer - June 2006 - 12

As this issue ofAC wentto press, Dan Brown's
novel The Da Vinci Code had

occupied The

New York Times' hardcover best-seller list for

staggering 160 weeks, and had just begun its
on the paperback charts, while religious
groups and clerical scholars continued to debate
its controversial premise. All of this hubbub has
a

assault

Cinesaddle
The Perfect
Camera Mount
1. The Cinesaddle is easy to use; to set

it up

just put it down.

made director Ron Howard's film version

one

the most

hotly anticipated titles of the summerblockbuster season. Not surprisingly, we found the
project was cloaked in nearly as much secrecy as
the Biblical mysteries of its plot.
Undaunted, writer Patricia Thomson did her level best to "decode" the
show with

cinematographer Salvatore Totino and other members of the produc¬
doggedly strove to procure some illuminating behindthe-scenes photos from our hard-pressed PR contacts at Sony Pictures Enter¬
tainment
a tall order, given the high demand for artwork and the studio's Fort
Knox-like policies on photo approvals. In the end, everyone's patience paid off
in a piece that provides an intriguing look at the filmmakers' approach to an
international literary sensation ("Secret History," page 38).
While covering Poseidon, David E. Williams enjoyed a free flow of infor¬
mation when cinematographer John Seale, ASC, ACS paid him a house call.
Kicking back at Casa Williams, Seale provided an enthusiastic and detailed
breakdown of his methods on the epic disaster flick, which attempts to provide
tion team. Meanwhile, we

2. Available in five different sizes. Works with
all

video, film and still

3. Small
than two

cameras.

Compact - Portable. Weighs less
pounds.

Super versatile camera mount. Get shots
possible with any other camera support.

not

5. Cinesaddle absorbs vibration. Use it
car,

on a

bike, boat, helicopter, anything. Mounting

kit included

w ith

all

professional models.

even more

thrills than 1972's The Poseidon Adventure. The fruits of this "back¬

yard chat" begin on page 54 ("Taking on Water").
The cinematographer of A Prairie Home Companion, Ed Lachman, ASC,
was a bit harder to locate. With the help of his always-cooperative agent,
Wayne Fitterman, contributor Jon Silberg eventually reached the cameraman in
Amsterdam, where our man was enjoying his gezellig surroundings. (Loosely
translated from Dutch, gezellig refers to "a cozy environment that allows good
times to happen.") Lachman provided an expansive overview of his strategies
for the picture, which he shot for director Robert Altman with Sony high-defini¬
tion video cameras ("Radio for the Eyes," page 70).
Finally, we couldn't resist covering the comedy Nacho Libre, which tells
the mythical tale of a rotund Mexican monk (Jack Black) who takes up lucha
libre wrestling in an attempt to save his beloved monastery. Shot by Xavier
Perez Grobet for director Jared Hess (whose wry 2004 Sundance entry
Napoleon Dynamite became a pop-culture phenomenon), Nacho promises a
hearty helping of salsa-flavored slapstick. John Calhoun grilled Grobet on his
antic endeavors south of the border ("Wrestle Mania," page 80).

Visit Cinekinetic's website:

www.cinekinetic.com
and view streamed video

clips of the

Cinesaddle in action.

CiN^K/NeTfC
Cinekinetic USA
345 W. 85th Street
New York, NY 10024

Telephone: (212)202-0675
Email: info@cinekinetie.com
10

Stephen Pizzello
Executive Editor

KDirokulagnlads.

byPhot

American Cinematographer - June 2006

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