American Cinematographer - December 2006 - 30

Built onstage at

[Tiffen] Pro-Mists. I found in the makeup

Downey

test that it smoothed out Tim Allen's

Studios, the

Elfsburg Village
set featured

extensive

toplighting.
These 360-

prosthetic makeup
the

little better than
other filters I tried, yet it didn't give

far from hard and fast. For instance, for
a scene in the "Elfirmary," Greenberg

an

overall look of diffusion to the

used

during filming
(above)and
with

a

North

Pole

sky
comped in
(below).

a

picture."
standard 1.85:1 aspect

ratio, and the
production's Panavision
package
comprised two Panaflex Platinums, a
full set of Primo primes, and 4:1 and
11:1 Primo

live
on

zooms.

The

zooms

tended to

the cameras, with the short one
the A camera (operated by Chris
on

Hayes) and the long one on the B
(operated by Chris Squires).
However, Greenberg "went to primes on
some of the night exteriors just for fun.
The zooms are so good now, but there
were a couple of night exteriors with
heavy background shadows. I felt the
prime lenses would be able to dig a bit
deeper into those shadow areas. Still,
the zoom is really a wonderful tool,
either as a vari-focal lens or for slight
corrections in a complicated dolly move
to maintain composition."
camera

28 December 2006

14mm lens that

never

got in the way." All the same, it

did pose an occasional
heard everything! They

danger: "They
knew all the

stories."

captured the
ceiling and
wall, emphasizing the vast

During lunch breaks on set,
Greenberg, Maxwell and Kenner joined

difference in stature between Santa

projected digital dailies
prepared by Technicolor. "I was fortu¬
nate to have a 2K projector that allowed
us to see our work in a quality approxi¬
mating that of film dailies," says Green¬
berg.
At press time, the cinematogra¬
pher was beginning the digital interme¬
diate (Dl) process at Technicolor Digital
Intermediates. "The Dl is one of the digi¬
tal revolution's most significant devel¬
opments for cinematographers," he
observes. "The range of manipulation
the process allows has permanently
changed the way we time our films. It
gives us the ability to put a sparkle in an
actor's eyes and refine the quality of
optical effects. In short, it enables us to
fully realize what we imagine."

entire

Santa Clause Jwas filmed in the

degree views
show the set

The workhorse primes were the
40mm and the 75mm, but the rule was

a

room

wall to

from floor to

and the elves.
To

communicate

with

key
personnel in his crew - particularly on
the massive Elfsburg set, which was
brought to life by 300-some children -
Greenberg adopted one of Kenner's
suggestions. The cinematographer
sported a transmitter while Kenner,
Maxwell, Hayes, Squires, and 1st ACs
Jay Levy and Bob Heine all wore
receiver units. Dubbed "KROB," the

system earned high praise from Green¬
berg. "It was a real privilege to only be
transmitting - I never had to put
anything in my ear or listen to anybody
else. If they wanted to respond to me,
they had to get to me, but I could just
say

what I

well,

was

was

looking for. It worked

comfortable to wear, and

Lembeck and
to

a

few other crewmembers

view

>■
American Cinematographer - December 2006

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - December 2006
