British Cinematographer issue 51 - Imago

British Cinematographer
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Covering International Cinematography
www.britishcinematographer.co.uk
Issue 051 ––– May 2012
Section
–––Person’s Name BSC
Project Line1
Line2 Project
British Cinematographer
Covering International Cinematography
www.britishcinematographer.co.uk
Issue 051 ––– May 2012
Close-Up
–––Caleb Deschanel ASC
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter takes audiences
on a journey to a time when the legendary American
president was fighting for the survival of his nation. The
enemies are vampires who are plotting to take over
the country. The independent feature is based on a
best-selling novel written by Seth Grahame-Smith who
co-authored the script.
Lincoln was born in 1809 in a one-room log cabin
on a farm in Kentucky. His mother died under suspicious
circumstances when he was ten years old. Lincoln
overcame formidable obstacles on his path to being
elected president in November 1860. The Civil War began
five months later when ten southern states seceded from
the union. On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued
The Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves.
The script authored by Grahame-Smith is true to
history with the exception of the role that vampires play.
Lincoln’s battle with vampires begins when one of them
kills his mother.
Caleb Deschanel ASC brought a broad base of
eclectic experience to the project. He earned BSC
and BAFTA award nominations for his first film, The Black
Stallion, in 1979. Deschanel subsequently earned Oscar
nominations for The Right Stuff (1983), The Natural (1984),
Fly Away Home (1996), The Patriot (2000) and The Passion
Of The Christ (2004). His peers lauded him with the ASC
Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was Deschanel’s
first collaboration with director Timur Bekmambetov, who
began his career in Russia. His credits in his native land
include several vampire films. Bekmambetov migrated
to the United States in 2005.
The aesthetic challenges were creating images
which transport audiences to the places and times
where and when the story unfolds, whilst making
Lincoln an empathetic character. Deschanel sought
visual references in libraries and book stores. He found
approximately 25 books with pictures taken during the
Civil War and of Lincoln at various times in his life.
“Matthew Brady, Timothy O’Sullivan and other
great photographers took amazing photographs,” he
says. “It wasn’t like taking pictures today. They had to
coat a piece of tin with caladium, which is kind of like
a glue, and dip it in a silver nitrate solution in the dark.
They put it in the camera and recorded a picture on
it. Then, they took it out and developed it. They had
to develop it pretty quickly before it set, because
otherwise the image would be lost.”
Deschanel says that composing the film in wide
screen 2.4:1 aspect ratio was an obvious decision,
because backgrounds on battlefields and other
scenes are like characters in the story. Most of the
story takes place in Illinois, where Lincoln was raised,
and in Washington DC.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was produced at
practical locations in New Orleans and other places in
Louisiana. Some sets were built in a former warehouse.
An important scene takes place on a cliff overlooking
a riverbed. The second unit shot background footage
on location and facing an artificial cliff that was built
behind the warehouse.
“We found appropriate locations, and when
necessary, (production designer) François (Audouy)
altered them so that they felt right for the time and
place,” Deschanel says. “Our motivation for lighting was
dictated by the period. If it was night, it was candlelight.
If it was day, it was daylight. François and I got along
really great. He made some alterations to the size of
windows and the placement of things to accommodate
lighting. Paul Olinde (gaffer) and I worked on lighting
that would create a feeling of firelight with the right
flickering effect.”
Close Ups were written by Bob Fisher, Kevin Hilton and Michael Burns.
Benjamin Walker was cast in the role of Lincoln,
whose face during his adult life is familiar to American
and other Western audiences. The audience sees much
of the story through his eyes. Deschanel cites his close
collaboration with make-up designer Greg Cannom,
who he credits with playing an important role in defining
the transformation of Lincoln from boyhood to manhood,
leading up to the day when he came on the set with a
full beard. There were similar challenges making actors
cast in the roles of vampires look and feel real.
“I brought George Scali onboard as the second
unit cinematographer,” Deschanel says. “He and his
crew worked on battle sequences and things we
didn’t have time to shoot. George was my assistant
cameraman earlier in his career. He worked with
the stunt people on some of the action sequences
during the Civil War, and also some of the battles with
the vampires. George did a terrific job of keeping
everything in the style of what we were doing.”
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was primarily
produced in digital format with ARRI Alexa cameras.
Deschanel generally covered scenes with two cameras,
sometimes more, depending upon the action. He
generally kept the cameras at a similar angle to keep
lighting consistent, rather than at cross angles.
“A lot of the film was shot with cameras on dollies
and cranes,” he says. “When we got into battle and
other action sequences, it was much more handheld.”
Action and other scenes that take place in slowmotion
were recorded on Kodak Vision 5219 500T and
Kodak Vision 5213 200D 35mm color negative film
with ARRI 435 cameras. Deluxe Lab, in Los Angeles,
processed the negative and provided dailies on BluRay
DVDs. Deschanel had a projector and a six foot-wide
screen in his hotel room. “At the end of the week, my
crew and I watched dailies together,” Deschanel says.
After editing was completed, Deschanel timed
the digital intermediate with colorist Dave Cole at
LaserPacific in Los Angeles.
“To me, a movie doesn’t exist until it’s edited,”
Deschanel says. “The way it’s cut affects every scene.
Until you see that, you can’t make final decisions about
the look. Benjamin Walker is great in the role of Abe
Lincoln. You feel like you are there when he delivers the
Gettysburg Address. Martin Csokas plays one of the
vampires. That aspect of the movie takes on a life of
it’s own. It was kind of fascinating making a historical
film with vampires. The challenge was finding the right
balance of the two genres.”
Twentieth Century Fox has the film scheduled for
release in late June 2012.
Images courtesy of Owen Roizman ASC.
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