AmericanCinematographer201201

◗ Animal Instincts
Top: The 50' SuperTechnocrane, mounted on a Bickers 4x4 Taurus Quad, is positioned in No Man’s Land
to capture shots of Joey galloping straight into barbed wire. Middle: 1st AC Mark Spath adjusts focus
for a shot captured with a Scorpio Stabilized Head. Bottom: Armed with a bullhorn, cinematographer
Janusz Kaminski coordinates some explosive action.
against the landscape.”
“We often used very hard light
that was diffused a little bit, similar to the
way arc lights were used in the 1970s,”
says Devlin. “Whereas we’d typically use
four 18Ks through a large frame of diffusion,
like a 12-by-20, on this we’d use just
one 18K through a 4x4 diffusion, which
would give the same intensity but
wouldn’t be as soft. And with one light,
it’s more frontal; that makes it a flatter
light and gives it a richer look, almost
like a classic movie from the 1970s.”
For scenes set in the trenches and
No Man’s Land, production designer
Rick Carter’s crew built three sets on
Wisley airfield in Surrey. “It was a beautiful
set, with quintessential imagery of
the First World War — everything
looked scorched and destroyed,” says
Kaminski. Because Joey had to travel
through it at a full gallop, often in wide
shots, the set was vast, which meant
Kaminski had to light large areas for
night scenes. “Logistically, that was difficult,
because we also had to light the
horse so he wouldn’t just blend into the
night,” he says. “It’s lit like a Christmas
tree, but at the same time I think it looks
realistic.”
Camera tests in No Man’s Land
immediately revealed a problem: the bay
horse wasn’t visible against the red soil.
“The highlight on the horse from the
explosions didn’t read as strong as the
58 January 2012 American Cinematographer