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ASC
EXCLUSIVE: The Camerimage Daily Journal
By David Heuring Journalist David Heuring is keeping a log of all the major happenings at the 2003 Camerimage – the 11th Annual International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography – from Lodz, Poland from Nov. 29 through Dec. 6. His reports appear exclusively on www.theasc.com and will be posted as we receive them.
Cinematographers in attendance included the 1994 Camerimage Lifetime Achievement honoree Witold Sobocinski, PSC, Rogier Stoffers, Pitor Kukla, NSC, Tom Stern, Eduardo Serra, ASC, AFC, Remi Adefarasin, BSC and Krzysztof Ptak, co-winner of last year’s Golden Frog for the Polish feature film Eddie. The Golden Frog, Camerimage’s top prize, was shared last year by Ptak and the late Conrad, Hall, ASC for Road to Perdition. During the opening ceremony, David Lynch, whose photographs, paintings and collages are gathered in a gallery exhibit as part of the festival, was honored with an award from the Polish ministry of culture in recognition of his work and his ongoing relationship with Camerimage and the city of Lodz. This year’s award for a cinematographer-director duo was presented to the Australians Peter Weir and Russell Boyd, ACS, in recognition of their body of work over three decades, which includes Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), The Last Wave (1977), Gallipoli (1981), and The Year of Living Dangerously (1982). Their most recent collaboration, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, opened the festival. The screening was the Polish debut of the film, which is an epic tale set on the ocean battlegrounds of the early 19th Century. In remarks prior to the screening, Boyd noted that the film was principally shot over five and a half months, mostly at the Fox tank facility in Baja California, Mexico. Weir said that during a previous visit to Poland, he took note of the interesting faces he saw. “In my search for the faces that would compose the crew of the ship, I saw an openness in the Polish people,” he said. “I saw faces without cynicism, faces without cunning. I thought they were faces that were not used to looking at a camera. They were like faces from the past, faces from before the invention of photography.” As a result, Weir hired a number of Polish men to serve as background extras during the filming of Master and Commander. About a dozen of these extras were on hand for the screening, and Weir brought them to the stage for a round of applause. “Keep up this wonderful spirit that you have in this country,” Weir concluded. “Something good is happening in the arts here, that’s for sure.” Following the screening of Weir’s film, this year’s Camerimage Lifetime Achievement honoree William A. Fraker, ASC, BSC introduced The Reflection of Fear, the first of a series of his films that will be shown during the festival. Fraker, who directed the film, was joined onstage by Laszlo Kovacs, ASC, who photographed the film in 1971. Fraker thanked the festival directors for their hospitality and for their recognition of his career. “I’m very grateful for the honor,” he said. “The Polish people are warm and wonderful, and I look forward to seeing some of my favorite films projected on the big screen this week with you.” Fraker and Kovacs also recalled
the making of the film, a psychological thriller that stars Sally Kellerman
and Sondra Locke. “Looking
back, I feel that our filmmaking skills were at their peak,” said
Kovacs. “As you can imagine, I was intimidated to be shooting a
film for Billy, who is such a great photographic artist in his own right.
But once we got under way, I saw that he was a terrific director and
a dream collaborator for a cinematographer. We brought out the best in
each other. I’m proud of the film we made, and I hope you like
it, too.” DAY TWO: NOV. 30, 2003 The Return, which won the Golden Lion prize at this year’s Venice Film Festival, is a very simple but mysterious story about two sons whose father returns after a 12-year absence and takes them on a long camping trip with unexplained tensions. The Return was cinematographer Krichman’s second film. “To talk about my approach to photographing this movie, I must go back to the movie Seven, photographed by Darius Khondji, which inspired me to become a cinematographer,” said Krichman. “At that time, I also began to read American Cinematographer, and learned about great cinematographers like Vilmos Zsigmond, Laszlo Kovacs, and Roger Deakins. For The Return, we used a lot of available light, and in most of the situations controlled it only with reflectors. This was partly due to the budget but also because this film did not require a lot of light. Occasionally we had some small units like a 4L or a 6K lamp. We shot with Kodak Vision 5277 and 5284 film stocks. We tried to stay away from long lenses as part of a naturalistic approach. We mostly used 35 mm, 25 mm and 18 mm lenses by Carl Zeiss. For certain shots we waited until the sun was right. For other shots we had to do many takes in order to get the sunlight to cooperate and give us the effect we wanted. I think our approach to the visual language worked for this story.” City of God is the disturbing
portrait of a poor and crime ridden section of Rio de Janeiro. Two
boys growing up there follow different paths.
One becomes a drug dealer and the other a photojournalist. Charlone,
who shot the film in a kinetic and hyper-real style, introduced it by
saying, “City of God is based on a true story, something that actually
happened. It is a very sad story, something that we who did it are not
at all proud of. But we are proud of the energy and the generosity of
the non-actors who you see in the film. The emotion that we had from
filming them is something I hope we can share with you today through
what you are about to see. We hoped as we made the film that it would
serve as an alarm, a way to alert people to the cynical politics of how
the world deals with the problem of drugs.” DAY THREE: DEC. 1, 2003 “In this theater, I have seen the work of many great masters, including Conrad Hall and Vilmos Zsigmond,” said Tomiak who introduced Symetry. “It’s an honor for me to stand here and I hope that you feel your time spent watching this film is not wasted.” The film is a disturbing portrait of how life in prison brutalizes humans. It was shot almost entirely in a crumbling Warsaw prison in an oppressive, claustrophobic style, often with wide-angle lenses. The camera was often static, adding to the implacable, impersonal atmosphere. A bleach bypass process rendered desaturated, contrasty images. Remi Adefarasin, BSC led a workshop sponsored by Arriflex. Adefarasin, who won the 1999 Golden Frog at Camerimage for Elizabeth, discussed issues and answered questions about lighting, postproduction and collaboration. “When I see a film, I like to feel like it’s happening within my head, rather than feeling like I’m being manipulated by someone or something,” he said. “Generally, I believe that fewer lights are better. The best way to be cost efficient is to have a very good idea of what you’re trying to achieve before you get to the set. Knowing the script well is a way to save money in filmmaking.” Adefarasin also discussed reasons for his preference for shooting widescreen films in Super 35 format, citing the advantages of digital intermediate technology. “It saves an extra optical step in postproduction, and once you have timed release prints, the same master can be used for DVD release and digital cinema releases.” Russell Boyd, ACS, whose film Master
and Commander: The Far Side of the World is in the festival competition, also led a seminar. Boyd is
being honored at the festival for his collaboration with director Peter
Weir. He showed the audience scenes from Picnic at Hanging Rock,
Gallipoli and The Year of Living Dangerously and discussed those films in addition
to answering questions about Master and Commander. DAY FOUR: DEC. 2, 2003 Later on Tuesday, Lifetime Achievement honoree William Fraker, ASC and Laszlo Kovacs, ASC conducted a lighting and camera seminar hosted by Panavision. The duo set up a simple tracking shot and explained the thought process behind each of the decisions behind their actions. Fraker recalled his days as a student and his films. During breaks, students from around the world mobbed the cinematographers like rock stars and posed for photographs with them. Fraker’s American Hot Wax was among the films screened. The audience also saw films in competition, including I am Dina (Denmark, cinematographer Dan Laustsen) and Mystic River (USA, cinematographer Tom Stern). At a post-screening press conference, Stern discussed his collaboration with director Clint Eastwood. “I’ve been working with Clint in one capacity or another for 23 years, but I’m still one of the junior members of the team,” he said. “There’s a lot trust built up over that time, and that is the basis of our collaboration. Clint asked me if I thought we could make Mystic River like Bird, only darker. That was my instruction. One of my goals was to create apparent dynamic range greater than what it actually is. I wanted images anchored with black, with light ripping through. There were extremes of light and dark in the story, so we wanted to have those extremes in the images as well.” Stern, who worked as gaffer for many top directors of photography, was asked if he tried to follow the styles of his mentors. “In my experience, no great cinematographer has a personal style,” he
answered. “The style evolves for each story that is appropriate.
Conrad Hall, ASC exercised a great degree of control, but not in a controlling
way. I know that’s a paradox, but that aspect of aesthetic surprise
is part of what Conrad taught us to value.” DAY FIVE: DEC. 3, 2003 Squint Your Eyes, a Polish production about a 10-year-old runaway, was the sole main competition film screened on Wednesday. Other student films were screened outside as part of the panorama. Jury member Fraker said, “There is a marvelous array of talent on display in these films. When I see the skill behind some of the storytelling in these films, I reflect that the future of our art looks bright.” Wednesday at the festival
also included a workshop on camera support systems held by Sachtler
and a panel discussion sponsored by ARRI on
digital intermediate, the process whereby filmed images are scanned into
digital files for manipulation and then recorded back out to film. Panelists
included cinematographers Adefarasin, Vacano, and Tony Pierce-Roberts,
BSC. Scanned scenes were projected by ARRI as examples of what can be
done. Panelists emphasized that these powerful technologies must be controlled
by the director of photography, whose trained eye must oversee the film’s
images from start to finish. Communication among all parties is crucial
to success. “These tools are amazing in the right hands,” said
Vacano. “The technology in filmmaking is changing at a rapid pace,” said Idziak. “The way we work needs to evolve as well. Films today, on average, have 50 to 60 percent more cuts than films of 10 or 15 years ago. That affects the work of the cinematographer. I used to avoid shooting with multiple cameras, but today I feel that it has become part of how we work. It’s our responsibility to adapt our methods to changing realities.” Idziak also encouraged the students to overcome their fears. “We have to learn to master our fears, because they are a weakness,” he said. “The cinematographer has a tremendous responsibility, so the tendency is to minimize risk. But without risk, we can never create something original and specific for each film we make.” Fraker answered questions about filmmaking, Hollywood and the state of the art of cinematography at a press conference. He decried filmmaking by committee and offered his opinion on the lack of true leadership in Hollywood. He noted that a good director of photography has a working knowledge of editing and directing. Asked a question about lighting, he replied, “There are two kinds of light, hard light and soft light. Many cinematographers today use soft light. In the film we saw earlier today, Hero, cinematographer Christopher Doyle made beautiful use of soft light. Soft light can be faster, so producers and production managers prefer it. But I was trained in a different era. In Hollywood, we’re selling stars. When that actor’s face is in close-up – 28 feet high by 50 fifty wide – it better be carefully lit. With hard light, I can control the light so much more finely. I believe that each light should have one purpose. If I have one secret, it’s that each light does one thing and is kept off of everything else. It’s all a matter of control, and that’s why my films, generally speaking, are lit with hard light, light from a fixture that has a lens to focus the light.” Thursday ended at the Fanaberya
Club, where Kodak hosted its annual student party. Kodak’s Janet Anderson welcomed students and offered
Kodak’s support. “We realize that you are the filmmakers
of tomorrow,” she said. “We want to put the power of tomorrow’s
imaging technology into the hands of the next generation of visual storytellers.
Changes in technology are altering the creative and economic equations
at an amazing rate. Kodak has been a major sponsor of the Camerimage
Festival since its inception 11 years ago. We’re proud to be part
of this celebration of cinematography, the cinematography of today and
tomorrow.” DAY
SEVEN: DEC. 5, 2003 A seminar was led by the director and cinematographer of the competition film The Women of Rosenstrasse. Director Margarethe von Trotta and cinematographer Franz Rath took questions about the making of their film, which dramatizes an actual event through the eyes of the daughter of a women who was raised by an “Aryan” woman after her parents were deported during World War II. Kodak rolled out a new film stock at an afternoon event in the main theater, and also gave a sneak preview of their new “Look Management System,” which allows cinematographers to use digital technologies to develop and communicate appropriate visual techniques prior to actual filming. The new film stock, KODAK VISION2 500T Expression Color Negative Film 5229/7229, is a 500-speed emulsion that renders images with a somewhat softer look, including smoother skin tones and a more subdued range of contrast and color saturation. According to Kodak’s Janet Andersen, the new film features a significant reduction in apparent grain and an enhanced capacity for recording details in bright highlights and dark shadows. Also on Friday, editor Michael Tronick led a first-of-its-type seminar on the interaction between editors and cinematographers. The seminar was sponsored by Avid. “I think it’s very wise and forward-thinking of Camerimage to host a
seminar on the topic,” says Tronick. “We all know this is a collaborative
art form, and the more we understand each other’s concerns, the better
the final product will be.” DAY EIGHT: DEC. 6, 2003 The student jury’s decisions were announced by jury president Phil Meheux, BSC. “Even if you are not one of the winners tonight,” he said, “be immensely proud of the work that you have done, and consider yourselves well on the road to being tomorrow’s master cinematographers.” The Bronze Tadpole went to Konrad Spyra for his photography of T-Rex, a short story about identity. Spyra is a student at the University of Slaski in Poland. The Silver Tadpole was presented to Maciej Majchrzak for Anabioza, and the Golden Tadpole went to Maciej Sobieraj for Coma. Majchrzak and Sobieraj are both students at the Polsih National Film School in Lodz. The Student Competition jury also awarded a special prize to Camilla Hjelm Knudsen of the Danish National Film School for The Fighter. Meheux said, “There are many facets to the craft of cinematography other than just creating beautiful images. For this reason the jury would like to honor this film, for the brave way the cinematographer avoided what might be called conventionally beautiful photography, and instead created a gritty urban landscape that totally bonded with its story.” In the main competition, the Bronze Frog went to Eduardo Serra, AFC for his delicate photographic recreations of Vermeer’s studio and environs in Girl with a Pearl Earring. The Silver Frog went to Piotr Kukla, NSC for Twin Sisters. The grand prize, the Golden Frog, went to Brazilian Cesar Charlone for his energetic and shocking photography of City of God, which takes an unflinching look a poverty-stricken, lawless area in Rio de Janiero. In his acceptance, Charlone thanked all the crewmembers whose hard work made the film possible. “Thanks also to the beautiful cast, many of them non-actors, whom I mentioned when we screened the film,” he said. “The photography does not exist without them in front of the lens. It was they who told the story, and we were just there to capture it. Thank you all for a beautiful week, and thank you Poland for your great hospitality.” The main competition jury also awarded a special prize to Adam Bajkerski and Pawel Smietanka for their photography of Squint Your Eyes. “The cohesiveness of visual and narrative elements found here is comparable to the theater of the absurd,” said Ivory. “The sharp eye for landscape, for the individuality of the players’ faces, and the sense of mystery all contributed to this refreshing film, totally devoid of blood and severed heads.” The climax of the event came with the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to William Fraker, ASC. Upon receiving the award and a standing ovation, Fraker said: I have to begin by saying what an honor it is for me to be here tonight. It’s honestly spoken from the bottom of my heart. It’s an honor to be chosen to join a ceremony in the company of marvelous cameramen who precede me, whose work I admire and respect. And I love the gift you’ve given me, this beautiful symbol. But more importantly, it’s the memory I’ll keep with me forever of the spirit that brings us all together to celebrate with our peers the act of making movies. The recognition this festival brings to our craft cannot be overstated. And so I give a special thanks to all of you responsible for making it happen, especially Marek and Marek. Next I have to thank my friends. People I’ve worked with over the years. Some of whom have come a long way on their own from great distances to share this important evening with me. I can’t name all of you and some I can only see if I close my eyes. Slavko Vorkopich, Conrad Hall, Dougie Slocombe, Freddie Young, Sven Nykvist. Tonight I know for sure that they are all with us. I can’t remember a time when a camera wasn’t part of my life. My grandmother taught me to use it so that I would always have a profession. My father was a still photographer, the head of the still gallery at Columbia Studios, and my uncle was head of the still department at Paramount Pictures. I graduated from one of the finest schools in our country, the University of Southern California, a school with many famous graduates like James Ivory, Caleb Deschanel and Conrad Hall. Now I find myself standing in front of the classroom, trying to share with my students as much as I can from what I have learned about how and what it takes to make a movie, and how to capture the light, the shadow, how to create a mood and tell a story. And how in some magic way, film touches all of us. It unites us as a people in a way that’s universal. It goes beyond the country where we were born and the language that we speak. So when we join together this way, we all become part of a creative process, contributors to an art form that has become its own international language, one that we all understand. It is a privilege to be recognized as a member of this international community. And for that, and for so much more, I thank you. Festival director Marek Zydowicz officially declared the festival over,
promising that Camerimage 2004 will offer new adventures and surprises
for all. |
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