It’s the day before the shoot, and for me it’s very much the calm before the storm. My ACs Rupert and Max are busy in Cardiff prepping the camera gear, but I get a lie-in – my last for a while, I fear – before Paul and I are driven up to the remote location in the Brecon Beacons where we’ll be based for the first week and a half. When I arrive it’s wet and hellishly windy, but thanks to my thermals I’m toasty enough.
I spend a few quiet hours walking around the rooms we’ll be using, figuring out where we can put sources, and generally coming up with problems which poor Ben will have to solve! The art department are hard at work around me, and what they’re doing already looks great. There are crucifixes everywhere, and this gives me an idea… which I’ll talk about in a later post, if I end up going with it.
I read the American Cinematographer article on The Prestige. Christopher Nolan wanted a similar free-form, flowing camera style to that which Paul wants. Wally Pfister explained how he used minimal lighting, relied heavily on praticals, and pushed the film stock a stop to make this camera style workable. I shall steal his ideas.
I pop into the massive costume trailer to meet the wardrobe supervisor, get my first glimpse at the clothes, ask what kind of headgear people will be wearing (which might shade their faces). Ben arrives just in time to see the location in the last of the daylight. He tests the genny and has a quick look over the lighting gear. I try to sort out a last-minute addition of a zoom lens to our camera kit.
Then I go to the cottage down the road where I’ll be staying for the next week and a half, along with the DIT, the line producer and the production manager. Other cast and crew are staying at neighbouring and less neighbouring cottages. It’s very nice, though there’s no phone signal or wifi. Which means you might be reading this quite a while after I wrote it, unless the pub we’re about to go to has wifi. Mmmm, pub.
on set
Heretiks: Day -1
I eat breakfast at the hotel with the co-writer. We talk about dodgy Alan Moore adaptations and the perfection of Die Hard. When we get to the production office I’m still trying to figure out the lighting list, which is tricky because my gaffer is in transit from Poland! The office is in a castle, which is very cool but you have to go outside to make phone calls; the thick stone walls cut out all reception.
Paul is sitting doing storyboards, and he talks me through what he’s drawn for the first few days. They’re crude, but they give me an idea of how flexible I’ll have to be on lighting to accommodate the roving Steadicam moves he wants. I show him my blog post on 2.39:1 composition to see how he feels about things like short-siding, formal composition, squeezing people into the edges of frame. He’s up for all of it, which is great.
Julian, the production designer, takes me around the rooms we’ll be shooting in at the castle. We talk about where we can help each other out.
After lunch it’s time to set up for the make-up tests. An Alexa, the Cooke S4 primes, a monitor and some basic lighting gear has been delivered for this. I pick a room in the castle from which I can easily eliminate the natural light and while Rudy, my AC for the afternoon, sets up the camera, I establish a 3-point lighting set-up. We have three actors and four make-ups in total to test. I also want to test Soft FX filters and see if any of them will work for the show. We try different strengths (1/2, 1 and 2) on the first actor and quickly we all agree on 1/2. It gives the image a filmic softness without looking cheesy.
Leaving the 1/2 Soft FX in for the rest of the tests, I experiment with different lighting to see how the prosthetics and straight make-up react. I try four different keys: a 650W tungsten fresnel bounced from the side, the 650 bounced from above, the 650 direct and a kinoflo direct. I had issues on Ren with kinoflos causing shine, but here we seem to be fine. I test with and without fill, with hard and diffused backlights, and with bounce from below. We also look at cooler and warmer white balances to see how moonlight and candlelight will affect the make-up. What’s great about these tests is that I can play with the looks and get immediate feedback from Paul as he stands at the monitor. He really responds to the moodier looks, which makes me very happy.
Heretiks: Day -2
Up at the crack of dawn to travel back to Wales, armed with a nice new warm coat, ski socks and thermals! On the train I read some relevant American Cinematographer articles and watch Ida. Stylistically it’s nothing like Heretiks will be, but I want to see how they handle some similar themes visually. It is as beautifully shot as everyone says it is.
I arrive at the production office…
We have a big production meeting, going through the schedule day by day to address the concerns of the various departments. Naked flames vs. LED candles are discussed again. Having dealt extensively with the latter on The First Musketeer, I’m keen not to go down that route again. I get to see some initial make-up tests, and there’s lots of back-and-forth with me, Ben (the gaffer), the rental house and production about the lighting list, trying to get it down to a level that works for the budget and the size of our lighting crew.
Back at the hotel I write a risk assessment – urgh – apparently insurance companies expect these from all HoDs now. Dinner with one of the writers and one of the producers – they’re very nice, as is everyone on the team. Then I get to work on some lighting plans.
Heretiks: Hitting the Ground Running
I just got hired last-minute to photograph a 17th Century supernatural thriller feature. At this stage I don’t know how much time I’ll have and how much I’ll be allowed to say about it, but I thought I would try a daily blog. It might make a nice change to “bring you along” on a shoot. So let’s dive right in.
November 11th
I’m one of several DPs to meet with Paul, the director, about the project. Since first being contacted about it yesterday (sound recordist David kindly recommended me) I’ve only had time to read the script, watch the trailers for Paul’s last two films and do a quick google for some reference images. Several of those images are from The Devil’s Backbone, a film that sprung to mind as I read the script for Heretiks. Another image is the one in this post. I love the idea of the God rays coming in but not hitting the characters; they’re trying to be divine but falling short. I suggest to Paul that this could be a visual theme, and he seems enthusiastic. The meeting goes very well.
Paul’s keen on using a lot of Steadicam, so even though I haven’t got the gig yet I call Rupert (my 1st AC and Steadicam op on Exile Incessant) and sound him out.
November 12th
Mid-morning I get a call from the producer, offering me the job. I immediately confirm Rupert and spend the next few hours trying to fill out the rest of the camera, grip and lighting crew. After a brief discussion with Paul about shooting format, we quickly settle on the Alexa. I call the rental house, 180 Degrees in Bristol, to introduce myself, confirm the camera package and Cooke S4 lenses, and add an extra item or two.
Around 5pm I set off for South Wales, to be ready for tech scouts the next day. Rammed into a rush-hour train from Paddington, I go through a hardcopy of the script with a biro and two highlighter pens: blue for lighting, pink for camera. I also compile a character cheat sheet, because the script has a lot of characters and I know I’ll get them mixed up otherwise. It will also help to track their journeys through the story.
November 13th
I wake up to a wet, windy and bitterly cold Welsh morning. I’m going to need to buy thermal underwear before the shoot starts. A dozen of us pile into a minibus and drive to the first of our two main locations. As Paul talks everyone through the scenes, I struggle to keep up, being less familiar with the script than the others, some of whom have already been on the project for weeks. We don’t have a gaffer for the shoot yet, but a friend of the production manager’s has come along to draw up a lighting list. I’m also liasing with the effects supervisor and the production designer as we consider the requirements of each room. The first location is home to a protected bat colony, so only a specific type of bat-friendly smoke can be used.
After a very welcome pub dinner, we proceed to the second location. By this time it’s much clearer what Paul and Justin (the production designer) are aiming for. I can’t wait to see Justin’s plans come to life. When the recce is finished, we go through the schedule to determine which days will require naked flames – requiring an additional effects person on set. Then I head home, finishing my script mark-up on the way. I have the weekend off, then it’s back to Wales on Monday to start prep in earnest.
A Day in the Life of a DP
What does a cinematographer’s working day look like? Here’s a snapshot of last Wednesday, the fifth shooting day of six on a short film in south London. It’s a split day, with one daylight and one night scene scheduled, so the call time is 2pm.
1:48pm As the cast and crew begin to arrive (I’m being accommodated at the location, conveniently) I check my notes for the upcoming scene. These were written during my second reading of the script, a few weeks previously, and include my thoughts and ideas on camerawork and lighting.
1:54pm I sit down with James the director and Mari the 1st AD to decide what order the day’s set-ups will be shot in. Generally shots are grouped by the rough direction the camera is pointing in, to minimise lighting resets.
2:13pm Mari assembles the crew to watch a block through of the scene, so everyone knows what they’re doing. Using Artemis, the virtual viewfinder app, James and I select the lens and camera positions for the first set-up. It’s a Steadicam shot, so my 1st AC and Steadicam operator Rupert is in on this conversation.
2:24pm The cast go into make-up and it’s time for my department to swing into action.
2:26pm On the recce the previous week I had broadly decided how to light this scene. I confirm the details with Ben, my gaffer, and he and the spark begin setting up the key light outside, a 2.5K HMI, and a kinoflo for fill. 
2:31pm I go and set up an Arrilite to shine down the stairs.
2:31pm The ACs rig the Steadicam and put on my chosen lens.
2:32pm Meanwhile, DIT and standby 1st AC Max sets up the director’s monitor and focus monitor, which are connected wirelessly to the camera with a Teradek Bolt system.
3:09pm Rupert rehearses the Steadicam move using a crew member as a stand-in.
3:13pm 2nd AC Nat marks positions to aid Max in pulling focus.
3:47pm With camera and lighting set, we get a break waiting for a tricky ageing make-up to be finished. We are completely professional during this hiatus.
4:31pm We frame up the actor, Sibusiso, in position to check how the make-up looks under the right lighting.
4:38pm Dimple, the spark, sits in while Sibusiso returns to make-up for tweaks, and I tweak my lighting.
4:41pm I decide that the morning sunlight look I’m going for is too subtle, so I have Ben replace the HMI’s half CTO gel with full CTO.
4:44pm Rupert and James finesse the camera move. When the make-up artist, Carly, is happy, we start shooting.
4:44pm I sit back and watch the monitor, giving a note or two to Rupert after the first take.
4:57pm With the Steadicam shot in the can, we select a lens and position for the next shot, a wide.
4:59pm Activity on set pauses while James catches a spider that is freaking out some of the crew.
5:04pm I squeeze myself in behind the camera, which is set up on sticks on the stairs, ready to shoot the wide. James gives some final direction to Lasharne, the actress, before we shoot the first take.
5:05pm Nat prepares the clapperboard for the next take.
5:12pm The camera team set up the slider for the third set-up.
5:32pm Carly does final checks on Lasharne’s make-up.
5:32pm For this set-up I’m using a polyboard under the camera in an effort to raise the room’s ambient light level closer to the burnt-out view through the window.
6:25pm Mari and James adjust an armchair to better suit the next set-up, another slider shot.
7:12pm Cunningly disguised as a lens, my cup of tea sits in easy reach beside the tripod.
7:12pm We do a camera rehearsal to see if the set-up can accommodate Lasharne standing up, and it can. Max will move the slider while I control pan and tilt, and Rupert pulls focus remotely.
8:13pm As the daylight starts to fade, we complete the scene and break for ‘lunch’. The food is quickly devoured.
8:14pm We assemble on set again to watch a block through of the nighttime scene.
8:21pm Ben discusses a car headlight effect which James wants for the scene.
8:24pm We clear the set to allow Jorge, the art director, to dress it. I check my notes for the scene.
8:29pm Once Jorge has done his thing, James and I pick a lens and position for the first set-up. By this point most of the lighting has been done, except this…
8:50pm Ben and Dimple construct a car headlight rig using two 300W tungsten fresnels mounted on a camera a dolly.
9:10pm The 300s prove too dim and the dolly too flimsy, so instead a Source 4 is rigged to Rupert’s Magliner.
10:29pm The night scene is deliberately designed to echo the day scene, so I’m soon back on the stairs for a wide shot.
12:46am We carry on with the scene, getting some very cool shots in the can, before wrapping a little after midnight. The kit is packed away in the living room, ready to load into the van tomorrow. Cider and sleep beckon.