Page 27 - Fujifilm Exposure_31 The White Countess_ok

International feature in focus
MOTION PICTURE & PRO-VIDEO
13 CONVERSATIONS
ABOUT ONE THING
True Brit on the streets of Manhattan
So I thought why not embrace the discipline of using one stock and make it work for every situation.”
“I was a bit concerned about that at the start, but I remember hearing a few years ago about John Seale shoot- ing The English Patient on a single fast stock. I thought that was really bold.
I never had to worry about changing up to a faster stock, when the light went. I found that very liberating.
“In New York, you quite often have very intense light for about half an hour, while the sun passes over this canyon landscape. Then it’s gone and you’re thrown into deep relief. If you’re fighting the light you’re already struggling. Any different film stock on that is really revealing. I loved the F-500 and the way it looked.”
“I was going to give it the ACE process, a partial bleach bypass, intro- duced on the interpositive. Bleach bypass has traditionally been on a print, but this way it’s very controllable. I did Naked and An Awfully Big Adventure with bleach bypass. The thing about that is: it’s all or nothing. With this ACE process it’s very controllable.
“But when I saw the way the F-500 resolved and looked in the timed print I decided to abandon it with Jill’s con- sent. It just looked great as it was. You never really know until you’re down the line how it’s all going to be when you’ve got all the scenes together.
“A lot of the scenes took place at night, it was quite a dark piece any- way, and it has that look. We built that in with the costumes and the designer, working together to get that kind of de-saturated look.”
With only 32 days to shoot in a multitude of locations, the crew had to be as flexible as they were resourceful.
“Whenever you have to move during shooting it just eats into the day,” says Sprecher. “Our poor art department had
to go in and redress some of the rooms two hours before we’d get there.”
Still, she sees the value in such exigencies: “A lot of the film’s style grew out of economic necessity. For instance, you’ll notice a lot of master shots; a movie with a bigger budget would have had more coverage. But then again, I think nothing is more beautiful in cinema than when an entire scene is captured in one shot.”
Notes Pope: “Jill’s quiet strength and single-minded determination, along with the fact that she is a truly genuine person, ensured that she gained the respect of the entire crew, who committed themselves to getting the job done for her.” ■ ANWAR BRETT & QUENTIN FALK
13 Conversations About One Thing was originated on 35mm Super F-500 8572
Photo main:
13 Conversations About
One Thing star Alan Arkin
with Director Jill Sprecher; inset far left: DP Dick Pope BSC; left l-r; John Turturro,
Matthew McConaughey
and Amy Irving
Fuji Motion Picture And Professional Video • Exposure • 25