Page 19 - Fujifilm Exposure_41 Happy-Go-Lucky_ok

GROUND
Capturing that ‘ring of authenticity’ as 3 And Out conveys
a darkly comic train of events
feature in focus
making sure London Underground itself was on board, as it were.
Said Wayne Godfrey, whose com- pany is currently developing a number of new film projects: “We had to give them the script, of course, as we need- ed permission to shoot on the tube. They wanted us to emphasise what they do with drivers who are unfortu- nately there when accidents or sui- cides happen.
“There are two major Tube scenes. One was done at Charing X where following the Jubilee line exten- sion there is now a permanent, opera- tional Underground set where they’ve also shots things like The Bourne Ultimatum and Spooks.
“We also had permission to shoot above ground at East Finchley because we wanted an exterior for the final scene. Mackenzie had lessons with a driver and actually gets to drive the Tube.”
According to Gershfield, who had a number of challenges to overcome during shooting like a malfunctioning cherry picker on the crucial bridge scene and the odd, unexpected tem- pest: “We always felt we were on a very secure wicket with this script.
“It’s not really an out-and-out comedy. There’s some dark stuff too, and I think it’s quite moving. It’s after all about life and death, so it wasn’t just about getting the humour right.” ■ QUENTIN FALK
3 And Out, due out in May, was originated on 16mm Fujicolor ETERNA Vivid 160T 8643
THE DP VIEW
RICHARD GREATREX BSC
I
happen in front of the camera without imposing too much.
I spoke to the cameraman Marcel Zyskind who’s obviously very innovative, and after that, suggested that we shoot this film hand-held. They’d already told me about some of the locations some of which were going to be very tight and I thought hand- holding would be particularly useful for that.
I also knew from past experience that comedy is all about timing, and for timing you need shots. You normally don’t get that many shots in a six-week schedule so I then suggested we use two cameras. Now they began to look a bit aghast because of the potential cost.
So why not 16mm? I said. Stocks and lenses are very good, and with a D/I you can do all sorts of things with it, I added. They came round to the idea and we tested all sorts of stocks as well as a range of lenses. The test went through a D/I as we blew it up to 35mm in a 2:25 ratio so it got a squeeze on it as well. We then showed it at Leicester
Square and after that, it was decided to go that route.
As far as lenses were concerned, for 35mm, I normally work with a set of Cooke’s, but I just couldn’t on this as one just needed to hang on to every bit of resolution and clarity in the image as possible. There are vast, vast differences between even sets of Cooke’s and, say, Zeiss’. In fact, I ended up using Ultra Primes here because they are by far the sharpest as, on this occasion, my old set of Cooke’s were far too soft and flabby.
The stocks were particularly interesting. The new ETERNA Vivid 160T stuck out a mile because its grain structure was so much the best. I don’t over-worry about the contrast and especially don’t over-worry about the colour rendition and saturation because you know that in the D/I you can modify those.
Having said that, the contrast does get important if you’re interested in sharpness, and because the Vivid stock is more contrasty and the grain structure was so good, we chose to shoot all we possibly could on it.
In the end, we’ll have given the director over a thousand shots to choose from – that’s probably more than twice as many as what you nor- mally get on a feature film of this size. That gives him choices – nice choices, one hopes.
I’ve certainly become a real fan of this two-camera stuff because you know the continuity is perfect. If you’ve got two people behind the cam- era who are thinking about the story and not just going for the pretty shots then I think you’re enhancing the story a great deal. ■
’d just seen Bullet Boy and was very taken with it, especially its style. The camerawork was very sympathetic to the characters and the situation; it had the knack of just letting it
of complaint after Jonathan and I had talked them through it.
“Whether it was in the Lake District with a great big wide shot or the confines of a little room or cab at the front of the train, it’s not been a problem. The two focus pullers have been fantastic. The other operator, Vince McGahon, and I never got a set of sticks out. We didn’t have a dolly at all - instead there were various chairs or boxes on wheels.
“I tried to keep the lighting as sim- ple as possible so we could jump back and forward to things. I hope that’ll be reflected in the final film. There’s an edginess to it, a certain amount of float. But, most importantly, it has worked,
I think, on the level of enhancing the story. It makes you feel you’re there.”
Perhaps the key to the story, cer- tainly in terms of its authenticity, was
Photo main: Mackenzie Crook as Paul and Colm Meaney as Tommy;
above: scenes from 3 And Out; right: DP Richard Greatrex BSC and Director Jonathan Gershfield
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