Page 17 - Fujifilm Exposure_22 Le Divorce_ok

oots in Glasgow
in production
Man. “A terrible film,” he recalled from memories of early rushes, “Christopher Lee looks like an old drag queen. We had to stuff handkerchiefs in our mouths just to stop ourselves laughing.”
Eventually he got a job at Anglia then the BBC as a director in its Community Programme Unit in London followed by a spell at C4 mak- ing access programmes. He finally moved back to his native Scotland in the late eighties forming a company with Stuart Cosgrove to make music and cultural programmes.
“I don’t seem to have stopped work- ing since... well, since I started work- ing,” laughed Coutts, whose regular col- laboration with Sergio Casci is matched by his rather freewheeling association with cameraman Jerry Kelly.
“We laughed when we got this feature because the way we usually work is just me, Jerry, a sound recordist and an assistant – if we’re lucky – with me or Jerry driving. It’s real documentary-style and good fun cranking through a lot every day.
“When we were casting I wanted someone a little less attractive for Roberto but we got Gerald and he looks like a sixties’ heart-throb. I wanted a kind of dithery fragility at first, though by the end of the film he’s strong.
“The American actors were more difficult because we had so little time. Before we got the money, we first went to Joe Mantegna and Chazz Palminteri. When we actually got the money we tried following them up but nothing happened. Before we finally got Danny and Dan, we tried Giovanni Ribisi and Dennis Farina.”
The Americans clearly like to have a regular input. “Yes, they do discuss stuff,” said Coutts, “The other actors then tended to take that as their cue too. In some ways it’s very helpful but it can also be incred- ibly tiring. If I was younger I might have a bigger overview.
“Mind you, I like co-operative working and I think one of my strengths is creating an atmosphere where people can chip in. It’s probably my weakness too. I should be able to say, ‘Hey, enough, let’s go!’”
According to Matheson, Coutts also demonstrates a quality which she claims to be “often lacking in British directors” – that is, “a readiness to embrace emotion. For example, some of his documentary work is extremely
moving. He has a tremendous eye and an ear for music.”
Kelly explained how he and Coutts prepared the film in a break during pre-pro- duction: “I went to his home in
Cromarty and we talked through every scene – the look, the sets and the style we wanted.
“The idea was to have it glossy with a richness to it, an old-fashioned feel, if you like, not gritty and low-lit. We storyboarded certain scenes espe- cially the action stuff. Of course, when it came to the day, everything’s so frantic especially when the actors bring something to it as well.”
Coutts chipped in, “I’m just amazed how incredibly efficient this crew is. There’s such mind-boggling attention to detail. Although there is a lot of pressure, in some ways a feature is easier. You sit down in the morning and say, ‘Which scene are we doing? Is it this or that?’ When you’re doing a documentary, it’s often, ‘what the f*** am I going to do now?
“An assistant of mine once told me – and it might have been a quote from somewhere else – that ‘film-making is a series of practical exercises designed to create an emotional response.’ After this, I don’t want to do anything ever again... but next week, I probably will.” ■
American Cousins was originated on Fujicolor Motion Picture Negative
THE DP VIEW
JERRY KELLY
F ilming in January-February in Glasgow meant that the cream of Scottish technicians were around. However, after endur- ing rain, snow and an actual
hurricane in all our exterior scenes, we remembered why few shoots are attempted at this time of year. Best make a feature of it we thought.
The script has an Italian theme, so I told the writer that we chose Fuji because its rich red and greens mir- rored the Italian flag! In fact, the warmth in the stock enhanced the old fashioned story, and brought out the best in the sumptuous Art Deco design.
Margaret Matheson and I both wanted to go the 16mm digital blow-up route. So we had a chat with Kris Kolodziejski at Digital Film Labs, and he recommended trying to stay on the slow stocks, 64 Daylight and 125 Tungsten.
Coupled with using the slightly slower Ultra Prime lenses for a crisp image, and with budgetary and loca- tion restrictions on the lighting, we ended up shooting wide-open most of the time. Beautiful for the 35mm print, a severe challenge for Alick the focus-puller.
The sets were built into existing buildings, with dark wood walls and few windows, so Andy Harris (design- er) gave me many practical lamps and wall lights. This complemented the moody look achieved by choosing terrible exterior weather!
I’m not sure I’d fly so close to under-exposure again, but, as with everything on low budget drama,
it’s best just to make a feature of it. ■