Page 58 - Fujifilm Exposure_51_Expo Intl_Spring 2011_ok

CRYFOR FREEDOM
THE COLOURFUL LIFE OF WINNIE MANDELA COMES UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
INANEWBIOPIC, WINNIE, DIRECTED BY DARRELL ROODT WITH AMERICAN STARS JENNIFER HUDSON AND
When you speak about Winnie Mandela there are some conflicting opinions, because her story can be
ability to record details over that full range and to also load up in colour details in saturation.
We were lucky in that we started shooting right before the winter solstice, so the light would remain very, very low throughout the day and we had these stretched out magic hours that obviously had a different quality to them.
It was crisp in certain situations because throughout the winter, in some of the regions where we shot, we would have clear skies for most of the day, and we shot in less populated areas many times, so there wouldn’t be a haze or mist or smog or anything.
Obviously, we also shot in Soweto in many different urban settings, where there is intense human activity that generates these particles that break up the light but generally speaking South African light does have a different quality.
We also shot around the part of the country where Nelson and Winnie grew up, and the landscapes are quite stunning. We shot all the scenes of her childhood in this area that’s basically on a cliff and the sea; the rolling hills and the shades of green in those landscapes are
very interesting.
I shot several exteriors with
Fujifilm stock in order to use their ability to saturate. What’s interesting about them is, since they are tungsten-balanced stocks, when you
TERRENCEHOWARD “
Darrell’s approach was to try and
PORTRAYING HER AND HUSBAND, NELSON MANDELA. CANADIAN CINEMATOGRAPHER
MARIO JANELLE DESCRIBES THE EXPERIENCE OF RECREATING HER TURBULENT LIFE
ON LOCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA.
tell the whole story and not to try to embellish any parts of it, to try to be fair and show both aspects of the tale.
I used several different Fujifilm stocks for this film. The stocks used were the ETERNA Vivid 160T and the ETERNA Vivid 500T, and there were two aspects to using those stocks. One is for the fact that the story spans several decades, from Winnie’s
birth all the way through to the contemporary period. So it’s quite a long timescale, and I like to emulate certain looks in a subtle way. I used the ability of the Fujifilm stocks to saturate very nicely over its range for the contemporary periods.
Another interesting use is that there are several prison scenes, and a sequence in which Winnie is in solitary confinement. We shot in actual institutions, which have a very specific colour palette to them. I wanted to use the very tiny windows in these cells, so that you would pretty much feel what it would be like to be in there.
I lit most of these cells through a tiny porthole, so there’s a very wide contrast range with a shaft of light and some deep shadows, and the Fujifilm stock has an unbelievable
56 • EXPOSURE • THE MAGAZINE • FUJIFILM MOTION PICTURE
controversial. But I think