Page 33 - Fujifilm Exposure_32 Aardman Studios_ok

THE DP VIEW
DAVID JOHNSON BSC
O
“Of course, it was very exciting.
I think that shooting a real ship launch and then inter-cutting it with a crowd of extras and our actors lent a huge scale to the film.
“As for the ‘look’ of the film, that was part of my collaboration with David and well as the production and cos- tume designers with whom we worked hard on a suitable palette of colours.
“The producers [Sarah Curtis and Dorothy Berwin] were keen I didn’t get too stylistic with this as I been on some of my short films. I fell in love with Glasgow and although we weren’t there that long I think we
managed to make it look rather beautiful. We certainly worked hard at storyboarding everything.”
Much of the fun of the film is derived from the supporting actors who help, and sometimes hinder, Frank in his bid for aquatic glory. They include Billy Boyd (from The
Clearly On A Clear Day is going to be a hard act to follow. According to Peter Mullan, a fine director in his own right: “It’s a really nice script and like a lot of really nice scripts you can be a hair breadth from toppling over in sentimentality.
“I think Gaby’s done a very good job in terms of casting because there’s nobody in the cast that would sentimen- talise true human emotions, nobody who would try to ingratiate themselves instead of trying to explore.”
Adds Brenda Blethyn: “Gaby had a very clear insight into the world of these characters and she wanted the story to be told as truthfully as possi- ble. She didn’t want any tricks played. She lived with the project for a long time and I had the sense that she’d played these characters for herself many times.” ■ QUENTIN FALK
On A Clear Day, which goes on release in September, was originated on 35mm Super F-500 8572 and F-250D 8562
Fujifilm Motion Picture • The Magazine • Exposure • 31
“We had an amazing response there and I secretly thought we’d get the audience award.” says Dellal. The result was – no, not an award – but instead an American distribution deal with Focus Features.
Dellal is currently working on another script with Rose as well as sifting through a mountain of American material which has arrived on the back of her Sundance success “but there’s nothing so far that has made me think I want to spend the next three years on this.”
–
in production
Lord Of The Rings trilogy), Sean McGinley, Ron Cook and Benedict Wong, as a Chinese restaurateur with a strong Scots burr.
This kind of ensemble, which conjures up memories of films like The Full Monty and Brassed Off, must have helped tickle the powers-that-be who selected the film to open the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in Utah earlier this year.
n A Clear Day was technically challenging especially in the sea. We storyboarded most of the water scenes and worked out a way in which we could
film mostly from the water’s edge look- ing out to sea, but obviously there were times when we needed to put actors in deeper water.
We decided to shoot the swimming sequences in the Irish Sea using The Isle of Man as our base. Our research revealed a small difference in water temperature between the Channel and the Irish sea, but both were cold. I went for a dip off a beach and managed two minutes before I had to get out.
We had a Winnebago-type motor cruiser on standby for the actors to keep warm, but it was not easy for them in the water so we had very little time in which to capture crucially important moments of performance and dialogue. In fact we had only one chance.
There was no possibility for rehearsal under these circumstances. As soon as the actor was ready to get in the water, we had to turn over and shoot, keep the frame for the duration of the performance and then end slate as the actor was helped out of the water and into warm blankets. There was no chance for another take.
This would be risky under the best of conditions, but at sea everything moves constantly and unpredictably. Focus is impossible to mark, eyelines drift along with the current, actors move in relation to each other, and the camera.
The camera needs waterproofing carefully each time you reload, filters get splashed and the wave motion means the framing is constantly under attack.
Our crew worked tremendously under these circumstances. Julie Bill, focus puller, and Iain Johnstone, the grip, were totally concentrated and flawlessly professional.
Mark Milsome did a fantastic job capturing close ups and useful angles as second camera DP/operator, and in the evening we sailed home tired but excited by the challenge. ■