Page 30 - Fujifilm Exposure_44 Damned United_ok

IS ANYBODY THERE?
➤ Asthefilmplaysout,withitsnat- uralistic feel, we become involved in the story and I recognise the mo- ments at which I was challenged under the pressure of time and re- strictions of location. It was a big cast with lots of ensemble set pieces that required a natural feel, and at other times, smaller intimate moments.
In particular, I remember a scene we shot in the cellar of this big old house in Chalfont St Giles. Clarence evokes a séance in order to cheer up the young disillusioned Edward. John wanted it dark, very dark, the kind of dark that the eye sees after a few minutes adjusting to an environ- ment with no source. A surreal light that has magical quality.
For a time, we even talked of shooting it using old military infrared film stock. This seemed to me out of place and a little too self-conscious. Eventually I opted for an overhead Image 80 down to one tube with a double layer of grid cloth suspended five inches from the lamp. In addi- tion, I added an eighth green. The re- sult was an evenly spread soft light that seemed to come from nowhere.
There was a problem however. My light meter was telling me to go home and gaffer Lee Walters was
giving me that ‘are you sure about this?’ look. I was shooting on ETERNA 500T three stops under on the highlights, something I have never done before. Looking back, I think I may have pushed it a bit too far (perhaps even used a little fill light), I should have seen the signs when Lee had to leave the room because it was starting to make him panic.
And there it is now, on the screen in front of me, and it looks exactly as it should: a strange netherworld where the living meet the spirits of the dead in a conversation across the boundaries of the natural and the supernatural. It’s something that Clarence wanted to create so he could cheer up forlorn little Edward.
On the whole, the shooting of this film was a question of restraint. It was my job to tell the story by cap- turing the performance without the cinematography drawing attention to itself. It is a gentle story that re- quired a gentle approach.
One of my only concessions to myself was to shoot as much as pos- sible of Edward’s earlier scenes at T1.3. He is a young boy very much trapped in his own little world at the beginning of the film. I wanted to em-
phasise this a little by making his surroundings bleed and blur into themselves, thereby cutting him off from the world.
I recall one incident when Ed- ward leaves his house wearing a pair of headphones as he listens to his homemade tape recordings of the dying moments of the residents at the old people’s home he reluctantly lives in. He is completely lost in his own world.
I asked Simon Baker (Steadicam) to follow him on a 50mm lens at T1.3 using Super-64D, so that we remain resolutely sharp on the back of Ed- wards head, trapped in his world with him. Simon gave me that look that most of my crew seem to impart when I ask them to do something un- reasonable. But Simon is a profes- sional, and he rose to the challenge.
On the screen, it works beauti- fully. I think it captures the moment quite subtly, almost subliminally. That seemed to be the trick. John’s direction focused very much on those internal moments and how they unfold and effect the story in a subtle way.
As the credits roll and the lights
go back on and we stare at each
other, it feels like we achieved some- thing. Something that has
taken us another small step
towards understanding what
life is all about. Just a small
step, mind you. DP ROB HARDY ”
Is Anybody There?, to be released in the UK on May 1, was originated on 35mm Fujicolor ETERNA 500T 8573, ETERNA 250D 8563, ETERNA Vivid 160T 8543 and Super 64-D 8522
Photo top: Leslie Phillips makes the toast; below (left to right) Edward played by Bill Milner; director John Crowley with Clarence (Michael Caine); DP Rob Hardy; Michael Caine as Clarence leads the sing song (photos Nick Wall)
28 • EXPOSURE • THE MAGAZINE • FUJIFILM MOTION PICTURE