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Magazine, April 2008. More photos and gaffer sidebar
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 Lighting
Period War Film, Shades of Hope
Separating Worlds through Color
by Kevin Zanit
....Continued
from Previous Page
To achieve this, the grip department had to get a special “walk
around” platform for our crane. I stood on the platform wearing
a safety harness that was attached to the crane. Another grip
went up in the crane with me to help safety me and help with the
camera before we started rolling. When the crane lowered to the
ground, several grips had to step onto the crane to make up for
the lost counterweight when I stepped off (to make sure the crane
arm did not shoot back up into the air). They also had to unfasten
me from the crane. All of this had to happen very fast; it was
absolutely crucial that I did not step off early.
Standing on the crane with a mask to protect me from the dust.
Once off the crane, I still had to run forward into the camp with
our very skilled pyro technicians making sure I was always safe
from the explosions. My team did a great job pulling off this
very difficult shot.
An ambush scene involving a gun battle with about 20 guns firing
made me wish the sun never went down! This scene followed our
main actors on a patrol that was ambushed. The scene took place
along a manmade creek in an area with very heavy tree cover. I
knew that I would never have time to light these scenes and knew
that dappled sunlight moving around through the day did not really
pose a big continuity problem because little squares of sunlight
on the ground all look the same, and between the massive explosions,
frenetic camera movement and people falling, no one would notice
the subtle changes. I just exposed for the shadows and let the
highlights go very hot.
Shooting this film was a great experience for me. It was one of
the most challenging projects I have ever been involved with,
and I have to thank my amazing crew for really jumping into this
challenge with me: Gaffer Frank DiPaola and his crew, Key Grip
Bobby Woo and his crew and 1st AC and additional operator Ken
Bender, 2nd AC Collin Cates and everyone else in the camera department.
Without all of them, we could never have accomplished the numerous
challenges of this film.
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Check out this article in the April 2008 print edition
of StudentFilmmakers magazine, page 12. More photos
and gaffer sidebar included in print edition. Click here to get a copy of the April 2008 Edition, so you can
read and enjoy all of the excellent articles inside.
About the Author:
 Kevin
Zanit is a California-based cinematographer who has worked on
numerous commercials and music videos. His filmography includes
Room Service (2006), These Days (2006), Inner Prison (2005), and
Passing Moments (2003). Kevin and his partner, Elhanan Matos,
recently launched a production and consulting company specializing
in high-speed photography (www.studiobattlerattle.com).
Resources:
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