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Author: Matt Mulcahey in photographers, columns, interviews on December 3, 2021
Dune, Greg Fraser, IMAX, Mandalorian
Before "Dune" was released for the first time, director Denis Villeneuve compared watching a movie on TV to "driving a speedboat in a bathtub." Starting today, as this sci-fi epic returns to the designated IMAX theater for limited screenings, the audience will have another opportunity to take a speedboat into the open water.
Cinematographer Greig Fraser is a bit more diplomatic in his analogy. In the December issue of American Cinematographer, he equated watching the dunes in the movie theater with dining and takeaway in a five-star restaurant. Before the return of IMAX, Frazier ("Rogue One", "Kill Them Gentlely", "Zero Dark Thirty") told filmmakers about the relationship between film and digital agnostics. He sought to Returning the right of choice to the cinematographer and how to try to provide services for every viewing experience is like playing moles.
Filmmaker: Dune is advertised as "shooting for IMAX." You shot it on Arri Alexa LF, which is one of the IMAX-certified digital cameras, but apart from the camera choice, what does this mean for IMAX movies?
Fraser: What we did for filming on IMAX was that every time we turned on the camera, we used the entire sensor on the Alexa LF. Generally, if you use a spherical lens to shoot a drama on the LF, you must crop the top and bottom because the shape of the sensor is 4:3. Therefore, you are actually losing pixels. When you are shooting for IMAX [using spherical lens and 1.43 aspect ratio], you are shooting with a full LF sensor. So, when we shot with an anamorphic lens, we shot the entire sensor, and then we also shot the entire sensor for IMAX.
Filmmaker: If you watch this movie on HBO Max-I assume it may be the same for some VOD and physical media distribution-the entire movie is played at 2.40 and the IMAX sequence is cropped to a widescreen ratio. I know you want to maximize the theater experience on this huge IMAX screen, but in the long run, more people may experience the movie in that widescreen version. They are completely different frame shapes. When composing IMAX scenes in 1.43, how do you serve the two masters, and these scenes must also work in 2.40?
Fraser: It's not easy, let me be honest with you. I want everyone to have an IMAX screen in their living room, and I want everyone to watch it the way we want. This is my wish, but the reality is that you cannot serve all those masters. Now that people can enter the theater is a luxury. I see. I have three kids and it’s difficult to get on the IMAX premiere screen, but when you make something, you can’t make it with the smallest common denominator. If you start, "Well, people will watch it on their iPhone or iPad." Then [you also have to consider] whether they will [on these devices] sit on the subway or sit in a dark bedroom to watch. who knows? You cannot determine in advance. It's like hitting a mole. If you fix something for [one platform], it will cause problems on another platform. It’s like you either say, “IMAX is a reward.” Or you say, “2.40 frames is a reward.” So we basically have to work under the premise that we try to use the largest format and largest theater as possible Make it without thinking of disrespecting the audience who will see it in 2.40. In some cases, we definitely have to compromise. Throughout the post-production process, we were able to change the viewfinder in the best way to fit Blu-ray or HBO Max’s 2.40, but this was definitely a compromise. I hope that larger movies are more than just frames. The framing is obviously important to Dennis and me, but in the end the overall picture of the movie is more important than these.
Filmmaker: Most of your recent movies are Alexa LF or Alexa 65. Have you reached the point where you now feel that the larger format is almost your default starting point, and for the past ten years, it has been a 35mm digital sensor?
Fraser: This is a very good question, because there are now many companies making new cameras. What size sensor should they build? The thing is like this-if you have a large sensor, you can crop to that sensor at any time. If you have an Alexa LF or full-frame sensor, if you want to shoot small-frame things, you can. I don’t know if I have to start using a larger format now] but I guess this is a baseline standard, and there are many filmmakers out there who would sneer at it and deliberately choose not to implement the standard. If you say, "65mm is the standard now." You will have young and older filmmakers, and they will say, "Then we will shoot 16mm." I like this because it means someone has subverted these specification.
Filmmaker: At the end of the Dune filming, do you have some prototypes of Alexa LF?
Fraser: We did. Arri sent us a prototype to try, because we knew we were going into the desert. It certainly did not disappoint us, I can tell you. [In the Arrakis desert scene] There are some handheld devices, which really help us be more flexible. It's just a smaller form factor, so I can hold the camera for longer. This is a great camera. There are many things about it that are very useful for production. It has a built-in ND filter, and I can quickly change the ND inside without having to slap things on the outside of the camera when the sun is shining or falling, no matter what the situation.
Producer: Since you mentioned ND, there is a behind-the-scenes shot of you in the desert, with 10 stops of ND on the shot, it looks like a lot.
Fraser: Your view of ND is correct. When you use a number format rated at 800 ASA, a large part of the problem lies in this. You will need an extra ND [instead of] to shoot 50 ASA daylight film. This is the four-speed ND you need in your camera, and anything you put in front of the lens will automatically eliminate part of the reason you chose that lens in the first place. The Mini LF uses a rear ND, which I think is better than putting the ND in front of the lens. When we choose ND, a large part of our process is to choose a filter with a neutral color density. When you start to enter the 1.5 range, many IR [Infrared] NDs have colors. Therefore, we have to choose ND without that color. We used the Firecrest filter.
Filmmaker: After shooting at the Jordan location and the stage and location of Origo Studios in Hungary, you took a much smaller crew to Abu Dhabi to shoot some Arrakis scenes. How do you control the sunlight outside with a smaller footprint?
Fraser: We decided not to accept our electrical department in Abu Dhabi. They usually help place butterflies, negative padding and bounce and all these things. Once you pick up a light, you need a generator and a light stand, and then you need a diffuser, do you understand what I mean? We have a little bounce of vision here and there, but most of the time we shoot at dusk and dawn in Abu Dhabi. We need a little bounce to fill the face and eyes. Obviously there must be some equipment, because we are making a movie. You can't just go there with pen and paper, but we try to minimize it in order to provide the best footprint for the director and actors.
Filmmaker: Tell me about your selection process when choosing a shot. You shuttle back and forth between Panavision and Arri.
Fraser: I definitely prefer certain types of glass. Generally speaking, I like glass with a certain degree of softness or roundness. This is my personal opinion, and many DPs disagree with me — in fact, I have debated this issue with other DPs — but I think as we move from film to digital, our resolution and clarity Improved, I think our lens continues to become clearer. I understand why this happens when we shoot film, because we need very high resolution glass to offset the film that will be printed, because every time we print from the intermediate film, we lose the resolution. I remember I did a test with Red. When they first came out, it might be in 2006 or 2007. I once owned a set of Cooke S4; I put them on the camera and it was like, "Oh, wow, they are super sharp." Since then, I have been adjusting my lens. I have been trying to find the right balance between resolution and clarity. They are two different things. The focus of some lenses has a certain roll-off, it tries to enhance the roll-off and increase the softness, but still has a biting image.
Filmmaker: It seems that almost every interview I do now has some discussions about adjusting or adjusting the lens. Have you done anything to personalize the dunes?
Fraser: We have to do this. We used a set of Panavision Ultra Vista anamorphic lenses. The first time I used these lenses was on The Mandalorian. When we tested them for Mandalorian, they were basically in the development stage and they were really good, but the way I adjusted them for Mandalorian was different from the way I adjusted them for Dune. In The Mandalorian, we are mainly shooting a person wearing a chrome helmet, so he naturally looks metallic. We tried to fight it from the beginning because he was very keen. Therefore, Mandalorian's lens is a bit detuned. For the sand dunes, we had to sharpen them a bit, because we wanted to shoot soft faces.
Filmmaker: You did a filmmaking process for Dune. So you output to a negative film, then you have to develop, and then you rescan? Is this basically the process?
Fraser: Exactly. In the past, you obtained it on film, then scanned it and processed it digitally. Now, when you are also shooting digitally, you will remove any film elements from the process. Many filmmakers are happy about it, because many filmmakers cannot tolerate the problem of film. They don't like the fact that they have to deal with scratches, dust and grain. But there are also other filmmakers who regret it, they love the organic nature of film. They like scratches, dust and grain. For them, this is filmmaking. I have been involved in two camps. I understand why filmmakers like to shoot digital movies, but I also understand why filmmakers like to shoot film. As a director of photography, I am a bit agnostic. If the director says, "I have to make a movie," many directors have it. I don't say, "Ah, man, you can't, really." I am an agnostic. My job is what I must do. I discovered during this [Film Output] process that it gave me a clear understanding of something that looks more organic than digital but less organic than film.
Producer: At this point, if you want to make a movie, you don't have so many choices in terms of inventory. When you are doing this production process, do you have more choices?
Fraser: You have more choices. You have negative inventory, but you also have inventory that you will use in the camera. You can also use plug-in inventory. It allows more options for film inventory, but also allows more options for how to handle the film. Our film is a 35mm negative film, but you can also choose not to film to the entire size of the negative film. Therefore, you can shoot at 25mm because this is the granularity you like for a particular project. Or maybe some scenes were shot with 35mm and some other scenes were shot with 16mm to create different points. We are retrieving our choices. Over the years, our choices have gradually diminished, and we are restoring them, which I think is a very good thing.
Filmmaker: Let's finally talk about my favorite scene in the film-the raid on the Freeman Ecological Research Facility. In this "Nexus" structure there is a huge room with a huge concrete column in the center. There is an opening at the top that allows sunlight to come in, casting a hard wagon wheel-like shadow on the sand below. How was that scene filmed? You can never make the artificial light on the stage look so good.
Fraser: You are one in a thousand. You can't light it up on the stage. It is practically impossible to illuminate with multiple light sources, and a single light source needs to be 1,000 feet high. We went around that place for a few months. We keep saying, "Well, it can't be on stage." So, where can it be? In the background? So, how do you create it on location? How do you darken the entire area of the background, but still create this pattern pattern?
At Origo Studios, they have a wonderful design. They have built high-speed rails and the ability to build structures on the walls of the outdoor stage. So our assemblers have a great system, they have a piece of fabric, and they can [extend to the top of the outdoor stage in this wagon wheel pattern]. They can pull the fabric in and out because you can't leave the material for a long time or it might tear. So, in order to shoot that scene, we must find a time where the wind will not tear the fabric and it will be sunny. [To get the correct shadow] If the sun comes out, we can only shoot for a 45-minute window. Therefore, very careful coordination is required between my assistant (doing a simple research), the first AD (arranging) and [production designer] Patrice Vermette. If we had an ounce of rain overnight, we would not be able to shoot because the sand would not look appropriate. This is a very, very thin needle, we have to thread it, but it is exciting. Visually, it is also one of my favorite parts.