Book of Eli Premiere

[Peter Lyons Collister, ASC]

Just got back from the premiere of Book of Eli.

I think that this film will be remembered for its visual style. Credit should be given to Don Burgess and the Hughes Brothers for their remarkably stark images.
One note: Somehow Jim and RED were not credited in the film. I am sure this was a legal department snafu. Panavision was given sole credit.

But RED was a great choice for this film. (Film was used for the slow motion shots btw)

Peter

[Jannard]

Just got back from the premiere of Book of Eli.

I think that this film will be remembered for its visual style. Credit should be given to Don Burgess and the Hughes Brothers for their remarkably stark images.
One note: Somehow Jim and RED were not credited in the film. I am sure this was a legal department snafu. Panavision was given sole credit.

But RED was a great choice for this film. (Film was used for the slow motion shots btw)

Peter

Peter... you are mostly right (including being left off the credits). Some slow-mo was shot on RED at 3K/60fps. Two scenes were shot on film (120fps). I really enjoyed my time on the set and am proud of the work that the Hughes Bros., Don Burgess, Jon Farhat and the BOE team did on this movie to showcase RED. No worries on the credits... those that need to know... know. Nice to see you tonight.

Jim

[Rich Schaefer]

It looks like an amazing film. Its an impressive credit for anyone! I look forward to seeing it in the theater!

Best,
Rich

[Kwan Khan]

This is the Movies I Look Forward to seeing

[Jeff Hitchcock]

Saw it last night, loved the cinematography.

[Sanjin Jukic]

Don Burgess, ASC on his experience with R1

"Burgess did extensive tests with the RED on location in the New Mexico desert,
where most of the exteriors would be shot. [The Book of Eli was shot in the small
rural town of Carrizozo and on stages in Albuquerque]. Burgess had mounts made
for the camera so he could use Panavision Primo lenses. Then he tested it side-by-side
with an Arriflex 435 from Otto Nemenz International. “Because of its desaturated nature,
the RED was able to provide the look within its limitations,” Burgess explains.
“We didn’t need the full dynamic range of color negatives.
And there really was no difference for me than shooting film. It worked out very well.

So well, in fact, that Albert and Burgess decided to use the RED for the entire movie.
And Burgess wasn’t overly concerned, given that 1st AC Don Steinberg and A-camera
operator Peter McCaffrey had used the rig before. “They were my safety net,” the DP smiles.
Jeroen Hendriks, who served as the film’s RED camera technician, calls it “the simplest camera ever;
basically just a pimped-up still cam that shoots 24 frames a second in RAW, like a Canon 5D,” he explains.
Hendriks says the main thing to be concerned about is exposure. “The RED’s open format means anyone along
the production line can manipulate the look,” he continues, “so as a DP, you want to make sure it looks like
what you want it to look like before you send it out.
If you put a look on it, there is no need for other people to tinker with it.”
And that’s exactly what Burgess and Albert did.
They joined digital colorist Maxine Gervais at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging before filming commenced
to set the look and establish the range that would be needed in DI.

http://www.icgmagazine.com/wordpress/wp-content/images/eli3.jpg
On location from "Book of Eli", photos by David Lee / Warner Bros. Pictures.

“When we got the movie back, the proxies were a guiding light and kept everyone on the same page,”
Burgess reports. “I find that a big plus – and a lot better than when we would time movies in the dark
in a crummy room in a lab.” But there are a few kinks in the system.
“In the old days, total timing might be 6 to 8 hours,” Burgess notes. “Sometimes now they want to book me in for 10 days!”
Though Burgess says he liked the experience, he’d hardly call himself a RED convert.
“It’s not a process cinematographers are in love with,” he says. “I’d still rather shoot everything
anamorphic and run it through the lab. But that’s the world we live in now.”

http://www.icgmagazine.com/wordpress/wp-content/images/eli4.jpg
On location from "Book of Eli", photos by David Lee / Warner Bros. Pictures.


McCaffrey says the Eli team built a rig off a 100-foot construction crane with 200 feet of bungee cable!
“It was like zero gravity,” he remembers. “It allowed us to travel from behind armored cars into and around the house,
and gave me the freedom to put the camera wherever I wanted anytime over a 400-foot radius at any height.
It’s one of those sequences where there are lots of seamless cuts and transitions,
and yet appears as one 2.5-minute shot in the midst of absolute chaos. It was a hell of a lot of fun to be involved in!”

The Book of Eli also marks the first time the Hughes Brothers have worked with an “old-school” director of photography.
“It was Generation X meeting Baby Boomer,” Albert laughs. “There wasn’t tension, but there was that generational gap.
was talking about all these rules that I was hearing about for the first time! So we did butt heads on a few things.
But he let down his guard on some things and I did mine and we came together. Don really cares about the story.”
That attention to the narrative is the key to Burgess’ success, according to crewmates like McCaffrey.
Along with his Oscar nod for Forrest Gump, Burgess has two ASC nods, and a BAFTA nomination.
“He’s a master in moving the camera to tell a story within a scene,” observes McCaffrey.
“It’s a joy to watch because each movement makes perfect sense to the feel and emotion of the movie.”

For his part, the cinematographer says he is amped about the film and having worked with a pair of talents like the brothers Hughes,
who in many ways have defined filmmaking for a new generation. “I’m excited about the way it looks,” says Burgess.
“It’s some of the best work I’ve done in a while, and the best thing I’ve seen shot on the RED.”

[B]LINK>>> (http://www.icgmagazine.com/wordpress/2010/01/06/the-red-planet/)

[Alex D. da Silva]

Just watched the film.
The look is OK but too stylized for me. Looks gamish, but the footage is good.
The story is very cliche and predictable. If was not for Denzel it will be embarrassing.
A bore!

[Conrad H]

I am new to the Red, but have used it a lot. It seems to me that some of the indoor scenes were shot with 360 degree shutter, giving a "video look". A big deal was made of that in "2012" where it was awful. Here it was not as bad, but it did look like the cheat was made on shutter when light conditions maybe were a little low.

Anybody else notice that?