DECEMBER 2010 $5.95Canada $6.95 MEMBER PORTRAIT Bruce Logan, ASC wasn’t allowed to see a movie until I was 10 years old, and “I when I finally saw 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the forbidden fruit was beyond delicious. I suppose watching Journey to the Center of the Earth, In Search of the Castaways and The Time Machine steered me down my own career path, which has included the films 2001: A Space Odyssey, Tron, Star Wars and Airplane! “American Cinematographer was my window onto the souls of my fellow artists, because I never really had any contact with other directors of photography until I joined the ASC. I still look through that window today to see all the innovative ways my peers solve the same problems I am faced with. AC is an invaluable tool for staying current in my chosen profession.” — Bruce Logan, ASC ©photo by Owen Roizman, ASC TO SUBSCRIBE BY PHONE: Call (800) 448-0145 (U.S. only) (323) 969-4333 or visit the ASC Web site WWW.THEASC.COM IItt startsrats ttss with thehthtiw glass...alge ssss .. ““DDesspp ieti mmpprroo dev d ffii tl rraa noit ““II enhcSevol tS-enOredie oopp otnitliub RREEEDD ns’ wen MMXX raeniL PPoo ral iizzzeerrss ffoo oiretnir rrss. osnes rr,, redienhcS IIRR ffii etl rrss era TThheeyy mwolla ehteldnahotem ellits ssss nocotlaitne tnetsisn llyy ne ssuu er occ clanoisa rroo l-sso lsso iigg noenihsth trruu be llaa hsnehwskc itooh nngg ni oc mmppleexx wsnoi ivahtuohtiw nngg ot rb iigg lnusth iigg iwth t aehh vvyy NNDD.” lhtiwlaed iiggh ith nngg ”. 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""" ““II olam’ nngg emit- ffaan ooff eht “TThh dihS redienhcSe NNDD SilC ScissalC ooffftt™ tsebehtsitI. tbhtitI iuqsirotaunettA ehteti merelknirw everevo rr—— tidna ama zziinngg oot ll,, rap ralucitr llyy lsi iigg oneth uugg noesuothg ffoo dr iigg osneslati rrss.s ” diigg dnalati ffii ”.ml !!! ! ##''1######''''''11 #0#0#000%%% %%%1 %%11 “TThhe CCeenturryy AwoL nngglALtC llee Pl PPrriisssmm dnO“ dO“ aayy tetxe ioire rrss HHDD i uoynehwloottsebehts er’u emac rraa ueras lausu llyy ehtnotes s itooh nngg decilopa rraa am dna orD.ediseulb arahaSapo y delbativeniehtevahuo daed idnanidloG ehtuoysevigti boddyy ”.dnuorgehtno ep rrfffee nuomatc tn ooff aw rrmm ”.ht 2)2)) ( (!!#1((!!!!!!!!!#!####11 %% ### 2 00 0#$!&00## .s...buttub.. it’s’ti nothingihton nngg withoutohtiw the cinematographersamenicehttuo ta ooggrraaapp eh rrss whohw use it..tiesuoh VVii tis wwwwww.schneideroptics.comwwwww.. nhcs moc.scitporedie ffoo htr retnioediverom&ese rvrvieewws DECEMBER 2010 VOL. 91 NO. 12 The International Journal of Motion Imaging On Our Cover: A ballerina (Natalie Portman) suffers a terrifying psychological breakdown in Black Swan, shot by Matthew Libatique, ASC. (Photo by Niko Tavernise, courtesy of Fox Searchlight.) FEATURES 30 Danse Macabre Matthew Libatique, ASC attempts an audacious jeté with the unnerving drama BlackSwan 50 50 Up Against It Anthony Dod Mantle, BSC, DFF and Enrique Chediak serve as co-cinematographers on Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours 64 Romantic Chemistry Steven Fierberg, ASC brings soul mates together in Love and Other Drugs 76 A Big-City Dream 64 Bojan Bazelli, ASC captures glitz and glamour for the musical extravaganza Burlesque DEPARTMENTS 8 Editor’s Note 10 President’s Desk 12 Short Takes: “Dot” 76 18 Production Slate: The King’s Speech • I Love You Phillip Morris 88 Post Focus: 3-D Workflow at Company 3 92 Tomorrow’s Technology 94 Filmmakers’ Forum: Michael Grady 96 New Products & Services 102 International Marketplace 104 Classified Ads 104 Ad Index 105 2010 AC Index 112 ASC Membership Roster 114 Clubhouse News 116 ASC Close-Up: Frank B. Byers — VISIT WWW.THEASC.COM TO ENJOY THESE WEB EXCLUSIVES — Podcast: Edward Lachman, ASC on Howl DVD Playback: The Exorcist • Breathless • Troll 2 December 2010 Vol. 91, No. 12 The International Journal ofMotion Imaging Visit us online at www.theasc.com ———————————————————————————————————— PUBLISHER Martha Winterhalter ———————————————————————————————————— EDITORIAL EXECUTIVE EDITOR Stephen Pizzello SENIOR EDITOR Rachael K. Bosley ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jon D. Witmer TECHNICAL EDITOR Christopher Probst CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Stephanie Argy, Benjamin B, Douglas Bankston, Robert S. Birchard, John Calhoun, Bob Fisher, Michael Goldman, Simon Gray, Jim Hemphill, David Heuring, Jay Holben, Mark Hope-Jones, Noah Kadner, Jean Oppenheimer, John Pavlus, Chris Pizzello, Jon Silberg, Iain Stasukevich, Kenneth Sweeney, Patricia Thomson ———————————————————————————————————— ART DEPARTMENT CREATIVE DIRECTOR Marion Gore ———————————————————————————————————— ADVERTISING ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Angie Gollmann 323-936-3769 FAX 323-936-9188 e-mail: [email protected] ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Sanja Pearce 323-952-2114 FAX 323-876-4973 e-mail: [email protected] ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Scott Burnell 323-936-0672 FAX 323-936-9188 e-mail: [email protected] CLASSIFIEDS/ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Diella Nepomuceno 323-952-2124 FAX 323-876-4973 e-mail: [email protected] ———————————————————————————————————— CIRCULATION, BOOKS & PRODUCTS CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Saul Molina CIRCULATION MANAGER Alex Lopez SHIPPING MANAGER Miguel Madrigal ———————————————————————————————————— ASC GENERAL MANAGER Brett Grauman ASC EVENTS COORDINATOR Patricia Armacost ASC PRESIDENT’S ASSISTANT Kim Weston ASC ACCOUNTING MANAGER Mila Basely ASC ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE Corey Clark ———————————————————————————————————— American Cinematographer (ISSN 0002-7928), established 1920 and in its 90th year of publication, is published monthly in Hollywood by ASC Holding Corp., 1782 N. Orange Dr., Hollywood, CA 90028, U.S.A., (800) 448-0145, (323) 969-4333, Fax (323) 876-4973, direct line for subscription inquiries (323) 969-4344. Subscriptions: U.S. $50; Canada/Mexico $70; all other foreign countries $95 a year (remit international Money Order or other exchange payable in U.S. $). Advertising: Rate card upon request from Hollywood office. Article Reprints: Requests for high-quality article reprints (or electronic reprints) should be made to Sheridan Reprints at (800) 635-7181 ext. 8065 or by e-mail [email protected]. Copyright 2010 ASC Holding Corp. (All rights reserved.) Periodicals postage paid at Los Angeles, CA and at additional mailing offices. Printed in the USA. POSTMASTER: Send address change to American Cinematographer, P.O. Box 2230, Hollywood, CA 90078. 4 ———————————————————————————————————— 03AB17<3;/B=5@/>6G E/::G>47AB3@/A1 µBVSQW\S[Ob]U`O^VgWaac^S`P BVS¿Z[WaOabc\\W\UZgU]`US]ca bSQV\WQOZZgÀOeZSaaag[^V]\g]T W[OUSaO\RWRSOa¶ 1V`Wabg:S[W`S/aa]QWObSR>`Saa 4=@G=C@1=<A723@/B7=< E/@<3@0@=A 1=; American Society of Cine ma togra phers The ASC is not a labor union or a guild, but an educational, cultural and pro fes sion al or ga ni za tion. Membership is by invitation to those who are actively en gaged as di rec tors of photography and have dem on strated out stand ing ability. ASC membership has be come one of the highest honors that can be bestowed upon a pro fes sional cin e ma tog ra pher — a mark of prestige and excellence. OFFICERS - 2010/2011 Michael Goi President Richard Crudo Vice President Owen Roizman Vice President John C. Flinn III Vice President Matthew Leonetti Treasurer Rodney Taylor Secretary Ron Garcia Sergeant At Arms MEMBERS OF THE BOARD John Bailey Stephen Burum Curtis Clark George Spiro Dibie Richard Edlund John C. Flinn III Michael Goi Stephen Lighthill Isidore Mankofsky Daryn Okada Robert Primes Nancy Schreiber Kees Van Oostrum Haskell Wexler Vilmos Zsigmond ALTERNATES Fred Elmes Rodney Taylor Michael D. O’Shea Sol Negrin Michael B. Negrin MUSEUM CURATOR Steve Gainer 6 Editor’s Note I first met Matthew Libatique, ASC and Darren Aronofsky at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, shortly after their debut film, Pi, won the directing award in the Dramatic category. As they celebrated, I noticed their easy rapport — close friends who were excited to see the future opening up for them. We stayed in touch as they continued taking creative risks with Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain. Their latest effort, Black Swan, gener- ated immediate buzz after it opened this year’s Venice Film Festival. The movie’s dark, experimental tone makes it a must-see for cinephiles who prefer material that tran- scends established genres — in this case, drama, dance and horror. As Libatique told me during our interview, “When I read the original script years ago, it seemed like a genre film, but on every project I’ve done with Darren, the script is just 25 percent of what the film’s eventually going to be.” You can read much more of his analysis in our Q&A (“Danse Macabre,” page 30), along with Aronofsky’s own reflections on the project (“Directing Black Swan,” page 34). Also testing themselves were Anthony Dod Mantle, BSC, DFF and Enrique “Quique” Chediak, who served as co-cinematographers on Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours. The movie tells the true story of Aron Ralston, a young climber who was forced to amputate his arm after it became wedged between a dislodged boulder and a canyon wall. In addition to working as a duo, Dod Mantle and Chediak had to dramatize a unique dilemma. “With the film’s single character stuck in a canyon for most of the movie, Danny thought it would be interesting to add a bit of chaos by shooting through two sets of eyes, and that started to make sense to me,” Chediak tells Mark Hope-Jones (“Up Against It,” page 50). “It was a real challenge for Quique and me on every level, including operating, lighting and commu- nication,” Dod Mantle adds.