Defiance, Shot by Eduardo Serra, ASC, AFC, Tells a Remarkable True Story of Jewish Resistance During World War II

AMC_0109_p058p069:c_feature 12/5/08 2:53 PM Page 58 BrothersBrothers ArmsArmsinin Defiance, shot by Eduardo Serra, ASC, AFC, tells a remarkable true story of Jewish resistance during World War II. by Benjamin B Unit photography by Karen Ballard 58 January 2009 AMC_0109_p058p069:c_feature 12/5/08 2:53 PM Page 59 Opposite: Brothers Tuvia and Zus Bielski (Daniel Craig, top, and Liev Schreiber) take to the forests of Belarus after their families are massacred by Nazis in Defiance. This page, left: Tuvia and his brothers help a growing number of Jews escape the Nazis. Below: Cinematographer Eduardo Serra, ASC, AFC on location in Lithuania. n February 2007, director Ed six or seven cameras in seconds, who is sought out by directors on Zwick had dinner in Paris with knowing exactly how each will be both sides of the Atlantic. He has two collaborators, production used. I once told him I was amazed earned two Academy Award nomi- designer Dan Weil and director by his technical capacity as a direc- nations, for The Wings of the Dove Iof photography Eduardo Serra, tor, and he said, ‘Remember, before (AC June ’98) and Girl With a Pearl ASC, AFC. Both Serra and Weil are my first film, I shot 200 hours of Earring (AC Jan. ’04), and a shelf in based in France, and both had television.’” his home is heavy with other worked with Zwick on Blood Defiance is the latest high- awards, including two Camerimage Diamond (2006). Weil recalls that profile project for Serra, a Frogs. over dinner, he and Serra asked Portuguese-born cinematographer Based on the book by Zwick about a project the director had discussed with them, a striking story about Jewish partisans during World War II. “Eduardo and I asked Ed, ‘Why don’t you do it?’” says Weil. “Six weeks later, I received the script for Defiance.” In an interview at his home in Paris, Serra shares his enthusiasm for the project, and for his dinner mates. “Working with Dan is formi- dable,” he says. “We are always talk- ing. He never imposes anything; there is a real collaboration that I have rarely experienced.” The cinematographer also marvels at Zwick’s mastery of his métier. “Ed is a very remarkable person and I’ve never Photos courtesy of Paramount Vantage. of courtesy Photos Paramount seen anyone like him — he can place American Cinematographer 59 AMC_0109_p058p069:c_feature 12/5/08 2:53 PM Page 60 Brothers in Arms Right: Tuvia and his younger brother, Asael (Jamie Bell), meet with Shamon (Allan Corduner), a rabbi, in the camp built by the Jewish resistance. Below: Tuvia’s leadership is tested when one of the camp’s foragers tries to take more than his share of supplies. Nechama Tec, Defiance recounts the hide in the nearby forest. Initially, Nazi attacks. Over time, the forest true story of the Bielski brothers the Bielskis are intent on revenge community grows into a “new (played by Daniel Craig, Jamie Bell and resistance, but soon, they offer a Jerusalem,” a vibrant village of wood and Liev Schreiber), Jewish farmers growing number of Jews a chance to cabins. Woven into the story is the who lived in what is now Belarus, an escape certain death by setting up a evolution of the brothers’ relation- area that was invaded by the haven for them in the forest. The ships, the life of the community and Germans in 1941. After the Nazis partisan group must move ever a complex relationship with another massacre their families, the brothers deeper into the woods to escape Russian partisan group. At the end of the war, the Bielski partisan group reportedly numbered about 1,200. Serra notes that Zwick usually likes to shoot widescreen, as he did for Blood Diamond and The Last Samurai (AC Jan. ’04), but the director chose the 1.85:1 aspect ratio for Defiance “because he wanted to be closer to the period,” and because he wanted to respect the vertical nature of the forests in which the film takes place. Serra shot the picture in Super 35mm, framing for a final 1.85:1 extraction in the digital intermedi- ate. He used the Arricam Studio and Lite, adding Arri 435s and 235s for action scenes, and Arri Master Primes and Angenieux Optimo zoom lenses. During preproduction and production, Weil worked in close 60 January 2009 AMC_0109_p058p069:c_feature 12/5/08 2:53 PM Page 61 Left: Tuvia and Zus air their grievances publicly. Below: The crew prepares to film the brothers’ fight. Serra worked with large silks to shape the light in the forest. collaboration with Serra, sharing his seemed obvious. We tried makeup ble — they’re dirty and hungry. preparation research and digital in one specific scene, but we later Having clean, made-up faces would sketches. After considering locations took it out digitally because it was have been almost obscene.” in Hungary and Romania, Weil inappropriate. There was some dirt The filmmakers sought to found suitable locations within 15 on the actors’ faces, but that’s all.” He find a look for the picture that miles of Vilnius, Lithuania. The idea, notes that although makeup serves would convey the historical era and he says, “was to be as close as possi- to diminish “the differences in flesh the travails of the partisans. ble to reality, and Lithuania’s forests tones, which can be very distracting, “Something I share with Ed is that resemble those in neighboring I think Defiance works without we both like to search for references, Belarus.” makeup. The characters are in trou- and it’s a pleasure discussing the This penchant for realism marked the entire filmmaking process, and Weil recalls that his crew imagined the partisans working as they built the forest-village set. “We tried to put ourselves in their shoes,” says the production designer. “How would you build a hut? We did it ourselves, like Boy Scouts.” He explains that the wooden huts, zemlyankas, were a form of lean-to that could easily be dug in the sandy soil of the forest. In keeping with the realistic approach, the filmmakers made an unusual decision to forego makeup for the actors. “That was Ed’s decision, and I don’t remember if we even discussed it,” says Serra. “It American Cinematographer 61 AMC_0109_p058p069:c_feature 12/5/08 2:53 PM Page 62 Brothers in Arms After parting look with him,” notes Serra. They ways with his brothers, Zus studied Russian films of the era and continues his looked at the early “Sovcolor” fight against process. “They didn’t have the Nazis, taking up with Technicolor, but they had a version a band of of Agfacolor,” explains the cine- Russian matographer. “It was often blue and partisans. pink. We discussed simulating it, but it wasn’t appropriate.” Serra also wanted to obtain a more organic look than what could be achieved with the DI process. “Nowadays, with the DI, it’s easy to give an ‘old’ look to a film. The process can be totally controlled, but it can be a little mechanical, and I didn’t want that. We didn’t want a very perfect modern image; we wanted something that evoked the period. On Blood Diamond, I had tried to let things get a little out of control, and Defiance was an opportunity to go further.” For exteriors, Serra decided to use the same technique he had adopted for one of the battle scenes in Blood Diamond. “I used Kodak [Vision 500T] 5279, pushed it 2 stops and left out the 85 filter,” he says. With a laugh, he notes, “5279 is a tough stock! Ten or 15 years ago, we’d use it because it was high-con- trast and high-speed, with heavy blacks, but whenever there was a close-up of a woman, we’d change stocks. Pushing 2 stops is edgy, but it becomes radical without the 85. The image is a bit grainy, it’s contrasty, and the interesting thing is that the slope of the film is not perfect — we’re a little off of what’s acceptable. Almost all the exteriors in Defiance were shot that way.” Serra notes that shooting tungsten-balanced 5279 without an 85 filter, in addition to pushing the stock, creates unpredictable “color changes” by varying the red, green and blue curves differently. “The changes are subtle, but they’re there. With film, it’s important to have the three color curves perfectly parallel, and in this picture, they really aren’t. So sometimes you get shadows or 62 January 2009 AMC_0109_p063:Layout 1 12/2/08 10:49 AM Page 1 JOIN HOLLYWOOD’S PROFESSIONALS IN 2009 For the Pre-Production•Production•Post Production Community Exhibition & Premiere Seminars: June 5 - 6, 2009 The Film Series at Cine Gear Expo: June 4 - 6, 2009 Master Class Seminars: June 7, 2009 Contact us @ 310/472-0809 • [email protected] For more information and updates, visit us at: WWW.CINEGEAREXPO.COM AMC_0109_p058p069:c_feature 12/5/08 2:54 PM Page 64 Brothers in Arms Right: Tuvia helps Lilka (Alexa Davalos) escape from a ghetto. Below: When Nazis discover the camp, Lilka helps shepherd the children to safety. highlights that are a little blue or a isn’t clean or modern.” usually rates the stock at least 2⁄3 of a little pink, for example. You never Serra overexposed the pushed stop lower than recommended. know what the result will be; it 5279 by rating it at 1,000 ASA or Most of Defiance takes place in depends on the time of day or the lower.

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