The Cinematography of '127 Hours'

[Sanjin Jukic]

ANTHONY DOD MANTLE & ENRIQUE CHEDIAK talk about how they shot "127 Hours", newest movie directed by Danny Boyle.

The Cinematography of '127 Hours' (video interview) >>>

 

[Tim Hole]

Thanks for the link Sanjin will give it a watch when I get two mins.

 

[Sanjin Jukic]

Thanks for the link Sanjin will give it a watch when I get two mins.

Tim,

yea-ah watch it when you find a time...

it's very interesting and also educative...

 

[Mike Brent]

very Very VERY good movie. Go watch it if you can...

 

[Zakaree Sandberg]

good movie.. however some shots were extremely video like (not the ones that were suppose to be)

and that really threw me off..


but again.. im not an average movie goer.. i constantly examine the cinematography in every movie


i think the 2 different DP's styles def showed in the movie.. and I personally didnt like the 2 different styles in one movie

 

[Aaron Champion]

Nothing gets me more excited like listening to a good DoP, or two. Seriously I love it. I want to DoP on their level more than anything in the world. I love it.

 

[Sam Taylor]

good movie.. however some shots were extremely video like (not the ones that were suppose to be)

and that really threw me off..


but again.. im not an average movie goer.. i constantly examine the cinematography in every movie


i think the 2 different DP's styles def showed in the movie.. and I personally didnt like the 2 different styles in one movie

That is interesting, as the in the interview the blue unit DP shared that he thought that he didn't think that their differing styles would show up in the finished movie, but obviously it did!

 

[James Red]

good movie.. however some shots were extremely video like (not the ones that were suppose to be)

and that really threw me off..


but again.. im not an average movie goer.. i constantly examine the cinematography in every movie


i think the 2 different DP's styles def showed in the movie.. and I personally didnt like the 2 different styles in one movie

I read somewhere that the "extremely video like (not the ones that were suppose to be)" shots were used so that it would feel more real, like you're watching a "home movie" account of what happened, because he did after all film everything that he did.

 

[Sanjin Jukic]

There is a great article in the last issue of "American Cinematographer", December 2010,

"Up Against It" by Mark Hope-Jones.

Some of the quotes that explain more about the concept of shooting with diverse small digital cameras:

"Although 127 Hours marks Dod Mantle’s sixth collaboration with Boyle,
it was a first in the sense that he shared the cinematography duties equally
with another director of photography, Enrique Chediak ( 28 Weeks Later ; AC May ’07).
The reasons for this were multifarious and evolved during the shoot. Boyle explains,
“We decided to make the film without a break, so we built in this idea that we could
just keep shooting by using two crews, and that led us to two cinematographers.
It must have been very odd for both of them to enter into it —Anthony because I’d
previously had a solo relationship with him, and Enrique because he somehow had to fit into that.
But I told them what I had in mind and that it would be absolutely equal in every conceivable way,
and, God bless them, they went along with it.”

.....

Each unit carried several SI-2K Minis, covering two slightly different handheld gyrostabilized configurations.
The first configuration, used when space allowed, incorporated a PL- mount and was used with Zeiss Ultra Primes
at the wide end and lighter Cooke Speed Panchros at longer focal lengths. The second configuration,
designed for the tightest shooting conditions, utilized a C-mount that accepted very small Schneider Kreuznach and Fujinon lenses,
allowing the cinematographers to position the front element within 11⁄2"of Franco’s face.
This was especially helpful for scenes that took place under a rope bag that Ralston covered himself with to
keep warm. “There’s an extraordinary intimacy to these smaller cameras,” notes Dod Mantle.
“We could get right inside that rope bag with James, close enough to see the dirt on his fingers.
It’s very hard to do anything like that with normal gear.

.....

Film cameras were never used inside the canyon sets, though both units carried a Moviecam Compact MKII
(from Clairmont Camera) as backup and took advantage of the reso- lution and sensitivity of 35mm film
for landscapes and plate shots. Further adding to the eclectic mix of camera systems, Dod Mantle and Chediak
both carried a selection of Canon DSLRs. “Canon and I help each other develop technology,” notes Dod Mantle,
“but I don’t choose lots of cameras for the sake of having an orgy of formats.
The phys- ical restrictions of this shoot meant we had to find methods of image capture
that would help us explore the space at hand.”

The Canon cameras, a mix of EOS-1D Mark IV, 5D and 7D models, were often used in a burst mode,
capturing high-resolution still images at a rate of around 11 fps. Chediak explains, “We used them for
specific moments, such as the moment when Aron carves his name on the rock where he’s trapped,
and they formed part of the language of the movie. We also used them to shoot a big sequence
where we follow all the routes he took to get into the canyon.”
For Boyle, the mix of cameras made perfect sense. “I think that language is really appropriate to a world
where just about everybody is carrying around cameras and phones that shoot video,” he observes.
“It’s also a language that has developed through YouTube. Rather than being locked into the liquid beauty
and smoothness of celluloid, people are prepared to see an image fractured by a mix of formats.
I love that, because it’s very dynamic to work with.”

Read more at AC, 12 2010>>>

 

[August von Stolberg]

That's a great write up, i should get the latest issue.