The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

[Reuel Gomez]

Reuel-

 

Lionsgate released a nice BTS video that you can google. Unfortunately they didn't include any of the BTS footage of the IMAX sequences.

I saw it a couple of weeks ago. One last question, by 30-180mm, do you mean that you guys used all the focal lengths between 30 and 180mm or you selected focal lengths in that range? If so, which focal lengths were used?

[Dave Thompson]

We had in our lens package a 30, 35,40, 50, 75, 100, 135, 180mm prime. Some lenses repeated as we had primos for various reasons (flairs, bend etc). Never too many questions...

[Reuel Gomez]

Dave, why did you use two 60mm lenses on Mockingjay? Also, were you handholding the Primo AL's on CF?

Edited December 1, 2013 by Reuel Gomez

[Dave Thompson]

We have 2 60's for a couple of reasons. One for A camera, one for B camera. Also resolution and flare. The G holds certain highlights better than the C. Also the C60 has a closer focus than the G. Yes, we handheld the Primos. Even the 11-1.

[Reuel Gomez]

We have 2 60's for a couple of reasons. One for A camera, one for B camera. Also resolution and flare. The G holds certain highlights better than the C. Also the C60 has a closer focus than the G. Yes, we handheld the Primos. Even the 11-1.

Wow. I would imagine it'd be really difficult to lug around a lens that big. Did you carry more G-Series lenses then just the 60mm?

[John Paul Palescandolo]

Just curious why the switch was made to the Alexa for Mockingjay, after Catching Fire was done with mixed 35mm and IMAX? And if you're shooting to the internal codex of the Alexa, does that mean that the full resolution of the sensor is being used, or is it recording 1920x1080 ProRes 422?

[Dave Thompson]

Just the G60mm.

[Reuel Gomez]

Just curious why the switch was made to the Alexa for Mockingjay, after Catching Fire was done with mixed 35mm and IMAX? And if you're shooting to the internal codex of the Alexa, does that mean that the full resolution of the sensor is being used, or is it recording 1920x1080 ProRes 422?

He's talking about the XR module which is featured in the Alexa XT family of cameras and replaces the SxS card module. The XR module is from Codex.

[Jo Willems]

I just wanted to chime in and give some of my thoughts on the choices we made while shooting Catching Fire.

 

It was a clear choice from the beginning we wanted to shoot on film and with anamorphic glass. Francis has shot all of his films on film and anamorphic. The thought of doing IMAX was there from the start. Who wouldn't want to shoot IMAX at least once in their career !? It's big and epic and nothing has more resolution.

Rather than jump around in aspect ratios the way other films have done in the past between IMAX and 35mm, we wanted a consistency and not jar the audience. We decided to shoot the games in IMAX. When we shot a scene within the games on 35mm we would shoot spherical and retain the IMAX aspect ratio of 1:1.43 for regular IMAX and 1:1.9 for digital IMAX. Of course we still had to think about the 1: 2.40 aspect ratio for regular theaters.

The process that IMAX does for the digital blow up is pretty amazing. It takes a bit of testing and choosing different options of how heavy they go with the noise reduction, but they did an amazing job. Colorist Yvan Lucas from Efilm followed this process all the way through to the final prints. It's important for a DP to be able to trust someone to follow this process. We were already in prep for the next 2 films when all this was going on.

 

Putting together an anamorphic package is an art in itself. I had Gregor Tavenner with me who put together a great set of lenses. Anamorphic has become so popular with digital capture these days that it's not that easy to put together a good set of lenses. At the start it wasn't even certain we could get our hands on any anamorphic lenses. It's not like Panavision has the inventory to provide you with two full sets of C's and two full sets of E's and primos etc... And even with a film the size of ours, you have to be responsible for the money you spend.

 

I don't like using diffusion so I mostly used C series lenses. They work really well on skin and Jen looked fantastic with them. We loved doing close ups on the 75mm and 100mm. No diffusion. Just nice old glass. Sometimes we cross shoot dialogue scenes with a and b camera to give editorial both sides of the same performance. Jennifer Lawrence would get the C lens and one of the guys would get the matching lens from the E series.

 

If we were shooting in very low light the odd time we'd use a primo to keep resolution. Shooting C series lenses wide open does compromise the overall sharpness and contrast of the image.

In very overcast weather we'd shoot on primos sometimes for big wide shots.

 

We decided to shoot on Alexa on the new films because a lot of the film is set underground and I want to light the sets almost exclusively with practical fixtures. It's possible to work in a very naturalistic style that way. That's all I can say about that for now.

 

If you have any more questions I'll try and answer them as best as possible.

[John Paul Palescandolo]

Hi Jo,

 

Thanks for taking the time to respond on here. It's great to hear from you firsthand. I haven't seen Catching Fire yet, but have reserved to go next week at the IMAX on Broadway & 68th in NYC. I'm especially looking forward to seeing it because Limitless was a beautifully shot movie and I'm looking forward to seeing how you translated the word of Catching Fire into the visual medium of cinema.

 

Could you elaborate a little more on what you mean by lighting with practical fixtures? What sorts of lights would you use and would they be in the shot, out of the shot? When I used to shoot student films, we'd always try to make our lighting seem as if it were coming from natural sources and not anything that we rigged up. For example, if we were shooting in a small bedroom with two windows in an NYC loft, I'd put an HMI in the back corner of the room, behind the camera and bounce it off the ceiling so it gave the whole room a nice soft fill.

 

In regards to shooting the Alexa, why does digital have the ability to see better in dark environments, just as film does better with capturing highlights? If you've heard the commentary on Gangster Squad, there's a scene where a truck explodes in an alley. The director mentions in his commentary that since the movie was shot digitally with the Alexa, they had to paint detail back into the exploding, as the Alexa lost some of the brighter tones.

[John Paul Palescandolo]

Hi again Jo,

 

I was also wondering how the IMAX blow up process works - to be able to enlarge something so much with such excellent results?

 

The scene within the arena that was shot on 35 - was that done because it was a dialogue scene and it's easier to shoot dialogue when not using IMAX cameras?

 

You also mentioned about maintaining a consistent aspect ratio, but how did the framing work, given that the project aspect ratio differs depending on if you are viewing this in digital IMAX, 15/70 IMAX or 35mm?

[Reuel Gomez]

I really appreciate you coming on here to talk about your work on the film. I was kinda bummed out that American Cinematographer didn't do Catching Fire as their next cover story so it's great to have the actual DP come on here and make us the interviewers in a way.

[joshua gallegos]

I saw Catching Fire recently and absolutely loved the film, I thought it was certainly better than the first one, and it was unbelivable they used an IMAX camera handheld, something Wally Pfister was against whilst filming Inception. I believe Roger Deakins used the Alexa and said the 3:4 sensor worked perfectly for the IMAX version of Skyfall with speherical lenses, whilst maintaining the 2.40 ratio for wide release. When I saw Catching Fire in a regular theater there was a scene which seemed to be abnormally squeezed, it was the scene with the futuristic humvees, it was a very quick shot that caught my eye.

Edited December 7, 2013 by joshua gallegos

[Justin-Bendo]

Thank you Dave and Jo ! It's very cool that you're contributing your experiences !

 

 

I have a few questions:

 

 

1. Dave, how are the shots composed ? Are some/all shots composed by Francis or Jo, or do you have a shot list and go from there ? And are most of the hand-held shots in 'Catching Fire' shoulder-mounted ?

2. Dave, do you prefer the ALEXA to the IMAX cameras for hand-holding ?

 

3. Both, I've seen 'Hunger Games Catching Fire' twice now, once in IMAX. Were the IMAX lenses the Hasselblad Zeiss ? That entire sequence looks immaculate. Did you shoot any of that sequence in Atlanta ?

 

 

4. Both, There is quite alot of talk online about the 'glow' around Sam's character Finnick in the scene where he introduces himself to Katniss,, offering her the sugar cubes. Just wondering, was Sam shot with the C series anamorphics in that scene ?

 

5. Jo, one of my favorite music videos of all-time is the Justin Timberlake 'Cry Me a River' video. Was that the first project you shot with Francis Lawrence ?

 

6. Jo, the lighting in this film is superb. Very classical and smooth at times, and very futuristic and edgy at times. Always superbly synchronized with the script. Do you use a particular method for backlighting ? And do you have a preferred method of creating key light (bounced or diffused) ?

 

7. Jo, how were the shafts of light achieved in the games sequences ?

 

 

Best of luck with the next two films ! Honestly I think 'Catching Fire' deserves an Oscar for Best Cinematography !

[David Mullen ASC]

 

Dave, do you prefer the ALEXA to the IMAX cameras for hand-holding ?

 

Isn't that a bit like asking whether you'd prefer carrying a toaster around all day, or a mini-fridge? ;)

[Freya Black]

 

Isn't that a bit like asking whether you'd prefer carrying a toaster around all day, or a mini-fridge? ;)

 

Heh heh! I guess it depends partly on whether you love toast or ice cream. For me it would be a hard decision! Ice cream is a big draw. ;)

 

Great analogy!

 

Freya

[Freya Black]

Dave Thompsonimage.jpg

 

Love this photo Dave, tho I was a little surprised to find that velcro seems to be the main mounting option for IMAX!

 

IMAX cameras are so rare you don't often even see them in photographs.

 

Freya

[John Paul Palescandolo]

Speaking of rare, what ever happened to those f/0.7 lenses that Kubrick used on Barry Lyndon?

[John Paul Palescandolo]

I saw the 15-perf/70mm version of Catching Fire yesterday at the AMC on 68th & Broadway in New York City. This theatre is one of the few in Manhattan that projects movies in 15/70 IMAX. Aside from the Museum of Natural History, I'm not sure there's another in Manhattan, but there are others in New York State.

 

Anyways, regarding the non-IMAX material, the IMAX DMR process for the anamorphic and spherical 35mm segments was generally good, but was also inconsistent in its results. I'm not sure if it was a result of the film not holding up to the DMR process, projection issues, technical issues on set, the film stock used, etc. There were segments that looked beautiful - the opening shots of Katniss were so sharp and defined. In general, I noticed wide shots to not withstand the DMR process as well as close ups did. Regarding shots that did not hold up well, there were just parts of the film that looked soft and fuzzy. Some parts also seemed to be suffering from either enlarged 35mm grain or perhaps a result of too much noise reduction being applied in the DMR process.

 

Specific scenes I can remember which suffered were:

• some of the wider shots of the mansion during President Snow's party
• some of the shots of Katniss first firing her bow at the dome (tho this was during the IMAX part, so was that shot spherically?)
• an extended conversation on the beach near the end, prior to everyone going to the lightning tree (again, during the IMAX section, so perhaps shot spherically for the dialogue?)
• some of the closeup and wide shots of Katniss after she's fired the lightning charged arrow into the dome, but before she's picked up by the helicopter (again, during the IMAX section)

There were other shots during the 35mm anamorphic which suffered as well, but that was by no way the majority of the movie.

 

Did anyone else see the 15/70 version and have thoughts on it? I've seen several movies in digital IMAX, some of which have been entirely blown up from 35mm or digital elements (The Amazing Spider-Man, Skyfall, The Hobbit, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Thor: The Dark World, The Hunger Games), while others have been a mixture of 35mm and IMAX (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, The Dark Knight Rises). Anyways, for obvious reasons, such as a smaller enlargement factor, I never noticed any issues while viewing any of those films in digital IMAX.

 

However, when Catching Fire opened up to the arena and full IMAX kicked in... wow!!! Really visually amazing stuff.

[Jo Willems]

Digital Imax is always better than the film print for all non-Imax originated material. The technology is just older to make these film prints and can at times be disappointing. You also get more vignetting with the film projection in comparison to the digital prints. We timed the film IMAX print different from the original 35mm print to deal with this.

Also, 35mm film just does not hold up to being blown up to 10 times its size and projected on a massive screen where the audience sits so close to the image. It just falls apart and does not resolve. Those theaters were made to show IMAX. There were only 20 film IMAX prints made world wide.

When I was prepping Catching Fire I went to see the film IMAX print of Dark Knight Rises and I had the same experience. The IMAX original material is incredible but then some of the 35mm stuff that was shot at night and is dark at times it looks like Super 8 with grain as big as golfballs. It's just the limitation of 35mm film shown in these conditions. Day exterior and close ups are more forgiving. For some reason the digital IMAX has a better way of dealing with all of this. I loved the way the digital projection looked for Catching Fire, a few minor issues but great overall. My guess is that there won't be a lot of IMAX film projectors left soon.

[Jo Willems]

Thank you Dave and Jo ! It's very cool that you're contributing your experiences !

 

 

I have a few questions:

 

 

1. Dave, how are the shots composed ? Are some/all shots composed by Francis or Jo, or do you have a shot list and go from there ? And are most of the hand-held shots in 'Catching Fire' shoulder-mounted ?

2. Dave, do you prefer the ALEXA to the IMAX cameras for hand-holding ?

 

3. Both, I've seen 'Hunger Games Catching Fire' twice now, once in IMAX. Were the IMAX lenses the Hasselblad Zeiss ? That entire sequence looks immaculate. Did you shoot any of that sequence in Atlanta ?

 

 

4. Both, There is quite alot of talk online about the 'glow' around Sam's character Finnick in the scene where he introduces himself to Katniss,, offering her the sugar cubes. Just wondering, was Sam shot with the C series anamorphics in that scene ?

 

5. Jo, one of my favorite music videos of all-time is the Justin Timberlake 'Cry Me a River' video. Was that the first project you shot with Francis Lawrence ?

 

6. Jo, the lighting in this film is superb. Very classical and smooth at times, and very futuristic and edgy at times. Always superbly synchronized with the script. Do you use a particular method for backlighting ? And do you have a preferred method of creating key light (bounced or diffused) ?

 

7. Jo, how were the shafts of light achieved in the games sequences ?

 

 

Best of luck with the next two films ! Honestly I think 'Catching Fire' deserves an Oscar for Best Cinematography !

 

 

1. coming up with shots is a collaborative process where each member has some input from concept to execution. The actors block the scene and then we discuss how we are going to shoot the scene. We then make a list of what we want to achieve.

 

2. I know that Dave prefers hand holding an Alexa camera. If you ever get a chance to lift an Imax camera you will understand. The picture of myself online lifting an Imax camera was the only time I ever lifted an Imax camera !

 

3. Yes the were Hasselblad lenses.

 

4. Not sure why there would be so much 'talk' about that shot. The tunnel behind him was real but the deep back ground was blue screen and was a VFX screen. We wanted the feel of a very bright exterior behind him.

 

5. The first job I ever did with Francis was P.O.D, Alive.

 

6. My method for backlighting is that if it's not motivated by anything I don't add fake back light. I'd rather create contrast or separation with tone and light values rather then putting something in that looks artificial. If we are shooting outside I'll always try and shoot the scene backlit.

It really depends on the situation how I create a backlight. I'll rarely use a raw light. I'll either diffuse or bounce. The only times I used raw backlight was with real sun or on the tv stage with the tributes presentation.

 

7. The shafts of light were made by real sun and smoke. Again, if I didn't have sun I would not try and create fake beams of light in the jungle. First of all we like shooting fast and with natural light. Adding a ton of xenon lights on condors hidden in trees would just slow down the process and would at some point look artificial. But when we did have sun, we'd just put some smoke in and find the right angles to shoot.

[Adrian Jebef]

Jo,

 

I really enjoyed Catching Fire. I found the film to be incredibly dark both in its photography and subject matter. For such a high profile film franchise meant to appeal to the widest audience possible I was surprised that you and Francis were able to keep the look and tone of the picture so bleak. Was there any "supervision" from the Studio or push back during the DI process?

 

And what's up with your Avatar? Are those brussels sprouts?

Edited December 13, 2013 by Adrian Jebef

[John Paul Palescandolo]

Hi Jo,

 

Thanks for your input on the IMAX process that the movie went through. Could you elaborate on why digital IMAX is better at dealing with the issues you mentioned? And when you said how Digital IMAX is always better than the film print for all non-IMAX originated material, is it better for material originated on film, material originated digitally, or does it not matter? I'd imagine that the smaller magnification process for digital IMAX helps as well. I know digital IMAX uses two 2K Christie projectors which project the two images over each other.

 

I was wondering if you could also elaborate on which scenes during the IMAX section were filmed using spherical 35mm and if that choice was made for reasons of dialogue? I assume the that during the arena section, the non-arena scenes with President Snow and scenes in the control room were spherical, or were those also IMAX?

 

Could you discuss how you go about framing a movie which is shown in many different aspect ratios? 35mm anamorphic is shot at 2.35:1 and IMAX is at 1.43:1, yet you have to create prints to be shown in regular theaters, digital IMAX theaters and 70mm IMAX theaters. Is there a lot of reframing in post for all those different exhibition aspect ratios?

 

Regarding The Dark Knight Rises, even on the Blu-ray, aside from the aspect ratio difference, the difference in quality between the anamorphic 35mm and IMAX material is really obvious.

 

Something that was interesting during the 15/70 version of Catching Fire was that during the previews (there were only three), two of the three trailers were for Divergent and the upcoming Hobbit sequel. Divergent, which was shot on the Alexa, was shown using the entire IMAX screen, which The Hobbit did not make use of the full IMAX screen. Funny tho, since The Hobbit was shot at 5K.

[Justin-Bendo]

 

 

1. coming up with shots is a collaborative process where each member has some input from concept to execution. The actors block the scene and then we discuss how we are going to shoot the scene. We then make a list of what we want to achieve.

 

 

Thanks again Jo.

 

Even with the different lenses and formats, there is a consistency that I really like about this film.

From the poetic stillness of the first shots of Katniss to the very last shot of her, 'Catching Fire' has a consistent visual progression that many films I see do not have. Alot of other 'big' films in comparison feel random and look fake to me. This film feels cohesively dynamic and alive. Very well done.

 

 

 

 

 

4. Not sure why there would be so much 'talk' about that shot. The tunnel behind him was real but the deep back ground was blue screen and was a VFX screen. We wanted the feel of a very bright exterior behind him.

 

 

 

The shot was not insinuated as an error, but rather to the effect of Sam looking particularly radiant.

I was skimming interviews and blogs after seeing the movie the second time in IMAX. Will post links if I can find them again.

 

 

 

 

5. The first job I ever did with Francis was P.O.D, Alive.

 

 

 

 

I went to USC 20 years ago.

Gary Ross was our Writing guest lecturer, who directed the first Hunger Games film.

Rob Tapert was our Producing guest lecturer, who you worked with on 30 Days of Night.

Then one of my best friends from that same USC class discovered the band POD, and was also asked by Linkin Park to be their manager back when their name was Xero.

 

Small world…

 

 

Anyway, I'm definitely looking forward to the next two Hunger Games films ! B)

[Dave Thompson]

"Could you discuss how you go about framing a movie which is shown in many different aspect ratios? 35mm anamorphic is shot at 2.35:1 and IMAX is at 1.43:1, yet you have to create prints to be shown in regular theaters, digital IMAX theaters and 70mm IMAX theaters. Is there a lot of reframing in post for all those different exhibition aspect ratios?"

 

 

We always had 2.40 frame lines on the ground glass. In both formats 35mm spherical and 1.43. We then framed to keep the "action/actors" within the 2.40 aspect ratio. Everything else was kept safe, i.e. Boom mikes, stands, etc. in 1.43. The decision to shoot IMAX vs spherical wasn't related to sound specifically. We shot major dialogue scenes with the IMAX cameras and they just ADRed it later. I will say in regards to shooting and handholding IMAX that we dioptered a lot of the big close ups. The lenses just wouldn't get us close enough. Gregor did an amazing job pulling focus on those shots.

 

Jo did a great job of keeping the look, feel, tone consistence not only from scene to scene but in the actual environments and translating that to the over all film. To anyone that has shot in the jungles and beaches of Hawaii, you know what I mean. The weather is constantly changing. The day for night sequences from a lighting stand point are some of my favorites in the film.

 

And shouldering an Alexa is a tad bit more comfortable than an MSM.