DOWN WITH THE KING PRODUCTION.
SIGNIFICANT SILHOUETTES Underexposure and darkness are used to highlight character arcs, with the filmmakers unafraid of letting nature provide the backdrop
GLOOM, NOT DOOM “We were using the idea of natural light to our advantage from a character standpoint,” he adds. “Hopefully, it doesn’t look underlit, although certain scenes are underexposed and dark.” A prime example is when Merc plays the piano in his wooden mansion. “Certain scenes have a gloom to them, which is beautiful, and that was one.” Again, the Blackmagic 6K came into its own with a dual base ISO that can go very high, with around 13 stops from white to black, making it ideally suited to Ongaro’s style of filmmaking – a reliance on natural light. “There are two native settings you can go with,” says Vecchione. “When it’s bright and sunny, shoot at IS 400; and then if it’s really dark, ISO 3200. “High ISO lets us lean heavily into that. We had to light party scenes, but otherwise we were way up on ISO and shooting stuff that wouldn’t be possible with the more standard base of, say, ISO 800. Combined with dynamic range, we captured what we needed and sculpted in post.” Another welcome feature was the camera’s ability to carry an anamorphic lens. Ongaro and Vecchione were keen to employ an anamorphic feel. “It did a lot for the look of the film and add a subliminal layer to Money Merc’s character,” the cinematographer says. “The 6Ks have a 3.7K anamorphic in-camera mode. There’s a limited number of small cameras on which you can use an anamorphic lens. The Atlas Orion we liked has an EF mount, so it fits straight on the camera. “Shooting this way was a lot of work,” Vecchione concludes. “But it was a project I wanted to do for the love of filming, like the fun you had when making movies in college. A wonderful experience.” Down with the King is available on multiple streaming platforms
and into the blue light, about 20 minutes after the sun goes down – when you get that window of nice indigo light which is literally very cool,” says Vecchione. “I thought that type of light was very reflective of Merc’s state of mind. I wanted to get in as many of those scenes as possible. Although it’s a beautiful time of day to shoot, it’s extremely hard to do, but these small-footprint cameras and the rigs that Connor figured out in prep definitely helped.”
Did you know? Since making the film, Freddie Gibbs has gone on to tackle broad comedy in the TV series Bust Down , and feature as a gangster in Power Book IV: Force , a show executive produced by 50 Cent.
“We were using the idea of natural light to our advantage from a character standpoint”
LESS IS MORE Working just after the sun went down was exciting for the filmmakers, especially with a small-footprint camera set-up
37. OCTOBER 2022
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