DRAMA | GEMI N I MAN
IMAGES Regis Harrington was the stunt driver on the motorbike in the Cartagena chase scene
on everything in the frame and, most importantly, the closest thing. If there’s a CG character, gun or motorcycle handlebars, I need to shoot a reference and then set up the camera. So I need somebody to place a physical item like a fake handgun in the shot, because later they’ll put it in CG.” The production used a body double for the young Will Smith character, or sometimes Will himself. Portelli describes the close-ups as “the greatest fun for me” – looking for truth in the human face with a character that is, ultimately, CG. “Add to that 4K 120fps, where there’s basically nowhere to hide, and you’re setting yourself up for quite a challenge. So those close-ups with the CG are very important to me – and where Will exists in theatrical space in part of the 3D movie experience, if you like. I like the way Ang has evolved his 3D now – it’s smooth and immersive.” As for post-production, Portelli says he spent a lot of time adjusting and perfecting. “I do spend a lot of time in post adjusting the convergence point and saying things like, ‘This shot is really quick, so I think our eyes need to converge nearer his motorcycle, so there’s a balance to the 3D from cut to cut’. This film is the one where I’ve spent the most time in post-production trying to refine that.”
I like the way Ang has evolved his 3D now – it’s smooth and immersive
Portelli also has to liaise with the VFX supervisor and give the VFX department extra information, such as a reference geometry with notes on everything, which are delivered to a VFX vendor. “I said things like, ‘These two lenses are slightly different; the geometry needs to sit here, but it doesn’t need to be 100% perfect, because you can actually lose the stereo, so don’t worry about the edges’. Sometimes I had to fight to get flares back in that weren’t stereo correct in the original photography and VFX had taken out. Then the flares came back, but
in the wrong place, and it went on and on like that. I also did a fair amount of colour matching and luminance matching between the stereo eyes, which is very important.” Gemini Man hasn’t had the greatest critical response, but then punters are liking the ‘bright’ image as, perhaps, they haven’t got a reference for this new thing they’re seeing. But, in conclusion, we have to be thankful for pioneers like Ang Lee and his philosophy of always being out of your comfort zone. After all, that’s the place you’re working at your best.
38 DEF I N I T ION | NOVEMBER 20 1 9
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