PRODUCTION THE LONG WALK
“From the moment the Long Walk begins, the camera never stops moving” Definition learns about the camaraderie between cast and crew on the set of The Long Walk in talks with DOP Jo Willems, ASC, SBC
WORDS OLIVER WEBB IMAGES LIONSGATE FILMS
B ased on the 1979 novel of the same name by Stephen King, (although originally published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman), The Long Walk is the latest King adaption to grace our screens. The narrative follows a group of teenage boys compete in an annual contest known as the Long Walk, where they must maintain a certain walking speed or be shot. This film marks Jo Willems, ASC, SBC and director Francis Lawrence’s seventh feature collaboration. “Francis and I have worked together since the early 2000s,” begins Willems. “We met in the music video world, and our early projects included Justin Timberlake’s Cry Me a River and POD’s Boom . We reunited much later, working
on TV pilots – then he asked me to do The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and we’ve continued to work together since.” The Long Walk was a smaller project in comparison, and Lawrence once again approached Willems about getting involved. “I read the book and said of course, as I was into it,” he says. “This was a real passion project for Francis, as it’s one of his favourite novels. It’s essentially a metaphor for the Vietnam War, about this brutal event that these young men are drafted into. For the look of the film, I looked at lots of Vietnam War photography to really grasp that period of history.” Willems shot the film using the ARRI ALEXA 35, in Super 35 format with regular anamorphic lenses. “I’ve shot
commercials with the ALEXA 35, as well as an episode of Black Mirror , and I really liked that camera. Since I was approaching this film with almost no equipment, no lighting and no control, I wanted a camera that had dynamic range and was also good with skin tones. I sometimes put it at a higher ISO, but I don’t think I ever went higher than 2500.” It was important for Willems to achieve a look grounded in reality. “We had more modern lenses, but Panavision made some adjustments to make them look grittier and less perfect,” he notes. “I didn’t want anything too vintage, instead going for a slightly softer feel to emulate the look of the late sixties and early seventies. It was warm and muted, and at times even quite
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