FEATURE | BLACKKKLANSMAN
know how to do that, but my approach to any project is a Daoist one – to allow things to come up from within itself naturally. It’s important to treat the audience with respect and let them interpret the film. I believe the role of the cinematographer and the filmmaker is to pose questions, not answer them. To me, that’s Art.” Watching Saturday night closing ceremonies on a screen across from the Palais at Cannes, I shouted out loud when Jury President Cate Blanchett announced BlacKkKlansman as winner of the Grand Prix, which is the second prize after the Palme d’Or. An overjoyed Lee jumped up on stage, hugging his longtime editor Barry Brown, called up Adam Driver and Laura Harrier and thanked everyone. He said, “Like in that film we all remember not long ago, this year we are in the year of living dangerously and I’d like to dedicate this prize to the People’s Republic of Brooklyn.” ABOVE Director Spike Lee, who won the Grand Prix at Cannes for BlacKkKlansman, on set with unmasked KKK members. BlacKkKlansman is on general release in UK cinemas from 24 August.
It was Focus Features who paid for the movie to be Dolby ‘Visionized’. Dolby designed this HDR technology to enhance the viewing experience by intensifying the colours and creating a million to one contrast ratio. The projection screens are twice the brightness of standard screens and the projectors are “powered by dual- laser projection technology engineered for a consistent experience” according to Dolby Vision HDR trademark. It makes brighter whites, deeper shadows, richer blacks and an enhanced rendition of the image, but, continues Chayse, “You have to colour grade it with a special projector to get the correct tones and colours that no other projector can match. There are only certain theatres that have this technology and it’s advertised as a superior film experience, so ticket prices are higher, but it does project a magnificent image. I saw The Revenant in Dolby Vision and I hope to work with them again. As a cinematographer, my goal is to make images that are hypnotic and I don’t necessarily
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
“There are at least three different but related worlds in BlacKkKlansman – the police, the KKK and the black student activists. The sets reflect that – Ron Stallworth is hip and young and progressive but it’s still a police department – hello wood paneling. It’s not been updated since the 50s most likely – it’s sturdy but in need of some renovation and change, like their world itself. The local KKK leader Felix – his world is stagnated, stuck in the past and his dwelling reflects that. It’s worth noting that the KKK live in plain sight and so, for instance, their living room is well appointed and lovely while the garage is full of the sinister and lethal.”
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