CAMER IMAGE | PRODUCTION
VICCI TURPIN
The film Poppie Nongena follows the story of a Xhosa mother and the endless hardships she faces in perilous 1970s South Africa. Vicci Turpin, a veteran of the camera department, took on the role of DOP. “ Poppie is my second feature film as a cinematographer and I was overjoyed to be acknowledged with a Silwerskerm award for my work,” Turpin says. “My biggest challenges were the harsh South African sunlight and contrasting conditions. I like a very natural style of lighting and wanted a realistic look with subtle artistic detail. Inside, I often kept the sunlight balanced with black silks and scrims, then used a lot of hidden lights – often in the ceilings. “For much of the shoot, I used a custom-built Tilta Armor Man rig as we wanted a medium between handheld and steadicam. I realised I needed some good weight on there, so we settled on the Arri Alexa XT and used that with a set of lovely, fast Arri Master Prime lenses. “During the final sequence, I had to run for long takes through all these houses on location, following closely behind the lead actress. Luckily, we knew each other well and I was super fit from using the camera rig, by then!” Turpin enthuses.
NICK THOMAS
Nick Thomas shot The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw , a period piece that offers drama and horror in equal measure. “Thomas Robert Lee, the director, had a very clear image of the film and we had four months to prep together. My approach to the overall look of the film was to create a natural world, but dark and moody, with a vintage look and a modern twist,” Thomas says. “It seemed that every day we had at least one stunt or challenging performance to overcome,” he continues. “The period was another issue because characters wouldn’t have had access to power. Every scene had to be lit from a natural or practical source.” As ever, securing the right kit for the job was essential. “I chose the Arri Alexa Mini, primarily for the look, but also for its compact size and versatility,” Thomas reveals. “Meeting our visual goal was the main deciding factor when it came to lens choice, and I love to shoot anamorphic for the painterly textures of the bokeh. “We secured six Cooke Anamorphic /i SF lenses as well as an Angenieux 50-500mm HR zoom. The additional character of the special flares was wonderful and the Angenieux matched the look of the Cookes well. This allowed us to capture some huge vintage-inspired zoom shots.”
NOVEMBER 2020 | DEF I N I T ION 21
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