DEFINITION March 2019

DRAMA | FOR YOUR CONS I DERAT ION

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR

This is where we made the transition to the Alexa 65 and Arri’s DNA lenses

“ BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY IS BOOKENDED by Queen’s performance at Live Aid in 1985 – universally considered one of the greatest rock’n’roll performances ever,” explains DOP, Newton Thomas Sigel. “The stadium was open to the sky, but by the time Queen went on, the sun had dipped behind Wembley’s walls and created a soft, subdued light over the crowd. The stage lighting, like the whole concert, was minimal. For the movie, we recreated the stage and I duplicated the lighting rig that can be seen in the broadcast. We did take a little poetic licence with the cues, but not much. “We cut back to 1970 when Freddie has just emigrated with his family to London and he is working at Heathrow Airport. This was shot with the Alexa SXT and old Cooke Speed Panchro lenses. We created a special LUT for this period to emphasise the golds, yellows and oranges. It reflects the romantic idealism that Freddie had in the days when he first met Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon. It was all about possibility and potential, with a healthy dose of naivity. “Eventually Queen forms,” Sigel continues, “they luck into a gig on Top Of The Pops and begin to take off. This is where we made a transition to the Alexa 65 and Arri’s DNA lenses. Where the first act of the story was all handheld, now the Steadicam and dolly join in. The Alexa 65 is a remarkable camera. It has this giant sensor that delivers exquisite picture detail. Not sharper, just more detailed. I don’t really care about the

number of pixels – I care about their quality. The Alexas are quite large, which allows for this tremendous breadth of colour and dynamic range. They call the camera ASA 800, but I think it is so much more than that. “The earliest venues were at Ealing College. Then, the venues get bigger with the band’s rise in popularity,” says Sigel. “We introduce the drum riser with all the aircraft landing lights, a crown of light on the backdrop, some decorative lighting instruments on the sides. By the time we get to Madison Square Garden, we have recreated Queen’s massive lighting rigs. They were also one of the very early adopters of the moving light. They had these massive banks of par cans they could raise and lower right in the middle of a song. I loved when it felt like the lamps were enshrining the band. “With the DNA lenses, the 45mm and 55mmwere the workhorses. For close-ups, we might go to the 70mm, 80mm or 110mm. Occasionally, we’d use the 35mm or 28mm for wide shots.” Sigel explains: “The DNAs are purpose- built lenses with a very handcrafted feel to them, each with its own weird little characteristics. They tend to fall off toward the edges and roll off gently in the focus. I shot most of the movie relatively wide open to emphasise this. I think that’s part of what gives the film its naturalistic look.”

RIGHT Queen in full flight. For the film’s second act, the Steadicam and dolly joined in (above)

18 DEF I N I T ION | MARCH 20 1 9

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