Russell Carpenter, ASC
TITANIC Q&A ArchivesFollowing are Russell Carpenter's responses to e-mail questions about his award-winning work as cinematographer of Titanic. RESPONSES MARCH 24, 1998:
Hi Mr. Carpenter!
I would like to know how you got the strobe lights underwater in the scene where Leonardo DiCaprio drops the keys to the gate into the rising water, and how do you measure it?
And were the backlights used in the exteriors individually set with HMIs, or natural sunlight, when people are boarding the ship? Also I want to congratulate you for the scene in which Kate goes for help while Leonardo has been arrested — I mean the moment when the lights went off and the level of exposure is extremely low and critical. Also want to ask you what is your preferred index of exposure for skin, do you like it in the exact key or a little low?
Thanks, and congratulations again!
Oscar HijuelosDear Oscar,
We tried a couple of different things to get the strobe light effect underwater.
First, we actually tried building Lexan watertight boxes in which we placed Lightning Strikes units. These boxes had tall chimneys on them to allow for ventilation and heat dissipation. Unfortunately, they weren't as watertight as we had hoped and, ultimately, we wound up shining the Lightning Strikes units into 4 foot square mirrors placed below the water.
Actually, very little of the sunlight in the disembarkation scene at Southampton is natural sunlight. We found that the height of the ship kept most natural sunlight off the scene except for a fairly narrow window — approximately 2 hours. We used 3 NewTek 10K Xenons, usually placed on the upper decks of the ship, and aimed them into the crowd as either side- or backlight. They did an absolutely amazing job of recreating sunlight from a great distance. However, the beams were fairly narrow and we had to use long lenses and dapple the crowd in the larger scenes to create the overall impression of a sunny day.
Thanks for your comment about the exposure change on Kate in the corridor. I was sweating bullets on that one — hoping there would be just enough exposure. I used a little handheld flashlight just off camera to put a little highlight in her eyes when the exposure was way down.
Preferred exposure on skin depends on the actor/actress. We lit Kate a little bright to accentuate the natural luminescence of her skin. We wanted to make her glow a little.
Thanks for your questions and comments,
RussellDear Mr. Carpenter,
Why do they say that shooting anything involving water is incredibly difficult?
George Fisher
Prague, Czech Republic
Dear George,
Time is a major factor, and it takes much longer to move anything around in a water environment. Also, if there is any kind of current all the equipment has to be roped or chained down. And any changes take much longer. You also have to take precautions to protect the equipment; most film and lighting equipment is tremendously susceptible to water damage. Dealing with electricity around water also takes great care and planning — just those precautions take time. Also, if the water is cold, the crew has to be in some sort of protective clothing, either wet or dry suits. Even just getting in and out of those suits can be time consuming!
Photographically, water presents many opportunities, but also many problems: for instance, reflections may appear where you don't want them and they can be hard to control. If you are working on water and the subject is on one boat, and the lighting is on another, the currents usually move one boat in relation to the other and you are constantly readjusting your lighting — it is a major headache.
Thank you,
Russell CarpenterDear Russell Carpenter:
I want to be a good DP, but the guy I work with does not want me as an apprentice. What do I do and where can a person like me go to lean the craft
— Dalton A Brown
Dear Dalton,
Keep persevering. There are many different routes into the filmmaking world and many ways to practice your craft. Keep exploring as many as you can.
As I mentioned earlier, there are excellent resources for the student of cinematography. Besides American Cinematographer magazine and some of the other film related magazines, you can find hundreds of books by going to the amazon.com site and doing a search under "cinematography."
If you are more interested in the special effects side of the art, look for Cinefex magazine: it is published by Don Shay and it is absolutely excellent. In fact, the current issue features Titanic and it is the most comprehensive account I have read on the special effects aspects of the movie. [editor's note: word is that the Titanic issues of Cinefex have sold out]
Remember, practice and shoot as much as you can, even if you are only practicing with a still camera.
Thank you,
Russell CarpenterDear Russell,
The first film listed in your Internet Movie Database entry is The Wizard of Speed and Time. What did working on that film teach you that you applied to Titanic, and might you have any anecdotes from the making of that film so early in your career?
Also, in your actor credit you played "Officer Friendly??"
— Corgi
Dear Corgi,
It wasn't my first film, but The Wizard of Speed and Time was definitely a great and unforgettable experience. Working with Mike Jittlov prepared me for working with other brilliant and eccentric people. He is truly one of a kind.
We made that film in Mike's house and his backyard. Many of his friends and relatives were in the film. The most memorable part was recreating the 16mm Oscar-nominated short film of the same name. We drove around the country filming Mike J. as the wizard — in a few instances it was better for him to do the filming and he needed a wizard stand-in for the very long shots. A somewhat reluctant cinematographer would don the robes and run like "all get out" over vast landscapes while Mike filmed him. I found out that one has to be in excellent shape to be a wizard! Mike's penchant for perfection drove us nearly insane at times, but the finished sequences were little filmic jewels and worth the many re-takes. (Believe me, the last thing you want to hear after you've spent the better part of a day filming a jigsaw puzzle magically reassembling itself one frame at a time is Mike saying...Uhmm...gee...there's something not exactly right here.)
I did indeed get briefly placed in the film as Officer Friendly: the last time I ever allowed myself to be put on celluloid — and cinema is better for it.
— Russell Carpenter
Dear Russell,
I have seen Titanic several times just because I am amazed at the lighting throughout. The match between CGI sequences, green screen and actual footage shot on the ship that was built, boggle the mind in their complexity. It took several times just to pick them apart and say "OK that was CGI." How did you work so closely with those people? Had you ever done anything that effects intensive? How do you learn something like that on the job on a feature? By trade I am a Flame artist — so I know what it takes, but only from my side of the fence.
Thanks,
Susan Detrie
Dear Susan,
I'll start this answer by reminding our friends who want to learn more about what Susan and her colleagues do is to check out magazine publications like Cinefex and Digital Magic, which deal with the world of computer generated imagery.
Eric Nash must be credited with the excellent matches between my photography and much of the CGI stuff. He did the lion's share of the green screen photography. Also, Rob Legato, his team and I passed information back and forth which helped with the marriage of the digital images and live photography. And don't forget that in post production all images had to be okayed by Jim Cameron — whose meticulousness is the stuff of legends.
On any feature, I always take my cues from the Visual Effects Supervisor, in this case, Rob Legato. I take pains to provide them with original photography that follows their guidelines — after all, the effects houses are stuck with these images long after I'm gone. This is not to say that occasionally I wouldn't turn over a less than perfect original negative. Believe it or not, there were many instances when some of the images were captured under tremendous time pressures. Sometimes the digital artist might wonder why the original image is less than perfect, my only response is, "You had to be there."
Learning to work with special effects pictures is sort of a "step at a time venture." Mostly I learned by reading what I could and following the lead of the visual effects supervisor.
Thanks,
Russell CarpenterDear Mr. Carpenter,
This is a rather simple question that I've wondered about since the first day I saw the movie Titanic. In the end scene, when Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio are in the water on loose wreckage from the ship, I wondered how cold the set really was. I normally would think that the set would be warm in reality, except for the fact that in the shot, when the actors talk, you can see their breath. This kind of confused me and made me wonder if the set was really cold, and if it wasn't, then how they would have gotten the shot with the actors breath being visible. Well however it was done, the movie was wonderful. Thanks for your time.
— Katie
Dear Katie,
Those scenes were filmed in a large indoor stage in a heated tank that was about 3 feet deep. The water was very warm and comfortable. The breath was added later: filmed and composited by a company called Blue Sky/VIFX.
Cheers,
Russell Carpenter
Dear Russell,
Firstly, I want to give you great praise for a terrifically sweeping epic put to screen unlike anything ever before it. Titanic is a movie that will forever stick in the minds of many people, young and old, for its beauty and emotion. A true accomplishment. My question is regarding the use of camera cranes. I am curious as to the variety of rigs used in the movie and if there were any scenes which really posed a problem? I noticed numerous innovative dynamics that certainly must have been challenging during production. Certainly only one of many limitations encountered, I'm sure.
Congratulations again!
Brad DennisDear Brad,
One of the biggest problems during the filming of Titanic was how to get the camera into places when the one of the stars of the picture — the Titanic itself — is so large. We had several problems: the ship set was surrounded by water much of the time and the upper decks were not crane friendly at all because there were no ramps to move from one deck to another.
The largest crane was a construction crane that moved alongside the ship on a 600 foot long track, with a crane arm that could swing over to the other side of the ship. From that crane hung a large steel basket with a Wescam hanging on its underside. This basically became our "bird's eye" view of the ship and meant the camera could be positioned nearly everywhere at any time — you saw many overhead shots from the construction crane rig. It was great for getting good angles but an absolute pain in the neck to light for because it was difficult to hide the lights.
There were 2 Akela cranes in use, but they were literally dwarfed sometimes by the scale of the ship. These cranes were placed on platforms to get them up to the height where they would actually produce usable shots. One platform was on dry land, the other platform was on a barge that floated around the large tank.
The other workhorse crane was a Technocrane — used almost daily. The Technocrane and the Akela cranes were often moved around the set by larger construction cranes, this was quite a sight.
The biggest problem for me was that when the camera can be almost anywhere lighting becomes an adventure. Jim, as you can see by the results, loves to move the camera. But this often means the shadow of the camera or the crane arm is moving through the space where you would normally put your key light or fill light. So the result is that lighting can be compromised, but at least the scene sizzles.
Sincerely,
Russell Carpenter
Dear Russell Carpenter,
Can you please tell me what type of flashlights were used. My husband and I are having a debate.
Thank you very much.
PS. I loved the movie. I have seen it three times. Also planning to buy the movie when it comes out.
Dear Mr. Daugherty,
The flashlights are not authentic to the time period in any way — they are purely something that the prop man dreamt up to cover our modern Xenon flashlights that have a more powerful bulb and a rather large battery housing.
Thanks,
Russell
Dear Russell Carpenter,
When did you know that you wanted to become a cinematographer, how old were you? Personally I have to agree with the rest of the world in saying that, visually, Titanic was one of my favorite films. Who were and still are some of your favorite cinematographers to watch?
Thank you for your time and great job on Titanic.
— Tommy Upshaw
Dear Tommy,
I slowly evolved in the direction of dramatic storytelling and my move into feature films took a long long time. Of course, I have favorite cinematographers who I learn from constantly: Vittorio Storaro is probably first on any living cinematographer's list, then for me, Jordan Cronenweth, Conrad Hall, Haskell Wexler, Caleb Deschanel, Vilmos Zsigmond and Gordon Willis are constant sources of inspiration for me. But there are also movies every year by other cinematographers that I find amazing and learn a lot from.
Thanks,
Russell Carpenter
Dear Mr. Carpenter,
I just came back from studying film in Chicago, where I was an international student. I shot around 25 short films, most of them involving small scenarios that I had to light. Because I studied abroad, people in my country think that I am some kind of Hot Shot cinematographer (obviously, I haven't told them the opposite), and I am two months away from shooting my first short film in 35mm with a somewhat big lighting package (at least for me, since I never had to light night streets back in Chicago).
This is nothing compared to the 40,000 amps setups you had to light Titanic. We only have a 600 amps power plant. My biggest task is to light a street of around 300 feet in length and 50 feet in width. My biggest unit is a 6K HMI, but I also have 20 tungsten 10Ks; seven 2.5K HMI pars; seven 1200 HMI pars; 4 tungsten 5Ks; and 5 units of mini brutes.
My idea was to place the 6K HMI at the furthest vista as a backlight on a tower. Then, 20 feet closer to camera position, a 10K, also as a backlight, and so on. After that, I want to set the mini brutes on the sidewalk (since it is out of the frame) with a 216 diffusion 4 by 4 frame in front, directly to the street, with a separation of 10 feet to get an overall exposure of around T1.0 (shooting with 5279).
Since we don't have rigging equipment, I wonder how can I place the 2500 HMI pars to make them look like streetlights. The streetlights here in Mexico have a reddish kind of color. Their color temperature is around 2300 degrees Kelvin. Do I need to use a specific filter to color compensate for the street lights? I want to shoot at T2.0 or T2.8. That is my general question that takes quite a lot of my sleeping time. I also have the task of blocking for action and lighting trees, but that is, I guess, my own choice. It would be very helpful if you could give me some hints about this. I thank you in advance, from a Student to a Teacher.
— Alfonso Aguilar
Dear Alfonso,
It sounds to me that you have more than enough (!!!!!) to light the area that you are talking about. However, with the 600 amp plant, you may want to calculate how you can get the most efficient use from the lights you have. Shooting with the 5279 you will have no trouble getting the T 1.0 baselight you want: I don't think you'll have to use nearly as many units as you might assume.
Since you are a little way from shooting, I would recommend you test the street at night on 5279, even if you are just shooting still film. See what the location gives you just as it exists. You may, however, want to take a tungsten light and try various gel combinations to see what color temperature matches the street lighting best. Color temperature meters can be deceptive when measuring sodium vapor lighting or other street lighting — it's always best to do a film test before committing to shoot the real scene.
As for the 2500W HMI pars, we've just clamped them up to the streetlights, on the side opposite camera and pointed them straight down, usually we use 1200W HMI pars. You really don't see them because the real street lamp is flaring anyway.
As for the trees, take care with them. Green leaves eat up a lot of light t and sometimes you have to light them so they look too bright to the eye for them to come out right on film.
You sound like you are on the right track (wetting down the street could give the scene some extra life, if it is appropriate to the scene).
Thanks,
Russell
Dear Russell Carpenter,
Well I just have to begin by telling you that the film was so great. Every scene had so much work put into it. This is by far the best film I have ever seen. My question is: What was done with the large set after the film was completed? Was it destroyed?
Sincerely,
Brian Moss
Dear Brian,
The set was really a large scaffolding structure with a side and two decks built on top. It was dismantled shortly after filming.
Thanks,
Russell
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