On Munich, as on all of Spielberg’s productions, the filmmakers had access to projected 35mm dailies, which were generated by all three labs involved in the show and treated with ENR (or, in Éclair’s case, an equivalent process). Kaminski and most of the camera crew watched rushes every day. “Steven doesn’t watch footage from a scene until he’s got the whole scene on his KEM in the editing room,” says Dubin. “But his editing is never more than a few days behind what we’re shooting. You can’t do that unless you film with a strong concept of how you want to cut the film. We shot a 175-page script in 60-some days, as well as some additional material. And two weeks after we wrapped principal photography, Steven had a locked picture cut. That’s just incredible.”

Kaminski agrees Spielberg imposes a fast pace on production, but he points out that the cinematographer “is responsible for the production moving at a certain pace. Of course, the director’s energy will very frequently dictate the pace, and let’s not forget it. No matter how fast the cinematographer is, he or she will have to work at the director’s pace. But if the director is willing to work at a fast pace, the cinematographer is the one who provides that. Nothing we do can make the director go faster, but we can certainly slow down a fast director.”

When lighting for Spielberg, Kaminski has to take into account both the fast pace and the mobile camera. On interiors, the cinematographer often places his sources outside because “the camera constantly moves. We never have set shots. We will pan 270 degrees, or we will go Steadicam or handheld. That’s the nature of working with Steven — you know you’re going to end up seeing the entire space. I like the moving camera, but sometimes it makes lighting a little complicated because there are few places to hide your lights. I may say to Steven, ‘Listen, we can do this really fast if we stage the action on the side of the window instead of against it. That way I don’t have to bring any lights.’ And we do that frequently. He loves having the windows in the frame.

“I think everyone loves a fast pace,” Kaminski adds. “The actors love it and the crew loves it — the day goes by quickly. And to a certain degree, I like that I can say I don’t have time to finesse everything because I have to go so fast! The movies I do with Steven occasionally allow for a kind of roughness, but I don’t like the roughness that comes from not having the time to do it right.”

What continues to bind Kaminski and Spielberg? After working on a dozen movies with them, Kennedy is uniquely positioned to compare the two. “What attracts Janusz and Steven to one another is their working style: they both like to have fun while they’re making a movie, and they both have the same ability to turn on and off. When they turn their focus to the work, it’s razor sharp. At the same time, they’re also very open to the creative process. They both have a childlike quality: they’re curious, they’re aware, they’re excited, and they have very optimistic sensibilities. I think what fuels their creative process is that ability to comfortably go with their sense of imagination and curiosity.”

She adds that the Spielberg/Kaminski collaboration on set is a mix of planning and improvisation. “It’s a very interesting combination of the two. It’s improvisation because they’re both open to one other, and they will both recognize a good idea wherever it comes from and be flexible enough to accommodate it; but at the same time, neither one of them approaches the process of filmmaking without a very, very clear point of view. Janusz is a force of nature; he brings an energy to the process that is unlike anybody I’ve ever worked with. He’s like a big kid on the set until he zeroes in on what he’s shooting. Sometimes I’ll look at the monitor and then see the dailies, and I’ll just be in awe of what he captured from something that looked relatively ordinary to the eye.”

Dubin has another take: “Janusz is the gutsiest cinematographer I’ve ever seen. He runs on pure instinct, just like Steven, and that’s why they get along. Janusz doesn’t hesitate to take chances, and what inspires him is his emotional response to the story and what the actors are doing. It’s raw emotion.”

TECHNICAL SPECS Super 35mm 2.35:1 Arricam ST, LT; Arri 435, 235 Cooke lenses Kodak Vision 500T 5279, EXR 200T 5293; Fuji Super F-125T 8532, Super F-250T 8552, Super F-250D 8562 Bleach bypass (select scenes) by Éclair Laboratories, Technicolor Los Angeles and Technicolor London ENR process by Technicolor Los Angeles Printed on Kodak Vision 2383