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The cinematographer began his preproduction planning by sitting down for detailed discussions with ILM visual effects supervisors Dennis Muren, ASC (full-motion dinosaurs) and Michael Lantieri (special dinosaur effects). "It was actually very easy to shoot all of the CGI composites, because the guys at ILM are just amazing with that sort of stuff," Kaminski enthuses. "There were times when we had a flare in the lens, and I would say, 'Dennis, there's some flare there, is that okay?' And he would reply, 'Well, it's never been done before, but let's try it!' We have some shots in the film in which we tilt down from the sun into the ground, where there are some activities going on. All along, Dennis was planning to put in a silhouetted image of a CG dinosaur.
"There were almost no restrictions in terms of what I could do, to the point where occasionally it was much easier to light," he adds. "For example, if I had a big strong backlight on a soundstage, I could flag the light so it wouldn't flare the lens, and later on Dennis would just take the flag out digitally. The man is really a genius."
In regard to the computer-aided effects work, Spielberg submits, "It helped that we were working with a lot of the same people at ILM who had worked on Jurassic Park. They really wanted to bring the dinosaurs back to life, but they wanted to make them look even more natural than they did in the first film. Because this film had more action and more CGI dinosaur shots — about 50 percent more than the first film — they were really excited. They weren't so much trying to top the first film, but just trying to do it differently without repeating anything we'd done before."
Spielberg and Kaminski also consulted closely with mechanical creature effects wizard Stan Winston, who created all of the film's frighteningly lifelike animatronic dinosaurs, including a pair of life-sized T. Rexes that cost $1 million apiece. Each of the computer-controlled Rexes required a team of 10 puppeteers to operate, and could generate up to 2G's of force while moving. "We had to find out what kinds of movements the life-sized T. Rexes could do," Kaminski says. "They looked so real that we were scared of them; in fact, they were very powerful animatronic creatures, and we were warned not to get too close to them when they were activated, because if there was a malfunction, they could literally kill someone. The T. Rexes could move very fast, and they were capable of breaking a stage wall. We couldn't use any radios or electronic devices near them either."
Kaminski and camera operator Mitch Dubin conducted a variety of different photographic tests in prep. The cinematographer briefly flirted with the idea of using Deluxe Laboratories' CCE silver-retention process, but explains that ultimately, "I realized that CCE wasn't the right process for the movie. Everything was becoming too hard-looking; it would have been a bit too much for the summer thriller audience. We didn't want to scare them too much!"
Kaminski also vetted Kodak's new Vision film stocks. "I tested the new Eastman Kodak Vision 320 stock, and the 500 as well. Based on those tests, I shot the film primarily with the 500 ASA 5279 stock. I also used 5293, which is rated at 200 ASA. The Vision stock is amazing. It's virtually grainless, and it has incredible latitude in terms of both over- and underexposures. It holds highlights beautifully.
"Every time I had a situation where I needed a bit more contrast, or when I was doing day interiors, I would use the 93," he continues. "I also used the 93 for the ILM work, because we did some of that on 4-perf. Most of the ILM work was shot with VistaVision, and at that point it doesn't really matter which emulsion you use, because there is no degradation of the negative. But when you're shooting 4-perf and start doing opticals, you can get generation loss. So for that stuff you need a really fine-grain negative. All of my night interiors and exteriors were shot with the 79."
Kaminski's camera package consisted of three Panavision units, including a Platinum and a Panastar. "We also had a Beaumont camera, which is a lightweight 8-perf camera that you can mount on the Steadicam. We used regular VistaVision for our dolly work or stationary work, and we also had a handheld Arriflex."
The film was shot in the 1.85:1 format to allow maximum headroom for the dinosaurs. Kaminski says that he photographed the entire film with Primo prime lenses, most often at the wider focal lengths preferred by his director. Spielberg notes, "I like to use wide frames to create suspense — shots where the characters are small and vulnerable in the frame, surrounded by the environment. I also like to have people's backs to the camera. In those types of compositions, the threat presents itself in every possible direction — you never know where something's going to come out of the frame to attack.
"We generally found ourselves either working with the 20mm, 24mm or 29mm lenses, or jumping right to the 85mm or 100mm for shots involving the dinosaurs and their victims," the director adds. "We didn't use the 50mm that much, because I've found that the animals always look better when the focal plane is compressed. When you shoot large animals with wide lenses, their heads are big, but their bodies could be diminished to the vanishing point, and they look kind of puny as they go off into space. It's much scarier when you use longer lenses to compress the people and the vehicles. I did the same thing on the first movie. For example, I used a longer lens to compress the T. Rex and the Ford Explorer with the two kids inside. On this film, I used a similar technique for the scenes involving our twin T. Rexes and any of the intended victims or vehicles."
The Lost World was scheduled to be shot over 72 days, but the filmmakers managed to complete production in just 66. "The pace was so hard that at the end of the week we'd all just hug each other and say, 'Whoa, what just happened to us?'" Kaminski relates with a grin. "There was a lot of energy, but that's the way Steven likes to work, and he brings it to the screen. Personally, I love working that way, but it could sometimes be hard on the focus puller, Steve Meizler, who did a great job despite the constant pressure."
The quick pace was partly due to Spielberg's decision to work without a second unit. "I enjoy doing my own second-unit work, and I mostly try to do that," Spielberg says. "On the Indiana Jones films, I always had a second unit that would take my storyboards and shoot portions of chases and things like that. But recently I've found more satisfaction and control in doing my own second-unit footage. When I farm something out to a second-unit director, invariably when I see the dailies I'll like some of the shots, but not others. Then I have to send them back for take two and take three, which costs the company more money. I've found that I can save a lot of money by shooting my own storyboards, because I know what I want and I can try to achieve it without going back a second and third time."
The film's logistical complexities necessitated careful planning and organization. Exterior footage was shot on location in Eureka, California, with some additional work at the Pasadena Botanical Gardens. Sets were shot on four soundstages at Universal Studios: Stages 12, 23, 24 and 27. "Stage 12 was where the hunter's camp was built," Kaminski explains. "On Stage 23, we built this big ravine that some characters are chased into by the T. Rexes, as well as a waterfall. Stage 24 was the T. Rex stage, where we had sets that were built around the animatronic dinosaurs. On Stage 27, we had a 'cliff' constructed for a big setpiece in which the scientists' mobile lab is pushed toward the edge by a pair of Rexes."
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