Have questions for Robert Fraisse,
cinematographer of RONIN?Mr. Fraisse will be reviewing the questions he has received and will post more answers to selected questions here, so bookmark this page and come back to see what he has to say.
RESPONSES FEBRUARY 17, 1999:
Dear Mr. Fraisse,How do you prepare mentally for a demanding production schedule like the one on Ronin?
— Ricardo Montobon
Dear Ricardo,
During the 4 or 5 weeks of prep I talk with the director and the production designer. I scout the locations. Then I try to visualize each scene many times. Every day I think about the final look on the screen that I want to give to each location or scene. And each time I think about a scene, I improve something because its look becomes more and more clear in my mind.
By the time the prep's finished, the whole movie is a concept realized in my mind.
—Robert Fraisse
Dear Robert Fraisse,
I am a 20-year old student at Columbia College (Chicago) studying cinematography and I was just wondering what advice you could give to a person such as myself who would like to become a cinematographer making features? Can you advise of any major "dos" and "don'ts" or anything else that sticks out in your mind?
Sincerely,
Matt JohnsonDear Matt,
There is no definite rule. We are all different. Some cinematographers are very talented artistically and don't know anything about technique. Others understand technique very well, but are never inspired. And some are very good technicians and great artists.
I would advise you to improve your culture as much as you can, so you can have a good rapport with directors, producers, etc.; learn as much as you can technically — mainly optics and chemistry; go to museums and find an interest in all sorts of art; study paintings from all ages; and see a lot of movies — old ones and new ones. Watch them two, or even three, times and study the contrast and the light direction by observing the shadows. With a VCR you can freeze individual frames, so every time you find an interesting image try to determine why it's beautiful. After a while, you'll notice that it is always for the same reasons.
—Robert Fraisse
Dear Mr. Fraisse,
What types of filters and lights did you use to maintain the authentic ambiance of Paris?
Thank you for your time.
Yours sincerely,
AliDear Ali,
We didn't use any filters. The look on the screen is the authentic ambiance of Paris in the winter.
—Robert Fraisse
Dear Mr. Fraisse,
A general question: you say in the AC article on Ronin that you would normally use a slower stock for daylight exteriors. Does that not mean that the amount of grain will be different between indoor and outdoor scenes? When you use the fast stock on daylight exteriors, do you use ND filters in the camera to keep the f-stop small?
Enjoying your work!
Rasmus Heise
Copenhagen, Denmark
(You know, the little mermaid!)
Dear Rasmus,
The difference in grain between a slow stock that you would use for exteriors and a fast stock for interiors isn't really noticeable if you expose properly. However, if you use a fast stock for exteriors when the weather's bright because you are expecting a gray dull day, of course you should use ND filters to keep a reasonable aperture.
—Robert Fraisse
Dear Mr. Fraisse,You said in AC magazine that you rated the Vision 500T 5279 stock at 250 ASA, which you overexposed by one stop, then underdeveloped, reducing the contrast and desaturating the colors. Could you explain in more detail?
Regards,
RameshDear Ramesh,
By reducing the temperature or the length of the developing process, you reduce the contrast, the grain, and the saturation of color.
In France, if you overexpose one stop the lab will underdevelop accordingly.
You should shoot tests to understand where you are going. Set up a test by putting many dark and black items and clothes in the frame with a gray scale. You'll notice, by comparison with a standard-developed negative, that you can see details in the shadows much better and also that the highlights are less intense.
—Robert Fraisse