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CAMERON | PACE Group talks to the Oscar-winning cinematographer abouthis work on "Life of Pi" and the remarkable storytelling potential for3D.
“The Life of Pi,” the story of a young man adrift in a life raftwith a Bengal tiger, was no simple cinematic endeavor. Logisticalhurdles, among other challenges, led many to conclude that “Pi,”based on the 2001 novel by Yann Martel, might never make it to thescreen. Even director Ang Lee, who won his second Best Director Oscarfor the film, struggled with what he called an “impossible” film.But Lee eventually concluded that the richness and dimensionality of 3Dwould deepen the story and advance his unique vision.
Lee tapped Chilean-born Claudio Miranda as his cinematographer, inlarge part because of his work with 3D on "Tron: Legacy" and digital on"Benjamin Button.” A critical and financial triumph worldwide, "Pi"was nominated for 11 Oscars and on Sunday won four, including for BestDirector, Best Visual Effects, Best Original Score and, for Miranda,Best Achievement in Cinematography. In the last four years, all three ofthe CPG-enabled 3D films nominated for Best Cinematography have receivedthe prestigious award.
CAMERON | PACE Group was integral to “Pi's” 3D artistry frompre-production to screen, lending both expertise and patented technologyto the project. Miranda collaborated closely with CAMERON | PACE Group(CPG) Co-Founder and Co-Chairman Vince Pace on both "Tron" and "Pi.”The CPG team was on location in India and Taiwan, where a 1.7-milliongallon tank was constructed for water scenes. "Pi" earned CPGCertification, a seal of approval that ensures the highest quality ofstereoscopic production and 3D media experience possible. The only 3Dfilms to win Oscars for Best Cinematography have been CPG Certifiedfilms.
In the first of its “3D Showcase” series of interviews withleading creative and technical talent around the world, CPG spoke withMiranda at his home in Los Angeles prior to his Oscar win forcinematography on "Life of Pi.”
CPG: So have you rented your tux?
Claudio Miranda: Actually, I own one (laughs). I have to.
CPG: Tell us how you got the job on “Life of Pi”.
CM: Probably because of "Tron." And a little bit of "Benjamin Button."Ang (Director Ang Lee) had seen both films. "Button" is a good-lookingmovie full of digital effects, and "Tron" is a good-looking 3D movie. Ireally didn't imagine Ang being a 3D guy, since his other movies hadbeen shot on film and in scope (the same aspect ratio as CinemaScope).But he knew he had to shoot digital for 3D, so I think that's why I gotpicked for the job.
CPG: Was "Tron: Legacy" your first experience with 3D?
CM: Yes. There's always talk about doing the 3D in post productionusing conversion. There were so many real sets on the film that we feltwe should just do it in the camera.
CPG: You worked closely with CAMERON | PACE Group (CPG) on that film.How was that experience?
Just great. Vince (Pace) was there for me in the beginning inVancouver, along with some other guys from CPG. Vince gave me thebasics. Once he saw that I had the hang of it, I carried on.
CPG: We heard that before "Pi" you and Ang Lee educated yourselvesabout good 3D by studying bad 3D.
CM: Ang and I learned some important lessons from one particularly badmovie that I won't mention. For example, they used a really tightshutter angle that caused strobing (a staccato effect in the motion ofthe film). It's not a great feeling when you're watching it in thetheater. The tighter the shutter, the more crisp each frame. It's likewhen you're taking a still photograph and you want to capture your kidin mid-air without any blur so you use a very fast shutter speed. Butwith 3D, in-camera blur can be your friend because the blur betweenframes makes for a more fluid motion. It eliminates that kind of stutteron the screen and makes the 3D experience less hyperactive. With "Pi" wedefinitely preferred a faster frame rate and a longer shutter.
CPG: Clearly, the 3D in "Pi" is visually amazing. But it also plays anintegral part in the storytelling.
CM: Ang was very sensitive to not overdoing it. Any time characters orobjects started to look miniaturized as a result of the 3D, we veeredaway from that. But there are some cases where it can help with thestorytelling. There was one scene where we wanted the lifeboat to lookreally small so we did spread the eyes (the distance between the twolens centers) to cause a miniaturizing effect. It made the boat lookalmost like a little toy. This was in service of the storytelling, toreinforce the idea that Pi was alone, a speck on the ocean. We wanted toplay with the 3D to reinforce plot and character. When a character isbeing aggressive, you can get his head out in front, so it feels likehe's in your space. Ang loved the idea, too, that in the scene of thesinking ship, Pi is on the viewer's side of the screen. He's watchingthe ship as it sinks on the inside of the screen. So there's a bigvisual separation between this new world that's all to be his, and hispast, represented by the sinking ship. The 3D really reinforced thatpart of the story.
CPG: Did you learn anything on "Pi" about 3D that you didn't knowbefore?
CM: For me, "Tron" was really about making good 3D. I didn't reallyconnect it to the way the audience would respond to the story. So doingit from point of view of a story was really something new. I had tothink about how to set the 3D up and to stage it. Not just as far aspeople walking in and out of a room, but also how their placement wouldaffect the emotions of the audience. We also experimented quite a lotwith how different lenses might make the audience feel: Is it personal?Is it more intimate? Is it aggressive or passive? Those were new ideasthat we played around with.
CPG: James Cameron (co-founder and co-chairman of CPG) said that "Pi"has shown that 3D can be used for smaller, more intimate films. Do youagree?
CM: Ang feels like "Pi" was the first art house movie to be shot in 3D.We felt like we had to explore this new medium. We had to try to figureit out.
CPG: Did shooting "Pi" in 3D affect the decision of cameras you used?
CM: No. We used the Arri Alexa™. We tested with a bunch of cameras.At the time, it held water highlights the best. Cameras are alwaysimproving. There will always be a new test to see which one is best forwhat you need, every time you do a movie.
CPG: Why did you pick CPG for “Pi?”
CM: They get me everything I need. I knew I needed a really goodunderwater 3D rig. They know the Alexa that would be housed in the rig.I couldn't think of anyone else who could do that, so I didn't even testwith anyone else. I talked to Vince and said "I really need this camerarig; we need this thing built." So they did it and it was great. It wasmy first opportunity to shoot underwater in 3D.
CPG: You also had CPG experts on the set in Taiwan?
CM: We had a number of guys there from CPG, including stereographerswho offered advice on the 3D.
CPG: Did you notice any big changes in 3D technology between the timeyou shot "Tron" and "Pi?"
CM: Vince has shown me some of the newer rigs (smARTrigs ™) andthere's a huge improvement in those. They're simpler and easier to use.So even in the short time since we shot "Life of Pi," this equipment hascome a long way.
CPG: Did you consider post-production conversion for “Pi?”
CM: No. We had high hopes of keeping a lot of the ocean in the film. Ijust didn't see how you could cut up and convert water moving away fromthe camera or rolling toward you or sideways or capping. How do you chopthat up and separate that for the conversion process? It just wouldn'thave been the same. What I had seen of conversion didn't convince me. Ididn't see it happening for either "Pi" or "Tron."
CPG: Do you have a favorite 3D scene in “Pi?”
CM: I think the ship sinking was a good 3D moment. I loved the water ingeneral, how it looked. I did quite a lot of 3D testing for the waterscenes-- how it felt when the surface of the water is at the top thirdof the screen versus the bottom third. It's very interesting. If thewater level is halfway up the screen, audiences might have an emotionalreaction to that, almost like you're drowning. It's unsettling.
CPG: Do you think "Pi" would have been made without 3D?
CM: Ang really felt that the movie had to be made in 3D. For him itseemed like it was the only choice. Obviously, I've seen this movie inboth 3D and 2D. You know, you really do miss some things. The water hasthis flatter look to it in the 2D. It feels a lot different. With 3D youjust have a lot more texture, which was very important in "Pi."
Ang loves 3D. So do I. He will always try to shoot in 3D. He was veryexcited about the results. He's always talking about creating anotherlanguage for film, another way to tell the story. So in this impossiblestory to tell, he felt like 3D would give it another dimension. We stillfeel like there's so much more to learn from 3D, that there are so manyplaces we can go where we haven't gone.