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To simulate the eclipse, Semler and his crew created large-scale negative fill by suspending a 60'x40' solid above the set from a 200' crane and positioning two 20'x20' side panels on Condors “to take ambient light off the actors.” Sunlight was created by a Musco light, and the eclipse was simulated by a motorized rig that slid a 12'x12' solid across the Musco. The effect was heightened by “four of us riding iris on four cameras as the sun went out and then came back again,” says Semler. Jaguar Paw’s escape sets off the lengthy chase sequence that Semler sums up as “a mix of all the film tools possible, including Spydercam, Cablecam, Steadicam [operated by Andrew Rowlands from a fast-moving ATV], HydroFlex underwater camera housings, 435s, 2-Cs, and even 16mm handheld. At one point, Jaguar Paw runs toward camera with a jaguar right on his ass. That was a real jaguar on a cable, with the stunt guy’s hands on the brake in case the animal got too close. That’s what we call motivation for the actor!” Stunt coordinator/2nd-unit director Mick Rogers rigged a Cablecam between trees with a Libra Head, yielding fast and fluid moves over a 100-yard stretch. The actors could be followed or led by the camera without damaging “the greens” below. To get frenetic POV shots, the filmmakers sometimes used a tiny 16mm Ikonoskop A-Cam with 100' loads, with the fittest operator (usually camera assistant Chad Rivetti) running alongside the warriors. Occasionally the actors would “hold it in their hand and squirt it around,” says Semler. The image quality was rough, but “we got fantastic shots we couldn’t have gotten any other way.” Some edge fogging resulted from the actors squeezing the film magazine too tightly and causing light leaks, but this wasn’t noticed until the filmmakers received their film dailies from Los Angeles one week later. “The frantic feel of fast-moving cameras was heightened by the motion blur that resulted from the 360-degree shutter on the Genesis during fast panning or tracking. It’s like when you shoot a still photo of a motorcycle at a slow shutter speed and pan with the bike, and the world around it is a streaky blur. That effect really helped the sequence.” Another spectacular sequence takes place at a waterfall, where Jaguar Paw, with the Holcanes in hot pursuit, plunges off the top into the raging waters 150' below. “I brought in my old friends from Spydercam, mounted the Genesis camera on the Libra Head, protected it in a HydroFlex soft housing with a spinner up front, and away we went,” says Semler. “The camera flew over the top, plummeted down the face of the falls into the mist, then pulled back and finally rose up to a long shot of the entire waterfall. [Visual-effects supervisor] Ted Rae used the same rig for the numerous plate shots required for the sequence.” Ironically, when it came time to shoot the chase in the rain at the end of the story, the weather was sunny and dry, so the grips flew light grid cloth over a large area. Semler used backlight wherever possible and had his gaffer, Jimmy Gilson, mount small HMI SoftSuns high in the trees. “Those lights were brilliant because they could be dimmed down as the ambient light faded,” notes Semler. The end of the movie involves a dramatic, semicircular camera move around Jaguar Paw as he bursts out of the jungle and onto a beach, and it’s still raining. “We had two hours to shoot this sequence while in the shadow of a cliff, and once again I used a series of small SoftSuns across a 180-degree arc, using forklifts and 50' arms. As the camera moved, the lights were cross-faded to keep the rain backlit — another great rigging job by [key grip] William ‘Bear’ Paul and his team. “I must also acknowledge the work of cinematographers Mario Cardona and Daryn Okada [ASC], who got great shots for us in Costa Rica and England, respectively,” he adds. Most scenes in Apocalypto were shot with three Genesis cameras, and Arri 435s were used for high-speed work. Tony Rivetti notes that Gibson quickly learned to take advantage of the Genesis’ longer recording time. “We recorded some very long takes, some as long as 40 minutes. We just kept doing the scene over and over again without breaking momentum, and if Mel felt we he had something, we’d shoot it again, tighter.” Semler agrees that the digital camera’s long cassette load was “a huge advantage. As soon as you cut camera on a set, everyone goes in — electricians, makeup people, prop people. But we were able to continue rolling, and that enabled Mel to keep the actors going while they were hot and get the performances he wanted. I’d say we saved an hour a day on reloads. When you have three cameras reloading at different times, and a Steadicam with 400-foot magazines, it all adds up.” During the DI at EFilm, Semler collaborated with colorist Steve Bowen for the seventh time. “Steve has a great eye, and I love to watch him apply the final brushstrokes to my work,” says the cinematographer. From the start, Semler designed the picture for a Vision Premier finish, and he marvels at the result. “People talk about 2K, 4K, 10 bits, 12 bits, megapixels, and so on, but my theory is: if it looks great, it looks great. The developments in film stocks have been superb, and Vision Premier is magnificent, a beautiful, gutsy stock. When I saw the print of Apocalypto, I was blown away.” Looking back at his time in Veracruz, Semler muses, “Everyone on the set knew we were doing something special, something that hadn’t been done before. It was like an independent film because it was one man’s vision; Mel knew what he was doing and what he wanted. No one worked harder on the set than he did. This was the toughest shoot physically that I’ve ever worked on, but also the most gratifying. In fact, it was the best filmmaking experience I’ve ever had.”
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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
1.85:1 HighDefinition Video, 35mm, 16mm Panavision Genesis; Arri 435, 2-C; Ikonoskop A-Cam Panavision Primo, Lightweight; Nikon lenses Kodak Vision2 500T 5218/7218, 50D 5201 Digital Intermediate Kodak Vision Premier 2393 |
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