Capturing comedy and tragedy for Martin McDonagh
11/01/2018
Author:
ContributorPublish date:
Jan 11, 2018Social count:
0
Kevin H Martin speaks to cinematographer Ben Davis about the Golden Globe-winning Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
0
SHARES
Grief and rage can find strange outlets. Nearly a year after her daughter's murder, Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) expresses her outrage by buying up advertising space on three adjacent roadside billboards in Ebbing, Missouri. She arranges for a series of simple yet bold declarations to be displayed on each, which take Ebbing's police force to task for not having apprehended the killer.
Three Billboards is the newest feature from writer/director Martin McDonagh. Long known for his acclaimed work as a playwright, McDonagh's twisted yet captivating characters and scenarios have also made for compelling film viewing, starting with his directorial debut Six Shooter, which earned an Academy Award in 2006 for Best Live-Action Short Film, and followed by In Bruges (shot by Eigil Bryld) and Seven Psychopaths.
For the latter, the director selected director of photography Ben Davis, BSC, who reteamed with McDonagh for Three Billboards. Davis has amassed a wide variety of credits, ranging from Mathew Vaughn films (beginning with Layer Cake) to a trio of Marvel features (the first instalment of Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Doctor Strange).
Martin writes quickly, remarks the cinematographer, and for all I know he may have done this in just a matter of weeks, but he had been planning it for quite some time. I did know he wanted to write something for Frances [McDormand], but when the script arrived, it was a bit of a revelation. I mean, it's always like a gift when Martin writes something new, but this really impressed me. There are things I don't understand about his thought processes, but I actually like that as it can force me to discard preconceptions and look at things fresh.
One preconception the cinematographer put aside came with the selection of a shooting location. It was always planned to be done entirely on location, but the specifics of that location were very much in Martin's head, Davis continues. He scoured the United States, going everywhere trying to find something matching his vision - with the proximity of billboards to the house and how the police station and town are positioned. These were all very specifically laid out [in his mind]. I didn't think he'd find it all in one location, but in Sylva, North Carolina, he succeeded. I was actually surprised by the location ultimately selected, having imagined a drier kind of Paris, Texas landscape rather than this green smoky feel.
Both director and DP have a history of preferring 35mm film origination, but in this regard, this feature was a departure for them. We love that medium, but I took Martin down the digital route, and he agreed with that approach because ultimately he is most concerned with the performances. Having a good, pure image on the monitor made a huge impact on him; it was far superior to what you'd get with a video tap on a film camera, and it let him evaluate all the visual nuances to make sure they came through. The choice of camera was a more straightforward call.
Personally, I like the look [ARRI] Alexa gives me, as well as how the camera is built and functions, says Davis. My philosophy with shooting digital is to break down the image in some fashion or other, and older generation anamorphics like our Panavision C- and E-series lenses [courtesy of Panavision Woodland Hills] really help with that. We agreed about shooting in 2.35, since that let us frame for our many scenes with multiple characters; scope [aspect ratio] also lets you keep one character in close-up while retaining another mid-ground element.
During prep, the art department developed the graphic look for the billboards. I saw renditions of the billboards in various colours and typefaces, and again I was really surprised by Martin's final selections, Davis admits. Black writing against red had me going, Wow! That's a real statement.' It was quite a departure from the expectation of a typical white background, but after they were built and set in the landscape on the side of that road, they really popped against the greenery.
The police station was modified from an existing thrift shop. In most cases, art direction and design were dictated more by location than the other way around; we liked what we found, then just tried to add nuance to that found look.
Davis finds that shooting on location on a low-budget film requires a lot of coordination with the 1st AD. The other necessity is forethought. I would make a point of taking time to sit at those locations during prep, spending a day or so to work up a good plan about time of day for the various scenes. There was one very emotional scene for Frances that made me pull Martin aside and tell him I thought it needed to happen at dusk rather than any other time of day. Martin might justifiably be wary of that because capturing the performance in a limited period of time can be scary for any director, but we finally decided that if we didn't get it done in time, then we'd come back. The scene was just that important. I honestly think it benefitted from the intense focus everyone brought. If we'd had a full day to get that, it might not have worked as well.
Production's lighting requirements were carried in a single truck. I liked the flexibility to be mobile and respond quickly, so we relied a lot on small HMI and tungsten packages, says Davis. I don't think we used 18Ks at all, and even for big night scenes I only used the 4x4 LED panels. For most in
LINK: | https://www.tvbeurope.com/features/capturing-comedy-and-tragedy-for-ma... |
See more stories from tvb |
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with URSA Broadcast G2
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
19/04/2024
Comcast Launches NOW
PHILADELPHIA As government subsidies for broadband services come to an end, Comcast has launched NOW, a new product portfolio of lower-cost Internet, mobile and...
19/04/2024
DirecTV Stream Adds CW Affiliates
DirecTV Stream has added more local CW stations for its streaming customers in Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Hartford-New Haven Conn., Phoenix, San ...
19/04/2024
MediaCo Acquires Estrella Media's Content and Digital Operations
NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES MediaCo Holding Inc. has announced that it has acquired all of Estrella Media's network, content, digital, and commercial operations....
19/04/2024
Adobe Launches New Adobe Express Mobile App with Firefly AI
SAN JOSE, Calif. Adobe has announced that the all-new Adobe Express mobile app is available to all users, bringing features powered by Adobe Firefly generative ...
19/04/2024
Netflix Adds 9.3M Subs in Q1
LOS GATOS, Calif. Netflix reported another blockbuster quarter by adding 9.33 million new subscribers in Q1, 2024 as global paid memberships hit 269.6 million, ...
19/04/2024
The Current State of the Industry and the Future Impact of AI
The Current State of the Industry and the Future Impact of AI Hillary Lewis April 18, 2024 0 Comments The Entertainment Industry: How did we get here ...
19/04/2024
After Effects Tutorial Text Blur Reveal
After Effects Tutorial Text Blur Reveal Andy Ford April 18, 2024 0 Comments Here's a way to do a quick blur reveal for your text layer. Start by...
19/04/2024
Hollyland Mars M1 Enhanced Wireless Transmitter / Receiver
Hollyland Mars M1 Enhanced Wireless Transmitter / Receiver Colin Smith April 18, 2024 0 Comments This tutorial shows the new wireless transmitter rece...
19/04/2024
Resolve Fusion: Writing Expressions with Lua
Resolve Fusion: Writing Expressions with Lua Simon Ubsdell April 18, 2024 0 Comments The answer to the very frequently-asked question: what is the pro...
19/04/2024
B+C,' Next TV' Announce Winners of Best of Show Awards at NAB Show
B+C and Next TV have announced the winners of Best of Show Awards for the 2024 NAB Show. The awards were judged by a panel of industry experts at the convention...
19/04/2024
Cate Blanchett Narrates Nature Series on Netflix
Cate Blanchett narrates the Netflix series Our Living World, which premieres April 17. The four-part series looks at the extraordinary creatures around the glob...
19/04/2024
For All Mankind' Spinoff Is in the Works at Apple TV Plus
Apple TV Plus has a spinoff of For All Mankind in the works. It is called Star City and details the cosmonauts, engineers and intelligence officers working behi...
19/04/2024
Jacquie Walker, Longtime Buffalo Anchor, Stepping Down From Desk
Jacquie Walker, longtime anchor at WIVB Buffalo, will step down from the anchor desk. She has spent over 40 years at WIVB and her last day as an anchor is May 2...
19/04/2024
Bob Hearts Abishola' To Make Syndicated Debut This Fall
Bob Hearts Abishola will premiere in broadcast syndication this fall on such station groups as Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair, Hearst Television, Tegna, E.W. Scr...
19/04/2024
Live With Kelly and Mark' Celebrates One-Year Anniversary
Live With Kelly and Mark remains TV's top entertainment talk show as Kelly Ripa and her co-host and husband Mark Consuelo celebrate their one-year anniversa...
19/04/2024
Sean McLaughlin Named VP of News at Graham Media Group
Sean McLaughlin has been named VP of news for Graham Media Group. He had been senior VP of local news at E.W. Scripps. He will will be responsible for developi...
19/04/2024
Netflix Shares First Peek at Long-Awaited One Hundred Years of Solitude'
Netflix has shared the first trailer from One Hundred Years of Solitude, a series based on the esteemed novel by Gabriel Garc a M rquez. The streamer is on boar...
18/04/2024
First Look: Tom Durant Pritchard joins the cast of crime drama Miss Scarlet for its fifth series
Tom Durant Pritchard as Alexander Blake Thursday 18 April 2024 Tom Durant Prit...
18/04/2024
Alone Australia goes from strength to strength
Alone Australia goes from strength to strength 18 April, 2024 Media releases The program again delivers for SBS with significant uplifts in digital BVOD vi...
18/04/2024
L3Harris to Expand and Modernize Solid Rocket Motor Manufacturing in Virginia
ORANGE COUNTY, Va., April 18, 2024 - L3Harris Technologies [NYSE:LHX] has entered into an agreement with Orange County, Virginia, to fund the expansion and mode...
18/04/2024
Achieving Air Dominance by Advancing Imaging & Designating EO/IR Capabilities
L3Harris Sky Warden multi-mission aircraft, equipped with the WESCAM MX-15 and WESCAM MX-20 EO/IR sensor systems, was selected for USSOCOMs Armed Overwatch prog...
18/04/2024
US Space Force Extends Partnership with L3Harris to Enhance Space Domain Awareness
MELBOURNE, Fla., April 18, 2024 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) has received ...
18/04/2024
2024 NAB Show Attendance Topped 61,000
LAS VEGAS The National Association of Broadcasters is reporting that more than 61,000 people attended the 2024 NAB Show, where artificial intelligence and the c...
18/04/2024
How today's storage and memory decisions underpin future creativity
Ann Keefe, Regional Director - UK and Ireland at Kingston Technology, explains how storage and memory decisions made now are underpinning creativity in the futu...
18/04/2024
Krisha Marcano Announced as Dean of Theater for Boston Conservatory at Berklee
Krisha Marcano Announced as Dean of Theater for Boston Conservatory at Berklee The theater educator, choreographer, and performer will join Boston Conservator...
18/04/2024
Escape Studios obtains UKVI licence to support international students
The newly acquired UKVI licence enables Escape Studios to recruit and retain international students By Matthew Corrigan Published: April 18, 2024 The newl...
18/04/2024
NAB 2024 popular among first time visitors
Attendees from more than 163 countries were present, including 34 delegation buying groups from around the world By Matthew Corrigan Published: April 18, 202...
18/04/2024
Dyn Media and NEP Germany pioneer new frontier in remote...
In August 2023, Dyn Media launched as a new broadcaster in European sports, aimed at giving sports beyond football the exposure and viewership they deserve. The...
18/04/2024
Hitomi partners with ES Broadcast Hire for US rentals
Hitomi Broadcast, market leader in audio/video alignment and latency tools based in the UK, has signed a partnership deal with global broadcast rental specialis...
18/04/2024
Screen Australia and Dynamic Television announce new Scripted Initiative
18 04 2024 - Media release Screen Australia and Dynamic Television announce new Scripted Initiative Savage River Screen Australia and Los Angeles-based telev...
18/04/2024
Vislink's DragonFly V - The Company's Smallest-Ever Transmitter Debuted at NAB 2024
Vislink's DragonFly V - The Company's Smallest-Ever Transmitter Debuted ...
18/04/2024
MediaSilo to Offer Camera to Cloud with Atomos
MediaSilo to Offer Camera to Cloud with Atomos Brie Clayton April 17, 2024 0 Comments Integration between MediaSilo and Atomos Cloud Studio unlocking ...
18/04/2024
MultiDyne Updates its SilverBULLET Series to Serve More Fiber-Optic Links
MultiDyne Updates its SilverBULLET Series to Serve More Fiber-Optic Links Brie Clayton April 17, 2024 0 Comments MultiDyne Fiber Optic Solutions intro...
18/04/2024
Cinedeck Partners with Paramount to Revolutionize Content Delivery Process
Cinedeck Partners with Paramount to Revolutionize Content Delivery Process Brie Clayton April 17, 2024 0 Comments Cinedeck, a pioneer in integrated de...
18/04/2024
Unreal for video adding rocks and foliage
Unreal for video adding rocks and foliage Graham Quince April 17, 2024 0 Comments Welcome to my series on learning Unreal Engine for After Effects u...
18/04/2024
Best Budget Beginner-Friendly 4k Drone
Best Budget Beginner-Friendly 4k Drone Sean Alami April 17, 2024 0 Comments Potensic Atom 4k 3 axis Gimbal Drone, ideal drone for beginners. Some con...
18/04/2024
Race or Just Have Fun at Rocky Mount Mills for a Good Cause, Not Your Run of the Mill 5K
Rocky Mount Mills will be overflowing with runners, families and friends, all fo...
18/04/2024
Berklee's Yoon-Ji Lee Receives Guggenheim Fellowship
Berklee's Yoon-Ji Lee Receives Guggenheim Fellowship Lee, an assistant professor of composition, creates music based on unconventional and nonlinear struc...
18/04/2024
Ben Sherwood, Former ABC President, Named CEO at The Daily Beast
Ben Sherwood, former president of Disney ABC Television Group, has been named CEO and publisher at The Daily Beast. Joanna Coles, former chief content officer a...
18/04/2024
Tonight on Skeem Saam: Lehasa puts his plan to eliminate Khwezi in motion
Tonight on Skeem Saam: Lehasa puts his plan to eliminate Khwezi in motionDon't miss Thursday, 18 April's riveting episode of South African soapie Skeem ...
18/04/2024
Wide Open: NVIDIA Accelerates Inference on Meta Llama 3
NVIDIA today announced optimizations across all its platforms to accelerate Meta Llama 3, the latest generation of the large language model (LLM). The open mod...
18/04/2024
Ping Pong for the Masses: Bringing an Old Sport to a Brand New Audience With World Table Tennis
Ping pong for the masses: Bringing an old sport to a brand new audience with Wor...
18/04/2024
Fanatical Fans: IMG on Bringing the World of Table Tennis to a New Global Audience for WTT
Fanatical fans: IMG on bringing the world of table tennis to a new global audien...
18/04/2024
Netflix Follows Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in New Series
Back to All News Netflix Follows Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in New SeriesPlay Video Play Video Entertainment 18 April 2024 GlobalUnited States Link copie...
18/04/2024
Chinese-Language Revenge Thriller Series The Resurrected' Marks International Film Stars Shu Qi and Sinje Lee's Debut on Netflix
Back to All News Chinese-Language Revenge Thriller Series The Resurrected'...
18/04/2024
'The Witcher' Season 4 Begins Production in the UK and Netflix Announces Fifth and Final Season
Back to All News The Witcher Season 4 Begins Production in the UK and Netflix A...
18/04/2024
2024-04-18
Apple has reduced its overall greenhouse gas emissions by more than 55 percent since 2015, the company shared today in its 2024 Environmental Progress Report. T...