How ARRI technology helped to create four visual worlds in Netflix's Robbing Mussolini
26/10/2022
Copyright Netflix
Cinematographer Gian Filippo Corticelli created distinctive aesthetic worlds in Robbing Mussolini
Interview with DP Gian Filippo Corticelli In which locations was Robbing Mussolini filmed?
In total, filming lasted twelve weeks. The first half of the movie was shot in and around Rome: at Italo Balbos office at the Ministry of Aeronautics in Castro Pretorio, at Snia, or in the Soratte bunker. In Largo Preneste, there is an old abandoned industrial structure that, with the addition of some rubble, looked like a war zone. Then the set moved to a castle in the Viterbo area and other locations around there, before we advanced to Trieste, where we shot a rather long part in a location called the Black Zone within the film. For this, we recreated a suburb of Milan in the old port of Trieste, where the scene of the theft of Mussolinis treasure, the heart of the film, takes place. The last scenes were captured in Tarvisio, where the final chase ends. Additional sequences were shot in Turin.
What guidance did you receive from the director on the visual style of the film?
Renato De Maria gave me precise recommendations, and he did the same for the costume and set design departments. He divided the film into four worlds, related to four situations and four characters. The first was Cabiria, a nightclub where the protagonist Yvonne works. The nightclub is frequented by fascists, Nazis and partisans: a diverse humanity that comes together in a place where one forgets the war for a while. For this world De Maria thought of the color red, evoking blood and the flow of life. Then there is the world of fascist protagonist Borsalino, Mussolini's right-hand man in the film. His is a cold world of ice and marble, marked by a somewhat aseptic white light and buildings with marble stairways. Then there is the world of Isola, the male protagonist, a world linked to the war and its scars, made of gutted buildings and rubble, in which the dominant colors are rust, brown, and green. Finally, there is the Black Zone, in which the central scene of the film, the robbery, takes place. It is a dark, shadowy world, a super-guarded zone, illuminated only by control lights that scan the darkness for possible raiders. It is an almost black-and-white situation, with less color and more light and shadow.
Copyright Netflix
Director Renato de Maria gave precise directions to the crew about the visual style of Robbing Mussolini
What specific references did you have in mind for Robbing Mussolini ?
I was mainly interested in having different chromatic characteristics mixing in the frame: mainly cold and warm light. With Renato we thought of Peaky Blinders, Inglourious Basterds, and 1917. The rust of the trenches seemed like a good reference to evoke the world of Isola and the war situation. We also wanted a bit of graphic novel light, so I deviated from my commandment, saying: Always make a real, natural light!
You used the ARRI ALEXA Mini LF. How did the choice come about?
We had three cameras: two ALEXA Mini LFs and one ALEXA XT as a third camera, with ARRI Signature Prime lenses. Of course, I have personal preferences on lenses and sensors, but I try to approach each film from scratch and figure out what system might be best for that individual film. Kind of like when you leave the house and you have to decide what shoes to put on: if you go jogging, you dont put on your boots. When I start a project, I like to do tests by comparing different sensors and lenses. Then, I discuss it with the director and find the right look. In this case, I tried other sensors, but ARRI seemed the most suitable for a period film set in 1945, as it has a certain roundness. Plus, wanting to use different chromatic characteristics within the frame, it seemed to me that the ARRI sensor better separated the warm color from the cold, while the others all tended to flatten a bit. Robbing Mussolini is a Netflix project, it had to be shot in native 4K. So I opted for wide format, also to experiment with the different depth of field compared to Super 35.
Copyright Netflix
Being a Netflix project, Robbing Mussolini was shot in native 4K
What added value did ARRI Signature Prime lenses bring?
While I have my favorite ARRI series, I approach each project by conducting trials to find the best look for the specific film. Again, I tested with three or four types of lenses, and everything was leading me in the direction of ARRI Signature Prime. Robbing Mussolini is a war film, so I could explore vintage, raw tones to reproduce the year 1945. The round sharpness of these lenses was perfect for the purpose, a mean but delicate sharpness in a look with rust and green tones. In addition, there are some ever-present elements in this film: smoke, water, and blur. Blur is a feature I really love in anamorphic lenses, where it emerges more magical than spherical. However, the ARRI Signature Prime lenses have a very fascinating blur with the aperture all open. They are spherical lenses with a short depth of field, especially in wide fields, which is a special feature of large formats. Last but not least, I really appreciated the lightness of these lenses. Working with Roni
LINK: | https://www.arri.com/news-en/arri-technology-in-netflix-s-robbing-muss... |
See more stories from arri |
Most recent headlines
09/12/2024
Dalet Named an IDC Innovator in Media and Entertainment
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced that it has been named an IDC Innovator in the IDC Innovators: ...
09/11/2024
Dalet Expands Leadership Team to Fuel Next Stage of Growth
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced three new members of its executive team. Tara Bryant joins as Chi...
04/10/2024
CPB Awards Grants to Public Media Stations for NextGen TV Warning System
WASHINGTON The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced today it has awarded 30 grants to date through the first round of the Next Generation Warning...
04/10/2024
NAB Show New York Exhibitor Insight: Black Box Corp.
TV TECH: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2024 NAB Show New York?...
04/10/2024
HPA Taps Creative Category Awards Nominees for 2024
The Hollywood Professional Association Monday tapped a host of creative teams from high-profile projects as Creative Category Nominees in the 2024 HPA Awards, w...
04/10/2024
FCC Names Former Verizon Exec as Enforcement Bureau's First CTO
WASHINGTON The FCC's Enforcement Bureau has appointed Andy Hendrickson as its new chief technology officer, tasked with providing strategic and technical ad...
04/10/2024
NAB Show New York Exhibitor Insight: Matrox Video
TV TECH: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2024 NAB Show New York?...
04/10/2024
Tech Emmys Add New Excellence in Production Technology' Category
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) is introducing a new category for the 75th Technology & Engineering Awards t...
03/10/2024
Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know 4 Latine Filmmakers With Shorts at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival
A still from Daniel Barosa's Boi de Conchas (The Shell Covered Ox), which ...
03/10/2024
Offline Backup Keeps the Music Going When Your Connection Goes Missing
Have you ever hopped on a plane only to realize you forgot to download your favorite playlist? Are you looking for ways to save data with your data plan while s...
03/10/2024
Hollywood Professional Association Unveils 2024 HPA Awards Creative Category Nominees
The HPA Awards Committee today announced the nominees for the Creative Categorie...
03/10/2024
2024 Vice Presidential Debate Draws Over 43 Million Viewers
NEW YORK - October 2, 2024 - An estimated 43.15 million viewers watched the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate across 15 networks on Tuesday, October 1, accordin...
03/10/2024
Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Supports Troy University's Art and Design Department
Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Supports Troy University's Art and Design Depart...
03/10/2024
Create With Maxon: Marble Run - Simulation and Rendering
Create With Maxon: Marble Run - Simulation and Rendering Brie Clayton October 3, 2024 0 Comments Wednesday, October 9th 4PM GMT / 6PM CET / 9AM Pacifi...
03/10/2024
Shattered Reflection in Resolve Fusion
Shattered Reflection in Resolve Fusion Simon Ubsdell October 3, 2024 0 Comments How to make a dramatic reflection scene in Fusion: render passes, shad...
03/10/2024
Student Spotlight: Rafael Heredia
Student Spotlight: Rafael Heredia The flamenco percussionist is channeling the vibrant music scenes of Japan and Spain in his musical explorations at Berklee,...
03/10/2024
Berklee and Can We Talk Celebrate Healing Power of the Arts in BIPOC Communities
Berklee and Can We Talk Celebrate Healing Power of the Arts in BIPOC Communities Arts Activation 2024: Harmony and Healing (October 19) unites artists, thoug...
03/10/2024
Nielsen: VP Debate Draws Just Over 43M Viewers
NEW YORK An estimated 43.15 million viewers watched the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate across 15 networks on Tuesday, according to Nielsen. The first and onl...
03/10/2024
Lawo unveils latest addition to HOME app family
Its feature set is closer to what a vision mixer provides than to what operators traditionally expect from a downstream keying function, said the company By Ma...
03/10/2024
QuickLink StudioPro Controller Revolutionizes Video Prod...
QuickLink, empowering creatives to exceed modern-day standards of production, is launching the new QuickLink StudioPro Controller control panel at NAB New York...
03/10/2024
TAG to Bring Award Winning Technologies that Maximize Dat...
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, is presenting its Realtime Media P...
03/10/2024
Telestream and Starin partner to deliver transformational...
Telestream and Starin, a value-add distributor of broadcast and pro AV products, are pleased to announce a distribution partnership to deliver Telestream's ...
03/10/2024
Vizrt expands TriCaster possibilities with new flagship a...
Vizrt, the leader in real-time graphics and live production solutions for content creators, today announces two new additions to the TriCaster family, TriCaster...
03/10/2024
Radio Clodia Celebrates 40th Anniversary with Upgrade to...
Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Radio Clodia has chosen a DHD SX2 audio mixing console and XC3 IP processing core in a major upgrade of the producti...
03/10/2024
Waymark Launches Single-Click AI-Powered Ad Generator
DETROIT Waymark, a developer of AI video-creation technology, is launching Variations, a new technology that generates video ads in multiple lengths and aspec...
03/10/2024
Vizrt expands TriCaster possibilities with new flagship and entry-level solutions, TriCaster Vizion and TriCaster Mini S
Vizrt expands TriCaster possibilities with new flagship and entry-level solution...
03/10/2024
VFX Industry Veteran Joseph Bell Releases the Visual Effects World Atlas
VFX Industry Veteran Joseph Bell Releases the Visual Effects World Atlas Brie Clayton October 2, 2024 0 Comments Long frustrated by the shortage of cl...
03/10/2024
The Surge in Women's Sports TV Viewing: A New Era for Advertising Opportunities
With the WNBA's semifinal playoff round underway, and the first gender-equal...
03/10/2024
Warner Bros. Discovery and AEW Ink Multi-Year Media Rights Renewal That Includes Streaming on Max
Warner Bros. Discovery and AEW Ink Multi-Year Media Rights Renewal That Includes...
03/10/2024
NEP Specialty Capture Improves Pylon Camera, Offers 4K Pan-and-Scan and Super-Slo-Mo
NEP Specialty Capture Improves Pylon Camera, Offers 4K Pan-and-Scan and Super-Sl...
03/10/2024
Diamond Sports Group Confirms Plans to Drop 11 of 12 MLB Teams, Indicates Potential for NBA and NHL Teams to Leave in 2025
Diamond Sports Group Confirms Plans to Drop 11 of 12 MLB Teams, Indicates Potent...
03/10/2024
Warner Bros. Discovery's Chris Brown on Building REMI Control Rooms at the Network's Techwood Headquarters
Warner Bros. Discovery's Chris Brown on Building REMI Control Rooms at the N...
03/10/2024
The Shadow Strays' Trailer Tease Dark Suspense and Intense Fight Choreography
Back to All News The Shadow Strays' Trailer Tease Dark Suspense and Intens...
03/10/2024
Uncover the Darkest Depths in Bangkok Breaking: Heaven and Hell': Thai Action Film Climbs Global Charts
Back to All News Uncover the Darkest Depths in Bangkok Breaking: Heaven and He...
03/10/2024
Arqiva awarded contract to complete Anglian Water's smart meter rollout
AMP8 award follows successful large-scale rollout to date 03 October, 2024 - Winchester, UK - A month after we announced that our smart water meter networks ac...
03/10/2024
Meet the MVPs: How Telegraph Media Group Prioritises Brand Safety for Clients
It was great to speak with Carly Radford, Strategic Digital Solutions Manager at Telegraph Media Group (TMG). Carly also acts as TMG's TAG Compliance Offic...
03/10/2024
Parents of Aoife Johnston speak about her avoidable death in RT Prime Time interview tonight
On RT Prime Time tonight, Aoife Johnston's mother and father, Carol and Jam...
03/10/2024
No Tricks, Just Games: GeForce NOW Thrills With 22 Games in October
The air is crisp, the pumpkins are waiting to be carved, and GFN Thursday is ready to deliver some gaming thrills. GeForce NOW is unleashing a monster mash of ...
03/10/2024
How AI and Accelerated Computing Drive Energy Efficiency
AI isn't just about building smarter machines. It's about building a greener world. From optimizing energy use to reducing emissions, artificial intell...
03/10/2024
It's The Late Late Show Country Music Special!
Daniel O'Donnell | Sandy Kelly| Garron Noone| Lisa McHugh| Derek Ryan Janet Devlin | Michael English | Margo | Mike Denver Jimmy Buckley| Cliona Hagan | P...
02/10/2024
Release Rundown: Your Monster, Union, and More Reach Wider Audiences This October
Aspiring actor Laura (Melissa Barrera) contends with a peculiar houseguest in wr...
02/10/2024
Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Nora Fingscheidt, the Writer-Director of The Outrun
By Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
02/10/2024
Nielsen launches deduplicated YouTube CTV campaign measurement in Japan
Tokyo, Japan September 17, 2024: Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, has today announced the expansion of YouTube Connected ...
02/10/2024
RKM Studios Produces Music Videos Using Blackmagic Cloud
RKM Studios Produces Music Videos Using Blackmagic Cloud Brie Clayton October 2, 2024 0 Comments Nick Phoenix's music videos shot with URSA Mini P...
02/10/2024
Watch DREIONs Electrifying Shining Star Blind Audition on The Voice
Watch DREIONs Electrifying Shining Star Blind Audition on The Voice The Berklee alum wowed the coaches with his rendition of the Earth Wind & Fire classic. B...
02/10/2024
GatesAir Announces Retirement of Joe Mack
GatesAir has announced the retirement of Joe Mack effective at the close of the business day Monday, Sept. 30. GatesAir issued the following statement:...
02/10/2024
Hollywood of the north' finally gets greenlight
The Littlewoods Building transformation will include two film studios as well as office and workshop spaces By Jenny Priestley Published: October 2, 2024 U...
02/10/2024
EVS completes MOG Technologies acquisition
The acquisition will deliver strategic benefits, such as expanded product and solution offerings, an increase in EVS R&D centres, and broader support services ...
02/10/2024
Survey finds worsening mental health in film and TV industry
Releasing the data, the Film and TV Charity also announced plans to develop pan-industry mental health standards ahead of a revamp of its Whole Picture Toolkit ...