Colored by Asa Shoul

Just two weeks before principal photography started, I was asked by DoP Rob Hardy to come to Pinewood and compare the F65 and Alexa camera tests. I had previously worked with Rob on The Invisible Woman. We matched the cameras within a couple of minutes but the F65 and also F55 that Rob used gave a greater tonal range than the Alexa, and once we had resized the image to accommodate the 2x anamorphic lenses that Rob wanted to use, we all felt the F65 was the way to go.

I added a low-pivot bite to the blacks just to cut through the soft smoke on some scenes

- Asa Shoul -

It's great to be on a project before it starts filming, and as well as camera testing and look development. I read the script and visited the set, giving my input on set colours and actors' skin tones. Rob gave me reference images from photographers such as Saul Leiter and we talked about a soft contrast with a painterly feel rather than having strong blacks. One of the main challenges was creating a natural look to the film that wouldn't date. We talked about how easy it would be to go for a high contrast "slick Transformers" look that might work for a year but would look very "2015" in a few years. 

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