Arri-news 2011

Adapted from a novel by James Sallis, Drive is the story of a Hollywood stunt driver who offers out his skills to criminal gangs, only to find himself the intended target of a contract killing after a failed heist. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, the film won the Best Director Award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and was shot with ARRI ALEXA cameras by cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel, ASC. ARRI News: Did Nicolas give you strong guidance on a visual approach to the film? Newton Thomas Sigel: I really liked the uniqueness of Nicolas’ vision and his intention to approach this film a little differently from what you might expect. The main thing he told me was that he wanted to stick to a predominantly wide-angle palette and didn’t want to shoot handheld; he was after a more composed and formal look. He had previously always worked in the ultra low budget digital world, with the exception of one Super 16 film, so I think he was most comfortable shooting digital. I knew I was going to be doing a lot of low light filming, driving around at night on the streets and I wanted to be able to utilize as much of the existing urban lighting as possible. AN: Is that what led you to ALEXA? NTS: I had seen a couple of ALEXA test shots that were done for Men in Black 3 and I thought it looked intriguing; what seemed unique to me was the enormous dynamic range. At the time there were only a few ALEXAs around, but Denny Clairmont managed to get two cameras together for me. I went out on a limb a little bit because I had only seen some very preliminary tests, but it was great; the camera delivered all that I expected and more, with amazing dynamic range and a remarkable ability to see into shadows. ALEXA takes to the fast lane in Ryan Gosling’s new action drama DRIVE Newton Thomas Sigel, ASC, prepares to shoot a scene 14 ARRI NEWS