Arri-news 2011

When Caleb Deschanel, ASC, got the call to work on the indie feature Killer Joe , he knew it would be a challenging shoot. The recipient of last year's ASC Lifetime Achievement Award and five-time Oscar nominee had never shot any feature on a schedule as tight as 26 days; it would also be his first digital movie. However, Deschanel also knew that veteran director William Friedkin, with whom he had collaborated on The Hunted (2003), was capable of working both quickly and decisively. "What really made it work," says the cinematographer, "was Billy being so well prepared. He was so opinionated, decisive, and knowledgeable about what he was doing; he didn’t dwell on things. Sometimes we'd do one take and he'd want to quickly move on. The assistants would ask, 'Aren't we going to do another one?' and he'd just say, 'We got it. It's great! Why do we need to do it again?' That was an interesting way for me to work and the actors really benefited from the energy his approach brought to the set." It was built into the production that Killer Joe had to be shot digitally, but initially producers encouraged the use of a different camera than the ARRI ALEXA that Deschanel would ultimately use. Deschanel borrowed an ALEXA from his friend, cinematographer Bill Bennett, ASC, and shot some tests. "I was really impressed by what it could do, especially the details you could get in low light situations,” he says. “I showed Billy the tests and he was blown away." Deschanel is quick to point out that while the ALEXA delivered what he was hoping for on Killer Joe , he would not call its sensor a "replacement" for the motion picture film that he has used throughout an illustrious career that has so far spanned four decades. "We're at this transitional period," he says. "Regrettably, film will disappear, but at a time when film stocks are the best they've ever been - the fastest; the finest grain structure; the greatest resolution. They're wonderful and there are still certain projects I would only want to shoot on film." KILLER JOE Caleb Deschanel, ASC, on shooting William Friedkin’s new thriller with ALEXA 20 ARRI NEWS