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“少年派”获得奥斯卡奖专稿之——专访第85届奥斯卡最佳摄影奖获得者、《少年派的奇幻漂流》主摄影师克劳迪亚斯.米兰达
天津北方网讯:卡梅隆-佩斯集团访谈奥斯卡最佳摄影师获得者,谈论在3D电影《少年派》中的经历。
《少年派》,一个讲述少年与孟加拉虎在海上漂流故事的电影,不只是一部简单的电影制作。这是部改编自Yann Martel 2001年小说,“Pi”因重重困难,几乎不能与观众见面。即使作为已经第二次赢得奥斯卡奖的李安导演亦称之为“不可能完成的电影”。但最终李安导演称3D的独特效果与立体感丰富了故事性并为整个故事提供了奇幻的视角。
李安导演之所以选择智利出生的Claudio Miranda作为他本片的摄影师,一大部分原因是因为他在电影《创战纪》与《返老还童》出色的3D经验。《少年派》被提名11项奖项并在周日获得4项:最佳导演奖,最佳视觉效果奖,最佳原创音乐奖以及Miranda的最高成就,最佳摄影奖。过去四年中,全部经由CPG完成的3D影片都被提名最佳摄影奖并最终获得殊荣。
卡梅隆佩斯集团参与了《少年派》3D制作从前期到后期调试等全部阶段,将全部专业人士与专利技术融入该影片。 Miranda与CPG创始人/联合主席Vince Pace在《创战纪》和《少年派》都有过紧密的合作。CPG团队曾随摄制组到过印度和台湾,并帮助摄制组为水面场景设置超过170万加仑的水缸。《少年派》获得CPG公司的3D认可并被授予了CPG认证,拥有了CPG技术标准和CPG向光的3D产品制作方法,保证了最高质量的技术效果与3D体验。奥斯卡史上经过CPG认证的3D电影全部获得了最佳摄影奖。
在与一连串世界顶尖一流的创意与技术大师们的交流后,CPG与Miranda在他洛杉矶家中谈论了关于《少年派》获奖的感想。
CPG问:你是自己租用的礼服么?
克劳迪亚斯.米兰达答:事实上,我自已就有一套(大笑)。这个是我必备的物品。
CPG问:请告诉我们您是如何得到在电影《少年派》中的工作的?
克劳迪亚斯.米兰达答:我想是因为李安导演看了《创战纪》和《返老还童》这两部片子中我的表现。在《返老还童》中,整个片子的数字特效和《创战纪》的完美的3D效果给了他很大启示。我确实没有想到李安导演会成为使用3D技术制作电影的导演。自从他其它的电影被广泛的传播并得到世人的认可和尊敬,并且他在后来的电影事业中数字影像运用比例的加大。也驱使着他向数字和3D电影领域的进军。因此,这也是他看中我并让我加入到《少年派》这部影片中来的原因。
CPG问:《创战纪》是您的第一部3D电影么?
克劳迪亚斯.米兰达答:是的。我们经常会讨论运用后期技术来转成3D影片效果。但是我们更需要一种真正真实的3D视觉效果,所以我们需要用真实的,直接的方式——3D摄影设备来达到这样的效果。
CPG问:这部电影是您最近距离和卡梅隆-佩斯集团合作的电影。您对这次合作有什么感触?
克劳迪亚斯.米兰达答:真的是太美好的经历了。佩斯和我一开始在范库弗峰(北美洲)相见,还见了其它的来自CPG的朋友。佩斯给我看了故事分镜头脚本。当我看到所有的场面,我就感到这是我一直期待的故事,一直梦想有机会去拍的电影。
CPG问:我们听说,在拍摄《少年派》之前,你和李安导演通过领略了3D烂片才知道什么是3D好片的。
克劳迪亚斯.米兰达答:李安和我从一部非常烂的3D电影中学到了很多。比如,他们使用非常快的快门速度导致频闪(画面不连贯)。在影院中看这样的电影是非常不舒服的。快门速率越快,每一帧越清晰。就像你想拍摄抛向空中的孩子一样,快门越快,越没有拖影。但是拖影对于3D来说也会是必要的,适当的拖影使3D画面之间更佳顺畅,它解决了画面断断续续的感觉。对于《少年派》,我们选择了更快的画面速率和较长的快门时间。
CPG问:很明显,《少年派》的3D视觉效果是非常棒的。但同时它为叙事性起到了很重要的作用。
克劳迪亚斯.米兰达答:李安导演对此方面非常敏感。因为3D效果会使人物或物体变小,如果遇到此类现象我们会马上调整。但是有些时候它也会帮助我们更好地叙事。比如有几个场景我们需要让救生船看起来非常小,我们就会增加两个镜头之间的距离来使小船变得更小,以此来强调主人公在茫茫大海上的孤立无援。我们希望运用3D技术对整个画面和角色进行调整。当角色占主导地位时,我们可以突出角色的3D效果,这样就让观众感觉到他们与电影里的人物是在一个空间里。在沉船那一幕戏中,我们也运用了这种技术,使得人物站在屏幕外面,与观众一起眼看他们的船慢慢沉入海底。沉船的情节把他的过去与眼前全新的世界彻底分开了。这就是在用3D来讲故事。
CPG问:对于3D知识,你从《少年派》学到了哪些以前你不知道的?
克劳迪亚斯.米兰达答:对于我来讲,《创战纪》只是拍了一部好的3D电影。但那时我还没能真正运用3D把观众和电影融为一体,基于这一点,我觉得一切都是新鲜的,这需要我重新考量并把3D提升一个层次。3D不仅仅是简单地让人物从一个房间里出来进去,而是需要考虑他们的位置将直接影响观众的情绪。我们还体会到,不同的镜头会带给观众不同的感受:或让人如临其境,或让人与之同行,与电影中的人物一起感知一起思考,这些是我们未来研究的新想法。
CPG问:詹姆斯.卡梅隆(CPG联合创始人和联合主席)说:《少年派》会使3D技术更加流行并走向大众,3D不光能走进全球上映的大电影,也能走进个人欣赏的小电影,你同意这样的看法么?
克劳迪亚斯.米兰达答:李安导演觉得《少年派》是第一个全室内拍摄的3D电影,我们共同在尝试着这次全新的拍摄体验。也在共同的解决并要把这个全新的方式展现出来。
CPG问:在《少年派》拍摄3D是否影响您对摄影机的选择?
克劳迪亚斯.米兰达答:不是。我们试过很多种相机。最后选择了ArriAlexa™。它能让水面拍摄的效果更精彩。相机一直在更新,每次拍一部电影的时候都要重新去感觉哪款相机是最能表现你想要的视觉效果。
CPG问:你为什么为《少年派》选择CPG?
克劳迪亚斯.米兰达答:他们有着我所需要的所有的技术和设备。我知道我需要一个拥有非常专业的水下3D拍摄技术的团队,那就是CPG。他们知道如何架设Alexa相机。我不知道还有谁能像CPG一样可以做得这么完美。所以我不用再想着和其它人进行尝试。我曾跟佩斯说过:我很需要CPG这样的技术和设备。所以他们提供了我所需要的一切。这使得我有机会第一次这么成功的进行水下拍摄。
CPG问:在中国台湾拍摄的时候,也是有CPG的专家来进行现场的设备调试么?
克劳迪亚斯.米兰达答:我们有一批专业的技术专家来自CPG。包括立体视效调试专家。
CPG问:在您拍摄《创战纪》是所用的3D技术和您在《少年派》中使用的3D技术,您能说说它们之间在3D技术上什么大的不同么?
克劳迪亚斯.米兰达答:文思.佩斯向我展示了一系列的全新技术的3D拍摄组架(smart rig)。我觉得这些设备已经有了巨大的改进和变革。它们更便于使用和操作。即使在《少年派》中这么段的拍摄期间中。这些先进的设备却提供了全面和完善的服务。
CPG问:有没有考虑过用后期2D转制3D?
克劳迪亚斯.米兰达答:没有。整部电影需要用到很多海洋的镜头。我不知道如何能够剪切,让海水流向你,浪花扑向你等效果。怎么做都不会达到想要的效果,我看过的所有2D转3D的效果不能够说服我。我认为在《少年派》和《创战纪》都不可以有这样的效果。
CPG问:《少年派》中你最爱的3D场面?
克劳迪亚斯.米兰达答:沉船是一个非常好的3D场景。总的来说我最爱水的效果。我测试过很多3D水的场景。非常有趣的是,当水在荧幕上1/3和下1/3时的感受是完全不同的,当水超过荧幕一半时,观众就会有逼真的被淹没的感觉。
CPG问:你认为《少年派》如果不做3D,会是怎样?
克劳迪亚斯.米兰达答:李安导演真的认为这部电影就是为3D而生的,他认为这是唯一的选择。我分别看过2个版本的《少年派》,2D版看起来就是觉得少些东西,水看起来很平,感觉非常不同。 3D版看起来就 非常有深度了,这对于《少年派》来说是很重要的。
李安喜欢3D。我也非常喜欢。他以后也会一直尝试用3D拍摄。他非常满意现在这样的结果,他一直说想用另外一种语言来表达电影,另外一种形式来讲述故事。他觉得在这个不可能讲的故事里,3D帮助他达到了新的领域。我们仍然认为3D还有很多东西需要学习,还有很多领域我们没有探索到。
Q&A: Academy Award Winner Claudio Miranda on Filming the 'Impossible' Film
CAMERON | PACE Group talks to the Oscar-winning cinematographer about his work on "Life of Pi" and the remarkable storytelling potential for 3D.
“The Life of Pi,” the story of a young man adrift in a life raft with a Bengal tiger, was no simple cinematic endeavor. Logistical hurdles, among other challenges, led many to conclude that “Pi,” based on the 2001 novel by Yann Martel, might never make it to the screen. Even director Ang Lee, who won his second Best Director Oscar for the film, struggled with what he called an “impossible” film. But Lee eventually concluded that the richness and dimensionality of 3D would deepen the story and advance his unique vision.
Lee tapped Chilean-born Claudio Miranda as his cinematographer, in large part because of his work with 3D on "Tron: Legacy" and digital on "Benjamin Button.” A critical and financial triumph worldwide, "Pi" was nominated for 11 Oscars and on Sunday won four, including for Best Director, Best Visual Effects, Best Original Score and, for Miranda, Best Achievement in Cinematography. In the last four years, all three of the CPG-enabled 3D films nominated for Best Cinematography have received the prestigious award.
CAMERON | PACE Group was integral to “Pi's” 3D artistry from pre-production to screen, lending both expertise and patented technology to the project. Miranda collaborated closely with CAMERON | PACE Group (CPG) Co-Founder and Co-Chairman Vince Pace on both "Tron" and "Pi.” The CPG team was on location in India and Taiwan, where a 1.7-million gallon tank was constructed for water scenes. "Pi" earned CPG Certification, a seal of approval that ensures the highest quality of stereoscopic production and 3D media experience possible. The only 3D films to win Oscars for Best Cinematography have been CPG Certified films.
In the first of its “3D Showcase” series of interviews with leading creative and technical talent around the world, CPG spoke with Miranda at his home in Los Angeles prior to his Oscar win for cinematography on "Life of Pi.”
CPG: So have you rented your tux?
Claudio Miranda: Actually, I own one (laughs). I have to.
CPG: Tell us how you got the job on “Life of Pi”.
CM: Probably because of "Tron." And a little bit of "Benjamin Button." Ang (Director Ang Lee) had seen both films. "Button" is a good-looking movie full of digital effects, and "Tron" is a good-looking 3D movie. I really didn't imagine Ang being a 3D guy, since his other movies had been shot on film and in scope (the same aspect ratio as CinemaScope). But he knew he had to shoot digital for 3D, so I think that's why I got picked for the job.
CPG: Was "Tron: Legacy" your first experience with 3D?
CM: Yes. There's always talk about doing the 3D in post production using conversion. There were so many real sets on the film that we felt we should just do it in the camera.
CPG: You worked closely with CAMERON | PACE Group (CPG) on that film. How was that experience?Just great. Vince (Pace) was there for me in the beginning in Vancouver, along with some other guys from CPG. Vince gave me the basics. Once he saw that I had the hang of it, I carried on.
CPG: We heard that before "Pi" you and Ang Lee educated yourselves about good 3D by studying bad 3D.
CM: Ang and I learned some important lessons from one particularly bad movie that I won't mention. For example, they used a really tight shutter angle that caused strobing (a staccato effect in the motion of the film). It's not a great feeling when you're watching it in the theater. The tighter the shutter, the more crisp each frame. It's like when you're taking a still photograph and you want to capture your kid in mid-air without any blur so you use a very fast shutter speed. But with 3D, in-camera blur can be your friend because the blur between frames makes for a more fluid motion. It eliminates that kind of stutter on the screen and makes the 3D experience less hyperactive. With "Pi" we definitely preferred a faster frame rate and a longer shutter.
CPG: Clearly, the 3D in "Pi" is visually amazing. But it also plays an integral part in the storytelling.
CM: Ang was very sensitive to not overdoing it. Any time characters or objects started to look miniaturized as a result of the 3D, we veered away from that. But there are some cases where it can help with the storytelling. There was one scene where we wanted the lifeboat to look really small so we did spread the eyes (the distance between the two lens centers) to cause a miniaturizing effect. It made the boat look almost like a little toy. This was in service of the storytelling, to reinforce the idea that Pi was alone, a speck on the ocean. We wanted to play with the 3D to reinforce plot and character. When a character is being aggressive, you can get his head out in front, so it feels like he's in your space. Ang loved the idea, too, that in the scene of the sinking ship, Pi is on the viewer's side of the screen. He's watching the ship as it sinks on the inside of the screen. So there's a big visual separation between this new world that's all to be his, and his past, represented by the sinking ship. The 3D really reinforced that part of the story.
CPG: Did you learn anything on "Pi" about 3D that you didn't know before?
CM: For me, "Tron" was really about making good 3D. I didn't really connect it to the way the audience would respond to the story. So doing it from point of view of a story was really something new. I had to think about how to set the 3D up and to stage it. Not just as far as people walking in and out of a room, but also how their placement would affect the emotions of the audience. We also experimented quite a lot with how different lenses might make the audience feel: Is it personal? Is it more intimate? Is it aggressive or passive? Those were new ideas that we played around with.
CPG: James Cameron (co-founder and co-chairman of CPG) said that "Pi" has shown that 3D can be used for smaller, more intimate films. Do you agree?
CM: Ang feels like "Pi" was the first art house movie to be shot in 3D. We felt like we had to explore this new medium. We had to try to figure it out.
CPG: Did shooting "Pi" in 3D affect the decision of cameras you used?
CM: No. We used the Arri Alexa™. We tested with a bunch of cameras. At the time, it held water highlights the best. Cameras are always improving. There will always be a new test to see which one is best for what you need, every time you do a movie.
CPG: Why did you pick CPG for “Pi?”
CM: They get me everything I need. I knew I needed a really good underwater 3D rig. They know the Alexa that would be housed in the rig. I couldn't think of anyone else who could do that, so I didn't even test with anyone else. I talked to Vince and said "I really need this camera rig; we need this thing built." So they did it and it was great. It was my first opportunity to shoot underwater in 3D.
CPG: You also had CPG experts on the set in Taiwan?
CM: We had a number of guys there from CPG, including stereographers who offered advice on the 3D.
CPG: Did you notice any big changes in 3D technology between the time you shot "Tron" and "Pi?"
CM: Vince has shown me some of the newer rigs (smARTrigs ™) and there's a huge improvement in those. They're simpler and easier to use. So even in the short time since we shot "Life of Pi," this equipment has come a long way.
CPG: Did you consider post-production conversion for “Pi?”
CM: No. We had high hopes of keeping a lot of the ocean in the film. I just didn't see how you could cut up and convert water moving away from the camera or rolling toward you or sideways or capping. How do you chop that up and separate that for the conversion process? It just wouldn't have been the same. What I had seen of conversion didn't convince me. I didn't see it happening for either "Pi" or "Tron."
CPG: Do you have a favorite 3D scene in “Pi?”
CM: I think the ship sinking was a good 3D moment. I loved the water in general, how it looked. I did quite a lot of 3D testing for the water scenes-- how it felt when the surface of the water is at the top third of the screen versus the bottom third. It's very interesting. If the water level is halfway up the screen, audiences might have an emotional reaction to that, almost like you're drowning. It's unsettling.
CPG: Do you think "Pi" would have been made without 3D?
CM: Ang really felt that the movie had to be made in 3D. For him it seemed like it was the only choice. Obviously, I've seen this movie in both 3D and 2D. You know, you really do miss some things. The water has this flatter look to it in the 2D. It feels a lot different. With 3D you just have a lot more texture, which was very important in "Pi."Ang loves 3D. So do I. He will always try to shoot in 3D. He was very excited about the results. He's always talking about creating another language for film, another way to tell the story. So in this impossible story to tell, he felt like 3D would give it another dimension. We still feel like there's so much more to learn from 3D, that there are so many places we can go where we haven't gone.