AMIRA拍摄《这就是英格兰》
“AMIRA绝对会给你信心，因为你知道即使欠曝也不会丢失信息，即使过曝也不会有任何失真。”
——摄影指导斯图尔特·本特利
摄影师斯图尔特•本特利（Stuart Bentley）长期以来都偏好ALEXA并取得了显著的成就，加盟导演西恩•迈德斯（Shane Meadows）备受瞩目的剧集《这就是英格兰（90年代）》后，在亲如一家的卡司和工作团队协助下，本特利将他的丰富经验运用到AMIRA上，采用纪录片的手法拍摄长达数小时的镜头，有时还需要从白天一直拍到夜色降本剧曾获得BAFTA（英国电影和电视艺术学院奖）最佳迷你剧奖，《这就是英格兰（90年代）》是这个系列的最后一个篇章，本特利在此向我们讲述了在这种即兴风格内容的拍摄中一台高度灵活摄影机的重要性、为何选择AMIRA以及为什么说这是一笔划算的投资。
你之前用过AMIRA吗？为什么这一次会选择它？
我大概了解一点但从没用过。至于为什么会选择它？有几个重要的因素，第一个是我们要用存储卡录很长时间的素材，因为这是西恩的要求，他的想法就是要拍不间断的长镜头；第二个因素：AMIRA是轻便的纪录片风格摄影机，这一点很有用，因为那些长镜头通常都是手持拍摄的，如果摄影机能灵活地随手拿来拿去绝对是个优势；另外左侧有控制键，在摄影师这一侧能够快速调整设置对我们来说帮助太大了。
但你以前都是用ALEXA的，AMIRA的画面风格还习惯吗？
当然。从内到外，我对ALEXA了如指掌，但有机会用用AMIRA，改变一下节奏也挺好。很明显的，它们的画面风格沒差别，因为影像传感器是一样的嘛，看到它的画质一下就明白了，同时ARRI的功能性一样不少，从这些方面你就会发觉它是一款非常友好易用的摄影机。
你觉得西恩也和你一样清楚ALEXA影像传感器的能耐吗？
他好像沒用过ALEXA，但是他知道ALEXA的能力，可以说仰慕已久。他第一眼看到AMIRA时就特别兴奋，我们给AMIRA搭配了非常经典的老镜头——Canon K35，两者完全是天作之合，和我们的故事背景年代很合拍，它们的成像风格迷人但是自然不刻意。
你刚才提到了手持拍摄和纪录片风格，所以有很多即兴的桥段？
西恩的处理方式是给演员完全的空间去自由发挥，爱往哪儿走往哪儿走，爱干嘛就干嘛，摄影机和摄影师就需要跟着他们做出即时反应。我们要依靠自然光源给整个巨大的场景照明，因为谁知道这些演员在两个小时的无剧本长镜头里面会走到哪个角落去。当然，西恩会给他们指明故事发展方向，提示他们能做些什么事，但在那之后就是即兴发挥，完全依靠我们去记录那些瞬间，这种工作方式实在有趣。
你们用了几台摄影机？
大部分时间是三台AMIRA，有些场景最多用到了十台各种型号的机器。比如有一场大讨论的戏，我们用了四台AMIRA、一台ALEXA和一堆其它牌子的小机器。镜头的话，我们有两套老式K35定焦、两套全焦段的ARRI Alura变焦，其中包括15.5-45、30-80和45-250。
通常情况下，你会怎么安排三台 AMIRA的机位？
对话场景中一台拍全景，两台拍过肩镜头，因为对话内容也是即兴的，不可能NG重来，所以反打镜头必须同时拍。要拍下发生的所有事情你必须注意力高度集中，随时准备移动，这有点像跳舞，幕后要做大量的“编舞”（走位）工作。
为了拍到能用的素材，这样给三台机器的压力很大啊，特别是同时又遇到光线极端的场景。
是啊，很多时候可以说是把摄影机逼到了极限。有一个剧中人物凯莉吸食海洛因的场景，当时我们用了3200 ASA、45度快门和帧率200 fps，而其它很多场景的ASA都用到了2000，所以你看，我们对AMIRA真的沒手软过。为了拍到画面，我们不止用上大光圈镜头，而且还把感光度飙得很高。
很妙的一点是在调色阶段，你加大画面的曝光度，经过处理之后看不到噪点，如果你想要的话当然也可以再加上去。在弱光条件下我常常都要用伪色工具检查Log C素材，确保人物能够保有足够的面部细节，根据检查的结果去调整灯光。但是AMIRA绝对会给你信心，因为你知道即使欠曝也不会丢失信息，即使过曝也不会有任何失真。
你觉得AMIRA内建的ND滤镜功能有用吗？
我们用到它的地方不少，有一场戏是我们片中的角色开着车赶去开会，我们拍了很长一段200 fps的慢动作，一半的路途完全被阴影笼罩，另一半则是阳光明媚，我们沒时间停车慢慢换滤镜，所以内建的滤镜起了很大作用。一到阳光下把ND9调出来就行，到了阴影中，只要两秒钟就把滤镜收起来了。
你们怎么知道哪些场景需要拍慢动作——事先有计划过？
也不能说是事先安排，我觉得是某些微妙的时刻出现的时候，西恩就会本能地做出决定。有办法在某种程度上去强化这种氛围挺好，所以AMIRA的200 fps高速摄影功能很妙。
马克•施普曼-穆勒（Marchel Shipman-Mueller）
视频：
《这就是英格兰（90年代）》幕后——AMIRA摄影学校
AMIRA on THIS IS ENGLAND ‘90
The AMIRA definitely gives you confidence because you know that when you underexpose you still have information, and when you overexpose you won’t get any clipping.
DP Stuart Bentley
Cinematographer Stuart Bentley discusses his virgin voyage with the ARRI AMIRA, having already had a long and successful working relationship with ALEXA. Joining director Shane Meadows and the near-family cast and crew of the highly watchable THIS IS ENGLAND ’90, Bentley put his experience to good use with the AMIRA, shifting into a documentary approach with takes that sometimes lasted hours and sometimes went from daylight into night. For this latest, final installment of the BAFTA-winning THIS IS ENGLAND series, Bentley explains the importance of having a camera flexible enough to match the improvisational style of the show, the decision to shoot with AMIRA, and why it paid off in spades.
Had you previously worked with the AMIRA? What led you to choose it for this series?
I’d had a look at it, but never actually shot on it. As for the decision to use it, there were several key factors. The first was that we could run for a very long time on the memory card, which was something Shane was keen to do; his approach is to do long, continuous takes. Also, the fact that it’s a lightweight, documentary-style camera was helpful because these long takes were often handheld. It’s really beneficial to have a camera that you can kind of throw around and be flexible with. Having the controls on the left side and being able to change things very quickly on the operator side was quite a bonus for us.
But you’d worked with ALEXA and you were familiar with the look?
Exactly; the ALEXA is a camera I know inside and out, but it was quite nice to use the AMIRA for a change of pace. Obviously it gives you the same look because it has the same sensor; you know that you’ve got that great image quality, but you’ve also got that ARRI functionality, where you know it’s going to be a friendly, easy-to-use camera.
Did Shane also know what to expect from the ALEXA sensor?
I don’t think he’d ever shot with it, but he was aware of what the ALEXA could do and he was a massive fan. When we went in and looked at the AMIRA, he was excited by it. We coupled it with really nice old Canon K35 lenses and the combination of that sensor with those lenses was really, really good, and quite appropriate for the period in which our story was set. It gave us an interesting look, without feeling too forced.
You mentioned handheld camerawork and a documentary feel, so was there a lot of improvisation going on?
So much of Shane’s process is about giving the actors total flexibility and freedom to go where they want and do what they want. The camera and the operator need to follow and respond to that. We’d light entire huge sets with practicals, because you just didn’t know where the artists were going to go during a two-hour unscripted take. Obviously Shane gives them direction and suggests things they could do, but then he gives them the space to improvise and it’s up to us to capture those moments. It was a really interesting way of working.
How many cameras were you working with?
Most of the time we were shooting with three AMIRAs, although for some scenes that grew to up to 10 cameras. For example for the big rave sequence we had four AMIRAs, an ALEXA and a selection of other smaller cameras. In terms of lenses we carried two sets of vintage K35 primes and two full ranges of ARRI Alura zooms, including the 15.5-45, 30-80 and 45-250.
How did you tend to use the three AMIRAs you typically shot with?
For dialogue scenes we’d have one on a wide shot and two over the actors’ shoulders. With all the dialogue being improvised, you have to shoot reverse shots at the same time, because they’re never going to play the scene the same way twice. To capture everything you have to be very focused and constantly prepared to move. It was a bit of a dance, with quite a lot of choreography behind the scenes.
That puts a lot of pressure on all three cameras to get useable footage, especially in situations where you were playing with quite extreme lighting.
Yes, and we would push the camera pretty much to the limit in a lot of respects. For the scene where the Kelly character is smoking heroin we were shooting at 3,200 ASA with a 45-degree shutter, and at 200 fps. Plenty of other scenes were shot at 2,000 ASA as well, so we were really pushing it. We’d be wide open on quite fast lenses and just keep bumping the ASA up until we literally couldn’t get an image.
What’s fantastic is that when you get into the grade you can pull the image up and manipulate it so that you don’t see the noise, or if you want the noise you can reintroduce it. In low-light situations I quite often checked the Log C image with the false color tool to make sure we had enough detail in a face, for example, and adjusted the lighting accordingly. But the AMIRA definitely gives you confidence because you know that when you underexpose you still have information, and when you overexpose you won’t get any clipping.
Did you find the internal ND filters a helpful feature of the AMIRA?
We used them quite a lot. We had a scene where our characters are driving to the rave and we did a lot of slow-motion stuff at 200 fps. Half of the route was in total shadow and half was in really bright sunshine. We didn’t have time to pull over and change filters, so it was really helpful to have the internal NDs. If you go into the sun, you just whack an ND9 in and when you go into the shade, you can take it off within a couple of seconds.
How did you decide which moments would be slow motion – was it pre-planned?
It wasn’t really pre-planned; Shane made decisions instinctively. I think that when those little poetic moments come along, it’s nice to be able to enhance them to whatever level you like, so having 200 fps with the AMIRA was fantastic.
Marchel Shipman-Mueller
Video:
THIS IS ENGLAND ‘90 BTS – using AMIRA
