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www.postmagazine.com 16 POST MARCH 2017 complicated ones, then you start to live in that world and understand it." I understand that you tried to do as much in-camera as possible? "Absolutely, yes, starting with the sets. Building the huge sets, so it wasn't so much about CG. And, lighting, too. Lighting certain numbers, such as the 'Be Our Guest' scene, with the light reflecting off of the dishware and the glasses. We did that practical- ly so that the CG elements would be surrounded as much as possible by real things, because I think the audience can still spot the difference." How closely did you work with DP Tobias Schliessler and editor Virginia Katz? Are they your go-to people at this point? "Yes, absolutely. Ginny, with rare exception, I worked with 15 times, like every movie I've done. We are like a very, very comfortable married cou- ple. A professional married couple. And Tobias, too, I started working with Tobias around 22 years ago. It's always been a question of availability. I love working with him and you can imagine a kind of shorthand we've developed just working to- gether all those years. Just knowing each other so well. It's wonderful. Obviously you keep growing with these people, which I love." I wanted to get a sense of how closely you work with them when you're in the middle of a production? "Intimately, like every day. Obviously, Tobias on every part of prep and every shot, and we just have good serious conversations and we plot out the movie before we shoot it, and with Ginny, the same thing, I just sort of move into her room once she has her assembly done and we review every foot of film that was exposed and we start to really collaborate." What does the live action feature offer that's different from the animated film? "Once you change characters from drawn charac- ters into human beings, everything changes…obvi- ously they have to behave as kind of recognizable human beings. For example, in the animated film, which I love, they kind of fall in love overnight. There's just a moment, there's a number and then they're in love. In a live-action movie, you kind of have to watch that happen and understand it in order to believe it and feel it. Another exam- ple, but how do you change Gaston from that wonderful comic creation in the animated film to someone who is equally kind of superficial and narcissistic, but in a way that we believe he walks around in the real world?" Is there one part of the filmmaking process — preproduction, production, or post — that you enjoy more than another? "Yes, maybe ultimately the post production. I'm in a room with Ginny and, especially on a movie like this where so much of it does happen in post, the shaping of the movie really takes place. It's incredibly satisfying." What is it like for you with a scene that features a CG character, that you see over and over again until finally, the finished character is dropped in? "It's not just when it's dropped in, because it happens across stages, you know? Each time is a step. But there's inevitably one big step, and the thrill is, that step takes to where it's like, 'Oh my God, now I've forgotten that it's CG and now it feels real. And that is really thrilling." Do you feel as though you accomplished what you wanted to with this film? "I hate to say it, I'm scared to say it, because who knows if other people will agree, but I do feel very satisfied with it, yes. It is what I hoped to have been able to make. Absolutely!" TAKE TWO: DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY TOBIAS SCHLIESSLER, ASC Schliessler spoke with Post while on-location in New Zealand, filming of the Ava DuVernay adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time for Disney. How long did you work on the film? "I started in late February 2015 for preproduction and finished in August. It was 12 weeks of prep and then we shot for about another 70 days. In all, I was on [the film] for six months. This kind of movie takes a lot of preproduction, storyboarding, previs, music rehearsals…everything. It takes a little bit more preparation than your usual film." Any particular shooting style for this film that either you wanted or director Bill Condon wanted? "It's definitely a collaboration and Bill definitely has a very strong sense in what he wants his movies to look like and how he wants them to feel. He also LEDs played a key role in the film's lighting. Bringing Gaston to real life was one of the film's challenges.