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www.postmagazine.com 22 POST MARCH 2017 Sandgren (La La Land). It's been a busy year for the versatile ASC winner Fraser — and one of extremes. He shot the bil- lion-dollar-grossing sci-fi extravaganza Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and the small budget, lyrical fam- ily drama/tear-jerker — and true story — Lion, on location in Kolkata, India, with Alexa 35s. Working in India was "quite a challenge," he admits. "It's beautiful and soulful and amazing, but the logistics are tough and you're constantly fighting heat and pollution. Even so, I felt I could tap into the heart and soul of Kolkota." Fraser, whose eclectic resume includes Oscar winner Zero Dark Thirty, Snow White and the Huntsman and Foxcatcher, adds that, "Even though Lion and Rogue seem so different, both films influ- enced each other technically and creatively. Both are about emotions, character and family." Prieto, the acclaimed Mexican DP who was previously Oscar-nominated for his work on Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain, has recently become Scorsese's go-to cinematographer, shooting The Wolf of Wall Street and the Vinyl pilot before re- teaming for Silence. Designing the visual language of the austere, intense drama "meant imagining what the two priests felt in their hearts while facing seemingly insurmountable tests to their faith," re- ports Prieto who shot the Japan-set story in Taiwan. "We wanted to make the movie a subjective experi- ence for the audience, aiming to capture the phys- ical and emotional experience of these Portuguese priests in 17th Century Japan." The DP and director took their inspiration "from European Baroque painting and Japanese Screen Art from the Edo Period," and Prieto used Arriflex film cameras with Zeiss Master Anamorphic lenses, "and for low light candle lit scenes we used Alexa digital cameras." Prieto, also a frequent collabo- rator with Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores perros, 21 Grams, Babel, Biutiful), has shot such diverse films as Frida, Alexander, 8 Mile, Argo and the recent Passengers. Best known for his assured but un-showy work on such smaller films as Oscar-winning King biopic, Selma and crime drama, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Young became the first African-American man to earn a nomination from the cinematography branch, for his work on Arrival. While he may not have seemed like the obvious choice to shoot an ambi- tious sci-fi project jam-packed with aliens, space- ships and visual effects, director Villeneuve had no doubts about Young's suitability for his film. "Our whole approach was, it's just another ordinary day — and then suddenly it's an alien invasion, but told from an intimate point-of-view, by this person who's in mourning and dealing with strong emotions in her life, and Bradford got that immediately — that it's not your usual sci-fi story." Shot largely in Montreal on Alexa XTs using vin- tage Ultra Primes, the film combines a sense of the other-worldly with the mundane, and the DP used Alexa Ms for the crucial flashback and flash-forward sequences. The Kentucky native, whose credits in- clude Ed Zwick's Pawn Sacrifice and J.C. Chandor's, A Most Violent Year, is next shooting the new stand- alone Han Solo movie. Laxton first collaborated with writer/direc- tor Jenkins on his acclaimed 2008 low-budget feature debut, the San Francisco-set Medicine for Melancholy — and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. Reteaming with Jenkins on Moonlight, he didn't compromise the visual aesthetic, despite the very low budget and a tight 25-day location shoot in Miami's gritty Liberty Square area. "Working on a Barry Jenkins film, the word 'challenge' takes on a different mean- ing," says Laxton, whose credits include The Myth of the American Sleepover, Camp X-Ray and Tusk. "Because of our background, as filmmakers, a challenge is also an inspiration." To bring his retro-glamorous musical to vibrant life, writer-director Chazelle collaborated closely with Sandgren, the Swedish director of photogra- phy known for his kinetic work with David O. Russell on American Hustle and Joy. And the Oscar went to — Sandgren. Shooting with anamorphic lenses and 35mm film on Panavision Millennium XL2s (with one 16mm se- quence) — and shooting his first ever musical, he rose to the challenge set by Chazelle ("make it look magical rather than realistic"). "We let the camera act as both a curious charac- ter, with a very active movement, as well as a musi- cal instrument, so we had to move the camera to the rhythm of the music. We also designed many scenes in three- to six-minute-long single takes that often included Steadicam that had to step on or off a crane and sometimes we needed to shoot the scene in a very limited timeframe of about 20 minutes." That approach is showcased in the bravura opening traffic jam sequence where the camera feels like one of the dancers and part of the chore- ography. Designed to look like one unbroken shot, The Jungle Book Manchester By The Sea