Meanwhile, Trautvetter and Catalin were busy assembling the local crew, and the camera and lighting packages. Crudo says that an early decision was made to produce Last Night in 35 mm format composed in Academy aperture 1.85:1 aspect ratio.   

“We wanted the best image quality possible, and film technology is simple, elegant and bulletproof,” he says. “We knew that we could digitize it and add any final touches that are needed in postproduction. I would shudder to think about tackling this script in these circumstances with the unpredictability of digital production technology.”

Crudo made an aesthetic decision to produce Last Night entirely on KODAK VISION 500T 5279 color film. He explains that the film enabled them to shoot in very low-key situations while rendering images that are a little harsher and more contrasty than the 500-speed 5218 negative. That was the look he envisioned for creating a believable sense of time and place while augmenting a heightening feeling of fear.

After considering customs regulations, they decided to bring the negative into the country from Los Angeles. Crudo says that this cost less than importing it from London, Paris, Rome, or even Budapest.

“We used ARRI cameras and a Moviecam Compact that had a lot of mileage, but they were decently maintained,” he says. “The lighting gear and grip equipment was limited. Every applebox on the set was a different dimension.”

The English cast arrived in Bucharest the night before production began. Crudo had advised the actors to show up ready to perform, because there wasn’t going to be time for rehearsals. They only had about an hour to get acquainted that evening.

“There wasn’t a lot of time for analyzing the script, but it was an action-horror movie, not Shakespeare, and the actors gave us the best they had to offer,” he says. “We hit the ground running and averaged shooting 40 to 50 setups a day.

“Our camera crew and the other people we dealt with spoke pretty good English, and we developed an ability to communicate in pigeon Romanian. But it’s not the same verbal shorthand as when you are working with people who you know. You have to be explicit in your instructions if you want something done in a certain way. Pre-rigging was beyond their experience. We lit pretty much as we went along.”

Crudo lauds Trautvetter and Crippen and describes Catalin as “a human dynamo who was in perpetual motion rigging his own lights.” He also had praise for other crewmembers, especially A-camera operator Liviu Pojoni.

“We all got along great, but were handicapped by the infrastructure,” he says. “If you are shooting a film in Romania, don’t be surprised if someone on your crew disappears, because they’ve been pulled off your job and sent to another one,” he cautions. “It was the same with equipment. We had a 400 mm lens in our kit, because we anticipated needing it for certain shots. When I called for it, people on our crew began nervously looking at each other and talking in Romanian. When I asked what was the matter, one of them said that the company had assumed that we wouldn’t want to use the long lens because we were shooting interiors, so it was sent on another job without consulting any of us. I made sure that never happened again.”

Cinelabs Romania provided digital DVD dailies. Crudo notes that given the speed at which they were working and the distance from home, this was the most efficient option. However, he cautions that digital dailies aren’t a problem-free solution.

“It’s hard enough to communicate with a dailies timer who speaks the same language,” he explains. “It is impossible to do it with someone you don't know in a foreign country who speaks another language. Our dailies were generally brighter than we anticipated. That was a problem, because it is important for the editor, producers and everyone else to know your vision, including subtleties in colors and contrast, light and darkness. If your dailies don’t reflect what is on the negative, you end up spending time fielding questions and explaining that the movie is not going to look like that. Dailies make lasting impressions that are hard to get out of people’s minds.”

We summed up our conversation by asking two difficult questions:

First question: Was hiring a cinematographer who is a first-time director a good idea on this very challenging project? Crudo’s reply: “We had a slim budget, a 22-day shooting schedule, limits in equipment and experience of some of our crew, in addition to meeting six main actors the night before we started shooting. My experience as a cinematographer helped us get through all of that. The AD and I put our heads together. We were very organized and maximized the resources we had, which is why we were able to do 40 to 50 setups a day, and bring the movie in a day ahead of schedule.”

Second question: Do you have any final thoughts about producing a movie set in Los Angeles in Bucharest? Crudo’s reply: “I enjoyed my stay in Bucharest, and met a lot of nice people, but it emphasized the advantages of producing films in the United States, and reinforced how important it is to have key people with you. If I didn’t have my own cinematographer, we would have been over rather than under schedule. It was the same with the AD; I needed someone whom I could communicate with simply and directly, and who served the best interests of the picture rather than the company they depend on for their next job. I got along fine with everyone, but my regular crew would have gotten twice as much work done in half the time. I’ll go on record with that.”

CONTACTS

ARRI
www.arri.com

KODAK
www.kodak.com