HDVideoPro: It doesn't seem like many directors shoot that way.
 After testing out various 3D rigs, Sonnenfeld and Pope decided that shooting on film and doing a 2D-to-3D conversion was the best 3D process for the movie. Since Sonnenfeld likes to shoot with wide-angle lenses, the eyelines need to be close to the camera. And because the rigs and matte box are very wide and cumbersome, it's difficult to get the camera close enough. |
Sonnenfeld: They don't. Not that many see using wide lenses the way I do. I've always loved and used wide lenses, both as a DP and as a director. My standard lens is a 21mm, and I'd say half of everything I've ever shot, either as a DP or director, has used a 21mm. Now, by contrast, Michael Mann's standard lens is probably a 65mm or 70mm—same with Michael Bay, Tony Scott and so on. So the way I shoot lends itself very much not only to 3D, but also 3D conversion. You won't believe this, but I feel the 21mm Panavision lens is a funnier lens than the one we used on this—and I can't tell you why. I could be wrong, but I feel it has more distortion, and it just feels a little wider. So on this, as we weren't using the Panavision 21mm, I often had to go to an 18mm for a close-up, to be as funny. I really believe that lenses have personalities, and the Panavision 21mm is just great for comedy. The other big challenge was the sheer size of all our sets and the complexity of what we were trying to do. Every film has its challenges, and this one was definitely the enormity of it all.
HDVideoPro: I hear you, and Bill shot it using the ARRI ALEXA.
Sonnenfeld: No, that's not quite the case. We actually shot it on film, with ARRIs for the first time, as I usually shoot with Panavision. We did almost every scene with just one camera, although we did use three cameras, as one was always mounted on a Technocrane, and we also had a Steadicam. We did use the ALEXA, but only for a couple of days, with 2nd Unit shooting some high-speed plate work, and then we had a few technical problems with converting it in post. The rest of the 106-day shoot was using film. In fact, another reason I shot in 2D and decided to convert to 3D was because I still really love the look of film, and there's no 3D film rigs available—they're all video rigs. So what happened was that we took every version we did with the various 3D rigs and 2D, converting all the way to an answer print on the tests, and the alien makeup looked far better when it was shot on film than when it was shot digitally, as did Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones when you took it all the way to the answer print. Will and Tommy look pretty great no matter what, but the alien makeup definitely looked better through the various generations and through the DI on film. So that was another big reason we decided to go with film in the end and then convert.
HDVideoPro: But aren't you a big digital and HD fan?
Sonnenfeld: Yes, very much so. In fact, the last two nights of the shoot—and this is where the ALEXA came in—we almost shot with the ALEXA. But first I discovered that shooting digitally didn't save any money compared to shooting on film. You still have lab costs and various other things. So we ended up using it for a night scene. We were shooting looking across the water from Manhattan to Brooklyn, and I wanted to really dig deeply into the blacks and shadow areas, and Bill and I both felt that the ALEXA did a great job of seeing deep into the darker areas. That allowed us to use less light in the foreground, and it has such an amazing ISO capability and latitude. And there were no aliens in the scene, so that was the perfect scene for us to shoot using the ALEXA. And I will say that the results look very beautiful and that the ALEXA is a great camera. So I am a big HD and digital fan, and I hear the new Sony F65 is really great. I haven't had a chance to play with it yet, but I'm anxious to try it out. And I do shoot exclusively and personally with digital, and I just love what you can do with still photography. I think digital projection looks great, and there's no more scratching the film and having to see a movie in the first week before all the scratches appear, and I think the next film I shoot—if there are no aliens in it—I'll probably shoot digitally. But it's really not about the speed and not having to change magazines and so on. It all depends on the project and material. I'd probably shoot film if I was basically doing a daytime exterior show, and I'd definitely shoot digitally if I was basically doing a night exterior show.
HDVideoPro: The digital world rules now, especially in post. Is film dead?
Sonnenfeld: No, I don't agree, and I don't think Chris Nolan would agree. Maybe for economic reasons it's dying. But in terms of aesthetics, I still think film is extraordinary. Here's the funny thing—you want to talk about HD? Film is the ultimate HD for me. I think there's a place for both, and I hope they both continue.
HDVideoPro: So what's next, and will you do another
Men in Black—in 20 years?
Sonnenfeld: I hope it's not that long [laughs]. I think there might be a
Men in Black IV a lot sooner. Right now, I'm working with a comic-book com-pany, Liquid Comics, and we're developing an idea for an all-CG movie. But it's not exactly animated. It would look totally photo-realistic, like
Avatar.
For more information on the film, visit www.meninblack.com.
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