Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, P. Scott Sakamoto on Steadicam with VENICE 2. Photo courtesy of Sony Cine.
P. Scott Sakamoto, SOC talked about operating on A Complete Unknown:
“I use a GPI PRO Rig that I’ve had since it first came out in the nineties and I still use the Pro Vest and Pro Arm. The only other addition lately is that I now use the Tiffen Volt. It mounts directly to the gimbal of the PRO Post and is a great benefit to stabilize the shot and helps aid in horizon level. [Steadicam Volt keeps the sled in neutral balance, maintains level horizon, holds tilt angle and has a button to switch from Volt assist to conventional mode.]
Photo: Sony Cine
“I’ve worked on two movies with Jim Mangold and he loves having the Steadicam. Often, when we rehearse a scene and he sees me setting up a dance floor for the dolly, he says, ‘I don’t want you to be on the dolly. I want you to be on the Steadicam.’ Because he often improvises the shot and doesn’t want camera moves to be restricted, he just prefers the freedom of a Steadicam. Jim and Phedon Papamichael have made several exceptional movies together and have a good rapport with each other. They know how to dance and tell a compelling cinematic story. It is a pleasure to come up with shots to advance that narrative at the right time with the right equipment.
Frame courtesy of Searchlight Pictures
“In Bob Dylan’s apartment, half was on Steadicam and half was on a conventional Chapman Hybrid dolly. The recording studio scenes were mostly Steadicam. The Newport Festival on stage was 90% Steadicam. For the wide crowd shots, I used the 50′ Technocrane to achieve the sweeping moves that captured the full scope and energy of the performances. We also had a second camera on a dolly with a 3-foot slider on a few performance numbers operated by Ethan Borsuk. That helps when you’re doing conventional dolly shot overs and you have to inch a little bit while hiding the move.
R-L: P. Scott Sakamoto on Steadicam with VENICE 2; Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan; Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez; Ethan Borsuk with VENICE 2 on slider. Photo courtesy of Sony Cine.
“I use a Sachtler Studio 9+9 fluid head. Everybody laughs at me, but I’ve had that head for probably 20 years. I love it like an old pair of shoes. It just feels good. It fits. When I’m on the dolly, I operate through the eyepiece, which is interesting. I come from the old school film days where you had to have your eye in the viewfinder. But, even with digital cameras, I can see focus better. I can concentrate on the image and stay fully connected to the action. There are times where I’ll also look at the onboard monitor during a shot. I’ll be in the eyepiece and go to the monitor if I have to spin around quickly. On A Complete Unknown, we had Sony VENICE cameras and onboard SmallHD Cine 7 monitors.
“I started my career as Haskell Wexler’s assistant for 7 years and then I became his operator. He was a great mentor and his sensibilities influenced me a lot.”
