Andrew Barth Feldman in No Hard Feelings Eigil Bryld have to be feeling humorous currently. After a profession peppered with reality-based dramas (You Don’t Know Jack and The Report), thrillers (Deep Water) and romantic interval items (Tulip Fever and Becoming Jane), the Danish cinematographer has lightened up with a trio of comedies out this 12 months—The Machine, Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers and No Hard Feelings.
In the latter, Jennifer Lawrence performs a Montauk Uber driver who agrees to seduce the son (Andrew Barth Feldman) of a rich couple summering within the quaint Long Island enclave in change for a used Buick Regal. Bryld spoke to Filmmaker about lensing the ever-rare R-rated studio comedy, together with making an attempt out Arri’s Alexa 35 and persevering with his newly adopted adventurousness in choosing glass.
Filmmaker: How a lot of the movie was really shot in Montauk?
Bryld: We solely had one week in Montauk and the remainder was shot throughout Long Island and on phases. We wished to get a few of the daytime seashores on Montauk and a few of the city’s landmarks. If we had the cash, it might have been higher to shoot rather more there.
Filmmaker: Did you construct inside units for the hero homes of Maddie (Lawrence) and Percy (Feldman)?
Bryld: We constructed Maddie’s home interiors, and we constructed Percy’s bed room. We really used two completely different homes for [Percy’s] dad and mom’ home, and the identical household owned each—one in Montauk with extra of hilltop view, which was required by the story, however the identical architect additionally constructed an identical home in Long Island for a similar household. That’s the place we did all of the interiors [except for Percy’s bedroom]. The exterior of Maddie’s home was additionally shot in Long Island, a location we actually struggled to search out as a result of it had actually particular necessities. It needed to be a fairly large plot of land in order that it might appear fascinating for the builders [trying to buy the property from Maddie], however the home needed to be small and cute as effectively. We’d really picked one other home that fell by means of the Friday earlier than we began capturing that location. The home we had initially picked was dealing with north, so it might all the time be backlit once we had been wanting on the home, however the one we needed to shoot in was dealing with east, which was full-on a lighting continuity nightmare. It’s a summer time movie, however we obtained began approach too late. I believe we began capturing in September, so the times had been shorter. With turnaround points and site visitors in Long Island, it was troublesome by way of having sufficient daylight.
Filmmaker: There’s a separation between the locals who stay in Montauk year-round and the extra prosperous individuals who simply summer time there. In holding with that, Percy’s home may be very antiseptic, whereas Maddie’s feels a bit extra homey.
Bryld: Maddie inherited the home from her mother, so we wished one thing extra weathered and textured that confirmed her persona and her allure, with the sunshine emitted from contained in the body by practicals. In distinction, Percy’s place is meant to be like one large fish tank. It’s not an area that’s meant to really feel cozy and heat. It’s rather more about performance.
Filmmaker: I used to be making an attempt to suppose again to the final R-rated studio comedy that I actually loved earlier than this and Game Night was my first thought, which is now 5 years previous. It’s not a style that’s been finished quite a bit currently. You haven’t shot a ton of comedies—In Bruges is usually very humorous, however I wouldn’t essentially classify it as a comedy. What was the attraction so that you can this style that has been uncared for currently?
Bryld: Reading the script made me curious, then I spoke to [director] Gene Stupnitsky. I favored his sensibility as a result of despite the fact that the film clearly is a comedy, the intention was very a lot to deal with it as a drama disguised as a intercourse comedy. It was actually about Maddie’s journey. She’s caught in life and the film is about her letting go of the previous and transferring on. Similarly, Percy is perhaps not caught in life, however he’s locked in a cage. One of the principle references was The Graduate, which is a humorous film however thought-about a drama greater than a comedy, actually. We wished to be fairly particular about the place we put the digital camera, although more often than not we did two cameras simply to nail each little second and let the actors run with it a bit bit. It was all occurring very quick. The film was purported to shoot a 12 months later, however hastily it obtained pulled up as a result of there was a window in Jennifer’s calendar. There wasn’t a number of improvisation, however we did have John Phillips, the script author, on set to put in writing jokes for the second. There was a number of what we known as “candy bag,” the place on the finish you do alternate strains simply to create choices within the reducing room. The protection needed to be conscious of that further layer that you just wouldn’t usually do in a straight-up drama, however our aim was to not be overly broad by way of protection.
Filmmaker: But you do have to border typically particularly for the joke, just like the huge shot the place Lawrence is struggling to climb up the steps in curler blades to rise up to Percy’s dad and mom or the tilt-down reveal that Percy has worn a swimsuit jacket and shorts to their first date.
Bryld: There is a good quantity of bodily comedy within the film and each Jennifer and Andrew had been actually good at that. Traditionally with a number of verbal comedy you reside in a close-up and defend that close-up so you’ll be able to lower freely and compress time and actually get the timing proper. We wished to prioritize wider photographs fairly than simply residing in closeups and mid-shots.
Filmmaker: You used the Alexa 35 with Arri Moviecam lenses on the movie. You’re the primary particular person I’ve interviewed who shot on that new 4K Super 35-sized Arri digital camera. Tell me about your expertise with it.
Bryld: I needed to battle fairly a bit to get it as a result of it was so early in that digital camera’s manufacturing pipeline. We had been going to wish two cameras, then a 3rd physique as a backup, as a result of we deliberate on a good quantity of Steadicam, which didn’t find yourself occurring. Since it’s a Sony film, I’m certain if the Alexa 35 hadn’t been accessible there would have been a number of strong-arming to go along with the Sony Venice, which I’ve used prior to now and it’s not a foul digital camera in any respect. But since digital took over I’ve just about completely shot on Alexas, aside from House of Cards, which was Red, and I did one other TV present the place I used a Sony. I additionally wished to shoot with a Super 35 [sized chip] on No Hard Feelings. I’ve shot the bigger and intermediate codecs as effectively they usually actually have their time and place, however there’s one thing about the way in which Super 35 renders area that simply appears extra classical. I typically have the sensation you’re a bit bit misplaced in a void on the massive chip codecs. When I did [the Adrian Lyne thriller] Deep Water we examined a number of that and finally I discovered that it lacked the identical type of intimacy as Super 35 and intimacy was clearly actually necessary in No Hard Feelings. The prolonged latitude of the Alexa 35 can also be an ideal assist as a result of it does have extra stops within the highlights. I do know you are able to do all of the textures and all that with the digital camera, however I didn’t go into all of that.
Filmmaker: Did you check any of the brand new textures? They are basically burned into the footage, proper? So, you’re just about married to that grain or that texture, versus including it in submit and having extra management over it.
Bryld: I did one other undertaking not too long ago with Alexander Payne [The Holdovers] that was set within the Seventies, however not solely is it set in that period, we tried to shoot it in a approach in order that it really appeared prefer it was made within the Seventies. So, I’d finished a number of experimenting with grain, and we did really find yourself including a bit little bit of a grain on No Hard Feelings, however a lot to your level I wasn’t serious about testing the textures [of the Alexa 35] simply because it appears loopy to me to bake it in. If you resolve you need to have a distinct texture, do you need to unbake it? Or when you resolve you need to have extra grain later, do you then add grain on grain or do you need to degrain it after which add grain once more? So, I didn’t check it.
Filmmaker: I wasn’t accustomed to these Moviecam lenses. So, they took the Seventies and Nineteen Eighties glass from the unique Moviecam units and rehoused them?
Bryld: I had by no means heard about them earlier than both. I used to be at Arri they usually began speaking about these lenses and I believed they sounded cool. I keep in mind Moviecam from again within the movie days. So, I examined them they usually’re not tremendous full of wierd traits. They’re pretty even. I examined them towards Arri Master Primes and likewise some extra classic glass. They did have a bit little bit of a fall-off that had a nostalgic feeling, and, by way of the colours, appeared like they might assist us in getting a bit bit extra of a beachy type of palette. They’re pretty clear by way of distortion and aberrations, however on the similar time it’s older glass, so it’s not too contrasty and it’s nice on the pores and skin. We performed round with them for every week or so and it simply appeared that they had been proper for the undertaking. In the previous I was conservative with the lenses. I just about all the time shot Master Primes and even anamorphic Master Primes. I like the concept of controlling the softness and distinction in entrance of the digital camera versus with the glass, however I’ve gotten away from that in recent times and I’ve been extra open to completely different lenses. There are so many choices these days. I used to drive Panavision mad as a result of I might get Panavision tools and make them lease Arri Master Primes, which they weren’t all the time too completely happy about. (laughs)
Filmmaker: Tell me about that skinny dipping scene at evening, which turns right into a nude seaside brawl.
Bryld: The first seaside a part of the scene was shot on an actual seaside on Long Island, however for the water work —it sounds loopy wanting again at it, however we needed to battle so exhausting to get the permission to spend the cash on constructing a tank fairly than capturing within the ocean in October in the midst of the evening with no matter climate there was. I imply, if one factor touches Jennifer’s legs in that water she’s going to get out of there and by no means need to return. So, the whole lot within the water ended up being finished in a tank. Then for the battle, they initially wished us to try this on an actual seaside as effectively. She was going to be full-on bare—she had a “mankini” or no matter they name it to cowl some issues—but when we had finished that on an actual seaside there’s no approach we might management issues just like the paparazzi on this massive open, uncovered place. So, we ended up capturing plates after which principally doing a giant sandbox on a stage. We shot it very late within the schedule. Credit to Jen. It’s by no means enjoyable to do nude work, as a result of I discover that there’s a lot rigidity and also you simply need to do it quick and be conscious [of the actor’s comfort]. So, we shot that fairly effectively.
Filmmaker: My favourite scene within the film is when Percy performs Hall and Oates’ “Maneater” for Maddie on the piano at an upscale restaurant. There’s an ideal push-in on Lawrence the place you see her expression change as she watches him carry out. She’s so good in that second.
Bryld: That scene really got here into the script after they forged Andrew, as a result of they realized he’s actually good at taking part in the piano. Before that second it has been all in regards to the automotive for Maddie and now she’s really realizing that he’s not just a few child who’s being manipulated by his dad and mom. He really has actual expertise and an actual tenderness. We talked about that second as a turning level, the place she begins to suppose, “What have I gotten myself into and what have I gotten this kid into?” We did two matching photographs. We dollied in on her to nearly enlarge that second and see each little nuance as her expression modifications. Then we did the identical push-in on his aspect as effectively, which reveals him bodily increasing within the body as he grows on her. It’s in all probability essentially the most genuinely emotional scene of the film that doesn’t even have any comedy in it.
Filmmaker: When the film got here out, one of many issues that a number of the writing round it highlighted was that Jennifer Lawrence is likely one of the final actual film stars. When you mild a close-up of somebody in that rarified place, how do you strategy it?
Bryld: First, Jen is unbelievable to work with. She doesn’t play any type of diva. She does someday have a problem with having an excessive amount of mild in her eyes as a result of she tears up. So, typically she would really ask to have unfavorable put round, which isn’t typical. For this movie, clearly, I used to be lighting for magnificence, however on the similar time her age is a part of the drama of the movie. So, if I lit her to look 19 that may take away from the entire premise of the film. Her and Andrew’s faces are very completely different, they usually each take completely different varieties of sunshine in another way, so it’s nearly designing photographs and blocking them in approach that’s favorable to the actors.
Filmmaker: Let’s end up with the scene the place Maddie is driving with Percy on the hood of her automotive whereas the police are chasing them towards a railroad crossing with an oncoming prepare.
Bryld: That was tremendous difficult. Most of the inside work was finished at Joe White’s car stage. We had second unit do all of the plates beforehand and had all of it storyboarded. We went forwards and backwards rather a lot about how a lot of an motion comedy really feel we wished, as a result of for a very long time we had deliberate for a extra formidable, stunty strategy. There was going to be a gate crossing that got here down that they had been going to crash by means of. Then we realized that appeared too harmful [for the characters] and it took us out of the scene. The police mild impact may be very simple these days as a result of you’ll be able to simply get SkyPanels for that. For the prepare lights, we simply did that with two flags that we opened up [as the train is supposed to be getting closer] to extend the depth. The prepare is all VFX and Brainstorm Digital did an excellent job with that. That sequence was nearly cautious planning then leaving it to the reducing room to let you know when you obtained it proper or not.
