d72f4c1f-5a58-47db-8f5d-4eddf8417235
AN ACCIDENT?
OR JUST MADE TO
LOOK THAT WAY?
How forensic planning, supported by perfect technology, created the flawed, human world of Anatomy of a Fall.
PUBLISHED
APRIL 12 2024
Anatomy of a Fall has hit the awards jackpot, with an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and nominations for four other Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Achievement in Directing for director Justine Triet. The film also won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and Best Picture at the Cesars. Reportedly shot on a budget of $6.6 million and earning $34 million in box office revenue so far, the film has been called the “most cost-effective” among Best Picture Oscar nominees.
Director of photography Simon Beaufils, AFC, who previously made the features Sybil and Victoria with Triet, says that she always insists on a completely fresh start.
“Each new film, Justine wants to change everything,” Beaufils says. “She really wants to break her own rules and go where things aren’t too easy. That means weeks of prep, sifting through ideas and making sure we have a good way to approach each shot.
“Still, on each shoot day, we start from zero, which means we try the scene with the actors,” says the cinematographer. “We make sure that we come from them, staying close to their feelings and emotions. Most of the time it’s pretty close to what we've planned, fortunately! This film was about giving the actors a lot of freedom and capturing the accidents, like a Cassavetes film. We made a lot of takes, and each take was significantly different.”
"I FOUND THAT I LIKE THE MINI LF NOT SO MUCH BECAUSE OF THE LARGE SENSOR, BUT MORE BECAUSE THE COLORS AND CONTRAST REALLY OFFER MORE NUANCES"
Lead actor Sandra Hüller was also Oscar-nominated, and the subtlety and power of her extraordinary performance anchors the film. Her face is often in long, sometimes anguished close-up. The filmmakers initially considered film emulsion and tested 35mm before coming around to the ARRI ALEXA Mini LF capturing images in ARRIRAW, thus reducing pressure on post for what eventually became a two-and-a-half-hour film. CODEX in-camera recording technology enables the more robust ARRIRAW format.
“I found that I like the Mini LF not so much because of the large sensor, but more because the colors and contrast really offer more nuances,” says Beaufils. “It’s better in the white levels and in the skies, too. Technically I’m told there shouldn’t be a noticeable difference with other ALEXAs, but I’m convinced there is.”
In fact, Beaufils only used part of the sensor for his 1.85:1 frame. “I grew up with celluloid, and I think people can be too fond of resolution,” he says. “I liked the grainier feeling that came when we cropped down, and the out-of-focus artifacts from the Hawk V-Lite lenses. I think the lenses distract a bit from the square pixels of digital. It’s a little messier, in a good way. Our 35mm tests were very helpful when it came to color in post – we felt we could go further and still maintain a naturalistic image.
“I like an image that is discreet, in a way,” he explains. “I don’t like it when, after the movie, you say ‘Whoa! That image was so great!’ I don’t want the spotlight on the image. I want colors and sensations without a commercial feeling. I do like some films with particular styles, but when I’m shooting, I prefer to be a bit behind the image.”
"I ALWAYS START WITH ARRIRAW. WE OFTEN COMPARE WITH OTHER SYSTEMS, BUT WE ALWAYS CHOOSE THE ALEXA"
Two completely different situations frame the majority of the story – a chalet high in the snow-bound Alps where a tragic fall occurs, and the courtroom where Hüller’s character is aggressively questioned at length about every aspect of her life, including the death of her partner. Her character comes across as eminently human, with all the imperfection that implies.
A key ally for Beaufils is color grader Magalie Léonard. “We both work within the nuances,” says the cinematographer. “I always start with ARRIRAW. We often compare with other systems, but we always choose the ALEXA. Other images can feel a bit hard, plastic or metallic in a way. Even with all that we can do in the color grade, I can’t seem to find some grain or other effect that is really nice.”
On the set, Beaufils makes a point of including his entire team. “For us, this was a not a small crew,” he says. “But it’s still not such a big film. My taste goes to the auteur films, and French directors often feel better with a small crew. But I remember being a loader and spending two months in the truck. That’s a strange way to do cinema. I make sure my second AC, who is dealing with the backups and the data, is sometimes with us on the set, seeing the stills and included in discussions with postproduction.”
As he did on Sibyl, Beaufils and his crew used CODEX High Density Encoding (HDE) to losslessly slim down the image files, thus saving storage space, processing power, and perhaps the most precious commodity on a film set, time. The HDE process, recently earned the team at CODEX a Scientific and Technical Oscar, recognizing the innovation and service to the industry. HDE brings the full power of ARRIRAW digital capture at its best, making it within reach for productions in every budget range.
“I was sure that if it takes less space, it must be not as good,” says Beaufils. “But when we did tests on Sibyl, I could not see any difference in the projection between the HDE images and the original uncompressed files. Magalie and my first assistant, Agathe Dercourt, agreed. So now HDE is part of our system. It’s especially helpful on a film with so many takes and no DIT.”
"...WHEN WE DID TESTS ON SIBYL, I COULD NOT SEE ANY DIFFERENCE IN THE PROJECTION BETWEEN THE HDE IMAGES AND THE ORIGINAL UNCOMPRESSED FILES”
A lengthy but futile search was conducted for a courthouse location with windows on only one side. Instead, Beaufils had to maintain continuity and contrast with the sun coming in on one side in the morning and the other in the evening. To facilitate the actors, Beaufils and his team agreed to work without spotlights or floor fixtures, a further complication. Most interior light came through windows. Lighting had to balance numerous considerations, among them the often tense and uncomfortable situations of the stationary characters, small crane movements and the passage of time in the story. Focal lengths were kept wider to keep the actors connected to the environment, but not so wide as to lose the personality of the optics.
Each of those decisions were weighed in light of Triet’s predilections, which after three films together, Beaufils understands intuitively.
“It’s so nice to work with the same director,” he says. “We know each other, so we’re already ahead. The work becomes more precise and quicker, and we get right to the most interesting aspects of filmmaking and story.”
Beaufils’ next assignment, Les prisonnières, stars Isabelle Huppert and is expected later in 2024.