Some of you probably already know that Memento launched the career of Chris Nolan and also the team of Nolan/Pfister. Wally  Pfister has served as DP on all of Nolan’s films since Memento. Through arguments about scene shots and how to bring the film to life, a brilliant team emerged. And thank goodness for us the viewers! These two continually create magic on the screen.

I read an article the other day where Pfister had discussed being brought on as DP for Memento. He stated that Nolan only brought him on after the other 5 people declined. We know he was joking, but consider the possibility for a moment. Nolan asks someone else, they accept and this dynamic duo might never be. Would Memento have been as haunting a flick? Or would the scenes have been as creatively shot? Who knows. What we should be happy about is that it happened the way it was meant to be.

A cinematic Batman and Robin if you will. Before Memento, Pfister was shooting low budget films and got some good press from the Indie film, Hi-Line. This film got the notice of Spielberg which in turn got Pfister some Hollywood notoriety. Hence, Nolan grabbing hm for Memento.  All is good in the world.

Both of these guys see the future of cinema and realize the full spectrum of possibilities that can be brought to the screen. For instance, both dislike 3D claiming it’s just a fad. However, they both like IMAX saying that it brings the best visual experience to the audience.

Hollywood is turning to digital cameras as well, but the dynamic duo still prefers film as they feel it is more forgiving and has a better light range.  Nolan and Pfister remain true to the practices that made Memento a hit and don’t seem quick to change that anytime soon.

You think of great teams like Burns and Allen, Superman and Lois Lane, Astaire and Rogers…..I think one day we will look back on the team of Nolan and Pfister and see one of the greatest cinematography partnerships of our lifetime.

What do you think of this dynamic duo?

One of my Wally Pfister favorites by far. With the dark, dank shots of the underground, I wanted to discuss this film a bit.

If you have seen the film, and no doubt you have, then you know it is a period piece. Period pieces always make for cinematography magic. Capturing the essence of the period is essential and we all know Wally P is brilliant at this.

We know the team of Nolan and Pfister brings pure magic to the silver screen, right? What does Wally have to say about Chris Nolan’s vision for The Prestige?

“It’s a period piece, so we wanted to keep lighting natural and true to the period,” Pfister explains. “At the same time, we wanted to have a realistic and modern approach to the style of filmmaking, and part of that approach was to have an unpretentious, handheld style to the camera work. (Director) Chris Nolan likes a naturalistic style, but he also wanted to be able to block actors as he saw fit, and for the camera to be able to move around and keep up with that in a handheld style — not a documentary style, but a loose-camera approach. With that, we needed a flexible lighting configuration to be aesthetically pleasing.”

Nolan has a clear vision about his projects and I think it’s safe to assume that Pfister delivers, everytime. His genius does not come without some challenges of course. When asked about the biggest challenges in filming The Prestige, Wally states that holding the camera on his shoulder for 90% of the time was tough. He also states;

“Creatively, the biggest challenge for me was the work I had to do in advance to research how magic shows were staged in the 19th century. That’s how I figured out what kind of lighting approach I should take, and how I made it authentic but also interesting-looking.”

I don’t know about you, but I was pretty convinced I was watching a 19th century magic show! The scenes were captured so realistically, I think it is safe to say, we as the audience were transported to another time. Those are the films you never forget. The ones you wake up thinking about. The ones you will watch again and again. Which, I just watched The Prestige for the 4 th time!

It’s a fair assumption that many audiences only concern themselves with the script or the actors. It’s those of us that dive into the behind the scenes, filming, photography, etc…that see the WHOLE picture and the true magic of Hollywood. Who else is going to transform your living room into a 19th century, basement full of mystical magicians?

What I thought would be cool for you to see is the other side of the camera for Wally. Not only has he been involved in some of the greatest films ever made, but he has left his mark on television as well. The link  below shows ALL  the projects Wally Pfister has been involved in  and those that went to our living rooms. Bet ya didn’t know that did you??!

Wally Pfister Television Projects

Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire

Sketch Artist

Frontline

Rhapsody in Bloom

Breakfast with Einstein

Sanctuary

Sharing the Secret

Talk to me….do you know of other Wally Pfister in Television projects I may have missed? Let me know in the comments below and please share with your friends!

So, I decided that I would bring to you some of the best Wally Pfister quotes I could find. Enjoy the wisdom my friends.

Wally Pfister Quotes

“I’m personally not a big 3-D fan. It doesn’t really work for me. I don’t like the glasses, I don’t like the dark image, you know, through there. And it’s it feels a little gimmicky to me. That’s my own personal preference, I’m not a big fan of that”

 

“He’s a brilliant filmmaker, and he has incredible vision … When Chris wrote the screenplay, I knew I could relate to a lot of what he was talking about in the dream world. It was very inspiring.“

 

“For ‘Inception,’ Chris wanted a naturalistic look in the photography to reinforce the notion that dreams can feel incredibly real when we are in them … That way, when we do introduce an element of dreamworld surreality, it can be subtle, yet still effective.”"I see all these people up here lined up for this discussion and what you start to realize is that there is a very signature voice at that top of this and every single person deals directly with Christopher Nolan”

Talk to me fans! What is your favorite Wally Pfister quote?

If you liked this, please consider sharing

Wally Pfister On “The Dark Knight Rises”

From Warner Bros:

A couple of weeks ago, Warner Bros. revealed that Anne Hathaway has landed the role of Selina Kyle/Catwoman, and that previously announced Tom Hardy will be portraying Bane in the Christopher Nolan-directed film. Cinematographer Wally Pfister, who so beautifully filmed the previous two entries in Nolan’s Batman soon-to-be trilogy (as well as Inception) recently talked a bit about reading the script for The Dark Knight Rises, penned by Nolan and his brother Jonathan. When asked how Nolan can top The Dark Knight, Pfister responded thusly:

I asked the same question. I read the script two weeks ago, and he’s done it. Plain and simple — he’s done it. It’s a phenomenal script. He’s still in the process of cutting it back because it’s a very long script right now, but it’s really phenomenal. And he actually had me go back and wanted me to watch, in IMAX, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight again. When I watched those I had read the script for The Dark Knight Rises and was like, ‘dude, it is a perfect trilogy.’ I think that was his intent, to work off those two pictures — and they are very different pictures. And it’s funny, we all had different opinions about which picture we like better.”

Pfister also gave us this little tease; a majority of the film will be shot in IMAX. Holy wow…can this guy get any better??

Let me hear from you….did you think this will be Wally’s best? Are you excited for the release of “The Dark Knight Rises?”

Please consider sharing this if thought it rocked!