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MillimeterFade to Black: R.J. Cutler, Director/Producer
Feb 25, 2009 12:00 PM, By Michael Goldman
Photo by Lori Hawkins, Actual Reality Pictures
Just before heading off to the 2009 Sundance Film Festival with his newest film, The September Issue, documentary filmmaker R.J. Cutler waxed philosophical about how technology has evolved his chosen profession since the early days. Cutler produced the seminal political documentary The War Room in 1993 and directed A Perfect Candidate in 1996, springboarding him into a career as an award-winning reality television producer (American High, Military Diaries, and 30 Days, among others).
The September Issue documents the eight-month process editors at Vogue went through in 2008 to produce the magazine's annual fall fashion issue. It highlights the machinations of the publication's legendary editor, Anna Wintour, to make the gigantic and influential issue (about 800 pages and 4lbs.) happen. Just days before Sundance, Cutler was busy finalizing color and the sound mix for The September Issue, which was slated to debut as a Sundance Grand Jury Prize contender in the Documentary category. (It ended up winning the documentary cinematography award for DP Bob Richman.)
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“Our color correction and mix will be finished Tuesday, we output and fly to Sundance on Wednesday, and screen on Thursday,” Cutler said during a rare break. “It really helps that we don't have to transfer to film — we can bring a high-def piece of tape and project that beautifully. That saves me two or three or even four weeks I would not have otherwise had. In fact, I made a change in the film this morning. There was something bugging me and I fixed it just in time. We're now able to work on it until the last possible second.
“Our DP shot the movie using [Panasonic's AJ-HDC27] Varicam, all handheld, and I think it's beautiful. When we did War Room 16mm, the camera and lenses probably cost $60,000 by themselves, and we had to cut it on a Steambeck back in those days. We had to process film, get work prints, transfer it all back. So certainly, the threshold of opportunity video technology affords us is much greater, and that is an amazing, fantastic thing.”
Cutler concedes that The September Issue and other movies made this way will look intrinsically different than the rich 16mm aesthetic visible in The War Room. But different doesn't mean better or worse, and the advantages of shooting HD and posting digitally more than make up for whatever he leaves behind by turning away from film.
Continue the discussion on “Crosstalk” the Millimeter Forum.
