RIDLEY SCOTT
AND DARIUSZ WOLSKI
TAKE ON NAPOLEON

Napoleon Bonaparte has been irresistible subject matter for filmmakers throughout cinema history. Abel Gance’s 1920s epic silent still stands as the towering archetype, replete with then-fresh techniques like superimposition, quick editing, handheld cameras and a panoramic triple-projection system dubbed Polyvision. So it seems inevitable that Ridley Scott, maker of ambitious historical films like Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Exodus: Gods and Kings, Robin Hood, and 1492: Conquest of Paradise, would take on the diminutive and power-hungry despot. 

At Scott’s side throughout this latest Napoleon was director of photography Dariusz Wolski, ASC, his collaborator on nine films, including House of Gucci, The Last Duel, Alien: Covenant, and The Martian. Among Wolski’s other credits as director of photography are four Pirates of the Caribbean films.

Photo: Apple Original Films/Columbia Pictures

Scenes for Napoleon were exceptionally complex and large-scale. The Battle of Austerlitz, for example, depicts Russian battalions being drawn onto a frozen lake and then dispatched by ice-cracking cannon fire. Still, the shoot was accomplished in only 62 days – a rate the filmmakers insist keeps things fresh for everyone. To maintain that brisk shooting pace, to keeps tabs on logistics, and to make Scott’s creative intentions clear to all contributors, the Napoleon production team made extensive use of PIX, the industry-leading production management software. PIX came in especially handy for dailies and cuts – early montages that lend invaluable info about how scenes are coming together, and what might still be needed. 

"I’M GETTING FEWER COMPLAINTS ABOUT LIGHTING TOO DARK AND MOODY, AND I’VE REALIZED IT’S BECAUSE THE TECHNOLOGY CONTINUES TO IMPROVE"

Meanwhile, CODEX technology ensured that the imagery captured would give audiences a taste of the real time and place, allowing Wolski to shoot freely without muffling the sense of place by controlling the sun, clouds and other cues with silks, tenting or too much post production manipulation. 

Scott reportedly storyboards every shot. Still, Wolski says that an openness to spontaneity is essential. “You can’t over plan,” says the cinematographer. “You have ideas, of course, but you have to use broad strokes. When you come onto the set, you must be completely open and fresh, because there are limitations, adaptations, and surprises that you must capture. And sometimes they compound each other beautifully, which is what happens in nature. If you’re worrying about something you have in your mind, you might miss a great chance.

Director Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix on location

“Working with Ridley is unique,” he continues. “We’ve done big stuff; we’ve done small stuff. We’ve done quite a lot. It’s a routine. But the scale of Napoleon made it exceptional, and it required a lot of planning. And there is another aspect of the film, with Josephine, that is quite intimate. We shot in real museum-quality interiors, where we took our cues from the painters of that era, like Jacques-Louis David and Eugene Delacroix.”

Often, on the big scenes, more than a dozen cameras were rolling – mostly ALEXA Mini LFs, with ALEXA LFs catching hero shots on the larger sensor. Panavision provided two sets of PVintage primes, with the rest of the glass matched as well as possible. If there was enough light, Wolski would also make use of zooms. 

"WE’RE SEEING PIX ON IPADS, AND THE IPAD IS ACTUALLY A VERY GOOD REPRESENTATION OF THE COLOR, RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX"

“You end up using every possible lens,” he says. “The short, easy zooms I use all the time, but you also need the long zooms. In some shots, the enemy camp is literally a mile away, and we wanted to show the true perspective. When you have 4K cameras and good monitors on the set, you don’t have to test – what you see right now is what you’ll get. We’re seeing PIX on iPads, and the iPad is actually a very good representation of the color, right out of the box. We could get anything, but Apple has really developed the best representation of color and contrast. The TV monitors you see with glass screens are just horrible, unless you spend hours tweaking them. They’re designed for football games – bright and sharp – and it’s hard to undo that. I’m getting fewer complaints about lighting too dark and moody, and I’ve realized it’s because the technology continues to improve.”

Wolski says that the ARRI ALEXA was a turning point for cinematography. Today’s ALEXA models use CODEX Recording Technology and processing to maximize and maintain image quality throughout the process. 

“I did twenty movies on film, and when digital was in its infancy, I hated it,” says Wolski, “In a wintry scene like those in Napoleon, the dynamic range wasn’t there and the whites would always clip. But the minute the ARRI ALEXA came out, it was incredible. And it’s still just getting better and better. I’m shooting a movie right now with the ALEXA 35, and you can just roll. The candles hold up really well. If you need it, you can use windows and repaint everything, and it still pops.

Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski, ASC on location

“I despise the term ‘LUT,’” says Wolski. “I recently did a commercial with a French director who asked me about ‘the Gucci LUT,’ saying that everyone is using it. I had to laugh and tell him I didn’t know what he was talking about. Younger filmmakers seem to think there’s some magical LUT that solves everything. I always start with the camera the way it is. That probably gives you too much chroma, so we take that out. Then we do a basic scene based on the situation, and Ryan creates those files. Perhaps Ridley asks for it to be a bit warmer. Everything is done on the set. Ryan is so fast.

“We never fight the existing weather,” says Wolski. “Instead, we complement it. We never hang huge silks to control everything. At the scale we’re shooting, it’s impossible and dangerous. I don’t think it’s worth it. And when you control too much, everything looks the same. Instead, we just commit, and we shoot. Some people shoot one scene for five days, which adds inconsistency and problems. In Napoleon, you see huge clouds, strong winds. The sun moves and people fall into shadow. The actors don’t have to wait so long. It feels real and it’s more interesting. If you feel the sense of time and character, you go along.”

"CODEX TRANSFER DRIVE TECHNOLOGY HAS REALLY HELPED WITH SPEED AND DEPENDABILITY..."

The richness of the imagery captured by CODEX and ALEXA make such an approach possible. Wolski says that when it comes to the workflow, DIT Ryan Nguyen is “the real brains behind the whole thing. Ryan creates the files and the editor sees exactly what we saw, and everything else goes to Stefan Sonnenfeld and Company 3. It’s quick, and everything happens automatically. The final color is fast and pleasant.”

Nguyen has done more than a dozen films with Wolski. Scott trusts him as well.

“Ridley can be very technical and he’s really into the color grading,” says Nguyen. “He might request changes for any of the cameras at any time. Hopefully things are roughed in before Dariusz comes to the monitors to light. I’m making the CDLs, and we’re often adjusting the iris, too, using a remote system that works through the fiberoptic. But we’ve done so many movies together that I know what he wants. This one had a lot of cameras, so I had to be ready, but I knew what to expect.”

As CODEX Drives come off the cameras, the data manager – usually Steve Evans – makes safety copies and sends them to a near-set operation where the editorial files are created. Nguyen sometimes used PIX to make sure CDLs were being applied properly. 

“I think we got to 14 cameras on this one, and we did that for three weeks straight,” says Nguyen. “That was quite challenging, but the technology has evolved and made things easier, smaller, and more affordable. It’s still a physical job, but as I get older, I’m glad things are getting more compact. CODEX Transfer Drive technology has really helped with speed and dependability, and now we’re getting into 4K and HDR. It has come a long way.”

Napoleon was nominated for the Golden Frog at the Camerimage International Festival of the Art of Cinematography, and is appearing on many Oscar shortlists, including for Best Cinematography.