Oliver Wood: Water, Water, and More Water.

From ICG Magazine, Watership Down by Pauline Rogers (May 2000)

Compressed Nitrogen:
"The set piece was hung over an area with a drain," says Wood. "We would pour water into the set-- and I mean pour-- and shoot. The water would then be drained away and we would go again. To protect the fronts of the lenses, we used Nitrogen air blowers like the ones we used on Face/Off. These blowers were so effective, we could literally walk the cameras through a wall of water-- moving with the actors, to get the intensity of the action."

Mag change!
Off the island of Malta, production constructed a 100 percent scale duplicate of a U-boat, weighing in at some 600 tons. Additionally, two full sized, tops of subs were floated in giant water tanks. "These were two 220-foot long 'subs,' surrounded by gigantic towers that poured salt water rain on the action all the time," confirms Wood. ... "The cameras had to be completely covered in plastic. That meant it took about 15 minutes to change the 400-foot mags. Although well-protected, the cameras kept breaking down from the abuse."

Peter Donan on the miniatures:
"When doing underwater shooting, the miniatures were shot using available light, as we were working about 15 to 20 feet underwater," describes Donan. "In order to control the quality of the light on these boats, we had silks made that were almost 180-feet long by 150-feet wide. They were created out of sailboat spinnaker cloth. We used this material because of its superior resistance to UV [light] and saltwater... At one point, we even had to paint the tank's bottom black to cut down on bounce reflection. That way, we could get additional shape from the hull and prevent it from looking too lit."

Conrad Hall: Making it Rain

From ICG Magazine, Smells Like Suburban Spirit by David Geffner (May 2000)

... As if returning full circle to the shadowy imagery of In Cold Blood, Hall utilized shadowplay through various set windows for the movie's waterlogged final act. "I had rain boxes built," the cinematographer declares, "which were approximately eight inches thick by four feet-by-four feet. They look like big fishtanks and each one sits on an easel at an angle, with a rain bar at the top to drive water down the Plexiglas surface. You can shine a light through each rainbox, and control sharpness and focus according to how the light is positioned and what type of intensity light is used."

Hall got innovative with the rain in one of the climax's key dramatic moments. Angela has just run from her best friend's bedroom, despairing at the truths hurled at her by Jane and Ricky. As the teary-eyed girl curls up on the stairwell, Hall introduces softly lit shadows of the rain outside as texture on the balustrade and walls behind her. It's a sad, yet ominous moment, and a prelude to the pending tragedy as Lester finds the distraught girl in the rainy darkness of his own living room.

..."We were all on the same page as to how long this driving rain would go on and exactly where in the film it would start. Obviously, my challenge is to make sure it's raining in every single shot- interior or exterior. The rain allowed for great stylization with lighting and composition. I could place shadows of the rain on people's faces, or behind them on walls and such in every scene. The effect was a build-up of tension and drama-- it can't rain that long without all the animals eventually getting aboard the Ark!"

Ueli Steiger: Rain Deflectors

From American Cinematographer, Monster Mash by David E. Williams (June 1998)

With artificial storms forecast throughout the Godzilla shoot, rain deflectors were essential in order to ensure the sharp images needed for the ensuing digital work. These devices typically incorporate a high-speed rotating optical glass disc mounted in front of the lens, which throws the water off via centrifugal force before the image is blurred.

"We had every rain deflector in the world on this show, and none of them worked very well. Panavision had several versions, including a little one for the Steadicam. We also had a deflector which blasts water right off the lens using compressed air. It works well for about 10 seconds before the air valve freezes shut. It's also very noisy. This was another reason to use zooms. Switching lenses would have required us to continually remove and reattach the rain deflectors, which takes far too much time."

- Ueli Steiger

Peter Menzies Jr: Lighting Rain & Flood

American Cinematographer, Photographing at Full Flood, by George Turner (January 1998)

"The backing was quite easy to light. Because it was on dry land, but in the tank in was always a struggle to move lights around. Then we tried lighting balloons, and they really helped us out. They were flexible, safe, and provided a beautiful quality of light. When we floated the balloons, the rain obscured the power cords coming down from them. We didn't have to worry about lighting from Condors or towers or anything else. To see all of those glowing balloons floating up over the set was pretty surreal! It could look absolutely beautiful when we backlit it, but a flood isn't a beautiful thing. We didn't backlight much because we really didn't want a theatrical look; we wanted it to look real. Also, if we had backlit the rain, we wouldn't have had the depth we wanted on such a large set. It was great to see the whole set without it being washed out by backlit rain. Most of the time I'd crosslight it, but sometimes we'd just throw 360 degrees of light with the balloons. Quite often, you couldn't even see the rain falling. Instead, you could just see it on the water's surface, which really enhanced the realism."

- Peter Menzies Jr., ASC

Wexler & Hall: "Gaffer with a capital G!"

From American Cinematographer, Island of Lost Souls interview by Conrad Hall, ASC (July 1999)

Hall: "Watching the film, I don't remember seeing a single shot with any sunshine at all. Was this a deliberate attempt to cast an atmospheric mood on the characters' lives or was that just typical Juneau weather?

Wexler: "It was a deliberate attempt by God to not let the sun shine during the filming!

Hall: "Ah, your gaffer!"

Wexler: "The gaffer in the sky."

Hall: "Gaffer with a capital G!"

Wexler: "Actually, a number of times I was praying for some sunlight, because we did have some day-for-night shots that I would have liked to have built some contrast into. It rained on us every single day, and even during the party sequence you may see some streaks behind Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as she's singing."

- Haskell Wexler, ASC & Conrad Hall, ASC