{"id":415735,"date":"2022-03-09T15:16:09","date_gmt":"2022-03-09T12:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/jeff-cronenweth-explains-why-being-the-ricardos-ditches-the-43-ratio\/"},"modified":"2022-03-09T15:16:09","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T12:16:09","slug":"jeff-cronenweth-explains-why-being-the-ricardos-ditches-the-43-ratio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/jeff-cronenweth-explains-why-being-the-ricardos-ditches-the-43-ratio\/","title":{"rendered":"#Jeff Cronenweth Explains Why &#8216;Being the Ricardos&#8217; Ditches the 4:3 Ratio"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3df3f875347\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3df3f875347\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/jeff-cronenweth-explains-why-being-the-ricardos-ditches-the-43-ratio\/#%E2%80%9CJeff_Cronenweth_Explains_Why_%E2%80%98Being_the_Ricardos_Ditches_the_4_3_Ratio%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Jeff Cronenweth Explains Why &#8216;Being the Ricardos&#8217; Ditches the 4:3 Ratio&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CJeff_Cronenweth_Explains_Why_%E2%80%98Being_the_Ricardos_Ditches_the_4_3_Ratio%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Jeff Cronenweth Explains Why &#8216;Being the Ricardos&#8217; Ditches the 4:3 Ratio&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<pre><code>     &lt;span class=\"mx-1\"&gt;We chat with the cinematographer about capturing emotional truth rather than historical accuracy.&lt;\/span&gt;\n&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;div id=\"\"&gt;\n\n\n\n                &lt;figure class=\"sf-entry-featured-<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a> \"&gt;\n            &lt;img width=\"800\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Jeff-Cronenweth-Being-the-Ricardos.jpg\" class=\"articlethumb wp-post-image\" alt=\"Jeff Cronenweth Being The Ricardos\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Jeff-Cronenweth-Being-the-Ricardos.jpg 800w, https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Jeff-Cronenweth-Being-the-Ricardos-768x480.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/&gt;                                    &lt;p&gt;\n                    &lt;span class=\"sf-entry-flag sf-entry-flag-creditline\"&gt;Amazon Studios&lt;\/span&gt;\n\n                        &lt;\/figure&gt;\n\n    &lt;!-- START BYLINE --&gt;\n    &lt;div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center my-4 text-center medium dark-gray\"&gt;\n        By\u00a0Brad Gullickson\u00a0\u00b7 Published on March 9th, 2022 \n        &lt;\/div&gt;\n    &lt;!-- END BYLINE --&gt;\n\n    &lt;em&gt;Welcome to World Builders, our ongoing <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> of conversations with the most productive and thoughtful behind-the-scenes craftspeople. In this entry, we chat with cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth about recreating those I Love Lucy sequences for Being the Ricardos.&lt;\/em&gt;\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Why make one movie when you can make four? <strong><em>Being the Ricardos<\/em><\/strong> is divided into multiple sections, with each one adopting its own visual aesthetic: the on-camera interviews set somewhere around the late \u201980s\/early \u201990s, the black and white<strong> <em>I Love Lucy<\/em><\/strong> recreations, the \u201940s era introduction between Lucille Ball (<strong>Nicole Kidman<\/strong>) and Desi Arnaz (<strong>Javier Bardem<\/strong>), and the centerpiece hell week when Ball is labeled a communist and her pregnancy shatters the minds of her studio exec overlords.<\/p>\n<p>Early on in pre-production, writer-director <strong>Aaron Sorkin<\/strong> and cinematographer <strong>Jeff Cronenweth<\/strong> determined that each portion demanded a separate universe, suggesting films within films. The decision allowed them to play, chasing emotion rather than Hollywood accuracy.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, we\u2019re living in a moment when films gladly flaunt 4:3 aspect ratios \u2014 <em>The\u00a0Witch<\/em>, <em>First Reformed<\/em>, <em>Ida<\/em>, <em>A Ghost Story<\/em>, <em>American Honey<\/em>.\u00a0When looking to replicate the\u00a0<em>I Love Lucy<\/em> segments, the TV box screen seems like an obvious solution.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, obvious. Easy and uninteresting too. Cronenweth determined the Academy ratio, and the era-<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ropriate lighting that went with it was also inaccurate to how Lucille Ball experienced those sequences on the stage and in her mind.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn some movies, it serves very well,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd other times, it\u2019s kind of like a trick for no good end. You do it, but I don\u2019t know that it actually translates into a specific emotion or frame of mind where the director and the cinematographer wanted you to go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cronenweth never wanted to distract the audience. He didn\u2019t want them to fall into the <em>I Love Lucy<\/em> recreating gimmick. These moments are not meant to be magic tricks where one filmmaker proves their might in masterfully mirroring an iconic scene. The audience should never feel apart from what Ball is experiencing while performing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe never wanted to confuse it,\u201d Cronenweth continues. \u201cIt\u2019s not supposed to be the show. It\u2019s only supposed to be her manifestation of it when she\u2019s problem-solving. It\u2019s only ever in her head, but we allow you to look into that and utilize that and then pay homage to the show itself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When in doubt, turn to the script. The cinematographer looked at what Sorkin had on the page and considered his objective. What were these <em>I Love Lucy<\/em> moments communicating to those watching the movie?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think the intention in the script was ever for you to believe it\u2019s the show,\u201d says Cronenweth. \u201cWe could have shot it a whole bunch of ways. We could have shot a television; we could have watched people looking at it; we could have gone out of our way to actually emphasize that. But it didn\u2019t read that way. It clearly wasn\u2019t that way in Aaron\u2019s mind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When shooting the past, you will always struggle through the same questions. And just because you came to one conclusion on a previous movie project doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ll come to the same conclusion on the next one. Each movie is its own beast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a quagmire that everybody has to deal with when you\u2019re doing a period piece,\u201d he says. \u201cDo you actually photograph it the way it was, or do you modernize it? [<em>I Love Lucy<\/em>] was photographed by a gentleman named <strong>Karl Freund<\/strong>. He\u2019s an ASC member. He shot 160 films. He created the incandescent meter. He won an Oscar in 1937 for <em>The Good Earth<\/em>. He shot <em>Key Largo<\/em>, <em>The Thin Man<\/em>. He directed <em>The Mummy<\/em>. So, he was like a savant and known throughout the industry as a technical wizard. And that\u2019s why Desi reached out to him. I don\u2019t believe he had done television. And so, Desi gave him these challenges of lighting a show.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As you see in <em>Being the Ricardos<\/em>, Desi Arnaz could not settle for pre-established methods. If you told him it could not be done, he would delight in proving you wrong. But to do that, he needed a master craftsman. He needed Karl Freund.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDesi wanted to shoot three cameras at the same time,\u201d says Cronenweth. \u201cThree film cameras. And he wanted to do it in front of a live audience because he felt like the cast performances were better when they were performing to people. It\u2019s a challenge allowing an audience enough room to see the performers, but still light the show as beautifully as it can be lit, and cosmetically as it can be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A swell of admiration swims through Cronenweth\u2019s tone as he discusses the breakthroughs achieved by Karl Freund. You can almost hear the pull to mimic those accomplishments, and you can imagine the strength it required to resist imitation. What Fruend did on <em>I Love Lucy<\/em> changed everything.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, Freund had to figure out a system of top lighting,\u201d he continues, \u201celiminating shadows. Through this process, by the time it got to your television, it would build contrast. If you saw the set, if you were standing on the set, it would look enormously flat and bright, but by the time you saw it on your 1952 television, it looked reasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Karl Freund\u2019s revolution deserves celebration, and the desire to do it through emulation is not necessarily an incorrect impulse. It\u2019s just not the urge that would benefit the film Aaron Sorkin was trying to make and not the one that would help this particular story connect with its audience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI could have recreated that,\u201d says Cronenweth, \u201cand had 12 shadows on the wall and top-lit and did all that. But this is my philosophy. I\u2019m not presenting this movie to an audience in 1952. I\u2019m presenting this movie to an audience that watches <em><a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Game<\/a> of Thrones<\/em> with dragons flying through the air, and <em>Lord of the Rings<\/em>, and all these things. They\u2019re so highly educated compared to the audiences of the \u201950s that I think you owe them more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the end, Cronenweth looked to Karl Freund to solve his problem. The question became, what would he do in Cronenweth\u2019s place? Not the other way around.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I\u2019d done it identical,\u201d he says, \u201cI think it would\u2019ve been lost. The audience wouldn\u2019t understand it. Karl was a genius and the most progressive guy at the time. He certainly wouldn\u2019t shoot it today the way he did then. So, why would I want to do that? They were doing the best they could with what they had then.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If Karl Freund was Aaron Sorkin\u2019s cinematographer, what cameras would he use today? He would choose 8K. He would go RED.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI chose to use the RED Monochrome camera, which is a RANGER with a MONSTRO chip in it that\u2019s dedicated purely to black and white. The pixels have all been changed. It\u2019s light and dark, and it\u2019s beautiful, beautiful quality. I added a little more contrast and a little more highlights, and better lenses. I think it\u2019s close enough. It\u2019s in the world, but it looks contemporary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Being the Ricardos<\/em> gazes toward the past, but it doesn\u2019t get lost in it. Jeff Cronenweth wouldn\u2019t allow it. While the characters remain to history, Aaron Sorkin sought to align their story with our present. It starts in the script and stays with the cameras and the lighting choices. This is our movie, and it\u2019s the movie Cronenweth hopes Karl Freund would make today.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><strong><em>Being the Ricardos<\/em> is <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B09JB21878\/?ref=DVM_US_DL_SL_GO_AST_RICO_mkw_snO38FdyX-dc&amp;mrntrk=pcrid_570505967971_slid__pgrid_130877478426_pgeo_9008156_x__ptid_kwd-1483458937372&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiAmpyRBhC-ARIsABs2EApNEjEmu0orhI-tkA4Bua2dLfmnh5S6KfTZJGEVnmaQzNL-Pwoubp0aAn5-EALw_wcB\">now streaming<\/a> on Amazon Prime.<\/strong><\/p>\n<pre><code>    Related Topics: Jeff Cronenweth, World Builders\n    &lt;!-- AUTHOR BOX --&gt;\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<div class=\"gray-bg p-4 border small mb-5\">\n<div class=\"row align-items-center text-md-center\">\n<div class=\"col-md-2\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/brad.jpg\" class=\"circle img-fluid\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\"\/>\n        <\/div>\n<div class=\"col-md\">\n            Brad Gullickson is a Weekly Columnist for Film School Rejects and Senior Curator for One Perfect Shot. When not rambling about movies here, he&#8217;s rambling about comics as the co-host of Comic Book Couples Counseling. Hunt him down on Twitter: <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mouthdork\">@MouthDork<\/a>. (He\/Him)        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<pre><code>    &lt;!-- START RECOMMENDED READING 1 --&gt;\n                                &lt;section class=\"recommended py-5\"&gt;\n            &lt;h3&gt;Recommended Reading&lt;\/h3&gt;\n\n\n        &lt;\/section&gt;\n            &lt;!-- END RECOMMENDED READING --&gt;\n\n\n\n\n&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/jeff-cronenweth-being-the-ricardos-interview\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=jeff-cronenweth-being-the-ricardos-interview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Jeff Cronenweth Explains Why &#8216;Being the Ricardos&#8217; Ditches the 4:3 Ratio&#8221; &lt;span class=&#8221;mx-1&#8243;&gt;We chat with the cinematographer about capturing emotional truth rather than historical accuracy.&lt;\/span&gt; &lt;\/p&gt;&lt;div id=&#8221;&#8221;&gt; &lt;figure class=&#8221;sf-entry-featured-media &#8220;&gt; &lt;img width=&#8221;800&#8243; height=&#8221;500&#8243; src=&#8221;https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Jeff-Cronenweth-Being-the-Ricardos.jpg&#8221; class=&#8221;articlethumb wp-post-image&#8221; alt=&#8221;Jeff Cronenweth Being The Ricardos&#8221; srcset=&#8221;https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Jeff-Cronenweth-Being-the-Ricardos.jpg 800w, https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Jeff-Cronenweth-Being-the-Ricardos-768&#215;480.jpg 768w&#8221; sizes=&#8221;(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px&#8221;\/&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;span class=&#8221;sf-entry-flag sf-entry-flag-creditline&#8221;&gt;Amazon Studios&lt;\/span&gt; &lt;\/figure&gt;&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":415736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Jeff-Cronenweth-Being-the-Ricardos.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-415735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}