Temple Grandin is an inspiring HBO movie based on the life of a courageous woman who overcame daunting odds to make a difference in the world. The film, which premiers on February 6, tracks her life from adolescence to contemporary times.
Temple Grandin was born autistic and didn't speak until she was 4 years old. During her elementary and high school years, she was teased and treated cruelly by other children who thought she was retarded. Grandin went on to earn a doctorate degree, and now heads the animal sciences department at Colorado State University. She has been instrumental in passing legislation that provides for more humane treatment of animals at slaughter houses, and has also written books about autism.
 |
| Cinematographer Ivan Strasburg, BSC and director Mick Jackson confer and review a scene for Temple Grandin. (Photo by Van Redin/HBO) |
The film is the fourth collaboration for Ivan Strasburg, BSC and director Mick Jackson, beginning with Live from Baghdad, a 2002 television movie. He also shot the first 12 episodes of The Handler, produced by Jackson in 2003, the pilot for Numb3rs, and Covert One: The Hades Factor, a 2006 TV movie that was directed by Jackson.
Temple Grandin was produced in Super 16 format, mainly at practical locations in Austin, Georgetown, Lockhart and Houston, Texas, with a few scenes filmed on sets built on stages in empty buildings. It will broadcast in HD.
Clairmont Camera provided three ARRI 416 bodies and a range of Zeiss Ultra Prime and Canon zoom lenses. Strasburg had KODAK VISION2 100T 7212 and KODAK VISION3 500T 7219 negatives on his palette. He primarily used the 100-speed film, which he occasionally overexposed "a bit" to record lush images in the glaring Texas sunlight.
"A bit" is a cinematographer's metaphor for saying that he trusted his instincts to tell him how much overexposure was enough to render the looks he wanted. "I had worked with production designer Richard Hoover a number of times, mainly on other films with Mick," he says. "We did a lot of scouting together. We didn't build a lot of sets. One was a shed that we converted to a stable set."
Claire Danes portrays Grandin from the age of 15 into her early 60s. Strasburg shot hair and makeup tests with a stand-in for the actress before she was available to help him decide how to deal with her aging as the story evolves.
 |
| Director of photography Ivan Strasburg, BSC takes a meter reading on the set of Temple Grandin, produced in various cities in Texas. (Photo by Van Redin/HBO) |
"Claire is a wonderfully talented actress who became Temple Grandin in front of our eyes," Strasburg says. "My admiration for her is absolutely unending."
There are flashbacks of Grandin as a 4 and 5 year old, which were heavily desaturated, mainly in postproduction. There are scenes of Grandin during her teens, including time she spent on her aunt's ranch in Arizona. Those scenes are "slightly" desaturated. The final segments are of Dr. Grandin during her adult years.
Strasburg usually shot scenes with two cameras, and sometimes three, to get coverage from different perspectives. The cameras were generally handheld to create a slight feeling of visual tension. There were also occasional Steadicam and dolly shots.
"We had a terrific crew," Strasburg says. "We used fill from all directions to augment key lighting. Mick was always right in the middle of the action rather than in a video village. He rarely called for more than two or three takes."
Strasburg kept lighting as natural looking as possible, while enhancing it for characters and the drama, however, there were always surprises when unplanned things happened. There is a scene where Grandin steps out of an airplane. The script called for her to talk about how hot it was, but it was a rare, overcast day. Within a few moments, Strasburg had his crew create artificial sunshine with two 18Ks on a Condor.
He put final touches on the look during postproduction with colorist Kevin O'Connor at Deluxe in Los Angeles.
"Kevin was projecting HD images on a big screen," Strasburg says. "You can't tell that we shot this in Super 16 format. There isn't a hint of grain."
