The director of photography of birds painted on the framing of black and white films

Adapted from the novel by Jerzy Kosiński, “The painted bird” comes to life through the lens of Vàclav Marhoul. Filmed in black and white, the film tells the story of The Boy as he wanders through villages in Eastern Europe during the Second World War, fighting for his survival.

While he suffers from the brutality and devastating horrors of war, it is the cinematographic images and the breathtaking images of Vladimir Smutney that seize our minds – buried to the neck, kicked and punched by bullies as he watches his pet die and watch the eyes widen. – and these are just some of the horrors of war he witnessed.

Smutney breaks down what it was like to frame his first black and white film. “The Painted Bird” will premiere on VOD and streaming services on July 17.

What was the first thing Vaclav told you about the film?

The first time, Václav Marhoul told me of his intention to make a film based on a novel by Jerzy Kosinski – “The painted bird”, we had just finished working on the film “Tobruk”. It was in 2007 and I already knew the book. I must admit that when I read it, the imagination of violence tortured me, but the description of the scenes and the way they were written fascinated me.

But when he talked about making the film, I knew it would be difficult because the narrative aspect of the novel did not have the classic structure of a drama.

What were the visual influences when shooting in black and white since it was your first time?

As a general rule, the first time you make a film with new media, they tend to be daring stylistically, because you have a lot of new ideas in mind. But I didn’t have a clear idea or that typical brainstorming of ideas in my head, to be honest.

At first, I did not have a clear idea of ​​how the form of the film would be created. But finally, you add layer after layer and the shape appears.

For inspiration, Václav chose a collection of black and white photos from the Second World War. Their aesthetics were essential for making decisions about the appearance of the film. We were inspired by several classic films.

A plan showing the head of an actor inside a tree was inspired by the film “Markéta Lazarova” by director František Vlačil.

In addition, at the beginning of “The Painted Bird” where the camera watches the boy run, he was inspired by “Diamonds of The Night” by Jan Němec.

What techniques did you use to capture the horror of war through your lens?

The film was shot on Arricam Lite and Arriflex 235. For portable scenes, we used Hawk V-Litte anamorphic lenses. For VFX images and green screens, we used a digital camera, RED Monstro.

An important decision was to shoot a negative film in black and white because the analog image is completely different from the digital image.

The filters were also very important and I used three: yellow, green and red.

I used the red filter to shoot a key scene – this is where Marta’s house is burned down and only the fireplace remains. The boy wakes up under a tree in the wide shot with a vast landscape. The red filter darkens the sky above the clouds. It creates a contrast between the cold beauty of this image and the situation in the scene. I learned by photographing in black and white that you don’t need to stick to realistic lighting.

As a general rule, the main light inside daytime scenes in a colored film should always come from outside, it is very important to me, because it is realistically motivated by light. With black and white cinematography, it’s not always necessary to stick to realistic lighting in my opinion. The lighting must serve the photogenicity of the images – a certain expressiveness of the image combined with an appropriate alternation of poetics. Often, technical errors, for example the radiation of the sky in an image, can create a beautiful image.

Given the nature of the film, what was the most difficult scene for you to shoot?

The most difficult scene was the Cossack attack on the village, the massacre and the eventual liberation of the village by Russian tanks and planes. We had three complete film crews with three cameras, stuntmen, horses, explosions, shots and shots. The scene was shot in three days and during this period we shot around 90 shots.