BRINGING THE AUDIENCE ONSTAGE WITH PEARL JAM
by David Heuring
When Pearl Jam decided to release their new album through Target, they needed a spot that captured the energy and intensity of live performance. The band and director Cameron Crowe turned to cinematographer Phedon Papamichael, ASC, whose recent feature credits include Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, W., and The Pursuit of Happyness.
“Our goal was to capture the essence of the song, ‘The Fixer,’ in less than 30 seconds,” says Papamichael. “We wanted to create the atmosphere of a small club, and make the audience feel like they are onstage interacting with the band, seeing those quick but meaningful glances and gestures between band members.”
About 300 club-goers were brought into the Showbox, an intimate rock venue in Seattle. Papamichael employed three camera operators and used a range of Kodak film formats: Super 8, Super 16 and 35 mm. All the cameras were handheld, with zoom lenses for flexibility. The first take was done from behind the band, looking past the musicians to capture the excitement of the crowd. On subsequent takes, the operators moved freely on the stage, at times within inches of the band members, moving in harmony with the performance and the music.
The small formats were chosen for their light weight, portability and because format changes create visual interest designed to have a spontaneous, documentary feel. Cameras were loaded with KODAK VISION3 500T film stock, 5219 in the case of the ARRI 235 35 mm camera, and 7219 in the ARRI 416 Super 16 cameras. Pro8mm in Burbank provided the same VISION3 emulsion in Super 8 format, and also handled its processing and scanning to HD.
The Super 16 and 35 mm footage was transferred to HD format at FotoKem. Crowe then edited a 30-second spot from the footage. Images will also end up in a documentary he is making about the band. A full edit of the song may also play at Target stores on high definition screens. 
