T H A N K Y O U, G O O D N I G H T
DIRECTOR: Chuck Griffith
STARRING: Christian Campbell, John Paul Pitoc, Mark Hamill, Sally Kirkland
TECH SPECS: 35mm, 1.85:1, Kodak (5293, 5279), Panavision Panaflex GII
Lee (Christian Campbell) and Trixie (Lara Boyd Rhodes) take to the road with garage band The Handy Kaufmans. This is a frame from a stylized time-lapse sequence that shows different members of the band taking turns driving. Irving cranked the camera down to 4 fps so that the motion would be greatly speeded up when projected at 24 fps. The car was on a standard tow-rig, equipped with a 4k fresnel HMI for fill. Irving also placed a graduated “grape” filter across the top of the frame to give a bit of color to the sky.
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Lee (Christian Campbell) and Trixie (Lara Boyd Rhodes) take comfort in each other while everything else around them falls apart. Usually, Irving chooses not to use the typical “Hollywood” blue-look for night scenes, opting instead for more realistic interpretations of how we see in the dark. For this scene, however, he drenched the kitchen in a bold and stylized blue in order to enhance the inner melancholy of the characters. Only the small candle flame adds a dash of color.
Lee’s father (Mark Hamill) buys the guitar he’s always wanted from Billy Davis Jr. (of the classic group “5th Dimension”). Irving is one of the many professionals working in the industry today who was the “perfect age” to appreciate STAR WARS when it premiered in 1977, and who grew up with the original trilogy. It was a personal highlight for Irving to work with the man who brought Luke Skywalker to life. And Mr. Hamill couldn’t have been more gracious; he’d happily sign any memorabilia that the crew brought to set.
The Handy Kaufmans (Jay Leggett, John Paul Pitoc, Christian Campbell, Scott Burkhardt) regroup after their bass player is taken away in an ambulance. The green hue of bad fluorescents was chosen to enhance the scene’s sickly feeling of foreboding.
The Handy Kaufmans prepare for the gig that will be their One Big Chance as the sun goes down over the fairgrounds. Irving and director Chuck Griffith wanted to capture a kind of iconic snapshot of the group at this suspended moment in time: for better or worse, it is the end of an era for each of them.
