Filmed primarily on location, in Morocco and South Dakota, Hidalgo is the true story of Frank T. Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen), the greatest long-distance endurance rider in the United States, and the only American to be invited to compete in The Ocean of Fire––a 3,000 mile horse race from Aden, Yemen to Damascus, Syria.

“Two elements that attracted me to the project were the chance to photograph a story with this kind of breathtaking sweep, and the opportunity to reunite with Director Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III, October Sky, Jumanji, The Rocketeer, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids),” says cinematographer Shelly Johnson, ASC (The Last Castle, The Others, Jurassic Park III, Durango).

“Joe has a marvelous sense of structure and design that gives his films a distinctive signature. He successfully balances smoothly developed character relationships with his flair for action.

“We wanted to maintain a certain grandeur that was inherent in the expansive locations and the development of the journey as it was so capably written by John Fusco,” Johnson explains. “We discussed relating this same idea to our interiors as well, positioning our character in scale to his environment so that the audience would gain an understanding of Hopkins by how he harmonized with his surroundings. To us, the character’s placement in the setting, and the camera’s perspective, said as much about him as the dialogue.

“A preliminary scout of Morocco brought to light incredible locations with almost lunar landscapes in and around Ouarzazate and Erfoud,” Johnson explains. “The area was completely devoid of vegetation, and I was excited by how this would contrast our scenes on the American Frontier.

“The 127-day schedule would also take us from Los Angeles to Montana and South Dakota,” he adds. “In order to take advantage of the natural attributes of the locations, Joe and I began breaking down the sequences to shoot specific angles at certain times of day.

“Joe has a good sensibility for the scene’s composition within the story and is committed to his decisions. My suggestions needed to suit his interpretation of the material seamlessly; therefore a primary component of our working relationship was defining the shadings of the story, and how to best represent them photographically in a consistent fashion.”

The story of Hidalgo follows Hopkins, who honed his horse-handling skills while he was a dispatch rider in the United States Army. He claimed over 400 endurance race victories in the late 1800’s. He was internationally known for the quality of horses he rode, including one Paint mustang, Hidalgo.

Hopkins moved mainly throughout South Dakota and was an unwitting participant in the Wounded Knee Massacre. Later, while working as a specialty rider in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, he was approached by Arabian Sheik Bin Riyadh (Omar Shariff) to enter the horse in a 3,000-mile endurance race across the Arabian Desert. This race was, for centuries, competed only by Arabian horses of the finest bloodlines. Hidalgo was a wild Mustang, famous for his stamina, but disdained for his lack of recorded ancestry. Similarly, Hopkins was orphaned at an early age, a half-breed Indian, and was faced with settling unresolved tribulation in order to persevere through the adversities of the race.

“In creating a visual design for the film, I was drawn to Hopkins internal journey,” says Johnson. “Production designer Barry Robison created a color palette that illustrated transformation through the introduction of specific hues at key moments. Costume designer Jeffery Kurland and I based our coloring on this same concept so that we were all shaping one concise visual idea. That meant that each major change in location brought forth discernible complexities that were revealing to the story.

“Wounded Knee was rendered in steely tones of blue and cyan that had a very raw and hard look. With the introduction to Buffalo Bill’s world, came the inclusion of browns and reds.”

The look changed again when Hopkins arrives in Arabia. “We integrated hues of coral, orange and cyan in these areas,” Johnson explains. “As the race progressed and Hopkins reached an almost hallucinatory state, we introduced baked white.”

The ending sequences shot in Montana depict Hopkins’ return to the United States. “These scenes are finished in the most incredible natural greens that realize a truly American landscape,” Johnson adds.

Johnson, Robison and Johnston studied paintings by Jean-Leon Gerome and others by Thomas Eakins. They were intrigued by their use of depth created with layers of light and shadow. “This was a technique Joe and I used on Jurassic Park III for the stage-bound jungle sets and we were pleased with how this type of effect took the image away from a two-dimensional look,” he explains.

“We also liked the fact that that these images personified a specific era and we wanted to emulate that with the cinematography.”

Conceptual ideas in place, Johnson began to address the physical logistics. “The Moroccan locations were varied and difficult to access. It was laborious to move men and equipment from one place to another,” he continues. “Dolly track and traditional means of moving the camera were considered for their compatibility with that environment. We brought several cranes with us, primarily working from the Super Technocrane.”

A conversation with Robert Richardson, ASC about his experience on The Four Feathers netted sound advice. “We discussed how the terrain required custom production techniques, and one piece of his advice that was key to my approach,” Johnson recounts. “‘The best thing you can do is embrace where you are,’ Bob explained. ‘Educate yourself about the country, the people and the history. This will help you characterize Hopkins’ journey and articulate your work.’”

Johnson also called on images from Freddie Young’s work on Lawrence of Arabia. “I remember the day that Joe, Barry and I were going to have a quick look at a scene during a conceptual meeting. Needless to say, four hours later, we emerged with a new strength for our project, and an unambiguous desire to shoot in the anamorphic format,” Johnson explains.

“I had considered the possibility of shooting Super 35mm, and although the use of lighter, faster lenses was inviting, I elected to go for the larger negative, added detail and extraordinary optical characteristics of the Panavision system. Because of the film’s period nature, I preferred to finish in the lab rather than employ a newer digital intermediate method. I also wanted the film to have effective sharpness and snap. I did not want to deal with steps that would risk the loss of any resolution.

“Along with the elaboration of colors that we devised in prep, I wanted the lighting style to illustrate change as we moved from one major setting to the next. Therefore, light in each location played a slightly different role, and would possess distinctive characteristics that would denote a certain place.

“In preparing the South Dakota portion of the film, I was impressed by the natural environment and the clearness of the Lakota lifestyle. I elected to go with a very natural look with little to no augmentation. This usually meant orienting scenes to best take advantage of natural light. If any fill was used, it usually consisted of several 18K HMI’s through a 12x20 grid cloth, and was only brought in when existing conditions were unfavorable,” Johnson explains.

“I felt that this part of the movie could be beautiful, but also needed to have an underlying feeling of doom. I was struck by the feeling of incertitude the Army had prior to the massacre. The difficult winter conditions combined with the recent defeat of Custer at Little Bighorn cast an eerie gloom over this period of history.

“The cavalry camp was shot in an ordered manner, and was deficient in a certain humanity. In opposition, the Lakota camp was shot in a more intrinsic fashion, but lacked strength. This feeling is represented in the type of camera movement we used. Any shots in the cavalry camp consisted either of lateral moves, or the camera slightly pulling away, creating discernible distance with the characters,” Johnson adds. “Most of the movement in the Lakota camp indicates a point of view moving-in, closer to the action.”

Working with director Johnston, Johnson designed a camera technique to make the transition from South Dakota to the Wild West Show. The camera started on a close shot of Mortensen reacting to the horrors of the massacre. “1st AC Michael Martino and Operator Don Devine made the shot using a Pan-Arri 435. They ramped speed from 40fps with 45-degree shutter to 120fps at 90-degrees that created an abstract effect on the blowing snow. As the shot dissolved out, we dimmed up a 20K on his face,” Johnson explains. “This was the first inorganic light source we employed in order to introduce the unnatural world of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West.”

The first appearance of The Wild West Show is at night, with the light taking on very artificial attributes. “There were no natural sources and the divergent quality of the lighting was glaring and at times very harsh,” says Johnson. “We simulated period calcium spot lighting with a large array of Molebeams and lighting balloons.

“To contrast Wounded Knee, camera movement and staging were also more choreographed and rendered in a manner that was larger than life,” he continues. “Adding to the concept of an artificial world, we created lens flares with some of our low-set Molebeams, particularly effective with the older Panavision lenses we chose.

“The Moroccan locations had many delicate hues newly introduced to the story and the crew and I worked very hard at preserving the subtleties of the region,” Johnson adds. “In order to do this, I exposed mostly for full sun, even in back or side lit situations so the exposure would preserve purity of color.

“This meant that I had to use lines of HMIs through enormous grid frames to create extraordinary amounts of fill light in order to balance for retained highlights. This technique also affected the deep background areas in a positive way. The Moroccan air was full of fine sand and when backlit, went almost white in the distance.

“Compensating the lighting for highlights brought these values down into a desirable balance that was similar to the Gerome paintings,” he adds.

To be able to adapt quickly, Johnson and crew had to devise a compact camera and lighting package that could easily be shipped to Morocco. Before shooting began in Los Angeles, Michael Martino worked with Panavision’s Dan Sasaki in assembling a set of Panavision C-Series Lenses, as well as several sets of Primo Anamorphics for use under low light levels. “I prefer the older imaging attributes of the C-Series,” Johnson explains. “They have a softer, more rounded look with a pleasing amount of flare and chromatic aberration that I felt was suitable for this story. The Primos take on a natural softness when they are shot at T2.0, and I have found in the past that the two lens systems blend in a way that I find favorable.

“This isn’t to say that they are inter-cuttable on a day to day basis,” Johnson adds. “Rather I would use the Primos for lower contrast, darker situations such as magic hour, where the added punch and sharpness inherent in the newer lenses helped balance the development from scene to scene.

“I chose to use various film stocks because I wanted the film to evolve as Hopkins moved through the story, and since he never returned to the same location twice, I felt that the effect of different stocks would add a complex and interpretive character to his journey.”

Johnson shot the South Dakota sequences on 5274 to achieve a cool look on overcast days. He moved to 5279 for the night scenes and a combination of 5248 and 5246 for day exteriors, depending on relation to light levels, contrast and coloring techniques used.

Johnson’s need for flexibility was paramount on both first and the extensive second unit. To make sure both units were in sync, he brought in Kevin McKnight, who is known for his commercial work. “He did a lot of the transitional imagery on this film, and did a commendable job navigating the ever-changing weather conditions, sandstorms and horned vipers.” Johnson adds. “If we had a great sunset, we would be shooting one area with Viggo, and as soon as we had our shot, he and Hidalgo would run a few hundred yards to where Kevin was set-up and improvise some action that he felt was appropriate.

“The unpredictable natural elements did wreck havoc on our nerves, but also created truly remarkable natural phenomenon, particularly at the end of the day,” he adds. “Some of the sunsets are otherworldly with blowing sand and atmosphere one day, only to be contrasted with crystal clarity the next.

“With such a mixed bag, we could shoot a couple of sunsets at the same location and end up with two distinctively different looks. There is one sunset that is so remarkable that it looks completely artificial. Every time the shot appears, Joe leans over and jokingly says, ‘Shelly, we have to get rid of this backing company. Look at this––it looks like a cartoon!’”

The natural elements were also considered when it came time to photograph the race sequences. Johnson and director Johnston wanted the style of racing coverage to evolve as the race progressed and Hopkins’s inward journey became more desperate. “The equipment we brought with us to Morocco needed to be portable, and be adapted for race configurations of varying intensity, as well as traditional shooting,” Johnson explains. “Key grip Bob Babin’s custom built insert car was a solidly implemented light weight 4WD vehicle, affectionately named “The Shotmaker.”

“It could change over from Technocrane mode, which we used for day to day shooting amongst the sand and rocks, to a fast moving all-terrain chase vehicle fitted with a lightweight arm and Space Cam. We also had the ability to travel with an additional Libra III hard mounted to the shooting deck so that we could get gyro stabilized double coverage over rough terrain. This was good since our horses were capable of a limited number of runs each day. We needed to get as much footage as possible with each racing run.

“In addition to the Shotmaker, Bob and his crew built a one-man sand-rail vehicle that we were able to run amongst the running horses that was fitted with the Libra III with wireless controls and micro-wave video signal. The camera was mounted over the roof of the sand-rail and gave a perspective that was similar to a rider’s point of view. Don and Mike were able to travel alongside in a chase vehicle, out of harm’s way.

“This rig provided us with some exciting moments since the horses would allow it to move in close, and not shy-away. Also, the vehicle could jockey back and forth like another horse in the pack.”

Johnson realized that he would have difficulty maintaining majestic scale for the night exteriors in Morocco. So, he suggested dusk-for-night photography to capture the vast landscapes there. “We were able to move our large night encampment scenes back to Los Angeles, where I had better access to the heavy equipment needed to light enormous areas.”

The night camp sets were comprised of several hundred tents of varying scale that were formed at the various checkpoints along the route. Most of the tents were colored the traditional “Bedouin Black,” which were woven from a mixture of wool and camel fur, and took an enormous amount of light to get them to read. “I knew that if I provided the set with that much illumination, the lighter toned sand would go too bright. I needed to conceive a unique method of lighting the camp on a large scale, and still maintain a sense of authenticity,” he explains.

“The camps were dotted with various coffee and cooking fires that would motivate a lot of the sources around the tents, as well as drifting smoke. I elected to backlight the smoke with sources low, behind each of the dark foreground tents, which would illuminate the air and throw their distinctive shapes into silhouette.

“Dave Maddux and his electric crew rigged dozens upon dozens of low-lying 5K Skypans behind the tents and constantly adjusted their placement from shot to shot so that the camera would see the maximum effect on the moving smoke, and the lamps would still be hidden.

“We didn’t worry about lighting the black tent fabric,” Johnson explains. “We just created shapes that receded into the distance. I think a few people on the crew thought we were nuts because before the smoke was activated, you couldn’t see anything. The air was void of any kind of substance to catch the light and the whole set looked undefined, and enveloped in inky blackness.

“When the effects crew lit the smoke sources, the scene came alive, and you could see a multitude of Bedouin tents that seemed to go on forever. Joe likes flexibility. He feels if a large set is built, it should be rigged in such a way that gives him freedom to move the camera wherever the scene takes him at any time. The crew and I have a great respect for Joe, and we worked hard to provide a creative atmosphere for him and the actors.

“One of my favorite sequences takes place near the end of the race. After Hidalgo is injured, Hopkins rides him until he collapses in the middle of a barren plain. Before saying goodbye to his friend he decides to ask his Indian ancestors for help by way of a sacred chant. This is where our color design recognized the inclusion of a pure white. In order to accomplish this, I went with a full skip-bleach technique on the original negative process. We tested this approach extensively during prep, since altering the chemistry on the negative affected the highlights dramatically, as well as altering the film speed.

“Essentially, there was no real ASA that I could use in a consistent fashion since exposure was determined by the amount of highlights present in each individual composition.

“The effective contrast that the film was able to register was no more than 8:1, which meant that exposure and fill levels were critical. I ended up setting solids to take the sun off Viggo and light him separately so that I could compensate for the most effective balance between his face and surrounding skies and geography.

“Reflecting back on the experience of making such a complicated movie, I would have to say it was truly enjoyable, mainly for the opportunity to work with a first-rate director and crew. It was important for me to have a constant group on for the run of the show, and I am thankful that producer Casey Silver and the studio allowed the majority of the Los Angeles based ICG crew to travel to Morocco.

“This was invaluable since it provided me with the constancy I needed to focus on the nuances of the story instead of training a new group on my working preferences. I have had the same crew with me for between 12 & 17 years. Operator Don Devine; assistants Mike Martino & Lisa Westin; key grip Bob Babin and gaffer Dave Maddux have all been with me through my television days and are devoted, honorable people.

“I like the fact that all of these people, and their crews, look for imaginative ways to solve very technical problems. They think about the film and consider how their suggestions can best service the story. So much of a cinematographer’s identity is related to his or her crew’s ingenuity and their demeanor toward others. And let me tell you, these guys make me look good.” •