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The Wing Commander movie club has run both silent and deep through Das Boot! We were certainly impressed… with the film and with just how much of the film Chris Roberts managed to work into Wing Commander. Next up we're going to watch something a little more fun: as suggested by Vera, Friday's movie will be The Fifth Element! You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.
The Fifth Element is a 1997 science fiction film from French director Luc Besson. It tells the story of a futuristic taxi driver who inadvertently becomes the key to stopping an incredible weapon capable of destroying the Earth. That plot description is reductive, though: the film is celebrated for both its slick storytelling and its stunningly visualized world (with visuals inspired by the likes of Moebius and Mézières) that seemed like nothing we'd ever seen before at the time. Do you think it will hold up now that some of our audience probably doesn't even know what a taxi is? We'll find out!
Thierry Arbogast is a celebrated French cinematographer who is particularly known for working with Luc Besson on films like The Fifth Element, La Femme Nikita, Leon: The Professional and others. A cinematographer, or director of photography, is the person on a film who is responsible for how everything beijing filmed looks. They manage the camera, the light, the sets and so on in the service of the director's vision. It's a job that is both extremely creative but also highly technical. And it's such an important job that FOX's Wing Commander press kit photos, pictured below, misidentified Arbogast as director Chris Roberts!
Wing Commander's official website introduced Arbogast thusly:
Joining Lamont in working with director Chris Roberts in designing the film's overall look was director of photography Thierry Arbogast. Arbogast's work on the sci-fi thriller The Fifth Element demonstrated his abilities in that genre and made him an ideal choice to work on WING COMMANDER. While Arbogast and Lamont created a look that captures Roberts' retro-future world, the visual effects team, headed by Chris Brown, designed the intricate and vast worlds outside the ships.While the production notes explained more about his overall role::
Moyer agrees: "We have an extraordinary group of department heads on this film, and I think they're crucial to the success of the project. For example, we have Thierry Arbogast as director of photography. His experience on THE FIFTH ELEMENT makes him uniquely qualified to work on this project because this is a very technical film. Almost every shot has a green or blue chromakey, there are holograms, all the sets are deployed on hydraulic devices - it's an extraordinarily complicated job."
THIERRY ARBOGAST (Director of Photography) has worked on films such as THE FIFTH ELEMENT, HUSSARD SUR LE TOIT, THE PROFESSIONAL, MY FAVORITE SEASON, and LA FEMME NIKITA. Arbogast received the Technical Grand Prix at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival for his work on SHE'S SO LOVELY. He has also won the César Award for Best Cinematography twice. He was recognized for his work on THE FIFTH ELEMENT in 1998 and for HUSSARD SUR LE TOIT in 1996.
A soft-spoken man, Arbogast sees himself as something of a skilled worker for this project. "I think I'm working on this film thanks to my general experience as a cinematographer," he explains. In a most obvious comparison, he says: "THE FIFTH ELEMENT and WING COMMANDER are totally different films, with a different atmosphere and plot. THE FIFTH ELEMENT has much more comedy and fantasy. Here we are in a war film. It is a more realistic, sadder film. Sometimes we light the set completely with red or blue light, and then it is like in the old submarine films from 20 years ago. There are no limitations for a film like this, only "styles" to adhere to and to keep consistent.But we don't select movies just because they shared a creative… there needs to be at least some connection between the productions. And for The Fifth Element, that connection is incredibly specific: Arbogast used the same motion gimbal rig for the Rapiers as he did the taxi! Here's a description of M. Arbogast's Rapier shooting setup from the August 1998 issue of SFX:
In one corner of the hangar set, another cockpit sits on a raised platform with lighting scaffold wrapped around it like a spider. The actor has just completed a series of close-up inserts and puts on a mock upper-crust English accent as he "tally-ho's" another target. To make the Rapiers perform for the camera, visual effects supervisor Chris Brown's CGI team at Digital Anvil in Texas will be creating the ship-to-ship battles in a fully computerized environment. In fact, several DA crew are on set getting high-resolution texture images of the "prop" fighters to later map onto the computer-generated versions. But at the same time, the actors must still be put in the thick of things, so another Rapier sits atop a gimbal rig and green-screen affair capable of shaking the few tons of mock-up back and forth violently. This is nothing new to the gimbal - its last job was handling Bruce Willis' Leeloo-punctured hover-taxi in The Fifth Element.
Arbogast's work was widely celebrated by the other luminaries involved in Wing Commander's production. Here's a sample of quotes and stories from them that show the impotence of his work (and equipment and crew) to the film. In the April 1999 issue of Cinefex where director Chris Brown discusses the work and especially the 'half Rapier' cockpit shots you may have seen filmed on the same gimbal setup:
While on patrol in their Rapiers, Blair and his wing commander, Deveraux (Saffron Burrows), encounter a Kilrathi communication ship near the brown dwarf. After an aerial dogfight the pair destroys two of the Dralthi fighters. Chris Brown directed second unit for the show. "I took a CYA approach to the Rapier fighter cockpit stuff," said Brown, "shooting everything three different ways. We utilized a half-cockpit for tight close ups, while medium shots were done from outside the Rapier mockup, looking in at the pilots through the cockpit glass, with a translight mounted behind for the background." Five generic nebulas were generated at Digital Anvil, then passed to the production art department which produced the translights. A mesh screen was placed between the Rapier and the trans light softening the background and suggesting greater depth. These translights were also utilized for scenes on the bridges of Diligent and Tiger Claw, for angles that included only a sliver of window in frame. "The translights saved us from an unmanageable number of greenscreen shots- I know I'll be using them again and again on future shows." For the third angle, the camera was moved back further from the mockup, which was mounted on a gimbal built for the taxi scene in The Fifth Element and shot against greenscreen.
SFX also discusses Arbogast's impact on the film's costumer, Magali Guidasci, while comparing the results with The Fifth Element:
As soon as Roberts calls "Cut!" there's a weird line-dance as the actors try to undress and make for the water cooler at the same time. The costumes are the brainchild of Magali Guidasci, whose exotic and colourful designs also appear in the martial arts kick-flick Double team an the forthcoming Bruce Willis asteroid movie Armageddon. On Wing Commander, Guidasci is working once more with director of photography Theirry Arbogast, recent winner of the French Cesar award for The Fifth Element, and it's Arbogast who puts into words their mutual desire to "paint the scenes with colour."
"This film is more moody than The Fifth Element - there's a different ambiance to it. Sometimes we set the lights completely red or blue and it's like those old submarine movies from 20 years ago. There are no restrictions to a movie like this, just 'styles' that you must adhere to."The official movie magazine includes another story from Brown:
Like any good second-unit director, Brown knew that his shots would have to match Roberts' main unit scenes so when all the elements were finally combined, the resulting film would be seamless in tone and style. "By the time we got to the cockpit work, we were already about three to four weeks in, which was good. Chris also had had a nice rehearsal period with the cast, so when they came on to my set, these guys had their characters down. That really made a big difference in continuity. When they came in and hopped in the cockpit, I would take them on a quick joy ride, because the motion control-based simulator we used was just fantastic. It was the same one used for the taxi cab in The Fifth Element and the guys who were running it were just terrific. The cast really got into the whole feeling of things and manipulating these jets, and it really worked out well for us.
Eric Strauss, the movie's VFX producer, also praised Arbogast's work with light in the movie magazine:
Another eye-catching aspect of Wing Commander is its highly saturated color palette, which extends to the FX sequences. "Director of photography Thierry Arbogast did a lot of shooting in colored light, so on the bridge set, everything is bathed in red or blue depending on the situation, and our backgrounds, the digital elements and the scene's lights match that. We have a very colorful atmosphere. There's lots of nebulas and things bathed in different colors of light. We were very happy to push the envelope in terms of the way outer space looks, because it does have different hues and tones to it, which we tried to emulate as best we could."
In a December 1998 preview of the movie, producer Todd Moyer explains why he recruited Arbogast for the film:
"Because Chris was a first-time director, I wanted to have A-level people around him," explains Moyer, who recruited cinematographer Thierry Arbogast (Fifth Element) and production designer Peter Lamont (Titanic) to help create the retro-future look of the 27th Century. Inside of a set of cavernous warehouses that used to contain a munitions factory, Lamont and his team built the deck of the Tiger Claw with stunning detail. "We took an English Electric Lightning cockpit," explains Lamont, "and converted it into the Rapier fighter of the year 2665."Chris Roberts explained why he chose Arbogast as the man to make Wing Commander distinct from other franchises in the March 1999 issue of Starlog:
For his cinematographer, the director tapped Thierry Arbogast of The Fifth Element. "I've been a big fan of Thierry because I loved Luc Besson's movies like La Femme Nikita and The Professional, and I wanted someone who was going to be bold and give me a colorful look," Roberts explains, "I wanted a look in this movie that would make it stand apart from other SF movies. Star Wars was very bright and '70s, Star Trek is sort of clean with clean lines while the aliens are dark and grungy, and ALIENS is dark and grungy. I wanted to stay away from those three big science fiction franchises and give Wing Commander its own identity. We're seeing a lot of space on the Hubble Telescope photos, and since we're going with the World War II look and the submarine motif, I wanted a colorful look to the film."The Austin Chronicle interviewed Roberts about the movie in March 1999 and he explained that Arbogast had brought his experienced crew from France to work on the film:
AC: Did you use a mostly local crew or did you fly in people from Austin or Hollywood? I have no idea what the gaffer scene is in Denmark …
CR: It was kind of a combination. The art department was mostly English -- Peter Lamont was production designer and came out of Pinewood Studios -- and then we crewed up in the lower areas with a Luxembourg crew, [cinematographer] Thierry Arbogast brought his people over from France, and the grips were all Belgian. All in all, it was a pretty mixed crew.Finally, in 1998 camera manufacturer ARRI's newsletter interviewed the man himself in some detail about the technical work that went into Wing Commander:
That’s right: when you hear the title WING COMMANDER you first think of the very popular computer game of the same name. It has now been adapted for the cinema in a suitably ambitious way, using state of the art technology. It is the year 2624. In the universe a war is going on. The heroes – stranded war veterans and daring young pilots – get involved in risky battles with each other and survive dangerous missions. Exciting fights and the struggle between good and bad are at the heart of this saga in outer space. “The story borrows from the film, THE BOAT, adapted of course for outer space”, Chris Roberts describing his feature film. It is the first time this American has directed a film – he also developed the computer game series of the same name.
WING COMMANDER was filmed in Luxembourg. With a budget of 45 million DM, it is the most expensive film project to date made in the Grand Duchy. The film was produced by the Carousel Picture Company (AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN PARIS) which the Luxembourger Romain Schroeder founded, together with his partner Tom Reeve in 1995.
The main roles are played by Freddie Prinze jr. (I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER) and Matthew Lillard (SCREAM), two of Hollywood’s rising stars. In supporting roles are Jürgen Prochnow (THE BOAT) and Tchéky Karyo (NIKITA). For his debut, Chris Roberts hired some of the best international specialists. In the team of over 170 people, such well-known names as Peter Lamont and Michael Ford can be found. They were responsible for the design of the buildings and details of the set construction. Both recently received an Oscar for their work on the mega-production TITANIC. In total, 25 people who worked on the TITANIC production were hired to work on this project. Césarwinner Thierry Arbogast (films include THE FIFTH ELEMENT, LEON, SHE’S SO LOVELY) was responsible for image composition. He shot WING COMMANDER with ARRIFLEX 535B and 435 cameras. Robert Wiesmann, head of the ARRI Camera Rental Park in Munich, spoke to him:
R.W.: Your last film, THE FIFTH ELEMENT was the same genre. Can we assume that Science Fiction is your preferred film genre?
Thierry Arbogast: No, it was more a coincidence that Luc Besson made a Science Fiction film. As I had often worked with him before, it was also clear that he would ask me if I wanted to make the film.I very much like the type of cinema which in France is called genre films – for example period dramas, thrillers and of course also Science Fiction, which provide a particular challenge. I mean, I love films which belong to a precisely defined category.
R.W.: And what films do you like to go and see?
Thierry Arbogast: I think highly of Francis Ford Coppola’s THE GODFATHER, Michael Cimino’s HEAVEN’S GATE and also Clint Eastwood’s PALE RIDER. As a visual person I prefer this style – when beautiful images are shown. In general these are North American productions.
R.W.: On WING COMMANDER you also support Chris Roberts in directing, as he is actually a computer games programmer and this is his first time directing. How did you cope with this extra function as well as your tasks as DoP?
Thierry Arbogast: Oh no – you can’t claim that I directed on WING COMMANDER in any way. I just very much enjoy discussing with the director how a sequence should be shot. Or what possibilities existed to further tighten up a sequence.
With Luc Besson it’s completely different as he has a very exact idea of how a sequence should be shot. Often he even operates the camera. And then I’m the one who has to run after him. But I am, of course, very interested in the discussion with the director, as that is also part of filming.
And although this was his first film, Chris Roberts is a brilliant director, especially technically. He is very enthusiastic about the cinematic medium. And there were already many filmic sequences in the WING COMMANDER games, so you could say he has definitely a certain experience in directing.
R.W.: On the set it was noticed that you let the operator work the camera, although particularly in Europe that’s not very common.
Thierry Arbogast: First of all the sequence is discussed with the director to get a common understanding of it. Then, of course, I reach for the camera to establish the image composition. Then I leave the field to the operator and tell him: that’s exactly what we want.
The actual operating of the camera is a job which I don’t necessarily have to do. Sometimes it is also simply better to have an operator on the scene.
R.W.: You shot WING COMMANDER and THE FIFTH ELEMENT on Super 35. Who decided on this format?
Thierry Arbogast: Well, it wasn’t my personal choice. On THE FIFTH ELEMENT the recommendation on format came from Digital Domain, as with anamorphic lenses the special effects would have been more complicated. Luc Besson finally made the decision.
Personally I also like anamorphic lenses because of the aesthetic reproduction – they create something bizarre in the image which I find interesting. The same with zooms which cause the image to no longer look quite as natural. I would also like to try out the Variable Primes one day.
R.W.: You shot both THE FIFTH ELEMENT and WING COMMANDER with ARRIFLEX 435 and 535 cameras – how did you find them?
Thierry Arbogast: To be honest, if I have the choice between various camera systems, I prefer the one with the better viewfinder. That seems to me to be the main trump of an ARRI camera, as I like viewfinders on which the image seems very close. It is a little bit as if with an ARRIFLEX you are sitting in the fifth row of a cinema and with other cameras at the back of the cinema. Some cameramen like that because then they can assess the image globally and at the same time keep an eye on the contours. But that is rather a view of many operators. When I work as an operator, I prefer to see the image close up.
Another point is that the viewfinder can be pivoted to the other camera side. Sometimes you end up in the corner of a room and are forced to use the viewfinder on the other side. It doesn’t happen very often, but on WING COMMANDER that’s exactly what happened three or four times. And that alone justifies the system.
R.W.: You also had a special ground glass which darkened the surroundings to neutralise everything which wasn’t in the image. Was that the operator’s wish?
Thierry Arbogast: No, that was my idea. I hate seeing things in the camera which are outside the image. For me only the image counts – only the image composition and nothing else around it. I would even like the surrounding area to be completely black.
R.W.: Doesn’t it bother you, for example, to only see the sound assistant’s microphone once it comes into your image?
Thierry Arbogast: What can you do to stop it? All you can do is pivot to the ground when you see a microphone coming towards the image, and that creates a bad image composition. To me it makes more sense to say: OK, let’s repeat the scene. It certainly doesn’t justify leaving an edge around the actual image. However, I accept having very dark grey shadows to enable the operator to at least have minimal points of reference.
R.W.: On WING COMMANDER there were very many camera moves. Sometimes, for example, the camera rotates on its own axis with the Scorpio-head. Doesn’t that later cause a problem for animation?
Thierry Arbogast: No, not necessarily. On WING COMMANDER the special effects were much more easily adaptable than, for example, on THE FIFTH ELEMENT. The technical development of special effects moves very fast. With increasing experience people now have far less fear of many things.
R.W.: In the jets’ cockpits you also left the glass panes in the set. Doesn’t that normally create problems for post-production?
Thierry Arbogast: Yes and no. If the glass panes are kept, some of the set will also be reflected. That doesn’t affect the Green Screen’s performance though. But if we take the glass away, we would have no reflections, and they make everything look far more realistic.
R.W.: The budget of WING COMMANDER was much smaller than on THE FIFTH ELEMENT. Did that cause limitations?
Thierry Arbogast: As a DoP you don’t have a lot of influence on the production’s problems. The limitations exist and you have to live with them. But that also happens on a large film and it’s not necessarily a question of budget. In any case you have a certain responsibility to the production company. And that means, if I don’t really need something, I don’t take it. Even on a big film. It is correct that less money was available for WING COMMANDER than for THE FIFTH ELEMENT. Despite this, relatively speaking the budgets for both films were very small.
On WING COMMANDER we shot for 9 weeks with 4 cameras, on THE FIFTH ELEMENT it was 20 weeks, again with 4 cameras.
R.W.: Which of your own films is your favourite?
Thierry Arbogast: I very much like the films which Luc Besson directed, because he is an extraordinary director who teaches me a lot technically. It is a great pleasure to work with Luc. There is a film called LE BRASIER by director Rick Barbier which I also enjoyed a lot, or HUSAR ON THE ROOF. But somehow it’s strange to say that a film is your favourite. That is like deciding which child in the family is your favourite. I really like all the films I make, even the little productions, such as for example THE APARTMENT by Gilles Mimony.
R.W.: Thank you very much for this interview! Thierry Arbogast’s next project will again be with Luc Besson, who after THE FIFTH ELEMENT, LEON, NIKITA and THE BIG BLUE will begin filming JOAN OF ARC this summer.
Where can I find a copy of the movie for the watch party?
The Fifth Element is currently available for rental or sale digitally at all storefronts. If you're interested in tracking down a physical copy, a UHD version was released in 2017 and remains in print today. If you are unable to track down a copy please ping a member of the WCCIC staff on the Discord in advance of the watch.
How do we watch the movie together?
It's pretty low tech! Simply join the Wing Commander CIC Discord on Friday and we will be chatting (in text) along with the film in the main channel. Everyone who wants to join in should bring their own copy and we will count down to play them together at 10 PM EST. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you to join in the conversation; sharing your thoughts helps make the experience better for everyone!
