Fincher’s monochromatic masterpiece, “Mank”, which was shot on the RED Ranger Helium Monochrome by Erik Messerschmidt, ASC, has just got solid recognition by winning top honor at the ASC Awards. Would it take the Academy Awards as well?

ASC 35th Awards

The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Outstanding Achievement Awards is cinematography’s biggest event, celebrating the finest work of the year and its exceptional practitioners. The ASC Awards marks the last guild or society to hand out their prizes before the 93rd Academy Awards on April 25 (Make sure to read our article: The cameras and lenses that shot the ASC 35th Awards – Feature Film Nominees). Thus, winning at the ASC paves the pathway for taking the golden statue as well. This time, the American Society of Cinematographers handed out its top prize in feature film visual storytelling to Erik Messerschmidt, ASC for “Mank.” Explore the complete winners list below:

1. Feature Film: Erik Messerschmidt, ASC – “Mank” .Shot on RED Ranger Helium Monochrome
2. Spotlight: Aurélien Marra – “Two of Us”. Shot on Sony VENICE
3. Documentary: Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw  – “The Truffle Hunters”. Shot on ARRI ALEXA Mini
4. Motion Picture, Limited Series or Pilot Made for Television: Steven Meizler – “The Queen’s Gambit” (“End Game”). Shot on Red Ranger Monstro
5. Episode of a One-Hour Television Series – Commercial: Jon Joffin, ASC – “Motherland: Fort Salem” (“Up is Down”). Shot on Sony VENICE
6. Episode of a One-Hour Television Series – Non-Commercial: Fabian Wagner, ASC, BSC – “The Crown” (“Imbroglio”). Shot on Sony VENICE
7. Episode of a Half-Hour Television Series: Baz Idoine – “The Mandalorian” (“Chapter 13: The Jedi”). Shot on ARRI ALEXA LF

Mank: 10 nominations at the 93rd Academy Awards

Mank is a 2020 American biographical drama film about alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish “Citizen Kane.” (1941). Directed by David Fincher, based on a screenplay by his late father Jack Fincher, the film was produced by Ceán Chaffin, Douglas Urbanski, and Eric Roth. It stars Gary Oldman in the title role, alongside Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, Tom Pelphrey, Sam Troughton, Ferdinand Kingsley, Tuppence Middleton, Tom Burke, Joseph Cross, Jamie McShane, Toby Leonard Moore, Monika Gossmann, and Charles Dance. Mank had a limited theatrical release on November 13, 2020, and began streaming on Netflix on December 4.

The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised Fincher’s direction, as well as the acting (particularly Oldman and Seyfried), cinematography, production values, and musical score. Furthermore, the film earned leading-ten nominations at the 93rd Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Oldman, and Best Supporting Actress for Seyfried, and also received leading-six nominations at the 78th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Drama, and now has won the Feature Film ASC 35th Award. Watch the trailer below:

Shot by Erik Messerschmidt, ASC

Mank was shot by Erik Messerschmidt, ASC, who said: “It would be a crime not to make this movie in black and white”. Erik is an American cinematographer, which is known for his collaborations with director David Fincher on the films Mank (as director of photography) and Gone Girl (as gaffer). Erik was the cinematographer behind Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Mindhunter, and Raised by Wolves.

It would be a crime not to make this movie in black and white.

Erik Messerschmidt, ASC

Mank: From RED Komodo to Helium Monochrome

In an interview with RED,  Erik noted that they’ve evaluated a number of RED cameras including a prototype of Komodo, a RED DSMC2 WEAPON housing a color MONSTRO sensor, and both a Dragon 6K and Helium 8K Monochrome sensor in a RED Ranger body. They could shoot it with a colored sensor and then convert it to B&W in post (like Roma which was shot on the ARRI ALEXA 65). However, choosing this route would not offer the range of control required. Monochrome sensors are capable of higher detail and sensitivity because there is no color filter (no Bayer Pattern) of the incoming light.

A color sensor would filter the light to match the primary red, green, blue pixels. RED’s monochrome sensor effectively records three times as much light from the scene, which in turn translates into a 1 to 1.5 stop improvement in light sensitivity, which leads to a real, pure, stunning, accurate black, and white artistic imagery (Read: The RED Monstrochrome is Being Used by David Fincher to Shoot a Feature). It’s a strategic cinematography decision, but a simple one, If you want to shoot B&W, then go with a ‘naked’ sensor.

Captured in 6.5K resolution

Erik stated that they found the camera recorded a very clean image at 1600 ASA but actually preferred the grain at 3200 ASA. That changed the contrast slightly. Also, the footage was acquired in 8K REDCODE RAW at a 2:1 aspect ratio but framed by a 20% reduced center extraction in 2.2:1. The resulting capture has a resolution of around 6.5K. This gave enough latitude to help with some reframing and shot stabilization before delivery to Netflix at 4K HDR at a 2.21:1 aspect ratio. Regarding the optics, Erik added that they tested dozens of different lens options on the exterior and interior sets before selecting the Leica Summilux-C, which is the same primes deployed on Mindhunter. The film was edited on Premiere Pro (Read: MANK was Edited on Premiere Pro: Explore Editors’ Insights).

Wrapping up

Netflix’s Mank is one of the most nominated films in Oscars 2021 (including Best Picture, Best Director, and Cinematography categories). Winning the top honor ASC prize definitely indicates on taking an Oscar too, especially regarding the Best Cinematography category. If so, this could be a great achievement for RED. Let’s wait and see (one week from now).

Products list

• Camera: Red Digital Cinema DSMC2 BRAIN 35.4MP HELIUM 8K S35 Monochrome. Price: $24,500. [maxbutton id=”1″ url=”https://adorama.rfvk.net/rnQPv3″ ] 
• Camera: Red Digital Cinema RANGER HELIUM 8K S35. Price: $29,950 [maxbutton id=”1″ url=”https://adorama.rfvk.net/kj0qnd” ] 
• Camera: Red Digital Cinema KOMODO 6K. Price: $5,995 [maxbutton id=”1″ url=”https://adorama.rfvk.net/JrzN3E” ]