Dear Friends,
A flickr user called William Gray worked on The New World as a still
photographer and he spent a couple of days with Malick shooting around. He
describes this job as "…the best days I've ever had on a shoot". He goes with
all kind of details about Malick procedure and other details on him. Here is
what he posted a while ago:
BTW: I just love the expression "Fell off the truck"

I--------------------------------I

65mm was only for the beauty shots at the end of the film. I was second unit
only. I did get two of the best days in 25 years of film work on this job. I
spent a weekend with him driving to all of the sets filming 'fell off the truck
shots'. (What he called them) We also spent a day shooting marshes in sun and
rain from a pontoon
boat.

www.flickr.com/photos/bgrax/2283031926/in/set
-72157603824...

We would roll a HH Arri 35mm camera from the bow of
the pontoon boat, cut the engine and drift into the reeds. It was just him and I
in a mini van driving to each set and the dock. Two PA's followed in another car
but I had him to myself without a producer or AD. We talked about every film I
could think of. 

Like I said, two of the best days I have ever
spent in the film business. Chevo(DP) was way cool as well. I got to watch some
dailies with Chevo and Terrance. I was very lucky. VERY.

I--------------------------------I

'Fell off the truck' shots were, High Hat with a head on it dropped off of you
cart or truck, put the camera up and connect the batt, don't level, pan around
and see what you like. Film even if it is even a little cool. 

I
took pictures of him cause I was never told of his aversion for photographs. I
found out later he has strict orders for crew and set stills to not shoot
pictures of him. After it was all over I asked him about it and he said I could
keep them if I promised not to publish them.

I--------------------------------I

I only got three days with Terrence Malick. Three of the best days I've ever had
on a shoot. TM, a great PA, the pontoon boat driver and me with an
Un-anamorphicized Arri shooting anamorphic. Very hard to shoot hand held wide
horizons. You cannot judge level in a squishie viewfinder. Thank god the video
monitor stretched out the image. He framed what he wanted looking through the
viewfinder and I held the mag to level via the video monitor, ran the camera and
pulled focus when we got in close. We shot from a sandbag off of the front of
the boat. We would run up creeks, cut the motor and drift while filming. The
raining creek and marsh shots are ours. A few other things too. We shot a lot of
film. I worked my ass of loading and AC'ing. We were a good team.


Amazing day. Amazing. I was very lucky. All my thanks go to my
friend Shelly Ziegler, 1st AD. It was she who got me two days speaking with that
gentleman. Lucky!

I have portraits of him but he hates his picture
taken. I didn't know nor was I told. I got two off at different times and he
kept giving me funny looks. I asked and he told me. He made me promise that I
wouldn't publish the photo's of him. Sorry.

I cannot give pictures
of any sets cause I don't own the rights to those images since I was on their
payroll. Thanks for looking.


I--------------------------------I

Have not seen the film since it came out. We worked silently, he told me lens,
field of view, where to put the camera and would look through. Sometimes he
wouldn't let me level the camera. Sometimes he would roll without letting me 85
or meter the shot. I had to remind him of the steps. He was very polite and
worked my ass off. 

We never talked about the movie we were
shooting stuff for. I pumped him for conversation in the minivan when we were
not shooting. I asked him about every remote film I could think of and he knew,
met crew, writers, directors, and had thoughts on every one. That was the best
part. The day on the pontoon boat was amazing. I'll have to re-look at the movie
and see what it was we did. 

We did talk about 'The Thin Red Line'.
He said he had over 6 hours of edited story finished. What you saw in the
theaters was what needed to be for the reps of a movie theater. I asked him if
he thought of releasing the 6 as a DVD box set and I assured him that there
would me a line of people just waiting to get their hands on it. He said that
some things that you put so much of your life and heart into are best left alone
for a few years. Man was I sad. He also told me that the PR picture form 'The
Thin Red Line' (When I asked him about it) of him was from 'Bad Lands'. I
thought it was weird he was standing next to wooden sticks in the photo. With
such a good DP on that film, I don't care if it was a low budget or not the
rental house would have not sent out wooden sticks to a jungle area with that
level of camerman. 

My grandfather fought with the Gurkha's in
Burma. T's movie was about the jungle and Japanese. I wanted to see more. Maybe
in a few years. 

I got to watch him work at the fort on the Friday
before we did the weekend together. The crew and him were shooting dueling
steadicams, forward and backward, moving 180's and 240's and his hand wave. The
script, gaffer and mixer scurried behind prop buildings as the two steadicams
paned. The first first camera assistant was wonderful. He pulled focus on Ali. I
love just love Emmanuel Lubezki's work. Some great films he has done. You should
imdb him. 


I--------------------------------I


LINKS: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bgrax/3094985633/in/pool-malick
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bgrax/2283031926/in/set-72157603824834534/