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Chasing Liberty Picture 17
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Chasing Liberty Full Production Notes "Every family has a rebel... even the First Family."
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 Chapter 6: On the Lam in Europe - Prague, Venice and BerlinIn contrast, Prague also offered abundant nightlife chic for settings that help illustrate Anna's metamorphosis, starting with her first night out on the town. The tone shifts, as outlined by director of photography Ashley Rowe, a BAFTA Award-winner for his cinematography on the British miniseries Friday on My Mind and most recently director of photography on the Touchstone comedy Calendar Girls.
"We used an edgier style for the Prague night scenes, everything changes when Anna and her friend hit the street," he explains. "A steadicam follows them through the narrow, shadowy, mysterious alleyways. Shades are cooler and more extreme than in the earlier banquet scene ` more greens and blues and a steelier look. The nightclub they go to looks almost like it's underwater. It has a shimmering green tone and we used hand-held moving cameras because it's a place where people are going to get jostled and knocked around."
Venice, while unquestionably beautiful and inspirational, proved a logistic challenge. Parfitt, who worked there previously on Wings of the Dove, knew what they would be facing but attests that, "it's manageable if you plan it right. The problem is, obviously, you're taking a production crew that relies heavily on transportation to a city without roads. We had to transfer all our camera equipment onto barges." With as many as 200 cast and crew working on any given day, organization was essential to move people and equipment on schedule. "Not only can't you drive a truck and park it," Rowe points out, "you can't just pull up a boat and leave it somewhere either because it blocks the canal. You have to know exactly what you'll need for a day's shoot, offload it quickly and release the barges."
Later, Rowe took full advantage of the canals to design his lighting scheme, an important element since most of the Venetian scenes were filmed at night. "There's water everywhere so I worked with rippling light," he reveals. "I had huge lighting units hidden behind buildings, pumping light into the water. Actually, it looks quite magical."
Filmmakers obtained hundreds of custom-designed trolleys and hired strong men to maneuver loads of equipment over canal bridges, which often have numerous steps.
On the plus side, there was no shortage of stunning settings from which to choose. The Grand Canal, the city's main thoroughfare, meanders its way through two and a half miles, offering the most magnificent views imaginable and a variety of architectural styles. The production also used the famed 16th-century Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal, as well as other scenic backgrounds including the Piazza San Marco, Academia Bridge, the Bridge of Sighs and the famous 14th-century Venice fish market as well as numerous picturesque squares, canals and cafés.
Ironically, there amidst some of the most admired and oft-photographed byways in the world, it was the film crew that drew the largest crowds as locals and tourists alike stopped and people of all ages leaned out from high-rise windows to observe the filming.
"It's all very romantic, this jaunt through Europe," observes Cadiff, "especially for a girl from a sheltered life who knows of these places only through books. Suddenly she's running around on the side streets of Old Town Prague, hiding from the police in Venice, jumping onto trains, getting lost and making her own way and meanwhile seeing some exquisitely beautiful places. It's a whole different environment than life at the White House."
"I'd never been to Prague or Venice, so I felt as if I was experiencing these things right along with Anna," Moore says candidly. "My reactions were completely genuine. Honestly, this was the best summer vacation I've ever had!"
Next Page: The Berlin Love Parade |
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Destination London 