Blog Kadri Koop sharing her experience shooting “Smells Like Kids’ Spirit” with Optimo Ultra 12x

I knew that this was going to be a one-of-a-kind experience when I first read French  director Aude Pépin’s script about 8-year-old Rita, who in the absence of a father figure  childishly takes a liking to her mother’s summer fling Brooks, an American grunge  rocker recording an album in at Rita’s mother’s ranch. To add to it all, the film was to be  set and shot in South of France’s beautiful region of Provence. Set in the 90s, this  period piece featured a number of challenges. The main one being the age of the  lead: due to France’s labor laws regarding minors, our daily shooting time was  going to be halved, so no more than 5 hours a day. Moreover, Aude knew from the  beginning that the right actor for the role was her daughter Marnie Louise

Challenge accepted. With the help of Topshot Films, we set out to shoot the film over  the course of 10 days in June with one day of rest in between. It was my very first time  working as a cinematographer in France and I was in for a steep learning curve. Not  only did I not speak the language, but also, as I discovered, some of the camera  department crew roles were different from what I was used to in the US. For instance,  the key grip in France also does the slating. By US standards, they are partially taking  on the job of the 2nd assistant camera on top of doing the rigging. Not only that, I was  amazed by the eye for detail that my crew brought to the set. Often during lunch or  dinner, people were discussing alternative endings and other ideas for shots we should  get in the case of extra time. To witness this level of dedication for telling the story as  well as possible was pure joy and I will forever cherish the incredible collaborative effort  displayed by my French team.

I was extremely lucky to work with operator Adrien Bourguignon and an overall top notch camera team: Amandine Nolin as the 1st AC, Clara Chanu 2nd AC/DIT, trainee Nathan Chollet who filled in also as a grip. It was beyond joyful to have my hands free and focus my attention entirely on the screen, tweaking the lighting and being in dialogue with Aude about all aspects of action unfolding in front of us. I was also fortunate to work with talented young gaffer Alex Casanova and key grip Noé Girard Llorca. I have absolute respect for my team who brought on another level of professionalism and made my job significantly easier by always pitching in great ideas and working efficiently.

Surrounded by the gorgeous French countryside that metaphorically played the role of the blooming bodily awareness of Rita, we set out to shoot in cinemascope with large format spherical lenses. The choice was governed by the  desire to display the gorgeous countryside which provided the context for the  unfolding story. Not only that, but the idea was also to draw a parallel with the Western  genre using a wide aspect ratio. We worked with Panavision Paris who facilitated our  collaboration between Panavision and Angénieux lenses, mixing 3 focal lengths of  Panaspeeds (17mm, 35mm and 65mm) as well as the Angénieux Optimo Ultra 12x  zoom equipped with the rear adapter that gave us 36-435mm focal distance to play  with.

Rita’s young-girl gaze is a central theme of the film: we’re seeing the world around  her from her particular POV. She is a little girl in a grownups’ world and the viewer  is aware of this at all times as we’re looking up at characters, with the exception of  her friend Louise (played by Blanca Mignon), the other child character in the movie. Since operating low handheld shots with a zoom lens was not going to be possible, we shot the handheld portions of the film with the primes and the rest with  the Optimo Ultra. The camera movement was a mix of handheld and sticks with the  zoom shots being a mix of both.

 

The significant size of the zoom lens hardly permits hand held movement. This being said, operator Adrien and I had a unique style of operating the Optimo Ultra zoom in tandem while it was resting on our lap. In this way we were able to emulate the movement of little Rita observing the action through her binoculars, a hero prop that she often had on her. Placing the lens on our lap I would add camera shake while Adrien would take care of the aim and the angle of the camera. It was a non-traditional yet efficient way of operating as we were able to have a good back and forth communication between us, the camera team, and the director who was standing right by us.

One of the added benefits to the zoom is that it’s a multi-format lens and you configure it according to your sensor size needs. By  swapping the rear of the lens and changing the zoom ring and T-stop ring you can  transform the lens into different formats, which will also change the focal length and T stop. This is something only a lens tech at a rental house can do and should not be  attempted on the set. This means that the lens could be any of the the following focal  lengths:  – 24-290 2.8 in S35 (31.1mm diagonal)   – 26-320 T3.1 in U35 (34.6mm diagonal)   – 36-435 T4.2 in FF (46.3mm diagonal) 

For our shooting purposes, this added perk meant that we could afford to capture the  multiple long lens moments: when Rita watches the arrival of the mother’s boyfriend to  the ranch across a field, when she is lurking out of the window when Brooks is saying  goodbye to her mom and when she is riding her bicycle through the pines.

One of the motivations to use the zoom derived from working with untrained  young actors. My initial thought was that the talent would shy away from having  the camera too close to them. However, this assumption turned out to be wrong.  To our surprise the children were comfortable with the proximity of the camera.

Moreover, it was incredible to witness the ripening of the young talent over the course  of the shoot. By the time we were shooting the final scene, we had seasoned  professionals in front of us. The transformation from amateur to actor was evident to  everyone on the set and the crew took great pleasure in witnessing it in real time. On  the last day, while shooting the very last scene, an improvisational moment in the story,  the entire crew was breathing in sync, everyone’s eyes glaring in bewilderment as we  witnessed our lead morph into a real pro, right in front of our eyes.

As the shoot came to an end, I was left in awe of the incredible journey we had all  shared. What started as a project filled with challenges—from navigating language barriers to working with a young, untrained actor—evolved into an unforgettable experience of creativity and collaboration. The breathtaking landscape of Provence, the  nuanced performances, and the dedication of an exceptional crew all came together to  make this film something truly special. Looking back, I’m filled with gratitude for the  opportunity to help tell this beautiful story, and I’ll forever carry the lessons learned on  this set into my future work.