For Cowboys & Aliens, director Jon Favreau prefers to create effects live on the set, known in the industry as “in camera,” rather than to rely solely on computer-generated visuals. Favreau and cinematographer Matthew Libatique were able to use a trolley system equipped with Clay Paky Alpha Beam 1500s, PRG Bad Boy fixtures and a 26W laser from Lightwave International to simulate UFOs for the scene where the aliens attack the Western town, circa 1873. The DMX-controlled fixtures proved well-suited to the need for repeatable effects, and the addition of the lasers to the rig gave Libatique the otherworldly element that completed the alien spaceship effect. As gaffer Mike Bauman notes, “everyone loved the look of the lasers. They really made the rig look like a spacecraft.”
—Michael S. Eddy, from “Close Encounters with Automated Lighting,” PLSN, Aug. 2011.
