Cinematographer Larry Fong talks about his film SUPER 8 with Suzanne Joe Kai

Cinematographer Larry Fong chatted with Suzanne Joe Kai just as SUPER 8 was making its opening weekend debut in theaters nationwide claiming the #1 spot at the box office.  SUPER 8 is directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Steven Speilberg.

Larry Fong began his career shooting hundreds of commercials and award-winning music videos. Beginning in junior high school, he taught himself still photography, cel and stop motion animation, and filmmaking using a Super 8 camera. He graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Linguistics, and specilized in film and photography at the Art Center of Design in Pasadena.

His music videos for R.E.M., Van Halen, and Goo Goo Dolls earned him three MTV Video Music Awards for Video of the Year. He went on to film two independent films and TV projects, including the pilot for the LOST television series, which earned him an ASC award nomination.

In 2007, his first major studio film "300" was released, directed by fellow Art Center of Design classmate Zack Snyder. in 2009, he was the Director of Photography for "Watchmen" and in 2011 for "Sucker Punch" also directed by Zack Snyder, and "SUPER 8" directed by childhood friend J.J. Abrams, and producer Steven Spielberg.

The photograph in this article of Larry Fong on the set of SUPER 8 holding a special light surrounded by smoke machines is by photographer Francois Duhamel.

SUZANNE: Congratulations on your latest film SUPER 8. What was it like to work with your childhood friend again, J.J. Abrams, and Steven Spielberg?

LARRY: With JJ it's always an adventure, and this time was no different. Because the film was so personal to us, there was much reminiscing and geeking-out in pre-production, but once filming started we had to stay focused. We had a lot to do in a short amount of time.

SUZANNE: I understand that you, J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg all shot films on Super 8 cameras as children. You've known J.J. Abrams since he was twelve. Did shooting SUPER 8 bring back your childhood memories?
  
LARRY: The responsibility of shooting a studio feature, especially given the parties involved, was very much an adult experience!

But there were definitely surreal moments of deja vu with JJ during filming. I felt most like a kid again when we were shooting the little film-within-a-film, which was liberating and hilarious all at the same time.

SUZANNE: SUPER 8 is based from the viewpoint of a band of kids in a neighborhood who are trying to make their own Super 8 film. The kids did a great job acting. Did you or J.J. Abrams coach them in filmmaking as they set out to make their film? I heard that their Super 8 film wasn't scripted so they had some latitude in making it? It looked like it would have been a lot of fun working with them. (For our viewers who haven't yet seen SUPER 8 - don't forget to stay through to the end of the credits to see the kid's short film.)

LARRY: I videotaped an early rehearsal JJ had with the kids, and there was already a great chemistry that only got better with time.

They were such a joy and made the long hours easier to bear.

Some of them had never even been on a movie set before, but you would never know it. There was no ego or attitude whatsoever.

Oh, and they wrote their own script for the zombie film.

SUZANNE: You are an accomplished magician - did you treat them to some of your magic tricks during the breaks?  

LARRY: Of course. They were the best audience. But I'm pretty sure I had nothing left in my repertoire by the time we finished the job!

SUZANNE: SUPER 8's spectacular train crash scene felt like 3-D, yet we weren't wearing any 3D glasses! Could you share with us how you and J.J. Abrams approached shooting that scene? That was two minutes of sheer mayhem!

LARRY: Sometimes less is more.

Ironically, the sequence was not fully storyboarded.

We knew the basic geography of the crash and where everything needed to end up, so JJ just basically shot the scene as if the wreck was really happening. That's why it plays out so organically.

SUZANNE: SUPER 8's action scenes with the alien monster were computer generated (CG), yet they blended in so well with the rest of the film which had an authentic "old school retro" 1979 look. "300" and "Sucker Punch" two films you filmed with director Zack Snyder, also had very stylized scenes integrating CG, but they look like very different films than SUPER 8. Was the cohesive blend between the "old school retro 1979 feel" and the "new school CG" a factor that you incorporated into how you filmed the movie?

LARRY: My job is to give the film what I believe to be the appropriate look. The VFX guys take my footage, and do their best to continue the feel that I've established.

Both Zack and JJ have an incredible eye and monitor the CG progress very closely, so it's not by chance when the shots turn out well.

SUZANNE: Can you share your words of wisdom for aspiring filmmakers?

LARRY: With the low price of video cameras and editing software, anyone can make a short film.

You don't need the best equipment. Every great artist made do with what they had. And to find an audience, there's always the Internet and YouTube.

If you have a story you want to tell, do it.

SUZANNE: Your thoughts on being an Asian American working in Hollywood?

LARRY: It's never been an issue for me. But then, I'm a behind the scenes crew person.

If I wanted to be an actor, for example, it would be a different story.

Luckily things are changing, but sadly, far too slowly.