Editing Ronin (film) (section)

=== Filming and cinematography ===
[[File:Blue Sky Restaurant.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Boarded-up corner building|Facade of a [[Montmartre]] bistro in 2011. Because the building was empty, the crew constructed an interior set seen from the stairs.<ref name="magid"/><ref name="fraisse">{{cite video|title=Through the Lens |type=featurette|publisher=MGM Home Entertainment|year=2004}}</ref>]]

''Ronin'' was produced on a budget of $55 million.<ref name="numbers"/> [[Principal photography]] lasted 78 days,<ref name="magid"/> beginning on November 3, 1997, in an abandoned workshop at [[Aubervilliers]].<ref name="photography">{{cite web|title=''Ronin'': About The Photography|url=http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=303|website=Cinema Review|access-date=October 2, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020924090248/http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=303|archive-date=September 24, 2002}}</ref> Scenes at [[Porte des Lilas (Paris Métro)|Porte des Lilas]] and the historic [[Arles Amphitheatre]] were filmed that November; the crew then filmed at the [[Hotel Barrière Le Majestic Cannes|Hotel Majestic]] in [[Cannes]], [[La Turbie]], and [[Villefranche-sur-Mer|Villefranche]].<ref name="photography"/> Production was suspended for Christmas on December 19 and resumed on January 5, 1998, at [[Épinay-sur-Seine|Épinay]], where the crew built two interior sets on [[sound stage]]s; one for the bistro in [[Montmartre]] and another for the rural farmhouse,<ref name="photography"/> both of which also have exterior location shots.<ref name="commentary"/> The climactic scene with a panicked crowd at [[Zénith Paris|Le Zénith]] required about 2,000 [[Extra (acting)|extras]], who were supervised by French casting director Margot Capelier.<ref name="commentary"/> Filming concluded at [[La Défense]] on March 3, 1998.<ref name="photography"/>

Because there were no [[second unit]] director and camera operator to film the action scenes, Frankenheimer and cinematographer Robert Fraisse supervised them for an additional 30 days after the main unit finished filming.<ref name="magid"/><ref name="arrow">{{cite video|title=Close Up: An Interview with Robert Fraisse |type=featurette|publisher=[[Arrow Video]]|year=2017}}</ref> The first major car-chase scene was shot in [[La Turbie]] and Nice; the rest were filmed in areas of Paris including La Défense and the [[Pont du Garigliano]].<ref name="photography"/>{{sfn|Crosse|2006|p=42}} Scenes set in a road tunnel were filmed at night because it was impossible to block tunnel traffic during the day.<ref name="driving"/> The freeway chase, in which the actors dodge oncoming vehicles, was filmed in four hours on a closed road.<ref name="driving">{{cite video|title=The Driving of Ronin |type=featurette|publisher=MGM Home Entertainment|date=2004}}</ref>

Frankenheimer's affinity for deep [[depth of field]] led him to shoot the film entirely with [[wide-angle lens]]es ranging in [[focal length]] from 18 to 35&nbsp;mm using the [[Super 35]] format, both of which allow more of the scene to be included in each shot as well as the freedom to reframe the movie for [[Fullscreen (aspect ratio)|Full Screen]] presentation.<ref name="commentary"/><ref name="fraisse"/> The director also avoided bright primary colors to preserve a [[History of film|first-generation-of-film]] quality.<ref name="commentary"/> He advised the actors and extras not to wear bright colors and had the film processed with [[Deluxe Entertainment Services Group|Deluxe]]'s [[Bleach bypass|Color Contrast Enhancement]] (CCE), "a silver-retention method of processing film that deepens blacks, reduces color, and heightens the visible appearance of film grain".<ref name="commentary"/>{{sfn|Pomerance|Palmer|2011|p=85}} Fraisse said he used a variety of cameras, including [[Panaflex]]es for dialogue scenes and [[Arriflex 435]]s and 35-IIIs for the car chases, to facilitate Frankenheimer's demands.<ref name="magid"/> [[Steadicam]], a camera stabilizer used for half of the shoot, was operated by the director's longtime collaborator David Crone.<ref name="magid"/> According to Frankenheimer, 2,200 shots were filmed.<ref name="commentary"/>