From American Cinematographer, A Transcendent Career Foretold by Bob Fisher (February '99)
In The Witches of Eastwick, Zsigmond used colors to create a romantic and slightly surrealistic look. Jack Nicholson portrays the devil, who sets up house with three beautiful witches. Zsigmond manipulated color temperatures with the use of gels to bathe the devil in reddish tones, which were always motivated by identifiable sources. He contrasted those tones with cool, blue lighting that provided a visual signature for the witches.
I read, discuss, and discover new things about cinematography everyday. Most of it, I consider incredibly interesting. Everyday I will share one of those things, maybe more if I have time.
Showing posts with label character lighting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label character lighting. Show all posts
14.7.09
Jean-Marc Fabre: Evolving Light with Character
From American Cinematographer, Sword Pen & Family by Eric Rudolph (October 1998)
Another challenge for the cinematographer was the fact that lead actress Leelee Sobieski, 15 years old at the time of production, had to span an age range that took her from pre-adolescent to mature high-schooler. While the filmmakers employed the standard tactics which enable young actresses to age onscreen (such as adjusting makeup, hair and wardrobe), Fabre also played an important role in Sobieski's gradual transformation.
"When she is a young adolescent, the age when girls haven't yet started looking at themselves much, I took no special care with her lighting at all. She would get into the lighting that was there and I paid no particular attention to her. As she becomes interested in boys, we took a bit more care with her lighting."
Later, while shooting scenes that took place after the family moved to the States, Fabre had his cue to start "making Leelee prettier, lighting her like an actress, in a more sophisticated way."
- Jean-Marc Fabre
Another challenge for the cinematographer was the fact that lead actress Leelee Sobieski, 15 years old at the time of production, had to span an age range that took her from pre-adolescent to mature high-schooler. While the filmmakers employed the standard tactics which enable young actresses to age onscreen (such as adjusting makeup, hair and wardrobe), Fabre also played an important role in Sobieski's gradual transformation.
"When she is a young adolescent, the age when girls haven't yet started looking at themselves much, I took no special care with her lighting at all. She would get into the lighting that was there and I paid no particular attention to her. As she becomes interested in boys, we took a bit more care with her lighting."
Later, while shooting scenes that took place after the family moved to the States, Fabre had his cue to start "making Leelee prettier, lighting her like an actress, in a more sophisticated way."
- Jean-Marc Fabre
30.5.09
Vilmos Zsigmond: Character Lighting
From American Cinematographer, A Poignant Pas de Deux by Bob Fisher (December 1998)
AC: Did the different characters have visual signatures in terms of the way you lit them?
Zsigmond: Hugh is kind of suspenseful in the beginning. You don't know who he is or where he's from, but he shows up in a bar and claims he's killed his wife and child. We shot that scene film-noir style, like an old black-and-white mystery. Other characters, like Meredith, are lit more romantically with lots of backlight. However, these were subtle differences, because we didn't want it to look like six different movies.
AC: Did the different characters have visual signatures in terms of the way you lit them?
Zsigmond: Hugh is kind of suspenseful in the beginning. You don't know who he is or where he's from, but he shows up in a bar and claims he's killed his wife and child. We shot that scene film-noir style, like an old black-and-white mystery. Other characters, like Meredith, are lit more romantically with lots of backlight. However, these were subtle differences, because we didn't want it to look like six different movies.
28.5.09
Matt Faw: Creative Use of Eyelight
From American Cinematographer, Cleopatra's Cinema of Submission by David E. Williams (September 1998)
In the film, Robert slowly poisons Zack and later seals his weakened foe in a metal-sheathed, coffin-like box hidden beneath the house. A closed-circuit TV system allows the two men to converse.
"Zack is in the box for virtually the last third of the film. To keep that visually interesting, we really worked to create a variety of camera angles, but our lighting had to remain constant."
- Matt Faw
It was determined that the lighting had to be incorporated into the box's structure, so recessed panels were built into the side walls, covered with translucent Plexiglas, and lit from behind with small tungsten fixtures. From the front, Faw utilized a small lamp with a gobo featuring a ring of small holes. This created a circular highlight in actor Boyd Kestner's eyes. As the character weakened, Faw progressively covered successive holes in the gobo pattern, slowly diminishing the reflection and suggesting the character's fate.
In the film, Robert slowly poisons Zack and later seals his weakened foe in a metal-sheathed, coffin-like box hidden beneath the house. A closed-circuit TV system allows the two men to converse.
"Zack is in the box for virtually the last third of the film. To keep that visually interesting, we really worked to create a variety of camera angles, but our lighting had to remain constant."
- Matt Faw
It was determined that the lighting had to be incorporated into the box's structure, so recessed panels were built into the side walls, covered with translucent Plexiglas, and lit from behind with small tungsten fixtures. From the front, Faw utilized a small lamp with a gobo featuring a ring of small holes. This created a circular highlight in actor Boyd Kestner's eyes. As the character weakened, Faw progressively covered successive holes in the gobo pattern, slowly diminishing the reflection and suggesting the character's fate.
25.5.09
Gabriel Beristain: Subtracting Light & Darkness
From American Cinematographer, Paging Machiavelli by Eric Rudolph (March 1998)
"In that office set there were places where I could not put any lights, [which led to] gigantic gaps of darkness. We tried, were possible, to use darkness in this film the way a playwright might use silence, where the lack of words says something very important. I've always believed that sometimes lighting, as opposed to illumination, is more about subtracting light."
- Gabriel Beristain, ASC, BSC
"There are moments where Campbell Scott is in almost complete darkness. Then he steps out of the shadows and delivers a powerful line. One of those moments is actually a turning point for his character, where he goes from being pushed around to standing up for himself. He steps out of the darkness and into the light and says 'How dare you, after what I've done for the company?' He challenges his boss for the first time."
- Gabriel Beristain, ASC, BSC
"In that office set there were places where I could not put any lights, [which led to] gigantic gaps of darkness. We tried, were possible, to use darkness in this film the way a playwright might use silence, where the lack of words says something very important. I've always believed that sometimes lighting, as opposed to illumination, is more about subtracting light."
- Gabriel Beristain, ASC, BSC
"There are moments where Campbell Scott is in almost complete darkness. Then he steps out of the shadows and delivers a powerful line. One of those moments is actually a turning point for his character, where he goes from being pushed around to standing up for himself. He steps out of the darkness and into the light and says 'How dare you, after what I've done for the company?' He challenges his boss for the first time."
- Gabriel Beristain, ASC, BSC
Gabriel Beristain: Character Lighting
From American Cinematographer, Paging Machiavelli by Eric Rudolph (March 1998)
"The lighting of the people around the hero, Joe Ross, works to reinforce the ideas we want the audience to have about them. Characters who are perceived by Ross as his enemies are treated with slightly ominous lighting, and those he perceives as allies are given more flattering lighting. However, few people in this film are really who they seem to be. We used the lighting to help us play the game presented by the very clever script that David Mamet had written, to deceive the audience and keep them uncertain about who is friend and who is enemy."
- Gabriel Beristain, ASC, BSC
"The lighting of the people around the hero, Joe Ross, works to reinforce the ideas we want the audience to have about them. Characters who are perceived by Ross as his enemies are treated with slightly ominous lighting, and those he perceives as allies are given more flattering lighting. However, few people in this film are really who they seem to be. We used the lighting to help us play the game presented by the very clever script that David Mamet had written, to deceive the audience and keep them uncertain about who is friend and who is enemy."
- Gabriel Beristain, ASC, BSC
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