From ICG Magazine, Smells Like Suburban Spirit by David Geffner (May 2000)
Hall was initially reticent to tackle the dark subject matter in American Beauty (actor Tom Cruise actually recommended him to director Sam Mendes). But, in retrospect, the 70-something cinematographer seems like the perfect creative fit.
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 conrad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label conrad. Show all posts
11.5.09
Conrad Hall: Evolving with Technology
"It was almost exactly 50 years ago, in the spring of 1948, that I started studying cinema at USC. In the years since then I've tried to pay attention to life, and learn to tell stories with film language. Now, the language is over 100 years old, but I don't know if I've paid enough attention to the craft of cinematography as it has evolved-- and is evolving-- so rapidly. I don't know how to pay attention to it. I'm so disinterested in computers and mechanical things-- shooting blue-screens and green-screens. You can do some wonderful and magical things with that sort of technology to create stories, but I'm personally not very interested. I remember how I learned to do things a long time ago, and I'm going to hang onto that, which limits the types of stories I'm going to tell... "
-Conrad Hall, ASC
-Conrad Hall, ASC
10.5.09
Conrad Hall: Over Cast Weather on "A Civil Action"
Randy Woodside was Conrad Hall's gaffer on A Civil Action.
When we did have the good fortune to get some overcast weather, we'd often underexpose the faces and expose more toward the sky, which created some modeling on the faces. I love that technique, because it really provides a more downcast feel. The brow-line shadows the actors' eyes and there's a shadow under their chins. You get more definition in the faces that way. We also used some negative fill to take light away from one side to provide some shape. We were trying to provide a bit of contrast to every shot in a situation that didn't really lend itself to it. On wide shots, we obviously did what we could with the lens aperture, but when we got into coverage, we began shaping the faces by taking light away. When we did add light, we added it in very subtle, naturalistic way to help get rid of some of the toplight. If you don't do it subtly, things start to get out of balance with everything else in the background."
-Randy Woodside
When we did have the good fortune to get some overcast weather, we'd often underexpose the faces and expose more toward the sky, which created some modeling on the faces. I love that technique, because it really provides a more downcast feel. The brow-line shadows the actors' eyes and there's a shadow under their chins. You get more definition in the faces that way. We also used some negative fill to take light away from one side to provide some shape. We were trying to provide a bit of contrast to every shot in a situation that didn't really lend itself to it. On wide shots, we obviously did what we could with the lens aperture, but when we got into coverage, we began shaping the faces by taking light away. When we did add light, we added it in very subtle, naturalistic way to help get rid of some of the toplight. If you don't do it subtly, things start to get out of balance with everything else in the background."
-Randy Woodside
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