From ICG Magazine, Smells Like Suburban Spirit by David Geffner (May 2000)
... As if returning full circle to the shadowy imagery of In Cold Blood, Hall utilized shadowplay through various set windows for the movie's waterlogged final act. "I had rain boxes built," the cinematographer declares, "which were approximately eight inches thick by four feet-by-four feet. They look like big fishtanks and each one sits on an easel at an angle, with a rain bar at the top to drive water down the Plexiglas surface. You can shine a light through each rainbox, and control sharpness and focus according to how the light is positioned and what type of intensity light is used."
Hall got innovative with the rain in one of the climax's key dramatic moments. Angela has just run from her best friend's bedroom, despairing at the truths hurled at her by Jane and Ricky. As the teary-eyed girl curls up on the stairwell, Hall introduces softly lit shadows of the rain outside as texture on the balustrade and walls behind her. It's a sad, yet ominous moment, and a prelude to the pending tragedy as Lester finds the distraught girl in the rainy darkness of his own living room.
..."We were all on the same page as to how long this driving rain would go on and exactly where in the film it would start. Obviously, my challenge is to make sure it's raining in every single shot- interior or exterior. The rain allowed for great stylization with lighting and composition. I could place shadows of the rain on people's faces, or behind them on walls and such in every scene. The effect was a build-up of tension and drama-- it can't rain that long without all the animals eventually getting aboard the Ark!"
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 tension. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tension. Show all posts
23.5.09
Guillermo Navarro: Swing-Shift Lenses
From American Cinematographer, Fly Girl by Andrew O. Thompson (January 1998)
The cinematographer made frequent use of Clairmont's Swing-Shift lens system, as he had on his previous project, the offbeat super-hero adventure Spawn. He found this to be particularly useful for shooting in-car conversations which required that the faces of two characters be in focus, and for lending dramatic tension to certain scenes by bringing together or pulling apart the actor's faces.
"In one sequence, Jackie is in court being arraigned on charges of cocaine possession. One shot includes both the judge behind his podium and Jackie back in the gallery seats, and we brought the shot together at the moment when he is deciding her fate. We had to swing the lenses drastically, because it's a very severe shot-- a close-to-the-lens profile of her, and the judge way back in focus."
- Guillermo Navarro, ASC
The cinematographer made frequent use of Clairmont's Swing-Shift lens system, as he had on his previous project, the offbeat super-hero adventure Spawn. He found this to be particularly useful for shooting in-car conversations which required that the faces of two characters be in focus, and for lending dramatic tension to certain scenes by bringing together or pulling apart the actor's faces.
"In one sequence, Jackie is in court being arraigned on charges of cocaine possession. One shot includes both the judge behind his podium and Jackie back in the gallery seats, and we brought the shot together at the moment when he is deciding her fate. We had to swing the lenses drastically, because it's a very severe shot-- a close-to-the-lens profile of her, and the judge way back in focus."
- Guillermo Navarro, ASC
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