So now to the origin of this article. I am always looking for better examples and techniques as sim trav/poor mans process is so difficult and I went to watch “Drive Away Dolls” shot by the amazing Ari Wegner who did such and amazing job but the thing I was floored by was to learn that the sim trav was green screened on a small little stage. What makes her’s so so seamless with reality is that she hasn’t over lit it. She has taken the same approach to lighting a car interior as we all strive to do with lighting a window of a day interior.

The dreaded sit down, boardroom, five page scene, multiple eyelines, multiple people speaking, lots of glass and reflection but that is all ok. That’s just sort of business as usual…but…the more you think about it…the more you ask the question. 

Linus Sandgren…need I say more. I love Bond films, in fact it is my life dream to shoot a Bond film (Hi Barbara!) and so as you can imagine I follow them religiously…so why not cover one. I think I will look a fair bit at this movie over the next 12 months on and off, don't worry it won't be 2 months of Bond but there is something for me about this film that took the franchise to the next level visually. Yes there are Imax portions, yes it was shot on film (but so was Spectre) but there is just something about what Linus did that just took this to the next level.

I am a big fan of Greig’s work and looking back over his filmography, his ability to utilize and manipulate natural light to create beautiful, painterly images that feel “real” is next to none. He truely can speak to the sun and ask it really nicely to move into the perfect front 3/4 45 degree angle.

Spielberg has been helmed by many as the master of blocking adn recently, as you know from the previous post, I am midway through the process of storyboarding a feature film that I roll on later this year and it really gets the juices flowing about blocking. Specifically it makes you ask yourself…

Rembrandt lighting referes to a (now) heavily used technique created by the painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, usually simply known as Rembrandt. He was a Dutch Golden Age painter, known for emotive and harrowing portraits.

Whilst listening to a podcast with Christopher Nolan discussing the amazing work he and his team did on Oppenheimer. One of the interviewers asked him about a line in the film and how it relates to filmmaking - “Theory can only take you so far” - this stopped him in his tracks.

Ah yes, the four walled white room with a single window. How fun. It’s just a shame that we are shooting it in the directors cousins, best friends, neighbours, uncles house but thats just the way the cookie crumbles right?

Night interiors are rough…very rough…how much fill light, where does the light come from, how dark is too dark, how light is too light!!! It’s a pain in the ass because there are no right answers…but plenty of wrong ones.

I recently watched this film again and although I already love the work of DP Jonathan Sela, I began to notice some interesting techniques in his lighting that made me love him just that little bit more.