Search Results for 'no'

[sanghamithran]

Great Master Roger,

1. I’m currently working as a virtual lighting and camera artist in a pre/post production facility, So the seamless movement from Live action to CG amazed me in bladerunner like no other, can you pls share your process in some length on lighting and shooting full CG scenes and compositing scenes that goes for CG background in your films, Rango is one of your finest work and I can’t see it any different than your CG work.
2. But here when I work on shots on films, most cinematographers don’t come much to the house to have control over their CG images and I find it a little depressing as I’ve learned from your Forum and everywhere you had given talks and interviews and Much similar like DP master Greig Fraser on maintaining and protecting the Dop’s work through any method of creating it for the film. wanting to do DP work on my own films is my ultimate aim also, I always hope for Dp’s to come in and do the CG lighting with the technical support of CG artists so it pretty much stays one vision. I try my best to match their live action work with references of live footage.
3. Master Roger can you share your way of working lighting and framing and everything as you do as a live action cinematographer, how that translates to any other form of imagery.
4. Always learning from you Master Roger.
5. Thank you for your time.

[Roger Deakins]

There are directors who are very controlling of the image, specify camera placement to the millimeter and the lens length etc.. It is a personal decision whether, as a cinematographer, a purely technical contribution is enough.

[dmullenasc]

If you’re going for a cool look by pulling the 85 filter on tungsten film in daylight, then you aren’t really correcting back to neutral, you may be just correcting part of the blue out.

In terms of using daylight film in tungsten or mixed sources, that’s been done many times. Both “Emma” (1996 version) and “Backdraft” used 250D daylight film for interiors to make candleflames and fire look more orange, mixed with some daylight-balanced light. Robert Richardson used 250D daylight stock for a tungsten-lit night exterior in “Born on the 4th of July” for a warm look. In fact, 3-strip Technicolor was daylight-balanced from 1935 to 1952, and sometimes tungsten lamps were used for orange lighting effects (like firelight, etc.). But in all of these cases, the image was not corrected back from orange to neutral.

I have heard of scenes shot on daylight film in daylight corrected from neutral to cool though — for example, the WW2 flashbacks in the first “X-Men” movie was shot on 50D with a bleach-bypass process and then timed cool.

So unless a warm tone is desired by not correcting in post, I can’t imagine the reason for shooting 250D all under tungsten but correcting it back to neutral unless it was simply a stock emergency on location and no tungsten stock was available.

[Karchalb]

Roger has previously written on this forum about how he “timed a cold negative” for The Shawshank Redemption, i.e. shot exteriors on tungsten balanced stocks without an 85 filter and then corrected the color in the timing process. Does anyone on here know any instances of a D.P. doing the opposite, i.e. shooting an interior (non mixed lighting) on a daylight balanced stock without an 80A filter and then correcting the color during timing? If so why might a filmmaker choose to do so?

[sanghamithran]

Hi Master Roger,

Had revisited Bladerunner 2049 again lately after seeing a DGA interview where Christopher Nolan interviewing denis villenueve on Dune, where Nolan compliments denis on the film saying BR2049 was a great box office success actually rather than what production company had lead the film maker to believe. Saying it was a master piece for him. And while asking about some of the amazing blending and seamlessness of CG to live action in Dune. Villeneuve said he learned how to do that from A Master named Roger Deakins. The talk was amazing to here.

And the talk between Roger and James with Greig fraser also talked about using grey screens instead of blue or green screens and stuff. About blending live action and CG,was so informative to here about the process.

Master Roger I was amazed by certain shots done on BR2049, can you tell us how much part of these images are real and how much it is CG and the blending of them.

I can hear the rumbling sound of the flying cars and the sound of this film I must say equal to it’s imagery.

Thank you,

Master Roger.

[Gooddog4]

Hello everyone,

This forum is such a wealth of knowledge and has been a huge source of help as I grow in my field (currently a small time gaffer) so first off, thank to everyone who participates here.

So my question is what questions do you ask (yourself and others) before a shoot? Every shoot is different and every script calls for it’s own style, but what questions do you ask as you formulate that style? And for on set, what questions are you asking yourself as you prepare to light a scene?

I am very interested in learning what questions to ask myself both to find the look of a film, and questions to ask myself on set to achieve that look.

 

Thank you to anyone who responds!

 

P.S. also curious about what questions people are asking themselves to decide on composition as well, I can post in that sub as well, or can it all be answered here?

 

[jlarson]

Hey Roger and friends! I’m shooting a short and most of the scenes are in a hospital room that we are making into a set for a few days. Some day scenes some night. Most will be day. Luckily we are on the first floor so we will have ability to light the windows when needed. But I’m thinking I just want to let them sort of blow out soft. We will put up some vertical blinds that will be partially open to see light come through but I dont want to see outside.

It’s one small window about 4’ x 8’. We are going to build a tent around it outside so we have control. I dont have anything on hand very big lighting wise but I’ll have 3 Joker 1600s. My plan was just to tee up a 12 ultra about 8-10 feet away from the window and have all three bouncing into it.

Originally I was thinking or something like 1/4 or 1/2 grid on the window so it was a consistent soft light. Do you think that would be to much diffusion and not enough light should I go with something softer like opal or hamp? I’m just worried the 3 1600s will not be enough. I’d like to use the window as a large practical if possible. Obviously we will augment when possible but for the wide scenes it would be nice to use it as a practical since it will be a real hospital room and not a stage set.

I added a grab from A serious man with a window similar to a look I’m looking for.

Thanks so much!

[dmullenasc]

“Dunkirk” is a separate issue, it’s not a re-release of an old movie — in this case, as with most Nolan films (except “Tenet” for some reason, I think he had to use a D.I. to make the release date) he doesn’t go through a D.I. because he wants to be able to contact print the 15-perf 65mm IMAX footage and show that print in IMAX film theaters. This meant that the 5-perf 65mm footage in “Dunkirk” was optically blown-up to 15-perf 65mm so it could be cut into the IMAX negative.  So if you see the 15-perf 70mm print of “Dunkirk” you are seeing it as Nolan intended.  Yes, film prints have more contrast to them, giving them rich blacks but less shadow detail, which you can see happening in the film prints of “Oppenheimer”. To talk about color depth in this case is a bit misleading — a film print uses subtractive color (YCM) and a digital projector uses additive color (RGB) so a digital projector can increase saturation without decreasing brightness. But in terms of the color depth, a movie that goes through a D.I. that is intended for both digital projection and a DCP uses a Kodak Vision print emulation LUT in the D.I. session in order to not create colors outside the range that can be shown in a film-out that is printed on Vision print stock.

Now as for old digitally-restored movies, yes, you can wonder what the point of a film-out would be other than the fact that unless the digital theater has laser projection, a film print has better blacks and contrast. But laser projection is taking over so that soon won’t be an issue.  If one was a purist, I could see making an effort to see film prints made from film masters, but to insist on seeing a film print of a film-out from a digital file seems a bit pointless. In general I prefer digital projection of film restorations done digitally; however I do like seeing prints of film masters, like new 70mm prints of old 65mm movies that haven’t been digitally restored, or archival 35mm Technicolor dye transfer prints, which I feel have their own unique look — the print itself is part of the experience, especially if the movie was shot in 3-strip Technicolor.

[Mike]

Thankyou Abraham,  now that seems interesting.

[Mike]

I agree with you but how do you ascertain if they are more knowledgeable than you.

I have employed many people male and female with a list of credentials and although initially seem to be eager at first turn out to be very disappointing in the long run.

I find it’s sometimes best to take on the mediocre types and nurture them as the go along,   Also they are cheaper to feed water than the ones who claim to know everything but in the end know nothing.  Train them up on the job is my philosophy.

[Mike]

In reply to the original question about Blain Brown, I can recommend his books as they contain a lot of technical detail which most books these do not, many of the books on the market claim to provide a wealth of information but contain very little, mostly are written by vanity publishers and charge massive price which amounts to daylight robbery.  However, I can recommend Blain Brown as a worthy author even though they are still expensive but they are worth it imo.

[JakobGrasboeck]

I liked „Notes on the Cinematographer“ by Robert Bresson.

[TWSILK]

Thanks!

Roger this site has been wonderful and has inspired me so much with my getting back to my roots, I can’t thank you enough for this resource and the work you have done.

My love of films is what got me into photography.  When I was a kid I wanted to be to a comic book artist, at the age of ten I decided I couldn’t draw well enough (yeah I know ten years old) but I fell in love with movies.  I decided I wanted to be a filmmaker, I thought I would have to have photography to get into film school and I found my answer.  I work with the 2d still image of drawing but the tech and tools of the filmmaker.  My photography geared towards to sports as it was what I drew as a kid and the closest I could get to photographing the super heroes I used to draw.  I could share some sports photos if people were interested.  I worked for ten years as a sports and newspaper photographer.

 

Anyway as to what  I used I’ll gladly share what I did.  I use the Canon EOS series.  I have my “secret” sauce camera an EOS 1ds mk 3, it came out in 2008, but the file is one of my favorite files from a digital camera.  It was when the camera makers still tried to make a “film” look to image quality and taste.  So I shot with that camera to begin with.  I used both my 45mm and 90mm canon tilt shift lenses.  I really wanted to get an action shot that looked like it was old time.  The 90mm was still a bit loose and then I realized how much room there was behind the rear element.   My canon extenders all stick out a little so I figured I would give it a try, it mounted the 1.4 extender up and gave me more reach for the action shot.  It also gave some chromatic aberration which I could even see in the view finder, but I didn’t mind that.   I like to use tilt shift lenses to draw the eye around.  Sometimes too I feel a tilt shift lens is the only way to make the feel of how we actually see.  Like this photo below I took in my favorite local cinema.  The effect is slight but there.   This shot however is with an EOS R and is an exposure composite and the 24mm tilt shift. 

[Mike]

Very interesting photos imo.

Would be nice to know what camera and lens you used.  Nice work imo.

[The Byre]

I’ll put it this way – if I had someone on set who had Roger’s talent and experience, I would be bone-crushingly stupid to not listen carefully to what he has to say.  (In German “Dümmer als die Polizei zulässt!”)

In my whole life, I have always followed the best method of managing a team is to find people who are better at their jobs than I could ever be and then let them get on with it!