Best Technique for ‘Slash of Light’ Across Face?

[lildarkroom]

I recently rewatched the original Indiana Jones trilogy (shot by the late great Douglass Slocombe) and was curious about the lighting technique used to get the slash of light across the face in these shots and how the approach of this technique may change with today’s modern lighting equipment.

 

Maybe this is just a matter of using barn doors and shaping the light from the top/bottom from an open face lamp (or with a fresnel lens?), but I don’t find this technique to look as flattering with today’s modern LED fixtures. It seems to look too artifice (especially on newer digital sensors and lensing contributing to the “overly sharp” look).

 

So, to Roger, the gaffers and DPs out there, in the case of IJ, is this a matter of film stock rendering light in a more flattering way than digital, or being more forgiving (as it blooms highlights and edges a bit better)? And knowing that Roger used an Arri digital camera for this lighting setup in Skyfall, how would the lighting technique change here? Is this bounced or diffused light that is then shaped to fall on the face in a more flattering way? Or is there a more effective way of doing this?

 

Thanks in advance! Sending the best to everyone in 2026!

 

Topic

[Roger Deakins]

You post three very different lighting setups. A fresnel lamp projects a sharp beam of light but that is relative to how close to the lamp the subject is. Similarly, any cut between the lamp and the subject will will never produce a sharp shadow if it is close to the lamp, as in the case of a barn door. The further away the cut the sharper the shadow will be. For the effect in that Skyfall reference, I was not attempting to create a very sharp shadow and had, in fact, used a Hampshire diffusion on the opening that is the cut. Shadow sharpness is all about distance and diffusion.

[lildarkroom]

Thanks for the reply Roger!

Just to clarify, when you mention using diffusion on the opening that is the cut, are you essentially treating it like a soft flag rather than a hard edge with a traditional flag?

I’m thinking about it almost like feathering the edges of the slash of light which you mentioned can be controlled through distance and diffusion. I think what drew me to the three images above is how effectively they shape the pool of light around the actors eyes while maintaining a sort of naturalism relative to the scene around them.

PS- I’ve really been enjoying Reflections. Your stories have been a joy to read.

 

[Roger Deakins]

In the case of Skyfall I added a light Hampshire frost to the opening that I was using as the cut. I felt a very sharp shadow was unnatural so I softened it a little. I could have brought the lamp closer to the cut but then teh light beam would have been less parallel.

[lildarkroom]

Totally understand now. Always impressed with how much of a balancing act even simple setups can be.

Thank you for your insight Roger!

[Author]

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