Low Contrast Look For Cinema & Photography

[torresleonpedro]

Warm greetings from Mexico City,

I would like to learn and discuss a look that I’m very intrigued about and which also seems difficult to achieve.

I am a cinematographer, and know that by posting this it’s a look that goes beyond simply grading or editing in the computer. Optics and lighting being an essential factor, which would also love to discuss here.

However, when it comes to Resolve or Lightroom for example, how does one get closer to the low contrast look? Like flavors, there are different kinds of low contrast look, right off the bat I think of the low contrast look of Disclaimer (Cuarón, 2024) or Still Walking (Koreeda, 2008). I’m quite curious also about Fuji film stock, I believe I once read Harris Savides talk about Fuji film stock having less contrast.

How would one go about it during grading or retouching? Beyond contrast slider.

I look forward to an insightful discussion and deeper understanding of low contrast as well as other interpretations of low contrast. Thank you and cheers

• This topic was modified 10 months, 1 week ago by torresleonpedro. Reason: added links

Pedro Torres León
w: torresleon.com
ig: @torresleonpedro

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[torresleonpedro]

And also, what about digital sensors, how do they handle contrast compared to film?

I found this from Alfonso Cuarón in Team Deakins podcast which I find interesting:

“But yeah, it was pretty much like that. And the concern is interesting because our concern, I remember in the 90s with the films, with Little Princess, with Expectations, and even Y tú Mama, our big concern was the negative. And we had always complaints about the negative.

We were unhappy about the blacks, unhappy about the gray, unhappy about the poor dynamic range. And I’m saying that because now I know that there’s all these trends of thrashing digital because in the nostalgia of the negative that, by the way, I love negative. I think, you know, I think that suddenly we arrive to a place that is closer to what we were seeking for.

And it’s when more people are complaining now, not about the negative, but about the digital format. So I find that kind of, I find that very interesting.”

From Team Deakins: ALFONSO CUARÓN – Writer / Director, Jul 24, 2024

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/team-deakins/id1510638084?i=1000663186141

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Pedro Torres León
w: torresleon.com
ig: @torresleonpedro

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