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Thank you David for your analysis, and thank you Roger for your observations. I haven’t spotted the difference in lighting regarding the sky until you pointed it out.
Again, thank you both!
Thank you Mike and David for your times and replies!
Those behind the scenes pictures are awesome Mike, thanks for sharing them. I foolishly left out the particular shot I mentioned, I won’t forget to share it this time.
Thanks for correcting me and explaining the different scenarios David, it truly was a poor choice of wording from me. I really liked what you explained in your last paragraph, it sounds so simple yet effective, and also a great answer for the way they lit the scene. Also, your explanation of the pros and cons of using ND gels on windows was more intriguing, and complex, than what I originally understood of such an idea.
I thank you both for your time!
Haha yeah you’re right, on a close inspection it doesn’t look the lamp would be able to cast so much light on the ceiling, but it never bothered me while watching the film.
Thanks for the answer!
That’s a cool picture Mike! It never occured to me that scene/shot would need to hide a reflection, and I’ve watched the film close to three times.
In fact, Stanley and his team used rear projection to film Tom Cruise’s character walking down the streets in Greenwich Village within a soundstage. Expertly done. Wouldn’t have guessed it without seeing the behind the scenes clip.
I’ve attached the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0MP5zlIFYM
I’d suggest you take a look at the films of Guillermo Del Toro. The way he uses not just colours, but also geometric shapes throughout his films is always justified. In “Pan’s Labyrinth” he contrasts the real and magical world with yellow and blue, he carefully planned out “The Shape of Water” to have a colour palette of aquamarine, cyan and green, which is rarely contrasted with gold (Giles apartment). But in “Crimson Peak,” he only uses the colour red for the ghosts, clay, Lucille’s dress and blood, other than that, we never see the colour red in the rest of the film. These are only a few examples.
Hi,
Alfred Hitchcock was famously known and still is, for the way he used editing to create tension and suspense. Mismatching eyelines is a trick he used in Vertigo, North by Northwest, Notorious and Psycho, particularly giving the latter film a sense of danger in the scene you mentioned.
Hi Roger,
I would like to ask you, how did it differ from working in ‘Empire of Light,’ with grand-scale films like ‘1917’ and ‘Blade Runner 2049?’
Was it comparatively easier working on ‘Empire of Light,’ or were there different but still as difficult obstacles?
Thanks for your time!
Thanks for your time and response Sir!
I also wanted to ask you about the pacing and framing of the convoy scene in Juarez. The scene is skilfully crafted and timed very well, had it been longer it would have bored the audience or lost its focus on the scene, and had it been shorter it would have lost some build-up and tension.
How did you, Denis, and others work in pre-production to time and pace the scene so immaculately?
And also how did you and others figure out the selection of shots for the scene? Especially when they’re coming back to the border, there’s a wide array of shot sizes, point of views, moments and things being said, how did you and the team control all this?
Again, thanks for your time!
Hi Luca,
Here’s five films that have heavily impressed and helped mold me into what I am today:
1. Manhattan (1979) and The Lighthouse (2019). I’m a big fan of the gothic genre, and more importantly, Edgar Allen Poe. I find the use of black and white photography, framing, and hard light in these films fascinating.
2. Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980). I’m a big admirer of Kubrick’s films, and although I was tempted to pick others, The Shining really stands out with its steadicam shots, blocking, zooms and framing.
3. The Safdie Brothers’ Uncut Gems (2019). This was the film that really introduced me to ‘cinema.’ I find the use of framing with its long lenses nothing short of astounding. Really cements the film as a two hour panic attack.
4. Sicario (2015). It was on a second viewing where I noticed and appreciated the POV of the camera, there’s such a menace and presence to the way the camera moves and frames the shot, that went right through me on the first viewing. Along with a few other films, this is one where I wish I could watch again with no memory.
This is my list of films that shaped me and my perception, you might not agree with me or find it as inspiring and helpful as I did, but I hope you enjoy them nonetheless.
Hello Roger,
What did you mean by ‘some, small and big budget films, look fake to me?’
Do you mean that it’s a case of style over substance? Or something that brings you out of the experience when watching a film?
This conversation reminds me of one of Albert Einstein’s quotes: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
As a former film school student, I found the rules or ‘fundamentals,’ a great help because they set boundaries and restrictions that helped me progress with my learning. But as I improved and grew stronger as a filmmaker, I required them much less to guide me because I found something else. I developed my personal taste and character, and still am developing it.
