Forum Replies Created
-
Replies
-
Primarily, naturalism. I wanted the feel of the darkness of the spaces without losing the characters. The film is about the characters above all. My lens choices were in the 28 to 40mm range. I don’t remember anything above a 50mm. Maybe a 65mm. But I can’t picture the exact shot you are asking about.
There is always a place where you want your mid exposure to fall. Here it would be the sink counter top. Another example would be a wall which you want to read as a stop under. While I have to admit it is easier to shoot a scene like this with a calibrated monitor to refer to, the viewing conditions when you look at the monitor can be deceptive. That is why a meter is always a good tool.
Max, what you say is quite right but in this example the camera is zooming in and not moving position to match the frame. Here, the effect is purely of a long lens and a slowing train. The wide angle is shot far from the platform and feels fast. When the camera zooms in the shot looks slow in comparison to what you have just seen. The longer lens is creating some of that effect but the train is also slowing. Maybe there is some camera speed change. Hard to know for sure. Life is a mystery.
Yes, I was trying to shoot at around 3.2/4.0. Not always possible as the light was so variable during long takes.
I suggest it comes from intuition and experience. A lens width is the same on a horizontal plane as it is in a vertical one. So the width of a shot on a similar lens translates one to one.
You can’t really do better than a plastic bag and gaffer tape. I too would worry about ghosting with a filter but an optically clear glass would protect your lens.
I still use a meter to judge my exposure, even with a calibrated monitor. I use a Gossen Luna Pro, usually with the invercone and in incident mode. For the shot your reference I would have stood where the actors are and pointed my meter towards the camera.
I would use some gel, just as David suggested. You could always get a swatch of small leaves of gel than match an LED to the color you prefer. Its either that or match a full color LED to a mercury vapor fixture.
I seem to remember we used the pan to emphasize the passage of time or simply make a softer cut between scenes. Who’s idea? Probably one each. We discussed the script and our shooting pattern well in advance and these kind of languid pans seemed right for the piece. Of course, most were lost in the cut.
Yes, that was a long time ago. I laugh at this scene because we had tented the whole house, so that I had room for lamps outside, but by the time we came to shoot it was dark outside.
The bounce source was an unbleached muslin and I suspect the lamps was attached to the ceiling. Otherwise, as you say, the light would have been too close. The hard light was supposed to mimic a street lamp. Just a 650 with a half blue gel on it.
The rain? Yes, the rain felt like it mirrored the sadness of the scene. ‘In Cold Blood’ did it so much better.
I do prefer my still photos in B&W. Sometimes I use a color camera and sometimes a monochrome camera. I wouldn’t say I am looking at the light differently either way. Something just seems worthy of a photograph or it doesn’t.
So many great photographers. Some seem more interested in the light and composition than making a comment on society, others are all about the subject. Bill Brandt took images that varied wildly from one to another.
The photographers that inspire me are usually those that reveal something of themselves. You see their personality in their images.
