Roger Deakins

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  • in reply to: Empire of Light – Dusk dialogue #215013
    Roger Deakins
    Keymaster

      Not so many takes on any scene. The scene with Ron eating the chips was quite a few and I felt for that actor.

      We had tested the fireworks before the shoot as well as their positioning. We needed a low tide so that they could be set off from the beach and they were just off the shelf fireworks. I metered the scene in the foreground and let the fireworks fell where they might. It was just the same as on ‘Skyfall’ though some on that film were added in post whereas everything in ‘Empire’ was in camera.

      in reply to: Chasing a legacy: a single prime #215011
      Roger Deakins
      Keymaster

        Interesting comments. I would have said a 32mm but I see the trend is towards wider lenses. Shooting a close up on a 25mm or a 27mm is something I have done in. the past and would do again in the right circumstances but I doubt that often.

        in reply to: Projector ‘poor mans process’ #215007
        Roger Deakins
        Keymaster

          I was shooting film and I used a regular shutter opening.

          A plate shot on an 18mm, for instance, from the same camera position as the main camera shot, if that is a 40mm, will not match. Both the perspective and the lens distortion will be different. If you are shooting a wide background and selecting a part of that background to match with your main camera shot then it is viable and only what is done on the ‘volume’. But shooting a specific plate for a specific background is different.

          I used branches on a revolving pipe rig to mimic the trees that were in the plate. We had the plate playing on a small screen so we could judge the speed and timing with the background.

          That was about it. We also shot our plates at a specific time of day to justify the sunlight playing on the car interor..

          in reply to: Empire of Light – Dusk dialogue #215004
          Roger Deakins
          Keymaster

            We never had any color references of Dreamland so I was not aware of that. The balroom was done out in an Asian style, with lots of gold etc., so the yellow would have made sense.

            in reply to: Projector ‘poor mans process’ #215003
            Roger Deakins
            Keymaster

              For ‘The Man Who Wasn’t There’ we chose the shots we would be shooting in the car and recorded the angle to the car, height off the ground and lens length. When we shot our plates we used these references.

              The times I have used projection we also shot with the same lens length that we would use for the main action. If you shoot a 360º then it follows that you have more flexibility with your actual shots but you might still want to be careful with what lenses you use.

               

              in reply to: Subjects appear in the frame #214986
              Roger Deakins
              Keymaster

                Great visuals! Thank you for those, Stip.

                in reply to: Empire of Light – Dusk dialogue #214976
                Roger Deakins
                Keymaster

                  I was probably shooting the wide on a 27mm and mid shots on a 32mm and the closer shots on a 50mm.

                  in reply to: Dynamic Range #214971
                  Roger Deakins
                  Keymaster

                    There is a lot more involved than dynamic range when it comes to a camera’s performance but wider dynamic range does have a substantial impact on the image. Now, whether your particular scene needs that kind of range is another question and one only you can answer.

                    in reply to: Empire of Light – Dusk dialogue #214970
                    Roger Deakins
                    Keymaster

                      Yes, the space faced North East and we shot on two evenings. Luckily for us the weather matched pretty well. I did have extra lighting outside the window on two scissors lifts. This was very low level bounce light using simply 8′ x 4′ sheets of polystyrene. The lights running along the promenade are ones we had rigged and were set to dimmers between each set of lamp posts. And, yes, I chose the yellow window gel with our Production Designer.

                      in reply to: Lighting Trends #214962
                      Roger Deakins
                      Keymaster

                        I do. Although I like a film to feel naturalistic I have still used inspiration from films of the 40s and 50s. Some of the lighting in films from ‘Homicide’ to ‘The Man Who Wasn’t There’  is not exactly natural but, hopefully, appears natural. I feel the same when watching ‘Kiss me Deadly’, one of my all time favorite ‘B’ movies, the lighting was part of the whole and in that sense felt completely ‘natural’.

                        in reply to: Empire of Light – Relaxation Room #214958
                        Roger Deakins
                        Keymaster

                          There were LED tubes in those ceiling panels and no additional sources. The lamps I used to bounce were Geminis 2′ x 1′ panels, or an equivalent style of LED to make up the number.

                          in reply to: Using Vintage S35 lenses again? #214956
                          Roger Deakins
                          Keymaster

                            I doubt that as those lenses look so soft and ‘primitive’ compared with an S4 or a Master Prime.

                            in reply to: Empire of Light – Relaxation Room #214955
                            Roger Deakins
                            Keymaster

                              The rest area was part of the composite set that included the lobby and staircase to the screening rooms. The whole thing was built on location in an empty lot, where a prior building had been demolished. These particular scenes were the most difficult for me as there was only a few feet of clearance outside the windows and, although I wanted to make daylight the primary light source that was impossible. The ‘fluorescent’ fixtures were a compromise but I felt they would make the area look like a work space and make a contrast with the more elaborate lobby. About five feet from the windows there was a ‘stage wall’ and I had this painted white with some texture on the area we woudl see in picture. Then I used the higher part as a bounce.

                              in reply to: Bathroom and club lighting questions #214944
                              Roger Deakins
                              Keymaster

                                The practical lighting would really depend on the kind of club it was. If its an old place a bare bulb could work or a simple fluorescent tube. If you use a tube you could justify it being an odd color, which may or may not work for the scene. As for the club other than its toilet, I would always look at what exists and then decide if I want to use it or not. That really is a personal choice and a financial one as well.

                                in reply to: Creating contrast in a white room when filming black and white #214935
                                Roger Deakins
                                Keymaster

                                  Your idea of using mirrors to lessen the falloff should help. You might want to try silver stipple and a lighter diffusion, such as a brush silk, which will make the source a little softer but somewhat directional. A heavy diffusion near the window will tend to spread the light wider.

                                  The light level imbalance can be reduced by pulling stop but it could also be nice that things fall off into deep shadow away from the windows. That really depends on the scene and the location and impossible to make a judgement from here!

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