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I may sound like a broken record but regardless of that you should always trust your eye. That means you need to train your eye, whether it be for exposure or for contrast. Looking at a monitor also takes time and, judging by the films I have worked on, time is always in short supply.
I would be interesting in knowing the technique myself – not that I might ever use it as the expense alone would put me off.
The practical lamps are important as they set the tone of the lighting, but I would usually add a small bounce source to augment what comes naturally. The two images you post, for instance, were lit using a lamp rigged to the ceiling bounced off some muslin stretched against the wall on the side of the frame.
You ask if that lighting constrains the talent but we would have done a blocking rehearsal and the actors were comfortable with their positions. Of course, Prisoners was shot in a very deliberate way and that is not always the case. A Beautiful Mind was much more ‘free flowing’ and the lighting had to allow for that kind of flexibility, as did my operating.
That’s right. Muslin is slightly more textured than Ultrabounce so the light bouncing off it is more even, as well as being warmer. The real softness of a bounce source depends on its size, and its size relative to the subject.
Dynalens. The system used lens elements suspended in a fluid. I think with the right spelling you can find a lot online.
I am sure you are aware how light behaves differently in the rain. You might find that your street lights, when used as a backlight, may be enough and you might find yourself turning off lights that are behind camera. Take a look at Road to Perdition. I know the film had very strong stylized backlighting for the rain sequences but the concept is the same. Wide shots in silhouette against the light and that same light acting as a side light for closer coverage of the characters.
I might suggest you shoot any wide shots at dusk and take advantage of a dark sky. Otherwise, it is hard to give advice without knowing the complexity of the scene, the width of your shots and the style of shooting. It is one thing to light a static shot in a forest and another a long tracking shot that revolves 360º.
I have a book, ‘Reflections’, coming out in the fall which may provide you with what you are after. At least, I hope it will as that was my intent when assembling it. ‘Reflections’ contains lighting diagrams and analysis of various films and scenes within them but is not intended as a technical manual, as its title would imply.
I am confused by your approach as it seems you are attempting to grade your way to a ‘look’. For me, grading is only finessing what you have recorded not attempting to ‘find a look’.
I was not on Burn After Reading but from working on many other films with Joel and Ethan I can say that they would have had a clear idea of the shots they wanted. It is rare they shoot a shot they don’t intend to use. They edit their films and know the flow of a scene before they get into the cutting room.
