[Roger Deakins]

I suspect ‘Son of Saul’ was shot with wide apertures to limit the focus of the backgrounds.

[Roger Deakins]

You might use a light diffusion closer to the shot to soften the light on a character or a specific object, while letting that emitted from the initial, heavier diffusion reach the background.

Conversely, you could use a light diffusion to spread light more evenly across a second, heavier, diffusion, which is placed nearer the subject. A light diffusion used in this way, such as a brush silk, would not substantially lower the amount of light overall, whereas to use a heavier one in the same place would.

Again, you might allow light to spill around a diffusion. The result would be a hard light surrounding a softer area.

I would often adjust the distance between a lamp and a large diffusion to find the  placement that gave me the right (right to my eye) combination of hard and soft. The diffusion might be twelve feet square but the actual light source only seven feet square.

[Roger Deakins]

There is a funny story. I forget what it is!

 

 

[Roger Deakins]

There is a balance between shooting only the shots you feel are right for a scene and allowing some flexibility in the edit. It annoys me when shots are used in the edit simply because they exist. But it also annoys me when a performance seems weak because there is a lack of a close shot or another angle. Sometimes an editor needs alternatives to build a performance.

[Roger Deakins]

I hesitate to recommend any particular camera. I use a Leica M9 because I like a simple camera but most professionals I know use other brands. Even zoom lenses!

[Roger Deakins]

Some expressions are conceptual, the banana taped to the wall or Oldenburg’s sculpture of everyday objects. Some things are spiritual, like the ponds in Stalker. And I’m not talking about god here, although you could take it that way if you want.

[Roger Deakins]

You could add a black net over a silver stipple bounce and you would have something closer to your ideal. Remember, I am talking about silver stipple and not a mirror silver.

 

• This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by Roger Deakins.

[Roger Deakins]

As David says, ganged lanterns have a higher profile than a ring light. I would say teh light from paper lanterns would be softer, and maybe not always in a good way. I often  control a ring light by surrounding it with silver foil. Harder to do with an 18″ lantern.

[Roger Deakins]

I can’t say there is one specifically, no. Its usually teh other way around. I am trying for a deeper stop and more depth of field.

[Roger Deakins]

Cover the glasses with front projection material – the same as reflective material on a running jacket or safety gear etc.. A flashlight beside your camera will be more than enough.

[Roger Deakins]

I think knowing something of the story would help explain your problem.

[Roger Deakins]

I seem to remember it was just the torchlight coming off a bounce card. The bounce may have been a 1′ x 1′ soft silver, which would have made teh light a little more directional.

The tree definitely is a metaphor for ……

[Roger Deakins]

I suspect you could find something similar online. As for the make/model, I have no idea.

[Roger Deakins]

I’m not sure why you want to change what is there. I certainly wouldn’t consider reproducing the existing lighting with my own, no matter what budget I had. Is in not possible to turn off a single bank of lights if you want a little more contrast. If you are shooting from one side of the ring you could have less light coming from behind the camera.

[Roger Deakins]

I don’t believe an image or a look is created with a LUT. But i come from film and believe in shooting an image the way you want it to appear on the screen.

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