nofilmschool » lighting

Henri-Georges Clouzot-Inspired Music Video Shows Us the Power of Light on the Human Face

Robert Hardy — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 01:13:30 +0000

How often do we think about the effect that light has on shaping the human face? It’s one of those questions that experienced cinematographers are always contemplating, but one that younger shooters tend to think less about as camera technology dominates most filmmaking discussions these days. Luckily for us, every now and again a profound example of how powerful light can be comes along that slaps us in the face and forces us to look back at one of the most fundamental aspects of cinematography: lighting the human face for emotional impact. Opale’s recent music video for their song Sparkles and Wine provides one such example. Check out both the teaser trailer and the video below: (more…)

Vittorio Storaro Explains How DPs Can 'Write with Light' to Tell a Story

E.M. Taboada — Thu, 30 May 2013 21:53:00 +0000

Do you follow light like the moon follows the sun? How do the colors in your film express the thematic content? It’s in answering these kinds of questions that legendary cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (The Conformist, Apocalypse Now, The Last Emperor), has developed his approach to lighting over the course of his incredible career. In the 1992 documentary profile of Storaro, Writing With Light, we not only get an overview of his career, but we get glimpses into his working process and how that translates into his films. (more…)

'Palindromes' DP Tom Richmond: 'The Grammar of Filmmaking is a Good Place to Start'

Micah Van Hove — Fri, 24 May 2013 04:46:15 +0000

Here’s another awesome Craft Truck interview to munch on. Cinematographer Tom Richmond, who has shot some insane movies with the likes of Todd Solondz, Roger Avary, and James Gray, puts emphasis on composition and understanding that photography in a film is its own language. They discuss the grammar of the language and why working with directors is more akin to being a “Detective of Photography.” Hit the jump for the full interview: (more…)

Shane Hurlbut's Kino Flo Interviews: 'In Order to Be a Great Shooter, You Have to Understand Light'

Dave Kendricken — Wed, 15 May 2013 23:42:44 +0000

There are several exciting new lighting revolutions in development these days, namely LED and plasma fixtures. The first such high-output/low-footprint alternative lighting technology — all but perfected for the performance needed in high-end film production — came about twenty-five years ago, with the advent of Kino Flo Lighting Systems. Kino Flo isn’t the only manufacturer pushing alternative lighting solutions with filmmaking in mind, but its name is still nearly synonymous with the technology it helped revolutionize. Check out an excellent interview below from Shane Hurlbut, ASC, with Kino Flo founder and president Frieder Hochheim to hear about how it all began and about how the company plans on lending its namesake to some of those new revolutions in lighting, too. (more…)

Cinematographer Sam Levy on Motivation: 'It's Just a Feeling'

Micah Van Hove — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 20:13:16 +0000

From Wendy and Lucy to The Romantics, Sam Levy’s work as a cinematographer is marked with naturalism and attention to character blocking. Here he sits down with Craft Truck to discuss his work, how he began as an assistant and lensed his first feature film on a standard def Mini DV camera. Hit the jump to learn more and to watch the full interview: (more…)

Legendary Cinematographer Gordon Willis Reminds Us: 'There is No Formula'

Micah Van Hove — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 13:00:07 +0000

Craft Truck is on a winning tear, recently releasing some of the best interviews with cinematographers in recent memory, and this one is no exception. Gordon Willis, the “Prince of Darkness” and a master of light, sits down with Jeff Glickman to discuss his work as a cinematographer, his working relationship with Woody Allen and Francis Ford Coppola. Though Willis is retired, his mark has been deeply felt by anyone who loves movies. Ask any working cinematographer today, chances are they’ve been influenced by Gordy. Hit the jump for the 2-part interview: (more…)

NAB 2013 Lighting Roundup: New Fixtures from Manfrotto, KinoFlo, Hexolux & More

Micah Van Hove — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 21:15:41 +0000

A lot of manufacturers decided to jump in the lighting game this year, while others continue to improv on their existing fixtures. If this year’s NAB is any indication, the future of lighting tech has moved away from Tungsten filament and is now firmly in the hands of LED and Plasma technologies. Read on to get a quick overview on all the new offerings. (more…)

NAB Video: K5600 Daylight AND Tungsten Balanced HMI Lights

Micah Van Hove — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 11:00:20 +0000

FreshDV brings us a look at a number of new fresnel and PAR style lights from K5600, including their Joker 200 and Alpha 200, adaptable to both 5600k and 3200k options via switchable globes. Watch the video for all the gritty details and to learn about HMI technology: (more…)

Claudio Miranda on Shooting 'Oblivion' with the Sony F65 & How They Created a Gorgeous In-Camera Effect

Robert Hardy — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 08:23:44 +0000

Last month cinematographer Claudio Miranda, ASC, took home the Academy’s top prize for cinematography for his work on Ang Lee’s Life of Pi. His forthcoming feature, Oblivion, will be the first major motion picture shot with the Sony F65, and he recently talked with Jon Fauer of Film and Digital Times Magazine about his experiences with the camera, as well as some of the interesting techniques that the production used in place of shooting with a blue screen. Check out the trailer and a special behind-the-scenes video for Oblivion below: (more…)

Basic Lighting Lesson: Understanding Hard Light and Soft Light

Joe Marine — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 22:53:19 +0000

Lighting does more than just expose your image. It’s one of the very basic tools that filmmakers have at their disposal to create an atmosphere for their story. While you need a certain quantity of light to give your movie the proper exposure, it’s actually the quality of the light that creates the look for your film. If you’re looking for a basic lesson in the differences between hard light and soft light, and what they can do for your image, look no further than the tutorial below. (more…)

'Frozen River' DP Reed Morano on Shooting Movies: 'It's Not for You, It's for Someone Else'

Joe Marine — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 03:15:26 +0000

There was quite a bit of back and forth regarding the role of the DP on a recent post about Andrij Parekh, much to the surprise of myself and a few others. The DP is one of the most important people on a production. The real purpose of the last post was to hear from a working professional that the cinematographer has to be a collaborator and must serve the story. Now we’ve got another Craft Truck interview from Jeff Glickman, this time with Reed Morano, the director of photography on Frozen River. In the video below, Reed talks about her process and her career, and how she’s risen up through the ranks. (more…)

Hive Lighting Brightens Up All-Plasma Chevy Volt Ad (With Only Batteries and 60A Generator)

Dave Kendricken — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:37:48 +0000

Modern lighting technology continues to become more energy-efficient, while at the same time increasing light output. This applies to LEDs, but it also applies to plasma lighting systems, which are growing rapidly in popularity. Plasma is capable of a very naturalistic light spectrum (much closer to traditional Tungsten lights depending on the design), which is usually more difficult with LEDs. A company really pushing the boundaries of plasma technology is Hive Lighting, who recently lamped-up a 30-second Chevy ad using only batteries and a 60 amp generator — to rather impressive effect. Check out a line-item lighting breakdown of the Volt Plasma Challenge video from Hive Lighting below. (more…)

'Blue Valentine' DP Andrij Parekh: 'People See Movies for Great Performances, Not Nice Photography'

Joe Marine — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 03:58:56 +0000

There is no question the director of photography is one of the most important jobs on set. The DP helps the director set the look of the film, and depending on their working relationship, may actually have quite a bit of influence on the final film. In the end though, the DP’s job is to help the director get the movie “in the can” at all costs, even if that means sacrificing time for lighting and camera moves. Blue Valentine director of photography Andrij Parekh sat down with Craft Truck, a website that focuses on discussions with technical storytellers from the world of film, to talk about his career and how he sees the role of the cinematographer. (more…)

Fiilex Lights: Sub-$1000 LED Studio Lights With a Twist

Justin Minich — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 09:39:52 +0000

LED studio lights keep making leaps and bounds in technological advancement, but the price of such lights has tended to remain relatively high. However the Fiilex P360 and the P200 FlexJet are two LED studio lights touting a high CRI at all color temperatures (and the ability to smoothly tune between them), an option to run on broadcast batteries, and a light/compact form factor, each costing less than $1000. The P200 also features a lighting tool you’re not likely to find in other studio lights: fiber optics. (more…)

Your iPhone is a Light Meter, Waveform Monitor, and False-Color Display with $5 Cine Meter App

Dave Kendricken — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:38:19 +0000

Talk about your digital leatherman: The number of ridiculously handy — and practical, and portable, all in one — apps for filmmaking on mobile devices is probably one of the greatest tech-vantages we’ve got going for us these days second to low-cost high-res acquisition. Uses range from lighting plot diagramming and shooting scheduling all the way to Canon DSLR control via Android and RED control via iOS — there’s an app for all that, and more. Now, thanks to Adam Wilt of Pro Video Coalition (and a lot of other great stuff), your iPhone is now more of an asset on set than ever before — and that’s because his new $5 app Cine Meter turns your iOS device into a light meter, waveform monitor and false-color display. (more…)

With Film Dead or Dying, Can You Still Get the 80s or 90s Wide Open Low Light Look?

Dave Kendricken — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 22:24:53 +0000

Film is going the way of other elegant, exotic, but evolutionarily condemned creatures such as the Tasmanian Tiger, the Dodo bird, and the Macarena. Somehow chart the decline of film use against the rise of digital and you’ll hear a lot about ‘how to make digital look like film’ in your research. It’s almost an existential crisis for shooters of our transitional generation, and the heart of digital’s identity crisis. If film is the look of cinema, what’s the key ingredient? Resolution? Latitude — or worse, light response curve? Motion transfer? Color reproduction? Or should we just let “the digital look” evolve into its own beast altogether? That’s a lot of heavy questions for a Sunday afternoon read, but ones unavoidably raised by a post from Art Adams of Pro Video Coalition about the wide open lensed and low light look of ’80′s and ’90′s films. (more…)

Litepanels Wins Patent Case, Infringing LED Panels Barred from US Without Licensing

Joe Marine — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 01:01:36 +0000

We’ve been following this case now for a little while, but if you aren’t familiar with it, Vitec Group, who is the parent company of Litepanels, claimed to have patents on a number of LED technologies related to film/video lighting. The US courts have now confirmed that, and in order to continue importing and selling LED panels, these companies must pay to license and continue using the infringing technology. Cinescopophilia has the full scoop on the result. (more…)

Lighting an Interview with $26 Worth of Equipment: a Free SMAPP Tutorial from Stillmotion

Joe Marine — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 01:39:52 +0000

The team over at stillmotion has come all the way from wedding films to producing Emmy Award-Winning television content, and along the way, they’ve done their part to try to teach as much as they can about their techniques and how to achieve professional-looking results. They eventually created the SMAPP App, which began its life as a low-cost app with quite a few in-app purchasable tutorials — now they’ve made it completely free, and in celebration, they are releasing a great low-budget tutorial we all can appreciate: how to light an interview with just $26 worth of equipment. (more…)

What You Need to Build a Versatile, Compact, and Ultra Cheap DIY Light Kit

Dave Kendricken — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 22:00:30 +0000

Even on projects that can afford to rent a lighting and grip package, it can be useful for you to have your own lighting kit stashed away. Whether this kit is something you keep in the trunk of your car, good in a pinch — or what you use to make your living — the boy scout motto applies. Who knows, maybe you’re up the creek, just that one cube tap or ground lift short, but because you brought your kit, your gaffer owes you a brewski when the day is done. Thanks to a few open filmmakers with some ingenuity up their sleeves, we have some details on what extremely affordable and useful gear can comprise your own DIY lighting kit. (more…)

Sylights is an Intuitive Lighting Diagram App for iOS Devices

Benjamin Dewhurst — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 05:04:55 +0000

Thoughtful, artistic lighting is necessary to set your film apart from the competition. Some great planning and pre-production on lighting design can make a $5,000 short film sell a $50,000 look. And the good news is there are many tools that can help you achieve your intended look on an indie budget, from a good book lighting setup to a bit of well-managed haze. As a new iPad owner, I recently stumbled upon Sylights, an app geared at photographers that (like many things DSLR) also has great digital filmmaking applications. Hit the jump for some screen caps and a brief rundown of this handy FREE app/website: (more…)