LIGHTING EQUIPMENT NEWS

A million ways of lighting

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:29

Trevor Brown has worked on some of the best films to come out of South Africa including A Million Colours, Finding Lenny and various drama and television series including Jozi-H, Heartlines, Diamonds, Wild at Heart, Soul Buddyz 3, Charlie Jade, Zero Tolerance. He has been nominated for various awards and won a SAFTA Golden Horn, SASC Bronze Award, Loerie Craft Award, SACS Silver Award and many more.

KVS: As a DOP, what is your lighting style?

TB: Probably the most time consuming and technically demanding job in filmmaking is lighting and when it comes to the most valuable thing on a film set it is time which due to budget constraints these days, can place immense pressure on a DOP.

Lighting is necessary for exposure (it is particularly important on film to get a dense negative) and also to create mood and atmosphere that supports the script. Every DOP in the world will light a set differently, based on his personality, skill, experience and his own interpretation of the scene. There is an infinite number of ways to light your subject, unlike say focus pulling, which is quantifiable – it’s either in or out, sharp or soft.

Some DOPs have one lighting style they use for everything they shoot and others adapt to the script. Filmmakers such as Alan Parker and Jerry Bruckheimer have their own lighting style and cinematographers who shoot for them generally have to adapt to that style.

Lighting for theatre or stage or rock concerts requires different skills and talent as opposed to film and television. For instance, commercials call for bright images, colour and so on, as we are selling a product. With music videos we have total freedom to explore and experiment with cool ideas as opposed to doccies, which mostly use available light.

KVS: How do films differ in lighting style?

TB: TV drama and feature film lighting calls for a different aesthetic approach. The story and the director’s vision are the most important components in the chain. The DOP’s challenge and responsibility is to meet that vision. Most scripts will include night and day scenes, maybe a candle lit dinner or a dark silhouette shot. The DOP decides which source will motivate that look, or he will create a source. Working exteriors means using and controlling existing light. TV drama lighting requires the most stamina and speed, working with the lowest budgets and having to put out 10 to 15 pages a day of high quality work, whereas features and commercials allow more time and budget.

KVS: Who do you admire as a DOP?

TB: The biggest myth in lighting is that less lighting is needed for digital cameras. Illuminating to get exposure up and lighting to create mood are two different things. The best lighting is that which goes unnoticed by the audience. Legends like Conrad Hall and Jordan Cronenweth can light a picture in a very stylistic way, yet it is still naturalistic and does not distract the audience.

The position of lights has an enormous effect on the mood and emotion on a face. Top lighting can suggest old age, or hide the eyes as in The Godfather. Lighting from below creates a scary sinister feel. Soft flat light can hide wrinkles. Sometimes light is used to not see anything. One of my favourite examples of that is in Apocalypse Now when Martin Sheen finally finds Brando and all we see is a strip of light across his bald head.

Stylised lighting was used to great effect on films like Blade Runner, Schindler’s List, Road to Perdition and will never become outdated. Sadly, as digital technology leaps ahead at a ridiculous pace, the passion and the artistry, the beauty of lighting that was recognised centuries ago by the likes of Rembrandt and Carravagio, seems to be less important than pixels and bit rates.

SCREENAFRICA Print Magazine – January 2011 (view here)

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