YOU DON’T KNOW ME PRODUC T I ON .
scenes. “We had a council guy who turned the lights on and off.” This, again, helped to avoid complicated set-ups – keeping the look more real, but still retaining creative oversight to construct the ideal lightscape. SETTING THE SCENE The same simple, but effective approach to lighting extended to the interiors. Because Hero’s closing words are the plot’s driving force, the courtroom is a recurring set. These scenes have a dim, neutral feel, with beams of light appearing to come from high windows providing a soft backlight for our speakers. “The only external windows were skylights right above us, so we created internal ones,” says McDonnell. “There was a balcony which we boxed in to make windows, to help with the shooting throughout the day. We designed and built frames and slotted them into this balcony area.” The team supplemented this with additional overhead lighting. “We floated a couple of balloons as well, which I could turn on and off, depending on where I was shooting from. That was all; it was never overly front-lit, but was slightly more overhead.” Although the courtroom
ILLUMINATING THE TRUTH The bright, official light of the courtroom contrasts with the dark and shadowy world in which our story takes place. This cinematography is integral to keeping the audience on tenterhooks
day, then for the night stuff we just put Tungsten lighting behind. That made it a much more flexible system.” McDonnell also says that working in a studio provides its own set of obstacles, as you want to avoid the telltale signs of a set. “It was always hard because, with a studio, you’ve got multiple light sources. Therefore, you’ve got to be careful of multiple shadows.” He has a technique to counteract this: “I would have one large source of light, whether it was a 4K or 6K outside, but then with some fill lights. We would always aim to have as much contrast in there as possible.” The DOP avoided the classic, perhaps outdated, three-point lighting with a backlight to create contrast. Instead, he capitalised on the variation provided by the sets. “I didn’t want to follow the old traditional ‘let’s put a backlight in
scenes take place over several days, the story happens largely in the morning and early afternoon. This meant that lighting was consistent, regardless of the scene, day or episode. Most of the other interiors required more variety, as they were shot day and night, and represented a wider range of story motivations. The backdrop was versatile, accommodating the range of scenes shot in the apartment sets: “It’s tricky, although the Translight we had was very good – it was a day/night Translight. So, you lit it from the front for
“Figures could be lurking in the shadows. It’s a story about drugs, gangs, trafficking... it should feel like there’s a shape in the darkness”
19. FEBRUARY 2022
Powered by FlippingBook