NIGHT TEETH PRODUC T I ON .
This meant the team could assess the luxe highlights and rich shadows in all their splendour – which is how it should be, thinks Bolter. The DOP was mindful of using HDR the right way. He feels it can often be overused in a manner that is distracting, or even uncomfortable for the viewer. “We created our own law: a general 70% cap on highlights. Poor use of HDR is when you look at a light bulb and squint, because that doesn’t happen in real life.” Though he is a technology lover, and believes HDR is not being used to its full potential in film and TV, as it is in gaming, Bolter was not interested in using the full range of colour only to shallowly showcase the tech. He was eager to create a beautiful image that would make the most of its format. “My philosophy is for it to look rich, bold and colourful – but not like a gimmick. I don’t want it to stand out as being clearly HDR. It should just feel like, ‘Wow, this is a good television.’” Though Bolter and the team were looking to avoid frivolously pushing their
It was, however, a completely prudent trade-off in order to gain the immense amount of control a sound stage afforded them. Again, largely using LED screens – a whopping 14 of them. “There’s a scene where the police go past Benny, and rather than making it crazily complicated, it was as simple as using one of the screens that have the city moving past him. I just got the FX crew to use a blue blob and a red blob, make them really bright, flash them on and off, then move them across the screen. When you look at Benny, it’s a perfect police light hitting his face and moving down. That’s in the film, untouched from VFX.” When watching the finished version, it’s clear that all the thought and care put into getting the car For a film dripping with colour, and produced specifically for Netflix, Bolter knew that he wanted to get the most out of the HDR format by monitoring it on-set. “Everything I’ve done to this point that’s been HDR, we’ve shot and monitored SDR, done the SDR grade, then you get an HDR pass. It’s almost like an afterthought,” he laments. “And for a film all about extreme colour, we decided to have HDR on set. Netflix was incredibly supportive of that – and they got us the best Flanders HDR monitor they could.” scenes correct paid off. HDR AT THE HEART
highlights too bright in most cases, they also recognised the opportunity when there was a justification for doing so. For example, when light is harmful to most of your characters. “The vampire home has this special glass that stops sunlight from coming in. But, later on in the film, Benny manages to counteract this in an interesting way, using that source of light as a tool,” says Bolter. “The sun is weaponised in our film, so it had to feel hot, dangerous and exciting all at once. That’s when we could really have some fun with the HDR and push it close to 100%.” Fundamentally, Night Teeth is a beautifully lit film – visually bold and a delight to behold. The fun had by the production team is evident, and comes through as a rollicking watch for the viewer, even when the subject matter gets dark. Bolter and the team prove that unconventional choices – and resisting the allure of the gimmick – are creatively worthwhile. Watch Night Teeth now on Netflix
“Bolter knew that he wanted to get the most out of the HDR format by monitoring it on-set”
Production Fact File
LOCATION The film was shot both in New Orleans and Los Angeles.
SCHEDULE Shooting began in February 2020, but was then halted for six months. This allowed the team to shoot an alternate opening scene when production resumed.
SCRIPT Though this is unmistakably a vampire flick, the
word ‘vampire’ itself doesn’t appear at any point in the dialogue.
VIRTUAL Much of Night Teeth was filmed on a sound stage in LA using LED technology – a whole 14 screens in total – as well as some location shooting
29. DECEMBER 2021
Powered by FlippingBook