LIGHTING SPECIAL
is where you can deviate from a daylight look by using less fill or only filling part of the actors’ faces. It’s a balancing act.” He also advises paying close attention to practical lights when shooting day for night. “Not only do you need to avoid direct sunlight, but it also helps with realism if nighttime practical light sources are visible and casting light.” These days, most DOPs will choose day for night for the surreal look it gives. John Seale, ACS, ASC did this for scenes in Mad Max: Fury Road . “There’s no way you could light up a huge western- style landscape at night any other way because of the huge amount of space and the expense of cranes,” shares White. To shoot the alien atmosphere of Nope , Hoyte van Hoytema, ASC made a rig to shoot two identical versions of the same frame by utilising two cameras at the same time. One camera used 65mm film, which captured vital colour and texture information. The other was an ARRI ALEXA customised to shoot infrared.
Since infrared sensors are sensitive to specific wavelengths of light, the images are monochromatic. Shooting in natural sunlight with a slight contrast boost led to brightly lit images with dark skies. Florian Hoffmeister, BSC modified this technique using a stereo 3D rig to film exteriors against white snow in the eternal twilight of the Arctic Circle for True Detective: Night Country . He fitted the infrared camera with a semi-circle of infrared lights and composited the stereo images in post. “You either embrace the look for what it is or try and smooth it out, but that’s probably the wrong way to go,” admits White. “Either way, use it sparingly because it can be quite jarring.” Others have taken this even further. Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS had the idea that sunlight in the Harkonnen world in Dune: Part Two would kill colour – washing out everything the sun touches. He used infrared lights visible to an infrared camera, while also using LED lights the
YOU EITHER embrace the look OR TRY TO smooth it out, BUT THAT IS THE WRONG WAY TO GO”
camera could not detect, shooting with two cameras and different light sources. Łukasz Żal also shot infrared for The Zone of Interest, but here, the rest of the picture is so bleak that these scenes represent hope amid the darkness.
DESERT NOIR Fraser manipulated natural sunlight to evoke an oppressive, monochrome aesthetic for the Harkonnen empire in Dune: Part Two
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