TOMPATON CASE STUDY
LEFT The shooting of Stairs is over – now Tom is hoping it will make its debit at FrightFest 2019.
“The practical lights on thewalls were gelled and diffusedwithmasking tape to reduce the power. Thenwe used a blue-green and some red gels on the Rotolights, plus their own kits, to create the lookwewanted in camera.” All thewar zone actionwas supposed to be at night, but the crewhad to shoot during the day. Tom says: “It’s impossible to light a war zone, there’s somuch of it. Sowe shoot in daylight, using lights to create a moonlight effect to the highlights. Thenwe convert it in post to give a Mad Max: Fury Road style look. “Skies will be replaced, there’s a lot of fog andmist going in. On set you’re looking at the ugliest footage ever! I have to believe inmyself when I see the panic on everyone’s faces.” “We shot everything two stops over then sorted it in post, where the usual way of shooting day-for-night is two stops under, then pull it down even further. But then you lose detail in the shadows on the actors’ faces.” “The ARRI Alexawas the only option to pull it off as you have to overexpose but you can’t clip in thewhites. REDs and Sonys – and I have always been a Sony guy – clip really hardwhen you go anywhere near the highlights. The Alexa doesn’t, it’s smooth and has a nice fall-off. ” George adds: “It’s difficult shooting outside at the speedwemove, with the light changing. But all the filmneeds to be graded to look the same so continuity of light has to be the same. Luckily, we did a lot of tests with the Alexa to see how it grades. Shooting in sunlight looks brilliant as you grade it so it looks like themoon!” As well as renting the Alexa, which is definitely dream kit formany, Tom also managed to try out some lenses he’d always wanted for their unique look and trademark long flare streaks. “We’re using anamorphics, rehoused in Poland and shipped over. Sadly, they’re not mine – I’d die for those! They have an incredible look,” says Tom. “I’ve always cheated the anamorphic look as I love cinema and cinemascope but never been able to afford it. “I’ve used everything fromAfter Effects plug- ins, to fishing line on lenses, but here it’s legit! And the LED lights cause a very precise streak. Normally you can’t control it, but the Rotolights are very precise. As long as the camera move is the same, the streak is the same.” The film is nowbeing edited and goes to test audiences in March 2019. After any tweaks “maybe Stairs can debut at FrightFest 2019,” says Tom. Perhaps he’ll take a holiday and go on a booze cruise himself to celebrate if it does.
you don’t just get a muzzle flash but all this light fall-off as well. So, a very intense spot on the target then fall-off all around it. That’s a big job, doing 12 different masks and Rotoscoping them into each other. Instead, Tom used the Rotolight with its built-in special effects like gunshot. “Although we still put the muzzle flash in post, the Rotolight created the hot point and the fall-off. It’s cost efficient and if you’re not spending lots of money on post, you can spend it on set. “Having the knowledge of how you can paint some things out helps, especially for low-budget stuff. But it’s about getting the story on screen and most viewers don’t care about the technical stuff and effects that I’m passionate about. It’s about telling a good story and the audience engaging with it.” It’s clear one of the biggest changes in use of lighting for scripted drama is that it’s more about creating a look and feel to help tell the story you’re aiming to get over to the viewer. “George has a hard job as he’ll do something and then I’ll obsess over the lighting. Again, it’s all about the theme and how you’re trying to say something,” asserts Tom. “Like in a heroic scene, we read left to right. So it feels natural and good if something moves left to right. If it’s right to left, it makes you feel uneasy. That’s something to think about in lighting. If you’re doing a heroic shot – trying to really show somebody off and panning, you would want to go left to right and light it for that. “If you’re doing a villain, then it’s best have the camera move from right to left as it makes the viewer uneasy. It’s the same with fight scenes, it’s part of the tone of the story. So movements and the lighting have to be right. “I’m very involved as George does huge lighting plans then I get him to change things. But it’s a collaboration – he has an excellent eye and knows exactly where to put stuff. I know how to put smaller, story-related finishing touches to the lighting.”
More information
tompatonfilm.com george-burt.com
“So I like the ability to take a project from beginning to end and have that control”
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WINTER 2018 PRO MOVIEMAKER
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