favorite lighting/scene

[Filip Plesha]

Instead of concentrating on the negative, and what looks bad, here

is a thread for posting something that you do like. It can be anything

from lighting of the sets in entire scenes to specific shots, all included:

lighting, photography, framing, processing effects, set design, any combination of these or all of them together. It will be even more fun if you post pictures.

A similar thread like this about favorite shots existed some time ago I think,

this one will be about anything from set lighting to special lab treatments.

You can talk about or post your own work as well as any other work.

[Jonathan Spear]

Hey Filip,

 

Cool thread. I'd have to say that one of my most favorite things concerning lighting, photography and cinematography is IMPROVISING with what you have. Building camera, lighting and grip gear with stuff lying around the house -- then getting good results with it.

 

Just built a mattebox last month out of cardboard, paper, crazy glue and a few popsicle sticks. I have a few rolls of grizzled old Tri-X heading back from the lab in a few of days. If the results are any good I'll post some pics.

[Andre Lim]

One of the best shots were from Amelie where the camera booms up on the waterfall to an over-the-head of amelie, then coming down on the otherside looking at her as she skips rocks on the river. WOW. Not only was the camera move very very well done, but the lighting, colors, coreography was perfect. To have the balls to be throwing rocks towards the camera was also crazy =P

[Filip Plesha]

One thing that comes to my mind right now is that room from Blade runner with all the dolls, when Deckard comes in and looks for that blond female replicant, and she hides pretending to be a doll. I liked the soft lighting and the atmosphere.

[DavidSloan]

The opening 10 minutes in The Hunger.

[David Mullen ASC]

One of my favorite scenes for lighting is the opening of "Excalibur" and how it transitions from the orangey firelit night to the cool misty morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mark Allen]

While the lighting was good - this is really a comment about the camera placement/angle: The scene in Blade Runner where Sean Young is at the Piano and Deckard is getting up from the couch knocking something over. I found the shot composition to be really unique and yet told the story of that moment perfectly. Some not so subtle camera placement revealing subtle moments. After deckard knocks the table, there is a simple shot of Sean Young's eyes turning to note this. The scene needed to and and successfully felt very intimate.

 

For lighting, the scene in Se7en when they are discovering their first victim - the beautiful darkness yet you feel that you can see plenty for the telling of the movie story without cheesey rimlights or just dimming the bright areas.

[Patrick Neary]

I know this one isn't very uber-hip, but it's the first shot i ever remember seeing (on 4:3 black and white tv no less) where i was suddenly aware of the "craft" of a shot:

 

 

 

It's pretty much the pinnacle of desert crane shots, very classic and simple, but enormously powerful. Lawrence Of Arabia is full of that kind of thing-

 

(as an aside, i think my screen capture squished this to 16:9, ack. apologies)

Edited March 23, 2005 by PatrickNeary

[Rolfe Klement]

All over the place but

 

The art direction and costume design of R Crowe in the opening germanic battle sequence of "Galdiator"

The Opening eye ECU shot after the explosion in "Black Hawk down"

The steadicam sequence in "Man on Fire" when we track around Denzel when the Dakota comes out of the music lesson - and "Eyes wide shut" in the "Temple"

The "horse race" shot in Gerry - of the 2 walking from the side - in fact lots of shots in Gerry

"Seven Samurai" the circular fight sequence in the rain

The hyper reality of "Requiem for a dream" both in the ECUs, Sound design and Edit

Benecio in "21 Grams" in the desert - pushed film and ND'ed down

 

on and on

 

thanks

 

Rolfe

[Felipe Perez-Burchard]

the final scene in Klute strikes me everytime i see it. It's very simply told, letting the performances allow the truth of the story to come thru, however, i think the lighting is doing a lot to complement the actors dramatically, and the simple coverage is used strategiaclly ; it crosses the line (after a cutaway that allows for it) and puts the characters in a new light (metaphorically and literally).

here's a few stills...

 

just one of SO many movies from all eras that I find influential.

 

PS - David, whenever you post pics how do you make them so they aren't attatchments, meaning to ask for a while.

 

 

 

-felipe.

 

 

EDIT: for some reason the sequence of images is wrong: 1 is 2, 2 is 1... :huh:

Edited March 25, 2005 by felipe

[David Mullen ASC]

PS - David, whenever you post pics how do you make them so they aren't attatchments, meaning to ask for a while.

 

When writing the post, you click on "IMG" at the top of the entry page and it asks you for the URL where you are storing the photo.

[Filip Plesha]

Some other nice things came to my mind:

 

The shots of beautifull rock hills in Spain from 1961 King of Kings:

 

 

Dark, contrasty graveyard scene from Nightmare before christmas:

 

 

[Gordon Highland]

It's not just one scene in particular, but the interiors in "Hannibal" really caught my eye. Shafts of light, great use of cool versus warm tones. . . the opera scene also stands out. The DVD has a great transfer, too.

 

I also really like the scenes in "Searching for Bobby Fischer" at the boy's house where the Kingsley character is teaching him chess.

 

The opening restaurant scene in "American Psycho." Lots of hard side light, like you'd use in actual tabletop food commercials. Very '80s. Didn't realize that was the same guy who shot "Pulp Fiction" and "Reservoir Dogs;" he really likes his hard lighting, apparently. . .

 

The nighttime toplit exteriors in "Fight Club" also grabbed me, both at the Paper Street house and the parking lots (lower contrast than most). Actually, I love every single thing about that movie.

[Filip Plesha]

It's not just one scene in particular, but the interiors in "Hannibal" really caught my eye.  Shafts of light, great use of cool versus warm tones. . .  the opera scene also stands out.  The DVD has a great transfer, too.

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I remember that. When I was first going to see Hannibal I was expecting something more classical like its prequels, but it was very stylish.

Sort of a shiny blue "metal" look.

[Ignacio Aguilar]

Some examples that I like:

 

One from the Heart: the colored light Vittorio Storaro used for the sunsets.

 

 

 

 

 

The opening shot from A Clockwork Orange, lit by practicals:

 

 

 

Kubrick and practicals, again. The bar sequence from Eyes Wide Shut:

 

 

 

The final scenes from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Probably the most impressive stuff Vilmos Zsigmond ever shot.

 

 

 

The light and shadows of Freddie Young on Doctor Zhivago:

 

 

 

And finally, the great David Watkin and his high contrast, single-source lighting on smoked sets; Hanover Street:

 

 

 

[Ignacio Aguilar]

More single source lighting; The Duellists (DP Frank Tidy, BSC):

 

[John Sprung]

My favorite is the first reveal of Orson Welles in "The Third Man".

 

 

 

-- J.S.

[Ckulakov]

The warm backlight that outlines there faces from Oceans eleven

[Ckulakov]

The gelled windows shot day for night from the bandits

[Ckulakov]

The stylized lighting that gives the scene texture from Catch me if you can

[Ckulakov]

The cool blue backlight flourecents that outline matt Damon from The Bourne Identity

 

[Ckulakov]

The set, composition, and tunnel lighting from catch me if you can

[Ckulakov]

The saturated sky that contrasts with fire and people fom DKNY

[Ckulakov]

The lighting that is reflected on the lake from this smuckers commercial

[Hamid Khozouie]

Good lanterns lightings in DAYS OF HEAVEN