Close ups

Mario C. Jackson · August 20, 2005

what is the best way to shoot a close up. I usually set up a tweenie with 216 diffusion, with a bounce, behind the camera raised about 1ft higher than the camera. Then I use a 420 fresnal with tough spun as a back light. Tell me what you guys think.

Thanks Mario C. Jackson

David Mullen ASC · August 20, 2005

Well, that's fine -- but it's like one out of dozens (if not a hundred) of ways to light a close-up. Sounds like something you'd use to make a female actress look younger (or to shoot an interview), but it may be too artificial-looking for a movie aiming for a more naturalistic look.

I mean, what if there's no motivation for the backlight? Or the frontal key? What if you wanted your close-up to look more like a Vermeer or Rembrandt painting, with a very soft side key as if from a big window? What if the scene took place in a gas station restroom? In moonlight? Firelight? A car at night?

Marty Hamrick · August 20, 2005

Well, that's fine -- but it's like one out of dozens (if not a hundred) of ways to light a close-up. Sounds like something you'd use to make a female actress look younger (or to shoot an interview), but it may be too artificial-looking for a movie aiming for a more naturalistic look.

I mean, what if there's no motivation for the backlight? Or the frontal key? What if you wanted your close-up to look more like a Vermeer or Rembrandt painting, with a very soft side key as if from a big window? What if the scene took place in a gas station restroom? In moonlight? Firelight? A car at night?

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David,you had some really neat close ups in Northfork.I was particularly impressed with the extreme closeups of the flame on the gas stove and tea pot in the sequences where Nick Nolte's character is making tea for the sick child.Mind sharing a few techniques on how you lit those?

Mario C. Jackson · August 20, 2005

David I am really glad that you responded to my post. I really want to be a cinematographer. My next movie is going to be pretty big. I am going to have to pull alot from both the camera and lighting. I will be shooting on 500T and using a 16mm SR3 camera. The movie is a psychological drama. I really want this movie to tell a story cinematically. The director will do a wonerful job with the story but I want to take the audience to a entire different place visually.

Chris Cooke · August 20, 2005

The director will do a wonerful job with the story but I want to take the audience to a entire different place visually.

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You want to take the audience to an entire different place visually than what the director's trying to do with the story?

Or did you mean a world outside the one the viewer is living in so that they'll get lost in the story that the director is trying to tell?

Sam Wells · August 20, 2005

Some of the best closeups I've gotten were unplanned, between takes even or at the end of one after "cut"

Sometimes the subject not quite in the predetermined light....

-Sam

Paul Bruening · August 21, 2005

Hey guys,

Yea, it's one thing to talk theoretically when off-production. Being in the middle of production can be a dreamy world of snap desicions and schedule catch-ups. I've made lighting decisions on close-ups using only the lights from the previous set-up and got surprisingly good results. I wish I could speak like I always knew exactly what I was doing but the reality is: Stay on schedule and get the job done.

Mario C. Jackson · August 21, 2005

You want to take the audience to an entire different place visually than what the director's trying to do with the story?
Or did you mean a world outside the one the viewer is living in so that they'll get lost in the story that the director is trying to tell?

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What I was meaning was I really want the visual to be stunning. I want to take the directors vision and make it breathtaking. I know the story is going to be great and I much confidence in the director but it is my job to make sure that the visual aspect is there. All I am saying is that I want the movie to not only be good direction wise but cinematically as well.

David Mullen ASC · August 21, 2005

My laptop just died out here on location so I may have trouble posting this week. I'm at a library right now borrowing a computer.

Generally I find when shooting reflections in a curved mirrored surface, it helps to use a telephoto lens so that your own reflection will be small, which you can then hide (maybe behind black flags, which I did with "Northfork" or a judicious squirt of dulling spray.) You can actually see the black flags I'm hiding behind in the tea kettle reflection.

Marty Hamrick · August 25, 2005

My laptop just died out here on location so I may have trouble posting this week. I'm at a library right now borrowing a computer.

Generally I find when shooting reflections in a curved mirrored surface, it helps to use a telephoto lens so that your own reflection will be small, which you can then hide (maybe behind black flags, which I did with "Northfork" or a judicious squirt of dulling spray.) You can actually see the black flags I'm hiding behind in the tea kettle reflection.

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When I saw that I had recently shot some stills for a friend of mine who was putting his motorcycle up for sale.Chrome city.You can't direct light reflective surfaces like chrome or they show up black.