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How Did Peter Suschitzky Keep The Actors From Fading into The Background In "Falling In Love"


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How does cinematographer Peter Suschitzky manage to keep the audience's attention on DeNiro and Streep In 1984's Falling in Love despite shooting them against the busiest backgrounds in Manhattan filled with endless waves of moving people? 

He's shooting the two most watchable actors of their generation so that's half the battle...but what techniques is he using to isolate them? He's not emptying out the backgrounds, in the Manhattan sequences it's the opposite, there's visual clutter everywhere. 

Any thoughts?

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This specific author will attempt an initial answer to this fabulous question from the thematic side.

 

Theory : By reducing the “pop out” of the two film stars, by attempting to “blend” in Streep and De Niro with their bustling surroundings, the director of Falling in Love has made the decision to do his best to “reduce” the Star Power of his two principals in order to turn their presences into Everywoman and Everyman, so that the audience can finally “get past” the dazzle of the star quality and identify exclusively with the story essentials : the dramatic interplay of an “ordinary” couple. The cinematography here is therefore the exact opposite of 1930s Hollywood : the Director in this film is attempting to make Larger-than-Life Movie Stars smaller (so to speak)—

to turn these two Film Stars into Characters. (As opposed to 1930s Hollywood, in which the Stars were often simply "themselves" for eighty minutes and audiences were happily content with that.) The jackpot for the director to win here is for the audience to finally forget (if possible) that it is Steep and De Niro on screen : not them, but just “normal people” like the rest of us, to elicit our sympathy and so on. The restrained cinematography contributes to conveying the thematic expression that these two characters are just “two completely ordinary people”.

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Marcos,

In both photos, the foreground is slightly brighter than the background.

The color shot is both softer in light, and more subtle with its increased light intensity.

In the B&W production shot, the actors are in a backlight (3/4 side light) with ample soft fill,  (Natural or artificial).  The building and shoppers are in shadow but not excessively dark.  Probably light colored buildings off to camera right providing soft fill light naturally.

Also the light colored clothing has a way of grabbing our eye....  Her hair and his face brightly sunlit.

We look to where the camera is focused.                                                                                                                                                          BG soft-focus falls-off quite quickly with  wider f stop in color pic.

Light what you want the audience to see, let the rest go.   (To a point!!).  You do need a good if not nice composition.

Check out "Report to the Commissioner"  and "Across 110th Street"  for hard edge gritty color film work and  "Kramer vs. Kramer" for softer color work.

A lot of priceless (pun intended), Black and White film noir is available online for instructive free viewing as well. The ones you really like, buy the DVD!!

Lastly, check out "Tar;" A stunning story with soft digital color palette, unconventional camera placement at times, all integrated to tell that story.  Go to the ASC site and watch the video with the Director and Cinematographer (of "Tar)."  (Reminded me of "Kramer vs Kramer" in some ways).

That should get you started.

Hope this helps.

 

 

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