Jake Ures

Since the Deakins site is down, I thought I would ask you guys how I could achieve the muted light (overcast) look from Assassination of Jess James by the Coward Robert Ford. I am especially talking about the scene where Jesse is playing with the snake behind the barn, but mostly any scene outside during the day has similar lighting. All I can think of is to flag and bounce of some muslin to soften up the subject. Any suggestions? Thanks, guys.

I set the light up on the ground for a couple shots (for the cleats and tape shots), and the director looked at it through the monitor and loved the look even when it became a bit sourcey on the wider shots. Style over realism, I guess. I really did want to rig the light from above, but we were given limited access to the building, so I rigged a diffused PAR from behind and the rim light from the bottom. Then I used a reflector to fill. Thanks for the input.

I also ask that this video be kept on here. I was given strict instructions to only put this up here to get critiques. We intend to sell this video and do not want any leaks. Thank you, kindly!

This is a little commercial I DPed for a church video. We shot it on a Sony CineAlta F900. We used Final Cut Pro and some cold grading. http://www.whitestonemotionpictures.com/mo.../PregameDND.mov Thanks!

I have more creative control than a gaffer. That's for sure. I get an eye on the monitor and the director asks me questions about lighting. I give him my ideas, and they are listened to more than on most sets. Our sets are a bit more laid back than you'd imagine, so it may seem strange to those of you who think I'm getting the raw end of the deal. I guess, we separate the Cinematographer and the Director of Photography although we both collaborate hand in hand.

Naw. They deal with framing. I handle lighting. It's fair, I suppose.

I know that question was pointed at Brandon, but to answer the question, we are located in Atlanta, Georgia.

Yes he is. His name is Jackson Walker. He's great. That was our first movie with him, and we had such a good experience with him during Awake that we decided he was also right for the lead in That's Magic!.

Unfortunately, in an independent film company, we cannot have all roles filled. As we grow, we may then be able to make more distinctions between all of the departments, but no one just did their one job. At some points, I was a grip because we were short-handed. I guess I was also the gaffer, but I'm not looking for credits; I'm looking for experience. In some circles, a cinematographer and a DP can be two separate individuals. I dealt with the lighting, Brandon dealt with the framing and shot composition, and Dan brought both of our departments together as our camera operator. I believe all of us were properly credited aside from the one clerical error which could be partially my own fault. Thank you for your criticism, though. We DO need to get better about crediting our crew members. _Jake

It is sort of dark, I agree. Does anyone know anything about Canon Digi-primes? We're thinking of using those to replace our Pro-35/prime lens combo. The Pro-35 has presented too many problems.

Forgot to mention, many of the shots you found too shaky for the tripod might have been our camera operator with the camera on his shoulder. He has a pretty steady hand. Although our tripod has seen better days...

Thus far, I have been a dolly grip who had an interest in cinematography. This was the first film that I was given free-reign on lights. Framing, the director still likes to have control of. We are using a CineAlta f900 with a pro-35 adapter. The back focus was a bit off, and this was only the second shoot that we were given to play with it. We are looking into a Red sometime in the future, but we are also looking into some Canon Digiprimes. David Fincher seems to use a similar set-up, so we are willing to keep trying. Thanks for the encouragement. I promise this was my first DP job. I've done a lot of studying. Roger Deakins, Janusz Kaminski, etc...

Thank you to everyone who responded. I'll take everything you guys brought up into consideration. As far as the credits go, I was not misleading you. I was given the position of Lighting Director, and the woman credited under lighting was there for consultation and when I could not be present. This was my first time given full reign over the lights. The cinematographer was in charge of shot composition. I was given the role of lighting. As I get more experienced, I will be able to work on composition as well. My next step is Director of Photography. If the credits were in the film, why would I bloat my importance? I wouldn't count on all of you being blind. There were two AC's and thirteen grips because this film was created by one hundred percent volunteer work (besides our actors). Everyone from director to production manager to grip was not paid. Our focus issues were not realized until post because our back focus on our Pro-35 lens adapter was all kinds of screwed up, and our monitor didn't make it apparent. All of the close ups were out of focus. We did the best with what we had. Anymore helpful tips? Thanks a bunch!

Anyone else have any thoughts or answers to some of my questions?

Hello all, I've been browsing this website for some time now, and you guys seem to be pretty knowledgeable. I was wondering if any of you would interested in critiquing (mainly the lighting--which was my area of concern) a short film (roughly 12 minutes) that I DPed. The budget was somewhere around $10000. We rented out lights: -Two Teenie-Weenie Moles -A 5K lamp For the most part we used some PAR lamps and some Kino's that we owned. My main questions would be: 1. As a first venture into lighting, how did I do? Where can I improve? 2. With the lights we DO own, where do you think I should go next as far as purchases go. Let's say our budget is $500. 3. What would you have done differently? EDIT: There was some coloring done in post, using the Color program with Final Cut Pro. http://vimeo.com/2604280