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Michael Seresin


Ben Schwartz

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my biggest problem with the Seresin lighting was that ironically I found it too stylised and often hard to an almost pantomime level - I really didn't like the illumination of the bus sequence which was lit like an avant guarde student film pretending to be Chris Morris - and when it wasn't that it was hyper stylised naturalism such as the harsh, monochrome blown out mountain scenery exteriors. Those flying scenes particularly looked so blown out they look like they could've been graded on a home computer using every available electronic desautration filter known to man. However, if the pallette had been sautrated, the colours warmer it would've turned into Flashdance!

 

Roger Pratt can do naturalism every bit as well as Seresin- check out Mona Lisa, Iris, The Fisher King and Mike Leigh's High Hopes. Hell, check out the numerous Mr. Bean episodes Pratt shot on 16mm.

 

Vanlint should definitely get back into movies. And by that I don't mean as a director.

 

I'm not sure why you think that HP3 was HARDER-lit than the first two -- most of what I saw in the theater was single-source large soft light style in HP3, as opposed to the "spottier" dramatic lighting in HP1 & HP2. Of course, a big single soft source can look harder when it is farther away, plus it produces a single shadow.

 

I think most people would say that HP3 is lit more naturally than the first two, not less so.

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I agree with David...

I mean... Fstop ... ur entitled to ur opinion... I think it really comes down to taste really... but didn't u say u had only seen half of the movie?

 

"Those flying scenes particularly looked so blown out they look like they could've been graded on a home computer using every available electronic desautration filter known to man."

 

Have you EVER tried to color grade a movie with After Effects or Shake as opposed to Discreet Lustre or Cinema 4D? I'm not a professional colorist, Im a compositor, but I do know enough about grading and lighting touch-ups to know that Peter Doyle (The matrix, Lord of the rings triology, Charlie and the chocolate factory) did a great job, in my humble opinion.

 

I agree though... it is stylised naturalism...not "hyper" IMO... but still...

I love it! :D

 

If u like Pratt's take on HP better than Seresin's... well... please do, but putting it down just for argument's sake.. I dunno... The thread IS called "Seresin best DP in the world" ...lol.. Viva democracy, and Im glad to see a contrasting opinion... but to be honest I think you're exagerrating now

 

Cheers

Ben

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hey... just posting a little update..

The trailer for Harry Potter 4 is available on apple.com/trailers.

And I must admit now that Pratt seems to do a good job. BUT... during an interview, Mike Newell said he'd asked Pratt to light HP4 in a way that would "make it consistant" with Seresin's style... not the first two.

 

He also said:

"Of course, what I had wanted to do was introduce the darker adolescent tone myself and found to my horror that Alfonso had gotten there before me and with great style and determination."

 

The camerawork seems a little too modern for my taste... theres this frenetic zoom in shot (fast and furious style) on Harry at the table that just feels ...wrong...

But that's the director's call... not Pratt's

 

Anyway... Im just not sure about Mike Newell though... He's made alot of average-to-bad movies... He fired John Williams and tried to get Franz Ferdinand and Patrick Doyle together for the musical score... Plus he cast this bulgarian version of Beckham to play Victor Krum... He hired kung-fu dancers for the bulgarian students.... anyway.... Im just geeking out..

 

Cheerios

 

Ben

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"I hope Benny's observation doesn't mean this new misplaced crash zoom will become the new misplaced "Kirk"light for Pratt's Potter cinematography"

 

Thats Newell's call .. not Pratt's.. Im not blaming the DP....

 

Being a fan of the books... Im worried about Newell directing... thats all... He's made alot of... weird choices that don't seem to fit with the universe... I like the lighting better than HP1 and 2... but... all the rest... I dunno... the ambiance on the set was just boring and sad, I heard. In a closet there's a picture of Newell smiling. The 3 young actors are not really stimulated... they performance is poorer... they complained alot.. ect.

 

I think the ambiance is very important on a set.

 

Ben

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