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Steven Soderberg's cinematography


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I believe he shoots himself ! .. calling himself Peter something in the credits .. using very little lighting .. Im sure I sure some making of in the casino was pretty much available lighting .. Im sure they had something for close ups though..

 

Ex Machina was different and there was alot of very careful lighting in built sets.. this was shot mostly F65 I read.. dont know about Oceans ..

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I believe Ocean's 11 was shot using mostly available light in the casinos, with Kodak 500t film stock pushed 2 stops.

 

Ex Machina was shot on Sony F65 and F55, with Xtal Express Anamorphic primes. The lighting was all built into the sets, and was largely tungsten, rather than fluorescent or LED.

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I actually happened to work on Guerrilla and we shot it almost entirely with available light on the first available Red Ones.

Soderbergh is an amazing man and so talented that anything he makes is just worth watching it!

 

Have a good day!

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I lie working on Soderburgh movies, The days are short, and there is no video village. He's the director, DP and operator. He sees everything through the viewfinder. No need to see a monitor or playback.

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I,d seen the Ocean films and presumed well big budget ,stars.. must have been a "name " DP and a huge lighting rig .. always thought the casino shots must have been big lighting set ups.. then I saw some making of video and couldn't see any lights ,on the wide shots anyway.. and then learnt he did all his own camera work .. although was pretty humble and admitted that sometimes his lighting wasn't that good.. a tight shot of Clooney .. cross light with hard sources .. he admitted didnt look that good and one light would have been better.. very talented film maker ..

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I,d seen the Ocean films and presumed well big budget ,stars.. must have been a "name " DP and a huge lighting rig .. always thought the casino shots must have been big lighting set ups.. then I saw some making of video and couldn't see any lights ,on the wide shots anyway.. and then learnt he did all his own camera work .. although was pretty humble and admitted that sometimes his lighting wasn't that good.. a tight shot of Clooney .. cross light with hard sources .. he admitted didnt look that good and one light would have been better.. very talented film maker ..

Not to take anything away from Soderburgh, but he's smart enough to know his limitations, and so works with one of the most experienced Gaffers in the business.

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ah well.. there you have it. ! yes the guy is obviously no fool ! . I noticed that years ago.. in the UK the DP would be in total control of the lights.. choice,where,what stand .. gell scrim etc...gaffa never had a light metre, then I worked with US crews and the gaffer was calling the stop sometimes ! and doing all the pre lighting.. generally having a much more creative in put.. rather than just placing lights under instruction.. that was many years ago and maybe the UK style has changed too..

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It totally depends on the relationship between the gaffer and DP.

 

Some DP's who like to light, are knowledgable, experienced, or possibly are just control freaks, reduce the the gaffer to a technician who tells his crew what to get and where to put it.

 

Some DP's who maybe are not that experienced lighting, or know their gaffer can light better, or are busy with planning the day with the director and AD, may trust a gaffer and their crew to get something started.

 

But usually there is a conversation on the scout about ideas in broad strokes, and the grips and electrics can do the rest and make adjustments to the camera when shooting begins.

 

It is also important to note that light meters are used less and less by some when we shoot in video and there is a DIT guy and a monitor on the set.

 

I'm actually working on a film right now with Ed Lachman and he's got his classic Spectra Professional out for every shot. The old Spectra meter with slides. Something about that meter is elegant to me. Sometimes digital does not mean better.

 

Best

 

Tim

 

 

ah well.. there you have it. ! yes the guy is obviously no fool ! . I noticed that years ago.. in the UK the DP would be in total control of the lights.. choice,where,what stand .. gell scrim etc...gaffa never had a light metre, then I worked with US crews and the gaffer was calling the stop sometimes ! and doing all the pre lighting.. generally having a much more creative in put.. rather than just placing lights under instruction.. that was many years ago and maybe the UK style has changed too..

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It totally depends on the relationship between the gaffer and DP.

 

Some DP's who like to light, are knowledgable, experienced, or possibly are just control freaks, reduce the the gaffer to a technician who tells his crew what to get and where to put it.

 

 

I like to light, but I also like working with gaffers who DO give me suggestions. Sometimes they're better than what I originally had in mind, and when they are, I take advantage. And then try to keep working with those gaffers. :)

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I think Soderberg does an excellent job shooting his own films but I also think he and Walt Lloyd had a great collaboration on the first two. Sex Lies and Videotape and the second feature Kafka both looked great. I wonder what film made him suddenly drop the idea of a hired DP altogether. The last DP seems to have been Ed Lachman who shot Brokovich and The Limey and then Steven picked up the camera for Traffic and that was it. No more hired DP's after that.

Edited by Michael LaVoie
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I like to light, but I also like working with gaffers who DO give me suggestions. Sometimes they're better than what I originally had in mind, and when they are, I take advantage. And then try to keep working with those gaffers. :)

I kind of described the extremes. Often the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

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