Tron: Legacy implements a lot of low key lighting throughout the film. This effect is successful in this particular film seeing as it is set in a video game world where everything seems to be going wrong and is very dark. There is an evil that is taking over the world that requires a sort of cool, dark, shadowy setting which is exactly what this lighting allows. The main character of this film, Sam Flynn, is clearly an outsider to this world and by using the low key lighting effect the audience gets a better feel for just how isolated and different he feels from everything surrounding him. Using this low lighting gave a sense of entrapment as the character is trying to find an escape from this deep, dark mess he has found himself in.
Skyfall
Skyfall is another film that successfully uses low light to tell a story. In this action film, there is a quite larger array of color used, typically changing from scene to scene, unlike Tron: Legacy which focuses on the cooler, more blue tones. Despite jumping from white to yellow to blue, however, Skyfall still relies heavily on the low lighting to create suspense and danger in each scene. Seriously though, it wouldn't be a James Bond movie without a heavy amount of mystery and tension.
The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz uses a lot of high key lighting throughout the film to display the bright, wonderful world that is Oz. Every character in the film is lit very brightly to display their unique beauty that is individual to themselves. Dorothy is often lit brightly -- especially for close ups -- to display her innocent nature as well as her optimism that there is good in everyone.
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby has a pretty good mix of high and low key lighting. However, I would say there is probably a good bit more high key lighting in this film as everything about it is romantic in more of a sweet, almost cheesy way rather than in a passionate, seductive way (where low lighting might be more effective). The scenes that seem to never fail to be very bright are the ones in which Gatsby throws an elaborate party or those in which Daisy is included and not upset about something. This film is set in an age when everyone is attractive and fun and in love. And what better way to highlight these defining characteristics than with high key lighting?
The scene begins with a close up shot of Mal who is clearly distraught over the story Cobb is about to tell that she has never heard before.
Next, we move to a close up of Cobb for a reaction shot. Here we can see he is expressing a similar emotion as it is a story he does not like to tell.
Back to a close up of Mal for a reaction.
Close up of Ariadne.
Back to a close up of Cobb to show his uneasiness about the subject.
Back to a close up of Mal.
Close up of Ariadne.
Final emotional close up of Cobb before flashback begins.
Medium wide shot of Mal and Cobb with a shallow depth of field to focus on them as they walk alone in a world created for only them.
Close up of Mal from a low angle as she sees something important.
Over the shoulder to reveal the house.
Medium close up from behind Mal as she reaches into her daughter's doll house.
Close up of Mal's hand twisting the dial and unlocking a safe strategically hidden in the doll house.
Close up of Mal's face from a low angle as she reaches into the safe for the top.
Extreme close up of the top (the bigger the small item is on screen, the more important it is to the film).
Close up of Mal's hand as she closes the safe once again.
Back to present time, close up of Cobb.
Over the shoulder close up of Mal for a reaction shot.
Flashback to another moment in time. Medium close up from a low angle of Cobb as he walks.
Over the shoulder of the same house from the earlier flashback. The shots in this part of the scene directly align with the shots of Mal from the first flashback.
Medium close up of Cobb opening the doll house.
Close up of Cobb's hand as he opens the safe.
Close up of Cobb's face from a low angle for a reaction shot.
Extreme close up of the top.
Back to a close up Cobb's face as he reaches into the safe.
Back to the extreme close up of the top as it continually spins.
Back to a close up of Cobb as he begins to close the safe with the top still spinning.
Close up of Cobb's hand as he closes the safe.
Wide shot of Cobb and Mal walking along railroad tracks to establish the next series of events.
Back to present time for a close up of Mal for a reaction.
Close up of Mal. This shot is sideways as she lays upon the railroad tracks.
Close up of Cobb holding onto Mal's hand.
Over the shoulder close up of Cobb, sideways as he lays on the railroad tracks.
Close up of bolts of railroad track with a shallow depth of field to express the distance of the train.
Close up of Mal as she lays on the tracks.
Ove the shoulder close up of Cobb.
Extreme close up of Mal.
Over the shoulder close up of Cobb.
Extreme close up of bolts of train tracks, still with a shallow depth of field.
Extreme close up of Cobb and Mal's hands. As the scene intensifies the shots get closer and closer and cutting becomes much quicker.
Even closer close up of Cobb as he looks behind Mal at the approaching train.
Close up of Mal, not quite as close as before to show the train just behind her until it moves into fram before cutting to black.
This scene effectively portrays the story Cobb is telling in the background as the scene plays out. He explains that he and his wife were trapped in this dream state for many years, and Mal had let this dream state become her reality. The top was Mal's "totem," an item that she could use at any moment to test whether or not she was in a dream or real life. By locking her totem away, Mal had chosen to forget that she was only dreaming. Once Cobb realized his wife had reached the point of no return, he deemed it was no longer safe for them to live this way. In order for them to wake up, they needed to die in this dream state (thus the part where they lay on train tracks and yell back and forth to each other until they are run over).
Pans and crane shots are often used in movie making as establishing shots or as a transition between scenes. In this example from Peter Pan (2003), the camera pans to the left from behind a bush to display an extreme wide shot of Peter and Wendy. This shot is referred to as a "discovery shot," and could have been made with a dolly or crane. I'm more inclined to guess that is was made with a crane seeing as the camera looks as if its right above the water of the pond. The composition of this shot creates a good transition between scenes as well as set up the next scene of the story to display Peter and Wendy as they are very close.
This scene is full of camera movement, including pans and tilts, to follow a car chase between Marty and the Libyans in Back to the Future. These movements are obviously very motivated as they keep up with the action that is happening. In order for the car chase to seem real, there needs to be movement so that the audience gets a feel for the fast pace of the scene and the intensity of every turn they take.
Everyone loves a great basement circle scene from That '70s Show. This camera movement is quite the opposite of your typical spin around the table scene as it works from the inside and quickly pans from one character to the next between dialogue. I feel like this technique works very well for a TV sitcom, especially That '70s Show seeing as this is one of its signature scenes. The rapid pan from left to right or vice versa really separates the thoughts of the different characters as they are speaking.
Each of the blogs shared to the right side of the course blog are extremely useful and informative! However, I really enjoyed reading Philip Bloom's blog as well as No Film School.
Philip Bloom seems to use a wide variety of cameras and equipment and shares his honest thoughts and opinions on each to inform the camera community what works well for him. Something I noticed upon reading his blog post on the Canon 5D was that in each blog I have read thus far (as well as reading No Film School's DSLR Cinematography Guide) this is a very highly talked-about camera. Hopefully, when I can afford to upgrade to a better camera (a girl can dream!) this will be the one. I also love how he includes screenshots of items he is using in each post from B&H -- this way the reader can get a sense of how much these items cost and what a few of their highlights are.
This video from his post about using the Sony FS5 in the snow is beautiful. And I love how he details every step it takes to get to this, including everything he used and everything he had to do with his equipment to make this happen.
No Film School's blog is also a great, resourceful site with a lot of information on all aspects of film. They've got a great post about Canon's new C700, which is another new camera for all of these blogs we are reading to rave about. I like how they've reviewed the specs and price as well as compared it to other similar or competing cameras.
Apart from blog posts about cameras in particular though, I especially liked this video they've included in their blog about what it takes to be a "good" cinematographer. Its inspiring and helps those of us looking to get into this field know the qualities we need to have in order to progress.
Studied still photography at Santa Monica Collegeand planned to transfer to the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, but he left Santa Monica after two years without graduating.
In 2006 Steelberg began his career in the feature film world with Quinceañera, earning both the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prizes at Sundance. Since then, he found success with director Jason Reitman on the films Juno, Up in the Air, Young Adult, and the upcoming release of Labor Day. Juno and Up in the Air were both Oscar nominated for Best Picture. In addition to those films, he has also photographed Golden Globe and Spirit Award nominee (500) Days of Summer, Bandslam, and Going the Distance.
He is a member of the ICG Local 600, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, and ASC.
Filmography
Baywatch (2017)
Labor Day (2013)
Young Adult (2011)
Going the Distance (2010)
Up in the Air (2009)
Bandslam (2009)
(500) Days of Summer (2009)
Juno (2007)
Quinceañera (2006)
Jeff Cronenweth
Graduated from USC School of Cinema-Television.
Jeff worked with his father Jordan Cronenweth (cinematographer most notable for Blade Runner) as a camera loader and second assistant camera during high school, working his way up to first assistant camera and then camera operator until the mid-1990s. His first major motion picture as a DP was Fight Club. A few other of his notable feature films are One Hour Photo, K-19: The Widowmaker, Down With Love, The Social Network, Hitchcock, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and recently Gone Girl. In 2011, Jeff was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on The Social Network.
He is a member of ASC, IATSE, AMPTP, SAG, and DGA.
Filmography
Fight Club (1999)
One Hour Photo (2002)
K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)
Down With Love (2003)
The Social Network (2010)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Hitchcock (2012)
Gone Girl (2014)
Jeff is known for his dim-lit, close-up, long shot filming as shown in Fight Club. He says of Fight Club, "Whether we were inside or outside, we always wanted to keep a shallow depth of field to keep the audience focused on what we wanted them to see."
Jeff and brother Tim ("The Cronenweths") work as a Director/DP team doing commercials and music videos in and out of Los Angeles.
This is a list I compiled on the fly of things I've really enjoyed watching just in general. After listing them, I realized they each have things about them -- camera work, use of lighting or scenery, or editing style -- that makes them unique and have in some way contributed to my admiration for them. I will warn you now, there are a lot of Disney related items in this list as well as a lot of music related videos because these are the things that I enjoy and make me the type of filmmaker I am (and want to be).
1. (500) Days of Summer
My favorite film of all time has to be (500) Days of Summer. Although the storyline of the movie itself is enough to earn my #1 spot, I also admire the aesthetics of the camera work and editing techniques thoroughly.
I've attached my favorite scene from the movie "Expectations vs Reality" in which Tom is going to Summer's party after having been away from her for some time. Tom expects his and Summer's relationship to pick up right where it left off. However, as we see on the "reality" side of the screen, this is not nearly the case at all.
On the "expectations" side of the screen, we see a lot of two shots of Summer and Tom, and as they are sitting at a large table with everyone the camera pushes in to focus on the two of them talking intimately. Conversely, on the "reality" side the camera cuts back and forth between Tom and Summer almost frantically to express the distance between the two. As realization hits Tom upon seeing Summer showing off her shiny new engagement ring, the camera pushes in and around Tom on the "reality" side of the screen all while this side of the screen becomes full screen and pushes Tom's "expectations" side completely out of frame.
2. no place like home - rachel branham
Something you should know about me from the very beginning is that I am a huge fan of all things Disney related. This past spring semester, I completed a Disney College Program in Orlando, Florida and it was by far the most exciting thing I've ever done.
This video was put together by a friend of mine named Rachel Branham, who also did a college program a little over a year prior to mine. This video accurately portrays how it feels to visit Walt Disney World after being a cast member and being away for several months.
Rachel uses a lot of close up shots to point out little things that are important to her (friends, camera, etc). She also used a lot of blur and focus to draw the viewer's attention to the subject she's shooting. My favorite thing about this video is that Rachel doesn't include any footage of Cinderella's caste -- the most iconic monument in Walt Disney World -- until the very end when she introduces the title of the video and point she's trying to get across, "there's no place like home." Cinderella's castle is a key feature of Walt Disney World known to everyone, but the rest of Rachel's footage are the parts of Disney that are important to her and and other cast members that call this magical place home.
3. Walt Disney World Hyperlapse - Daniel Navarrete-Burton
Going along with the Walt Disney World theme, this is a very impressive hyperlapse video that clearly took an immense amount of time. What I enjoy about this video is the videographer moves throughout the park using a lot of slow, deliberate camera movements. There is a lot of panning and zooming that aren't too intense because they are so slow and fluid. I also really like how he transitions from one shot to the next. The video feels like a story as he moves from one area of the park to another, never skipping around and coming back to an area he's already been to. The same is even true when he moves from park to park; it's clear which park he's in at what time as he uses the key monuments of the parks (the castle, the sorcerer's hat, etc) as his establishing shots and then moves effortlessly through the parks.
4. Fight Club
Fight Club is favorite of mine, both book and film. I'm including it in my list for various reasons, but mainly because I just read about some of the director's tactics for perfecting this film. If you've never seen Fight Club before, you should know there is an unnamed protagonist and a character named Tyler Durden who actually does not exist. Tyler Durden is more of a projection of the protagonist's mind. Keeping this in mind, the director, David Fincher, never filmed Tyler in any two shots with a group of people; nor did he include him in any over-the-shoulder shots when it seemed he was manipulating the protagonist.
There are also a lot of impressive visual effects in the film, specifically in the opening sequence, in an early scene displaying project mayhem's equipment, and in the final scene when the credit card office building is demolished. Fincher also puts the "cigarette burns" from older films into play to create a sort of turning point in the movie, where reality begins to set in and the audience begins to look for elements of the story that weren't obvious to them before.
5. Chasing Your Dreams - Short Film by Immersive Films
Here's a bit of an inspirational video for you all. This is a great video about an aspiring videographer that made his dreams a reality and pursued them every day. What I love about this is his use footage from his previous projects as a visual for the content of his subject. He opens the video with "If there was one thing you wanted to do for the rest of your life, what would it be?" and then immediately dives into his story of wanting to become a filmmaker while throwing in a bit of dramatic music and using some eye-catching shots. He talks about his dreams and aspirations and how important it is to make those a reality all while displaying what he's already accomplished and the progress he's already made. About midway through the video, there's a change in music from the dramatic piano playing to a more upbeat, techno song as he begins to talk about where he's at today and how proud he is of what he's accomplished. At the end of his video, he closes with shots of himself running up a hill and then standing at the top looking down on where he came from, symbolizing where he started in film and where he stands today.
6. i don't think you see enough of me
I have yet to discover who the artist EDEN's tour videographer might be; however, whoever it is props to them! This is a tour announcement video that I really enjoy. A dream of mine is to take my filmmaking skills and incorporate them into the music industry somehow. Whether that be touring with and promoting an artist or band (such as this video does) or directing music videos -- ideally I think both would be a great fit for me -- I definitely hold a lot of interest here. I chose this short video just to give an idea of what some of my interests are.
I love the shot choices in this video and how well they go along with the mix of live audio and music. I'm also a huge fan of the choppy cuts and effects that are used in the editing of this -- something I tend to use in a lot of my projects. The use of slow motion for a majority of these clips and then the incorporation of full speed when needed is also really eye catching.
I think my favorite element of this short project is the use of color. I notice a lot of blues, that make the announcement feel deep and dark. Overall, there isn't one shot included that seems to have an even blend of color, they are each invested in one idea, one color -- red, blue, sometimes green, sometimes purple.
Also, I'd like to point out that the clever title of the video "i don't think you see enough of me" coincides with the title of EDEN's latest album title "i think you think too much of me."
7. Serpents - Neck Deep
Here I am sharing more of my taste in music. So the first thing you should know about this video is that the director, Miguel Barbosa, had only one day to shoot the entire music video (thus the lack in change of scenery and content). I am sharing this video to express the fact that you don't always need the best equipment or lighting or set to create a successful project. With the right ideas, content, and a little bit of editing you can create a masterpiece.
I like how Barbosa had each of the band members centered in the frame for each shot to really emphasize the importance of each sound being made, seeing as there was only a limited time frame to express any kind of importance at all. Framing them in the center allowed for a lot of editing techniques and illustrations to be incorporated into the video.
8. The Jungle Book (2016)
The Jungle Book live action film has a very special place in my heart as it released while I was interning with Disney. This film clearly uses a lot of CGI; however, I just wanted to comment on the coloring and the tone of this particular film. The tone of this film is very dark, as it is set in the jungle and Mowgli faces a lot of hardships as well as intense, near-death experiences. The coloring and lighting of this film very directly affect the tone of the movie as there are a lot of shadows and the colors -- whether they are a deep green or a gray or a bright burning red -- portray the intensity of every given situation throughout the film.
9. Once Upon a Time
Hopefully there are a few of you in this class that also appreciate this TV show. I'm including this show (one of the very few TV shows I watch) because I really appreciate the aesthetics of this show as a whole.
The show is set in a cursed town called Storybrook, and immediately upon introduction to this town the viewer gets an ominous vibe just from how dark and rainy and deteriorated the town feels. Even looking at what the actors are wearing in the show -- mostly grays, blacks, neutral colors -- the viewer gets the sense that these townspeople are trapped here in this very bland, normal town which is heavily contrasted to the world they come from as we see in various flashbacks to their days as storybook characters.
Emma Swan is highlighted and sticks out like a sore thumb in her bright blonde hair and red leather jacket immediately upon arrival to this small town, a clear indicator of our show's protagonist. There is a huge display of light vs dark throughout this show demonstrated by the use of shadows, bright colors, neutral colors, and dark colors.
10. You and I - PVRIS
My last "favorite" is another music video because I know you all haven't had enough. Immediately to note in this video is the use of black and white, a reoccurring trend in PVRIS music videos. Although the use of black and white is not uncommon for this band, I feel like it especially works here as it creates a stark contrast between light and dark (you and I).
There's great use of shadows and light at work here as well. The video begins with the the singer singing in the shadows, making the song feel like a secret. As the song progresses we see new clips of her lying naked in full lighting, possibly even overexposed (both literally and figuratively). When we reach the pre-chorus of the song, there are new cuts of her underwater and covered in paint -- further symbolizing her covered in her feelings. The remainder of the video progresses in much of the same manner until she is essentially covered head to toe in paint.
