ImageMethod.org

Nice Web

2011-02-12T20:27:00.012-06:00

It feels lame to lay praise on a marketing effort, but I must admit this is good implementation of a (flash) web experience.

These corporate filmmakers did very nice work. (This was likely the done by in-house media staff.)
Boeing's new plane

Nice Attention to Detail

2010-07-01T20:59:00.004-06:00

Excellent documentation of conscientious MoCo, Compositing, and Animation.

Color, So Relative

2010-03-28T11:32:00.003-06:00

In this diptych about Michelle Obama's outfit, what I find interesting are the various color balances of the images. While the right side image has more green, and the left more bluish magenta, each of these images looks fine enough. Both are in the same location, so differences result from differences in the lighting and/or differences in the post-acquisition color adjustments.

What this reminds me is that when shooting in the field, precise color is relative. I often consider myself to be merely roughing it in, and so I do not let the issue slow me down. I match where I need to but usually there's a dozen other things to which I need to tend.

Cliché Beast

2009-01-15T07:45:00.009-06:00

Is there any greater cliché than to place a camera along the barrel of a gun looking down into the tough squint of testosterone gone wrong?

I always wonder if anyone making an image like this ever feels just a little bit embarrassed.

(Shiny Gun and Patrick Swayze co-star in The Beast.)

podcast: Transcription Analysis

2008-12-02T01:09:00.023-06:00

Transcription Analysis is an easy way to better understand what you are seeing. This episode takes a closer look at the Horse vs.Truck scene in The Horse Whisperer.

Yes, they do shoot horses, but they do it efficiently.

plus: How to Make Use of a Slow Economy.

Watch Now!

podcast: Time Based Composition

2008-02-09T13:02:00.002-06:00

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We’re talking about composition over time, and how cinematographer, Roger Deakins, showed us how to do it in the 1994 film, The Shawashank Redemption. Also discussed: the payoff you get with a 90 degree pan, gyrosphere, and heart-shaped edits.

Images & Links
Images from Shawshank Redemption
Roger Deakins
Shawshank Redemption on IMDB
Gyrosphere

Music: intro - Yé-Yé ; outro - Andrew Bird

technorati tags: cinematography photography film production film video lighting podcast Deakins Shawshank Redemption

Listen/Watch Now!

podcast: Christopher Lynch

2007-10-06T18:13:00.000-06:00

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Commercial photographer Christopher Lynch talks about trusting his instinct, discovering characters, and shooting people. plus– Robustness.

Links coming soon
Images coming Soon

Listen/Watch Now!

Now How Much Would You Pay?

2007-09-08T21:00:00.000-06:00

Stay tuned to the NBC downloads recently announced to be offered by Amazon's Unbox Service. The gist is this: NBC left iTunes over a disagreement about pricing. Episodes on iTunes go for a couple of bucks each. Apple says NBC wants 5 bucks per episode, but NBC says not quite, but rather, they want "flexibility in … pricing."

Why this is interesting is that it asks a fundamental question about the future of television: At what price convenience? And, who's convenience?

What is it worth to get a file of your favorite show? —a file you can then watch in a variety of ways, times, and places.

If you would download an episode of Heroes for 2 bucks each, would you download it for $5.? … $4.? … $3. … ?

Keep an eye on pricing, because the current episode price of TV at Unbox is also 2 bucks. According to Variety, Apple's idea is that if it were even cheaper — $1! — NBC would make up the difference in volume. And maybe cheapskates like me could watch two shows, without getting screwed over by my cable company. (oh wait, they're the ones selling me internet, too?!)

NBC is naturally affronted at the thought of giving the work of it's writers, actors, directors, lighting guys, etc for a measly dollar, but they are the 4th place network. But they also have The Office and Heroes, favorites among the downloading demographic. You know, those kids who also know full well what BitTorrent is.

podcast: Jaws

2007-08-23T10:11:00.001-06:00

Listen/Watch now!

In this episode we take a closer look at a cinematic masterpiece, Spielberg's Jaws. This look reveals the elegance of fundamental blocking, the importance of limiting the pan, and the distinction between darkness and invisibility in the context of fright.

Images & Links:
Images from Jaws
Jaws on IMDB
Watching the Directors podcast (Their Steven Spielberg episode here.)
Fat Free Film podcast
American Cinematographer podcast

Music: intro - Junior Boys ; outro - Infadels

technorati tags: cinematography photography film production film video lighting podcast spielberg jaws

pocast: The Words of Sven Nykvist

2007-08-01T11:36:00.001-06:00

Listen Now

In this special audio-only edition, we discuss the working philosophy of cinematography legend, Sven Nykvist. In an essay published in the book, Making Pictures, Nykvist discussed his work with Ingmar Bergman, Louis Malle, and Andrei Tarkovsky. But he also lays out an ethos of filmmaking and a way of being for the maker of moving images.

Links:
Making Pictures: A Century of European Cinematography
IMAGO (Federation of European Cinematographers)
Sven Nykvist
Ingmar Bergman

Music: intro - Andrew Bird ; outro - Infadels

technorati tags:
cinematography photography film production film video lighting bergman nykvist

podcast: Picture Balata

2007-07-10T20:06:00.001-06:00

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Photography as entry into a deeper understanding of identity, history, and struggle. Photography as expression, but also as a practice of self actualization. We talk with Matthew Cassel, founder of the project, Picture Balata, about educating the least among us, and the role that images play in a vanishing culture struggling to remain. Picture Balata teaches Palestinian youth of a refugee camp how to express in images, the Palestinian experience.

This is not a political blog, but all messages expressed in images share certain things in common. Clearly, photography as part of a political struggle is a long tradition. All comments and suggestions are welcome.

Images & Links:
Picture Balata
Matthew Cassel
Eugene Richards
Balata Refugee Camp

Music: intro - Andrew Bird ; outro - New Young Pony Club

technorati tags:
cinematography photography film production film video lighting documantary

podcast: COLOR

2007-06-30T15:58:00.000-06:00

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Steven Bleicher is an artist and teacher, and the author of Contemporary Color - Theory and Use. He talks with us about the psychology of color, color harmony, disharmony, and a map for finding either. We also discuss the color in the films Children of Men and Pan's Labyrinth, as well as the photographs of Sandy Skoglund and Martin Parr.

Listen/Watch Now

Images:
Children of Men
Pan's Labyrinth
Color Wheels

Links:
Contemporary Color - Theory and Use by Steven Bleicher
Sandy Skoglund
Martin Parr
Postmodern Art
Color Theory
Color Temperature
Atmospheric Haze

Music: intro - Andrew Bird ; outro - New Young Pony Club

technorati tags:
cinematography photography film production film video lighting

podcast: Sincere Cinematography pt 1

2007-06-11T13:13:00.000-06:00

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Towards a notion of a Cinematography Without Pretense. DP Alan Jacobsen, talks with us about the photographic qualities of realness. We compare the film Caché to Running With Scissors. Alan explains Christian Berger’s reflective light system. Also discussed: vague endings, flashiness, and art departments gone wild.

Images:
Caché
Running with Scissors

Links:
Alan Jacobsen
Christian Berger
Christian Berger's Cine Reflector System
... a review by a gaffer (pdf)
Pics of Berger's Cine Reflector System
Inverse Square Law

Music: intro - Andrew Bird ; outro - New Young Pony Club

technorati tags:
cinematography photography film production film video lighting

Announcing: the ImageMethod Podcast

2007-05-29T21:43:00.001-06:00

Listen/Watch Now!

This blog is going multimedia. A podcast component of ImageMethod will be located on another site, here. We haven't figured out how to marry the two sites together yet, so for now, each site will be linked to the other.

The first program is available now and it's a rough test of concept. I interviewed commercial photographer, Lucas Allen. In our chat he talks about his history, methods, and penchant for natural light.

A link to the podcast appears on the right side of this page. Check it out and let us know what you think.

Show Notes: Lucas Allen (Listen)
Photos discussed in the show (click to make big):

Links:
LucasAllen.com
Lucas Allen's US agent has a nice portfolio of his work, as well.
His Aussie agent has more of his fashion and people shots.
Henri Cartier-Bresson

Music: intro - Andrew Bird ; outro - New Young Pony Club

technorati tags:
cinematography photography film production film video lighting

Keeping a Grip

2007-04-16T12:55:00.000-06:00

The video of David O. Russell freaking out on the set of his movie "I heart Huckabees" is instructive to all of us, regardless of our jobs. While many in the business are understanding of, and apologetic for a director loosing it under the pressure of production, this sort of freak out - the violent sort - cannot be tolerated.

Business hierarchies are such that the boss gets a lot of passes, but David O. Russell has a problem, and David O. Russell should fix it. He deals with his frustration with violent outbursts of anger, as detailed in the LA Times article. Lily Tomlin seems to prefer snotty sarcasm, which is also rude, immature, and unhelpful.

There are two things every member of a team should consider. First, how do we react to another person's freak out, including our reaction to our own emotions stirred by such horrible behavior. Second, how do we deal with our own frustration and anger?

Keeping a grip on our emotions is part of teamwork. All of our actions affect those around us, and to function well as a collaborator we all need critical awareness of ourselves.

Shakespeare wrote, "the better part of valor is discretion," referring to the wisdom of a warrior to sometimes play dead. On or off the film set, rage is the weapon of fools.

After the Fill

2007-03-28T15:46:00.000-06:00

In doing a set up, the last light set is the fill light. It's easier to place shadows and to work their quality when they are deep, dark black.

First I set the key to place a shadow where the camera will see it. The shadow's soft/hard quality is dependent on two things: diffusion type and comparative size. When a diffusion like Grid Cloth absorbs the light and then becomes the glowing object scattering light rays toward the scene, that scattered light is quite soft. When the diffusion simply casts a subtle shadow of its fuzzy self, veiling the light, like Hampshire Frost, the result is harder. Comparative size refers to the geographical, or physical, size of the source (after it has hit any diffusion frame or bounce board) compared to the size of the subject. Distance affects comparative size; a 4'x4' frame is big compared to a 10" face when they're close to each other, but backing off the frame makes it smaller fast. The inverse square law applies here, which means little things mean a lot when it comes to distance, size and exposure.

Exposure is roughed in with the incident meter, keeping in mind that everything placed in front of the light - cutters, diffusion or color, will reduce the level. If I want a T4, I start with 4/5.6 or a 5.6, depending on how these lights and this lighting style worked on these actors the day before. Some gaffers like to start with a double scrim in the head so that after the toppers, siders and nets have been set, the level can be restored to key exposure by pulling the wire.

The purpose of the fill light is to add exposure to the shadows. True to that purpose, it's useful to minimize new shadows created by the fill. It is common to set a geographically large source near the camera axis so that its shadow drops to where the camera can't see it. Because geographically large sources require geographically large cutters to control them, time and space should be considered.

To fine tune the exposure and contrast, I spot meter parts of the scene placing the reflective light values in the 7.5 stop range (give or take) that the film on my shoots usually has. It's nice to have the entire latitude — including off-the-curve levels— represented in the picture. The Memory/Average feature on my spot meter insures I never do a calculation involving a number greater than 10.

Although the fill is last to be looked at, I ask for it early. Some fill is usually necessary and, even if it's not used, it never hurts to have it ready. (This is also true if negative fill is preferred; I like to have the flags standing by.)

When the fill is done, and the floor has been checked for errant spills, I begin to ask myself what's next on my list of things to do as the director of photography:

Have I matched the lighting scene to scene?
Have I put elegance into the blocking?
Is my work calling attention to itself?
Am I prepared for what's coming up?
Am I capturing the director's vision and serving the story?
Am I getting the job done in the most efficient manner for production?
Am I providing security and comfort for the actors?
Am I keeping a pace that allows the AD to schedule?
Am I letting the crew, in all departments, know they are valued contributors to the process?
Do I conduct myself with integrity and professionalism?

Babel: Sharp and Natural

2007-02-02T20:56:00.000-06:00

Rodrigo Prieto has been mastering an important look in cinematography over the past several years. Ever since Amores Perros, which he photographed for Alejandro González Iñárritu, in 2000, we've seen a sincere, dispassionate, and modernized version of the Italian Neorealist look.

This was the same approach evident in 8 Mile, although Prieto changed it up for Julie Taymor (Frida), Oliver Stone (Alexander), and Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain).

And now, after 21 Grams (which has similar edginess, but a more stylized look), the same pair of Mexicans brings Babel. To me, the story is forgettable, but the photography is quite remarkable for it's natural and sharp-edged qualities.

Most memorable was the scene in the Japanese disco. A vulnerable and disturbed girl came of age while the hair on the back of my neck stood up.

These are some consecutive frames from a quicktime of the trailer.

Shifting Colors

2007-01-20T07:44:00.000-06:00

To take an image of the warm English twilight and bring it around to match the look of Children of Men, I shifted the colors toward cyan plus a little extra green.

I started with this:And I shifted to this:When the two images are side by side (future dystopian look in panels A & C, warm look in panel B) the differences are easier to see. Notice especially the differences in the red color of the roof tops and car. Because the color is shifted away from red, that color becomes more muted, and darker. A significant reason this color shift is so effective here is that so much of the frame is made up of neutral colors - tan, beige, and grey.

Both versions can be accepted as normal-looking, but they both give a very different feel.

Only color balance was adjusted in these images. Nothing was done to change contrast or saturation, so these exact effects can be achieved in a film post production process. There's nothing new or fancy going on here; no Digital Intermediate needed.

nb - click pics to make big

Choice Colors

2007-01-13T18:47:00.000-06:00

These are more examples of the use of limited color palette in Children of Men.
The strategy is the usual approach. Limit the colors that appear in front of the camera. Then, at the DI stage the task is merely to adjust saturation, finer shifts in color, and of course, gamma.

Compositionally, the work is quite classical. The lighting in Children of Men is also usually very conventional, and appropriately so. There are loads of great acting and production design in this film and the cinematography avoids getting in the way.

Children of Men

2007-01-13T15:03:00.000-06:00

Anybody see this movie yet? Cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki, Production Design by Jim Clay and Geoffrey Kirkland, Directed by Alfonso Cuarón.
They created a nice dystopian, near future look. The pictures on the internet don't quite have the high-contrast gamma and deep blacks that I saw in the theater, but one can see the narrow choices of colors that contribute to the feeling of bleakness - cool, muted, achromatic. This was an excellent example of Digital Intermediate used to its maximum potential

Phoning It In

2007-01-06T19:48:00.000-06:00

When we're watching video on our phones, we'll know that times have changed. The deal between Verizon and YouTube to get the latter's content onto the former's phones is a pretty big deal. What's going to look good in the age of mobile delivery?

This commercial presents an obvious, but intriguing idea. As usual, sex will lead the way.

Think about this, anybody with a nice phone will be able to make and watch video from anywhere they can get a signal. What will be watched, and what will be made?

What will you make? (You, Person of the Year, you.)

ps - Here's a story from today about Verizon phones and TV shows.

Chatty Camera

2007-01-05T22:25:00.000-06:00

As a cinematographer, I really enjoyed watching John Fauer's film, Cinematographer Style, but I was also a little bit embarrassed. The feature length film is a series of talking head interviews (sound bites, really) with famous DP's. I love to hear these guys talk but I was uncomfortable with what I was learning, which is that cinematographers like to talk about themselves and their work. There's no greater proof of that than the fact that the director of this yak-fest is also a DP, who includes himself as a talking head, too.

I think Cinematographer Style has trouble knowing who its audience is. It was made by three companies who depend on celluloid image acquisition so, to an extent, it's corporate propaganda. But to whom? -the DP's appearing in the film? (Is that why there is 110(!) interview subjects? -Shoah, for its nine hours, needed only 33.)

We don't really get to see the work of these venerable cinematographers because there are no clips from their films. In that sense Cinematographer Style doesn't at all achieve a very good use of the film medium. As nothing but a series of interviews, it doesn't really go any further than the plethora of books that are nothing but interviews with cinematographers. (I own and love at least 7 such books.)

The film is sort of a vanity film and soapbox for the field of cinematography. For example, digital intermediates are discussed as places where a cinematographer could lose control over the image. While traditionally DP's play a great role in creating the look of a film, we're not the only ones who can craft an excellent image. The world is filled with brilliant designers. We collaborate with art directors and camera operators, so in the case of post staff messing with our pictures, we just have to hope that we can work with good people.

Post production happens.

Anybody else see this movie? Whatcha' think of that music?

ps - There was a lot I liked about this movie, too, and maybe I'll post about that later on.

Reality TV

2007-01-05T08:50:00.000-06:00

A fine example of reality became an image that helps define how we perceive ourselves and recall these times, an image seen by millions. A question I have is this: If you were to create a scene at a gallows, would it look like this?

Or, maybe it would look more like this:
PS - Have you not seen the Saddam hanging?

Nokia Advert

2007-01-01T20:46:00.000-06:00

This ad for Nokia caught my eye recently. I like the lighting. It's a very simple portrait, but it has some stuff in it that's less than conventional, for example, the key light placed in a low position.

The light is so soft that it's very unobtrusive and natural looking, even though it's coming from an unconventional position. The back light coming from screen left is also quite gentle. It has a soft quality and warm, yellow-ish color.

The kid is also 'short-sided' (composed so that s/he's looking toward the nearest frameline). Print ads often need to leave space for copy text, as this does in the upper left. These subtle and slightly unconventional techniques give this ad a tiny bit of hipness.

It seems like 80% of the shots in a movie are pictures of people's faces. Perhaps a good exercise would be to recreate this ad, meaning recreate the look of this ad,the lighting, composition. This should also include the level of depth of field that leaves the odd door discernible in the background. What is that? -the door to a stable? It's curious, and therefore, contributes to the off beat nature of the piece. The same could be said about the pearl necklace visible under this hipster's hoodie. (or should I say 'jumper'?)

Why not do a version of this and post it on this blog?