Stills from Films. A possible light diagram of a scene from Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy
Camera:Arricam LT, Arricam ST
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Format: 35mm
Film Stock: Kodak Vision
Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy (Romanzo di una strage)
is a film that deals with a bombing at a major bank back in 1969 and
whose authors were never found: it was surrounded by the popular belief
that the Italian Government was somehow involved. That's why its
cinematography is full of contrasts and chiaroscuro, like the screen
shot above. This is a one light setting: a lightly diffused HMI light
placed outside the door, not to high, just above the characters' head,
producing a strong silhouette and deep large shadows, meaning that the
truth, what is untold, is far bigger than people are really told. It is a
theatrical light which definitely adds drama to the image while the
slanted angle stresses out the tension of the scene.
Stills from Films. A possible light diagram of a scene fromOnce Upon a Time in Anatolia
Camera: Sony F35 CineAlta
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Format: HDCAM
Film Stock: -
- See more at: http://donatelloromanazzi.blogspot.com.es/search?q=once+upon+a+time#sthash.H1hVO83d.dpuf
Camera: Sony F35 CineAlta
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Format: HDCAM
Film Stock: -
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia is a brilliant film with a gorgeous cinematography. Light is used throughout the film in a natural way, always justified; most of the scenes are lit with a 100kw balloon light to simulate the moon along with on set lights, like powerful car headlamps. In this screen shot the Key Light is positioned very high imitating the lampost light on the right; lights at the entrance and inside the house play the role of back light and are intentionally blown out to let the ambience light of the dawn to light the rest of the scene. The light coming from the right symbolizes the divine: it may be a small hint announcing the man´s imminent death. This is really a two lights set up in conjunction with a wide angle lens and taking advantage of the latitude of the Sony F35; the result is beautiful.
Read a full review of Once Upon a Time in Anatolia here.
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia is a brilliant film with a gorgeous cinematography. Light is used throughout the film in a natural way, always justified; most of the scenes are lit with a 100kw balloon light to simulate the moon along with on set lights, like powerful car headlamps. In this screen shot the Key Light is positioned very high imitating the lampost light on the right; lights at the entrance and inside the house play the role of back light and are intentionally blown out to let the ambience light of the dawn to light the rest of the scene. The light coming from the right symbolizes the divine: it may be a small hint announcing the man´s imminent death. This is really a two lights set up in conjunction with a wide angle lens and taking advantage of the latitude of the Sony F35; the result is beautiful.
Read a full review of Once Upon a Time in Anatolia here.
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Camera: Sony F35 CineAlta
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Format: HDCAM
Film Stock: -
- See more at: http://donatelloromanazzi.blogspot.com.es/search?q=once+upon+a+time#sthash.H1hVO83d.dpuf
Camera: Sony F35 CineAlta
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Format: HDCAM
Film Stock: -
- See more at: http://donatelloromanazzi.blogspot.com.es/search?q=once+upon+a+time#sthash.H1hVO83d.dpufStills from Films. A possible light diagram of a scene from Django Unchained
Cinematography: Robert Richardson
Camera: Panavision Panaflex Milennium XL2
Lens: Panavision Primo, E Series, ATZ and AWZ2
Lens: Panavision Primo, E Series, ATZ and AWZ2
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Format: 35mm
Film Stock: Kodak Vision 5213 200T, 5219 500T, Ektachrome 5285 100D
Robert's
Richardson's cinematography in Django Unchained is very much his style:
theatrical and unjustified use of light, sometimes harsh and producing
blown highlights. Like the screen shot above. The Key Light, probably
an HMI, is placed above on the right and tilted down, it's quite hard,
producing
deep shadows on the two characters and blowing the right shoulder, neck
and hand of the character on the right. It clearly imitates the sun
light exaggerating it. As we can see from the shadows of the small stool
and the objects hanging from the wall on the right side of the frame,
two soft Fill Lights were used, both placed on the left, pointing down
to light Jamie Foxx and the other one low, pointing up at Walton
Goggins' face.
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Stills from Films. A possible light diagram of a scene from Snow White and the Huntsman
Camera: Arriflex 235, Arriflex 435 Advanced and ES, Panavision 65 HR and Milennium XL2, Red Epic
Lens: Panavision Primo, E and G Series, ATZ, System 65
Lens: Panavision Primo, E and G Series, ATZ, System 65
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Format: 35mm, 65mm, Redcode RAW
Film Stock: Kodak Vision 5201 50D, 5207 250D, 5230 500T
Greig Fraser did a great job with the cinematography of Snow White and the Huntsman, a film that neither critics nor audience liked very much, combining 35mm and 65mm, along with some shots with the Epic. This is one of the very few scenes exclusively lit by natural light and it is a beautiful example of back lighting. This shot would not have been the same if Panavision E Series anamorphic lenses hadn't been used with the lovely and gorgeous typical flares they produce.
Greig Fraser did a great job with the cinematography of Snow White and the Huntsman, a film that neither critics nor audience liked very much, combining 35mm and 65mm, along with some shots with the Epic. This is one of the very few scenes exclusively lit by natural light and it is a beautiful example of back lighting. This shot would not have been the same if Panavision E Series anamorphic lenses hadn't been used with the lovely and gorgeous typical flares they produce.
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Stills from Films. A possible light diagram of a scene from Moonrise Kingdom
Camera: Aaton A-Minima, Aaton Xterá
Lenses: Zeiss Super Speed, Canon CnE
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Format:16mm
Film Stock: Kodak Vision 7213 200T
The aesthetic of Moonrise Kingdom, directed by Wes Anderson,
definitely manages to catch audience attention: the election and look
of 16mm film, the constant use of wide angle lenses, the position of the
camera always in front of the action, as it was the 4th wall of a
theatre, are the main characteristics of this feature that can be
noticed in this screen shot above too. The composition is brilliant: the
wide angle lens makes the place appear bigger than it really is and
changes the relative proportions between the children and B. Murray who
is perfectly centred in the frame and with the stairs and, thanks to the
focal lens used, loses a bit of the threatening look the low angle
camera gives him. Light is really soft and natural (justified as typical
house lighting) with a warm colour balance; a multi lighting set up was
used in this scene.
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Ven, Kenta Noler's last music video.
Ven - Kenta Noler- Official Video from Donatello Romanazzi on Vimeo.
The
idea behind the lighting of this music video, that we shot in Barcelona
area, was looking for flares everywhere, so we lit in a impressionist
way, with light-source on a side and sometimes facing camera which
hardly stood still to increase the effect of glare and flares. Hope you
like it!
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Stills from films. A possible light diagram of a scene from The Last Emperor
Camera: Arriflex 35 BL
Lenses: Technovision Anamorphic
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Format: 35mm
Film Stock: Kodak Vision
The
last emperor is a great example of fine cinematography, in which
Storaro makes a perfect use of colour and its psychology reminding every
photographer and cinematographer the importance of the effect of colour
tones no matter how subtle it is. In the scene above, the orange colour
was used: the emperor is a child and at that age life is colourful and
vibrant, entirely spent with the family, all concepts strictly connected
to the orange colour. The light (probably a filtered HMI) is diffused
with smoke which adds mystery to the image making it more dramatic. The
position of the light and the selective lighting on the emperor leaving
everything else in the shadows, obviously represents the divine
blessing to the child as emperor.
Stills from film. An analysis and a possible light diagram of a scene from The Man Who wasn't There
Camera: Arriflex 535B
Lenses: Cooke S4
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Format: 35mm
Film Stock: Kodak Vision 5277 320T
The Man who wasn't there,
by the Coen brothers, is a magnificent job by the great cinematographer
Roger Deakins, who shot it on Kodak 5277 film stock, a colour negative
with softer and more pastel look now discontinued, and processed it in
black and white. In the scene above, the lawyer is explaining to B.B.
Thornton and his wife, his new idea to get her out of jail. Deakins used just one light in the scene:
a strong HMI placed in the zenith high on a crane as we can see from
the very defined shadows. He also used some smoke to make the scene more
dramatic. By just using this simple set-up, Deakins achieves the tight atmosphere to enhance the story.
The lawyer is speaking about the reality: "there's no what happen:
looking at something changes it. Our look defines the reality". Deakins
translates this concept into a powerful image. He uses a theatrical
light, from above which is like saying: there's no reality, only a
representation of reality. Also, light coming from above is related to
the divine, the inspiration: the lawyer has the idea, he is the only one
bathed in light and well defined as silhouette. Light is the Word, the
Truth, shadows are ignorance, not-to-know; that's why all other subjects
are left in half shadow. The only character left entirely in shadows is
B.B. Thornton; light is Good, shadows are Evil, the circular form
drown by light unconsciously reminds it as well: as we know, Thornton
is guilty of the crime his wife has been accused of.
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Making Of Fashion shooting from Donatello Romanazzi on Vimeo.
This
is the making of the fashion shooting we did some days ago in a
location in the centre of Barcelona. It was shot on medium format using
Portra 400 film. You can read how it was prepared here. In the next days I'll be able to show you the result of the session.
Thanks to Nuria Herrero who shot and edited the behind the scenes video.
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Behind the scenes of a fashion shooting in Barcelona. How it is prepared.
When I prepare a shooting I like to have meetings with all the team
so everyone know what it is about and what my idea is, I tell them what
I want and hear suggestions that can make the idea go a step further. We create the shooting together. This way everyone will feel more involved and motivated and the work during session will flow smoothly. I firmly believe that the most important aspect of every kind of shooting is communication.
9:00 All the team meet at the chosen studio in the centre of Barcelona.
9:30 Laura, the model, is with the MUA.
Normally I would be there, talking to her and explaining the idea of
the shooting, the poses I want, etc. But this time I had the opportunity
to meet her before the shooting so we already went trough the
mood-board and had a long talk which helped the model to feel
comfortable during the shooting. 
9:45 The stylist prepares dress and props,
I help my assistant to set up the lights. Every now and then I pop in
the make-up room to have few words with Laura to maintain the complicity
we built.
10:30 I load the films
into the backs of my camera; we shooting on Kodak Portra on a medium
Format camera. My assistant cleans the lenses we will be using.
10:45 Laura is almost ready. Checking last details before start shooting.
10:50 I meter the light
to be sure the exposure is the one I want, meanwhile I keep talking to
Laura and remind her the mood she has to express in this shot
10:54 I take some polaroids to check that light and shadows are the ones I was after. I also study them looking for what doesn't work and correct it.
11:02 Ready to shoot! I take 5 or 6 photos with little differences in pose and then we change dresses, set and lights starting all over again.
18:00 The session is over.
We had 6 changes for dresses, make up, hair style and set. Every one is
tired, it was quite hard, but it isn't over for me: I can't wait to get
to the studio and start developing the film rolls with the C41 process.
Do you want to know the result of this shooting? Stay tuned then!
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How they did it. Shooting Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones is the HBO TV series everyone is talking about, but, have you ever wondered how they shot it?
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| Shooting Game of Thrones |
Like every production of its genre different directors and cinematographers have been working in different episodes: the challenge was to match visions and maintain a certain consistency to the whole series.
This task wasn't easy at all, considering that the story develops in
dissimilar locations spread from the snowed north down to the sunny
south and the shooting time they had was almost the same of a one
location TV series: about 18 days per episode.
During
the preproduction, several tests were made to chose the best camera
possible to achieve functionality and good quality; this time digital won the battle with film: Arri Alexa camera was chosen
for its characteristics similar to films, details in highlights,
noiseless images in very low light conditions (Alexa recommended ISO is
800) and of course the quickness of delivering and watching dailies
(raw, unedited footage of the shooting day). As I said, Games of Thrones
was shot in different locations (Iceland, Northern Ireland, Croatia,
Malta, Morocco...) because every kingdom has its own climate and
environment; this wouldn't have been possible if they didn't have two units shooting simultaneously:
dailies and flip books with screen shoots of the scenes and locations
were absolutely necessary and consulted by cinematographer to give
consistency to the shooting.
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| Above, the original frame. Below, after VFX |
Every kingdom has a different look: blueish and cold for the Wall, a sort of Mediterranean feel for King's Landing, harsher light in Red Waste and Quarth; but the way of shooting and lighting is basically the same.
The camera is often hand held, crane and dolly are used but not
excessively, the focal length of the lenses (they used Cooke S4 and
Angenieux Optimo zoom lenses) is normally between 21mm and 85mm. Light is natural but expressionistic:
windows, doors, fireplaces, candles, etc. are used as light-sources but
light is always exaggerated making the scene more dramatic. Low light scenes are abundant:
lots of scenes were lit just with candles taking advantage of Alexa´s
characteristics; or, especially in the scenes shot in the snowed woods
of the North, Wendy lights mounted on high cranes were used to simulate
the light of the moon. Quite often the Key light is place behind the actors, shot in back-light.
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| Above, the original frame. Below, after VFX |
The art direction department made a great work creating a new world from the scratch,
inspiring themselves in different cultures from modern and past time
achieving a really believable result. Another aspect which gives
credibility to the scenes and the whole series is the use of visual and 3D effects created by the Irish VFX company Screen Scene,
which, apart from animating dragons and other creatures, changed and
beautified landscapes and castles, multiplied people and objects and
made battles far more spectaculars.
Game of Thrones
managed to gather more and more public throughout the 3 seasons and
today, Monday 10th of June, season 3 finale will be aired. But their
fans should not wait too long for new episodes: the filming of season 4
will start on July.
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How I did it. Outdoor black and white Fashion shooting
When we were preparing this fashion
shooting, there was one thing my Art Director, Gemma, and I had clear
in mind: contrast. So we decided to develop the entire shooting around
it. Models, locations, dresses, attitude... everything should reveal the idea of contrast.
Once again I chose a Medium Format analogue camera because, apart from
being my favourite photographic format, it was the perfect combination
with the idea we developed.
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| Tmaxx 400, ƒ11 t1/125 |
Two elegant ladies in the countryside, in a filthy and decaying place far from the town where they can freely love themselves in a less platonic way. It's around 1920,
as the hair style suggests; the ladies could be an aristocratic woman
and her servant... This is, briefly, the story we told trough the
shooting. I wanted the images to remind the feel of that time, that's
way I shot analogue and that's why I used black and white film.
I chose the film I am most comfortable with, Tmax 400 and a 80mm lens on a medium format camera to respect the naturalism of the whole idea. I used just two lights for the shooting; well, actually three lights if we count the light of the overcast day we had which played as ambient light.
The key light
was positioned behind the models, at camera right: it was a naked flash
so the light would have scattered all over the place imitating the sun.
In front of the models, on camera left, I placed the fill light:
a huge octagonal softbox 150cm wide which provided soft and diffused
light wrapping the models and able to illuminate both of them. I placed
it on one side because the shadows it produced on the blonde model's
face were very suitable for her physiognomy.
I
used a Y8 filter to whiten the blond model's skin and to accentuate the
contrast of the scene. Even if I love grain, this time I controlled the
agitation during the negative development because I looked for the fine
grain the Tmax offers and played with the time of the process to
enhance the contrast.
You can see the whole shooting in my web or in Stravagance Magazine.
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How I did it. Shooting a music video with "lens whacking" effect
Are You familiar with the technique of lens whacking? Here's a music video shot few months ago where I used this effect:
Dies de Pluja (Official) - No Tinc Nòvia from Donatello Romanazzi on Vimeo.
Whacking lens technique is an effect that allows you to get light leaks
and different focal planes by which only a small area of the frame is
focused. The way to achieve this effect is not attaching the lens to
the camera. Normally the light reaches the sensor, or the film, trough
the lens which leads it and distributes it all over the sensible
surface. When the lens is not attached some light will enter through the
open spaces between the camera and the lens causing light leaks. The
bigger they are, the more light will enter.
Also the light leak will move across the frame if the lens is rotated and moved back and forward.
If you tilt the lens then you'll add another effect, typical of
tilt-shift lenses: the focal plane changes so it is not the same of the
sensor or the film but swerved of some degrees; this means that only one part of the image will be in focus.
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| Light leak. Frame from the video |
The lens whacking
effect creates very interesting, cool and different images, adding a
natural retro look and allows you to connect with the camera and be very
creative. It works perfectly well to edit together two different shots if you play with the amount of light hitting the sensor. You have to bear in mind that light leaks produce low saturated images and flatten the contrast
and, if you really concerned about the sensor and its cleanness, don't
even think about using this technique, because it will get loads of
dirt!
I
used the lens whacking technique in this low budget music video for a
simple reason: the lyrics deal with the great effort you need in life to
carry on trough adversities, so the atmosphere the words recall is
quite sad and melancholic; the title says it all: "dies de pluja" is
Catalan for raining days. But the authors wanted this video to be positive and give an optimistic message. I decided to do this with light:
light is life and it should have been everywhere throughout the video,
becoming one more character of it. So I constantly looked for flares,
trough the lens whacking technique and by not flagging lights in the
scene allowing light spills into the lens. I also used the soft orange
tone to achieve this purpose and add a sense of calm and serenity to the
whole video.
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How I did it. Artistic nude colour portrait. A light diagram
When I made this portrait I had in mind some Flemish paintings in which the light is just on the subject, leaving the surroundings in almost complete darkness creating a strong sense of mystery. I had no doubts on how to position lights, but the problem was that I wanted this portrait to look like a painting. With a digital camera I would have add some kind of texture in the editing. but how could I do it with a film camera?
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| Kodak Portra 400 f4 t1/250 |
The
picture was taken on Kodak Portra 400 with a medium Format camera which
was positioned in front of the model at her height. I chose a 80mm lens because I wanted the proportions to be as natural as possible.
I used just a key light on the right side of the camera, almost at one
side of the model and slightly tilted down. By this I would have manage
to recreate the atmosphere I was looking for and, by using just one
light, I also achieved the "sfumato" I was after.I also added a background light: it's on the left side and pointing far away from the framed background so that just the fall-off would enter the picture. By that I added depth to the image, thus maintaining my sfumato. I corrected the background light with a blue filter to add contrast with the orange tones of the model's skin.
To create the painting look I knew that using a shallow depth of field would have helped me. Shooting at f2.8 would have been a bit too much, so I set the aperture at f4. The 500w flash was at 1/4 of its power and the shutter speed was at t1/250 but the exposure metering was not the one I wanted.
I could have changed the shutter speed at t1/500 (I can do that with my camera without flash sync problems) but I would have only gained one stop: I needed more. So I used a 0,6 ND, a neutral density filter which stops down 2 diaphragms.
To add e sense of ethereal and help with the sfumato I left the model slightly out of focus (soft focus). But I need a certain texture and this time grains would not have been sufficient. I decided to do this with the development of the film. I used C-41 colour processing and I under developed the negative which made the blacks softer, added a particular grain structure which works really well as texture but also added some colour shift in the blacks which, after all, also helps to the purpose, don't you think so?
To add e sense of ethereal and help with the sfumato I left the model slightly out of focus (soft focus). But I need a certain texture and this time grains would not have been sufficient. I decided to do this with the development of the film. I used C-41 colour processing and I under developed the negative which made the blacks softer, added a particular grain structure which works really well as texture but also added some colour shift in the blacks which, after all, also helps to the purpose, don't you think so?
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How I did it. Black and white artistic nude photography. A light diagram
Artistic nude photography is one of my favourite kind of photography and something I really enjoy taking on black and white film. Here is a picture I made some time ago and the diagram of lights I used.
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| TMax400 - f8 - t1/125 |
This picture was taken on a Kodak TMax 400 with a Medium Format camera.
The model was quite small as well as the space. in order to enhance her
height I used a 50mm lens (which is an angular lens in MF) and
positioned the camera really close to her right knee and played with
perspective. The position of the legs and the right arm helped to my
purpose, conferring to the whole image a certain dynamism.
As you can see in the diagram below, I used a three point light setting. The Key Light
was a 1000w flash with square softbox on camera right, slightly tilted
down at 1/2 power. I flagged it to avoid light spells on the background.
On the left of the camera I put a 500w flash also with softbox, the Fill light, at 1/4 of the power and more distant from the model than the Key light in order to fill up the shadows on the legs but at the same time to achieve the contrast I wanted. It was also flagged to prevent the light to fall on the background and more areas of the body other than the legs.
I placed the Background light behind the model, at 1/2 the power and with a snoot, which created the circle of light at her back.
On the left of the camera I put a 500w flash also with softbox, the Fill light, at 1/4 of the power and more distant from the model than the Key light in order to fill up the shadows on the legs but at the same time to achieve the contrast I wanted. It was also flagged to prevent the light to fall on the background and more areas of the body other than the legs.
I placed the Background light behind the model, at 1/2 the power and with a snoot, which created the circle of light at her back.
I used a yellow filter Y8 to get a brighter skin tone and shot at f8 and t1/125.
I
like film grain very much and normally I want them to gain presence in
the print, so control it with agitation during the development of the
negative.
The image was then scanned and went trough Photoshop only to place the watermark and to reduce it to web size.
Hope you enjoyed this post, now it's time to practise!
Hope you enjoyed this post, now it's time to practise!
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