This scene between Raul Julia’s character Sandy Stern and Harrison Ford’s Rusty Sabich was shot inside the National Arts Club, located on Gramercy Park in New York City. It takes place at the 0:58:28 mark. The camera pans Julia left to right and dollies in on him as he enters the restaurant through … Continue reading “LIGHTING DIAGRAM #14 – PRESUMED INNOCENT”
Month: October 2020
PRODUCTION DESIGN(ERS)
Given our all-consuming involvement with what we do, it’s easy to overlook the contributions of the other departments we collaborate with each day. We often forget that a huge part of how our images turn out is dependent upon what’s served up before the lens. To that end, production designers and set decorators deserve … Continue reading “PRODUCTION DESIGN(ERS)”
LIGHTING DIAGRAM #13 – PRESUMED INNOCENT
Rusty Sabich gets the brush-off from mistress Carolyn Polhemus as they leave their place of employment. A single-shot scene, it was executed on the Panaglide by Craig DiBona in the entrance rotunda of the Newark (New Jersey) City Hall. Find it at 0:55:19. Another large space, lit simply and elegantly with only two … Continue reading “LIGHTING DIAGRAM #13 – PRESUMED INNOCENT”
CHANGE – Part 2
“You can speed progress or you can slow it, but you cannot stop it.” Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC The other night I caught a screening of Michael Curtiz’s 1940 pirate spectacular, The Seahawk. Photographed in luminous black and white by Sol Polito, ASC, it’s one of those great studio productions that were … Continue reading “CHANGE – Part 2”
LIGHTING DIAGRAM #12 – PRESUMED INNOCENT
Harrison Ford’s character Rusty Sabich and John Spencer’s cop Dan Lipranzer watch a political concession speech in a hotel ballroom. Find it at 0:47:38… Large space, minimal lighting…yet completely appropriate to the action as described in the script. And despite the size of the room (100’x60′) and large number of extras, it was … Continue reading “LIGHTING DIAGRAM #12 – PRESUMED INNOCENT”
CHANGE – Part 1
I know, it’s crazy… From time to time someone still asks me: Which is better, film or digital? Not a sophisticated query, but giving the benefit I suspect what they’re really curious about are the underlying concepts – change and adaptation. Change is the single immutable notion in the cinematographer’s world…it has been … Continue reading “CHANGE – Part 1”
LIGHTING DIAGRAM #11 – ISHTAR
This scene was shot in a practical location – a restaurant located on Duane St. in lower Manhattan. Working in the daytime, the windows were covered with layers of Duvetyne and we played it for a night\interior. The white walls and ceiling give an overall high-key feel to Storaro’s work here; even he wasn’t … Continue reading “LIGHTING DIAGRAM #11 – ISHTAR”
AUTHORSHIP AND ARTISTS RIGHTS
Who does the light, composition, color and camera movement of any motion picture belong to? According to U.S. copyright law they are the property of the producing entity. Moral law allows for a different interpretation. Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC refers to cinematographers as “authors of photography” and his assessment is correct. There’s an aspect … Continue reading “AUTHORSHIP AND ARTISTS RIGHTS”
LIGHTING DIAGRAM #10 – DOWN TO EARTH
So far I’ve been posting lighting diagrams from the sets of some of the master cinematographers I was lucky to work for as a young assistant cameraman. Today I’m forging a new frontier by delivering something of my own. It’s a bit of a gimmicky shot but is a great example of how far … Continue reading “LIGHTING DIAGRAM #10 – DOWN TO EARTH”