In a recent post, I alerted you to the clumsy use of a lighting fade in Funny Girl. Today, I’ll point out a pair of more constructive applications which appear in a film that belongs in a category of its own, The Godfather, Part II (1974; Francis Coppola\Gordon Willis, ASC). The fades are easy to see here – heavy-handed, almost – but both work in perfect support of the narrative.
As a student of cinematography, it’s unimaginable that you wouldn’t be familiar with this film. If you haven’t seen it in awhile, I’d suggest viewing it again so as to appreciate the full context of what takes place. I’m not aware of similar examples in more recent movies, but I’ll bring them to you as I notice them. When executed properly, on-the-fly lighting changes remain a valid, powerful storytelling tool.
The first I’m not sure of. The idea seems weird. The second is a masterful transition from a scene. Love the way it gracefully ends the moment, allowing me a breath as I await the next one. With all the led technology, I’m surprised we don’t see more of these.
Robert – I don’t entirely disagree with you about the first fade. It’s a little heavy-handed, which shows that if Gordon Willis can fall prey to that occasionally, so can we!
I like them — characters being swallowed up in darkness!
The second one is also easier to accept because it’s on a dance floor, so who knows what type of light faded out while they were dancing…