Today I received this question by eMail:
Just wanted to ask you a couple of questions with some ways to light darker skintones. Today in our test shoot we found ourselves spending more time trying to light darker faces and getting their features to show without lighting up the room way up. Coog wanted candices room to feel really dark but it was tough to bring them up, keep the light soft and also keep the light off the walls. A big issue was that he wanted to stage them against the wall. Dont get me wrong it made sense from a directors point of view so im not saying anything about that. Im just wondering if there are methods to like darker complextions and standards.
We also ran into the issue of figuring out blocking, then purposefully light everything 1/2 stop under to get a moody darker feel in the room, then the actor would walk back in and we realize we cant even see her at all because her complextion is like almost 2 1/2 stops under when spotted! Her skin tone being that dark was something we did not take into consideration when we lit the first setup.
Coog was mentioning he wanted the film to feel very much like City of God which i love. I noticed just right now watching it how they are lighting their actors. It almost looks like theres some kind of oil on their skin to bring out the spectral bounce coming from the light off their skin. are they putting something on the actors faces or am i crazy? If we could do something similar but not too much it would help so much!
Here's a thought about shooting dark skin tones.
ReplyDeleteFirst - photography is photography - the characteristics about reflection and chiaroscuro reply no matter the subject. The audience's ability to see the subject depends on the exposure of the light reflecting off the surface, in relation to the other elements within the frame.
Secondly, our eyes and brains naturally increase contrast in an image to increase apparent sharpness.
Another characteristic to consider is how we see color. Warm colors approach, while cool colors recede.
Preproduction is a wonderful time, when conceptual ideas can be considered, but production is when reality has to enter the equation. Production is when the conceptual is informed by the physical to arrive at the resulting choices.
So now, to address your question - though from your phrasing I think you already know much of the answer.
First - yes, if appropriate to your story, you can have make up apply a light shine to your actors. But you will have to take care not to over do it. If you do - the specular highlights will (may) clip. And even if they do not, a few shiny highlights will not increase the detail you see (or record) but may give you a little bit of shape (or three dimensionality) to the faces of your characters. This is not a panacea, but one element that can be used carefully to inform your images.
Secondly - staging your characters against a darker background will help them stand out a bit - so painting your walls is a good start. IF you can't paint, then some sort of wall covering will help. Also very important is to keep light off the walls. This gets harder when you stage your actors against the wall. While this might make directorial sense, you have to work with your director, because you cannot convey your story on film without showing your actors and their inner thought process.
Remember that the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection - so when you do light your actors, take special care to position your lights in a way that the light reflecting off the walls, is not directed directly to the camera (which will increase its exposure). Also remember the "law of inverse square" and so you may want to light your actors with sources that are close to them, with the light that reaches the wall (more).
...."falling off" to keep the wall's exposure down.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought is to not shoot directly toward a flat wall (perpendicular to the lens) but instead, perhaps block the shot along the wall, so the wall recedes into the distance - thus positioning your actor in front of a shaded background, even though the wall adjacent to the character is lit.
Using the juxtaposition of light and dark (chiaroscuro) to build depth and to create separation will help direct the audiences' eye toward your subject.
The larger your character in frame, the easier to see into the shadows, and the more easily your audience will see into the eyes of the character. As your character becomes smaller in frame, there will be more visual elements competing against your subject for the attention of the audience.
Using the juxtaposition of cool and warm colors will also help direct the viewers eyes - will create a separation and depth, and may be able to be used to allude to a darker environment that you are actually photographing.
This is tricky, since I am addressing a theoretical situation and am not referencing a specific image - however I will try to describe a scenario.
Assume you are in Candice's apartment - and the light from a street light outside the window is washing the room in a "sodium vapor" (orange/green) glow. You can light your character with a contrasting cool (blue) light to illuminate her face/put a sparkle in her eyes - to reveal her image.
Some skin tones tend to reflect warmer tones, and others tend toward cooler tones. You will want to gauge the skin tones of your actors, and light them accordingly. You may not want to overly warm a light that will illuminate a warm reflecting skin tone (as it may look too orange). Similarly you may not want to cool a light that will illuminate a cool skin tone - else it may look blue. Of course, every situation and circumstance is unique and will be shaped by the needs of the narrative you are telling.
Most importantly remember that the cinematographer and director and production designer are not working in a vacuum. They are collaborating and each needs to consider the the other so that the resulting images that are designed and created effectively tell the same story.
So work with your director and designer to make adjustments necessary to create the images that tell the story.
Here's another thought for you.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned that you are working with soft light. Perhaps you need to punctuate your lighting with selectively placed hot light. Maybe use a tweenie or midget on full spot - with a couple of full double scrims in it. Then aim the light (not directly at the face or eyes) of your actor, but perhaps just off center - toward the mouth or the shoulder - allowing the edge of the light to brighten the face, while the hot spot hits off center - so it doesn't look "perfect".
Embrace the imperfection - and use shadow and light to create depth, shape - roundness. take a more "pointalistic" (painterly) approach to your lighting.
thanks so much taking the time to help us out! The response to my first email was very informative and helpful. We will speak to Coog about how he feels about adding a slight spectral element to the skin tones. This idea of embracing the imperfection with your light is related to a discussion to something Braden and I were talking about yesterday. During the final shots of the interiors, direct sunlight came through the window onto the walls and was broken up by the imperfections of the blinds curtains and unevenness of the glass. We realized that things just felt more real in the room after that had happened. We were discussing how when a light looks to 'Clean' it looks 'lit' or contrived. Let me know if this makes sense!
ReplyDeleteOften - in concept it is hard to discuss what you are thinking, and so you will probably have to light the scene and show Coog what you have in mind. I suspect that you have all the freedom you need to make it look honest/truthful.
ReplyDeleteDon't look to your director to tell you how to light - he will keep you on track regarding the emotional truth of the scene and where it fits into the overall narrative, but it is up to you to interpret that information and "write" in the language of light, shadow, color and movement to enhance the experience of the audience in regard to the film you are making.