"Look" advice?

[Christopher Barrett]

So, I'll be working on this short with a friend of mine in a few months. She really likes my Night Work and has also referenced Gregory Crewdson for a visual cue, and we both love David Lynch. What else would have that feel that I should look at for reference/inspiration and can you point me towards any good BTS vids to help me form an approach?

Gracias,

CB

 

[Matt W.]

I am a big, big fan of Crewdson and Lynch. I think they share more thematically (the idea of there being some perverse uncanny core that resides at the heart of Americana) than visually, but if there's one thing they have in common it's the look of their images being "lit" in a Classical Hollywood kind of way, but with a lot of intense distinct colors (I believe Crewdson shoots at dusk or night and lets his blues go uncorrected blue) and a "soft" almost glamorous look. Lots of fog, blue light, and really simple, elegant compositions.

I know Crewdson does some intense rigging, lighting everything in a very "movie light" style, rigging big 3/4 light HMIs up and wetting down streets for his night exteriors, then kind of painting the rest of the scene with maxibrutes, par cans, etc. on condors for exteriors. (I don't know, I don't get to use that kind of fun gear.) I'd wager he corrects everything to a few colors so he can have a varied palette but not the horrible mix of discharge lights one can encounter in real life sometimes and the corresponding flat orange or blue "unacceptably spiky spectrum" palette. But there's still a lot of variation between warm and cold tones. He shoots 8x10 color negative (I think) and does multiple exposures with very deep focus. He works with a DP and film crew on every shoot. He never lets anything blow out, not sure to what extent that's the product of exposure blending and to what extent it's the result of lighting. You could probably contact Crewdson's DP and I know there are videos on youtube where he discusses how he runs his sets.

Crewdson and Lynch both have a slightly "soft" look in a lot of their work. I think for Crewdson it's the occasional use of fog and the fact that he never lets blacks get too dark or whites blow out, a result of the exposure blending process. Mulholland Drive, which I think epitomizes the David Lynch look (that and Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet) has a classical lighting style, but with diffusion filters softening everything and making practicals halate and offering a sort of lower contrast look, though not as tonally compressed as Crewdson's work.

I'd love to see what you come up with. Those guys are two of my absolute favorites and your work is some of the strongest of anyone on this site's. Not sure how their styles would translate without the presence of people in scene, like something more purely architectural, though.

 

[Christopher Barrett]

Thanks much Matt.... very insightful. And... "(the idea of there being some perverse uncanny core that resides at the heart of Americana)" is utterly critical to this film. I think we're on the right track...