Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Log in
  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

The cinematography of PRISONERS

Matt, thank you for your time, so much effort was put in that site.

Thanks.
 
Thanks Mick, I had been guessing the lenses using a 1.6x crop (which is not the case for Alexa) so they probably are all wrong, unless you take this into account. What do you think?
 
Great breakdowns of a well-paced, intensely entertaining film. It's fun to scroll down through your blog post and watch the color palettes subtly change over the course of the sequences.
Deakins' images always feel so effortless, but still incredibly deliberate, at the same time. Thanks for sharing, Matt.
 
Bobby Farokhzad said:
Great Stuff Matt, doing this is much appreciated. I love Deakins, why this man hasn't won an academy award yet is beyond me.
Click to expand...

I believe he could have won both for NCFOM and Jesse James if both movies weren`t competing against each other, thus, getting his total votes divided by two... Not that "there will be blood" wansn`t amazing as well.
 
The last image -- Roger was simply using 6K HMIs bounced off of Ultrabounce (which tends to warm up the source), which was placed 15' from the windows. The light was further softened by 251 diffusion on the windows. Inside the room, he simply used practicals. He uses a lot of practicals and gag lights. He also manipulates the color temp in camera as need be.

If you go to his website, he is very forthcoming with his approach and is a stand up guy.

Here are some links you might find of interest:

Flashlights and the forest sequence:
http://www.rogerdeakins.com/forum2/...s&sid=829692230cd7a49aaacafbcfad2ba08c#p13832

Roger talks about his general lighting methodology on Prisoners:
http://rogerdeakins.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=2632

Fluorescent lights (Police station, etc.) and a few car shots:
http://www.rogerdeakins.com/forum2/...s&sid=829692230cd7a49aaacafbcfad2ba08c#p13429
 
This blog was written with passion and love for the art of cinematography. I can't get enough of it!
Thank you Matthew! Bookmarked your page.
 
Last edited:
Really good, Matt. Really interesting.

Got one or two wonderings:
- Shouldn't some of the credit go to the director too? I mean, i believe the Deakins didn't choose or decide on all of the frame-within-frame choices, or use of depth, or line, or balance. I feel how it is used and when is usually the decision of the director, in consultation with the DP.

- Some of the analyis might make more sense, if you put more in motivational lighting mode. For e.g why use silhouette in this point of the film; why choose frame within a frame? Or why go not with an open frame rather than a closed frame? Is it because the character is feeling pressure or relieved? Or to create tension? I believe it should make it more interesting.

-About the color choices of wardrobe, and set, i feel that has nothing to do with the DP. But rather again the Director, in consulation with the Production designer/Set Designer. For e.g there is no way that mug can be imagined green. The red color is motivational. It denotes something; danger, threat, impending doom or something like that. You see it in the table cloths, the girls skirt, the straws/salt on that table. The Red with the pale yellow (not sure if it is, seen in the walls, chair, e.t.c) becomes a two color palette. But we know it is the Red that matters. The other colors are just played against it.

Just one or two of my few thoughts.

Really, really good though, Matt. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Haven't seen the film yet. :) Will do.
 
Matthew Scott said:
If you're into film-making (duh) or more specifically, cinematography, you may find my latest blog post of interest. I've gone through the entire film PRISONERS and picked out shots that I think are worth talking about...lighting, blocking, composition, set design and other subtle additions that make this film a stand out for me. Shot by the master, Roger Deakins ASC, it's not only a visual masterpiece, but a gripping and captivating film that keeps you glued the whole time.

1umu.jpg

9zs4.jpg

4u88.jpg


Check out the rest at my blog below...only the first quarter of what I will be working on to complete over the coming weeks! Cheers :)

http://mattscottvisuals.com/blog/2014/1/10/-what-are-you-looking-at-disecting-the-work-of-a-master
Click to expand...

... this must be love ... :-) ....
 
The courtroom scene from True Grit and and all the jail interior shots from Shawshank are to me some of his most beautiful images.
 
Also, most of depth seen in the exterior night shots are from weight and balance: positioning of.the small brights deep in the frame to counter the large darks in the foreground.
This is seen especially in the frame of the character pointing his torch through the windshield.
 
For the low angle shot where we.see.the guy in glasses surrounded by the kids: This is a relatively flat scene, I do agree with you. But not.all (much )depth is added by the hand in the f.g.
The main depth is added by the subtle use of two-point perspective, seen in the two vanishing points, with lines crossing at the wall-wall corner.
 
Nice Mathew, thanks for the breakdown,and good eye. Wish we could see more posts about the art and breaking down the language of cinema more often.

Curious if anyone knows how these large rain scenes are shot ? Is the rain real or artificial?
 
Tony M said:
Really good, Matt. Really interesting.

Got one or two wonderings:
- Shouldn't some of the credit go to the director too? I mean, i believe the Deakins didn't choose or decide on all of the frame-within-frame choices, or use of depth, or line, or balance. I feel how it is used and when is usually the decision of the director, in consultation with the DP.

- Some of the analyis might make more sense, if you put more in motivational lighting mode. For e.g why use silhouette in this point of the film; why choose frame within a frame? Or why go not with an open frame rather than a closed frame? Is it because the character is feeling pressure or relieved? Or to create tension? I believe it should make it more interesting.

-About the color choices of wardrobe, and set, i feel that has nothing to do with the DP. But rather again the Director, in consulation with the Production designer/Set Designer. For e.g there is no way that mug can be imagined green. The red color is motivational. It denotes something; danger, threat, impending doom or something like that. You see it in the table cloths, the girls skirt, the straws/salt on that table. The Red with the pale yellow (not sure if it is, seen in the walls, chair, e.t.c) becomes a two color palette. But we know it is the Red that matters. The other colors are just played against it.

Just one or two of my few thoughts.

Really, really good though, Matt. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Haven't seen the film yet. :) Will do.
Click to expand...

Hey Tony, thanks for the input man :) I totally agree that I should have/will credit the other departments involved, as I know my "breakdowns" aren't all about cinematography or, solely Deakins' work. If you've read any of my other articles you'll notice I seem to talk about team work and collaboration probably more than anything, giving credit where credit is due and appreciating different departments for sure. I wouldn't say that wardrobe and set choice colors have nothing to do with the DP though, I sure as hell talk about it and collaborate with those departments when I DP indy films, so I'm assuming it would definitely happen at the top game, don't you think?
I also agree that I could have put more into each slide in a sense that I could have talked about meaning and perception but come on man! Each one takes 20mins!!! hehe I need to earn a living :) I kind of try and stay away from that analytical side of how things make people feel, because with the right tongue, I could pretty much convincingly tell you anything hehe...I'd rather leave that sort of interpretation to the viewer/reader and try to stay logical about my analysis.

Loving your additions to my slide though...especially the two-point perspective one.

Thanks for commenting and taking the time to respond :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top