I was just watching the cloverfield paradox for the first time yesterday, which is a pretty shit movie to be honest and one of the things that stuck out as particularly bad to me was their non-diegetic use of those red RGB flood lights just coming in at random moments that both weren't particularly well coordinated towards moments of emotional impact, and also, was completely unmotivated by the story or world.
It occurred to me that i had seen this before on many projects J.J. Abrams was associated with, in addition to the anamorphic bokeh and abuse of lens flares... But i had never really seen such a lazy, overly obvious example of it in practice.
And then, as i was finishing the latest season of Altered Carbon on netflix, it occurred to me that the neon sci-fi world provided some of the best examples of motivated RGB lighting in recent memory that just had this really gorgeous cinematic effect that in many cases helped to mirror the mindset of the characters.
Are there any other examples you guys can think of where RGB lighting was used where it absolutely shouldn't have been, or the wrong color was used lazily by shit filmmakers? Or examples of times where it was used extremely well? Obviously this is a great new tool we have as filmmakers, but i don't think we should just become lazy with how we use it for storytelling just because it looks cool.
John Ellis Hey thanks for the advice. You've given me a lot to think about....
Expand commentJohn Ellis Hey thanks for the advice. You've given me a lot to think about.
Yep, if you take their money you have to work for idiots. I don''t take their money anymore. ;)
Ok, I am commenting so I can find this again to comment further, but Apolos Israel I LOVE THIS QUESTION! Can't wait to respond and read the responses... but I gotta restart the computer first LOL! :-P...
Expand commentOk, I am commenting so I can find this again to comment further, but Apolos Israel I LOVE THIS QUESTION! Can't wait to respond and read the responses... but I gotta restart the computer first LOL! :-P
1 person likes this
M L. I've had a few times where, as DP I knew something should probably not be shot the way director saw it.
I bring it him/her and the producer very positively, something like: "I like your idea a lo...
Expand commentM L. I've had a few times where, as DP I knew something should probably not be shot the way director saw it.
I bring it him/her and the producer very positively, something like: "I like your idea a lot, and it'll look great on screen. For this scene however, maybe we can take it from 'this' approach instead, because it will transition more fluently into the next scene." (A scene we shot days/weeks before, for example).
I've had a few directors disagreeing with me and others (especially those straight out of film school who think they are already better than Spielberg...) which in a way is their right, I suppose. But they simply won't really listen to reason or even consider a collaboration on the matter at hand.
And then, when the shots indeed don't work/match nicely with the rest of the project, the director often blames the DP, which in some cases is me :P And that.. really.. sucks..'cause you told them beforehand it wouldn't work. So whenever something like this happens, I make sure a lot of crew members and a producer are around to hear. Not really the way you want to work, but sometimes you just have to... :(
1 person likes this
Jaap Ruurd Feitsma It's smart to include others on the conversation because if enough people have the same opinion, a reasonable director will consider the collective viewpoint. Alas, divas are rarely...
Expand commentJaap Ruurd Feitsma It's smart to include others on the conversation because if enough people have the same opinion, a reasonable director will consider the collective viewpoint. Alas, divas are rarely reasonable.
I'm past the point of taking on projects where the script is confusing. These days I want to understand it all clearly. Even the David Lynch wannabes who try to be "mysterious" and leave it all up to interpretation.
They're the worst. They keep the goal and intention of the story vague so as to protect themselves from failure. Irony is, if the people working on the project don't understand it, odds are great that the audience won't either. 99% of the time, it's not mysterious either. It winds up being totally inchoherent.