A one-man cinematic AskMe

May 30, 2008 6:05 PM

Have your filmmaking questions answered by Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC. One of the great cinematographers maintains a forum on his website in which he answers readers' questions with a treasure trove of information and opinion on cameras, lighting and filmmaking in general.
posted by Bookhouse (7 comments total)

Damn nice post. Thanks.
posted by Cyrano at 6:42 PM on May 30, 2008

I like this thread in which someone comes in all excited about using a digital intermediate to do "virtual lighting". Deakins is like "wtf are you talking about, I just use it to adjust a few things". Eventually the guy comes back and says it didn't work out the way he thought it would. Deakins says this:

Yes, there are many people who think they can digitally relight their picture and it just doesn't work like that. The closer the negative is to the image you want then the better the DI will look. It is a brilliant tool but it is not a paintbox. If you had a virtual digital world then you could light it any way you want and move the camera any way you want as well. As of now they still call that animation.

Good stuff. Some of the posts and questions are a bit boneheaded. I'm surprised he has the patience to answer a lot of it.
posted by Potsy at 6:55 PM on May 30, 2008

Very useful, thanks.
posted by Wolof at 1:20 AM on May 31, 2008

What I loved most about 'No Country For Old Men' was that there didn't appear to be any lighting added at all. Except the car headlights, of course.
posted by StickyCarpet at 4:45 AM on May 31, 2008

Oh, and I guess he's making up here for the talk he gave in New York, where he left in the middle to rush off to the Academy Awards.
posted by StickyCarpet at 4:48 AM on May 31, 2008

A one-man cinematic AskMe

I can see it now...

"Hey Rog,

I really enjoyed No Country For Old Men. What other movies featuring serial killers would I like? Bonus points if they have a creative signature weapon!"
posted by mkultra at 8:26 AM on May 31, 2008

Hey, Rog -- where does that term "best boy" come from?
posted by lathrop at 7:30 PM on May 31, 2008