Skyfall Cinematography

I admit I was disappointed with the Life of Pi win for Cinematography over Roger Deakins' "Skyfall". Still, I'd like to point out the parts of Skyfall that were amazing to see.

To start, one of the most important things to do is introduce your character in a stand-out way. In Skyfall, the iconic silhouette of Bond is out of focus, and slowly he creeps into focus with an orange hue, light just making his eye visible and his face recognizable. Something simple but powerful and iconic.

Shapes are incredibly important to Skyfall. Here's a few examples of shapes made by physical objects and light;

Arches are one of the strongest shapes, and so they represent the stability of England and MI6.

Diagonal lines represent tension, anger and aggressiveness. Straight vertical and horizontal lines represent stability/rigidness or can be like the bars of a prison.

In stark contrast, organic and curved lines seem to be safe, flexible and passive.

One of the goals of Cinematography is to be able to tell a story without the need for dialogue. In the first example we are led underground, the bright strong arches are large and clear. We stop, and go through a tight maze (symbolizing perhaps different decisions, life or being lost) and end up at the heart of MI6. A big, bright and arched space, symbolizing the strength of the organization.

Later on, the Villan causes a train to crash through the supportive arch shapes, destroying them (and the safety of MI6). We quickly escape and are left with organic shapes in Scotland, and crumpling, organic rock. The house itself has many straight edges that are covered in drapes. Almost all rigid safety is gone.

In another example, Bond enters the mouth of a dragon After going through everything will change for the worse.

Another example, of many, is a single image which shows the boat angled towards an ominous island. The girl is far away, indicating that she cannot be saved. Little bits of red are remnant from the previous night and warmth.

 

An interesting choice by the Cinematographer was to use Fluorescent tubes to keep us grounded with MI6. Even when we're on the beach, a Fluorescent tube is still there. Interesting decision, because most people try to avoid shooting Fluorescents, yet here it's a consistent grounding point.

There's great use of blocking in Skyfall. Parts of the set, including light, split actors symbolizing their separation from each other. In the museum Bond and Q sit on different benches, symbolic of their age differences.

Fantastic use of reflections in Skyfall that can allow us to see multiple things at once, confuse us, make sets feel bigger and make the viewer feel more personally attached to the character.

Blues and Oranges are used predominately throughout the film, and become more saturated throughout. The Complementary colors allow scenes to pop when put next to each other. At the beginning, for instance, we have an orange hue with bond, and a blue hue with MI6. They also give meaning and sizzle to each shot when used together. The oranges signify warmth (either fire or safety) and the blues can show danger. If we cut between scenes, the Tone should be similar.

Although color is a strong element, black negative space is used often to frame characters, or show the danger from the absence of light.

So, I admit, I loved Deakins' Skyfall cinematography. Still not sure why a green-screened VFX show won, but such is life.

Sinisters use of Negative Space

*possible spoilers below*

I watched Sinister the other day and was quite impressed with its use of Negative Space. I always love when horror movies use cinematic tricks to scare, rather than just cheap gore.

In this scene, the main character is trying to rush out of town. You get a sense that there's a time limit to get out and being pulled over by a cop for speeding is the LAST thing you want. The blockage of escape by the officer ramps up the tension, but shooting it wide with black negative space surrounding the middle of frame puts the viewer on the edge of their seat. Look at how many directions the monsters can come from! The little bit of light from the police car is completely enveloped by the darkness. There's no question which is more powerful in frame, the unknown or the safety of the police lights.

Another spot in the film I found interesting was how they played with conventions. For example, we start by moving the character into a large area of Negative Space, which is creepy but expected.

Then at this point, I felt this was going to be a bit Cliche, since I know something will pop out of the Black Negative Space.

And someone did...

 

However, instead of the usual flashy quick-cutting methods, the film-maker chose to defy conventions and kept the girl there for a long time. Enough to get past the original cheap scare and then into a creepiness level that elevated this into one of my favorite scenes. And then went wide as the main character moved back into the Negative Space, not seeing her behind him the whole time.

Superbowl lights out

An interesting thing happened when the lights went out during the Superbowl. People starting getting creative with their shots! For a sports game, omnidirectional lights are good for fans spread 360 degrees, however it is rather flat and uninspiring. A light source from one direction instantly can make images pop.

In contrast, here's what the same game looked like with lights from all angles. It's easy to see the subject, but there's no life to the lighting.

This directly correlates to the lighting I see in many CG films. It seems to be lit to work with multiple camera angles and look bright/comedic, but the lighting is certainly forgettable. For instance, here's some images from two films that I loved but were guilty of flat lighting. Looking at these images, my eye has no idea where to look. And that's the purpose of lighting for cinema, right? To direct focus.

In comparison, here's an example from Rango, which had quite good and well-thought out lighting. The character stands out instantly, and even if my eye goes to the bright spot first, they are directed by the light angle towards the character.

Here's an example from a bright desert daytime scene. How to get the character to pop? The dust in the background reduces the contrast of the background characters, and all colors of the supporting cast and the environment are less colorful than that of the main character.

The best way to work with lighting in a CG film or game, try planning lighting at the same time as previs. By putting the process at the end of the pipeline all meaning gets lost.