PHOTO : ETIENNE MARAIS / PIXABAY world they want to create . So already , the cinematographer has an idea , looking at sketches , looking at past works ; sometimes the director can say , “ Look at this from this movie 10 years ago ; I like this part , can we do that , but maybe put a twist or make it more modern ?” So , there ’ s a mood board created , and there ’ s discussions and overall concepts of the world …
They pretty much give the cinematographer a lot of leverage , because he ’ s the one that ’ s responsible for the look of the film . They can give him ideas , but he can have a better way , or a different way of doing things , whether it ’ s efficient , whether it ’ s more practical . But in the end , if it ’ s something that serves the story , then they just let them go with it . but not the way that the televised shows are . Because everything ’ s got to be perfectly on time , and hopefully very well lit , you can ’ t be messing around . You can ’ t have a fifteen-minute hold at the MMVAs . It ’ s very well-rehearsed and thought out and planned , much more than just a rock and roll tour .
Sepulveda : There ’ s a lot of resetting in film , or ‘ back to ones ’, as we like to call it . But in terms of the pace , everything is fairly quick , but it ’ s not crazy . You know , you don ’ t really see people running around . Everyone has a schedule for the day ; they know what they ’ re shooting , they know what scenes are shooting , they know who ’ s going to be involved , they know how much time is required for each setup . So , everyone is sort of watching each other ’ s clock , but there ’ s one person who is the assistant to the director , and their job is just to make sure everyone is on time . They ’ re always trying to make sure everyone has everything they need and the shoot for the day gets done on time . Live means you rarely have a chance to reset or do over ; once it ’ s done it ’ s done and there is no going back on a shot or on a lighting cue .
PL & P : Tell me a little bit about the creative process and how decisions are made with so many creative disciplines involved .
Sadler : It depends on the show . We ’ ve done some shows that are really dry , like conferences , and it ’ s pretty simple where you just sit there on the one look . We just came off a kids ’ TV show where we were doing a hundred-andsome different little seven-minute segments , and trying to make those seven-minute segments all look different from each other was a bit of a challenge at times , too . So , you ’ re certainly having to be creative in a lot of ways . But in some ways , you ’ re also just setting up a standard shot .
Keenleyside : We work most often , at least on the kind of shows that I ’ m doing these days , with an onset colourist who is live grading as we go . So , when we ’ re setting up a shot , we will not only light it with the exact colour balance that we want – and if you ’ re in a spaceship , put in the right colour of blinking green or something like that – but there is also someone on the camera team who is running Resolve and colouring as they go . Depending again on the DP and how they like to edit and how they like to work after that , that colour grades informs the post process .
So that means that there ’ s a certain amount of fixing that can be done . If there ’ s a colour of blue that , as long as it ’ s not clipping , is slightly displeasing after the fact , they can fix that and then edit . Ideally , they don ’ t have to ; ideally , we get it right the first time and it looks like what they want it to look like . But the colours that you end up seeing will be a combination of the actual light that we ’ re putting on things , and the grade , whether that ’ s the live one that we ’ re working with , or the one that ’ s done in post .
Leroux : On my end it ’ s mostly , like I said , colour correcting and working with the cameras on keylight and backlight . Lights , camera , action ! The first word is very important in that previous sentence . Camera operators or CCUs are controlling how much of it gets into the camera with iris control , and I ’ m doing it behind a lighting console controlling the lights themselves . When I was doing it in the control room at CTV where the CCUs are , I was kind of doing both .
There ’ s a bit less design , and more operation of setting certain scenes , and colour , and directors are calling the whole show . But , I could very well be controlling moving lights , video walls , scenic movement , all from the lighting console as well as the keylight and backlight . It can still vary quite a bit .
Sepulveda : Projects get started , then production hires the main keys ; which are the cinematographer , director , and production designer . As soon as the heads are hired – and this is before the crew , sometimes before even the cast – they get together and they look at mood boards , or they look at what the production designer has in mind in terms of what kind of
PL & P : Do you enjoy lighting for the camera ?
Sadler : I really like it . I really enjoy the challenge that the cameras bring to the production . There ’ s something about managing a more complicated system or a larger team , and usually typically larger budgets , more high-pressure environments ; I really enjoy the management of all of that . So , there ’ s almost less of the design – which I really enjoy the design – the other side of it is really everything else . You know , it ’ s producers and the technical team and camera team , even the talent . Sometimes you have to talk to the talent and try to help them see your vision or get them to sort of play along with what you ’ re trying to get . So , I really like it . I really the challenge that it brings ; it ’ s a different machine .
Keenleyside : I love this . There ’ s a reason I ’ ve stuck around for a few years and I ’ m wanting to stick around here . But it is definitely the adaptation that I had the hardest time with , because I wasn ’ t expecting it . It ’ s a big change in the way of thinking . It ’ s also the thing that I see people struggling with most when they make that switch . It ’ s a mindset and workflow thing that you have to get in the habit of . Again , not at all a bad thing , but it ’ s a really big adaptation you have to make .
Leroux : I do like doing it if I have a bit of creative control , and if I don ’ t , I ’ ll still do it , but it ’ s not as much fun [ laughs ]. I would rather just be doing a concert , you know ? But it ’ s not saying that anyone ’ s idea are worse than mine , just different . And it ’ s good to listen to other people , but I like to have a say as well if I can . Collaboration is my favourite thing .
Sepulveda : I remember the first time I was asked to light an actor in a scene , it opened a whole new world to me about how one light can tell a story . A light went on for me , so to speak . Even now , I will set up shots to explore and experiment with light angles on an object and what I ’ ve realized is almost all of them can be used the same way in architecture .
Andrew Leyenhorst is the Assistant Editor of Professional Lighting & Production .
Fall 2021 | 33