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Going into this shoot, the director, @jtkalavoda, and I had a very broad idea of what was going to happen, so I didn’t have a concrete plan for the lighting—but I was completely confident we would have a great time creating 🎥🤘🏾.

These shots came about when Jesse came up to me and said he wanted to do a dancing sequence like Beauty and the Beast, but with their silhouettes visible on the wall.

To achieve his vision, we turned off the house lights and used only one light—an Aputure 300x with a Fresnel. We did try using a reflector dish instead of the Fresnel, but the quality of light was far too harsh, and the light spill was excessive, so we stuck with the Fresnel.

To soften the light just a bit, I used F22 diffusion and taped it over the light. This gave us a softer source while still keeping it harsh enough to create strong silhouettes on the wall.

I don’t get to shoot music videos often but I can see now why DP’s say music videos are a great way to experiment and to try new things. I had a blast working on a project that wasn’t overly prepped and was super relaxed. by @direct_cinema.llc

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7 months ago

Vault and Vine Commercial

Recent work for Vault and Vine.
Going into this commercial, I didn’t have a locked lighting plan, but I did have a strong sense of the framing from the tech scout with @wanostudiosllc. Once the framing was established, it informed where the lighting could live in the space.

The key was an Aputure 300x with a softbox and grid to keep the source controlled. For the backlight and motivated source, we used an F22. The goal was for it to feel slightly harsher than the key with a bit more spread, which is why we kept it ungridded.

For fill, we bounced a Nova to gently lift the shadows and maintain the high-key look.
A clean, simple lighting setup built around the frame.

Director- @destinyjcox
Producer- @milocox3
AD- @moni.venus
DP- @steve_dp_jones
1st A.C- @thenickkrause
DIT- @bluffer.joe
Actress- @whatsmynae
PA- @liamDriscoll by @direct_cinema.llc

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7 months ago

KILLING ME SOFTLY

This film will always have a special place in my heart because of the location. We shot this short in my studio in Manayunk. Going into this film, I didn’t create any lighting diagrams or overthink the lighting. I wanted the setups to be simple, effective, and to augment the natural light my studio gets.

One thing you’ll notice is my use of the F22 with and without the grid. When I want a punchy🐒 key light, I add the grid so the light becomes more directional. When I want the F22 to blend into the natural light and act as fill, I take the grid off.

Taking off the grid does a couple of things:

1. It increases the unit’s light output.
2. It makes the F22 more omnidirectional, which softens the quality of the light.

You’ll notice in bts image 4 and frame 5 that I used this method to balance with the window light in my apartment, which was serving as the main key to this scene.

The opposite approach was used in the bathroom scene. I chose to keep the grid on to create contrast on @lauramichellemcdonald face. If I had removed the grid, we would have lost much of the contrast in the scene because the light would have been too omnidirectional in such a small space. by @direct_cinema.llc

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8 months ago

GOODBOY 🎥

These are some stills from a project I shot early last year, so it’s old for me but new for you. This was actually a night-for-day shot inside a pretty small Philly apartment. We used three lights total in this scene. The first light we set up was a 300x with a Fresnel attachment, which gave us that nice hard rake across the scene to simulate harsh sunlight coming through a window (even though it was completely dark outside). The next light was a Nova that we bounced into the ceiling to create some ambient tone within the room.

If we had just used the 300x, the scene would have been way too contrasty, and if we had only used the Nova bounce, the scene would have been flat and not interesting at all. Using both lights in tandem was the only way to achieve this look.

When using this method—mixing hard light with ambient light—it’s important to dial in your levels so everything feels natural. The final touch was a Nanlite Pavotube for fill and shadow detail. That light was positioned right next to camera and set just bright enough to retain some detail in the foreground. by @direct_cinema.llc

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10 months ago

CRUNCH TIME 🎥 — Director: Liam Driscoll

This was the very first scene we shot for Crunch Time, and it was also the last location we locked down for the film. At the very last minute, we pivoted to this spot because another location fell through. TBH, this location ended up being 100x better than the original.

It was spacious with dimmable lights, so the location itself did a lot of the heavy lifting when it came to depth. All I tried to do was augment what was naturally happening and create negative fill wherever I could.

The first two stills are of Andy, played by @scottnicholas677. Super simple setup — far-side key with a grid to control the light, negative fill on the camera side to enhance the shadow depth, and a nice hair light added by our gaffer @fireheartpictures to help separate Andy from the background.

The next two stills are of Joel, played by @nassierkelly. For the first still, we had the F22 boomed overhead with a grid. To enhance the shape coming from the key, I had the grips rig some negative fill right behind the camera as well. The second still of Joel used almost the same setup, but we removed the grid from the F22, cut the spill on the back wall with a 2x3 solid, and added some negative fill on the camera-left side.

So no crazy lighting set up for this scene, thanks to the practicality of this location. This is why it’s important to pick the right location that works for the story…and if the location is practical (depth/dimmable lights) even better 🎥🤘🏾 by @direct_cinema.llc

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10 months ago

CRUNCH TIME
Directed by @Liam Driscoll

For this breakdown, I want to go over the camera movement and framing in this scene. Liam and I went through the entire script and storyboarded most of the project.This particular scene, we broke it down into a couple of shots. One of the main shots Liam wanted was a two-shot with Travis (@tommy.vines) in the foreground and Andy (@scottnicholas677) in the background. This setup created the appropriate power dynamic for the scene and complemented the actors’ brilliant performances.

As we chatted more about this scene during prep, I asked Liam what the characters were supposed to be feeling. He mentioned that Travis is at her wits’ end from having to deal with Andy and finally snaps at him. That gave me the idea to highlight that moment with a quick, snappy push-in as Travis turns to confront Andy.

One quick technical tip for movements like this is to keep the camera rolling and just reset. By not cutting, the camera operators, focus pullers, and actors can find a rhythm and deliver their best work.

Finally, the lighting setup for this scene was super simple — a single light (F22 with grid, double diffused). We added a little fill with a tube light and bounce, but for the most part, the light panel above the scene served as the main source.

I’m extremely proud of how this scene came out and thankful to Liam for trusting me and the process. 🎥🤘🏾

Director- @driscolliam
Producer- @milocox3
AD- @destinyjcox
Actress- @tommy.vines
Actor- @scottnicholas677
DP- @steve_dp_jones
Gaffer- @fireheartpictures
Grip- @bluffer.joe
1st A.C- @thenickkrause
HMU- @qhaos_mua by @direct_cinema.llc

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a year ago

One of the shots from the OUTLANDER, Directed by @mikewenderlich.

This shot came about on our first tech scout in Jim Thorp PA. I think by this time I read the script a few times and chatted with Mike about the look of the film, so I felt pretty well prepared going into the 1st tech scout. Since OUTLANDER being a Noir genre film, mike chose to shoot a lot of the scenes in Jim Thorpe, because it provided an accurate visual aesthetic for the film.

This particular shot of our main actor @matt.rydz came about after scouting the street across to the Opera House. Mike, Liam and I crossed the street to get a closer look at the building. This is when I proposed combining this location with the part of the script of “Roth” having health issues that stopped him briefly from pursuing the suspect.

Having the actor stop in front of the Opera House with a low angle allowed us to not only show through visual language that this part of the pursuit has taken a negative turn but also gave us a nice back drop to push the visual aesthetic Mike was going for.

This is why it’s important to read the script and have discussion with the director before tech scouts. Understanding the material, understanding what they want and providing ideas to build on concepts. by @direct_cinema.llc

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a year ago

One of my favorite shots from the short film OUTLANDER, directed by @mikewenderlich.

This lighting setup was super simple. You can tell from my lighting draft and the BTS photos that I ended up modifying the initial plan. Placing the F22 on the opposite side of the bed and extending it out worked way better than having the light actually in the shot—lol. No one is perfect, and that’s okay.

Having the F22 was crucial to pulling off this look. It helped me regulate the overall exposure for the scene, augmented what the 300c was doing, and allowed me to bring down the intensity of the 300c so it wasn’t completely clipping.

If we had just used the 300c, the scene would’ve been way too contrasty. The second to last Photo is just the still I took on the original tech scout.

Director/Witer/Producer- @mikewenderlich
Producer- @liam Discroll
Producer- @milocox3
AD- @destinyjcox
Actor- @matt.rydz
DP- 👨🏾‍🍳🎥
1st A.C- @nick_krause20
Gaffer/MFM- @bluffer.joe /Earl Stepp
Sound- @eldric.laron
HMU- @qhaos_mua
Editor- @iam.garoux by @direct_cinema.llc

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a year ago

Scene Lighting Breakdown – You Were Dead Yesterday
 Directed by @destinyjcox
Produced by @milocox3
Company- @wanostudiosllc

This scene was the very first thing we shot for the film, and it also serves as the opening scene. Thankfully, I had enough prep time going into the project to carefully review all the logistics involved. We had a lot of ground to cover with this one, so we needed a lighting setup that wouldn’t require too much readjustment—just minor modifications when moving in for coverage.

The main light sources for the scene were a 1200D positioned outside the main window, and (I believe) a Godox light panel inside to help wrap the light around the subject.

I also instructed the lighting team to bounce a 600D into a 4x4 ultra bounce positioned just above the main window, which added a soft ambient tone to the room (last image example)

For backlight and background accents, we used a 600D bounced into a mirror to create some subtle backlight. Additionally, we placed a 300D with a fresnel to blast light through the kitchen window, adding texture and depth to the background.

This scene took quite a bit of setup time, but once it was in place, shaping the light during coverage became much easier. To shape the light indoors, we used 2x3 silks to further soften the 1200D and floppies to add contrast where needed.

One thing you’ll notice in the BTS photos is the 6x6 solid we set up. That element helped maintain contrast ratios and kept the lighting more contained and focused.

This was only 1 of some pretty ambitious lighting setups so shout out to Hieu Tran @madneko79 and his team for helping me accomplish this set up. by @direct_cinema.llc

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a year ago

Shot from CRUNCH TIME.

This setup was super simple but incredibly effective. When you’re working on indie projects, you’re constantly up against the clock, so any shots that can be set up quickly and don’t require complicated lighting are essential to making your day. This was one of those shots.

During one of the tech scouts, I worked with Liam to go over the Joel montage, and we shot a test using a 75mm lens (3rd image). On the day, we ended up using a 100mm Cooke lens, which worked out to be about 150mm with the crop factor. Choosing this focal length really helped us shape the lighting for the shot (4th image), and it ended up doing a lot of the visual heavy lifting 🎥

One of the key responsibilities of being a cinematographer is interpreting the story visually. This means deciding where you want the audience to look — and long lenses are a great tool for that.

For lighting, I initially planned to key the actor @nassierkelly with my F22 Amaran, but my gaffer Nick @fireheartpictures added an Aputure light with a spotlight/gobo combo to add some texture to the door. I thought that was a brilliant creative touch — exactly what the shot needed!

We also blocked the entire window behind camera so no fill light was coming in messing up our lighting levels in the foreground (last photo) so we could keep that nice dark to light ratio going ☯️🤘🏾🎥 by @direct_cinema.llc

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a year ago

This is a visual breakdown from a project I had the pleasure of working on this year — The OUTLANDER.

There’s a lot I could say about this shot, but I’ll try to keep it brief. First off, I didn’t do a proper in-person tech scout; I only received photos of the location and discussed the lighting with the Director, @mikewenderlich . A couple of early pre-pro decisions included having the main character, Roth (played by matt.rydz), sit on the black recliner, and moving the recliner from its original position — which made lighting a lot simpler. Another decision we made early on, even before locking down the location, was to have the camera positioned as high up as possible and pointing downward — a concept inspired by Breaking Bad.

One of my responsibilities as a DP is to show up with some sort of lighting game plan, so I created a general lighting layout. For the most part, we stuck to the original concept I had in mind, only modifying which lighting tools we used. The one new element I added on the day was a 300X with a spotlight mount to illuminate the couch. Without that 300X, the scene would’ve looked really dull and flat.

One detail that might not be obvious: the Nova lighting the sheers was set super low — like 1–3%. It wasn’t doing much besides giving the sheers a little glow.

I’m really happy with how this shot turned out, and even more grateful to have had @bluffer.joe and @nick_krause20 on set helping me out with the lighting. They’re such fantastic guys to work with!

Thanks, fellas! 🤘🏾🎥

Director/Witer/Producer- @mikewenderlich
Producer- liam Driscoll
Producer- @milocox3
AD- @destinyjcox
Actor- Matt Rydzewski
DP- 👨🏾‍🍳🎥
1st A.C- @nick_krause20
Gaffer/MFM- @bluffer.joe
Sound- @eldric.laron
HMU- Quinn Babbitt by @direct_cinema.llc

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a year ago

The goal for this scene was to set up lighting that worked both for the wide and singles. This was one of my lighting plans that was executed nicely on the day. We lit for the wide shot first and then moved in for coverage, making minimal to no adjustments to lighting.

This is why preparation is so important!Knowing where the camera will be positioned in the space and what you’ll be capturing on the day helps ensure your lighting plan is efficient and effective.

The camera white balance was set to 4400K. The key light and wrap were set to 2700K, while the ambient fill/accent light in the background was set to 6000K. I prefer to wrap light with two sources rather than using just one large source.

So in this setup, I keyed from the far side of camera (camera left) and then added another light mat to wrap the key around the subject. When using this technique, it’s crucial to bake in the levels. The key light should typically be at a higher intensity than the wrap, and if you can soften the wrap light, even better. I also had the lighting team add in a net to cut down light hitting the sofa.

Though it’s hard to tell from the diagram, we also had a 300D bouncing light into the ceiling (on camera right) for fill and ambient tone. This particular light also added a nice eye light when the actress went back laughing (last image).The final light was another 300D with a spot, used to accent the background for a “moonlight” vibe.

This scene was a blast to shoot and really boosted my confidence as a cinematographer in nailing scenes like this.🤘🏾🎥
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#cinema #cinematography #lighting #filmlights #tvpilot #nighttime #nightinterior #warm #familytime #camera #sonyfx6 #shortfilm #filmstudent #filmstudies #class #lightingplan #lightingdiagram #dırectorofphotography #filmsetlife #filmcolorist #filmcolorgrade #aputure #filmbreakdown #filmbts by @direct_cinema.llc

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2 years ago