Cinematography for Art Directors

[Music] all right so we're running a little bit behind so let's get this one going don't forget to silence your cellphone's and fill out that cute little questionnaire when you're all done I'm Rob herbal and this talk is going to be on cinematography and concept art and how they're related to one another as an artist my expertise is and images in design so I'm going to focus on their appearance and why that even matters in videogames so where do we start it's so a quick overview of the history of images cave art Renaissance French salon 1800s perspectives getting better that's good photography cinematography giggle pixel photography all right that covers about 40,000 years of image evolution so all art is a translation of what our senses see it's a replication of a real world

and we'll never we will never be able to match it for its fidelity or complexity because of the vastness of the experience of our own senses perceiving the world that's going to be so much richer than anything anything we ever put on a screen or in a frame so until we're actually able to record those perceptions from the mind and play the back which may be pretty soon we still have to work within a frame of some kind so the mind is constantly selecting and focusing from a sea of information okay this is what makes us different we have to make those same choices that our mind does when we're crafting an image so great artists and photographers all understand this implicit truth and work within the limitations of their chosen art form this is an old book on photography from the 1950s what makes this book amazing was that the author

completely understood the camera sees the world differently than we do as human beings and by understanding that difference we can make it work to say what we want to say because they were still going to make images that go on some kind of screen even though we move through them and they're built in the third dimension and they're contained they're still contained within a frame of some kind now they need to be readable and that is they need to be visually understandable this is an example of failing to do that but they're failing to do it on purpose but it illustrates why readability is crucial to surveying and understanding the setting and the intent behind it now the technical side is getting better and better at reproducing where eye sees as an HDR photography and that begins to mimic the value range that we are able to perceive but I don't think the goal

has ever been to merely record what we see now this is a snapshot of Yosemite Valley and this is an image taken by an artist Ansel Adams in this case of that same location now one of these images is dramatic and tells the story it has a point of view and one is merely a record of what it looked like that day so let's begin at looking at film since most realistic games are trying to emulate a film look what does that mean in the beginning films were not much more than photographed plays the camera itself was the viewer in the audience fixed distance from the scene the subject was usually in the middle of the frame and the staging that is the way the characters related to one another was generally pretty flat now as the art form evolved characters were staged in depth we had stronger contrast from background to foreground dramatic

compositions added a dynamic element to the frame the longer is everything stuck in the middle very evenly placed liberties could be taken and then dramatic license used to tell a more interesting story so the point where we don't even know what's real anymore so I start putting together this presentation I really noticed that film and art inspired each other at the same time illustrators in 20s and 30s with the stars of their day in terms of dynamic visual storytellers these ideas and compositions quickly found their way into the new visual medium film the way Dean Cornwell and Howard Pyle grouped and organized the compositions can be seen in ivan the terrible' which is Eisenstein masterpiece of Russian cinema the same with Roy crinkle his unique play of shape and value particularly in his exotic world illustrations seem to

inspire the compositions of Ivan I can't help but think that Jack Cardiff was paying homage to Vermeer in this shot from black narcissus now the way cameraman photographed the stars paralleled to how the top illustrators painted their subjects with modeling of the form the quality of the light was due in no small part to the equipment available for nelle units cast a very strong shadow which mimicked the effect of direct sunlight it also helped sculpt the form of the actor to separate him from the background early cameraman really understood how flat the screen was and they used every visual trick that they could add depth overlap contrast foreground background silhouette mist thinking carried through to the early color films to color film the early ones needed a lot of light to get proper exposure so these the exact same principles that they were accustomed to and the illustration that

period still echoed the look of films and photography until new technology and faster cameras and equipment came along which led to a more natural softer look mimicking the way the eye perceives the world but the Goodson matagi fur still knows it's about sculpting the form like these examples from the last emperor shot by Vittorio Storaro he still shapes the head with light but now we can use a soft light in a hard light source and he's got some more variety to it and it still has a very naturalistic field but it's still very very very deliberate and very very designed so more than most films the next one inspired a generation of artists this concept designs to the point with the look established in this film still finding its way into our visual vocabulary today even though the film is 30 years old I'm talking about Blade Runner so before that science fiction films were photographed whether

conventionally because of the art of a time looked a certain way these are some pains by Chesley Bonestell he was the leading science fiction artist from the 40s all the way through the 60s his vision of the future shaped the look and feel of the films of that time but also the way he lit his world was very typical to the photographic style of his time he was a matte painter as well as a futuristic illustrator even the amazing 2001 was pretty reserved in its use of life now one could argue though that this film won't date as quickly either though and as groundbreaking as Star Wars was it still paid a huge homage to 2001 in terms of the look of the film and the effects now Blade Runner began with a unique director and some great pre-production art by Syd Mead but just the way the way

it was the way the effects were photographed that approach is what begin to set it apart so Dave Dreyer the effects supervisor was watching how Ridley Scott was lighting his sets the director would layer in all those elements for the depth and he would strongly strongly backlight it and then to match that technique for the effects they lit their miniatures the exact same way so that the effects in the film would be consistent which of course led the way to a new and very unique look to science fiction here's a few of the effects shots and here's a few random contemporary concept illustrations until hopefully you can see the similarities the use of atmosphere the strong silhouettes of all become part of a vocabulary from this one film

council tart has become very photographic in its style now look at some great examples of some classically classically photographed films but first I'm gonna start with this quote from Roger Deakins which really sums up what's important about image making it is not the equipment it's what you're doing with the image and why it's there context so to speak and here he's basically talking about yeahsure Citizen Kane the film grain was all over the place their lenses weren't as good but is it a great cinematography of cinematography absolutely it is and another quote by someone who knows his craft well and that's important that idea is so important every good photographer alters reality they shape the light no professional just wanders

out there and snaps away so why are we trying to dogmatically recreate natural light when the professionals completely shape and design it to suit their needs in their vision even though the final effect may be completely natural looking even on a set lit mostly by fractals this still directed light sources to shape the actors and to alter their values for a better read start with black narcissus which was photographed by Jack Cardiff he definitely uses the direction of light and framing to lead the eye into the picture he's staging is always the very easiest to read dark against light at light against dark and I can guarantee he kept that corner dark in order to get the nuns to read better look how high key this is it's for a reason like he is light airy angelic and the angle of light again leads the eye

seems like a really simple concept but it takes a very skilled hand to know what to emphasize and how best to do it notice the light on the door with little boy enters there's a series of contracting rectangles that surround the boy the compositionally forces our eye to look where they want us to look and this is a great example to of how none can be made to look sinister the under lighting the lower key compared to the beginning of the film illustrates what's happened with the character she's gone through a big emotional change same costume same actress different lighting though totally drastically changes how we are now perceiving her third man one of my favorites shot by Robert Carrasco most of the compositions were known as Dutch tilt which means off horizon which in this film leads to the sense of unease that the character has throughout his stay in Vienna he's trying to piece together a mystery and he isn't sure

what is true and what is not of course the classic 3-point lighting formula meaning key fill and rim this formula particularly in the rim of the hair really helped edge out the character from the background and why is that important because the early cameraman understood that the screen was flat and they need to do everything they can to add dimension to it especially black and white because you have one less tool to deal with one lets tool to work with rather very very bold use of shape and silhouette throughout the film amazing depth as well which we'll get into right now when we talk about Orson Welles the Touch of Evil Welles and Russel Medi compose Niro nearly every shot in depth may a large distance from the front to the back well scenes have always favored a very wide angle lens and most of his films have this very deep focus look here's a great example of keeping the frame active even in a static shot the silat

agra fur has set up a dynamic triangle to keep the eye moving throughout the frame dark foreground light mid-ground in a lighter background behind the door gives this shot its dimension and that's all designed another nice triangle of faces once you get used to this motif you see it used everywhere in the film and I love how dark the characters are to the right and how well grouped they are this makes a great shape and a great composition you see how interesting it is in the abstract form here's a great shot light background dark foreground which is an XML I mean how many cinematographers would have thought they needed the main character to be lit a lot more than that Gordon Willis another master his lens choice has light setups as simplicity and sophistication are pretty much unequaled these from the Godfather to and while they seem

naturalistic enough almost like they just sat down started filming it's actually very very well orchestrated all the characters have really good form they all stand up from the backgrounds there's always a good ratio of dark to light within the frame now this is the rig that will it's developed to light Brando and assess which everyone imitated after the Godfather came out they called it a coffin our chicken coop and it's that thing on the top of the frame it gives us soft even overhead light to the actor Brando who wanted the freedom to move around the set so it was done for a practical reason but in the hands of a master like Gordon Willis it becomes art and even those lighting feels natural it's completely balanced and completely deliberate he also uses framing elements to trap and isolate and silhouette Michael and in this shot it's all about the intensity in Pacino's eyes that couch leads directly to them and nothing

distracts on the wall a lesser artist wouldn't have been aware as subtracting things in order to emphasize something else and straw or the greatest living Simon talk of us all these other guys can sort of be analyzed that this guy to me just completely artful simple striking powerful images you can analyze and say well naturalistic lighting it's Shalit at the fields harmonious color but it's his level of artistry the the gestalt and that means the sum is greater than the parts that for me makes his work so so amazingly artful every frame is a masterpiece because of its simplicity its design balance and the choices he makes Conrad Hall won Oscars for American beauty and Road to Perdition in this shot look how he isolates Kevin Spacey on purpose in the frame Kevin's afloat lost in this bleak grey reality the static composition of a dinner to accentuate the static false nature of

the ceremony of dinner the marriage his life are stuck and stagnant not later notice the harsh yellow light in this prison like bars that make the interior so alien compared to Lester's change and attitude towards life a striking angle of light two points directly at them and this thing he's called off he's caught off guard by the girl so Conrad traps him visually with framing devices this is another great scene so he's put a lot more color into it there's a lot more bright natural light because you know Lester has changed his outlook on life and this contrast to his grown-up world in his grown-up job this one's more bright more fun more happy very small spot on the face where the rest of the body goes completely black strongly silhouetted against the wall Road to Perdition last film anyone they asked for it

posthumously so this is really brave to put the lighter values near the bottom it forces us to squit more and pay attention to the face he did this in a lot of other films too like searching for bobby fisher' he knows as human beings we're always going to seek out the face am i placing it in an area of lesser contrast it forces our involvement great shot of Daniel Craig even the composition is stretched out horizontally like he is one lens fog rain beautiful silhouettes so simple but deliberate and designed not accidental the window lighting and hitting the cabinets leads us to look directly at Tom Hanks Daniel Craig isolated in the frame for going against who sought his wishes he's completely in trouble and his father looms menacingly in the foreground all told with visuals another great long shot of old Chicago's probably shot this way to lessen the amount of modern buildings around them but still incredibly effective area what

can you say art great shot Stan Lee teaching now look how clearly he reads against that background and an amateur's hand the background would be cluttered and distracting now in this shot it does have a noisier background but it's all designed for a purpose the main character framed against a red covered light most of the space taken up with his black-and-white photographs in one image the character and what he does is introduced he's a crime scene photographer and everything draws us in to what he's writing like a giant spiral it's not Jed we could be Jude Law could be a menacing beautiful beautiful pools of like Tom Hanks in the mid-ground standing out but not competing with the dialogue in the foreground he's there the presence menacing but in the distance these are not technical ideas these are storytelling artful ideas pools of light

for Tom and his son and this thing so Paul Newman sits down Tom Hanks head is down so he blends in with the background but when we change focus once he comes up and starts talking and Newman starts looking around surprised but not wanting to show it because he was waiting for him in church sorry the spoilers great shot great shot great sequence very loose framing no sound in this particular sequence music we the audience do not know where the bullets are coming from closer in but Paul Newman knows the rest are still looking around but he's completely still finally he's accepted his fate with resignation all total pictures and no sound so the Sun has been waiting up Tom Hanks the sun's going up all night not knowing if it's father's dead or alive and that doorway separates him from what we know the doorway is a deliberate framing

device now in raise the red lantern the director wanted us to feel the same distance the same disconnect but the latest wife feels as she enters her new life her new husband whom she rarely sees as a mystery to her so the director mimics this with the visual idea of never letting the audience see him either he's always shown in a far shot or from the back so were kept in the dark as to his appearance once film went digital everything changed what the digital intermediate hole scenes could be altered color schemes twisted manipulated contrast ratios completely clamped white points completely shifted creates a whole nother visual reality and one that only exists in that particular film its unique signature as

you were these are from John Geno's latest from called Micmac he's a definite color palette in mine one that lends a surreal edge to this film and if it were color time so that everything was normal I think it would run it I think it really lessened the type of story he's telling so let's see what happens when we take out that color shift not as interesting it's pretty ordinary actually so let's put it back so it's films all have a rule set to themselves it's a slightly altered version of reality so it's natural the visuals reflect and support that his use of extreme wide angles and very theatrical lighting help sell that idea

same thing with munich photographed by Janish Kaminski different rule set this film tends towards a higher contrast look with lots of heavy filtration and these are just tools and then used to create a style just as in the artist would so what are some of the tools of choices and why each artist makes choices based on many factors but they should be choices and deliberate artistic choices hero photographed by the Australian Senate Agra fur Christopher Doyle is one of the most stylized films in recent memory he and the director really pushed the idea of color for this film each section had its own strong and very unique palette grey and magenta green and blue grey grey all blue red orange they're all for

emotional reasons sleepy Hollow's are not a good example but for shape probably more than strong color even though most of the cement is a matte painting this still is very strong Tim Burton feel to it it's almost photographed by Emmanuel Lubezki who's really known for his soft light but you can definitely see Tim's influence the shape and the Sensibility are his alone all of these things we consider when we're making a game this is an overview of a coma script that we use to map out the emotional beats as the story progresses more detailed section of the lighting change that's going to take place within the game in this case the cargo plane and a different overview of just color bars we look at to map out where we want the visual design to be over the entire game so where we go next is anyone's guest it's it's exciting but it's unknown and for the time being it still need to take place in a frame of

some kind and it still needs to use the rules of picture making we have developed as a species for the past 2000 years thanks you [Applause] you