American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1938)

394 American Cinbjmatoghapher • September, 1938 Reverse Studio Lighting Methods (Continued from Pa(/e 368) globe up to a standard 2,000-watt size. They were so mounted that they could be placed on the floor and directed in any direction, horizontally or vertically. Similar, smaller "pans" were built to utilize tubular projection-type globes, while baby Solarspots were also useful. In this lighting, most of which was arranged to duplicate the natural effects with higher, more photogenic intensities, there was still relatively little to stress the effect of depth. Obvious silhouetting of alternate planes could not be used, for the effect would not be natural. Long, Low Ceiling To stress the depth, we concentrated our lighting and wherever possible our composition on the long, low ceiling. This was light in color, and we accentuated it with a higher intensity of illumination. This gave a natural pattern of highlighted area, in essentiallly straight lines receding from the camera to the extreme distance. Without being obvious or unnatural, it gives a strong impression of depth. In addition, this lighting pennitted us to dolly the camera as freely as the script required. Working in the Waldorf's Starlight Roof we had a similar problem on a much greater scale. The room was slightly under seventy feet wide by nearly two hundred feet long — a goodsized area to light even in a studio set, designed and built for photography! When it is not — when there is no possibility of fixing lamps overhead or along walls, and when all lamps, cables and accessories must be placed on compoboard so that nothing be marred — the problems of lighting can be appreciated. That the room is on the eighteenth floor detracts nothing from the task. We found our problem further complicated by the limited working hours possible. We had a considerable number of scenes to make, but we could only work at hours when the place was not serving the public. Our working "day" began after the supper hour and had to end by mid-morning so that the room could be readied for luncheon. In other words we could work only from 2:30 or 3 a.m. to 10:30. Therefore we charted all our shots beforehand with great care and accurately diagrammed the position of every lamp. Thus we could work faster and more effectively and if forced to stop in the middle of a sequence we could return the next morning and set up our lights with perfect confidence that we were duplicating the effects gained the previous night. Minus Backlighting Again it was necessary to light entirely from the floor and, with the exception of a few relatively close angles, to work entirely without backlighting. The same general principles again served excellently. The Starlight Roof is a huge room. Along one long wall and the ends are large windows, while the other long wall is coUonnaded. Once again the "pan" lights proved invaluable. They could V)e concealed behind furniture and behind the columns, directing their rays upward. In thi.s position they served much the same purpose as the overhead lights we would ordinarily play upon columns to create catchlights and give an illusion of roundness. The necessary little highlights flecked the curved surfaces of the cloumns, regardless of whether the light causing them came from above or below. In the same way, the pans could be used to illuminate the wall behind the columns, much as we use "sky pans" to illuminate studio backings. Wherever possible, of course, we used Solarspots and similar units to project light into the room from vantage-points out of camera-range. Again, too, we had the problem of lighting the ceiling. This was done largely from lamps concealed on the floor, and again aided in sugge.sting depth. In several scenes here, as well as on other locations, we had the interesting problem of making day-effect shots close to the windows, while working actually in the middle of the night. Even working in hotel lobbies and other rooms on the lower floors of buildings, this was not easy. Sixty-five Floors Up The method used was to suspend a white backing on poles outside the window, and several feet away. This backing was strongly illuminated from within the building by powerful spotlamps shining through adjacent windows, but out of camera range. The effect was a successful day shot. About the only scenes of this nature made actually in the daytime were those we made in the Rainbow Room at Radio City, where we found our only possible chance to photograph was on Sunday, when this exclusive club is not open. The Rainbow Room is on the sixty-fifth floor, ind is an oval-shaped room on three sides of which are large windows commanding a view over the city. When the weather was favorable we naturally took full advantage of these windows and the view they framed. When it was hazy, we took advantage of the Venetian blinds on the windows! Our lighting in this sequence followed the same general methods as those outlined, carefully duplicating, in higher intensities, the actual lighting of the room. Adjoining the Rainbow Room is a cocktail lounge which proved one of the most difficult lighting tasks of the trip. It is of ultra-modernistic architectui-e, and as such is a creation of chromium plate, mirrors and plateglass panels. One side of the room is entirely backed by panels of mirrors. The opposite side is filled with broad windows, between which are glass-inclosed plants, and separated by ceiling-high panels of plateglass, two between each window, projecting at 4.5 degree angles. The ceiling itself is completely paneled with mirrors. Reflections and R«reflections With the exception of the floor, it seemed that every inch not devoted to plateglass or mirror was chromium plated metal. There is little if any exaggeration in saying that at every new set-up the first glance at the camera's ground glass revealed the reflections and rereflections of five or ten lamps. While the room itself was lit by modifications of the same schemes used on the other sequences mentioned, the reflection problems were solved largly by patience and perspiration. We are prone to regard lighting at any time as a highly exact science: here was an occasion when the lamps were positioned — literally— to the inch. What reflections could not be eliminated in this manner we eliminated by applying common Scotch tape to the reflecting surface. This proved more effective and more easily removed than the more common use of putty, oil-sprays and the like. An interesting phase of our problem there in the Rainbow Room was the fact that while we were working on the sixty-fifth floor our nearest power outlet was, if I recall correctly, on the sixtieth floor. Engineer Bourciet of Radio City cooperated splendidly with us, not only in providing power and stringing the necessarily long power cables, but in setting aside special freight elevators to transport our equipment and providing storage space for it so that we would not lose time by having to bring it in and remove it from the building during our brief working time. Will Extend Methods While the methods outlined enabled us to achieve success under unusual and extremely difficult circumstances, I feel that this is only a starting point for developments which can be of the greatest value to the industry. In the future I am confident these methods can and will be extended, both by added experience and by the use of the new faster films, to make it possible to photograph authentic interior scenes of famous places on a scale heretofore impossible. The dramatic value of such locales is well realized. So, too, is the problem of duplicating them in sets which, to be authentic, may be prohibitively costly or prohibitively large, necessitating that the story be perhaps weakened by the necessity of substituting other locales or even eliminating those scenes from the script. It seems to me that this technique can make it possible to use more of these actual locales, not only extending the range of cinematography but helping meet the demand for better pictures by making them more vigorous and more convincing.