Saturday, October 27, 2007

I'm ready for my closeup Mr. von Sternberg

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A little experimenting, all thanks to Matters of Light & Depth by Ross Lowell.

13 comments:

Shelley Noble said...

Perfect. F-ing. Choice.

Mike, you make Cosmo (?) look like Jean Harlow in a Film Noir--and it works g'dmnit!

Omagod, you are making a classic!

Darkmatters said...

Yeah, it's too bad Cosmo's a bartender instead of a monk.... the flowing robes suit him. I had just wrapped some cloth around him to cover the yellow foam, and stuck a temp background to do some lighting experiments. Hopefully I can get some effects like this in the film itself. I can see now I definitely need a couple more of the focusing microspots.

Bi\ut I'm starting to get a feel for the colors/textures/patterns that can bring lighting to life. I look forward to being able to design a film around these concepts.

UbaTuber said...

Beautiful. Breathtaking. Keep it up!

Paul (Vortex42) said...

That really is something special! Your barman really has a lot of substance and character in this shot.

I think I should maybe pick up Matters of Light and Depth.

Darkmatters said...

Yes, EVERY animator should!! Every filmmaker or photographer actually (or artist for that matter, if they're interested in realistic rendering). It's become on of my essential books, along with Film directing Shot by Shot and Writing With Pictures.

And thanks Uba! Cosmo bows to Nola in all her lighted glory.

jriggity said...

Looks great man! DEPTH.

Jriggity

Anonymous said...

It took me years to work out lighting... now I find all I needed to do was read this book.

Magic character, awesomely lit!

Anonymous said...

Sweet lighting there, dood! Is that still your 3-chipper in this shot?

Darkmatters said...

Pram.... dude! Why do you keep asking me that? I have no plans for getting a different camera anytime soon, but if I do, I'll post about it ok? ;)

Anonymous said...

I'm forgetting stuff :( I think you just keep leaving me in awe of what you can do with that camera, especially with the different lenses. I keep thinking you have a DSLR or something. *thumbs up*

R.S.Cole said...

How many times have I read posts in which you say that this is "just a hobby" of yours? But looking at this and the other photos here... you can't fool me. Jigsaw puzzles and stamp collecting are 'hobbies' I see passion and guts in these images, characters far more than puppets. I believe if you cut them, they will bleed and feel pain. You are an Artist with a capital A.

Darkmatters said...

Wow!!! Thanks Mysterious Ron!!! Coming from you that's serious praise!!! Well, coming from any of the artists who've commented above it's serious. I'm so proud to have all of you in my little circle of friends!! Uh-oh, I feel a tear welling up!

Yeah, I guess hobby is really not the right term. See, when I say that, I'm thinking if these "hobbyists" who build insanely massive model railroad setups that put real trains to shame!!!

What I mean when I say it is just that I don't plan to go "pro". I guess I should say Amateur Filmmaker instead of hobbyist. That still carries connotations (to some people) of not being as good as a professional, but then we know that's not necessarily true, right? Quite a bit of "pro" work fails to register with me at all on an artistic level, and in fact a lot of it is - let's face it.... sheer crap! Amateurs do what they do out of sheer love of the craft, and do it whether or not they can make any money at it.

Shelley Noble said...

I have to say again. Simply stunning lighting here, Mike.