American Cinematographer - October 2016 - 10

Lighting is the core topic of this month's issue, and the
cinematographers we spoke with faced some daunting
creative challenges.
On the hit television series Empire, Paul M. Sommers
is tasked not only with lighting the show's dramatic
scenes, but providing dynamic looks for its signature
musical-performance sequences, which appear in
almost every episode. Part of the assignment, as
Sommers tells David Heuring ("Family Business," page
30), is giving each musical number its own distinctive
look, and the cinematographer notes that LED units
have assumed a key role on the Chicago-based production. "We'll be in a theater in Joliet, and we've got to put
in a rig that can look completely different for three different acts," he says. "The ability to have a wash light that
can be any color of the rainbow at the drop of a hat is a huge advantage."
On the feature Deepwater Horizon, Enrique Chediak, ASC faced the epic job of recreating the 2010 collapse of the titular oil rig, which was destroyed by an explosion that
killed 11 workers and led to a massive environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. In staging
the apocalyptic inferno that engulfed the rig, Chediak and his crew designed an ingenious
approach: projecting footage of actual oil fires, captured as reference plates for effects house
ILM, on large LED walls. "At the beginning, it was a little complicated to convince production
because of the price," Chediak concedes while discussing the show with Patricia Thomson
("Smoke on the Water," page 42), but the solution ultimately proved to be a shrewd choice
not only creatively, but economically and practically as well.
Entirely different lighting philosophies were required on the immersive action thriller
Invisible, a 360-degree stereoscopic experience viewed with the aid of a virtual-reality headset.
Created by filmmaker Doug Liman's production company 30 Ninjas in partnership with
Condé Nast Entertainment and Samsung, the production redefined some traditional crew
roles. Lewis Smithingham served as the show's VR director of photography, in collaboration
with lighting director of photography John Engstrom, who adopted many of the duties a
gaffer would normally handle. "The camera sees out of every window and down every hallway," Engstrom tells Noah Kadner ("Being There," page 54). "It's always been like this in our
business, but with VR you're really seeing the whole world. It's a million times harder to hide
fixtures, and you need more time."
Smithingham observes that lighting is just one of the disciplines that demand new
approaches in the VR format, where "just starting a take is complex."
Lighting lessons are just one facet of the curricula designed for ASC Master Classes,
which continue to attract students from around the world. Debra Kaufman's latest piece on
the program ("Student Perspectives," page 66) offers enthusiastic testimonials from both
student participants and their Society instructors. "We don't just teach technology, but the
art and content matter of being a cinematographer," says ASC President Kees van Oostrum.
"It's an educational platform to show cinematographers how to go about finding their talent
and being respected."

Stephen Pizzello
Editor-in-Chief and Publisher
10

Photo by Owen Roizman, ASC.

Editor's Note

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - October 2016