American Cinematographer - November 1988 - 52

Geena Davis,
ed with

rose

paint¬
light.

ing a cinematographer can do is to

light the human face," Bailey said.
"It's very easy to light a large night
exterior. It's very clear what you
have to do. There are only so many
ways you can light a room full of
furniture or a street or any location.
But when it comes to lighting the
human face there

are more

ways to

light it than anything else in the
world. But only a couple of those
ways are right for any specific
scene. You're standing there, con¬
fronting this person very simply
and directly and you have to ask

-

light. A lot of times the most attrac¬
tive light is the least interesting. It's
often flat light - not that contrasty
light necessarily will be dramatic but flat light washes out all the
physical idiosyncrasies. It tends to
suppress whatever nuance there is.
What I was trying to do was the
opposite."
Still, there must be a logic
to the light. It has to come from
somewhere,

its

is

strongest and most effective?'
a

cinematogra¬

all the way on
for the truth of

the moment, not for whether it was
the most flattering or attractive

What do I do to make this moment
"I think

a

even

if that somewhere

just to give the cinematographer
starting point in the lighting

scheme.

Classical

attractive. Most of the time that's

Hollywood
lighting - especially for black and
white
didn't always concern it¬

what the director, the studio and

self too much with

certainly the actors want. So you
fall into patterns. Once you study
the landscape of a certain face, you
find there are things you can do to

trait

important than
where the light came from. Today,
cinematographers are all very con¬

make that face look

lighting

pher very often is concerned with
lighting actors to make them most

good.

"That notion wasn't at all

applicable to this film. The one
guiding principle I used - and Lar¬

50

ry supported me
this
was to
light

American

Cinematographer

-

was

scious

of the
-

source.

The por¬

more

source

of their

in Bailey's opinion,

sometimes too conscious.

defined

"Today's lighting can be
lighting for the truth of

as

November 1988

the space.

Many cinematographers
ruthlessly consistent about the
source, sometimes to the point that
you are overwhelmed by the light¬
ing. That's one of the reasons that
some
cinematography is now so
flashy and so much attention is be¬
ing given to the cinematographers.
are

There is almost an abrasive, aggres¬
sive use of lighting. You throw
some

smoke in the air and you can

actually see the light. You're not just
photographing the source of light
hitting something, but you are see¬
ing the light in air! With enough
smoke in the air, the whole
becomes

a

light. How

can

room

people

not notice it?

"That's fine for
cials where

commer¬

you're trying to assault
somebody's sensibilities in the most
aggressive way you can think of.
But that is not what I perceive fea¬
ture lighting to be about.
"So I faced a simple ques¬
tion: How do I use a light to make it
nominally believable - but a light
that is not slavishly following the
dictates of source lighting? And I
want its guiding principle to be dra-
American Cinematographer - November 1988

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