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Transcript
of Live Chat with
Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC
November
3, 2001
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:06:08 PM)
Hi, glad to be here. Has anybody got a question?
Bob O. (Nov 3, 2001 1:06:19 PM)
For years people have been saying the public won't watch black & white
films. Did the Coen brothers, or you, have any resistance to the idea
of releasing The Man Who Wasn't There in b&w?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:07:03 PM)
Yes. USA people who backed the film were a bit nervous about doing it
in black and white.
 Roger
Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:07:27 PM)
I mean, I did ask if the guys thought it would work in color, but Joel
and Ethan had written it as a b&w movie, and for a few years they'd
been talking about it as a black and white movie, so there was really
no question of it being in color.
Tabbert Fiiller (Nov 3, 2001 1:07:47 PM)
During pre-production what kind of things do you discuss with the director
in order to arrive at a point where both of you are clear about the tone
of the movie you are making? Taking tone as how close or how far from
reality we intend for the world of the fiction to be so the decisions
that we make are consequent with the universe that we are trying to create.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:08:25 PM)
Everything comes from the script really.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:09:03 PM)
And with Joel and Ethan, their scripts are quite visual and atmospheric
and actually are quite clear in the direction they want to go in terms
of their stylistic approach.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:09:38 PM)
So the discussions we have are more about specific things like locations,
the look of the sets, or individual scenes – probably more than the overall
concept. Which, as I say, is there in the script.
Hilda (Nov 3, 2001 1:09:55 PM)
Do you think that shooting documentaries is a good way to start out as
a cinematographer nowadays or do you think that documentary style is no
longer really relevant to the way fiction films are shot?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:10:19 PM)
I think it's an excellent way to start. It's a great foundation to understand
how you can use a camera and specific shots to interpret a scene. On the
other hand, I don't think that approach has much to do with some of the
films being made today.
Dvora (Nov 3, 2001 1:11:13 PM)
You have said that many of today's films are emotionally dead. Why do
you think that's happening?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:11:46 PM)
That's a tricky one. That gets into a very broad discussion, which includes
the kinds of discussions that have been going on since Sept. 11. But I
do think, in recent years, many films have become pretty superficial.
Joe (Nov 3, 2001 1:12:27 PM)
What ever happened to your documentaries? Are they still around?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:13:03 PM)
I don't really know. I shot documentaries mainly for British TV stations
and presumably they exist somewhere in the archives.
 Moderator
(Nov 3, 2001 1:13:18 PM)
This note was sent to us via e-mail from Buk Togan: This is not necessarily
a question, but rather a congratulatory note on a film I have just watched
for the first time. The Siege.Timely and maybe even a bit sensational
in my time of viewing, however, this is a phenomenal piece of work recreating
an honest and emotionally true palette of New York colors. That variable,
Blue ,which seems omnipresent in different shades through all forms of
weather in this city (N.Y.) is recreated precisely and accurately, yet
always changing minutely to create an underlying sense of danger which
is gradually heightened throughout the picture. I could go in deeper,
and this is just one example, from one movie that I've enjoyed of yours.
So, thank you for creating another intelligent, interesting film which
somehow, and in this present context , not that subtly, expresses our
time collectively.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:14:55 PM)
While I thought at the time that The Siege wasn't wholly successful
as a film, it was an honest attempt to warn of future possibilities, which
all too sadly have come to pass.
Adams (Nov 3, 2001 1:15:17 PM)
Do you have any ideas on why once a union member becomes a well-known
Director of Photography they stop being involved in the union and all
it's trying to do, but are the first to complain when the producers start
to squeeze us?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:15:46 PM)
I just don't think that's true whatsoever.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:16:01 PM)
The head of the union is a very well known DP, as is the vice president,
I believe.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:16:22 PM)
I think most of the major DPs I know are very involved in the industry
and its future, and not just their own personal ambitions.
 Harry
(Nov 3, 2001 1:16:35 PM)
Sorry, I've signed in Late here, but I wanted to ask about your latest
film (out) and its very special black and white look. Very early on, there's
a kind of "reveal," the first time we see Billy Bob Thornton,
and its incredibly startling: He looks so PRESENT, almost etched, and
he maintains that through the film. Referring to that first shot, could
you talk about how you dealt with the issues of black and white?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:17:45 PM)
I don't know about the first shot in particular, but the challenge for
me was to create a b&w that while having rich blacks and clean whites,
also had as tight a grain as possible.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:18:48 PM)
The film in many ways is a ghost story. It's the memory of a condemned
man. And we wanted it to have a kind of luminescent quality. From testing
all the possible variations of stocks and developments, we settled on
the idea of shooting on 5277 color negative.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:19:04 PM)
And then printing on 5269, which is a black and white title stock. That
seemed to give us the closest to the look we wanted.
Hilda (Nov 3, 2001 1:19:41 PM)
In terms of the Shawshank Redemption, how closely did you work
with the Production Designer, Art Director, and Costume Designer to achieve
the incredible blues, browns and greens? That is an incredibly beautiful
movie by the way.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:20:08 PM)
Thank you.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:20:21 PM)
You always work closely with the production designer, the costume designer,
and the hair and make-up crew. It's just totally necessary as part of
the overall image making process.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:21:42 PM)
While it's nice to be singled out for praise sometimes, I do feel that
it's more often than not the work of the designers, the location scouts,
and all the other people that contribute to the creation of an image,
that deserve the praise. Shawshank was a particular case in point
where it was very important to coordinate the tones of the prison with
the kind of lighting and color scheme that I was using.
Nate (Nov 3, 2001 1:22:22 PM)
Do you think a film school education is important for upcoming cinematographers?
Why?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:22:39 PM)
No, I don't particularly. I myself went to film school, as I really struggled
to find any other way of getting entrance into the film industry. But
from the people I've met in the industry, it seems everybody has come
to their role through a different process of education, whether it's from
stills photography or working through the grades or any number of different
avenues.
sbarbdp (Nov 3, 2001 1:23:46 PM)
Do you feel that your work has evolved over the years? And if so, how?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:24:27 PM)
Well I think your work must evolve, but I'm not really sure how. You evolve
as a person and your tastes and interests change, so maybe the kind of
projects I work on now are a little different than when I started. Perhaps
one learns more technically, I'm not really sure about that.
Doc-je (Nov 3, 2001 1:24:57 PM)
If you were going to be remembered for one film, which would you pick?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:25:25 PM)
That's too hard a question, I don't know.
rad-ac-nyc (Nov 3, 2001 1:25:33 PM)
Roger, do you have any particular scenes, that you are fond of from your
pictures, and if so what are they and why?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:25:56 PM)
Yes, most of the ones that are being cut out!
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:26:18 PM)
Seriously though, there are some scenes that you remember shooting. It's
not necessary they're particularly good work or anything.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:26:30 PM)
There was one particular scene in Mountains of the Moon where I
wanted to shoot the whole scene at sunset. And it a was a series of 7
or 8 shots, which we had laid out in the morning and then I had to convince
Bob (Rafelson) to wait until the last hour of light in order to get the
look of the scene I wanted.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:27:41 PM)
We just managed to shoot the last shot as the sun was dipping on the horizon
and I always remember how lucky that was. And got such a kick out of doing
it. It's always exciting and satisfying when you take a risk and it works
out and you try and forget the times it doesn't work out, which are many.
Harry (Nov 3, 2001 1:28:29 PM)
Were there special issues, on The Man Who... concerning makeup,
and with lighting? Was there especially heavy lighting?
 Roger
Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:29:07 PM)
Well the exciting thing about The Man Who Wasn't There was the
subject and the script lent itself to a number of different looks and
a number of different styles of lighting. From the high key shaft of light
in the visiting room of the prison to the sort of dark, more conventional
night exteriors. As far as make-up goes, although we shot on color negative,
going through the process of printing on b&w still brought up the
same problems, or the same issues, one would have had on shooting b&w
original negative. Such as red lipstick appearing darker. We did fairly
extensive tests prior to shooting, of make-up, hair and wardrobe, to address
the issues as much as possible before starting. But there are always some
things that come up and surprise you while you're shooting.
ed (Nov 3, 2001 1:31:03 PM)
In the low budget Independent Feature world digital video and HD are the
big buzz. To me they still have all problems of video. So I have been
thinking about pushing for Super 16 and using a digital intermediary to
make the 35mm print to make up for the 16 to 35 grain problems. Thoughts?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:32:35 PM)
The first feature film I shot was actually Super 16, but nobody then,
or even since, has commented on the lack of quality on that picture. I
do believe with the right film stock, right lenses and care of exposure
that Super 16 can be made to look as good if not better than many larger
format productions.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:32:53 PM)
That's not to say that in the future I won't be shooting digital video
along with everybody else.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:33:04 PM)
But I do think Super 16 has been a bit overlooked the last few years.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:34:26 PM)
Of course, the advantages of Super 16 are not only sort of financial but
also the size of the equipment and the ease of use of, say, the Aaton
camera.
Op-Chuck (Nov 3, 2001 1:34:56 PM)
What makes you optimistic about our industry?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:35:38 PM)
As long as there are as many people in the industry that love filmmaking
in the future as there are now, then I will remain optimistic.
Henry (Nov 3, 2001 1:35:44 PM)
How does your creative process change when you work with different directors?
Specifically, does it change when you work with people like Apted, who
have a background similar to yours in documentary, versus directors like
Sayles who came from a theatrical background?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:36:30 PM)
Yes, it's interesting your relationship with a director varies greatly
depending on the director's background and his particular bent. Although
John Sayles may come from a theatrical background, he is nonetheless very
visual and has a very clear notion of how he wants his film to look and
feel.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:38:04 PM)
But it's true to say some directors are really less involved in the visual
part of the storytelling and concentrate more on the script and the performances,
leaving the director of photography a lot of leeway when it comes to the
day to day shooting of the picture.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:38:32 PM)
Joel and Ethan are kind of exceptional in that they storyboard their films
before production begins, which I haven't experienced with any other directors.
Hilda (Nov 3, 2001 1:38:35 PM)
In reference to my earlier question, could you talk a little bit about
the kind of lighting and color scheme you used on Shawshank? I'm
curious as to how one could re-create that look or at least tone.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:39:44 PM)
First you have to decide on the general perspective you want to give the
picture. By that I mean, how naturalistic or surreal do you want it to
look? We could have lit Shawshank using hard shafts of light and
a lot of smoke. You know the kind of thing, harsh back light and warm
fill light.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:40:26 PM)
But somehow that would have taken the piece in a direction that seemed
to me against its roots and exposition of character. I opted for a much
softer, more naturalistic approach, which also, quite honestly, lent itself
more from a practical point of view to ease of working in the particular
locations we were shooting in .
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:42:00 PM)
Other than that, the cool look was partly created by shooting with tungsten
balanced stock, HMI lighting, or daylight, without using correction on
the lens. I find if you do that, even when you print it back in a laboratory
to a more naturalistic color, the shadow areas retain a kind of cold quality
that you can't get if you print the other way. That is, from a negative
that's supposedly correctly exposed color-wise.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:42:59 PM)
As I said previously, it's very important to be in sync with the designer,
and the costume designer in terms of your overall color palette. And it's
also important to try and give yourself as many options as possible during
shooting in terms of weather cover. We only ended up shooting one sequence
exterior in direct sunlight. And for that particular sequence the sort
of more open, bright, look wasn't a bad thing.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:44:10 PM)
Otherwise, when we were confronted by a sunny day, we would go inside
to shoot interiors that we could control.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:44:51 PM)
Now, you can't always do this. Often on productions you are stuck with
a schedule, which is completely fixed, etched in stone, and you have to
make the best of it. But to a degree on Shawshank we did have some
flexibility because we were in one location for the most part, and could
work around the weather.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:45:37 PM)
All the interiors, by the way, were lit. I can't think of one that was
shot in natural light alone. This really, from a practical point of view
because we were shooting longer days than there was daylight. But of course,
it did give me control over the look of the images.
Matt_Gaumer (Nov 3, 2001 1:45:40 PM)
How important do you think it is for assistants to become familiar with
the new digital medium? Do you think film will eventually be a thing of
the past where crew positions such as loaders are obsolete?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:46:04 PM)
I really don't know where it's going.I couldn't say. I do think that in
the future film will no longer exist as a capture medium. But when the
change will occur and how slowly that change over is going to be, it's
really hard to gauge at the present. So much of it depends on economic
issues and factors outside of the film industry.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:47:28 PM)
But as far as crewing goes, I can't really see that you can make films
of the same standard with fewer people. I think the roles will change
because of the technology being slightly different.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:47:42 PM)
But I doubt very much if the numbers of people employed will change significantly.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:48:23 PM)
It's interesting that though we have faster film stocks and all the rest,
we still tend to use more and more and bigger and bigger light sources.
And it's not because we are becoming more indulgent; it's because we're
searching for better quality really.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:48:54 PM)
Audiences are demanding, generally, better quality in their image making
from a technical standpoint, if not necessarily from point of view of
content.
Nodam (Nov 3, 2001 1:48:59 PM)
Do you think the events of Sept. 11 have changed our industry in terms
of runaway production? Are people more afraid to travel now? Or is this
just a temporary blip in our industry's exodus from the US?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:49:51 PM)
I think it's hard for anybody to say what the future's going to bring
right now.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:50:13 PM)
On the one hand I think it's only a healthy thing for the American film
industry to have viable competition from the industries of other countries.
 Roger
Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:51:32 PM)
And I really do think that can be healthy to our industry and not be a
source of contention. In the end, audiences will always want to watch
visual storytelling of some description. And the industry will only expand
– whatever form it takes. I think maybe you could say that the supposed
exodus is the blip.
Melinda (Nov 3, 2001 1:52:09 PM)
So, what are the right stocks and lenses for super 16?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:53:07 PM)
Well that really depends on the subject matter. Of course, it generally
follows that the slower the stock, then the finer the grain and the better
the blow up to 35 will be in the end. But then you do have to take into
account the production conditions and generally it's not practical to
shoot with a slow stock on night shoots where the lighting package would
become considerable.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:54:32 PM)
Again, it's pretty obvious that shooting on prime lenses is an advantage
as opposed to shooting on zoom lenses. Just in terms of overall quality
control. But the biggest issue is controlling exposures so that you never
have an underexposed negative, which will quickly fall apart during any
optical blow up.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:55:09 PM)
The other way you could go today is to do a digital intermediary. And
maybe in a year or two with a higher resolution this will be an even better
option.
LK (Nov 3, 2001 1:55:12 PM)
Do you and the Coen brothers story board each shot in their movies ahead
of time or does it come together on set with a finder?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:57:07 PM)
The brothers storyboard the whole picture initially. And then I sit down
with them and go through the boards and discuss them. So by the time we
come to shooting, there are indeed storyboards for every scene in the
picture. But that's not to say that we have to keep to them religiously
on the day of the shoot. We rarely look at the storyboards while we're
in the middle of a scene. And of course creating the set-up is about taking
a viewfinder and working with the actors on the set on the day.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:57:26 PM)
I think it would be very sterile if you simply drew the pictures of the
shots you wanted and then religiously reproduced them on film. That's
not allowing anything for the actors' interpretation on the day, or the
ideas that come through working on the set.
scoops (Nov 3, 2001 1:58:14 PM)
I was wondering how you approach your relationship with a production designer?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:58:59 PM)
It all starts really from sitting down with the director and talking about
the script and talking about the overall concept of the movie. And you
discuss the film in very broad terms and then in very specific terms.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 1:59:56 PM)
And gradually through pre-production things become more and more specific
so you end up walking through the sets on locations discussing the tone
of a wall or the size of a particular practical, or even the color of
its shade.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:01:06 PM)
You have to realize that it's not just about the wide shot of a set, it's
about the close-ups that you're going to shoot on that set. And the small
objects on that set that are going to become big objects in those closer
frames. And whereas a practical on a desk might look great on a wide shot,
if most of the scene is a close-up of a guy sitting at that desk and he's
lit solely by that practical, it's really important that you as the DP
are involved in the discussion of the quality of that light.
Steve Golden (Nov 3, 2001 2:01:09 PM)
How much time do you like for testing, and how much do you usually get?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:01:55 PM)
That varies very much from film to film. On a film like Hudsucker,
we had quite a lot of testing time. But on some films I might only get
a week or so.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:02:41 PM)
On The Man Who... we did tests over a number of weeks. You know,
we'd shoot a few shots on different stocks and then process them in different
ways at the lab, then look at them, and then shoot another batch of tests
and gradually went through the possibilities until we settled on one particular
combination of stocks and processing.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:03:47 PM)
Sometimes it will be make-up tests that you'll do for a number of weeks
before beginning shooting. On Beautiful Mind, a film which is coming
out toward the end of the year, the main characters age from their early
20s to their mid 70s, so it was important to test all the stages of their
make-up to see how they were going to appear on film as a natural progression.
guido (Nov 3, 2001 2:03:51 PM)
Would you still consider to work in Europe with "European=lower"
budgets or do you think it might be a frustrating experience after having
gotten used to the luxuries of Hollywood filmmaking?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:05:15 PM)
It's all about the script. It's not about the money. And the final product
is rarely about how much it cost. Fargo was hardly Hollywood filmmaking.
In fact, its budget was somewhere, I believe, I don't know this for sure,
but I believe it was somewhere around $6 million. The second film I shot
in England, which was 1984, was probably twice that amount.
 Roger
Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:05:58 PM)
It just depends on the subject. Obviously, a period film is going to cost
more than a contemporary movie. A glossy melodrama is going to cost a
lot more than Sid & Nancy. And quite honestly, I would prefer
Sid & Nancy any day to a glossy melodrama.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:06:55 PM)
I do think there is an incredible waste of resources and finance on many
large-budget films. But that's hardly because of an indulgent camera and
lighting crew.
Beemer91 (Nov 3, 2001 2:07:02 PM)
I thought Shawshank was the best adaptation of a book I've seen.
So faithful to the characters and story. And the look was fabulous. Is
the process of lighting different when shooting a film based on a book
than an original screenplay?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:07:43 PM)
No. No, I don't think it could have been in this case, because I deliberately
didn't read the source material until after we'd finished doing the movie.
Tabbert Fiiller (Nov 3, 2001 2:07:58 PM)
Can you talk about your collaboration with Alex Cox on Sid and Nancy.
Cox is a director that uses different DPs on each movie unlike the Coens,
where you especially suited for this movie because of your documentary
background and familiarity with the subject matter???
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:08:59 PM)
Not familiarity with the subject matter, as I was a hippy, not a punk.
But I know Alex had seen some of my documentary work and some of my feature
work, and that's definitely why we teamed up.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:10:07 PM)
The fact that we haven't worked together since is really because it's
just never worked out that way. Though Sid and Nancy was a tough
shoot, everybody actually ended up as friends in the end. And from my
point of view, he's certainly somebody I would like to work again.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:11:10 PM)
I do think it's hard for Alex – he's such a talented filmmaker, but it's
just the things he wants to do seem to be pushing the envelope and I think
he finds it hard to get his ideas financed. It's kind of a waste.
Adams (Nov 3, 2001 2:11:13 PM)
Based on your experience with Oh Brother, do you think digital
mastering will become a standard tool or something only used in special
cases?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:11:40 PM)
It's going to become a standard tool much more rapidly than anybody's
prepared for.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:13:15 PM)
I would say in a few years. Right now, the intermediary process, as far
as I'm concerned, is not good enough [simply put, 2K and not 4K] – quality-wise.
But new systems are coming out in the next year or two that I think will
open up a whole new range of possibilities for directors of photography.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:13:30 PM)
Which, as far as I'm concerned, are really exciting.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:14:12 PM)
From a practical production point of view, it only makes sense to have
one master, which is used for all outlets, whether recorded out to film
or for DVD and all the rest.
Hilda (Nov 3, 2001 2:14:17 PM)
Did you encounter any great or unexpected difficulties while shooting
Fargo because of the season and/or location? Also, because so much
of the film was white because of snow, did you do anything significantly
different in terms of the color palette you used?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:15:15 PM)
No, just on a practical point of view, we had to take exceptional care
of the equipment and especially our batteries in the cold conditions.
We made up special boxes with heaters to keep the batteries warm.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:15:19 PM)
And we wore a lot of clothes.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:15:44 PM)
But from an aesthetic point of view, we deliberately used the white in
the way you see it. We shot our day exteriors in gray skies so there was
actually very little difference between the ground and the sky, so the
whole frame was just kind of blown-out white.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:16:42 PM)
And then for the night sequences, the car chase in particular, we lit
everything as though just illuminated by the headlights and the red taillights,
so in contrast to the day scenes, the predominance of the scene was black.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:17:31 PM)
As we were shooting the day scenes in soft light, there wasn't really
much of an issue in terms of exposure. Snow tends to be a problem to shoot
when you're shooting in bright sunlight. In the kind of dull lighting
we were shooting in, it actually wasn't a problem to keep the tonal values
within the snow, even though everything was pretty well white out.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:18:11 PM)
Again, it was the kind of film that you didn't want to see everything.
You didn't want to light up. It was a film we were trying to make feel
as realistic as possible. As opposed to say, Hudsucker Proxy, which
is pushed into sterilization.
Harry (Nov 3, 2001 2:18:15 PM)
I want to ask about the WORK of cinematography (DP as labor) but first
I really am interested in the intensely BLACK shadows produced in the
jail cell over Tony Shaloub's body. Shadows that appeared as he moved
back and forth, catching the shadows from the pison bars. Was that just
happenstance, or did you have to do something special to make those stripes
so very BLACK?
 Roger
Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:20:23 PM)
Yes. That scene was kind of difficult because the set was very high. It
was kind of like a box, deliberately so. But we wanted this shaft of light
in the window in the set that was going to give us this shaft was very
high, at too steep an angle to really project any light into the room.
So I actually cut the window out and created a window cut out of a sheet
of wood. This window was much larger than it naturally would have been,
and the bars were probably twice scale. It was a matter of the balance
between the kind of light source, and the distance from the window, and
the distance from the window to the subject.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:21:05 PM)
So we had both these elements, this window cut-out and a 6K Parr on lifts
so we could move each around until we had them spaced to produce the look
that you see on film. Basically, there's no other light source used for
that scene.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:22:02 PM)
Obviously, we used atmospheric smoke and for the closer shots of Billy
Bob and Fran, we brought in some white bead board to bounce the light
as though it was reflecting off the table. The shadows just naturally
had the depth of black that they had.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:22:23 PM)
Though we shot to some degree when looking at Tony front-on by not using
anywhere near the smoke level we were using for the wide shot towards
his back.
MoreLight (Nov 3, 2001 2:22:29 PM)
If you could go back today and redo one of your earlier films, knowing
what you know today, which film would you pick? Why?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:23:01 PM)
I'd really like to re-do Mountains of the Moon because I just had
such a nice time shooting it.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:24:28 PM)
Seriously though, any film that you go back to you would shoot differently.
And not just for technical reasons. It's just I think you would think
about it slightly differently because you're a different person now than
when you did it. Hopefully you've evolved. So I don't think you can look
at it in that sense. There are certainly scenes in every film I've done
– and more scenes in some than in others – that I cringe at when I watch
them. But I think if you're not critical of your work then maybe you don't
improve. It's kind of interesting that I go back and watch films that
I did earlier in my career. And generally think they look quite good.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:24:46 PM)
Whereas the ones I did last year, I'm never happy with. And I think that's
just when you're so close to the work you've done it's hard to be objective.
scoops (Nov 3, 2001 2:25:34 PM)
How do you feel you relate to the actors in a scene? Do you find you are
married to work and decisions from pre-production; staying much in the
mindset of visual storytelling, or do you discover new things by working
with the actors. Discovering new things and possibilities with them?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:26:22 PM)
Yes, absolutely. I love being prepared, technically, when I go on a set
in terms of having a basic idea of how it's going to be lit. And obviously
having it pre-rigged as much as I can.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:27:52 PM)
The joy of the day's shoot is really working with the actors. I always
operate because I love that relationship, and it's so important to the
work I do. It's kind of like you have to know the technique, and you have
to know where you're going with the lighting and the kind of feel you
want for the scene. But it's really about your relationship with the actor
and the way the camera moves with the actor and relates to his performance,
that makes my job so exciting really. And really makes the work a DP does
either good or just really a record of a performance. It's easy to stick
the camera in a corner of a room and light a pretty shot and allow the
actors to act.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:28:26 PM)
The hard thing is – and the challenge for me – is to use the camera in
a way that serves the actor, the script, and the mood of the piece.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:28:31 PM)
Boy, that's really the hardest thing.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:29:28 PM)
And going back to an earlier question about documentaries, I really feel
that shooting documentaries, real-life-situations over which you have
no control, is a great learning situation for working on sequences with
actors over whom you have, not control, but some ability to position.
guido (Nov 3, 2001 2:29:37 PM)
In your interview on this site you mentioned that the way you move the
camera is influenced by your documentary background, could you elaborate
on that?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:31:12 PM)
When you're shooting the kind of documentaries I did – I was shooting
for directors who were making observational films, who were creating their
films as the situations developed before them. As a cameraman, you are
the one making the decision, for the most part, as to where you stand,
which piece of the conversation or action in front of you that you are
recording, and when you move to another position, when you shoot close
ups as opposed to a wide shot, when maybe you stop shooting the sequence
and shoot cut-aways waiting for something more relevant to the overall
subject of the film to happen.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:31:53 PM)
You really learn quickly how to follow a situation as it develops. I don't
know how else to put it. It just really sort of hones your eye.
Moderator (Nov 3, 2001 2:31:58 PM)
This question was submitted via e-mail by Tommy Upshaw: I was wondering
if you could explain your theory/use of the single big source and bouncing
to fill in or leave out (in a sense). Something that I heard of you doing
the majority of the time, this comes from a Gaffer that worked with you
named Mike G. Moyer; whom I was an electric for last year?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:32:59 PM)
I'm not really locked into the idea of a single big source. It's just
that naturalistically there is only one big source. On a day sequence,
anyway.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:33:39 PM)
And really, I do start from a point of trying to recreate naturalism.
And then depending on the movie and its subjects, I take that naturalism
one way or another. I think especially these days, you need to create
lighting situations that don't tie actors down to specific marks.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:34:22 PM)
Generally, the kind of filmmaking today is a little more fluid and you
need to give an actor room to perform and allow him to feel comfortable
in a space. It's a balance. It's a balance between what I've just said
and creating the atmosphere with light.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:35:08 PM)
It's also a balance between time and money, between how many lights, how
big of lights you can use, how much time you have to rig. It's a number
of issues leading to the actual look of any particular scene or movie.
It's not as simple as just saying I want this scene to look like such
and such. You have to take a lot of different things into consideration.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:36:04 PM)
Now, for me, I have a lot of fun working with Joel and Ethan because their
work is kind of specific. You tend to shoot shots for specific moments
in a scene and not run each shot through the entire length of each scene.
It's a different way of working and one that does allow me to maybe do
more precise lighting than I can in some other situations.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:36:38 PM)
Also, their films are generally kind of stylized and lend themselves to
that technique, whereas a film like Sid and Nancy is much more
free form and you're trying to create a different mood and a different
result.
Harry (Nov 3, 2001 2:36:41 PM)
I'm a sound editor, and very much feeling squeezed from a lot of directions,
big changes over the past twenty years, both from a technical standpoint
– digital editing – and a management standpoint, in which the amount of
time has been slashed, the number of editors has been cut, and the numbers
of support members has been taken down to zero. For sound editors the
level of respect has dropped almost to zero, which I think has not happened
to DPs, but I wonder if you would comment generally on the changes in
production that have flowed from management attitudes. Not necessarily
on YOUR projects, but as you look around and listen.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:37:40 PM)
I sympathize and I kind of agree with your take on the way things are
going.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:39:55 PM)
Personally, I've been lucky in what I've done, but I do see individuals'
particular contributions becoming devalued. I worry a little with the
advent of digital editing and soon digital capture and digital timing
that there are so many possibilities open to us and at any point in the
production, that without individuals with specific points of view the
filmmaking process could become a little bit of a free for all.
 Roger
Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:41:29 PM)
I'm probably sounding old-fashioned, but I really think there is something
about the restriction you have when you shoot film, in terms of the expense
and the number of takes, and then when you cut film in terms of how many
options you can do and the time it takes. There's something about the
old way of doing it that forces you to think about what you're doing a
little bit more, and concentrates everybody's minds on those few takes
you're able to do.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:42:00 PM)
There is a danger, I think, in the idea of being able to keep a camera
running for 24 hours a day, recording all the possibilities of what the
actors can do with a scene.
Moderator (Nov 3, 2001 2:42:04 PM)
We've got time for one more question.
tk (Nov 3, 2001 2:42:14 PM)
With all the digital tools available in the consumer market, many filmmakers
are learning on their own. Often, the line between Director and DP will
be blurred. The Director may also be the operator or may micromanage to
the point that the DP becomes a token position. Have you experienced this?
How should the DP take a stand to protect the integrity of the work (that
she/he will ultimately get the credit for- good or bad)?
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:43:04 PM)
I don't really believe there's any one way that is the right way to go
about making a movie.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:43:30 PM)
There's some great films that are being shot by the director, operated
by the director. I don't think you can make a hard and fast rule as to
how a film gets made.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:44:03 PM)
And I really do think the line between director, cameraman, and any other
crew person is going to become very blurred – as you say, as digital technology
becomes perhaps easier to work with.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:45:24 PM)
It's a really interesting question. I don't think anybody's got the answer.
But just as in the same way I don't believe in economic protectionism,
I don't think we can build barriers within the film industry. I think
as soon as you so that, the quality and vitality of the work being produced
will suffer.
Roger Deakins (Nov 3, 2001 2:45:42 PM)
Thank you one and all – I enjoyed it. I hope I didn't ramble on too much.
tk (Nov 3, 2001 2:45:49 PM)
Thank you to Mr. Deakins for his time, and to the local for this opportunity.
Hilda (Nov 3, 2001 2:46:04 PM)
THANK YOU.
Steve Golden (Nov 3, 2001 2:46:31 PM)
Thank you, Roger.
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