Epiphany of Epiphanies!
Revelation of Revelations!
Enlightenment of Enlightenments!
I had been mentored by the Master. I had seen the light, the secret had been revealed and by simply requesting, “more fill leader…” I had discovered what I believed to be, the world’s best lighting technique.
I immediately began to adapt this technique as the best possible way of lighting and shooting simply because it was both Actor Friendly and Production Friendly. The Actors were now free to roam the set and were no longer welded to their “marks” where they would usually stand stiffly and deliver “their dialog in their light.” Also, once the Actors were rehearsed and ready to shoot, you never had to shut down their process while The DP, Gaffer and their team, took an hour or more to “light the other side of the scene…”
“That’s right”, I thought, “If it’s good enough for Mr. Kubrick… It should be good enough for every filmmaker on the planet.”
I’m very pleased to report that my next mentor was Clint Eastwood and yes this time I actually met him and worked with him. In fact I worked with Clint on two features, back to back over the course of one year and I always refer to that experience as being my “PhD in Filmmaking…”
Our first feature together was BRONCO BILLY and it was also my first. It was a big budget, big studio, big star feature and I was determined to use my, Stan-The-Man Kubrick lighting technique on it.
I had a huge circus tent to light and I asked for the same practical theatrical lights that would be used at any circus or carnival. I had a long pipe placed near the ceiling, that ran the length of the tent, and two smaller pipes that ran the width, that were supported between the two main tent poles. Then all of the practical theatrical lights were placed on this rig. I put some smaller bulbs around the sides of the tent for separation and used two follow spots to highlight all of the Bronco Billy Wild West Show action and I was lit.
Every day I would walk in at 7 am, have the power turned on and read my light meter… “2.8”. Then we shot with 3 cameras all day every day without ever having to move a light. Working this way, we averaged 45 to 55 set ups a day. I also lit the smaller sets in this same way by hanging practical hooded lights with 150-watt bulbs in a bar or by simply placing practical lamps around a motel room or bedroom.
Clint Eastwood is a very fast and efficient Director, usually printing the rehearsal or the first take and moving on. As a result he always comes in several days ahead of schedule on all of his films. On BRONCO BILLY, however, largely due to my Stan-The-Man Kubrick lighting technique, we had an eight-week shooting schedule and we finished in five and one half weeks! That’s right, Two And One Half Weeks Under Schedule!
Several years later, during various productions in Europe, I was able to meet and talk with my three all time favorite Cinematographers: Raoul Coutard, Sven Nykvist and Vittorio Storao. I visited their sets, watched them work, had dinner and drinks with them and discussed all things cinematic.
These men were Giants of International Cinematography yet often they worked very simply, in a practical and organic way. When I asked Raoul Coutard about a 360-degree shot that I remembered from the Jean-Luc Godard film, MY LIFE TO LIVE, he told me that he never knew what Mr. Godard was going to ask him to do, so he simply bounced clip lights off of white cards that he had to place on the ceiling and the entire record store set was lit… Mr. Godard liked it and invented the 360-degree shot to utilize what Mr. Coutard had prepared.
I saw the same simplicity when I visited Vittorio Storaro during the production of LADY HAWK. He was on a huge sound stage in Rome, lighting a forest set and had placed a dozen 10K’s up high along the back wall that acted as the powerful source lighting for both the day and night scenes as well as for flashes of lightning…
Finally, I discovered that on CRIES AND WHISPERS, Sven Nyvikist, when faced with lighting a detailed period set and several actors in period costumes, had simply placed a 2K behind the camera and bounced it off a white card on the ceiling…
Mentors: We all need them and I believe that I had some of the best. What they taught me was to always work simply. Not to light to show off your dazzling style or to prove how many lights you can use. Instead light to best serve the needs of the story, the scene, the actors and especially the production…
A final word from Mr. Eastwood… One day on BRONCO BILLY, one of the actors was having trouble motivating his character and after a lengthy discussion, Clint simply said: “Don’t over think it. Just do It.”
Words of wisdom, for all filmmakers, big budget or micro, to live by…
