joewright:Academy Award Winners for Best Cinematography:2006 — Dion Beebe, ACS, ASCMemoirs o
joewright: Academy Award Winners for Best Cinematography:2006 — Dion Beebe, ACS, ASCMemoirs of a Geisha (2005)Directed by Rob MarshallAspect Ratio: 2.39 : 1 Beebe took inspiration from Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, the first picture to be lit mainly with daylight and practical candlelight. Though he was faithful to period lighting in the rest of the film, Beebe took great liberties during dance numbers. “Japan had electric lights back then but no ability to use rich color at all,” he says. “But Rob [Marshall] wanted the deep saturation of color that we used in Chicago. We had a lot of light cues throughout the dance — nothing anybody could have done in the 1930s, but we wanted a dramatic impact,” says Beebe. Traditional sources like oil lanterns, cooking fires, paper lanterns, and antique electrical bulbs dominated the rest of the film. “I knew we wanted to pursue a practical-lighting approach,” says Beebe. “I also knew I wanted to work in very low-light situations.” Throughout the picture, Beebe’s lighting suggests “a journey through time, a narrative progression,” he says. “Young Chiyo arrives frightened and scared in this strange house. We wanted it to feel dark and mysterious to capture how it must have felt to this young child.” Then, as Chiyo gains confidence and control of her life, “light starts to come in. Very subtly, we used this metaphor: the interior opens up and reveals the transformation from young girl to woman to geisha. This was a combination of lighting effects and set design.” Sliding screens are closed at the beginning but open as the film progresses, and panels change from solid wood to reed, paper and glass. — [x] -- source link