Lighting: It's More Than Just Being Able To See

As with color, another aspect of this production I would like to try is a lighting scheme. Lighting is an important angle to film and one that I have not really gone into detail with. Most of the shorts I have done were lit in a utilitarian purpose. It got the job done and that was about it. I never really played with lighting, save for one short I did a long time ago that was noir-ish. On OotGG, I wanted to change that.

I came up with a lighting scheme that matches the color motifs I created for the characters and correspond with the feelings of loss of home and family. Same with the rage that Caleum feels in fighting and collecting. Here are the schemes I came up with for the scenes we plan on shooting.

Abby's Hospital Room - 

The scenes in which Caleum is with his sister Abby in the hospital will be lit warmly like a cozy home. It is because that Abby is Caleum's last connection with his family and home. Even though she is in a sterile hospital room, the lighting will be very homely like a cozy cabin. Abby will be dressed in a white gown that is clean. Almost angelic in a way. The room will be white which is a color of purity, which in Caleum's mind, Abby is the one pure thing in his life. 

Lighting like this. Even though this isn't a hospital room, I really like the color. This golden hue gives the room a comfortable and cozy look. 

Caleum's Home - 

The home of Abby and Caleum will be very minimally lit. Single lamps or back rooms to give the house a dark and cold look. This is because, to Caleum, this is not his home anymore. Since Abby, the last of his family, is gone he has no reason to be in this place.

This lighting scheme is how Caleum's house should look. It has a very cold and distant look. Signifying that it is just a place Caleum sleeps, eats and bandages himself up. Not a home.  

Fight Scenes - 

The Fight scenes, while taking place in different locations, will be have flashes of red and intense emotional colors. Whether it be in the spectators or the opponents and of course the blood. This is to show that the only tie Caleum is really feeling any strong emotion is when he is fighting.

It was a little harder to find some pictures that would show the intensity that the fights bring. They are still a bit dark and moody, like Caleum's new world, but puncuated with bright and intense colors that represent his emotion. His rage. His suffering. Caleum reveals his emotions during these fights or scenes of violence. 

Restaurant Scene -
When Caleum first meets King James it is in his restaurant. It should be lit warmly, but with a sense of menace. King James acts as a surrogate father and wants to appear inviting. Almost like a dining hall of a great castle.

 

 Both these lighting schemes work really well for the scene I had in mind. They are a mix of warm and dark. Creating that foreboding look. Places where you would be glad to get out of a storm from, but maybe not a place you would want to stay for long periods of time.

Those are the lighting schemes I have chosen for the scenes we are shooting. I hope we are able to replicate them. Even a bit. As stated, OotGG is becoming a in depth process. I have put in a lot of hours into Pre-Production that I hope pays off.

Color Motifs: How to be a True Artist

A goal of mine with OotGG was to really push myself. One of the ways I wanted to achieve that goal was to actually put a lot of thought into the film. Movies are, obviously, a visual medium and my plan to give depth to the script by adding visual themes and cues. I figured that this would help me become a better filmmaker and artist.

This is how much of an artist I want to be. 

I wanted to create a "look" and a "feel" to the movie. The story of OotGG is about Caleum having a mix of sadness and rage within him that he keeps deep inside. He locks these feelings away. Suppressing them until they explode out of him during acts of violence. When he is fighting or collecting money from a poor soul who borrowed from the wrong people. A storm rages through Caleum and I need to find a way to capture it on camera. To capture the feelings and emotions of the characters, other than acting, was to create a color palette and a lighting chart.

Caleum's fall from grace is like that of a approaching storm. I found a color palette that I feel would work as a "look" for the movie. The palette is called, appropriately, Incoming Storm. 

Storms a brewin.

The colors are, what I fell, capture that feeling. Now I know that I cannot make the whole movie have this look because the budget is, effectively, nothing. Which is a post for another time. The plan is to incorporate these colors in as much scenes as we can. I wanted the movie to look like it is perpetually in a oncoming thunderstorm. We'll see if it happens.

I also designed color motifs for each of the main characters. Again, I wanted to add a little more depth to the project. I know I haven't talked much about the other characters, so I will give a brief run down of each one.

Caleum -
Caleum's colors will be dark, neutral colors. Grays, blacks, dark browns. The color of a approaching storm. In the epilogue, he will be in dark colors, but will have a slight purple. This is to show that he has accepted the life of a criminal and is in line with King James. 

Abby-
 While only in the film in the beginning, Abby is one of the most important characters. She will be dressed in light blues. Light blue is the color of honesty and speaking ones mind. She is the one who tells Caleum what she thinks and how it is. The colors will also be muted as she is on her death bed.

Toby -
Toby is Caleum's old friend from high school.
Representing friendship and Caleum's one chance at getting out of the violent path he is taking, Toby will be dressed in yellow. Yellow is the color of friendship. Not an obnoxious shade of yellow, maybe a dull pastel. In the three year epilogue, Toby's color will be gray, which is to represent him being indifferent to Caleum. He has no more emotional attachment to Caleum, as he now knows the life he leads.  

Two-Bit -
The man who inducts Caleum into his life of crime. 
Two-Bit is the poison that infects Caleum. Dressed in fake and flashing clothing such as leathers, jerseys and etc. Two-Bit has created this image of what he is because he is hollow and fake. The clothing should be obnoxious to represent his show boating type personality. In the final scene in which Caleum confronts Two-Bit and murders him, Two-Bit will be dress in simple undergarments. To show that in this moment, he is a real and truest moment. Which makes the death more atrocious. Caleum kills Two-Bit when he is at his most base and human. 

Raymond 'King' James -
The father that Caleum always wanted who is the head of a small town criminal institution.
Not only is King James dressed in dark, gothic colors, but accentuated with purple. Purple is a color of royalty and what kings would be robed in. King James fancies himself a king of his empire. Along with his royal coloring, he will have a couple of jeweled golden rings. 

All the colors still have a bit of the original storm palette, but with their own colors to make their characters unique. These are my thoughts of coloring the characters of OotGG. I really enjoyed doing this exercise. I felt that it helped me get more invested into the project and was more than just getting a group of actors together and going through the scene. Gave a little more depth to the characters I've created. Hopefully we will be able to accomplish this in the final product. Basically, I wanted to validate all my worthless film knowledge that I have accumulated over the years to make myself feel good.

There are other ways to make myself feel good...