“The nights were all about putting lights in the room and inventing, without any candles being in the frame,” said Sciamma. “We were talking about re-inventing and enhancing our 18th century image to current realities.”įor evening interiors, Sciamma and Mathon required the same exactness in creating the period-accurate candlelight. “With Celine, we chose to shoot digitally for the actual resonance it gave to the film, combining memories and period films,” said Mathon. Yet the choice to shoot digitally went beyond the way the Monstro rendered color, creating a “contemporary echo” to the film. The large sensor (the film was shot in 7K) on the Monstro, combined with the lenses and LUT, produced the skin tone Mathon wanted. The film look enhanced the cyan that I liked very much in balance with the red and the green dresses.” “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” NEON “The huge colors were one important reason for our choice. “We to shoot with the Red Monstro camera, Leitz Thalia lenses, and used a film-look LUT after our first tests,” said Mathon. The goal was finding the right combination of tools (including a satin filter) to accomplish this in-camera rather in post-production. Their skin had a texture that suggested an oil painting, and the color was detailed and heightened. We often discussed the faces in terms of landscapes.” We had to blur the raw and contemporary aspect of the faces, while keeping the precision and the nuances of the colors, but finding a rendering of the skin that would bring a bit of the period into the image through its pictoriality. The makeup artist and I together took the time to visualize this mix of lens, lighting, filters, and makeup over the course of several tests with the actresses and the costumes. “I sought both softness, with no hard shadows, a slightly satiny and non-realistic result that remains natural and extremely living. The study of portraits encouraged me to find our own tools, our palette,” said Mathon. “The rendering of skin color was primordial in my work. Behind the scenes of “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” NEON Mathon worked to maintain contrast in the frame that accentuated the dynamic sense of the location’s space, but keeping all contrast (which indicates light coming from a specific direction) off the actresses’ faces. No matter where the two actresses turned or walked, the light would seem as if emanated from them. With a strong light source from the windows that she could control, Mathon shaped and softened it with an elaborate combination of flags and diffusion. Whatever their positions, I tried to keep this same non-realistic look.” It was as if the light emanated from the faces. “I thought that it was as if we never felt the light,” said Mathon. “I tried to de-emphasize the light’s directionality by working on an all-encompassing softness and to capture the variations, the slightest trembling, to reveal their redness, to feel their emotions without ever letting the light take over. Mathon was inspired by how the subjects’ skin was rendered, and its texture, but not necessarily by the light. Mathon and Sciamma made pre-production trips to galleries to study portraits by female painters of the era. ![]() Not only did the lighting setup consume a chunk of the production budget, it also cost time. It was a bold move for the low-budget film. The solution: Build an enormous platform, and light it from outside the windows. The large main room - the workshop/bedroom where the portrait is painted and the love affair unfolds - was more than 25 feet above a courtyard on one side, and more than 50 feet above a moat on the other. Further complicating matters: Her grips were extremely limited in where they could hang lights and flags because the deserted castle was a historical monument. ![]() However, Mathon would need a great deal of light. The volume, the colors, the existing materials and the purity of the decor - it was exactly the aim of the film.” We a complicated set, but it was so exciting, inspiring. ![]() ![]() “Céline wanted to do mostly longer shots. “There were so many discussions about the choice of the set,” said Mathon. ‘Poor Things’ Only Needed 4 Lenses to Achieve Its Distinct Look Claire Mathon on the set of “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” NEON
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