That's a Wrap on "Last Look"

     Last week we wrapped up shooting the feature film "Last Look," Directed, Written and Produced by Hernando Bansuelo. This was my first experience working on a feature film! The shooting for this psycologically twisted and horrific drama spanned two weeks of shooting at a few locations. One location was in the Hollywood Theatre District inside a small black box space.  Here we shot nine scenes where we created an intensely surreal theatrical environment.

Photo By: Brigitte Bartholdi

     As the Theatrical Lighting Designer, I collaborated with Director of Photography, Aaron Torres, to illuminate a world of distorted reality through the use of dramatic colors and steep key sources from the lighting grid above. Gaffer, Corrin Hodgson, stepped in to create even fills from the ground keeping with the visual goals Aaron and I had set. Being in a theatre space, we were able to use the dimming control console to adjust the intensity levels for optimum balance in our exposures. The lighting board also came in handy for some cues and simple effects we used in a number of scenes to enhance the theatrical feel.
    I had a great time working on this film in collaboration with Aaron, Hernando and the entire team. Having the opporotunity to use my theatrical style in an art form that is often more realistic was an amazing experience where I learned a lot. By using my knowledge about light and combining it with what I know about photography, lighting for digital cinema began to really click for me. I hope to be able to work on another project with this level of creative lighting again in the future.