NY_Dan
Well-known
Just got back from seeing the movie Nebraska. During the film I wondered what people on this site would think of the black and white cinematography. After all, I think most of us have very educated eyes for black and white. I only wish the movie cinematography could have been more like the photos on the best Monochrome thread.
Personally, I didn't like the first half or so of the movie's cinematography. The black and white was too low contrast and muddy. The second half was better. And the best photographed scenes were inside the father's boyhood house -- my opinion.
Here's quote from Variety :
"Cinematography: Phedon Papamichael
We shot two different types of digital (tests) and two types of video, plus trying color stock printed black and white. We found that shooting digitally offers the best opportunity for a ‘filmic’ look, ironically enough. He and I watched about 10 black-and-white movies together, about half of them in Cinemascope, because this was my first Cinemascope movie. We didn’t focus so much on the early studio films, because the film stock was different and those films were very lit. We started in the ’50s, when people shot using natural light: ‘Sweet Smell of Success,’ ‘Tarnished Angels,’ ‘Hud’ and ‘Seconds’ — a lot of James Wong Howe — the two Bogdanovich films, ‘Paper Moon’ and ‘Last Picture Show,’ early Jarmusch, ‘Manhattan.’ And I’d say to him, ‘I like this, don’t like that, let’s go for that type of contrast, let’s go for this kind of texture,’ that type of stuff."
There are so many films Phedon could have watched for black and white inspiration. How about the 1934 film It Happened One Night?
What say you all?
Personally, I didn't like the first half or so of the movie's cinematography. The black and white was too low contrast and muddy. The second half was better. And the best photographed scenes were inside the father's boyhood house -- my opinion.
Here's quote from Variety :
"Cinematography: Phedon Papamichael
We shot two different types of digital (tests) and two types of video, plus trying color stock printed black and white. We found that shooting digitally offers the best opportunity for a ‘filmic’ look, ironically enough. He and I watched about 10 black-and-white movies together, about half of them in Cinemascope, because this was my first Cinemascope movie. We didn’t focus so much on the early studio films, because the film stock was different and those films were very lit. We started in the ’50s, when people shot using natural light: ‘Sweet Smell of Success,’ ‘Tarnished Angels,’ ‘Hud’ and ‘Seconds’ — a lot of James Wong Howe — the two Bogdanovich films, ‘Paper Moon’ and ‘Last Picture Show,’ early Jarmusch, ‘Manhattan.’ And I’d say to him, ‘I like this, don’t like that, let’s go for that type of contrast, let’s go for this kind of texture,’ that type of stuff."
There are so many films Phedon could have watched for black and white inspiration. How about the 1934 film It Happened One Night?
What say you all?