Amerikan Cinematographer Archive : Harry Savides | Milk. (2008)

That’s Harry with Gustopher Van Santy.

So I learned I can’t publish this substack that often cause my posts were too ambitious. Too many words. So let’s simplify.

My goal is to write this post in under one hour. I got other crap to do. Kids to pick up too.

Let’s look at “Milk” shot by the great Harry Savides. It’s for the home boy named Gus Van Sant. He’s a great director. I hope you have seen some of his films.

In my humble opinion, Harry is one of the greatest DPs who has ever lived. Why? Look at the beauty of Elephant or Last Days. His naturalism. His camera movement. And more importantly, he isn’t flashly, but delivers for the story. He’s resourceful and thoughtful. And he was a SUPER NICE GUY. He was a NYC native and I know some crew who worked with him. You can’t be an a-hole DP if you have to work with A-hole directors like it seems like a few he worked with. You gotta ying to their yang

Here’s some fun tips and tricks. Use them in your next film!

1. He put gyros on his handheld cameras to stabilize them! Can we do this nowadays? YES YOU CAN! They are kind of expensive but could be a lot better than an easyrig. You can order them here: https://www.ken-lab.com/store/c2/kenyon-small-lightweight-gyros

2. He also put a gyro on the steadicam - wow - that’s smooth man. At this point you can get a steadicam with a volt on it or just use a movi. But that is awesome. And it was 2008, pre stabilization on these guys and probably pre-stabilization in the DI, or not what it is today.

3. He used Cooke Pancros cause they flare and have less contrast. “A subtle milkiness”. Pancros rule.

4. He used old skool lights like china balls, scoops, and lowell guys, plus a bunch of kinos.

5. He augmented existing lights. He used kinos on the ceiling thru 1000H diffusion with teasers. Now you can use titans if you want or litemats.

6. He took a ring light and hung it to simulate a ceiling light. Put it on a arm. And he used photofloods in them. This is called a chicken coop light. And he shot them through bleached muslin. SOFT! And put 1/2 CTB on it - so kind of a little cooler than 2900k. And he skirted them to keep off the wall, but let a spill or two for realism

7. He couldn’t light from a window directly so he just bounced light off a 12x12 ultrabounce that he hung from the roof like a canopy. Astute readers will remember Hoyte did this in the fighter.

8. And he puts a kino flo over the window. You can do this! I do this. It looks solid. And now you can use a tube light. EASY PEASY.

THIS IS THE QUOTE OF THE WHOLE PIECE:

“If you can’t get a light where you want it, put the light where you can and then bounce it.”

Remember that. Like if you are doing a shower scene - bounce the light - don’t get that light wet.

9. For night exteriors - one of the crucial scenes in the film- he gels his tungsten units with 1/2 straw and 1/2 green. THAT’s a cool combo man.

10. He lit the crowd with magnesium flares - they kept ripping them out! THATS SICK MAN.

11. Also they used a small reflector light - like the kind of fixture you can get at the home depot for $10. He’s using that on a 30 million dollar film. That’s smart. That’s resourceful and also brilliant. Simplicity and you don’t have to be flashy. Save that money for the netflix CEOs’s bonus!

12. He pull-processed the footage 1 stop at the DI. Most DPs just shoot it normal. But I guess he wanted it a little milkier. It’s a period piece.

That’s all.

That wasn’t too hard.

Now let’s use this KNOWLEDGE AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW HARRY LIT THESE FRAMES. Guess the lighting setup in 10 min or less and you get a prize!

that’s his bounce light out the window - right? Check it out - no hair light - falls milky into the background. AND THATs gorgeous. And look a hit of light hits his ear.

more bounce light - from a window or book light.

Bounce light from a window. Hey check it out, Wandering DP - you can have this office setup and make it look good. They have it seems like some bounce return or something hitting the guy at the desk.

Is that the from the window and look maybe with the chickencoop or something that creates a leak of light on his chest and on the wall. Those little leaks of light give the realism. And also looks like a bounce fill and look no backlight.

FUCKING AWESOME SHOT MAN. Is that with magnesium flares in the foreground? And just hitting them with light at certain points in the background? Is that a 35mm lens? JUST ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS.

That’s the overhead photo flood shooting thru muslin. With a spill or two. That’s beautiful. Maybe a backlight?

That’s the kino flos in the ceiling. And a light from the left hitting the street. I feel like he could have skirted it more off the ceiling? But who am I to judge.

That’s it. That took like 40 minutes. That’s good. I’ll keep making these things. They help me and hope they help you.