There were similar lighting setups for a few scenes set in the living room, particularly the two scenes, that were shot consecutively, which I have broken down below.
In the living room scene where the characters return from shoplifting, the cinematographer and director provided me with a few shots from the film ‘A Thousand and One’ that they were inspired by (see below). They appreciated the high-contrast lighting effect caused by the sheer curtains and the washed-out light from the exterior. Therefore, the production design team ensured that we had sheer curtains, to achieve a similar look, that we could hang up in front of the sliding glass doors in the living room. Usually, and specifically for this film, I start by using the natural light in the space and then enhance it, so it is always lit in some way. So for this, I placed two Swit E90 2×1 LED Panels outside the glass doors, to enhance the natural light entering the room. These were both set to 5500K, so it would best emulate the pre-existing daylight.
To play with the colour temperature of this setup, and to make the house feel more alive and lived in, I decided to add a tungsten source backlighting the subjects for their closeups, as if a light were on in another room.
I rigged up a Dedolight set to 3200K on quite a low brightness, so it was subtle and maintained the high contrast look I had created with the glass doors. I didn’t want it to be something the viewer’s eyes were drawn to, just something that you would notice if it were missing. I appreciated how it switched up the colour of the frame and added a subtle yet noticeable touch.
For the next setup, a pick-up from a previous day of shooting, due to actor scheduling conflicts, I decided to keep the two Swits where they were but change the colour temperature of one; the one on the right-hand side of the door. I changed it to a warmer colour temperature to emulate the evening sun that was shining through the door in the reverse frames we shot on the previous day. This resulted in a beautiful contrast in colour, as I had left the other Swit set at a cooler temperature. Although it was one of the simplest lighting setups I had created for the film, it was one of my favourites due to the extreme softness that was achieved while still maintaining a good contrast.
