Other Influences

Another influence on my work will be "Kidulthood" (2006 Dir. Huda). Again this film is concerned with inner-city gangs. The cinematography in this film is done by Brian Tufano, who also worked on Trainspotting (1996 Dir. Boyle).

This film also has the harsh, blue lighting on actors and the sharp crisp images, similar to "Harry Brown".

The images are very well exposed and the scene has a strong, cold hue to it which combine to give the over all asthetic.

Refinement of my Cinematography Idea

What I have found with "Harry Brown" is that there seems to be a contrast between the light and day shots within the film.

When a scene is shot in day time there is a blue tint to everything, giving the film a cold and uneasy look. This adds to the idea that the film is set in a Britain where there is little hope or future.

In the above still from the film we can see that everything has a cold and metallic look to it. The image is very sharp and there is very little colour. The colour temperature is very low and the faces of the actors are very white to the point of looking almost washed out.

If we compare this to a still of the same actor shot at night time, it is obvious that the scene has a very different colour temperature. The lighting, whilst being artificial, has a warm tone to it, almost like natural lighting in daytime. This throws the audience as it isn't what they would expect. The same actor has a much warmer tone to his face in this shot, despite it still being quite white and exposed. I suspect that the reason for lighting and toning the scenes in such ways is to emphasis the dreariness of daily life for the main character, whilst the warm tones at night might emphasis this being the natural environment for these gangs.

I have decided that my cinematography work will explore the difference between day and night time shooting in the film. 

End Credits - Chase& Status ft. Plan B

The above is the video for Chase & Status' single 'End Credits', which was included on the soundtrack to 'Harry Brown'.

The video stars the music artist Plan B, who also appears in the film, as well as including clips from the feature itself. As such, the music video follows the same artistic style as the film to create continuity. The music video continues the lighting set up of the film, with lighting often coming from above, motivated sources, such as street lights.

There seems to be two colour styles within this music video, as well as the film. On a lot of occasions the shot is very blue, with lighting coming from sources such as cold daylight and white artificial lights in the pedestrian tunnel. On other occasions the shots are very warm with the lighting coming from the street lights present within the scene, giving an orange glow. Again with this video, as in the film, the lighting often masks one side of the actor's face to give them high contrast.

The actors are often centred within this piece and this is something to consider when I make my film. Rather than place them towards the sides of the shot, the director has chosen to place them centred, facing the camera, drawing the viewers eye straight to the actor.

The Lighting of the character Harry Brown (Michael Caine)

I particularly like the lighting of the character of Harry Brown in this film.

He is often lit from underneath to shadow the left-side and the underside of his face, giving his character a gritty edge. The high contrast in his face that results highlights both his age, by showing his wrinkles and other features, as well as shadowing him to give him a menacing look. Below are some examples of this.

Lighting comes from the above artificial light to shadow the underside of his face. Also there is a warm orange back light - possibly a street light.

Lighting from above right. Warm tones suggest a street lamp. Left hand side of Caine's face is shadowed. Light on the gun suggests another light shined at that to make it visible to the audience. 

This shot is brighter than the previous ones, with light coming not only from the artificial lights visible in shot but also from sunlight or something similar. Shine on Caine's face and gun is caused by the artificial lighting. 

This shot is probably done by sunlight and a reflector board. Caine is light from the above suggesting sunlight is the main source. 

Initial Idea

I have taken inspiration for this piece from the work of cinematography of Martin Ruhe and director Daniel Barber in the film "Harry Brown" (2009). I particularly like the combination of harsh lighting and desaturated shots to help create the sense of a bleak world within our own particular reality. 

What was important in this film was the use of both locations and lighting. First off, the locations used within the film are all real world locations within Britain to give the film a sense of realism. The run-down block of flats that is the main setting for the film is a sight often seen within the cities of Britain today, and it helps to build the characters that are portrayed in this film. These locations are often made up of grey concrete walls, floors and ceilings, creating a set that is both colourless and lifeless.

The lighting in "Harry Brown" is often harsh, casting shadows onto the lower half and underside of Michael Caine's face, as well as the other performers in this film. A lot of the lighting is done with lighting within the film world, for example, harsh artificial lighting from strip lighting in tunnels, to create a claustrophobic, artificial world.