A masterclass in the director of photography’s low key ambient lighting visual style.
Bradford Young is responsible for the stunning look of films including Selma (2014), Arrival (2016), and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). In Depth Cine examines the tools and techniques of his visual style:
Young talks about his approach in a series of interviews with CookeOptics TV. In this first clip, he discusses how his connection to the script for Arrival informed his artistic and technical choices in how to photograph the film:
Young speaks in more detail specifically about lighting with bounce and negative fill:
Young talks through his use of practical lights:
Young discusses his lens choices:
Further Viewing
Director Ava Duvernay speaks to Q-Tip about her work with cinematographer Bradford Young lighting the black body and how black characters look in dark rooms (via Tribeca):
Solo: A Star Wars Story was criticised for looking “underlit” (by which I assume people are referring to its intentional low-key lighting choice). While the production was fraught and the end product was divisive, the look is undeniable:
More on the beauty in both form and function in Arrival: