'Sleuth' was another project that I worked on recently as a Gaffer, and it also came with its own unique aspects. The majority of this short film directed by Jaspar J. Cumiskey was shot on a built set, inside a studio, and in noir style!
There were many considerations to keep in mind given the approach of this film as far as lighting went. Being shot for a monochrome look meant I had to focus on creating the right atmosphere and depth through light intensity and shape alone since colour contrast was out of the question. Having a constant level of haze in the space also helped with adding volume to the light. The built set was roughly 4 by 4 meters and throughout the film, the camera would see every corner of the room. This would normally be an issue, but thanks to the fact that we were in a studio, I was able to place the lighting fixtures behind walls, or rigging them above the room.
The main source was a 1.2K Arri HMI going through some Venetian blinds, acting as a far side key for the protagonist, while a 150W Dedolight on full spot, rigged above the desk, emulated the desk lamp and bounced some light back off the papers, filling in the shadows on the actor's face.
The evidence board was lit with an Arri 300W, boomed over the wall and acting as if a practical lamp was there, while in the opposite corner another Dedo was doing the same with the antlers mounted on the wall. The third Dedolight of the kit was used to amplify a lighter's effect as the character was starting to smoke, and for added realism, I created a flicker using the dimmer.
There were two doors on the set, one to a bathroom behind which I placed a KinoFlo DivaLite with tungsten bulbs, and another which was leading to a corridor. As this second one had a window in it and the director wanted a silhouette of the character walking in, I created a fairly sizeable bright source by bouncing an Arri 750W Open Face into a polyboard. Also outside the room, there was another Arri 300W that I would pan around as if car headlights would pass by and shine in through the window, giving the room some extra dynamic and depth.
Just outside the studio, we shot a day for night scene where I used the HMI as close to the talent as I could get it to make it look like a street lamp. Even though we shot while the sky was still bright because we were in the shade and the HMI created a harsh light, the effect is really sold when you see the scene in black and white.
On the last day, we went on location where the setups were more improvised on the spot. Because the building didn't have any windows, I needed to create big sources to sell the look of daylight, so I used the HMI and either bounced it into a mirror, or shot it through a 3 by 1.5 meter sheet of unbleached muslin. As the bathroom scene had to cut with the fake bathroom in the studio, I used the same KinoFlo and boomed it above the mirror to make it look like a fluorescent fixture was in place. The final setup was probably one of the most interesting ones, as it had gone dark outside and I once again had to create a street lamp look. I put the HMI up as high as the stand would go and angled it down towards the actor. Probably the most difficult part about that was hiding the leads as the only access point to power it, was through the same door that was being filmed.
This was another great experience on set with its own challenges imposed by its visual style, and I enjoyed it as it's something different to add to my gaffing portfolio. I also got to shoot some Ilford HP5 black & white film using my half-frame Chaika, which gave me exactly the negative size of a Super35 motion picture camera, really helping me create that noir look in the photos.