Posted at 13:59h
in
Film
by ajmcine
This holiday season, catch the Lifetime movie, A Show-Stopping Christmas! It was a lot of fun creating this Christmas movie. Serving as the film’s director of photography was a whirlwind. The script gave us so much to work with, and the entire cast and crew brought director John Stimpson’s vision to life. To get you up to speed, here is a quick synopsis: A passionate theater director has to keep her beloved theater from being sold by making this year’s rendition of “A Christmas Carol” into the biggest success ever. With the help of a Hollywood actor, it may not be impossible after all.
Creating a Look with the Camera
The goal was to create images that appear rich, deep, and saturated, and at the same time, warm and festive to bring the holiday mood to each scene. We chose the Arri Alexa Mini paired with the Cooke S4 lenses to capture this film. The superior color sampling of the Alexa, plus the sharpness, contrast, and depth provided by the Cookes, helped create the look. Camera operator Scott Lebeda framed up these beautiful shots while 1st AC Felix Giuffrida kept each frame in focus. I relied mainly on the Tiffen Satin filters for filtration, which have become a favorite for beauty work. 2nd AC Richelle Topping managed the filters, lenses, and all of our camera accessories, in addition to keeping track of reports and slating.
Approach to Lighting
The overall approach to lighting was high key to match the stage light provided by the theater. We used the existing stage lights and augmented them with our film lights and diffusion for the scenes in the theater. The Arri SkyPanel S-120 was the perfect tool for lighting the large seating area.
In the frame above, the main character Riley listens as Sam auditions for the role of Bob Cratchit in “A Christmas Carol.” Gaffer Dave Hallas rigged par cans from the balcony to backlight the actors and create gentle lens flares. Pools of light hit the seats, and we have a layer of garland peppered with Christmas lights along the back of the theater. Our actors are lit by the LED stage lights controlled by the house lighting board operated by G&E’s Henry Thompkins.
Learn More
Each scene of this film has a unique behind the scenes story. If you would like to learn more please comment. You can also follow me on Instagram to see more behind the scenes content.
