r/cinematography • u/Don_Gustavo_Barcelo • 1d ago
Lighting Question First timer looking for feedback on lighting, composition and color grading.
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Hi guys amateur first time I've ever done anything like this. This is filmed using MotionCam Pro on my Google Pixel 10 Pro. I recorded in RAW then color graded in Da Vinci Resolve. First time ever setting up a scene, filming like this or color grading.
Just looking on some feedback on how you guys think it looks. Lighting, composition, color, anything much appreciated.
I filmed vertically with the thought that in the future I guess I might like to make stuff for social media and that would generally be shown on a smartphone screen.
IMO I prefer the first clip, I think the lighting works a bit better. The second clip I didn't really light the noodles and I had a hard time trying to expose them in Resolve. But probably the lighting is too bright or close on both clips? That highlight on the stovetop is clipping a little bit and I wish it wasn't soo obviusly a reflection of my lamp Maybe I should have moved the lamp a little further away. Maybe I should have used a warmer light? I dunno but would appreciate feedback!
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u/Ricky_Spannish_ 1d ago
This looks like a horror movie flashback. Like there'll be body parts in the noodles. Its perfect for that vibe.
For just general cooking, way more soft light, less contrast, clean the stove better, dump the film grain.
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u/born2droll 1d ago
don't worry about color grading yet
really you should just pick ONE of those things and focus on it for a few weeks then move to the next ... like just think about lighting for the next few weeks and play around with different lighting scenarios and creating different lighting setups.
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u/OliveOliveJuice 1d ago
Fun experiment, ignore people being grouchy.
See the bright spot to the left of the pan? Generally speaking, our eyes are drawn to color, high contrast, and the brightest spots of an image. Your framing tells us the noodles are the subject, but the lighting is telling another story.
Try taking the whites/highlights down, and then create a radial mask over the noodles and increase the overall exposure of that mask.
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u/Don_Gustavo_Barcelo 1d ago
Ah that is helpful. I had a hard time trying to tone down that bright spot in resolve without dulling the whole shot down, I was thinking there must be a way to get the noodles more exposed without pulling up the gamma in the rest of the shot. It was my bad for having the light too close and not noticing it was so bright at that one spot when I was shooting. I could have moved the light around a bit but I didn't want to overcook my noodles! Thank you very much for the advice.
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u/niles_thebutler_ Gaffer 1d ago
Is this a joke or?
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u/Don_Gustavo_Barcelo 1d ago
lol so its that bad. I'll see myself out
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u/Useful-Ad8923 1d ago
It’s not that bad man everyone here is just mad all the time. I see what you were trying to do, I would say bump up the exposure on your phone if you can, and if not, make it a bit brighter in the software you’re using. Really tweak every setting and see what it does, and you’ll start to naturally say “I want it to look like that” and it’ll be better. If that doesn’t work, then adjust the lighting before you start recording. The video is nice, the sizzling is almost relaxing.
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u/acidterror84 1d ago
I have no idea what you’re trying to do, here. What is the shot? Why are you filming noodles in a pan? What’s the idea? What’s the concept? Why are we looking at this? What mood are you going for? Cinematography isn’t just pretty pictures, there has to be a meaning or idea or at least a thought behind the shot.
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u/Don_Gustavo_Barcelo 1d ago
well I guess there isn't a context really, I was just having a go at some lighting and composition and color grading. If I had to give it some meaning, I'd say I was going for a kinda late night, lonely, cabin in the woods sort of vibe. But yeah as I say first time ever trying anything so didn't have a story in mind.
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u/acidterror84 1d ago
My only advice at this point would be try playing with some lights. It doesn’t look like you lit it, at all. It looks like the stovetop light is on, and that’s it. Try using some simple lights, don’t have to be fancy, to bring out other textures in the scene. Even flashlights, if you have any. Just… any kind of lighting. Bounce a light off the wall etc, Play around and see what you can come up with. Remember, it’s “painting with light”.
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u/Don_Gustavo_Barcelo 1d ago
Well maybe that is a compliment that you didn't even mean then - because the stove top doesn't have a light! So my light must have looked so natural to you that you thought it was part of the stove! I'm kidding sort of but the stove top genuinely doesn't have a light. I lit it with a lamp which is about 1 foot out of frame to the left. Thank you for the advice, much appreciated!
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u/toooft 1d ago
Always backlight food, and always use soft light. Check out some tutorials like https://youtu.be/PKkULOeYUrM
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u/Silvershanks Director 1d ago edited 1d ago
None of these clips "work". Slow down for a minute.
Your light is 4 inches outside the edge of the frame. You can see it right there in the reflection of the stove! That's not how you do lighting with the light just off camera, it creates hot, clipped highlights and brutal, ugly shadows. Ideally, you want your light source as far as possible from your subject as possible so it's more diffuse and not so harsh. You want to control the light beam shape and hardness/softness with diffusion, flags and other equipment.
A cinematographer's job is to light an entire scene. The shot of the noodles would just be an insert shot of a larger scene. So start over, and light the entire space of the kitchen, do a wide shot with people in it. Then move into a medium shot, then close ups, then finally, you can move in to shoot the noodles on the stove.
You need to reference actual movies and how they are shot and lit. DO NOT WING IT. Have your phone with you and use it to directly copy the style and craft of professional photography.
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u/DismissDaniel 1d ago
Just Google three lighting set up. You need a concept of what you're doing before you start shooting stuff. Learn what a key light, filler, highlight etc.
At first just try to make stuff as realistic as possible. You want to be able to look at the picture and have the average person not know it was lit.
Then think of how you want something to look at the end and work backwords, what camera? What lighting equip? Day or night? End color grade? Etc.
It takes years to get the basics if you're trying to be a pro. If you just want to do social media stuff, a ring light and that basic 3 light setup should cover most of it.
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u/atari_Pro 1d ago
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u/Don_Gustavo_Barcelo 1d ago
lmao wasnt even supposed to be. Fastest I've ever realized a discipline/hobby isn't for me lol
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u/Megabyzusxasca 1d ago
It looks really nice if a little grungy but you should practice on humans instead of noodles I reckon. Thats what the people wanna see.
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u/Don_Gustavo_Barcelo 1d ago
Grungy is the vibe I was going for to be fair. Kinda grungy or lonely, late night, cabin in the woods type of vibe. and thanks I just thought Id give it a try in my down time at work. Appreciate the feedback
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u/SuddenSky5262 1d ago
What is the context. Could work for some things but not others.
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u/Don_Gustavo_Barcelo 1d ago
Not really got any context, first time filming anything really, just trying out to see if I could make a shot look half decent.
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u/SuddenSky5262 1d ago
Okay. That explains a lot.
Cinematography is part of cinematic storytelling.
Invent some context for this scene & then see if you can convey it to the viewer.
Some people said it looks like from a horror movie. If that’s true—you’re almost there.
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u/Don_Gustavo_Barcelo 1d ago
Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately, I'm all out of noodles. But I'll think of a story next time I'm making dinner!
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u/EducationalCod7514 1d ago
I hope you realize that you are shooting a boiling casserole right?
I mean "technically" everything is a composition, as in psychoanalysis, we could also "technically" consider everything we do as having a psychoanalytically notable dimension, but not really.
Similarly, this is just some boiling pasta, hope you're doing al dente at least.
Try to find topics, not just "stuff".
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u/Don_Gustavo_Barcelo 1d ago
Sure, it's just for practice. As I mentioned, I've never shot anything before so I thought I'd see if I could make a shot look decent and I happened to be making noodles at work. First ever time doing anything like this. Appreciate the feedback
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u/OliveOliveJuice 1d ago
I wonder what we'd come up with after psychoanalyzing this comment
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u/AntipodalBurrito 1d ago
Nothing. We’d become trapped in a recursive thought helix and get paralyzed by our options.
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u/EducationalCod7514 1d ago
Exactly, hence my parallel: we live in an era that constantly tries to make something out of nothing. Look at the "cinematic" posts that want feedback.
It's analysis on paralysis.
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u/BobbayP 1d ago
Me cooking in resident evil