How
I first saw the light!
A
cautionary tale by filmmaker Raza Mallal.
At
the age of 13 I volunteered to take the photographs at an uncles wedding.
The
sun was high in the sky when I strode on to the scene, like the fastest young
gun in the west. Around my neck hung my gleaming new, state of the art, Russian,
Zenith SLR. With it's hot shoe mounted flash I was ready to beat the f.stops off
all-comers and especially George, the lumbering so-called
"professional" photographer the wedding couple had hired. I remember
his face..... , it seemed to have been pieced together out of the remnants of
the faded brown tweed he was wearing.
I
surveyed the scene, the hustle and bustle meant nothing I gave George a
confident and cocky teenage leer.
I
watched sceptically George as took ages unpacking cables and yellowing
reflectors, odd shaped bulbs and all sorts of ancient pieces of equipment.
He
tried to gather some people together to take his first picture but with me about
he stood no chance. He kept fiddling with his "photofloods",
"white umbrella" and constantly irritated me with his to-ing
and froing with a handheld light meter. Ha! I gloated, mine’s a TTL system
with a nifty exposure indicator mounted on top corner of the camera.
Stand aside for the new generation of creative genius and of course the
latest technology!
I
started literally running rings around George. Proudly, confidently and perhaps
somewhat cockily snapping away, capturing the right moments and all the
important looking guests.
I
was composing a shot with the best man a la “Captain America” when a sudden
purposeful elbow in the head from George with an annoying "Out of the way
you pest!” made me realise this conflict was not going to be as easy as it
first appeared. “How dare he?” Creativity would win. I'd prove to this sorry
excuse of a photographer that I was the “master in the making”, no correct
that, “The master had already arrived!
They
would clamour for my pictures. The colours, the composition, the radiance.
Hmm,
I contemplated, in this battle the time had arrived, there would be no mercy, no
prisoners! I reloaded with my secret weapon.
One I'd been treasuring for so long that it was perilously close to it's
use by date; my Kodakolor 36 exposure! George was going to be hit with more than
a than a damp squirt from a water pistol.
In
fact I got so determined and confident that I wouldn't entertain requests from
my parents to take photographs with George’s "complicated" lighting
set-ups. “I'll wait till he's
finished.” “Don't want him copying my angles and composition”. On hearing
this George surprisingly seemed more at ease.
I
darted off and easily stayed several frames ahead of him. Then the coup d’grace: Taking advantage of the age difference between George
and myself I went right up to the bride and whispered in a most innocent and
sweet voice as to whether I could be the first to take a picture of the two of
them together in the sitting room. Behind me, I could sense George’s anxious
glare. I sneered back,” You try getting this close to her mate and they’ll
wrap that cranky tripod around your neck.”
I
timed it perfectly. Just as George spent what seemed like an eternity setting up
for his two shot of the bride and groom I grabbed the brides hand and led the
two of them away to the sitting room.
I
spent the rest of the evening on auto,
shooting things ahead of George and leaving him “tut-tutting” with
each set-up he attempted.
The
next day I sent of my 3 precious rolls of film for processing and awaited the
results anxiously - a week, 10 days. The photographs looked great,
Wonderful
framing, the right head room, nothing poking out from behind anyone’s head,
and a quite apparent religious regard for the “rule of thirds”. I carefully
mounted them in an album and with more recoil than an abused Bolex bounded of to
display my masterpieces.
The
bride and groom having enjoyed their brief honeymoon at...... number 14, 2 doors
along the street.... were now back at their own house number 12.
I
gleefully began to tantalizingly display each page of the album. However, I
immediately detected a distinct lack of appreciation for my efforts. I searched
their faces for an answer. The expressions were clearly of bemusement.
Yes,
when one is aspiring to great heights, yes one has enough maturity to determine
the real meaning of comments such as “Yeah yeah, that’s a good one”.
“Look at Auntie Najma, doesn’t she look funny,” “Oh yeah that’s
fine,” Well I never knew Rahila wore that outfit.” “Isn’t Uncle
Javed’s moustache big.”
Yeah
that’s all very well but what about the “X-Men” style direction by yours
truly. The…the amazing staging, the framing, the composition, Were these
people totally oblivious to the craft of creative photography?
Sensing
my growing frustration, Uncle Arif, the bride’s father, interrupted politely
and drawing me to one side said. “Look you’ve taken some very good
pictures............... in many ways. However have a look at this”. He placed
a velour-covered album in my hands.
On
the first page was a full-page enlargement of the photo of the bride and groom I
had taken in the sitting room but ...........................it was so crisp, so
sharp, the colours were alive. I was stunned. The skin of the bride and groom
glowed. And that background?
It
was really in the background! Quick mental comparison with the similar photo in
my album ......Yes my mantelpiece was right beside them, in this photograph
there was depth, there was dimension. When did George take this photo? The old
codger had just got in a lucky one while my back was turned. That’s why he’s
put it on the front page of the album. The rest were probably not worth the
paper they were printed on. With some hesitancy I turned the page. Smack!!!!.
Yes indeed, it felt like George’s elbow in my face. All the photos were
stunning, vivid, vibrant, a profusion of beauty.
Needless
to say I was heartbroken, my pride had taken a serious beating.
It
was akin to shooting the best take, of the most important scene in your make or
bust movie, with the last piece of film stock and on checking the gate finding
somebody’s beard in there.
I
ran back and grabbed my album. Yes, the proof was there, my photos seemed bright
enough but compared to George’s, they were flat, uninteresting and with badly
balanced colours. I had used a single front mounted flash whereas George had
used a series of lights of different intensities and angles, together with
diffusers and filters.
I
didn’t have the decency nor the maturity I guess to confront George. I was
embarrassed. But I guess it was a crucial lesson that I learned very early in
life.
When
it comes to composing pictures, drawn, still or moving, give due consideration
and proper respect to correct lighting.
Good
lighting is essential to creating realism, atmosphere and depth.
When
considering lighting for film, TV and video we generally use the basic
three/four light set-up
Involving
the key light, fill light, rim or backlight and sometimes a background light.
However, this general rule can become restrictive and perhaps not quite suitable
to the genre, mood or atmosphere you are trying to create and you'll soon want
your lights to have a more profound contribution to the overall scenes within
your film.
In
the next issue I’ll deal with ways of using light to improve the look of your
film.
CopywriteIn
the next issue I’ll deal with ways of using light to improve the look of your
film.
Email-
razamallal@hotmail.com