QUEENSBOROUGH BRIDGE
KEY-LIGHTING & RESEARCH
I was responsible for key-lighting a majority of Queensborough bridge locations. Initial tasks included research of reference photography & testing sun angles until adequate raking light fell across the bridge. Sunlight remained warm & sharp, producing pings we could later amplify using lens effects in compositing. The environment light was kept cooler to offset the warmer colour tones of the key.
MATCHING PLATES
& CG IMAGERY
Although lighting had to match plate elements, shots were almost completely CG & heavily stylised, consistent with Baz Lurhmann’s work. The evening version of the bridge comprised of 500 lights including boats, cars, trains, sidewalks & girder lights. Lights were all assigned appropriate colour temperatures & switched on as the shot progressed. This impressive shot build-up was later removed.
TECHNICAL
DETAILS
Efficiencies were achieved by using 50 point clouds for city elements. Cars closer to camera were ray traced & dicing cameras were used to avoid prman eye-splits. Due to the sheer amount of geometry, shots were difficult to render & the use of segmented motion blur presented various rendering challenges. Due to the constant intermixing of set & prop elements, deep compositing was necessary .
PROJECT
INFORMATION
intermediate digital artist: lighting • compositing
- Animal Logic (201-500 employees; Motion Pictures & Film Industry)
- April 2012 – March 2013 (12 months, Sydney, Australia)
TESTIMONIALS &
TRAILERS
I’ve worked with Domenick on 2 films, Sucker punch and more recently The Great Gatsby.
On the Great Gatsby Dom keylit some impressive shots of duelling cars racing across the Queensboro Bridge, amongst others.
Whilst having to wrangle some heavy CG sets and our new physically based lighting system Dom retained a fresh creative approach to keylighting.
He is hard working, dedicated and has a passion for pushing the look of the shot. He’s a good collaborator and I’d often find the rest of the crew working on his shot, crowded around his desk discussing
the finer technical and creative points on how to improve it. Taking ownership of the shot is what it’s all about and that’s what Dom does well.
I recommend Dom as a valuable keylighter or lighter for any future film project.
