Seeing A Big Change At The Turn Of The Century

Just something I observed about a change in film method and quality in the late 1990's that I find fascinating and I hope you do too. Isn't light amazing?

[@kathisaurus]

I have the feeling that the focus changed from "The Actor / Actress" to "the scene" ... or "performance" to "immersion". I think they just realized that the whole mood of a scene is much more immersive, if the people see undeniably, that the character is embedded into the scene, the place where they're at. It feels more like a real moment that is influenced by the same lighting conditions like we experience in real life. And also, if they are really there, then they are also really WITH the threat, the danger, the urgency, the story. They visually become one with the world they are in. Another thought I had is. Maybe this is also something that came with the technology of 3D simulation, where you could play around with light color and placement and just realize that colored light sources are far more immersive because its "real".

[@LightingMentor]

Yes!!! I love your thoughts in this! Totally agree

[@parmartapan3764]

I always thought what makes old movies different from new movies and just get confused all the times. Now watching this video just opened my eyes 👀. This man talks about the things which no other artist talks . Hat's off to you man 🙌🙌

[@Saigethewanderer]

Every time I watch your videos I feel so hungry with inspiration. Thank you for all you are sharing with us !

[@sergioaguirre4967]

The very first movie where I noticed this, well, rather someone made me notice it, was The Empire Strikes Back, it was Irvin Keshner himself on the commentary, I think they were those scenes on the Milenium Falcon where he points how the previous film had very old school lighting techniques, whereas the photography director in ESB said, we're inside a space ship, in space! The only light sources are the artificial lights, this is how I also came to notice how vastly different both films look and started noticing in a lot of films. It's nice to see how it actually was made and the philosophy and actual technical reasons, thanks so much, awesome video!

[@TheLightFantasticArt]

I love it that there's a much bigger range now, but why does everything have to be so dark? Every movie and every tv show.

[@LightingMentor]

Yes, I totally agree. I love the more naturalistic feel, but the darkness is getting in the way for me. I watched "Willow" the TV series on Disney+ and some scenes I could not even tell what was happening. And I have my TV in a very dark room

[@3dchick]

I've been studying current cinematography and film lighting for a while, but I never went back to see the clear and shocking change from when I grew up (80s). Now that you point that out, I think the old way creates a sense of innocence almost, or naivete, with the crisp shadows and vivid colors. We're more moody now and all about shades of grey (so to speak).

[@maxthemovieman]

This video is fantastic! I always thought that older Hollywood movies had a certain look about them, but I couldn’t totally identify the specifics. I think this hit the nail on the head. The Mary Poppins comparison in particular was really striking for me. I think many Hollywood movies these days, though, share a new kind of sameness that I wish more filmmakers would break from. The cinematography in the Mary Poppins Returns stills, for example, looked like it could have come from any recent live action Disney movie. The thought of a modern movie being lit in a “character-centric” style sounds interesting by comparison. Always interested to see how inventive filmmakers will break from what is commonly considered “good” or “cinematic.” Thanks for sharing your findings!

[@tofulosophy]

Great insight into the technical and cultural shift. I did notice this as well. Sometimes when I'm in the mood for a nostalgic '90's looking film,' what I'm looking for is film grain and that theater lighting. Keep up the great work!

[@songdecor1762]

This is great channel and videos telling people about stories. The stories about your experiences in Industries, the way you learn and soon on. Those all completely inspiring me… Thank you so much for your sharing… 👍🙏❤️

[@Rickaustinsgallery]

Awesome revelation on realistic lighting vs stage lights. Also thanks for your prismatic back lighting. I enjoyed the color shift on your face from it.

[@pthaloblue100]

That example of the faces lit the same for the night shot in the car as the day shot was absolutely great, it took me completely by surprise and yet it was so obvious after you pointed it out! :D

[@DaveCalx]

Really enjoyed this. Great examples too. I think that what Allen Daviau did on ET was the first time I felt like the environment was doing the lighting. One of the things that made that movie so captivating. Anyway, love your content. All the best.

[@oldragonar378]

I started painting on the tablet one year ago, quickly stumbled upon you colors studies videos and since then, each and every video you make really is an eye opener. You are my primary source of information and always gives me new things to think about. Thank you for sharing your insights, amazing work, I wish you the best.

[@aliensaints8423]

Peter Greenaway and the movie Caravagio by Derek Jarman where among those that created change - making films look like paintings (Rembrand light). IIRC for one of the Blade movies (2?) someone who did the lighting for Jarman was asked to do the lighting there. In the commented version of the movie they kinda are not so positive about their work on the movie - because their solutions were so simple.

[@baldingpatriot]

I recall the change seemed to be around the time Batman Begins came out in theaters. From that point, videos seemed to become more "grounded" in presentation, and now I think I know why. Thank you for the amazing insight!

[@pedrobarros2864]

Almost finished watching the video until this dawned on me... yourself, the way the blue and yellow light bounces of your face, creating that soft environment you were talking about. Nice touch!

[@manniK]

Look at Blade Runner (1982) It's basically a Film Noir with color. Modern films for me are all 'toned' down versions/variations of it. Indiana Jones (1984) is Color Film Noir but not as well made. Another movie to check out is Paris, Texas (1994) it is almost a bridge from controlled studio/stage lights to more location, natural lighting and a splash of color contrast.

[@NoiseDay]

You spent a lot of time praising this soft light/natural light technique, but I'm hearing (and feeling) a lot of complaints about movies these days being too dark. You can't see the characters' faces or you can't see what's going on in the scene. What's up with that? I personally think a lot about what can be done to create an immersive but also readable night time or dark room scene.

[@JetGirl83]

The complaints, that I've heard at least, is more to do with the theatre companies lowering the luminosity of their projectors to cut down on costs. Unless you're paying for 3D or IMAX, you'll be seeing a dimmer movie... and hearing a far less audible movie too.

[@ingrossa]

Thank you for sharing your insights! Your enthusiasm for this topic really shines through (pun intended!). I wonder, have you ever looked at filmmaking from other cultures? It would be interesting to see an analysis on lighting and colour in for example Bollywood movies, Japanese, Middle Eastern, etc. Or films and series from Scandinavia or Finland, they have such different natural lighting up there, I wonder if that has influenced the way they make movies or series. I would love your insights on those topics!

[@aroset]

If you don't have one already going can you please do a video or a series of short videos based entirely around Screenshots of Film, and breaking down how lighting and colour can tell a *story* in a single frame? I have been a long time writer now learning to draw and the images I have in my head are all story fueled and knowing how to better interpret that on the paper in a piece of work would be phenomenal. Thank you so much for all you give and do. I am right here for the course and anything else you are willing to share!

[@PJZ]

Sunless ....you are the FairyPeak of storytelling. 🐐

[@mzc1813]

love the topic this covers, another insightful look on light in a world I never thought about

[@papasgottaeat]

Yay the art dad posted again! Love your content! Hope it reaches more and more people

[@dylanwetzel1388]

So when i think about color in film Dario Argento's horror films Suspira and Deep Red come to mind. These movies came out in the 70's and use light and color (Saturated red and blue and yellow lights) to enhance the emotions of the scene in a way that feels fresh and exciting to me.

[@DiogoTechugo]

I think the technology of the new cameras, screens and technology in general pulled the shift

[@Qwi-xux]

Bro just took me through a college course and prob more in a quarter of an hour

[@machidraws1]

awesome video jeremy! i really like new movies because the natural light makes it feel like your watching a life that exists for the character in the film where as theatrical feels so staged and its all because of light how interesting

[@galavisartsoficialdm]

In this channel I learn English and I learn about lighting and other topics. What more could I ask for? :) Thx buddy!

[@iceman10129]

The digital color grading of O Brother Where Art Though was a big shift. I do also wonder how much changed when CGI was becoming more prominent and VFX supervisors were using lighting to hide things as much as they could. From there you start lighting your scenes on set in a way to facilitate instead of trying to do everything in post.

[@creative-ark]

You always grab the nicest screenshots. Is there a place you use to find these reference images? Would love to find some references of my own for my own studies. Thank you.

[@LightingMentor]

Yes, I love ShotDeck.com for finding still images from film. It's a fantastic site!!

[@creative-ark]

@@LightingMentor Great!! Thank you for the heads up. :)

[@Guerrilla705]

Thank you so much for all of the work you put into these videos!!!

[@schhhart2758]

Beautiful video! Thanks so much💖✊🏽

[@chillarttalks]

I love these kind of insights! They seem super apparent once you notice them and they just make me appreciate compositions and lighting scenarios way more!

[@funkysloth2902]

There's something to be said about character focused lighting, which works really well in the Indiana Jones films.

[@monopixel5569]

such a great observation ! love how you break down the history of lighting in fil, in brief and share your opinions how to get a more "cinematic" look. keep up with the good work !

[@MorganBW]

Favorite channel

[@fliicreates4061]

Great observation! I believe this to be true, because I also recognize the value of it to myself as a watcher of films/shows. I’m much more inspired to watch if the photography and cinematography is of great quality and you can tell that they put a lot of thought into it, aside from a well written story of course!

[@PhilKoenigBrooklyn]

Very good work you're doing here. One thing about this excellent video you didn't mention. All of this doesn't happen in a vacuum. Even in the early 60s TV sets were small and more often black and white and I think that probably helped "stunt the growth" of lighting as much as anything. Commercial value was tied to clarity and familiarity of images. Anyway, keep this up. Nice to see someone talking about my favorite subject

[@zeze--]

Thank you for your valuable insights as always Jeremy 🙏

[@mariacamilagarcia9654]

Wow, this was really interesting! Thank you!!! I'd never been able to put a name on that "old look" of movies, but this is so great!

[@armanhossain5093]

Great observation & analysis. Love this!

[@jamesgart321]

Love your videos! Very very interesting and useful. Thanks for your work.

[@nandozx3516]

Where y'all character artists at now, you think you so big, you think you're so tough and at the end of the day our environment lighting saved cinema (bro I miss old Ethan Becker's character sometimes). Beautiful topic and video Jeremy, you just made us value screencap color studies even more!

[@AnnaSofiaPoloz]

Wow! I am so amazed by these observations that you have made! Thank you so much for this excellent contribution! Seeing this video helps me see another dimension that was not discussed in this video (which is okay, since the film repertoire is so vast! What I'm about to add is just a humble thought). It's this: when we compare the lighting in these older 20th century Hollywood films that you mentioned with the lighting in films made by Andrei Tarkovsky (a Russian film director also working in the 20th century), we can see that Tarkovsky's work was very well ahead of its time in terms of lighting. He implements that environmentally focused lighting on his characters (the kind you discussed in your video) in order to portray their internal psychological state as well as to provide his films a hazy, dreamlike quality. Of course, even he was limited in his day by the technology that was available to him, but it's lovely to think that he and the people he worked with were thinking in a direction far ahead of their time that is in line with the lighting that we see being used in films today. :-) In a nutshell, you've just helped me increase my appreciation for a film director who I already look up to! Again, thank you so much for a great episode! I love your videos! Keep up the excellent work! :-)

[@camaslindbeck1985]

Great ideas and points Jeremy

[@Markrspooner]

This was fascinating and something I hadn’t really noticed but once you pointed it out it was so obvious.

[@gillbaker1310]

Fascinating!

[@octopus8420]

Another great Video, a pleasure to watch you

[@L0rar3]

I love colours and lights. You're an art idol to me ;^;

[@MrZalb]

This has me thinking about the language of cinema and how it relates to the sociopolitical psychological mileau of its time. You mentioned the separation of male/female lighting and the distinct separation of character to background. I wonder if this shift coincides with the shift from the rugged individualism of the 20th century to now where alot of people are disillusioned with neoliberalism, plus the challenging of "traditional" gender binaries. The effect as you say results in a film where the lighting of the character can exemplify a much more dynamic inner world of emotion, just as we today are beginning to engage with an exploration of emotional traumas previously unrealized by older generations. Opens some interesting avenues of discussion and I would love if someone smarter than me could do the research and form a nice critical theory essay for me to read aha

[@hotsauce7124]

Thank you!!!!!

[@gronkinator1]

Thank you so much for your insights; it's always fascinating. I was curious about something: I was thinking about older thriller movies, because those seem to break the "rules" about seeing the character- setting the environment was sometimes much more important than seeing the characters clearly. I was looking through stills of "Alien" , and there are scenes that seem to have more environmental lighting. I.e. in the computer lab, the characters are lit by the orange glow from the computers. In other scenes, the bright white light is almost exaggerated to give everything an unnatural, artificially lit look, and to mimic the harsh shadows you get in space. And then in 2001, there is the scene with the red computer banks, and the artificial white lights are similarly played up instead of treated as a matter of course. And Abyss (which I haven't seen) also has scenes with characters lit by blue monitors and cabin lighting. In space films, the environment is an antagonistic force, almost a character of its own, that is sort of always present just off screen, so maybe capturing that was often even more important than capturing the characters themselves. So like in Armageddon we get scenes with weird, oppressive blue lighting. Or in Red Planet, everything is, well, red. And as you pointed out in another video, the lighting in the matrix does a lot of work to set the environment. It seems to me like there could be a through-line here of movies where environment is particularly important, and where film-makers had a bit more freedom about how they portrayed the environment, that then filtered into broader cinema. I'm curious if you see this, or if I am making too much out of a few isolated scenes. I am definitely no kind of expert on film; just someone with an interest in how stories are told.

[@LightingMentor]

Yes, many many films break this rule for sure. Those are the good ones ;) I just think it's interesting to observe trends and cultures of how different people work through the years and how this evolves through time. I love that you also slow down enough to pay attention to the lighting in the films you mentioned! It's a great thing for our art to see those things and ask "why". Keep creating!

[@antares3030]

Good observation! I've definitely been thinking at some point why do these movies look different

[@ericbond4]

Thanks for sharing!

[@matejivi]

Thank you.

[@MrSherdorik]

Great thoughts!!!

[@The-Strong-One]

I love this channel

[@SabciaGraal]

This video was very interesting, thanks 🎉

[@davidfernandez4851]

Maybe it was animated movies that really inspired more dynamic lighting in feature films?

[@reallydarren]

Great video! Please do more videos like this

[@leonieknowles2832]

Great explanation. Thanks

[@siwardwoudstra1751]

If I reflect on what you show it makes me think that the old ways separated actors and environment, in a way which the actor/actress is higher on the hierarchy then the environment. The new form of lighting doesn't separate them so much and strongly reduces the degree of hierarchy. It makes you feel the person is in the moment, he or she is really there experiencing the moment. And you are experiencing the moment he or she is in. It is similar to the change in painting over the centuries. From Renaissance till the dawn of Impressionism and Expressionism the focus was on academic rules, intellectualism, elitist, thought ruling over emotions. Even though there were waves like the Baroque and Rococo in which a similar pattern is seen of a movement toward more freedom and expression. But with Expressionism it was experience, feeling and expression all the way. Leading to much more evocative art. Art you can't understand but just have to feel. Stressing vitality. It seems to me recently a similar change has happened in cinema lighting, it has become more evocative with experience and emotion all the way. Just truly living the moment, no pretense.

[@MikAlexander]

To me coloured lights look good on stills, but old style of white lights makes it much easier to focus on the action, and is easier on the eyes, and holds up the attention better ( I'ev seen young guys getting totally bored with modern films and scroll trough phones but when watching classic movies they rarely loose attention )

[@peterquest6406]

I've always thought American tv programs looked different to English programs,the color or lighting is different.

[@philippzakrzewski8180]

This was awesome! I literally always had that question in the back of my mind, how films looked different today compared to in the 90s/80s/70s and so on. First time I noticed something was off, was during the lightsaber duel of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader in Cloud City during the climax of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. There is literally no 'coloured' reflections in the environment or on the characters that a brightly blue or red brimming object such as a lightsaber would cast. Still I never questioned the 'reality' of this scene. However, watching a film nowadays I would immediately point out that something is 'off'. Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙂

[@mister_john]

I like both looks!

[@janemorrow6672]

Fantastic video.

[@JenkoMorningstar]

This channel is soo good

[@studiosaynuk]

Take a look at Felicity, TV show from the late 90’s. JJ Abrams and the team chose to use naturalistic lighting and it was different from every other TV show at the time. Early adopters.

[@markokovacevic3225]

Awesome video!

[@maletu]

Sensitive enough sensors (or film). Plus, of course, the will to use them.

[@Sarasilva.24]

Congratulations❤❤ l Loved very mush your art.l'm Brazilian🇧🇷 but l have a dream to become a sketch artist succeful too,are you have some advice to give me?

[@jseamans]

I remember seeing the Godfather. For his ground breaking environment-centric cinematography, DP, Gordon Willis, was dismissed as “The Prince of Darkness” by many DPs in the industry. Today we have The Batman. The DP, Greig Fraser, has been called “arrogant” for saying that you can see everything you need to see, when he was told by critics that the film was too dark. When millions are at stake, it’s hard to break new ground.

[@ijones81]

I miss the look of older films, sometimes that harsh natural light I feel takes me away from the film. There is something about the magic of being on a set and tricking the audience into thinking your doing something.

[@WinstonSmithGPT]

Naturalistic lighting feels like much less of an event. It feels suited to TV. Naturalism isn’t inherently good, it’s a style.

[@paulathevalley]

I gasped

[@vic2rvic]

Interesting observation. I appreciate the timeline and comparison of different eras to spot the shift in filmmaking. Can we say the same thing is happening/has happened to art?

[@Last222]

Great breakdown! But what about film noir?...

[@statebeyond373]

ur a genius, thanks for sharing

[@L0rar3]

Do you have a list of film recommendations ?

[@drkokolores]

In my impression same goes for sound, especially voices of characters. In older movies, voices stand out (in comparison to environmental sounds, music etc.). Modern movies blend voices in the environment - making it hard for hearing impaired people to understand, by the way.

[@kenneth1767]

Totally agree. As I am hard of hearing, it also sounds like the actors mumble, compared to the emphasis on good articulation that was in the 20th century.

[@bman5988]

How much of this is due to film stocks evolving? You can see less and less light is needed as the decades roll by and more subtle colors start to creep in. Also, seems like Roger Deakins, whose films you use as your last examples, might have a lot to do with the change as well!

[@LightingMentor]

Yup, both of those are true indeed

[@danielnewton2390]

Makes me wonder what will come next

[@d.f.4830]

This is so reassuring: I literally always thought it was about white, hard light, and it is! 😅 EDIT: also, retVrn to hard white light on the face 😂 the new style isn’t necessarily better

[@jmaico]

I cannot pinpoint the exact moment of change, but i suspect it was around the time of Flashdance and Adrian Lyne, which coincided with music video production. I might even say the breakthrough moment was 1981's Diva by jean jacque beineix

[@SOM_-sy6pv]

cool!

[@atlanteum]

I'd like to come at this from a slightly different angle and offer the idea that too modern filmmakers are painfully embarrassed by the notion that films can and should often simply be fun. Between the scripts, plots, acting, music [oh... GOD, the music these days...] and lighting, the people who produce films - and thus the films themselves - are so obsessed with making them "real," "elevating the material" and "subverting the genre," that they have - in the process - fundamentally forgotten how to make them entertaining. You said it yourself at the end of the video, referencing Mary Poppins Then & Now - "It feels so much more BELIEVABLE." It's MARY FREAKIN' POPPINS - I don't WANT it to feel "BELIEVABLE." I want to be transported; I want to cry, scream, rejoice, stand up and cheer. And Hollywood wonders why it continues to collapse before our very eyes -

[@gharju]

i feel there are some outliers to this though. for example check out the lighting of the german expressionists of the 1930s, like fritz lang. way before its time! also i don't agree that the change happened in the 1990s, unless you meant that the general expectations for what a movie should look like changed? in that case i do agree! otherwise, in hollywood, i'd say it changed during the generational and political shift of the mid 1960s and 1970s with directors like stanley kubrick etc, who stepped away from the theatrical and rather started experimenting with naturalistic or just dramatic lighting. i know easy rider was one of the first movies to not be made inside a movie studio for example. tarkovsky was not part of holywood, but he was def all about dynamic and naturalistic lighting! also the original bladerunner! incredibly expressive and varied lighting! but yeah maybe i actually misunderstood you and that you simply just see all of these as outliers?

[@gharju]

love your channel btw. i have been binge watching a whole lot of your videos today! super informative and full of good tips and insights!

[@WinstonSmithGPT]

Yes, I remember when you could actually see a movie.

[@artificial_bloom]

Commenting at the beginning of the video: They stopped using the white light everywhere, didn't they?

[@grossolee]

Hasn't it all been influenced by graphic novels? It looks like

[@tyrabble]

W utuber

[@kenneth1767]

Looking at your studio lighting I would imagine an Asian would consider your main lighting to be green, scanning right to left.

[@bp.baniel4828]

Why do you look like 30 though, damn