Robert Richardson is one of the greatest contemporary cinematographers. I go through some of his cinematography lighting and camera techniques to help you understand his unique style.
Just to be clear: Robert Richardson changes his style to suit the movies he shoots. The goal of this video and article is to drum up enthusiasm and a yearning to learn more.
Warning: I do not claim this knowledge is 100% accurate. Just think of it as an endorsement of his work. If you want accuracy, look someplace else.
His lighting philosophy
Two conventions Richardson breaks knowingly are:
- He doesn’t look for lighting motivation. He lights a scene based on his own motivations as regards to story and mood.
- He under-lights actors through fill.
The Robert Richardson look
Everyone who knows cinematography and Robert Richardson probably knows his signature style:
- A very hot/strong hard source of light (Parcans, fresnels, spots, etc.) from the top or slightly at the back (but high) pointed straight down.
- This creates a hot and blown out rim light. Sometimes, the overexposure is 6 to 8 stops.
- The bounce of this strong source fills in the actors’ face, and this is what the camera exposes for.
- Sometimes, he augments, cuts or flags this fill with bounce cards, muslin, etc.
However, he also uses a book light with bleached and unbleached muslin (and therefore large light sources) to create a super-soft key light – mostly short lit.