Lighting Up Productions with Ryan Kroboth

Ryan> One thing I really strive for in my projects is polished yet naturally motivated lighting. Although high-key looks are prominent in many of the toy-focused shoots I tackle, I feel it’s super important to be able to sneak in as much contrast as possible to really sell a pretty image. It is really disheartening when the final product ends up looking flat, so there are a number of techniques I use in order to introduce as much latitude as I can.

One particular example is the LUT I tend to use on the majority of my projects. This particular LUT was developed for a very specific need, season two of the 'Food That Built America' series for the History Channel, but its parameters – namely the stop of light lost in the look – really forces me to light bigger, which, counterintuitively, tends to feel more natural. This LUT crushing also forces in a good amount of contrast and roll-off, which tends to add a bit of a cinematic flair to an otherwise standard image.

Secondly, negative negative negative. I’ve never been a fan of a fill light, and most often I find myself creating the contrast that I am looking for by instead taking light away. The softer the light, the trickier that may be, and this is where negative is key.

Ryan> Early on in my cinema-binging days, I fell in love with the style of Wes Anderson, brought to life by his long-time DP Robert Yeoman. Something about the perfectly prescribed camera movement, the infinite dolly moves, the impeccable use of symmetry – it just all grabbed my fascination.

Later on, I found myself being attracted to Roger Deakins’ work, as his cinematography shined in a very different way – mainly through his perfection of naturalistic lighting. As I started to develop my own style, I found myself trying to incorporate a little bit of both worlds, naturally gravitating towards the Yeoman symmetry and movement, while trying to maintain the most naturalistic lighting I could.

Commercial work doesn’t often give you the creative freedom to light a scene like you would a feature film, but I’ve managed to find a good balance throughout the years. Every so often you get a project that lands in your lap and allows you to push those creative norms.

Ryan> I’d like to say the intent was there from the beginning, but the skill has definitely evolved throughout my career.

Early on, I just didn’t have access to a lot of the bigger lighting units that are normalised in the studio world. But as the lighting world changed, and LEDs became the norm in the industry, so much more became accessible to lower-budget shoots.

Combine this with the dynamic range and sensitivity of modern cameras, and so much becomes possible. Being able to light a large room from a single, highly-diffused source (that can plug into an outlet) in slo-mo at a reasonable F-stop? That’s incredible, and really liberating when you are working with limited resources.

Ryan> These days, I feel like the number one argument I hear surrounding modern lighting is that it has gotten lazy, and everything is too dark. I’ve seen my fair share of modern cinema, and I can tell you that the amount of lighting that goes into that ‘flat, underexposed 2010s Fincher film’ is mind-boggling.

It’s not that no-one lights anymore; it’s that they have the outlet to be able to view their content more creatively. TVs, phones, iPads, etc. – the image quality of viewing devices has gotten so good that creators are able to push the boundaries of contrast and lighting/darkness, and I think that’s a good thing.

Lighting used to be first and foremost for exposure, but now it can be pushed to the edges of creativity.

Ryan> In a modern world that is heavily influenced by handheld doc-style pieces (which certainly have their place), I like to think that the heavily-polished natural lighting look is becoming more prominent. As more and more clients turn to the classic ‘we will just shoot this on our phone, it looks great’, the need for a well-tailored image will make a comeback.

Ryan> I recently worked on a campaign for Marvel and Hasbro, and the task became apparent quickly: fun, engaging, high-key, and more playtime at home as opposed to in the studio.

Now, I love location work – there is a certain satisfaction that comes with making a spot work even if it isn’t completely ideal.

Take ‘Peppa Pig’ for example, due to scheduling constraints, that spot ended up being shot during a complete downpour. But by utilising large (and waterproof) fixtures, we were still able to obtain that bright and soft look that the client was aiming for.

Another example was a campaign for Tile, which really allowed my inner Yeoman to come out. Those spots had a number of their own constraints we were constantly fighting (simultaneous 16x9/9x16 aspect, I’m looking at you), but I really had fun with the symmetry, while continuously striving to maintain a natural look throughout.

Ryan> It’s been a minute since I’ve been in my college production class, but the way I lit back then was worlds different from the way I do it today. I feel like I really started to get a handle on shaping soft light once I started embracing the larger figures and diffusions, and bringing in negative rather than creating contrast through additional fixtures.

To be most natural, use your motivated light sources and embellish them, and create that cinematic contrast that everyone strives for by taking some of that away. Never under-estimate the power of a floppy.