The latest Global Cinematography Institute newsletter contains an interesting interview with SMPTE member and Bluescreen LLC principal Bob Kertesz and colorist Aaron Peak. 

They discuss the relationship between the Cinematographer and the post-production process.

Digital intermediate is an important part of the workflow of the films and other projects that I work on, and increasingly part of the creative process rather than merely for evening and balancing the flow of images, as I mention in my articles on The Lego Movie and Legend of the Guardians.

It's a bit different for us compared to live action DOPs in that our DI facility is in-house and we are able to start DI during production, rather than waiting until a shoot wraps. This means we can iterate in Nucoda and still resolve issues in compositing if required. 

Our lighting artists and compositors output grademattes that enable granular control over imagery in DI - for example separate mattes for characters and their components (such as eyes, face decals for Lego characters, teeth, and for important props and setpieces.

http://globalcinematography.com/teachers/imagemanagement.html

Available online is a pdf of a talk that engine programmer Michal Iwanicki gave at SIGGRAPH 2013 entitled Lighting Technology of "The Last of Us" which is a technical talk concentrating on lightmapping techniques. An easier read for most is the Eurogamer article Tech Analysis: The Last of Us by David Blerton.

Technology aside, there was clearly a very strong creative team driving the visuals. The art direction is superb, and the lighting artists approached the work with great sensitivity. Many of the environments are lit only by ambient bounce lighting, requiring subtlety and skill to effectively light. The interactive lighting, such as the convincing bounceback of coloured light from surfaces struck by the characters' flashlights, helps make the game immersive. 

Concept Artwork for "The Last of Us"

I found on youtube this very insightful and informative feature-length documentary called Grounded: The Making of The Last of Us. It's a wide-ranging and fascinating look at many aspects of the creative and technical processes that went into the creation of the game. Lighting is covered starting around the 57:30 mark.

Fans of the Shatner light will find it in use for the nicely shot interviews, especially that of Creative Director Neil Druckman (see from 8:00).

There's lots of great exposition of the motion capture process and cinematographic choices as well.

Screengrabs from the game

Worth noting is the impending July 29th release of The Last of Us Remastered for PS4. PlayStation.blog got their hands on a prerelease version and their experience is documented here.

Came across this series of beautiful images while doing some research for an article on the cinematography of "Legend of the Guardians":

http://webodysseum.com/art/moonlight-of-argentina-by-alejandro-chaskielberg/

His website is http://www.chaskielberg.com/

http://notes-from-dreamworlds.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/slow-life.html#disqus_thread

The making of "Construct":

Interesting.....motion capture with realtime shading and lighting.
Here's a sample of the finished piece:

Cinematography of The Lego Movie updated:
New Section:

• Lighting for Action Sequences

and additions to

• Scale

To understand the modern image-making processes requires continuous educational updating.


Yuri Neyman, ASC, writes about the evolving role of the Director of Photography in the context of the transformations in the creation of the final image in filmmaking today.

He briefly discusses the implications of changing technologies and the evolution of the concept of "Expanded Cinematography" to describe the emerging confluence of live and virtual cinematography.

Cinematography of the Lego Movie updated with new sections:

• Lighting Principles
• Emotion and Enhancement of Drama
• Emulating Lens Effects

...more to come

Nick Schager wrote an article that posted on rogerebert.com in August last year entitled "STYLIZED REALISM: THE CINEMATOGRAPHY OF BREAKING BAD, SEASON 1", well worth a read if you haven't caught it already.

Amongst other things, the essay analyzes the psychology behind the use of static and dynamic camera work  in the series, as well as composition of shots and the use of light and shadow to metaphorically link the characters of Jesse and Walt when they first meet