CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, March 23, 2022

An Inside Look At A Late-Sunset Lighting Effect For The Witcher

Rosco Spectrum: The Witcher was the first time I’ve had a chance to use Rosco’s DMG MIX lights on a production. We had several MAXI MIX fixtures rigged into the ceiling of the Kaer Morhen set. This allowed us to light the great hall area in a variety of different ways depending on what was needed for the episode. We also used a MIXBOOK® to look at various colours.

2 comments:

Madeline Miller said...

This scene is so stunning. The saturation and brightness of the colors, as well as the intentional way they streak through the texture of the set, creates an enchanting sunset aesthetic. The way that the colors are counteracted to keep the actors illuminated in neutral whites keeps the sunset a stunning visual element and not an annoying obstruction of understanding or vision. The finished shot truly looks as though the actors are lit completely by their candleabra, and their dwelling just happens to be in the midst of a fantastic sunset. I’ve never seen the witcher, but this attention to color, vibrancy, and vibe is an artistic feat that makes me want to. I also appreciated this article because tv lighting uses a lot of panel based fixtures that wouldn’t work as well in theatrical lighting, and I enjoyed seeing designers create looks with a very different type of equipment.

Natalie Lawton said...

I have been really enjoying all of the TV/movie adaptations of videos game that has been made recently. Since the stories are commonly known, like the Witcher which is referenced in the article, the designers are able to focus on external beauty rather than solely aiding the storyline. And wow they never seem to disappoint. Seeing how this sunset scene was created really gives me a better understanding of how much work can go into even just a single shot. I learned more about how to make design choices specifically noting, “We wanted to keep the vibrant colors off the actors and play them only in the background.” This was in order to keep the action on the actors and not busy. I don’t know all that much about color theory but the designers chose to use oranges and blues to complement each other as opposed to other sunset colors really made the lighting more bold and beautiful.