The lighting expert at Knives Out has pulled out all the stops for the best close-ups in the film

Ah, the key handle. For those who are unfamiliar, they are the lighting and rigging engineer on set. Basically the muscle director of photography. You have to come up with all sorts of methods, improvisations and experiments so that as a spectator you can see what the director has in mind.

For Knives Out, Rian Johnson’s whodunit, which premiered on November 27 and is currently causing a stir at the box office, key pick Matt Mania went all-in to ensure even lighting of the film. He has shaped the light diffusers so that they reflect in the spectacles of the actors a realistic representation of the windows in the rooms in which they sit for their close-ups.

Cameraman Steve Yedlin wrote Manias Mattes in a tweet this morning.

In this case, a forced perspective view of the scene behind the camera obscures the lighting devices that are reflected in Blanc’s glasses.

Thanks to Matt for all his great work: Matt’s Mattes! pic.twitter.com/bozl6mT9Dj

– Steve Yedlin (@ steveyedlin) December 7, 2019

It’s really cool that you missed this detail for a really cool movie with a really cool cast. At a time when many things are simply being recorded on a green screen for convenience, this is another thumbs-up for hands-on effects.

Follow AsumeTech on

More From Category

More Stories Today

Leave a Reply