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Creating a Distinct Look your Film?

A

abbmona

Hello! I'm creating two short films in the coming weeks. I'm kind of new to filming I can't seem to find an exact answer to my question so I thought to try here! How do I get the film look that is similar to the one in the Shame movie?

I'm wondering how to get a certain look in a film I'm trying to create. I want a very gloomy somewhat dark tone. For example, in the movie Shame. Here's the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24cjqfVv1fs As you can see, the film has a very distinct look. Although it's bright outside there is no yellow sun, the whites are very white and there seems to be a light bluish tint during the day scenes. All these things form the film's distinct look. I feel that all films have their own distinct look. How can I achieve my own distinct look? Is it certain metering setting that create an over arching look throughout all the scenes? Filters? Post-production? Or should I shoot on a cloudy day with no sun to get the look like in Shame? But what if there is sun outside? I can't seem to figure how a DP can make all the scenes in a film look similar without filming all of the scenes in the same day. Fascinating!

Thanks for the help! I hope I didn't confuse anyone about what I'm trying to achieve.
 
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It'll be a mixture of what you've already identified such as shooting in specific locations and adjusting lighting to achieve the effect you're looking for.
But a large part of it will simply be color correcting and color grading in post.


Also, don't poo-poo the value of the soundtrack towards contributing to the feeeeel of your film.

Watch AND LISTEN to Sherlock Holmes - and - Battle: Los Angeles and hear how the theme of the music sets the tone for the scenes.
I think it helped a lot with the humor in the former and hurt a lot with the over-selling in the latter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N3urCXhEqs&feature=BFa&list=PL9DB97652BCF8455D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzKGhwz7pNY&feature=bf_prev&list=PL283DB0A4EF19F9CD
 
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It looks at a glance like they're pushing the greens in the shadows (at least during the daytime interiors, the nighttime exteriors look almost like they're pushing magenta a bit in the shadows), and orange, almost leaning a bit red in the mids and highs. Very mildly desaturated, and not too contrasty. Pretty typical modern color correction, not too dissimilar to the pictures I posted for "Wyatt" on another thread.
 
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