Cinematographer Łukasz Żal on using subtle changes to distinguish reality from memory

Over at Variety, Ending Things DP Łukasz Żal gives good insight into some of the choices made when shooting the film:

Żal sat with Kaufman and production designer Molly Hughes to flesh out the concept of how the characters would see themselves in a memory. “Some would be faded, and others would be colorful,” Żal says. Lighting, filters and colors all played a part. Happier memories are well lit and feature colorful backgrounds, because “when you remember something nice, you think of yourself in the best possible light,” Żal explains. For darker memories, filters were used to reflect emotion. “The image would be contaminated by the emotion,” Żal says.

[...]

When the pair arrive at Jake’s parents’ home, the DP has the house lit with cool colors to give it an abandoned look. But the place springs to life as Jake sees his parents.

“He wanted the film to look like a painting,” Żal says of Kaufman’s vision for the farmhouse. The house was lit warmly, using candles to give a softer, gauzier look. “Farmhouses are filled with memories and family history, and we wanted to add those layers here,” says Żal. Even the walls of the home figured into the mix. “The wallpaper looked like it was disappearing in the background, almost like a memory,” he notes. (Source)

More at the link!

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