Patrick Keating - Hollywood Hollywood Lighting from the Silent Era to Film Noir

Hollywood Lighting from the Silent Era to Film Noir

Film and Culture/John Belton, General Editor

Film and Culture / Edited by John Belton

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Patrick Keating

Hollywood Lighting from the Silent Era to Film Noir

Columbia University Press New York

Columbia University Press

Publishers Since 1893

New York Chichester, West Sussex

E-ISBN 978-0-231-52020-1

Copyright 2010 Columbia University Press

All rights reserved

cup.columbia.edu

The author and Columbia University Press gratefully acknowledge the support of two grants from the Trinity University Department of Academic Affairs and the University Department of Communication in the publication of this book.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Keating, Patrick, 1970

Hollywood lighting from the silent era to film noir / Patrick Keating.

p. c.m

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-231-14902-0 (cloth : alk. paper)ISBN 978-0-231-14903-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)ISBN 978-0-231-52020-1 (ebook)

1. CinematographyLighting. 2. Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.)History 1. Title.

2009015406

A Columbia University Press E-book.

CUP would be pleased to hear about your reading experience with this e-book at .

References to Internet Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.

For my mother

Contents

W hen I was young, my parents, Maria and Dennis, bought me a VHS tape of The Third Man. Little did they know that I would watch the film repeatedly, subjecting the entire family, including my sisters, Coleen and Amy, to hours and hours of zither music. It wasnt the zither music that fascinated meit was the cinematography. Without my familys patience and support, I never would have learned to love the art of lighting, and this book would not exist.

When I went to college, I already knew that I wanted to study film. Once at Yale, taking challenging, thought-provoking classes with Scott Bukatman, David Rodowick, and Angela Dalle Vacche, I began to think of film as a socially significant form of cultural expression. After graduating, I returned to my native Los Angeles and earned an M.F.A. in film production from the University of Southern California. USC gave me the opportunity to get behind the camera and study cinematography directly, under the guidance of cinematographers Woody Omens and Judy Irola. My thinking about film was further shaped by Ivan Passer, Bruce Block, and Rick Jewell. I also collaborated with several talented peers, including Jordan Hoffman, Dionne Bennett, Camille Landau, Michael Friedrich, Wei-shan Noel Yang, Benjamin Friedman, Mark Skoner, Chris Komives, and (outside USC) Daria Martin.

This book is based on the dissertation I wrote while at the University of WisconsinMadison. I had the ideal advisor for the project, David Bordwell, whose thorough knowledge of Hollywood film history is matched by his infectious enthusiasm for the art of film. Davids work is a constant reminder that film studies can be both intellectually ambitious and enjoyable. I feel special gratitude toward Lea Jacobs and Vance Kepley, who nurtured this project in its early stages and served on my committee. Ben Singer shaped my thoughts about lighting in theater, painting, and photography. In addition, I was fortunate to be surrounded by great minds and great teachers, including Nol Carroll, Malcolm Turvey, Kristin Thompson, Ben Brewster, J. J. Murphy, Kelley Conway, Lester Hunt, and the late John Szarkowski.

In my teaching career I have received warm support from several colleagues, and I want to thank in particular Jeff Smith, Scott Bukatman, Kristi McKim, Bill Christ, and Jarrod Atchison. I also consider it a privilege to have taught hundreds of smart, engaging students, who have taught me much about the cinema.