From a Single Shot
For the last two years, nothing has been more “Night Zero” than triple-exposure HDR, the very foundation that allows us to produce the surreal images that give Night Zero its unique look. With single-exposure shots, the low dynamic range lacks the information to calculate rendering such a look, and in the few instances where we’ve attempted to mix a single-exposure action shot with a page of multi-exposure HDR shots, the process is terribly time consuming and the result always muddy at best. High dynamic range means that the number of shades between the darkest black and the lightest light exceeds that which is physically visible at a single time, while low dynamic range has only a few shades between. From the same setup and procedure, a single exposure (after much fanangling) may be able to passably emulate part of the range of the HDR image, but the shadows will clip to black sooner and the highlights will blowout to white sooner, and the final image will be less colorful and more contrasting that its “true HDR” sibling. However, matching one single-exposure to dozens of HDR shots is different than shooting an entire story in single exposure.
When not being compared to full HDR photos, single-exposure tonemaps can provide some compelling styles and visual moods. By compromising on the dynamic range, the final images are either going to be much brighter (sacrificing the high end) or much darker (sacrificing the low end) than an HDR shot, but sometimes that’s exactly what’s desired. As part of the visceral and hyper-real artistic vision for “Special Delivery”, I wanted heavy shadows and strong contrast throughout the story. I browsed dozens of graphic novels, looking at how they used blackness and shadowing to accentuate the moods, motions, and mentalities of the characters. I saw how only lighting certain areas can create perceptions of danger, fear, and dominance. I saw that having a frame that’s almost entirely blackness can be more powerful than having a fully-detailed frame, and I knew that by shooting this vignette in single-exposure, I could have the opportunity to implement those same types of stylized lighting in photography.
Which was serendipitous in its own right, because in order to produce the number of shots I wanted, our lighting for the shoot would have to be incredibly simple. In stage lighting, simple means fewer instruments, and fewer instruments means heavier and more dramatic shadows. We shot the closing sequence first, using the gray overcast and the leftover rigging from the Scratcher Catchers shoot. While Eric and Mark packed up the gear to relocate to our fight arena, the opening sequence and various running segments were shot using just the ambient light. By the time we returned to the arena, the sun was pulling away and our shooting window was short. The setup was as simple as could be: a single, powerful light source, mounted high above the containers, shooting almost directly down upon the actors. It moved to follow them, providing a consistent and highly dramatic light source. As the natural light disappeared completely, the shadows and contrast intensified at the same rate as the fight itself, until nothing could be seen but the mortal combat of the two figures.
Of course the new production style was the most fun for Eli, on camera, who could finally free himself from the tripod and shoot like a photographer naturally does. I blocked out the scenes with the actors and they acted through them in full motion, and Eli (having the shot card for general reference) was free to move in and out of the space, up and down and close and wide, shooting as freely and frequently as he liked. One of his strengths is on-the-fly composition, so giving him the artistic control over his angles, framings, and focus was a great opportunity for the comic to benefit from his skill. He ran through the stacks, jumped through puddles, following messenger or scratcher, lining up and snapping like a war correspondent in the heat of battle. Despite having literally hundreds of photos to work through afterwards, this method of freelance photography, of shooting around the action instead of lining the action up in front of the camera, provided exactly the kind of visceral and in-your-face style that I wanted for the vignette.
What does this mean for Night Zero as a whole? For the regular production, not much. Processing low dynamic range photos for tonemapping is still more time consuming and the result less detailed and colorful, and I’m quite fond of how the standard photocomic looks. We’ve got full HDR production down to an art, and I see no reason to do less than that. At the same time, this experiment has opened new doors for us in the future, should we want to explore other photoshoots that are heavily action-oriented (whether as flashbacks, vignettes, or unrelated comics). It’s another tool in our every-expanding toolbox, ready for the next time we need it.