@hennyondatok: Another submission for #TikTokHotTakesContest is that modern films are ugly because nobody knows how to carve images with light anymore. Dean Cundey needs to run a workshop
i just watched “Dreamgirls” and there’s a full scene of jhud in front of a window wall and yet her face is so visible, so gorgeous!! and there’s one where beyoncé is next to a lit wall and again, she’s lit BEAUTIFULLY!!
2025-09-17 21:38:50
192
ben synthman :
WE NEED GAFFERS. WE NEED PROPER LIGHTING. WE ARE LOSING RECIPES.
2025-09-21 14:52:58
79
lens_face :
Thank you! Trying to keep the old school lighting alive!
2025-10-10 06:18:47
0
olivepotions :
Wicked 🫣
2025-09-17 23:57:00
94
Victoria | writer & director🎥 :
Everything is lit like a Target commercial now 😭
2025-09-18 12:42:11
95
Ali :
Arg so sorry but I disagree🙈 I think it’s executive/corporate decisions. It’s the same reason the costuming falls flat EVERYTIME in Netflix productions.
2025-09-17 22:08:04
42
B :
Omfg Back to the Future did it too. Chiaroscuro needs to come back.
2025-10-05 19:14:53
0
fantasticfrankey :
I will never forgive what they did to Wicked
2025-09-24 14:36:07
31
tik toker ☭ :
i also am in favor of unmotivated colored lighting. bring back random green glows just for fun !
2025-09-20 05:39:01
2
Ari :
I miss warmth in movies. Everything feels soulless. Like I don’t wanna be in a film , I want to see a perspective. To me Wicked *almost* gets it. But it needs warmth and saturation. But we probably won’t get it bc of visual effects
2025-09-18 01:46:25
60
The feed :
False, there’s plenty of movies that look amazing
2025-09-20 16:39:48
0
BeefBork :
Covid, strikes, and studio mismanagement/negligence has killed alot of what makes cinema capital-C Cinema. Alot of industry veterans or just knowledgeable workers have been leaving the film industry because of the job instability and move on to new careers or maybe teach at uni. Add on the fact that Cali has become more expensive to live and less filmmaker friendly it's not shocking that film quality has been dwindling when below the line has migrated in mass and aren't recommending or guiding newcomers.
2025-09-17 22:23:25
13
maya :
i would guess it has more to do with the use of cheap visual effects. vfx companies try to put in the lowest bids in order to get projects, so when a vfx heavy scene is very dark, it means that they probably ran out of time or money
2025-09-17 21:40:11
15
The_BenMiller :
The difference is that movies used to be art for the sake of sharing art woth the viewer, now they are a junk food product to be mass produced with the superblend of sugar, salt, and msg in place of substance and art.
2025-09-18 02:23:58
21
bootscootboop :
I cannot stand modern lighting, lazy cinematography and the horrendous hard orange & teal w washy grays color grading. We need the movie magic back.
2025-09-18 13:33:44
12
Kat Blaque from YouTube :
I’m actively editing film stills for content and omg everything is SOOOOOOOO dark
2025-09-18 17:40:28
8
Al :
It’s got more to do with the switch to digital. digital cameras photograph light different than film and as a result, a lot of gaffers lighting had to adjust because of how harsh tungsten lights looked on digital. Now most lighting is LED instead of tungsten so it’s physically different than older movies and softer lighting and shadows are prioritized for the color grade
2025-09-20 01:46:26
7
_jaxhill4 :
I watched Companion, and while I thought it was a pretty decent movie my god it was shot so fucking boring
2025-09-18 12:57:20
7
Yvette Henry :
YES!!!!!!! It’s terrible. I feel like I’m being gaslit with every new release.
2025-09-17 22:27:05
7
Caitlin Checker :
Go back to physical film, I truly think it teaches you to create dimension with light
2025-09-18 17:46:31
5
NinTimDo :
I saw The Sound of Music 4K restoration on the big screen last week for the 60th anniversary, and the lighting/cinematography is off the charts. At times it’s like you’re watching a moving chiaroscuro painting. Insanely beautiful.
2025-09-18 06:02:48
3
nettles.stark :
There was a scene in the movie, wicked where Elfaba was standing under some colored mirrors, and the pink light shined through the mirror to make her green skin brown. That was a magical movie lighting moment. It conveyed a truth about the story being told.
2025-09-17 23:36:49
4
Isabella Segalovich :
Yes
2025-10-06 00:20:27
1
Irwin :
Dean Cundey is super underrated in Hollywood, I actually consider him one of the best cinematographer. Working with John Carpenter and making low budget films look like multi million dollar films, All 3 back to the future films, the first Jurassic Park in which non of the sequels came close to looking great. He also worked on Camp Rock, imo the best looking Disney Channel original film 😅
2025-09-29 16:30:25
2
tetcon :
Someone said soft lighting is for cowards
2025-09-26 02:58:59
2
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