On the evening of November 3rd, 2022, Film Training Manitoba (FTM) conducted a training session with Steve Yedlin, ASC, about his work as Director of Photography.
Yedlin’s accomplished career contains such landmark box office hits as Looper (2012), Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), Knives Out (2019) and its upcoming sequel, Glass Onion (2022). The latter will open in theatres two weeks before hitting Netflix.
The evening was a successful event with a capacity audience – close to 100 eager participants signed up to listen to the informal lecture. Yedlin, a USC School of Cinematic Arts graduate, showcased film selections from his works as well as films he admired. Yedlin displayed how particular framing, use of location, and intricate lighting can all set a scene. Diligently prepared, Yedlin maneuvered through the host of movie moments to lead off the interactive session.
First was a simple expository silent collection of scenes from the Coens’ Inside Llewyn Davis (2013). Yedlin showcased how the elliptical time cuts telegraphed so much information while depicting very little. Lead actor Oscar Isaac comfortably waking inside a friend’s bohemian Greenwich Village apartment, the nostalgic remembrance of a folk duo that split up, and the sudden escape of the apartment dweller’s feline.
Yedlin, a proponent of colour science on his Official Website, also picked a sequence from Rian Johnson’s The Brothers Bloom (2008). In it, Mark Ruffalo and Rinko Kikuchi bet Adrien Brody to ride his bicycle on a tricky bit of terrain that leads down to a winding road. In the end, Brody crashes into Rachel Weisz’s sports car, setting up the meet-cute and, thus, the rest of the narrative.
With this second selection, Yedlin walked us through the weather, the challenges, and the bits of cinematic trickery (such as forced perspective) to create the sequence.
Maybe the most noteworthy film of his career, Yedlin showed discussed the composition choices from The Last Jedi. Yedlin broke down two scenes; one with Rose Tico’s sister’s brave sacrifice for the rebellion and the film’s climax scene of a lightsaber duel between Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).
Yedlin, in town for the film production of Winner, couldn’t get into specifics of this latest project but did, thankfully, briefly touch upon Winnipeg’s filming locations and some of what Manitoba has to offer.
Finally, Adam Smoluk FTM’s Managing Director moderated a question and answer period for the final thirty minutes of the sessions. Given that many of those who had signed up were interested in cinematography, there were a lot of nuts and bolts queries about specific equipment and new systems.
“Manitoba’s film industry is a growing thriving industry and these types of sessions allow for Manitobans to have access to a highly knowledgeable professional who has been involved with such monumental film projects. We really appreciate the excellent turn out of our film community and the sharing of knowledge which is the backbone of skills development and training,” said Smoluk.