Eric Kress, an accomplished cinematographer whose credits include "The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo," (2009) recently led a lighting class at Gokinema, an annual film workshop in Sweden. This video is the first in a series that captured Eric's demonstrations. Grab a coffee, sit back, and watch as he masterfully crafts a cinematic look for a mock scene.
Seeing Eric Kress go through the motions and hearing his thoughts on what he likes and doesn't like is insightful to say the least. He problem solves lighting on the fly, and in part 2 (embedded below) he begins experimenting by adding a hint of hard light, and with each tweak you can really see the depth and three-dimensional spacing that is created.
It's not often you get to hear a cinematographers thought process for building a lighting setup and creating a look for a scene. I found that I really started to pick up on the little nuances and subtleties that were created with each addition or subtraction of light. Just when I thought it couldn't look any better, Eric would make an adjustment and it somehow it surpassed the previous look.
You can find more notes and information on Eric and his workshops over at the American Society of Cinematographers website.