Tricks for Lighting a Holiday-Themed Scene with “Home Alone” DP Julio Macat ASC

MZed Education

by Mascha DeikovaToday

The holidays are all around us! And what better way to spend it as a filmmaker than to shoot a festive video? So, here are some of the tricks for lighting a holiday-themed scene from none other than the legendary director of photography, Julio Macat. For those of you who are not good with names, Julio shot “Home Alone,” one of the most rewatched Christmas movies of all time. Therefore, he definitely has an insight or two on this topic, alongside some practical tips and tricks for lighting in general.

In this article, we will concentrate on the lighting, as in Julio’s words, it is the hardest part to learn as a DP. However, our “ARRI Christmas Master Class” on MZed.com covers a bigger array of topics and invites experts who demonstrate both how to create holiday spirit in scenes and the workflow on a professional film set.

Head over here to watch the full “ARRI Christmas Master Class with Julio Macat ASC” on MZed.com.

Always thinking as a storyteller

“Home Alone” was the first feature film that Julio Macat had photographed. As he recalls in this interview for the “Making Of,” he was scared every day. What if someone found out he was not experienced enough and that he didn’t know what he was doing? (I guess it’s a fear we all can relate to in some phases of our life). His biggest tip to aspiring cinematographers is that you don’t have to know all the technical stuff in each and every detail. The important thing is to understand what the scene should feel like and the message it conveys.

To prepare for “Home Alone,” Julio decided to “become a 7-year-old” since we see the story from a child’s perspective. This informed, for instance, the cinematographer’s choice for wider angles. When we visit our family or grandparent’s home, where we spent a lot of time in childhood, everything seems so tiny, doesn’t it? Thus, Julio applied reverse logic here: When you are small, the spaces around you should feel bigger and wider. Also, kids see the world a little brighter and more enhanced than adults, so the lighting had to support this notion.

A process for lighting a holiday-themed scene

In his master class, Julio Macat goes step-by-step through the process of lighting a night interior scene with a holiday spirit. Generally, he likes to start lighting from back to front (but keeping in mind which direction the key light will come from). So, the first thing he focuses on in the subsequent scenario is the backings outside of the window set:

In Julio Macat’s opinion, backings should be subtle. The worst thing that can happen is to look at something that feels fake. Therefore, he settles on cool lights (with ¾ CTB gel on them, roughly around 4000K color temperature-wise), emulating moonlight and casting shadows on the walls. When you see this scene in motion, you notice a slight movement, a little bit like flickering. This effect is created by the Rosco X-effects projector and is intended to remind us of falling snow.

In terms of emulating lighting and making it feel natural, Julio suggests aspiring filmmakers observe their surroundings. Are you trying to recreate moonlight? Then wait for it and watch closely how it works, what shadows it creates, how soft it is, and so on. In time, you’ll gather enough knowledge and get the experimentation going!       

Tips for setting the key light

Generally, when learning to light, the seasoned cinematographer recommends starting with faces. Move the lights around them in a close-up and watch what they do to the skin, the hair, the eyes, and the contrast. In the demonstration, he puts the key light in the direction towards where the actor is looking most of the time. Also, whenever Julio can bring the key source further back, he does. Why? This way, the lighting spreads evenly throughout the set and feels much more natural.

In this case, filmmakers reduced half of the key light from the open door to prevent it from spilling onto other areas of the actor’s body and overlighting him.

Creating depth with lights

Okay, the next basic step is adding the fill light, which will create a bit of room tone and remove the dramatic contrast from the actor’s face. For that, Julio Macat uses ARRI Chimeras over the light overhead. First off, they have nice skirts in the back, not spilling too much on the walls. Secondly, the light from above adds a little definition to the top of the actor’s hair, slightly separating him from the background.

Now, why do we want separation at all? Because it creates depth in the shot. Another trick that Julio Macat shows in this master class is how to correctly align the elements of your image composition for the same reason. Have you noticed the curtains behind the actor in the film still above? They are lit a bit brighter than they normally should be. Why? Otherwise, we’ll get dark on dark. We could have put a Christmas tree in the background with its beautiful shining garland lamps; it would have served the same purpose with brilliance.

A holiday-themed scene: Christmas decorations and shutter

What elements give us a festive feel in this scene? The cold lighting from outside with the falling snow effect, cracking flames in the fireplace, and, of course, the Christmas lights. However, the latter can be tricky to work with. Julio Macat recalls using dimmers and a variac—a device that adjusts voltage—for decorative lights on “Home Alone.” Nowadays, we have to deal with normal LED garlands that can start to flicker in the shot if you don’t set your shutter accordingly. If you know you will work with such Christmas lights, Julio Macat recommends starting with finding the right shutter angle beforehand. In the master class demonstration, they settled on 210 degrees.

Filters for lighting a holiday-themed scene

Let’s add a little bit of magic now, shall we? Julio Macat admits to using filters similar to those he used 30 years ago on “Home Alone.” Back then, he wanted the Christmas lights and highlights to have a subtle star effect. So, he put netting material in front of some lenses, combined with the fashion filter at the time – the Black Pro-Mist. The material resembles a delicate wedding net, thin and suitable only for lenses between 28mm and 75mm, as it doesn’t perform well outside this range.

It’s a simple trick, but it is worth knowing, just like all the other tricks mentioned in the course – because technology changes and evolves, yet the basics of storytelling with lighting stay the same.

If you want to learn other tips and tricks (for instance, how to achieve a realistic fire effect without using real flames and how to make flat white walls seem more interesting), head over to the full “ARRI Christmas Master Class with Julio Macat ASC” on MZed.com and keep watching.

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Happy Holidays, everyone! What about you? Any specific plans for festive videos this year? Or maybe you have further insight on lighting a holiday-themed scene? Please share them with us in the comments section below!

Feature image: a film still from “Home Alone” by John Hughes, 1990.