American Cinematographer - October 1984 - 71

and Shyer asked Frazer to recreate the look of
Manet's painting "Olympia".
Fraker even appears in this scene as
the Hollywood D.P. lighting the set. The concept of

Production
well

camera

with

quently

a

design as
lighting and
work

contribute to the
warmth of the

using camera placement to reveal character relation¬
ships is used again as Lucy realizes that her husband
has been cheating on her. Camera compositions in a
restaurant scene show Lucy alone in the frame inter¬
cut

as

earlier

scenes.

two-shot of Albert and Blake.
The apartment that Lucy

moves

subse¬
into is devoid of color. The white

walls are left stark and flat. The depth and richness of
the earlier portions of the film have been replaced by

The

bright,

starkness in the

empty

plaster walls.
The film continues

on

this basi¬

hostility and

couple's lives

near
the end of the film

cally colorless scheme until Lucy's luck changes and
her novel becomes a best seller. Saturated, primary
colors played against the grey and white walls add a
new level of visuals to the film and help denote her
new aggressive character. Fraker's
lighting is now in
its final stages of coldness although the overriding

is

conveyed by the
lighting and
sharp primary colors.
flatter

idea of beautiful faces has not been lost. The person¬
alities of the characters have become harsh, but the

lighting has remained flattering. In the final climactic
of the film, Lucy and Albert battle over
Casey in a grotesque tug-of-war. The camera angles
allow for a fairly rapid cutting rhythm for the scene,
quite different from the longer, continuous takes
when the family was happy and together.
The film begins, returns to and
ends with scenes in a courtroom. The general lighting
scheme here was to use the fluorescents to help moti¬
vate a cold, harsh lighting. Unfortunately the best
argument

The

warm

walls of

the location
courtroom were

cooled down

by

using blue
reflections

on

the

polished wood walls.

location available had warm, wood walls, but Fraker
able to suggest the coldness with large, cold re¬
flections that he bounced off the walls helping to
remove the reddish color. There are occasional short
flashbacks to happy moments in the family's past.
was

The Gabriella film-

Again, Meyers and Shyer asked Fraker to make these
brief moments as cozy and romantic as possible to
contrast with the colder, harsh light of the present

day

within-the-film
sequence called for
a shift in the visual

style of the film

courtroom.

Fraker

Irreconcilable

Differences was shot
days in 47 different locations. Fraker and his
crew were experienced in such a wide range of situa¬
tions, that they were able to bring to the film a special
ability to handle all of the location problems.

a

A brief sequence outside a man¬
sion, shot night for night, posed a particular lighting
problem due to time and space limitations. The scene
was a large four story mansion and a
large driveway

October 1984

tent,

Manet

painting.

A frame

enlargement
showing the effect
of Fraker's moon rig

that needed to be lighted quickly for a moonlight
effect. Fraker opted to build a moon, a technique he
had used on other films. His crew constructed a
'moon rig' that would light the huge area and only
show one shadow. The rig consisted of a large tent¬
like cloth and frame approximately 20 feet square.
The tent material was a white, translucent fabric.
Inside the fully enclosed tent was a group of powerful

lights. The entire

as

asked to

recreate the look of

in 50

HMI

was

on

the mansion

exterior.

frame and lighting rig

American

Cinematographer

69
American Cinematographer - October 1984

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