German-based cinematographer Tim Pfautsch has lensed the experimental documentary Fassaden (internationally titled Curtains)–and adopted Astera Titan and Hyperion Tubes to light the pivotal dance scenes that structure the film.
Narrated by acclaimed actress Sandra Hüller (Zone of Interest, Anatomy of a Fall), the documentary explores the onset and progression of domestic violence, interweaving expert advocate testimonials with raw dance sequences.
With a strong background in music video and experimental filmmaking, Pfautsch worked intimately with the director and choreographer to depict the emotional rollercoaster of an unravelling relationship.
The explosively emotional core of Fassaden is found in the choreographed sequences of a female and male dancer which illustrate a relationship poisoned by violence.
“The dance sequences operate as a canvas that Sandra Hüller’s voice paints over,” Pfautsch said.
For these scenes to embrace their full potential, he needed a versatile lighting set-up that would not restrict the dancers’ or camera’s ability for dynamic movement.
Due to a typically modest documentary budget, Pfautsch and his gaffer were the only lighting crew on set.
As such, he needed a comprehensive lighting set up that could be quickly adjusted for diverse looks, without additional manpower.
“I decided to use a 20×20 ft overhead rig made of Astera Titan and Hyperion Tubes that we could place before the shoot,” he revealed.
Pfautsch designed ‘lighting zones’ which could be brightened or dimmed using the Astera App to create novel ambience without ever touching the fixture.
Pfautsch affixed four 79.9” Hyperion and eight 40.7” Titan Tubes to a square frame, sandwiched with Ultrabounce above and ½ Grid below.
Battery-powered and lightweight LEDs, the Tubes were easily lofted into place over the studio floor on a prep day.
During the two shooting blocks, Pfautsch and his gaffers, Benjamin Hirlinger and Stefan Hannig, would tweak the zones remotely from ground level, and when an additional backlight was required, they introduced one movable unit, a Kino Flo shell with four Titan Tubes mounted inside.
With this set-up, a wide range of emotional variation could be exercised. Pfautsch cultivated variations in shadow and colour temperature to illustrate the fraying of the relationship.
“One really impactful dance scene takes place after she gets away from her abuser. She has this very contemplative moment by herself, where she examines her own body. We talked a lot about how we wanted to feel like we were inside her head,” the cinematographer described. “That informed the lighting and camera work.”
Elsewhere, warm lighting created a potent feeling of tension combined with handheld camerawork. “In the second-to-last scene, she dances herself free. She has escaped the relationship but is chased by flashbacks. We shot flashbacks handheld and set the colour balance to be much warmer, and then really saturated that warmth in post-production, as if to underline how much pressure the character is under.
“Astera has been with me since the beginning. For this project, we put a lot of care into how to depict the emotions–and lighting was integral to this.”
Find out more about the film and future screenings on Pfautsch’s Instagram page.
