Joel Coen wanted to do Macbeth. But not just any Macbeth, a black and white version inspired both by comic books and German Expressionism. The stars on screen for The Tragedy of Macbeth are Frances McDormand and Denzel Washington—but the stars in the lighting rig were ETC and High End Systems fixtures. The lighting team that put them there and used them to great effect was led by Gaffer Michael Bauman and Lighting Programmer David Kane.
Here is a video on the making of The Tragedy of Macbeth. You can go to 3:01 in the video to hear from Cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel and Production Designer, Stefan Dechant on shooting the black and white film.
Bauman has been gaffing since the early ‘90s, moving from indie films and music videos to some of the biggest movies of all time, including the first two Iron Man films, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Phantom Thread, and more. “It’s always interesting to see how different people approach similar lighting situations, different aesthetics,” he says, summing up his resume.”
He found himself in one of those interesting situations doing additional photography for the Coen Brothers’ project The Ballad of Buster Scruggs with cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel. “We had a great time. So, when he said, ‘Hey, we’re going to probably be doing this Macbeth thing that Joel’s directing. Would you be available?’ I was like, ‘Hell yes, of course!’”
This is, of course, the only sane response to such an offer, and it was enthusiastically echoed by Lighting Programmer Kane when Bauman asked him to join the crew. “I have never agreed to do a job with Mike and been disappointed when I get there.” Kane has worked in film, narrative, variety television, and live events but knew this would be something special. “I think we all recognized it was a once in a career opportunity.”
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CreditBy: Michael S. Eddy – Projection Lights and Staging
