Netflix has posted up an interesting video where Train Dreams cinematographer, Adolpho Veloso discusses how a custom candle rig was essential for capturing natural light in the film. The rig, which they called the “1920s sky panel”, helped to enhance and strengthen the candlelight.
The production were enthusiastic about using natural light, fire, and candles as this was particularly important for creating warm and magical moments between Joe and Felicity in the cabin.
For outdoor scenes, they filmed during blue hour dusk to capture beautiful light, while indoor scenes aimed for a cozy, warm firelight feeling. Using multiple candles can create unpleasant shadows, so to counteract this, they used diffusion in front of the candles to create a softer light. For close-up shots they would remove the visible candles and place the rig on the table.
