When you build a successful body of work as a cinematographer, it is incredibly easy to fall into the trap of repeating your own successes. You find a lighting setup that works, you get comfortable, and you stop taking risks. Dan Laustsen, ASC actively fights against this stagnation.
In his recent collaboration with Guillermo del Toro for Netflix’s Frankenstein, Laustsen made a conscious decision to break his own rules. The goal was ambitious: shoot a classic, period-accurate film using highly dynamic, modern camera movements.
Here is how Laustsen utilized rigorous practical effects, single-source lighting, and a fearless mindset to execute that vision.
- Go deeper with The Look of Frankenstein
Embracing the Darkness
Great cinematography does not mean illuminating everything in the frame. Drawing direct inspiration from the Danish masters and painters like Caravaggio and Rembrandt, Laustsen leaned heavily into single-source lighting.
By committing to a single, motivated light source, he wasn’t afraid to let his backgrounds fall off into complete, suffocating darkness. That contrast forces the audience’s eye exactly where it needs to be and injects immediate, visceral drama into the scene.
The Chaos of Practical Light
You cannot fake the organic nature of practical elements. During massive nighttime sequences on a 300-foot boat set, Laustsen fought to use real flaming torches as his primary key lights.
Frankenstein | Netflix
Actors as Gaffers
By holding the torches, the actors essentially became their own lighting technicians.
Organic Shifts
Every time the wind blew, the intensity and direction of the key light shifted, creating a frantic, living atmosphere.
Layering Elements
He combined this erratic firelight with practical rain machines, layering physical elements to create an undeniable reality that CGI simply cannot replicate. (When VFX was needed, it was primarily used to paint out modern lights hidden in practical fireplaces).
Forcing the Edit on Set
Because of budget constraints and complex set turnarounds, Laustsen shot massive chunks of the film chronologically. Instead of shooting all the coverage looking one direction and then turning the room around, they constantly flipped the lighting setups back and forth to match the chronological beats of the scene. It is a logistical nightmare that requires airtight preparation, but it paid off completely in post-production. Every camera move and lighting shift blended seamlessly in the editing room because it was captured exactly as the scene unfolded.
Stepping Onto Thin Ice
Laustsen’s ultimate advice is something every aspiring filmmaker needs to hear: you must seek out the thin ice. If you only execute what is safe, your career will stall. You have to push yourself into creative territories where you are not entirely sure how to pull it off. You will make mistakes, but those failures are exactly where you refine your foundation. Go sit in a coffee shop, watch how the natural light bounces off a table, and figure out how to replicate it.
Learn more about the cinematography and production with The Look of Frankenstein!
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