Travis recommended I try this drawing exercise, where you quickly sketch the light values of shots in a movie.  Pick a movie (he picked Orson Well’s “Jane Eyre”). We then found shots that were interesting and paused the movie.  Finally, we spend a minute or two (less time the better) and just blob down the values. This also really helps get a feel for composition.

I remember Matt telling me how to better balance my line weights and get good values in my drawings by squinting.

This was a great exercise that gives me a greater appreciation for lighting composition, especially black & white film.

Here’s the two pages that I sketched out. See if you can find the following 2 shots in my two pages of sketches.