text:  Hall 's approach was to create peaceful compositions that evoked <unk> , to contrast with the turbulent on @-@ screen events and allow audiences to take in the action . Hall and <unk> first discussed the intended mood of a scene , but he was allowed to light the shot in any way he felt necessary . In most cases , Hall first lit the scene 's subject by " painting in " the blacks and whites , before adding fill light , which he reflected from <unk> or white card on the ceiling . This approach gave Hall more control over the shadows while keeping the fill light <unk> and the dark areas free of spill . Hall shot American Beauty in a 2 @.@ 39 : 1 aspect ratio in the Super 35 format , using <unk> Vision <unk> <unk> 35 mm film stock . He used Super 35 partly because its larger scope allowed him to capture elements such as the corners of the <unk> @-@ filled pool in its overhead shot , creating a frame around Angela within . He shot the whole film at the same T @-@ stop ( <unk> ) ; given his preference for shooting that wide , Hall favored high @-@ speed stocks to allow for more subtle lighting effects . He used <unk> Platinum cameras with the company 's <unk> series of prime and <unk> lenses . Hall employed <unk> Vision <unk> <unk> and <unk> <unk> stock for scenes with daylight effects . He had difficulty adjusting to <unk> 's newly introduced Vision release print stock , which , combined with his contrast @-@ heavy lighting style , created a look with too much contrast . Hall contacted <unk> , who sent him a batch of <unk> that was 5 % lower in contrast . Hall used a 1 / 8 inch <unk> Black <unk> filter for almost every scene , which he said in <unk> may not have been the best choice , as the optical steps required to blow Super 35 up for its <unk> release print led to a slight amount of degradation ; therefore , the <unk> from the filter was not required . When he saw the film in a theater , Hall felt that the image was slightly unclear and that had he not used the filter , the <unk> from the Super 35 – <unk> conversion would have generated an image closer to what he originally intended . 
  