I learned an important lesson while we were shooting
Starman (1984), but not from the actual making of the film. We were in some small town in Texas, and one day I was eating breakfast in a little pancake house. This guy came in and sat down next to me, and he asked if I was one of the "movie guys." I told him I was the director of photography, and we talked a bit about what I did. He said, "I hate it when I'm watching something on TV, and there's a scene where someone comes in the room and turns off the only light, but the room looks the same. That looks fake." I'll never forget that conversation. There are always ways to create light if you feel that a dark scene needs it.