Ok guys, I feel the need to speak in defense of the crew here since I guess I am the only one posting here that actually makes a living as a film and TV crew (I am in the camera and lighting department) full time doing ACTUAL TV dramas or movies.
Yes, Bale might be having a hard day but do not for even a second try to assume that he is the only one having a hard day. The hardest working bunch of people are those you never see on screen.
The hours we have to work, the amount of heavy lifting, and the extremely high risk of personal safety for the technical crew (insurance companies put us in the same risk category as being a cop mind you), it's a life that only a few will choose.
Now, we do not know the full scope of the situation but this is my take, I wager that the DP was only making adjustment outside the frame, he didn't actually walk into the middle of the frame like most assumed here.
It is also very likely that the DP did this during a "keep rolling" situation where the director will do another take without actually cutting the cameras to maintain momentum and it is during this time that the DP might want to make a quick adjustment to the lighting (most of the time is because the actor misses his/her mark or did not stop at the proper position where the lights are the most optimal for his/her face).
It is also not weird to make minor adjustment during a long take. Rather than restarting the whole long scene because of something that is a minor fix, it is better to make a quick adjustment on the fly in the middle of the take so you still can use the rest of the take. The thing with shooting is that you don't use the whole take of a shot most of the time. You will intercut with other angles. When it comes to the less than optimal part, the editor will just cut away to another angle.
Mind you, I dare say this must be something really minor and doesn't affects Bale directly at all. If it was something really major, the DP would have told the director about it and he would have yelled 'CUT'. The fact that the DP actually did that means the director has no problem with it.
I worked with an actor recently that accuses me of ruining her take because I was being professional. I was doing sound recording that time and I had to stop the camera multiple times because of unbearable environmental noise that I know for a FACT will be rejected during post and will need a reshoot or a redub.
The actor complaint to the director multiple times about this and I told the director straight to the face, "I can choose to be sloppy and let you guys fix the mess yourself or I can be professional so you guys won't have any problem later".
The director supported my stand the the actor shut her mouth after that.
I mean, look at it this way, a few extra take and no one will be calling you a bad actor. One bad sound recording that I approved and everyone will be calling me unprofessional.
Same with the DP, one bad lighting or mistake in the scene and everyone will be saying he was being sloppy.
No one will see the bad take of Bale.
ps- DP means the Director of Photography and he is the head of the camera and lighting department. He is basically responsible for assiting the director in bringing his vision of the script to life. The DP is in a way the next most powerful person on the set after the Director.
Depending on the country, some DP operate their own camera (UK system) or some DP will have camera operators to do it (Hollywood system).
I do work as a DP in some smaller projects and I prefer to operate my own camera. It's more personal and much easier than trying to get another person to see what you have in your mind.
These two are MTV for two project I have shot for Singapore TV. One is a drama series, another telemovie. Probably not right up your alley but these two has been nominated for a few TV awards.
. I find it more sad someone's publishing this one outburst with no legitimate context to support it or anything than the outburst itself.
