Lighting Advice

Post by **CHAS** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 8:23 pm

I'm going to be shooting a scene off a balcony at sunset. The shot is of several actors/extras hanging out, drinking. I want to capture the beautiful sunset (assuming it is not overcast) but not put the actors in sillhouette. I have access to photo floods and gels but that's about it. Any suggestions on set ups I could use to not put the actors in the dark but not make it look totally unrealistic? oh yeah, I was thinking of shooting the last of my K40 -- is that not going to work? I have some 7240 as well.

Post by **sooper8fan** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 9:07 pm

I just did my first test with some artificial lighting and it came out great, but it was shot at night, indoors on K40. For the lighting I just used a couple 500watt photofloods, but when I bought them I also bought a couple blue photofloods: http://cgi.ebay.com/EBW-NO-B2-GE-PHOTOF ... dZViewItem

I haven't even tried them yet, but I would give them a shot. I guess it's the same as if you were using your gels, but at least this way the gels won't melt. You could put a couple (a few) of these in front of the actors but somehow hidden from the camera and I bet it would work okay. At least you'd see the people better instead of just their black sillhouette. OR you could always blow out the background but I'm sure you don't want that! Good luck! If you can remember to post a frame or a clip once you get it back I know I'd really like to see the results.

Post by **npcoombs** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 9:12 pm

Reflect as much light on to the actors as possible.

Exposure for the actors near side.

Tweak in post to bring out the sunset more - if need be.

....I suppose if you need more light you could bounce some flourescent bulbs off your sunlight reflector as well...

Post by **mattias** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 9:33 pm

yes, use an oversized bounce card. a sheet of white (!) cloth will do, as will a large piece of foamcore. put it above or below (try both and see what you like best) and behind the camera. that brings the contrast down a lot while not being detectable as another light source. another idea is to put a practical in the shot. that will motivate quite a lot of artificial light. for example if you put a candle on a table and then shine a 1k on the actors face from the same direction people will buy it, amazingly.

/matt

Post by **sooper8fan** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 10:36 pm

you might also want to consider setup time as to not lose the sunset. if possible, test out your setup a couple times on your own (with a friend?) in advance and see if you're getting enough light bouncing where it needs to be. I know this may not always be possible, but at least you'd have a better idea of what you need to do so you don't waste your actor's time and lose your sunset!

Post by **CHAS** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 12:29 am

sooper8fan wrote:you might also want to consider setup time as to not lose the sunset. if possible, test out your setup a couple times on your own (with a friend?) in advance and see if you're getting enough light bouncing where it needs to be. I know this may not always be possible, but at least you'd have a better idea of what you need to do so you don't waste your actor's time and lose your sunset!

Thanks everyone. These are great tips. Yes, I'm going to try shooting this Friday to "test" everything out with rolls of K40 and 7240. I'll take everyone's considerations in mind...I especially like the foamcoare and practicals idea...didn't think of that...

Ideally I'd like to shoot this on K40 due to the film's subject matter but if I can't, I can't. Plus my friend doing the lighting is tired of Kodachrome's limitations...

Post by **steve hyde** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 12:50 am

....my vote is for the bounce. I here it is getting smokey down on your end of the coast...

Steve

Post by **CHAS** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 12:56 am

steve hyde wrote:....my vote is for the bounce. I here it is getting smokey down on your end of the coast...

Steve

Thanks - I will try the bounce. No one has mentioned the stock. Do you think I can get away with K40 for this or is that a woeful choice?

Post by **steve hyde** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 1:33 am

I think V2 200T absolutely kicks ass for sunsets. That would be my stock of choice for a human subject at sunset. If I was shooting K40 I would try to get a lot of shots while the sun is at 90 degrees in the sky - then pick up the key sunset shots when things go orange.

Steve

Post by **CHAS** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 7:28 pm

steve hyde wrote:I think V2 200T absolutely kicks ass for sunsets. That would be my stock of choice for a human subject at sunset. If I was shooting K40 I would try to get a lot of shots while the sun is at 90 degrees in the sky - then pick up the key sunset shots when things go orange.

Steve

I'm not sure if I want to go the negative film route since the rest will be shot on reversal but I'll ask my lighting man...

I'm going to do some test shooting this Friday using everyone's advice -- I'll post the results next week!