Best way to Light for Super8 - Concert

Post by **seer** » Sun Sep 21, 2003 5:13 pm

There is a small concert here and I want to film it using a super8 camera and kodachrome40 (all I have available at this time).

I was wondering what the best way to light the bands would be?

Thanks

Post by **mattias** » Sun Sep 21, 2003 5:33 pm

i'd go for back/cross lighting and silhouetting, since getting a high enough overall light level to see the faces and such will be very hard with k40, and would ruin the atmosphere for the bands as well as the non filming audience anyway.

/matt

Post by **Petteri** » Sun Sep 21, 2003 6:22 pm

hmm i do not agree with you Mattias!

You can get quite desent result with "few" spotlights and K40. Two 1K spot for each member of band, that's quite normal in consert i suppose (with one you will only get face, if the spot is directed there). Few spots to light up the stage and behaps few at the back of the stage. And that should not be too much for audince either ;-)

Just think what you wan't to be in the film and lighten them up

Petteri

Post by **christoph** » Sun Sep 21, 2003 6:25 pm

mattias wrote:i'd go for back/cross lighting and silhouetting, since getting a high enough overall light level to see the faces and such will be very hard with k40, and would ruin the atmosphere for the bands as well as the non filming audience anyway.

i second that suggestion, use hard lighting, preferably some lights that you can focus as spots. if you want to see the bands faces, try to get some lights very close to them, maybe hidden behind the audio monitor boxes or something... still, the light level required would be hard to tolerate from the band, since they prolly wouldnt be able to see the audience anymore ;)

you might be better off to try the 125asa stock and a camera with good low light capabilities though.
++ christoph ++

Post by **mattias** » Sun Sep 21, 2003 8:47 pm

Petteri wrote:You can get quite desent result with "few" spotlights and K40.

i didn't say you couldn't. i just said they should be put as cross and back lights as well as for creating silhouette effects, imho of course. shining them straight onto the band members doesn't sound like it would look very good nor would it be very nice to their eyes.

/matt

Post by **Petteri** » Sun Sep 21, 2003 10:27 pm

Who cares their eyes as long it looks good on the film ;-)

I have some material from band shooted with K40, i will try to post some samples as soon as i have time to do it.....

Petteri

Post by **mattias** » Sun Sep 21, 2003 10:53 pm

Petteri wrote:Who cares their eyes as long it looks good on the film ;-)

very true. i was under the impression that this was a concert first and a film set second though... :-)

/matt

Post by **seer** » Sun Sep 21, 2003 11:03 pm

Thanks Petteri looking forward to those samples!

Post by **sunrise** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 12:44 am

Seer, you didn't mention what camera you intended to use. Mattias (and a lot others in this forum) uses manual cameras. If you, for some reason, have a automatic or semi-automatic camera, filming spotlights are rather difficult.

I speak of experience, as I regularly carry an automatic camera along to concerts and festivals. Spotlighted faces will overexpose!

You need to carefully meter the light on the spotlighted areas and compensate for it. Using K-40 will problably give you good exposure on the spotlighted areas, but pitch black elsewhere.

I would recomend go for faster film and softer light to capture both band and audience.

Storytime now: About a year ago I was at this Jean Michel Jarre concert (got the tickets for free so...) and it was being filmed for television. Most of the audience was lit up be gigantic spotlights which was rather uncomfortable. When I saw the television broadcast a week later I was surprised by how little the bright lights showed.

Sunrise

Post by **christoph** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 1:09 am

sunrise wrote:You need to carefully meter the light on the spotlighted areas and compensate for it.

actually you wont have to meter at all with K40... just open your lens to max aperture (sorry, couldnt resist ;)

I would recomend go for faster film and softer light to capture both band and audience.

jeah, that would definitely be preferable... but the amounts of light you need to light even a small concert hall with 125ASA makes this very difficult to do without frying the audience.

++ christoph ++

Post by **sunrise** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 1:32 am

actually you wont have to meter at all with K40... just open your lens to max aperture (sorry, couldnt resist ;)

Ã‚Â´

I have a few meters of fotage of overexposed faces... Kind of depends what lights you use. (get the joke though, I have also quite a lot of underexposed concert film - this is the joy of automatic shooting).

but the amounts of light you need to light even a small concert hall with 125ASA makes this very difficult to do without frying the audience.

True, but who said 125ASA was the limit?

sunrise

Post by **maksim** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 2:15 am

If I may intrude, what would be the best reversal S8 stock for concert/stage shoot?

Is t Tri-X or?

Post by **seer** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 10:31 am

Camera is a Canon 518SV, has manual exposure etc...

I have no option of any other film besides k40 at this stage :\

Post by **Petteri** » Tue Sep 23, 2003 11:51 am

You will have to wait those samples, until next

I'm kind of busy this week....

Petteri