Lighting outside on a budget

Cup · Jul 26, 2009

Hi, I'm filming a movie which is shot blair-witch/cloverfield style in the woods. This means I won't be cutting very often, and will always be on the move. My camera is pretty good in the dark, but at night in the woods I can barely pick up anything with my camera. I can jack up the gain and slow the shutter speed on the camera to make the image clearer, but by the time I get the visibility perfect, the quality is just horrible.

I've considered two options: a mountable camera light, or a few flashlights. The camera light sounds perfect, but I wan't to hear an opinion on them, since $150 for a little LED light seems a little overpriced, and probably wont produce that much light

Is there any DIY tricks like putting filters over the flashlight so it's not too intense, or mounting a flashlight onto the camera?

Brooksy · Jul 26, 2009

If you are going straight Blair Witch style then I would go with the sun gun approach (Light on camera). Otherwise I would by about 3 or 4 home depot work lights, buy some blue gels, and mount those lights as high as possible. If done right it will give off a pretty decent moon light and it would be cheap.

Otherwise I would research shooting "day for night" and try to make it work that way. I am not sure what your budget is or what your situation is but those are my suggestions. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Anim8 · Jul 26, 2009

You can hang several china balls (with blue gels on the bulbs) overhead for a soft light that doesnt give hard shadows. It works really well for moon light shots.

You maybe able to try something portable with a small one????

Cup · Jul 26, 2009

Thanks for the suggestions, but I doubt I could build a portable fixture to hang lights/china balls from that will move during the scenes.

Day for night was a consideration, but that's going to be pretty hard to pull that off. I edit in After Effects, and changing a blue sky to pitch black probably won't look right. Also it seems like a lot of work if the camera is going to be shaky.

I'd love to do the "sun gun", but about how far out do they light? Can they illuminate people 10 meters away at night? If I have a scene where the actors aren't moving very much, I will try your guys moonlight suggestions, thanks!

Brooksy · Jul 26, 2009

I am not a big after effects editor but I have seen the best night to day shots done when it is over cast. Easier to take a gray sky and make it look dark then a blue sky. Either way good luck.

Cup · Jul 28, 2009

Haha, it's summer, and I don't think we've had an overcast day this year.

themattcastro · Jul 28, 2009

The Blair Witch Project shot all their shots at night in black and white and used the camera's built in light.

I suggest that you don't try to shoot scenes from far away since it would be harder to see what's on the screen. Shoot close to what you want to film and remember that you want to give it an amateur style, so you should refrain from using any kind of stage lighting. Filming in black and white helps a lot as well.

I could be completely off, but that's what I think you should do.

Brooksy · Jul 28, 2009

You haven't had a single overcast day? Where do you live? Not only that, what does it being summer have to do with it being overcast? I do understand it is hard to pull off a shoot around weather. It can be a real pain to try and schedule that.

Cup · Jul 28, 2009

I exaggerated a little. I live in North Carolina, and we don't get much rain in the summer or overcast days. It's been sunny nearly every day. I have to tell my actors and crew in advance when to come down.