I began a film shoot this weekend, and my test shots did not go as planned. To make matter worse, the meter readings I got after supposedly correcting the problem were not "inspiring".
I am shooting Tri-X 7266 Super 8 b/w reversal with a Canon 1014, 220 degree shutter at 18 fps. The filter is set for Tungsten light, as the book recommends.
My lights are an Arri Fresnel, a Lowell Omni and a Lowell DP, the former fitted with an umbrella.
My meter is a Sekonic Studio Deluxe L-28C.
I set up my scene by sight, adjusting for taste and shadows. My meter readings were all over the place in the scene...2, 3.5, 4, 2, 2.8...you get the picture. I chose a rough average: 4. The Fresnel and the Omni (w/umbrella) were on either side of the scene, crisscrossing on my two subjects. The DP was bounced up at the ceiling to fall back down on the subjects.
The result was that the faces were all washed out, it was grainy, almost like it had been pushed, and the detail around the edges was nowhere to be found. The shot was wide from, by my best guess, ten to twelve feet. When I looked at the medium shot, there was a little more detail to it, but not much.
My solution was to move the lights further away and try to even out the scene. I also subdued the light with Toughspun to soften the light. I swapped the Fresnel and the Omni and chose to bounce the DP off the wall and away from the actors, to scene left, as opposed to up at the ceiling and in the direction of the actors.
This time my meter readings were consistent across the board: 2. But this still does not feel right! The camera's auto setting reads 1.4. I chose to listen to the meter and shoots some scenes at 2, then others at 4 and 5.6. I shot some scenes with the 150 degree shutter as a control and even shot on cartridge an alternate camera, also as a control. The film is currently at the lab, but I am concerned that my footage will still not be where I want it.
Thoughts?
I am shooting Tri-X 7266 Super 8 b/w reversal with a Canon 1014, 220 degree shutter at 18 fps. The filter is set for Tungsten light, as the book recommends.
My lights are an Arri Fresnel, a Lowell Omni and a Lowell DP, the former fitted with an umbrella.
My meter is a Sekonic Studio Deluxe L-28C.
I set up my scene by sight, adjusting for taste and shadows. My meter readings were all over the place in the scene...2, 3.5, 4, 2, 2.8...you get the picture. I chose a rough average: 4. The Fresnel and the Omni (w/umbrella) were on either side of the scene, crisscrossing on my two subjects. The DP was bounced up at the ceiling to fall back down on the subjects.
The result was that the faces were all washed out, it was grainy, almost like it had been pushed, and the detail around the edges was nowhere to be found. The shot was wide from, by my best guess, ten to twelve feet. When I looked at the medium shot, there was a little more detail to it, but not much.
My solution was to move the lights further away and try to even out the scene. I also subdued the light with Toughspun to soften the light. I swapped the Fresnel and the Omni and chose to bounce the DP off the wall and away from the actors, to scene left, as opposed to up at the ceiling and in the direction of the actors.
This time my meter readings were consistent across the board: 2. But this still does not feel right! The camera's auto setting reads 1.4. I chose to listen to the meter and shoots some scenes at 2, then others at 4 and 5.6. I shot some scenes with the 150 degree shutter as a control and even shot on cartridge an alternate camera, also as a control. The film is currently at the lab, but I am concerned that my footage will still not be where I want it.
Thoughts?
