Lighting a corridor set build - expert advice needed

[heeeeeresjonny]

Hi all,

I’m coming up to a second set build in early March for a short film, and would greatly appreciate your feedback on my lighting strategy for it!

My plan is to have 2 or 3 2K fresnels, bounced off silk coming through the window at the end of the corridor (left end). Along with this I’ll be placing 75W Photocrescenta bulbs in the two sockets, hanging over the set, and then from here I’ll accentuate these practicals with some redheads or fresnels coming over the sides of the set. I may also bounce some light through the smaller windows, which are positioned just above the apartment doors. That’s my basic set-up anyway!

The one question I do have is, because the light coming through the window is supposed to be sunrise/early morning, do I need to gel the tungsten at all? Or can I just leave them as they are if I’m white balancing to them? I’ve been told that a hint of pink can look nice, so I may try that. I know a lot of it is personal preference but if anyone has any experience with this then it would be much appreciated.

Otherwise, just some general feedback would be good. I’m a student filmmaker, so a lot of this is brand new to me really! I've been looking at films such as Old Boy and Seven for this film.

Thanks in advance,
Jonathan Flint

 

[chilipie]

If you're bouncing the 2Ks off a silk, you'd probably be better off with open face lights rather than fresnels - the advantages of a fresnel are unimportant when bouncing, and the lenses mean lower light output.

With regards to a sunrise effect; a key element here is that the sky is often a very different colour to things on the ground. Just before full sunrise, objects tend to be lit with a blueish white light, even though the sky is peach and amber.

What you've got planned so far sounds great - best of luck! Just to check, have you got the power requirements worked out and taken care of?