• Wondering which camera, gear, computer, or software to buy? Ask in our Gear Guide.

Specific lighting requirements advice

T

Tom_patrick

Hi

I am shooting a short film next week and need some advice on two lighting situations.

First - There will be shots of a girl inside a car as a man approaches from the back window. I need to balance the interior light a little but obviously can not use large lighting. Any ideas?

Second - There is a scene with the girl sitting underneath a crack in the curtains inside. The man arrives at the window on a ladder and therefore needs to be exposed as correctly as possible without totally leaving the girl in the dark. Ideally i would have a thin ray of light coming down from the window illuminating her but the forecast is weak and obviously she will be facing the wrong way. I doubt i could position any kind of reflector in front of her to bring her face up. I would like only her to really be illuminated, to exaggerate the minimal light source and that the light in her room is off. Otherwise i would just use a filtered redhead or something similar.

I have access to a couple of small video lights, redhead and blonde 2k kits. I am shooting on 5D and 7D.

Look forward to hearing peoples suggestions and help! I have never done any lighting myself so I'm new to it.

Thanks for reading!
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
For the car, a reflector/bounce may work to bring up the light in the interior without big lighting fixtures...

For the streak of light on the face, you can position a light off camera that is shot through a slit in some black foil making a thin streak of light that will look as if it's coming from the curtains so long as the angles aren't too far off.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You didn't give a budget for the car lighting so I would recommend Kino Mini Flo lights. If those are too spendy, small, portable LED units that are battery powered should do the trick and can be had at most hardware and auto parts stores.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
If the shot is during the daytime, you won't be able to get an in-car solution strong enough to counter the daylight outside the shot... you'll need a 2k-5k light outside the car or a reflector to redirect the sunlight in there. The sun is bright. I know, I've stared at it a couple of times...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hi

Thanks for the replies they are very helpful

I should have explained that both scenes are daytime.

The budget is non-existent especially at this late stage, but i have access to a lot of equipment, lighting wise i have what i described.

The indoor scene where i need a shaft of light is inside an upstairs bedroom where the actor will sit under the window illuminated by the light coming in. I just need to balance it a bit so i can see her face. For the close up it won't be hard but i want a nice wide shot of the whole window and will need so somehow get some spotlight on her face. Will a 800w redhead with diffusion and a half CT gel do? If i somehow narrow the light? I assume the distance (about 8ft) will mean the light will be impossible to focus much on her face?

I don't know where to get black foil, what else would suffice to shape the light coming from the redhead without causing a fire?

Sorry for the terminology and lack of experience, it is the first time i have faced such problems as i am doing this film almost alone.

thanks again!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top