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Filming moonrise

Joe D'Arcy

Joe D'Arcy

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Next week I will be filming the moonrise over the ocean in a remote location. I will be shooting tests (on RedOne M) in the preceding days. However I will be on location for the tests. The ocean will have swell (approximately 3 foot waves) which I would like to include in the shot. Any suggestions as to how make a shot like this as beautiful as possible. I would like to be as prepared as possible once we get to the location.
All suggestions greatly appreciated.
Joe
 
this is where HDRX would be your friend.....
You could frame it so that the moon rises in a .9 grad ND portion whilst the waves below are lit without any ND. I would have to camera low so that you could see the waves...cool idea. Other than that, you're mostly going to have to asses the scene when you get there in terms of composition. Out of focus, silhouetted foreground elements are nice....wait I just had another idea. What if you filmed the scene without the moon (yet) say, 20 seconds of it at speed, and then the, without moving the camera (I'm guessing this will be sped up or a time laps? Hence, moon "rise"?) film the rise for time-laps and then stitch the frames together in post? That way you wouldn't need any grad ND and you could expose perfectly for the moon. Hopefully you get some nice clouds...good luck!
 
My personal preference would be to use a longer lens, to pull the moon in close enough that you see the waves on the ocean as a foreshortened confusion with the shorebreak becoming soft and the moment the bottom of the moon becomes stretched down and then comes quickly unstuck from the horizon. That will bring it's own difficulties as in knowing exactly where the moon is going to pop its nose up as it will change with each day. With the moon at say a third to half a vertical frame in diameter, a ND grad may not look right as the moon's disk passes through the grad zone, but with a wider shot it should. Don't take much notice of my comments.
 
Mathew Robert and Neale, thanks for your suggestions. Mathew I like the idea of locking the camera off and then splitting the shots in post. I also like the option of the split diopter.
I'll try them both when we run some tests. I'll need to get hold of a screw on split diopter in the next few days.
 
I recommend shooting during full moon, or day before that. During full moon sun rise happens right after sunset, which gives you enough light to shoot and within minutes the moon becomes much brighter than its surrounding, as light quickly drops, and you can start seeing moon reflections on the water. If you do it day after full moon, you are shooting more than an hour after sunset and it is too dark to shoot. Day before full moon is nice, but moon rises quite dim, and doesn't illuminate water until more than hour later. Just pray its not cloudy at the horizon. Visit the site day before and check where the moon rises. Good luck!

Full moon happens this Saturday, August 29th, 2012 around 6:40p.m.
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=798&month=9&year=2012&obj=moon&afl=-11&day=1
 
Just remember that the moon is lit by the equivalent of the Noonday sun. It's very bright, so if you want to see detail in the moon and hold the waves, you will need some HDRx, grad ND, etc. Without those tools (even with them) you may only see the ocean where the moon is reflected, or if you expose for some detail in the ocean, the moon becomes a white disc.
 
I shot a moonrise once with a 50mm nikon 1.8 on Red One M. Full moon, and the final result was not too bad. Although l wish I had had more time in preparation. Like always with rapid changing light, you'll find that there is a very short sweet spot where the light is best. My advice would be to be ready early, as it is very easy to be just too late. I think the sweet spot hits when it is still quite light. Then just have the camera rolling. Also since you have a few days, I would expose for the moon and sky the first night, and for the water the second day, then mask like others suggested.
Getting a great shot of moonrise should be very doable with Red One M :) Good luck!
 
What if you could get up high above the ocean, start by filming the moons reflection and pan up to the moon? Perhaps you could start on a still pool, a natural bay? A few idea's to toss at you.

Guys, what's the minimum focal length for getting a decent shot of the moon, 200mm+, whatever lens you use, on a RED you are going to want it to be as fast as possible.
 
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