How would you light this scene?

[Eddie Brown]

Hey,

I'm filming a scene that takes place in a hotel suite on the 12th floor and wanted to get some feedback on how one might light this. I want to shoot this at 400 iso.

There's only one actor and se'll be standing in some scenes and sitting in others talking on a cell phone. She's a criminal boss and has her right hand man in the field making sure stuff goes according to plan. All of her scenes are phone conversations and during the day.

I've included stock photos of the room I'll be filming in.

Thanks,

 

[Alberto Guglielmi]

It really depends on what time of the day your scene needs to happen.
For a Mid-day/bright scene, I would consider using natural light if it is bright and sunny day. If it is cloudy and flat like the photos, I would consider "adding" another window as your main source of light, and use the actual window as a fill. Based on the photos, looks like there could be a fake window on the left of the last photo.

 

[paulherrin]

obviously you'll need to watch out for that mirror, perhaps even 'replacing' it in pro/post (doesn't mean you can't use it to bounce light just know that could be a 'ha$$le' in post...

i'd have a key [sun]light through the window for 'daytime', probably a 'hard' 1-point lighting [or light-bank] (or natural lighting with some supplement perhaps) with very minimal practical fill depending on the look you're going for, otherwise for 'nighttime' i'd think about going all practical with fairly powerful tungsten practicals to get somewhere between yellow-red for the grade. i would do some tests on a stage or somewhere before you have access to the room; esp if it's a major scene and/or location.

 

[Ulf Krentz]

I´d tend to avoid a front light, have some side / backlighting instead, probably a small HMI bounced off a board. Also make sure you have enough flags for top and front. This is a tight space with a lot of light walls that can spoil the image pretty fast.

Cheers
Ulf

 

[Satsuki Murashige]

What is the mood supposed to be - mysterious and silhouette, cold and austere, bright and pretty? What is the blocking and planned coverage? Is it all in midday light, or will there be sunrise/sunset/dusk scenes as well? Do you have permission to do any rigging in the room? Any other filming restrictions to be aware of - size of crew, extremely wide shots, long tracking shots, time and budget restrictions, power restrictions, off camera windows or skylights that you can't control? All things to consider before making a lighting plan.

 

[Chad Raines]

Use reflectors and as much natural light as possible. Given what I seen from the pics a small amount of fog would do wonders as well. Also I've used paper lanterns in hotel room to keep a darker shade on the room but have perfectly blended light above the actor.

 

[Eddie Brown]

The producer is trying to get a small name for the part so he wants it bright all midday light. This will be a Guerrilla shoot. House power only. Will have dolly shots. All the light can be controlled.

 

[Derek Carlson]

You might want to pull those sheer fabrics curtains over the window as well too just to diffuse the light a bit.

 

[David W. Jones]

Given what I seen from the pics a small amount of fog would do wonders as well..

The last thing you want to do is set off the fire alarms in a high-rise hotel by fogging the room. All of a sudden it's no longer a guerrilla shoot. :emote_22_yikes:

 

[Daniel Reed]

My mind instantly went to the blade runner scene when Harrison Ford conducts his examination of rachel.

I'd start there. Low key. 8 to 1 contrast ratio or more. Maybe shoot a little wide to add distortion.

Add haze. Consiser adding "un-motivated" exaggerated rim lights.

I imagine this is part of the upside down world different and not yet known to the protagonist,
a world that is shrouded in mystery, not yet made clear to the audience.

I'm imagining a scene that is around the jump to the 2nd.

Work with that idea, consider replacing the tabletop with glass, or even a mirror.

shoot in unconventional ways, at her refrection.

accented praticals to add a dash of color

moving fill lights that convey a sense of unknown change.


Then again, its all really based on what's going on in the story, and how lighting can add to that texture.

If this is closer to the end of the 2nd, and the bad guys are closing in, maybe you want to reveal more.
Thus maybe even fully reveal the big bads face with the henchmen in shadow, lit only by rim and backlighting

Hope my quick scribble above helps

A haze machine should not set off a fire alarm.
Nor are they a flame accelerant!
Call Reel EFX and ask them about fire alarm concerns when using their DF50 hazer:
http://www.reelefx.com/index.php?c=product.view&id=1

 

[muhammad]

How about moving things around for the scene to be side lit from the window? Narrow light with curtains and relight. Some haze.

 

[Florian Stadler]

The photos you show have a flash bouncing off the ceiling from top of camera, a heavy overwhelming top fill to them. Don't do that. Work with the natural light from the window and use that as your key source. Schedule the most dramatic scenes when the sun comes through the windows deep into the room (early morning/late evening). Work with practicals to mix color temperature and work in moody fill.

 

[Christoffer Glans]

Use the window as much as possible. Rearrange the furniture to make use of the window and make use of the idea that she looks out above the city. If she is powerful, moving pieces and people around, it would make sense having the visuals of her overlooking the city. So make use of the city outside and the light from the window. Use negative bounce to enforce more contrasts on close ups.

But then again, is this more of a comic book villain-style person or a more down to earth drama? If the former, you could lit it more, but if it's more down to earth, go with the window as a single source and block/stage her in ways to make such images interesting.