Lighting Techniques: Creating Magic Hour on a Stage

[Matt Workman]

Creating Magic Hour on a Stage
http://www.cinematographydb.com/2015/10/lighting-techniques-creating-magic-hour-on-a-stage/

Check out my latest tutorial on creating magic hour lighting from scratch on a sound stage. I learned these techniques from several DPs, gaffers, and key grips. It's simple once you break it down, but I remember being completely confused when I first attempted this.

The 3D illustrations were created in Maya with a custom plug-in that I'm developing for DPs to be able to shoot and light in 3D.

I'd love to hear your feedback and suggestions on future topics.

Cheers,

Matt

 

[Michael Tiemann]

My feedback is that adding haze to the scene is proper for an outdoor shot--because magic hour does tend to illuminate the atmosphere in that way, but it's overkill for an interior shot. Unless somebody's just finished cooking something smokey, the haze is all outside the window, not inside.

I also think that your gif transitions are at least 2x faster than they should be. They don't give the brain time to really think about what it's seeing (or not seeing, such as when we see the haze in the camera view, but not in the stage view).

 

[Matt Workman]

My feedback is that adding haze to the scene is proper for an outdoor shot--because magic hour does tend to illuminate the atmosphere in that way, but it's overkill for an interior shot. Unless somebody's just finished cooking something smokey, the haze is all outside the window, not inside.

I also think that your gif transitions are at least 2x faster than they should be. They don't give the brain time to really think about what it's seeing (or not seeing, such as when we see the haze in the camera view, but not in the stage view).

Hey Michael, thank you for writing!

I agree that technically there shouldn't be haze in the house, but I've seen a lot of filmmakers use it anyway for the romance of it. Your call as a DP. There shouldn't technically be any sky ambient coming from above either, only from the windows. :/ But we cheat!

The GIF does move quickly, I agree. Some people like it quick, others slow. I could do 1 second each next time. Hopefully you can look at the full set renders full screen on the website, if the GIF is moving too fast.

Appreciate the feedback

Cheers!