Lighting the darkness

[huascar]

Hi everybody.
I'm working on shooting a no budget music video. I'm a filmaker, but not a DP...

I use lights in normal situation (like tv interviews), but now the story is harder. Please can you help me with some RED hints to light and expose well this scene:

Interior - bedroom - night
a girl in bed wakes up and lights on a lamp on the table near the bed

I want to create a nighty mood (she has an open window close to her), so darkness, an outside light (like moon light) and the light from the lamp.

I have 3 Kino Flo and 2 1kw tungstes lamps.


Please what is the best lighting setup, and RED setup?!

I know it's a difficult question, this time there's no money for a DP...


thank you everybody


huascar

 

[Tom.Wong]

you need a DP. find someone online that has worked a bit but still expanding a reel. what your trying to do is more or less trying to shoot film with know knowledge of stocks or lighting. lot easier to do on red cause you have a live preview of what your shooting, but knowing how to shoot it is one key to getting the great imagery ppl get out of it, lighting, camera work, and knowing how to use the camera. lot of reasons why very early red footage didn't look so great, took awhile for people to really learn how to shoot it, expose for it, and how light reacts with the sensor. this is a full cinema class camera, if u want it to look good you need to find someone that can get it to look good. there is no camera that just turns on and makes everything look perfect.

 

[Kim Frank]

I think its not always the best option to just get someone. Try it, do your thing make mistakes and learn, thats what low/no budget projects are for in my opinion. So heres what I would do...
Most important thing is to not underexpose too much in the first place. Feed the sensor with enough light but without clipping the highlights, like the lamp next to her. That way you avoid noise and can bring down the brightness in post to the level you want it. Use a Kino Flo geled to match the tungsten fixture or one of your 1k bounced to increase the light level of the lamp next to her. You will have to switch it on in the same moment she does. Just count down or something. For outside moonlight feel use the other kinos or 1k gelled to a cooler tempereture (I would prefere a 1/2 ctb cause I'm not a big fan of too different colour tempretures, but that's just me) shining through the window or lighting something in front of it, like trees. If you have enough exposure use a blue filter in front of the lense to get the tungsten (3200) fixtures to something around 5000k , cause that's where reds sensor works best. But just if you can efford the missing stops of the filter if not leave it cause it's more important to not underxpose too much. I would go by two stops maximum.
Hope that helps a little

 

[Felix K.]

I always liked this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd-YCCJIMAs

That doesn't compensate for a DP though...

 

[Andrew Wilding]

if you try to play moonlight at the same time as a lamp, I think you might find the results look stagey. Real moonlight is far too weak to compete against a lamp - I'd either kill the "moonlight" when she turns on the lamp, or better yet, come up with another motivation for the light coming through the window. A sodium vapor street light? A pulsing red neon sign? Car head lights?

 

[Kim Frank]

Lighting the night is not about letting it look like reality, but what we think reality looks like. Take a look at kubricks eyes wide shut for example to see heavily mixed colour temperatures and very bright blue light coming through the windows. If its pretended to be moonlight or a streetlamp i dont know and I dont care. I think you don't have to explain the motivation of light, as long as it looks good.

 

[Andrew Wilding]

Lighting the night is not about letting it look like reality, but what we think reality looks like. Take a look at kubricks eyes wide shut for example to see heavily mixed colour temperatures and very bright blue light coming through the windows. If its pretended to be moonlight or a streetlamp i dont know and I dont care. I think you don't have to explain the motivation of light, as long as it looks good.

I agree - and of course the feeling/mood and dramatic intent trump reality - but unless your trying to consciously be surreal (as eyes wide shut was) you run the risk of simply looking stagey or amateur, I think. Of course, depending on the piece, even that can be the correct tone to take.

 

[Ken Waller]

Just make it look cool. If you don't have a DP see if you can get a nice monitor and use that to help set up the shot. Reality would be a dark room with a red LCD clock on the night-stand so screw that. Artistic choice could have the "moon beam" frame the girl on the bed. I'd have the lights on a power strip and turn 2 or more on as the girl "fakes" turning the lamp on. If your short handed this can save you some time as getting the girl and stage hand to turn on separated lights on cue can ruin good takes. You can use the wall switch to run the lights if in a house (not sure if your on real locations or a stage set). Make sure your location can handle your power needs as I've been on plenty of shoots where the fuse went out and everything went dark. (Flashlight and location of circuit breaker box just in case of Murphy's Law) There are a 1000 ways you could go with the lighting so its kinda hard to guess how from the limited info. You could spend hours just on that shot or just knock it out in 15 minutes. You need some kind of vision to start with so that will be up to you to decide what kind of mood the shot calls for. You could watch some cable TV and see how others light bedtime scenes before you try. Under-lit out of focus shots are bad. If your short on time and money then don't get too crazy. If you have the time and your not in a hurry then you could light the set and play around with looks before anyone shows up. Have fun. Be flexible. I'd start with a basic 3 point light (The on-screen lamp being one) and move or add more or less as needed. Do you have gels? If the girl is sexy no one will notice your lighting anyway. Sad but true. Good Luck!