Sequence 01

I was asked to provide some lighting notes for a director this year who wanted to know a bit about my lighting techniques – so here is the long version.

My main note is that I’m a big fan of key lighting from the other side of the camera when possible to create drama. Although the 360 degree test is useful to know exactly where to key from to help tell the story. When possible I also add a back light and fill if and when necessary.

Scene 1: Opening sequence for a music video that starts as a spoof of Zero Dark Thirty and ends with a geriatric marching band, can-can dancers and club kids bursting into the room. Weird, but it got some laughs.
Set: Industrial loft
Lighting: Key 3 4K HMI fresnels outside the windows. We had to frost out the windows completely with 1/2 stop diffusion so we wouldn’t see the restaurant in the background. Fill: 2x 1k LED panels off angled bead board. 3-4 LED fresnel accent lights. 1x 2K HMI out in the corridor bounced off white backdrop to match blown out windows. We flagged off the background for some of the closeups but the director didn’t want it overly dark. We also used a smoke machine to create a bit of haze and diffusion. Budget: $750 plus $400 insurance for the grip/lighting truck with extra lights.

Scene 2: Sorry this is unfinished – a long scene for a feature I’m DP’ing currently. Sound is not really present (just camera sound) but the scene features the taller leather jacket character trying to convince the jean jacket man to help him carjack $2 million form a gang. Jean jacket is very conflicted in this scene as demonstrated by his face being half in shadow for much of it. Leather jacket is a bit more obtuse. They are trying to hide it from the bar patrons but Jean Jacket is so angry he cannot stay discreet. Bartender is lit from below and front-on to demonstrate his power in this scene at the end and how Leather is a bit embarassed by the whole thing. The actual scene is a bit longer than this.

This is really a colour grading sample for the director. Film LUT and grain are added in post.

We shot the whole thing in 3 long moving steadicam shots with several axis changes (even breaking the axis a bit) to accentuate the characters in conflict and add a lot of dynamic movement to the scene. Consequently it was like shooting in a submarine (reference K-19 The Widowmaker) and we had to use all practical lighting as key lights as the entire bar was visible. We changed out all of the practical bulbs to 300 watt CFL pigtails, added 1/2 stop diffusion gel to all the fixtures and choreographed the action so that each character was keyed from the other side of the camera. It took a lot of blocking and we only had 3 hours from closing time at 2am to opening time at 5 am for breakfast so we had to work very fast. Fill light was discretely provided by 2 small moving ring lights on booms moved by grips as the actors moved. These provide subtle,soft moving fill (just like 10 inch China Balls) and have the ability to move quickly out of the way so they are not in the shot as the camera turns around. The crew consisted of just me, the 2 grips and the sound recordist. They did great work choreographing the 3 booms out of the way of the wide 28 mm lens. I had no assistant for this scene and set up the steadicam and pulled focus by myself. Budget $0 Just gas money.

Scene 3: A woman arrives home at night, hears a sound upstairs and finds a disturbing, alien presence in the bedroom with her husband.
Lights – Fill light – 2 300 watt ring lights turned down about 3 stops to provide subtle ambience (it’s supposed to be pitch black). 2 1×1 LED panels bounced off 4×6 bounce panel in the bedroom to provide harsh, surreal blown out wash of light as she opens the door. Notice it acts as a key as she turns, conflicted with her face half in shadow just before she leaves. Oh there’s a 300 watt in the bathroom for a bit of backlighting as well. The bottoms of the stairs is flagged off to make it totally black at the bottom. Film grain and mistimed shutter effect was added in post. Budget $400 liability insurance only ACTRA agreement.

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