Blue Hour Lighting Tips

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  • #220934
    ckalcic
    Participant

      Any tips for shooting exterior blue hour scenes? I have a short set in the sand dunes and have a few scenes that will need blue hour lighting for atmospheric exteriors, as well as some shots that I want to get the blue sky in the background, and some dawn as the sun rises.

      I know some shots i’ll be able to cheat, or can darken in post but I want to be efficient.

      We will have a pretty tight shooting schedule of three days but some scenes will need to be blue hour lighting for dawn/dusk. I want to make sure we get all the shots we need within the 30-40 minute or even less timeframe, and was curious about any tips to get everything and keep continuity.

      Ive been trying to schedule a few scenes everyday spread out to get the most out of the blue hour timeframe each day but I want to see if anyone has recommendations and about adding any additional light shaping like bounce or diffusion to match the shots I attached.

      Ive been referencing some blue hour shots in No Country for Old Men and Revolutionary Road.

      Thanks and hope to get some feedback!

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    • #220949
      Roger Deakins
      Keymaster

        I think the best advice is be prepared. Storyboard your wish list and keep it simple. You can always embellish your shots if you find you have time. If you have storyboards you can break down what can be shot at dawn and what it dusk. There might also be some you could shoot during the day as long as there is cloud cover.

        #220953
        ckalcic
        Participant

          Thank you for the advice and response! I’ve storyboarded the whole film and the final scene is the one I’m more worried about because of the amount of shots (12 shots) as well as the importance of the scene and the change from blue hour, to dawn, to sunrise. Every other scene only has 3-4 shots that NEED to be blue hour so I can make those work. I know that will all be timing so I’m hoping with the 40 or so minute summer blue hour timeframe I should be able to get through them over the 3 days.

          I keep referring to the chase scene in No Country for Old Men when it switches from night to dawn as Llewelyn is being chased by the truck and dog, I assume it was shot over a few days and not continuous in real time. I know I won’t be able to do it across multiple days, maybe a pickup shot or two but I’ve always loved that scene and would love to hear about how it was lit and how you timed out each section to seamlessly transition from night to sunrise.

          Thanks again!

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