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Hello. I am going insane. I need to light a scene where my protagonist kills someone in the woods, at night. I am completely at my wits end. First of all I am shooting this on a dishwashers salary, and have no money to rent a huge light like i would most likely need, to create a simple fake beautiful moonlight. And second of all yes, i have considered every other possibility. Day for night would be pretty, convincing and provide the scale needed for the picture but is NOT convincing the second you get a glimpse of the sky, which is a lot harder than you think to avoid when shooting in the woods. Flashlights while practical and simple do not provide the SCALE i feel that an exterior scene needs, in that it ONLY lights the subjects and there is no other light to provide context. And as for actual lights, once again, I am on a dishwashers salary and unable to afford the huge lights that a night scene like this would require.
No, I am not willing to compromise for a lesser image.
Yes, I understand that I am possibly manic.
Yes, I am completely open to feedback and discussion.
Working with a Sony FX30, Nightwalker glass, a 300W light and a few lukewarm crew members. Thank you for your consideration.
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You can’t light a large area of night with a single small light unless you have a camera with an insanely high ISO capability.
You could try hazing the woods and then uplighting/backlighting from behind a hill with a row of multiple small lights to silhouette the action, then use flashlights or lanterns held by the actors.
You could try shooting the wide shots at twilight and then bouncing a light into a large frame for close-ups at night.
You could try a camera with a very high ISO capability.
From “The Wolfman” shot by Shelly Johnson, ASC:
Thank you for the advice David, all of these options are very very viable. I like the idea of shooting it wide in twilight and then the closeups later. I am considering possibly just rewriting a bit as well. Making the build up in the afternoon/golden hour and the payoff (kill) at dusk, might be easier. I appreciate you sifting though my insanity and providing meaningful answers. In my sporadic posting here I have found you quite helpful and insightful, hope all is well and all the best. -pwm
As a writer/director who started as a DP I think rewriting is a often the simplest and best solution as it usually forces more creativity.
Re: day-for-night, is the location so sparsely wooded that you will inevitably see too much sky from any conceivable angle? What is the weather going to be like? What is the angle of the sun on location during dawn and dusk?
If you have clear blue skies, shooting black-and-white for day-for-night in combination with a red filter to darken the sky can be very successful. Things like graduated ND filters are also a possibility depending on the horizon line.
Guillermo Navarro’s work in Pan’s Labyrinth is an example of successful DFN in a forest setting with skies often visible.
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