Very minimal lighting

[andy989]

Hi all

Not posted since the new threads so my old posts have gone. Back with another minimal lighting short that i shot recently. I like to challenge myself to the least amount of lights possible and this one is a new personal best.  Heavily inspired by Roger’s work on 1917 (lighting methods, not camera) I tried my best to shoot under cloud. Given the extremely tiny budget, i thought id let the location do all the work and prey for cloud. All the exterior battle scenes were shot with no lights, just daylight under cloud and some negative fill here and there. All the interior shots of the woman in the house were done with no lights, just a large window, bounce and control. The only light used in the whole film is a single Apeture bulb placed in a lantern in the bunker scene. Pretty happy with how it turned out considering the budget (sub £5k).
Have to thank Roger and his openness with knowledge that gives people like me the confidence to not overthink things and follow your instincts!

Topic

[Stip]

Great work!  Love the daylight interiors. Most DP’s shy away from using no or little film lights but I too prefer when they start from the minimum (nothing) and work the way up only if necessary.

[Stip]

P.S.: I did notice the odd, futuristic shape of the Aputure bulb though 🙂

[Roger Deakins]

Looks very good. Regarding that bulb – a small quartz bulb would have looked a little more like a flame. But who is really looking at that. Nice job!

[Stip]

@andy989

Hey Andy, do you have a website or reel ect?

[Ayan_Anirban]

Wow! Brilliant work man. Could you please explain how you ensured light continuity or was it more or less consistent because of the cloudy weather? Also, how did you approach balancing exterior to interior? I wish I could make the daylight work the way you have done it in this work.

[halfgrain]

great work! Is the film free to watch somewhere online?

[halfgrain]

I love the shot in the trenches , beautiful composition and depth. Also love the composition of the last shot. My only constructive criticism would be that the few backlit shots inside look a little too much like “highlight recovery” to me. The clipped areas in the curtain look a little digital and the shadows very much lifted throughout the frame. Wonder if that was your decision or what happened in the DI without your watch? All that being said, bravo to this piece of work! I’m impressed.

[Author]

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