[carlospacheco]

Hi all, first post here,

I’m preparing a short film, shooting exteriors for 3 nights in a churchyard. I’m gunning for a high contrast, sharp shadowed black and white look. Camera is a Ronin 4D 8K at native ISO 4000 with DR Expansion , shutter at 1/48, working around F4-4.5. We’re using a Ronin because of some long sweeping moves we have, and also as we have access to one. geometry dash

The script is a drama/horror two-hander. For most of the runtime the two characters are positioned against a gravestone, though there are a few moments where they move away from that primary setup.

I’ve been putting together a lighting package and would value any thoughts.

The current plan:

Aputure 600d Pro with F10 Fresnel as the key, positioned around 10 metres back and high to simulate moonlight. At that distance by my EV calcs (4-5), we’re getting roughly 43fc at the subjects at full power, with a target exposure of around 14-19fc, so running well under half output. The plan is to keep this fixed for the majority of the shoot and adjust the fill between setups rather than repositioning the key.

Amaran 200x S as a utility source, covering fill, kicker for certain setups, and lightning.

Amaran 100x as a small secondary fill.

For one moment involving a hard doorway cast, a 1.2K HMI rigged inside the Church’s nave, elevated and back from the door, with haze outside. This would be brought in for only one night.

An alternative we’re considering is two 600x Pros, scrapping the 200x S and HMI entirely and using the second 600x for the doorway and as a utility source across all three nights.

Does this seem a sound approach, or is there anything that immediately jumps out?

Thanks in advance.

Your plan sounds solid. I’d keep the 600d Pro as the main moonlight source and use the 200x S/100x for fill and accents. For the doorway shot, the 1.2K HMI is preferable if you want a hard, punchy source through haze.

At ISO 4000, I’d prioritize negative fill and controlling spill to maintain the high-contrast B&W look. The second 600x is useful for simplifying the package, but I don’t think it’s necessary unless you need the extra output or flexibility. A quick location test would be the best way to confirm your exposure calculations.

[Author]

Replies