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Hello Roger,
What did you mean by ‘some, small and big budget films, look fake to me?’
Do you mean that it’s a case of style over substance? Or something that brings you out of the experience when watching a film?
This conversation reminds me of one of Albert Einstein’s quotes: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
As a former film school student, I found the rules or ‘fundamentals,’ a great help because they set boundaries and restrictions that helped me progress with my learning. But as I improved and grew stronger as a filmmaker, I required them much less to guide me because I found something else. I developed my personal taste and character, and still am developing it.
The T12 created the sunlight effect and the 2Ks were set to bounce soft light into the corridor and the room. There were no lights inside the set. I was shooting the opening scene of ‘Sicario’ on set and a deeper stop, with more depth of field, would, in my opinion, felt more like it was shot on location.
Thanks for the time and reply Sir!
Thank you for the great advice Sharkbait, and thank you for sending a great example TimoVanLierop!
We have already shot the scene weeks ago, but we changed the concept, and reduced the intensity of the light to match the new tone and emotion the director desired.
I don’t believe a longer film generally means a better film, nor a feature film being classified as ‘worthwhile’ because of its extended period of time.
First you’d have to develop a story and see where that takes you, but I think you’re prioritising looks over substance. Just because you have a great set designer, camera or lighting rig doesn’t mean your short/feature film will be a masterpiece.
I’d really encourage you to watch David Sandberg’s <i>Lights Out</i>, its an amazing and thrilling 3min short horror film. Of course your short film might differ from his, but nonetheless, it was shot on two rooms, with an IKEA lamp, a strong bulb and a redhead.
Hey,
A polariser filter would help reduce the amount of reflections, but it won’t get rid of all of them, also be careful when using one as they reduce the exposure. I haven’t read the script nor seen your gear list, but a china ball can spread the light source quite a lot.
I’d consider flagging and controlling the angle of the china ball, so you’re reducing the amount of light that is hitting the walls/furniture the window is facing, resulting in less reflections on the mirror. Maybe I’d do as you say and use a flower pot to cover the camera’s reflection and move the table/scene to the middle to build a larger depth. But again I haven’t read the script so my advice may be inappropriate.
I don’t think I could come up with a better idea, nonetheless, that was an amazing work done by you and the crew considering it helped tell the story, and none of the work seemed noticeable enough to disturb the scene. Up until I heard your commentary, I thought the scene was done sorely through a steadicam rig.
Thanks for your answer!
Wow that’s so cool. Thank you for sharing Simon!
It’s crazy to see the amount of solids, stands, and bounce that was used for a scene that looks like it had no lighting or rigging work.
I can’t imagine a 2K being effective. It also seems you might need to control the natural light so that it does not overwhelm any source you use. I would expect to use an Arri Max for this kind of effect or, at least a powerful HMI Par.
Thank you for your reply Sir!
I’ll keep those lights in mind when we do a prelight day.
Thanks for your time.
Hi Stip,
Yes I forgot to mention that, but we have already tested a hazer and are happy with it.
Thanks for mentioning it!
Thanks for the advice James, another factor I also think played into it was the need and want to stand out. I’ll keep your advice at the back of my mind for next week’s shoot!
Placing diffusion on the barn doors of a lamp will not really make the source ‘softer’ unless your subject is very close to it. The diffusion will spread the light in a more even wide beam but it won’t actually soften a shadow. A second layer directly on top of the first might spread the light even more but it will still not soften the light. To do that you need to make your source larger, as would be the case if your second layer of diffusion is set a few meters in front of the first. In general terms, the further your diffusion from the lamp the softer the light.
Thank you for your time and advice!
That’s funny – and typical! Simplicity is often the best – although it’s easy to get tangled up in complexity on the day!
Yes I went too far down the rabbit hole that day!
Hi,
I’m very new and unexperienced in the film industry, but the biggest lighting challenge I experienced was when a director wanted a hard streak of light and the shadows of the window seen on the floor.
We were shooting at 2-3pm, the weather was cloudy and the sunlight was bouncing everywhere and the strongest light I had was a 2k Fresnel. The camera was looking against a large window with a wide lens, so positioning light out of frame outside the window was a challenge big enough. When I turned the light on, the streak of light was so subtle and weak, the window shadows were invisible and I couldn’t bring the light closer because there was a hedge in front of the wall.
In the end, I ended up setting a 750W fresnel behind the couch where the action was taking place, cut some rubbish bag strips and placed them on the light; imitating the pattern of the windows.
After quite a long time and effort, I was happy with the placement of the streak light and the shadows of the window being cast by the 750W fresnel. But when the director came back to the set, he saw how subtle the streak light from the 2k was and decided to solely use that light and scrap the window shadows.
Sometimes less is more 😂
