Lighting B&W 16mm

[crazymcnutjob]

In about 4 months I am going to be taking my first film production class at my film school, and we are going to be starting off with shooting black and white 16mm reversal. I don't really have any experience shooting film, however, I do have a good deal of experience lighting and creating excellent looking images on my DVX100a - but my main concern is how I should light and expose differently when shooting 16mm. I have heard that high contrast, low-key/high-key lighting etc. (which is something I aesthetically prefer) is a bit tricky when dealing with film...I have heard that it's not good to have completely unlit areas in the frame even if your subject is lit and exposed properly or else you risk having those (intended) dark areas turn out very grainy and muddy. Consequently, I am tempted to use a low speed film stock like the Plus-X 7276 to mimimize grain. I would really appreciate suggestions or advice as to how I should light these type of high contrast, noir-ish situations. Thank you!

[TimurCivan]

well one thing youre going to notice is that the dvx is alottttt more sensitive. and thoes 10$ homedepot halogen work lights we all love so much, wont do a damn thing for film. you need loooots of light. anyhtign you dont light will nearly disappear into black. which actually is kinda cool. cause then you get complete controll of what apears in your picture.

seriously ambient lightwont really cut it anymore unless its sunlight.

thinkg of the light you need to shoot with a 35mm still photo camera, you remeber thoes?? thoes big cameras where you had to wait a whole hour at the drugstore to see your pictures , lol actually a cheap way to practice lightign wouldbe take B&W photos set up scenes and light htem and see how much light you need for what effect


( additionally: before you techies all jump down my throat i know hes shooting 16mm, but 35 film stock should react the same way if its the same speed, cause i know you can use a 35 mm lightmeter for super8 16mm and 120mm medium format with reasonable accuaracy)

[cellulararrest]

I've never shot on negative, but I've shot on reversal. Both Plus-x and Tri-X. One thing you will be very surprised about when you get your first tests back is the extremely bad latitude with reversal. Check and double check your lightmeter readings. Reversal isn't forgiving AT ALL. Once you get the hang of it, you'll start to really enjoy it though. It gives that really characteristic look that really just grows on you.

To answer your question about having unlit areas, you are totally correct. Light everything and lightmeter everything. Definitely make sure you shoot some test footage as well so you get the feel of it. I'll post some footage in a few minutes for you to check out.

[dasonras]

for me, i just plan out my shots carefully and make sure i know exactly how many times the light energy is going to change (for example, if you are on a dolly). As often as you can, use a grey card. They are remendously accurate and help a lot. I sometimes use a 35mm SLR and use the internal light meter as a spot meter on a grey card.

[cellulararrest]

here is a collection of a bunch of shots, just to give you an idea of what it looks like. There are all Kodak Reversal 16mm.

http://cotbol.com/videos/16mm/random_shots.mov

[crazymcnutjob]

hey cellular, thank you so much for posting that clip, it really gave me an idea of what the medium looks like. Judging from your second clip, it seems as if you can selectively light and keep true, ungrainy blacks in the background.

[David G. Smith]

I cut my teeth with b&w reversal. I have found that exposing b&w reversal and shooting video are very similar. With reverasal, I always exposed for the highlights and made sure that I was never overexposed. This is the same philosophy I follow with video. With negative film, I expose for the shadows, and because of the increased lattitude of negative film, the highlights take care of themselves. If you expose for the highlights, your control of the image is dependant upon your fill light. As one of the above post stated, you will need much more light than you used to using. That is one of the beautiful things about b&w reversal, it can take powerful hardlight and make it look very good. Look for lights 650 watts or higher.


Good luck.

[cellulararrest]

no problem. Those first few shots was the first time I had ever shot on film, so the exposure is pretty much crap. That second one was a bracket showing a bunch of different F-stops.

Glad I could help out.

[Bruce Morgan]

All these post sound like real good experience .I agree on the reversal post you must be accurate in your exposure .
Black and white Film use will never die .
One famous dp who was the operator on "In Cold Blood " calls black and white film the fifth dimension .I think it was William Fraker who said that.
Anyway.....
The key to black and white images through deliberate lighting interiors or just chosing the right angle or position in your exteriors is SEPARATION
For example /
dark foreground image light background images etc .
If you can get a chance and some change , check out a great book called "Painting with Light " by John Alton.
It was republished recently with many illustrations and the book focuses on black and white film lighting.
It has a forward by Martin Scorcesies (sp) Check it out on ebay .
Good Luck with Your Filming
Bruce :thumbsup: :thumbsup: