Anyone suggest shooting at night on the streets without lights?

MalcolmOng

MalcolmOng

Veteran
Well, like the title, anyone suggests shooting an action sequence at night relying on just streetlights? I'm going to be shooting a short film real soon, and my friend and I are currently deciding whether to shoot it at night, or at 5+. The scene in question is a chase scene, where a guy is trying to run away from some guys chasing him...We have no lights, and are shooting primarily with a DVX100b, although an XL2 and a PD170 is a possibility as well. Does anyone have any experiences with shooting past nightfall without lights? Or is it just a daft idea?

Thanks alot for any replies,
Mal
 
cameras require light to expose the image - this will not be possible

unless the streetlights are very very bright - but I suspect they seem brighter then they actually are- test with the camera there before to see
 
If you try and shoot it as dusk, be sure to block and rehearse all day long. That magic hour goes real fast! I'd start at noon.

Actually, I'd get at least a couple of lights and shoot thru the night. Night has a great way of helping to match continuity and to cover story/blocking problems...
 
Oh yeah, and take that camera out well before and scout the locations at night... check out blocking and lighting. Also check out bathrooms and parking and... Oh wait, this is about lighting not location scouting...
 
I have used magic hour before and must say I liked the results. We got there at 5 PM figuring two hours or so would be enough - it wasn't.

Noon sounds right to me too.
 
You can always gain up. The quality may not be to your taste, but it can work if it fits the tone of the movie. It doesn't bother me in Michael Mann's new stuff.
 
It's up to the style you want. DV is cheep, as people have said, go there, do some tests, find what practical lights are there. If you are in a city, there is always light somewhere. Neon signs? Street lights? Car headlights? I can think of a million ways to make this cool.
 
Yeah...and zoostory's on to an important idea here. If you really can't light your characters in the foreground, there will always be enough lights in a big city so that you can compose your shots against practicals, revealing th silhouette of your characters against (usually) bright colored lights. (Just watch out for saturated red..you know how DV is.) Anyway, for a chase scene like this, assuming they don't break in the middle of the chase for a heated conversation, the sillhouetted look could keep things even more interesting, as the audience may not always see both characters and if you as a director want to confuse the audience, you can easily make it confusing as to who is the chaser and the "chasee." (That's assuming they have the same relative build.) If you can, just do something to make sure the characters don't look like you cut them out of one the those iPod addds. Even if all you can bring along is a high powrered flashlight with heavy diffusion, the tiny amount of fill it offers will be a great asset to each shot. Hope this all works out and that you know what I'm talking about ;-)
Peace,

-Harry
 
If your working under street lights at night, add some interest to your lighting by adding water, ALOT of water, a WHOLE LOT of water to the streets.... Get a friend with a pickup truck to bring 10-12, empty garbage cans to a hose. Fill 'em up and dump them on your set. Keep a couple of full ones, to refill, or refresh pot holes or make your pools bigger. Maybe someone in the area will let you use your hose on their building or home, depending on your location.
Reflections from the street lights in the pools of water will add significantly to the streets. Position your camera for a scene or two with a street light's reflection. The water would also look cool splashing when someone runs through it . Think "SIN CITY" feel.
My 2 cents...
 
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