15 minute car short shot all at night

Brett

Brett

Well-known member
hello everyone, I am preparing to start shooting a short shot all at night from inside a car, alot like collateral was filmed just not around any cities like that with blazing lights all around so its relatively dark anywhere you look. so I was just wondering if there is anything cheap I can get together to light the inside of the car without overdoing it, I want it to maintain everything around and keep that creepynes aspect of it. I guess what im saying is how do I light this, so people can see whats going on. Im sure you guys know better than I do. thanks for any thoughts and suggestions.
 
A 'real' car? ie: cannot remove panels/glass?

LEDs seem to be the go for portability, and low power consumption. Don't know if that would be 'creepy', generally being soft lights. However, the less film/video catered LEDs, such as worklights found at hardware stores have much shorter angle of coverage and can be more directional. Key would be to getting enough power to last the shoot(s) especially with the cheaper LEds as battery reduces, so does the light intensity, possibly color - a factor to keep in mind. $0.02

Should start this thread off :)
 
No its a real car, cant remove anything. Ive never really worked alot with lighting. I know its the key in making movies, but most of my films usually take place outside... so im not too familiar with LEDS.. so for $0.02 what exactly are we talking about here? sorry about all the questions im a n00bie in this catergory and would just like to learn more. thanks for the reply though, greatly appreciated Charles.
 
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oh that looks great. thanks Mik & Charles for your suggestions. great help guys.
 
if you avoid showing the background (i.e., they are driving in total darkness), then you can light them with a strong blue fresnel or HMI to simulate the moon, and then just rock the car to make it look like they are driving.

If you want to see the background though... one of those mini flourescent solutions like the one above could be right up your alley.
 
that seems to be a really good Idea also. I will have to try that, and the other suggestions to see what results I get. thanks sean. sounds great.
 
Brett said:
so for $0.02 what exactly are we talking about here?
Click to expand...

that's just my way of saying i gave my "2 cents" :)

another tip if shooting for long periods in a car (anywhere without much ventilation) is LED's produce very little (to no noticeable) heat and won't make the talents pours sweat constantly.

As suggested above the plug-in cigarette lighter can be a good idea, but keep in mind sound recording - considering engine noise etc... and you don't want to drain car battery, making an all night shoot ahm, more than a night :)
 
Rosco introduced their litepad, it looks nice, and not too expensive in the smaller sizes. I think it runs on 12v, too.
 
We've used 12" flor. tubes with a inverter. We've also taken a strand of white christmas lights (non-blinking) punched them one by one thru a white formcore card cut down to about 6"x24". Get a tow bar from u-Haul and use a truck to tow the actors around it lets them act and not worry about driving. This works ok for low budget situations.
 
The idea about the christmas lights just made me search for LED fairy lights. Great idea Allen! Much easier than wiring them yourself.
Keep in mind If shooting ex closeups on the face, it might cause confusion in the subjects eyes - lots of little bright dots.
 
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