alternate light sources

C

Collier

New member
We have a pretty long scene to shoot (4 pages, including one long monologue) that's supposed to happen continuously at night, sunset or twilight on a riverbank.

We have a great location, silent but in the city, perfect white sand, etc, but one catch: it doesn't have any power. We've considered shooting DFN (my research in this forum suggests we won't get enough hours of usable light) and we've considered using fire light, as we have a campfire as part of the scene, but we may have to cheat TOO much to get people close enough to the fire to illuminate their faces in 24p (and i don't want to immolate the DP or singe the actors' eyebrows). A generator is out of the question, for noise reasons.

So we're thinking about using battery operated or non-electric light sources. Has anyone used lanterns for video lighting? Am I crazy for even thinking of it?

I'm not concerned with realism, but it should signify night or sunset so that people can recognize it and don't have to think about it anymore.

Anyway, considering our scene and our limitations, should we change the location to someplace with power and shoot it all after dark? Shoot it in the daytime with one shot of sky that shows the setting sun? Or is there a third way (lanterns, etc)? How would you do it? Night, sunset, twilight - which is easier to shoot, or fake?
 
Re: alternate light sources

I don't have much to offer in the way of sugguesting types of lights to use, but I have shot at dusk and even a bit later just as the sun is setting maybe a half hour to hour before sunset right on a beach and just turned the iris down experimenting as to how much, and it looked just like night time. Just watch your colors, as depending on how clear of a night it is things can get a bit red with the sunset. So it may be worth your while to go out there and do a few test shots...

Vince
 
Re: alternate light sources

I think the trap I get into when approaching these situations is in only considering balanced, production instruments. A lot of times, using alternate sources of light can be a very creative way to get some very striking images in a difficult location.

I know that I tend to think of the world as fitting into the tungsten and daylight standards, but if you think outside of those paramaters, you can open yourself up to the vast variety of light color we encounter every day.

My suggestion would be to do a bunch of camera tests with a variety of alternative light sources and pick the best one for you. I'd suggest avoiding using the campfire for light, as it is really going to make shooting difficult and potentially dangerous if you try and get the most amount of light out of the fire.

I'd suggest trying lanterns as you suggested, both oil burning and battery powered fluros, and also if you've got a relatively calm airflow...you can always use candle power. We do measure light by footcandles for a reason, and a bunch of candles in hurricane lamps might do the trick on a really tight budget...just be aware of any airflow in the location.

First Blood had a scene lit by two matches alone. If you put some effort and research (screen tests) into it, you can certainly light without power.
 
Re: alternate light sources

Get a few of those rechargeable spot lights. They are cheap (usually around $10 here) and put out a ton of light. You might have to bounce them off of white foamcore to soften them up a bit. Works like a charm.
 
Re: alternate light sources

I've heard stuff about Bicycles headlights on this boards before... I guess they are worth a look...
 
Re: alternate light sources

Why not use a generator? Hide it behind a vehicle 150' away and put a couple of pieces of plywood around it to help block the sound. Just make sure you have 12 gauge cable to feed your small lights and get a generator with about double the power you plan on using.
 
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