Anyone done any run and gun at night?

7CS

7CS

Active member
Looks like I'll have the privelage of shooting a team at the 24hrs of Daytona. Just slightly concerned about the nighttime portion though. Would a Lite Panel or VidLED be good enough without blinding anyone who has to drive?
 
I guess that's a good suggestion. At +12 db gain, you're still dependant on light coming from stores or the like to get a reading in people's faces. I think the vidled lamps you're talking about can be switched mostly off and are very flexible in this regard. This way, you'll preferably shoot at 0 db gain too.
 
Id wouldnt suggest to use any gain..i had a shoot where we decided to use 12db, but i wasnt pleased that much with the result...it was ok in this case, as it fits stilisticly to look a little "dirty", but there was quite a lot noise and i had some weird stripes(like when you are filming a tv and you use the wrong frequence..not as visible as that but comparable..) that where much visible on my laptop, it looked much better on my crt-computer monitor, havent seen the result on a broadcast monitor..!

Id suggest you to use as much light as possible, no gain if possible, and do brightness in post, there is much to adjust, i fell its also much better with the 4:2:2 colour room....do some tests and find also the right settings, i guess something like b-press was recommended, but id strongly recommend you to do some extended tests in advance, record footage, write down the settings, and view it on a crt and on LCD afterwards if possible..this way youll be able to anticipate the results...good luck and let us see some footage..!
 
I've used a litepanel with the hvx, and IMO the only drawback was that it was pretty heavy for the amount of light it produced. It creates a nice soft look, but if it's mounted on the camera it can get pretty tiring holding it up. I would imagine that there would be a lot of light at the race, no? Are you shooting in the pits? Maybe you can set up some lights--even worklights--in any places you'll be doing a lot of shooting, and depend on some portable lights only when you need to move out of those areas.
 
Honestly, it may be worth renting a diiferent camera for dim nightime shooting. The HVX jst isnt good for night without lighting. No matter which on camera light you use they will be good only for up to 6or7 feet and the light dropoff will be drastic through your field if it is deep. If you are shooting HD, get a 2/3" camera, especially if this is for broadcast. If DV then there are some other better low light options. Anything over 6db on the HVX is just not acceptable for broadcast. This camera is made for WELL lit senarios.
 
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Sunstream said:
Honestly, it may be worth renting a diiferent camera for dim nightime shooting. The HVX jst isnt good for night without lighting. .
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Any good suggestions which camera to rent that would work in low light AND integrate with the HVX footage?
 
Some thoughts... When shooting run-and-gun at night, especially an event like the 24 Hours of Daytona, don't be afraid of gain, even if you're using some on camera light as suppliment. Why? Because if you shoot with the gain up, you'll need less camera light (less blinding to subjects) AND it will look more real, becuase the relative exposure of foreground and background will be more natural. There is nothing more unrealistic that a blast of light coming from the camera position. Take the light off the camera and have it come from a different angle, side or slightly back, and all of a sudden you've made things more real and production vaiues shoot up, in spite of gain issues. Make use of the "found" light available, try to take advantage of what's there to start with.

Don't be afraid of the video noise from the gain, and don't be afraid of the dark. Give the eye some context to see contrast, with something at full exposure and some areas at 0 for black reference. At night with car headlights, building lights, etc. this is not hard to do. Focus on establishing contrast, the subject, and good audio. Excellent audio is even more important than usual in these kinds of run-and-gun shooting situations. The audience will forgive video noise. The audiience will forgive exposure issues. The audience will not forgive bad audio.

If you're shooting activitiy in the pit area, make sure everyone knows you're going to be there, and find out if using any lighting is going to be a problem ahead of time. Since people need light to work and do their thing, there is, most of the time, enought light to capture detail.
 
SD is easy, there are a multitude of cameras that have great light sensitivity shooting in SD, it all depends on your budget and your desired level of quality. DV? Beta? Once you start shooting HD you will probably want a 2/3" chip camera if you find the track is not well lit. You should definately shoot some footage with the HVX while you are there just to compare and see if maybe there is enough ambient light. Light sensitivity is one of the biggest differences between the small and large cameras. The HVX is a fantastic camera in the light, but all those hd pixels cramed into such a small chip need a little extra light. I would personaly not take a chance and get a night option at least for the first day to give yourself a comparison. Especially if you are trying not to atract attention.
 
spunknoid said:
Any good suggestions which camera to rent that would work in low light AND integrate with the HVX footage?
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Try lowering the shutter speed one notch (down to 1/24 if shooting 24p) for extra exposure. Combined with gain, this might get you where you want, and a little bit of motion blur might work for you.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I'll use the HVX because this is not a job per se. A friend of mine is driving one of the cars and got me a pit pass and being a race fan i'll be flying myself there for the race. But i'd obviously like to make it the best i can even then.
 
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