Boomshadow

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dre83

Veteran
Doing sometimes booming, I'm often confronted with shadows :2vrolijk_08:

But I wonder, what are "tips and tricks" that can be done against boomshadow which I can mention to de lightpeople ?

Please don't answer "go higher", because on a certain point...going higher isn't a solution... there are certain things like ceilings.....
And you don't put a light 3121564646464164 miles away...

Mostly I trie as good as I can to take care of shadows..but sometimes it's not possible.

:-Dum(DBG):
 
Well, you can try booming from below. But really there's no magic technique to deal with this. You and the lighting department are just gonna have to work together and make compromises.
 
As Henry recommended, try sneaking your boom/mic in from below your subjects.

Also, some type of monitor assist for you and your camera man would be of
great help in spotting a shadow or if the mic is dipping into frame.

Finally, you could try using a wireless lav in situations where you have NO other
alternative.
 
booming from below...ok... that can be a solution

But I was thinking more of "lowering lamps", removing some light and put somewhere else...
 
dre83 said:
But I was thinking more of "lowering lamps", removing some light and put somewhere else...
Click to expand...

Which would be dependent on the scene and whether your DP is willing to work together with you to find an alternate lighting arrangement. Some will, some won't and sometimes you just have to roll with it.
 
RyanT said:
Usually it's best to come in from the fill side. Always helps...
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll keep this in mind... Long live the fill side !!!

And... I thought filming was colaboration, not a DP thinking " I only do my job, and I only take care of my job, I don't care of problems of others :2vrolijk_08:"

But I leek DP's... and I do like lighting, the more I see it, the more I learn of it.
 
dre83 said:
And... I thought filming was colaboration, not a DP thinking " I only do my job, and I only take care of my job, I don't care of problems of others :2vrolijk_08:"
Click to expand...

Well, sound department has always gotten the shaft as far as on-set priorities. As a DP I know that I find it very difficult to have to reposition lights to accomodate sound after having found the perfect setup; thankfully this has only happened a handful of times.
 
Huy Vu said:
Well, sound department has always gotten the shaft as far as on-set priorities. As a DP I know that I find it very difficult to have to reposition lights to accomodate sound after having found the perfect setup; thankfully this has only happened a handful of times.
Click to expand...

There was an adage with my old crew... audio picks the key light.
 
Well, as I said... I like DP's and I like good light. Because a good lightning also decides for sounddesign after... (in a way).

And I will always try to make it the DP as fluent as possible.
 
In classical high Key studio lighting it was pretty standard to light the back ground and the talent separately, with the talent key light high up pointing down. The would put any shadows from the talent key light on the floor. This is not practiced that much now, but it may be an approach that can be adapted for today's style of lighting. You can still light the back ground and the talent portraiture separately, in many instances. If you flag off the spill from the portraiture lights, there can be a “Hole” between that and the back ground lighting for the boom mic to go. Now this is not practical in all lighting set ups of course.

Another technique that could be used is to "Light out" the boom shadow. When the shot is set up and there is a boom shadow on the background, it is possible, sometimes, to bring in another light, of the same relative intensity, same relative quality, same color temperature and the same relative angle as the light that is casting the shadow, but target it at the area where the shadow falls to "Cover up" the shadow, with light. This is tricky and requires playing with the light intensity and angle to get it right, but it can work in some instances. What you have to watch for is make sure that you are not creating a hot spot or additional shadows.
 
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