Campfire help!

A

ameade19

Member
I am trying to shoot a campfire scene.

I have seen alot of post on this topic but still have some questions. I have heard to use flashlights if low budget (which it will) but what other batter operated lights can I rent?

Would a joker 200 be to much or to little?
Or same question for a Sun gun?

it will be on location with no power outlets and not sure if going with generator is a better idea?

What do you guys think?

I will be shotting n DVX 100 in 24p and editing on FCP 4.5 ( yes i know i want to upgrade too)

thanks
Alex
 
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I think Mikko is asking you to be more specific about the scene. How wide do we see? What is the space you need to light for? Do you have access to lights? How close are the subjects to the fire? Etc.
 
Right, well i am not positive just yet, it will involve two characters around a campfire, I could get some lights but trying to to this without spending alot of money. I am really just looking for some all around advice or how others have done a campfire before. I will have some wides shots and close ups.

thanks
 
What's so hard about a campfire scene...Isn't it like any other scene? Or are you having trouble in general?
 
jesus why is this so hard is it to get some advice on shooting a campfire at night? Yes it is just like every other scene but its at night (which I do not have alot of experience with) and I want to get the flicker/fire effect right. I am just looking to see what others have done so I can figure the best way to shot it.

Alex
 
no not at all, that was my first thought, but i fear it would not be enough light, and i want to be able to light the background a little to show more depth. I guess that is alos part of my question. Maybe what is the best way to to add lights without generator?? flashlights? car head lights? rent some battery packs and run sun guns???

thanks Mikko for the feedback
alex
 
Go simple and focus on making the fire the key light. Light your background first of corse with a a few softoboxes with blue jells. If its a shot reverse shot try to keep it tight. Then this may sound kind of gorilla and cheese but it works great. Take a paint roller and line it in tin foil. Fill it with water a tiny bit and then put an amber jell around it then shoot maybe a 300 watt fresnel into it reflecting the light up wards to the talents face and have someone gently rock it side by side. It will give you great results you just have to play with it a little bit. also another tip is to work with shadows as much as possible for the fill light. Utilize tree limbs leaves anything natural.
 
I was about to mention bouncing a light source. Build up the campfire to as big as possible, then take any light you may have access to. Since you have no power and no money... hmm...

Get some big flashlights, powerful. Or heck, even a car light if possible. Something you can transport that's strong. Get some gels, even from an art supply store. Red and orange and yellow (to make sure you get the right colour) Don't know if I fully understand Lairhair's method with a paint roller, but I was going to suggest something similar. Get a board with tin foil on it (shiny side), maybe crumple the tin foil? Place the light source in a direction where you can have someone moving the board around to help with movement. Maybe try two boards to get a nice erratic effect. If the flashlights are big, but not powerful enough, get more than one.

Hope that helps on your no budget. If you had power I would have said to use a worklight rather than a flashlight as it's more powerful and cheap.

I would try some of this stuff out.
 
First yes a generator is a great idea.

If you have tungsten use those instead of HMI, fire is very deep in the red orange. You can use the HMI for moonlight backlight. Then place the tungsten lights on a flicker box.

For the fire it self, the smoke is hard to deal with, espically for you intercuting close ups, it can cause a real continuity problem. So for the fire use a fire ring, fake logs and propane.

Check out the fire ring here:
http://www.thegrillstoreandmore.com/stainless-steel-firerings.asp

With the propane fire you'll be virtually smokeless. Dig a pit about ten feet from the fire for the propane tank, put a high flow regulator on the tank. In the fire pit dig down a few inches the diameter of the fire ring. Place the ring in the pit hooked up to the tank. Test it. If it works cover it with vermiclite, it will look like coals or ash , but won't burn, yet lets the gas rise. PLace fake logs on and you're ready to go.

On Cowboy U we used six 2k zips all on flicker boxes with aeither CTO or Straw on the lights, and the fire was as described.
 
200 joker with 1/2 CTO or full CTO your call on set on how orange you want.

Use a shallow shine tray or a mirror in shallow box that can hold water. Pour about inch of water in. Spot the 200 into the tray and move the water in the tray back and forth. Use a a dimmer or your hand, fingers open to vary the intensity. The reflexion off the water in the tray will give the random flicker of fire. To add to the effect wrap a cloth around a stick, light it and put it out, place it under the camera lens so that smoke trails in frame.

Good luck

Castillo
www.bluebarnpictures.com/blog
 
Last time I did this I hoisted a rope around a tree branch and tied a fleckie to it. Then I got someone to jiggle it while I bounced a Dedo with an orange gel into it and onto the actor, and it worked well for a midshot and tighter.

I'm no cinematographer, and I'm still a bit of a clueless newbie about effective lighting, but it gave me a more realistic kick that complemented the very small amont of light you get from a fire.

We could have done with more backlighting and fill and imaginative stuff, but I thought the dark backgound made it look great and gave it a realistic feel for the horror shot we were trying to pull off. The fire filled that in with a nice glow.
 
Shoot an establishing shot of an actual campfire and then shoot the rest on a stage using flickers on CU's of your talent ? ?
 
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