Cheapest/best way to light daylight through a window

R

Revsta

Well-known member
SO many scenes can be lit with a big source (4k/10k/18k) bounced through a window, but alas...I have no access to something like that. I have been cheating by putting some daylight bulbs inside the house pointed at the actor just out of frame, but these do very little to provide more ambiance to the rest of the shot, leaving the rest of the scene dark, especially during a wide. Sometimes this effect is great, but sometimes I want a big ass source doing the job. Does anyone have any DIY solutions or practical solutions for this problem?
 
6x6 ultra bounce + multiple mirrors shot into it = allll good.

Or you can always just shoot a bunch of mirrors through a 6x6 silk or something. You'll get some output out of that.
 
Find a room with a window in the right spot and wait for the sun to be in the right location. If it is a wide shot you are after this will work very well. I guess I am not understanding all that much.
 
I agree with the big mirror solution, nothing beats daylight like the true sun, it will look good, just reflect it into the room's ceiling to bouce it and fill the room with soft even color or to a whitecard in your room bouncing it down at the actors.

Dont waste your money on a 4k+ light. The Sun is free, and more environmentally friendly, use it.
 
So get a mirror and bounce it outside through the window? How big a mirror we talking here? I've only ever bounced silks/white cards etc. Never used a mirror.
 
Revsta said:
So get a mirror and bounce it outside through the window? How big a mirror we talking here? I've only ever bounced silks/white cards etc. Never used a mirror.
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4'x4' mirror. You can rent them at any grip rental house. They also come with a junior pin so you can stick them in a stand and set them ever so perfectly.

What I might consider doing is covering the top half of your window with heavy diffusion, then leaving the bottom half bare. Then from there, shoot one mirror or probably just a shiney board at the floor to get some nice hot spots, maybe also through a cookie. Then shoot another mirror through the diffusion. Now it's not just like the sun is right next to your window and letting light directly through it, but it seems like it's coming from the sky. You'll also get some good fill from the heavily diffused mirror, so if you expose for the hot spots, the top half won't go dark.

DJ Decay, you said they balance to 3200k, which is below daylight, as that balances at 5600 kelvin. They're going to end up looking very very orange when you put them next to daylight. and you would have to put them inside for things to work...
 
I was wondering something similar, but with using the lights that I have. I have a 1k open-face tungsten, and I was thinking of putting a CTB on it. Would this not be bright enough?

In any case, the mirror idea is pretty solid.
 
jwing said:
I was wondering something similar, but with using the lights that I have. I have a 1k open-face tungsten, and I was thinking of putting a CTB on it. Would this not be bright enough?

In any case, the mirror idea is pretty solid.
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You would have to use the sun, not a light. Using a 1k with CTB brings it down to a 250 watt light, which isn't very much. Then bouncing that...eek. You'd be down to almost nothing.

It's not a bad idea though. In a pinch I once stretched one of those out on a 6x and it's basically a super cheap silver lamé. You won't get quite the punch as you would with the mirrors though.
 
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