Dark Knight BTS lighting setup...
- Thread starter nycineaste
- Start date
David G. Smith
Steak Knife Member
Hey, I've done that!!! Can I shoot the "Batman" re-boot now!!!
Of course they are not showing the line of 18k HMIs shooting through huge silks that is lighting the rest of the scene.
Of course they are not showing the line of 18k HMIs shooting through huge silks that is lighting the rest of the scene.
j1clark@ucsd.edu
Veteran
I think that's the 'missing piece'... the China Ball looks to be just a 'beauty light' for the principles...
David G. Smith
Steak Knife Member
Exactly. I read somewhere (AC probably) where Russell Carpenter ASC said that he took single Kino-Flo tubes and attached them to a painter pole and used them to light the talent in the hall ways of the ship shots and the like. I really liked that so I put together some DIY set ups like that. The china ball on a stick is a great tool to have around. They are great for night exterior walk and talks and stuff like that.
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Victor Nhat Nguyen
Well-known member
where did you find this picture?
David W. Jones
Veteran
I've got a rig just like that.
David G. Smith
Steak Knife Member
David W. Jones
Veteran
Ha, the Chinese lantern on a boom.
David G. Smith
Steak Knife Member
Yeah, I know... just joshin'...
ReelFilmGeek
Well-known member
Wait am I the only one concerned about the annotation on the youtube video?
Anyways saw this earlier and was like wow that looks super basic but then remembered thats not showing all the other lights that are above them >.>
Anyways saw this earlier and was like wow that looks super basic but then remembered thats not showing all the other lights that are above them >.>
David G. Smith
Steak Knife Member
I saw that... what is that all about?
ReelFilmGeek
Well-known member
I decided to look it up and its something along the lines of a twilight fan was walking to comic con but tripped in the street and got hit by a car.
So, other than that china ball on a stick, how else is the place lit up?
You mentioned 18K lights through silk. How would u know a large 18K is required, and how's that setup in the room?
With all that light, does the china ball make that much of a difference? Is it just a little additional soft light for a key?
You mentioned 18K lights through silk. How would u know a large 18K is required, and how's that setup in the room?
With all that light, does the china ball make that much of a difference? Is it just a little additional soft light for a key?
jghenderson
Well-known member
China-ball on a stick is the future. You guys just wait.
David G. Smith
Steak Knife Member
Well, I am not sure how the rest of the scene is lit, but it looks like they are in a pretty big space and it looks pretty bright. Big budget Hollywood flicks are not shy about using big lights to do the job. It looks like the light is being used just like j1clark@ucsd.edu said, as a glamor light... or a soft top/side/kicker on the principles. It is hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like it is a skosh cooler than the rest of the lighting and is pretty bright, It would add just enough to be effective.
nycineaste
Well-known member
I thought it would be pretty obvious to everyone that the big gigantor set they are on is lit with other, big lights. I think the lesson is simple- you can use a china ball on a pole for closeups, or to light talent on an otherwise lit set. I didn't mean to imply that I thought the entire scene (or movie) was lit with a china ball.
if you want to see how it looks just look at the trailer- the shot is right there.
PS I do think its pretty clear that this is the greatest trailer ever made for any movie, ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8evyE9TuYk
if you want to see how it looks just look at the trailer- the shot is right there.
PS I do think its pretty clear that this is the greatest trailer ever made for any movie, ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8evyE9TuYk
legrevedotcom
Veteran
It just gives that little bit of contrast to the two... But yeah, would be nice to know how powerful that ball is and guess around at contrast ratio in the scene.
j1clark@ucsd.edu
Veteran
One of my 'problems' with American Cinematographer is that for the most part they don't have an 'excrutiatingly detailed' shot, where one is given the lighting falling on a scene, and the lights that are used...
Maybe not every issue, but at least a couple of times a year.
Not being able to get on a 'real' set... with a light meter... sort of limits one to guessing how things went.
When I use to do a lot of architectural shots, and read "American Architecture" avidly, while they did not have a photo detail section, because I had a reasonable set of 'pro' flash lights, I could approximate what the lighting situation was...
But I don't have access to 18K HMI's on a cherry picker... or the like... in fact I couldn't even go above 1.5K with my 'house wiring'...
However, I can do some estimations of the following:
The 'big budget shot'...
The 'NoLo Budget shot'...
The place is in LA, and the second shot is 'lit' purely from the window and street bounce lighting...
The 'pro' lighting put something into the 'very dark background', who knows maybe even shot at night, and used lights on the cast. But basically lots of lights to make sure there was 1) separation between the cast in dark outfits, and the 'hotter' background, 2) background did not go into the black pit... since there was a cleaning woman there for 'atmosphere'...
The camera angle of the pro shot was such that if they had lights on rails in the back, they were out of the frame.
So my guess is the pro lights had a big light for the table surrounded by the talent. and another in the back to fill that 'hole'. Additional bounce to fill in the lower portions of the talent sitting with their backs to the camera.
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Ryan Patrick O'Hara
Veteran
Yes. I am betting that because of the inverse square law, and the quality of the light (soft), the required wattage needed to light a space that big is huge. It may very well not be 18k's bouncing into muslin, but it could be large helium airstars, or several space lights (x6 1k nooks or similar)
Either way, in order to get a T/4. T/2.8 exposure in a room that large, and the lighting that soft, power is required. I'd say at least 4k HMI's in an airstar or boucing into something. 18k's are not out of the question, either, especially if they are shooting into muslin and back through more diffusion. With ISO/ASA values so high these days (500, 800, etc) 18ks are typically only found on large night exteriors or when the light is being forced through bounce diffusion setups, such as the afforementioned popular 'book light' where as light is shot into a bounce of sorts and then diffused again...
The chinaball, however, can be much less powerful and still shine a discernable backlight upon the key talent, because it is only a couple feet away. It's also likely not a 65w household light in there either, as most people on DVXuser would associate china lanters as using. I'm thinking 20x that at least. I could be wrong, but my assessment is what you would more likely found. If I am wrong it is the exception.
What I do know is that the future of lighting will be the same it is now, but scaled down in power requirements.... that is unless competeing with the sun on day exteriors.
-ryan
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macgregor
Veteran
One of my 'problems' with American Cinematographer is that for the most part they don't have an 'excrutiatingly detailed' shot, where one is given the lighting falling on a scene, and the lights that are used...
Maybe not every issue, but at least a couple of times a year.
Not being able to get on a 'real' set... with a light meter... sort of limits one to guessing how things went.
When I use to do a lot of architectural shots, and read "American Architecture" avidly, while they did not have a photo detail section, because I had a reasonable set of 'pro' flash lights, I could approximate what the lighting situation was...
But I don't have access to 18K HMI's on a cherry picker... or the like... in fact I couldn't even go above 1.5K with my 'house wiring'...
However, I can do some estimations of the following:
The 'big budget shot'...
The 'NoLo Budget shot'...
The place is in LA, and the second shot is 'lit' purely from the window and street bounce lighting...
The 'pro' lighting put something into the 'very dark background', who knows maybe even shot at night, and used lights on the cast. But basically lots of lights to make sure there was 1) separation between the cast in dark outfits, and the 'hotter' background, 2) background did not go into the black pit... since there was a cleaning woman there for 'atmosphere'...
The camera angle of the pro shot was such that if they had lights on rails in the back, they were out of the frame.
So my guess is the pro lights had a big light for the table surrounded by the talent. and another in the back to fill that 'hole'. Additional bounce to fill in the lower portions of the talent sitting with their backs to the camera.
hahaha great post, where is this place exactly?