DVX100 Lighting Secrets Revealed! (Behind the Slimed)

[Jeff Nitzberg]

A Behind the scenes look at the lighting of Slimed:

Hi everyone, just wanted to take a moment to talk about the lighting on our short independent feature, “Slimed.” The film started as a senior thesis in college filmed on the DVX100B and ended as a 60 minute science fiction comedy. I was the co-writer, co-director, co- editor, colorist, and for the most part, cinematographer/gaffer/electrician throughout the shoot... in addition to the other hundred jobs that happen when you make a movie on this level.

Anyhow, the movie is what you might call a live action cartoon, and as such we wanted a very strong dramatic, stylized kind of lighting design. Lots of shadows, hard light and saturated colors.

We only had a very basic lighting kit checked out from school for about a month that consisted of:

Two Arri 600w Fresnels
Two Arri 300w Fresnels

In addition we used: one 250W home depot style work light, and six 160w bulbs in those very cheap aluminum clamp light housings. We also had access to about half a dozen flags, C-stands, and an assortment of gels and diffusion.

*Before I should say anymore, the following shots and discussion of the lighting below contain some spoilers for the movie, so if your at all interested in watching the film first, you can see the entire thing online for free here: http://vimeo.com/9174900 or here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4ZltanTHnk&feature=PlayList&p=076492FDA697283C&index=0&playnext=1

It is 60 minutes long, so if you don’t have the time you can always watch the trailer and the teaser here: http://slimedthemovie.com/trailer.php

Anyway, onto the lighting! (More lighting behind the scenes featured in posts #2, #7, and #16)

 

[Jeff Nitzberg]

Our pre-production time was limited but I wanted to run as many tests as I could before we started shooting. Some of the images below are lighting "rehearsals" which I documented so I could quickly reference them once getting to the locations. I wish I could have done more extensive lighting experiments for each set up, but with our time restraints and two man crew of co-director and co-director, it simply wasn’t possible.

These first few shots take place in a ranger station during daytime and we wanted a visual feeling of warmth, comfort and intimacy. We also wanted a very stylized dramatic look throughout the whole film, adding an edge to the drama.

1. BELOW: Lighting rehearsal tests for a shot of the film's hero Rock sitting at his desk. Our friend Eva stands in for Rock.
The monitor (cheap portable dvd player) shows what the image will look like through the viewfinder.
1.

2. BELOW: Pulling out to show the lighting setup for shot 1.) Eva is lit by a warmly gelled 600w fresnel.
An unseen 600w with barndoors closed almost all the way provides the dramatic streak of light on the back wall.
2.

3. BELOW: The final shot with slight adjustments. Rock is lit with the same strong key, with backlight angle changed.
Pepe, the figure in the foreground is side-lit with a 300w.
3.

4. BELOW: And now the reverse shot across the same desk.
Pepe is strongly backlit to simulate the sun from the windows behind him.
4.

5. BELOW: Eric's mom graciously stands in for the lighting test of Pepe in image 4.)
5.

6. BELOW: We pull out to reveal Eric's mom very bored in the same setup, with a 600w kicker behind her
which will simulate the sun pouring through the rear windows. *Note the makeshift crappy portable DVD player stand.
That thing fell completely apart by the end of the shoot.
6.

7. and 8. BELOW: Another angle on the same setup reveals diffusion on the keylight which has been flagged to draw attention to the face.
A 300w sidelight rounds out the simple 3 point lighting. (This side light was flipped to the other side in the final setup)
7.

8.

9. and 10. BELOW:
Eva also sat in for Pepe in an early test of the same angle in image 9).
Image 10.) shows two C-stands bracing a long tube which hangs the 600w frensel that will point at the back of Pepe's head acting as a kicker.
9.

10.

This particular cabin location was a HUGE space, with a huge vaulted ceiling, which worked against the intimacy angle, but we used long focal lengths to compress the space, and shadows to hide some of the vastness. A plus side was that we had plenty of room to move around lights, flags, c-stands etc. The entire time we had banks of florescent lights on the ceiling that we could turn on and off in rows to add a general fill to the space, but as you’ll see above in picture 6.), the practical light of the space was absolutely ugly and flat.

Now onto lighting Sally's Corner:

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11. BELOW: Our friend Eva sits in for the Character Sally in front of a makeshift cardboard desk.
Sally's desk will be next to a window, so side light pours in accordingly.
11.

12. BELOW: Pulling out to reveal the light setup, and surprise: no window!
The window is created by a cutout (cookie) taped to a C-Stand.
12.

13. BELOW: The same setup from a different angle. Eva cracks us up reading Sally's lines.
The 600w above her head has been jelled blue to match the outdoor light that will come through the window in the real location.
13.

BELOW 14. and 15.: Two screengrabs of the real Sally in action. Window shadows again are fake, created by cookie, angled for dramatic effect in 11). Key light was moved in 12.) to emphasize the log-cabin in front of Sally, her face is caught a little TOO strongly by the "log-cabin-light," but alas, nothing's perfect when rushing through setups!
14.

15.

BELOW 16: And finally "Sally's Corner" with no lighting whatsoever except overhead florescent and natural window light.
The natural light in the cabin was pretty flat and bland, even during the brightest part of the day.
16.

NEXT UP: The Gun Standoff.
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17. BELOW: Rock and Pepe share a minor disagreement. Drama ensues.
17.

18. BELOW: Eric stands in for Rock, and points a C-stand arm at his sister who stands in for Pepe.
18.

19. and 20. BELOW: Pull out reveal the setup. Eric's sister has fled. Eric's mom comfortably replaces her while Eric has found the prop gun.
Same setup is seen from an alternate angle in image 20.)
19.

20.

20. and 21. BELOW: Another screengrab from the same setup. One of the tricky things about this shot was that the gun was made of plastic, so I had to move the lights around to make it look as metallic as possible. Some shots are more metalic than others. Image 21) Features the same light setup which worked perfectly for the close-up (sometimes this happens!) All I had to change was to move the side light off to Rock's camera left a little bit closer.
20.

21.

22. BELOW: This reverse angle on Pepe came out very nice. A completely different
lighting setup. Gun looks metallic on all but the edge closest to Rock's hand.
A 600w in the background aimed at the floor adds a dramatic touch and draws our eye to Pepe.
22.

Other Shots in the Cabin:
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23.

24.

25.

26.

ABOVE: Image 23.) This is one of those shots that looks simple in the film but took forever to light just right. It features a bible thrown dramatically into a trashcan. Image 24.) you can see me attaching black cardboard to flag a strip of light onto the cover. Lights are moved in close for hard dramatic key. Finally shots 25) and 26) are some of my favorite in the cabin scene. 25) Has both 600ws aimed at Rock and Pepe's camera right, a 300w is just off screen putting the kicker on rock's hat. Shot 26) uses the same cutup (cookie) cardboard to cast dramatic shadows against Rock's face, just before he tosses the bible in you know where.


This post is getting very long. I don't want to break the forum so this will continue in post #7.

 

[iHartVideo]

This is great - lighting is overlooked a lot, I think, in favor of "what camera?" "what lens?".
I look forward to seeing all your shots!

 

[Jeff Nitzberg]

Thanks iHart, I couldn't agree more. As you can see from the first post we had a very limited light kit to work with so we had to be creative with both our camera angles and use of natural light. The camera used for the entire shoot was none other than the DVX100b, no 35mm adapter, no special modifications, so our options with depth of field were limited and as such, we had to use lighting, set design, and color etc. to really define the space in a cinematic way.

More coming soon!

 

[puredrifting]

I love lighting for my DVX100A. Lighting for SD with this camera is much easier than the HVX/HPX because it is faster. I like your lighting design, looks pretty good.

Dan

 

[Jeff Nitzberg]

Thanks Dan. Yeah the DVX, there is just something about it... it's one of those cameras that has a pretty perfect balance between design, interface and performance. Fast to use, pretty impressive low-light sensitivity and fantastic ergonomics.

 

[Jeff Nitzberg]

SLIMED, LIGHTING FOR THE DVX CONTINUED:

Next up is lighting for the lab sequence:

1. BELOW: Our heroes (Pepe and Rock) find themselves in a mysterious room
where they confront the villain responsible for the slime. A 600w key was
used for dramatic side lighting, and variations on a blue kicker
hidden just off left camera adds cold terror.
1.

This space was very cramped for the lights, but we wanted the double doors to ooze radiated green
which would then spill into the room. A green fabric was hung just outside the doors, and light with a
600w fresnel.

2. BELOW: Actors Dustin Triplett (Pepe) and Jordan Lee (Rock) rest while the lighting takes forever to setup.
2.

3. BELOW: Again, a variation on the 600w key for dramatic side lighting, providing hard shadows,
and a blue kicker hidden just behind the actors camera left added a cold sharp separation.
3.

NOW LIGHTING THE MOUSE:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lighting the mouse character effectively in a dramatic way proved to be very difficult. The texture of his face
and tiny nose were difficult to accentuate properly. Here are some initial lighting tests:

BELOW: 4, 5 and 6. Experimenting with different colored gels. The actual color scheme in the movie turned out differently.

4.

5.

6.

This next shot features a different setup from the tests from above.

BELOW 7: A screengrab from the film, the mouse appears in Black and White on a TV:
7.

BELOW: 8. This is one of those shots that looks simple but had a very complex setup.
Eric is hidden to operate the mouse puppet. Arri's are VERY close for strong dramatic hard light.
8.

BELOW 9: A mirror is set up so Eric can see his puppetry in the television hooked up
to the DVX. A 600w is barndoored and faced at the wall for a classic 50s light pool effect.
9.

BELOW: 10. and 10a. A wider shot showing the TV in the background as well as the disaster that was our living room.
Also, 10a.) showing the finished mouse shot again. The mouse in this setup took three operators, one for head and
body, and two off camera for arms which are done with fishing wire. This shot, which only appears for a few seconds
in the finished film took an afternoon to setup and shoot. I can only imagine what kind of trickery Muppet crews have to resort to.
10.

10a.

MORE LIGHTING BEHIND THE SCENES CONTINUED IN POST #16.

 

[puredrifting]

I love it, a DP in 2010 who isn't afraid to light actors with hard light. Take a bow!

I find softlight used on actors all of the time to look boring as hell. Bottom line, anyone can setup a Chimera and point it an actor to make a respectable looking image. It takes actual skill to light actors with hard light and make it look good. My hat is off to you.

Dan

 

[pirate40]

Cool movie, I watched part of it last night and thanks for the lighting info. Great stuff. I noticed "Rock" was wearing a Florida cap in the movie. Are you guys in Florida? If so, what part.

 

[Jewlz the director]

I agree with the hardlight statement as well,sometimes i think when we're forced to improvise with small budgets,limited help and equipment it truly makes the creativity within us blossom.keep up the good work ,good luck with the project.

 

[j1clark@ucsd.edu]

I love it, a DP in 2010 who isn't afraid to light actors with hard light. Take a bow!

I find softlight used on actors all of the time to look boring as hell. Bottom line, anyone can setup a Chimera and point it an actor to make a respectable looking image. It takes actual skill to light actors with hard light and make it look good. My hat is off to you.

Dan

My only problem with the hard lighting is the shine on the guys' faces... where's that powder puff when you need it.

 

[puredrifting]

I concur, you can't shoot narrative without hair and makeup. Actually, you can, but you are not making your actors look their best and are not bringing their characters to life in the best way, unless their characters have lots of skin imperfections and shine like the character, "spotty-faced git".

I love working with talented hair and makeup people, they are essential and bring so much to the table. I cringe everytime I show up to shoot interviews and there is "no budget" for hair and makeup. Yeesh.

D


Dan

 

[Jeff Nitzberg]

Thanks guys! I've always loved the look of hard light, love those old movies that use arc lamps all over the place. We definitely would have loved to have a person dedicated to hair and makeup, but the only makeup we had time for was the special effects kind... though Jessica (the actress who plays Sally) came up with her own pretty hilarious makeup for her character.

What we REALLY could have used was a dedicated continuity/ makeup person... you might notice that in every shot, not just ever scene, but every setup, Pepe's hair style probably changes... it kind of became a joke in and of itself and we just ran with it. Fortunately we were making a comedy.

Pirate- we did indeed shoot 99% of the movie on location in Florida! Eric and I both grew up in Florida on the west coast near Clearwater, and Dunedin, west of Tampa. We pretty much shot in every park and nature preserve we could get to within driving distance from our home-base of Dunedin/Palm Harbor. Most of the park locations are listed in the end credits, check it out!

 

[Zblock]

Thanks for putting this up. You really did make everything look great. Loved the green and the office shots.

 

[pirate40]

Hey Jeff, I sent you a PM.

 

[Jeff Nitzberg]

POSTS #2 and #7 updated 2/6/2010.

Lighting behind the scenes continued...

OUTDOOR LIGHTING:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are some outdoor shots, fortunately done throughout an overcast week. This was
a blessing of consistency which substituted for the otherwise very expensive diffusion we
simply didn't have nor could we afford. We did have two 600w fresnels to work with to
add some warmth, but since we were running them with 300 feet of extension cords into
the middle of the woods we had maybe half the amperage they normally put out,
meaning the lights couldn’t be anymore than about a meter from the actors before having no effect.


BELOW 1. Lights are just off camera left and only gelled half blue to add just a hint of warmth.
Rock and Pepe are also lit from a slight underneath angle to add eerie tension to the scene.
1.

BELOW: 2. Eric stands in for Pepe for a reference shot during location scouting for the setup above.
All behind the scenes photos are taken with a Sony DSC-R1 digital still camera.
2.

BELOW 3: Same overcast weather as grab 1.). All the outdoor footage during this scene
was color corrected to add some warmth back into the shots.
In image 3.) below two 600ws sit just off frame to add a hint of fill on Rock and Pepe.
3.

BELOW 4. Eric again stands in for Pepe. This is a refrence shot during location scouting for the setup above.
4.

That's it for now!

 

[Jeff Nitzberg]

That's pretty much all I have for now which directly corresponds with behind the scenes photos. If anyone has any specific questions regarding a shot in the film, lighting setup, focal length etc, feel free to ask!

Also, just for fun, here is a shot of me timing during the color correction phase:

Movie was CC'ed in FCP 5.1.4. Production monitor used was a JVC TMH150CGU adapted with component input card.

 

[j1clark@ucsd.edu]

What we REALLY could have used was a dedicated continuity/ makeup person... you might notice that in every shot, not just ever scene, but every setup, Pepe's hair style probably changes... it kind of became a joke in and of itself and we just ran with it. Fortunately we were making a comedy.

It is often assumed that 'guys' don't need make up... well to be sure, I don't like seeing a 'guy' with visible lipstick... unless it's in a dive and I'm looking for trouble... but I digress...

I did draft my daughter for replacing a missing actress in my short film, and also she did make up duty... there'd better be a payback from children sometime...

If you don't have family members to draft, perhaps girlfriends, girlfriends of friends, etc. and who knows, perhaps a new career opportunity is found...

 

[SK3055]

Lighting is great but I wanna know what you used for the "Slimed" title with the dripping, well, slime! Looks awesome.

 

[Jeff Nitzberg]

Thanks SK3055. The opening title was done with watered down oatmeal, corn syrup and green food coloring. The saturation and glowing effects were done in After Effects. Eric designed the title sequence and oatmeal had long been a tried and true technique for him with the slime, the same one used to create the slime-tidal-wave at the end of the film.

I've attached a photo below that illustrates the setup for the title. This plate was literally the only thing in the entire film that wasn't shot on the DVX... the camera used was an Canon XH A1. All other plates were done with the DVX100b.

ABOVE: Eric cut out a foam 3-d model of the logo he had designed. The model was then attached by dowels to a PINK SCREEN for keying. Oatmeal was then generously dumped onto the model via bucket, proceeding to make a mess everywhere. The slow push in on the title was done in post.