Fill light on sunny day?

J

juraj

Active member
Hi,

i'm going to shoot on sunny day (some 2-3 person sets for music video on a gas station and inside a car) and need some advice on fill light.

I've possibility to rent some light (Arri Junior with CTB filters) for a good price, but don't know, if 2x 1000W and 2x 650W will make some difference on faces of my actors because of the strong sun.

What do you think?:dankk2:
 
How about just some white/silver/gold bounce materials. Use the sun to your advantage. It's free, it's easy, and doesn't require power.
 
i was thinking about that, but there is no problem with electricty on my set and i'm considering lights instead of reflections due to better control of atmosphere in the shot and independence of the sun (what if sun goes down...). Just don't know if my lights with CTB are strong enough to shine against the sun. What do u think? Any experiences?

:dankk2:
 
Tungsten lights with CTB are going to be absolutely useless. You'd be much better off getting some HMI 1200W PARs. Those will have enough output to actually serve as fill.

Silver reflectors are the normal way to do this, and certainly the budget way. HMIs are easier in that you don't have to constantly re-position them throughout the day (as the sun moves, you have to reposition your reflectors to follow it) and HMIs don't cause "flickering" on your subject when the wind blows, like lightweight reflectors will. But if you're short on budget you can definitely get the job done with a decent-sized soft silver reflector.
 
can you afford to rent any frames? like a 4-by or 8-by? If you can, look into getting a silk, sail of gryph. White bounces (like silks and sails) provide a beautiful soft fill outside. EXT's on the beaches in 'Letters from Iwo Jima' were lit mostly with soft bounces and reflectors like silks, sails and gryph's. And if your budget allows, you could get a 12-by or plus sized silk and rig it up so it diffuses the sun on your subject. That way you can bring in lights (if you have enough kick) and really control your scene for both exposure and mood.

If you can get your hands on some diffusion or ND's (whether gels or silks/nets) set'em up so you cut some light out in your car INT shots. Then bring in your lights for some fill or edge/rim/hair lighting, or an eyelight.
 
thank you, guys! So i'm going to find out, where to rent HMI's and/or some reflections in my country:) Because i only own 90cm diameter circle difussor/reflector...
 
White foamcore boards are about 2 feet x 3 feet and cost $1 or 2 over here. A couple of those can be really effective, and you can clamp them on c-stands for consistent results.
 
i think, this is the way i should go, if no HMI will be affordable. btw. "foamcore" board is something like polystyrene?
 
Hey Janusz, I've always wondered about your set up. On a sunny day... if you have a silk overhead which possibly cuts a stop or two on your actors faces... then would not your background be way overexposed?

So the diffused sun is your key. A HMI would be your fill and another HMI for a kicker? Is that how they do it?
 
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