Filming in shade with GH1 question

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Filmkid2003

Well-known member
Hey everyone. I'm filming a scene under a bridge that is approximately 10 feet high on a bright sunny day. I don't have power available anywhere near the bridge to plug in lights, etc. So far, I have been filming my actors at angles that don't show the bright sunny areas on either side of the bridge because they would be way overexposed compared to my actors in the shade. I only show the walls of the bridge behind the actors. If I use ND filters, then obviously, the bright sunny areas will be exposed properly but, the actors and everything under the bridge will be way underexposed. Is there any way around this using the GH1? I could try lighting the actors up with reflectors but, that would be way to obvious.
 
You could always blow out the sky and then key in a nicely exposed sky if its needed for the shot.
 
it'd be hard to do that with any camera. Part of being a DP and working with your crews is to make sure that your shots are framed properly, which includes avoiding extremes.

Anyway, the best thing to do is to bounce light your talent to bring the levels on them UP instead of trying to bring the bright stuff down.

Remember, all cameras love light. Don't get stuck on shooting in low light just because your camera *can* do it. You can always make your shots *look* low light but still have proper amounts of lighting. In major motion pictures, even their low light scenes are very bright on location.
 
Filmkid2003 said:
Hey everyone. I'm filming a scene under a bridge that is approximately 10 feet high on a bright sunny day. I don't have power available anywhere near the bridge to plug in lights, etc. So far, I have been filming my actors at angles that don't show the bright sunny areas on either side of the bridge because they would be way overexposed compared to my actors in the shade. I only show the walls of the bridge behind the actors. If I use ND filters, then obviously, the bright sunny areas will be exposed properly but, the actors and everything under the bridge will be way underexposed. Is there any way around this using the GH1? I could try lighting the actors up with reflectors but, that would be way to obvious.
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I don't think it will be as obvious as you think. 99% of hollywood is smoke and mirrors where even in the darkest scenes where you THINK there is no light, if you were to see the set you'd see they are using some light and bounce cards of some sort etc...so in my opinion you should try to expose the sky well and then use some bounce and/or additional lights to fill in the actor's faces and/or bodies depending if you're in close or not
 
Homunculus said:
I don't think it will be as obvious as you think. 99% of hollywood is smoke and mirrors where even in the darkest scenes where you THINK there is no light, if you were to see the set you'd see they are using some light and bounce cards of some sort etc...so in my opinion you should try to expose the sky well and then use some bounce and/or additional lights to fill in the actor's faces and/or bodies depending if you're in close or not
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Svart said:
it'd be hard to do that with any camera. Part of being a DP and working with your crews is to make sure that your shots are framed properly, which includes avoiding extremes.

Anyway, the best thing to do is to bounce light your talent to bring the levels on them UP instead of trying to bring the bright stuff down.

Remember, all cameras love light. Don't get stuck on shooting in low light just because your camera *can* do it. You can always make your shots *look* low light but still have proper amounts of lighting. In major motion pictures, even their low light scenes are very bright on location.
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listen to these men =)
 
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Svart said:
ha, I said the same thing he said before he said it and he gets listened to.. :D
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Mud sticks .....just not to a GH13 anymore ...haha

I'm sorry to Svart, couldn't help myself. Your persistence in the other thread was appreciated.
 
I would use several sheets of 4x8 foam core taped together to make a very large soft reflector for fill in this situation. Use an incident meter to measure the light value at the actor's face from the reflector, then measure the full sun value and see what your total contrast range is. Then make a judgment on where to set exposure.
 
Isn't there some kind of fly-screen mesh diffuser backdrop which is designed for these situations? Something that you hang up behind your subject to lower the exposure on your background?

Even so, more light on the subject can never hurt. Just make sure it is soft light rather than harsh and directional, and it won't be too obvious.
 
They have mesh to lessen the intensity of light but it's usually used between the sun and/or lights and the talent. Never heard of it used in the shot before. I think you might get strange aliasing or other artifacts. Try shooting through some window screen and see what it looks like.

I highly suggest lighting the talent with softboxes or something to bring levels up in the foreground though. It'll be a lot easy to work with than trying to bring the background down. Been there.

However, there are no rules. What looks good, IS good in the film world. If you find something that works, let us know!
 
I don't have any power anywhere near this bridge and I'm not going to rent a genny so using lights is out of the ques-chi-own, my friend.
 
its time to become a backyard inventor. a powerful battery torch diffused could aid you, parking your car behind you and using the headlights diffused could work too. think outside the box. its not ideal but its better than nothing and cheap too.

they should do a remake of mcgyver for the younger generation..lol
 
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