Harsh, reality, cold

JimStrauss

JimStrauss

Active member
Hello everyone,

Please forgive me if this isn't the proper forum and if the topic at hand has been discussed, please direct me the link.

I'm shooting in January, natural lighting, available light sources. My desire is to capture a cold harsh real world feel. The lighting will enhance that and was wondering what advice you can give me and what sort of in camera settings would be beneficial. I am shooting with a DVX100A.

Again, I greatly appreciate your comments.

Jim Strauss
 
Can you provide some screen shots perhaps of a movie with a similar aesthetic so we can get a more concrete idea of what you are going for?
 
Doing cold and bleak is something video cameras excel at. They do it even when you don't want them to! I'd say desaturate a bit in the camera, and leave the "looks" for post where you have control.

Visual clues like seeing people's breath, and audio clues like shoes crunching on the snow really help sell the feelings.

You might want to pick up a copy of something like Fargo, Rambo First Blood, The Deer Hunter, Dead Poet's Society, or Insomnia.

All pretty cold and harsh movies.
 
Thank you,

Really appreciate the feedback. All great films and suggestions.

Do I still white balance with white or go with another colour? Stupid question, depends what I want to go with.

Mr William Robinette, Purple Rose of Cairo . When Jeff Daniels character walks off the screen, he comes into the real world, steps outside, you have that harsh reality feel. I know Gordon Willis is a master but I would like to achieve that with just natural lighting, Terrence Malick approach.

My film does take place in the winter and mainly inside a house. The above suggestions will help further my research.

So basically desaturate and then fix the look in Post?

Thank you, this means a lot to me.
 
If we are shooting and have to turn the project around quickly, then going for as much of the look in camera is desirable. However, on a film, the idea is to deliver as much signal as we can to the NLE. Nothing blown out, nothing crushed on the bottom, no colors bleeding. The kind of footage an engineer would love and an audience would hate.

You can add lights in post. It is nearly impossible to take them out. So make certain that you don't over light. This is one of the things I see commonly in amateur film. If you want your movie to look "natural" then light it with practicals as much as possible, and only augment what is there to get your levels.

Winter light tends to be more blue than at any other time because the sun is so far down on the horizon all day and has to come through all the atmosphere. If you are shooting snow scene's you may need a graduated neutral density filter to keep the levels more even.

What camera will you be using to shoot this? We might be able to give you some suggestions for settings if we know that. Knowing the general subject matter might also point us in the right direction.
 
I am shooting with the DVX100A.

The story is, a woman who lost her unborn child in a car accident, returns home after two years to see how her EX is doing, if he got on with his life. No Hollywood ending here, lots of unresolved feelings. Raw and emotional, things left unsaid.
 
My DP is strongly suggesting we consider going black and white, add to the atmosphere and reality of it. I know you need to have the right types of colours, (wardrobe) some photograph better than others with Black and white.
Anything we need to consider, I imagine its not just a matter of taking out the colour in post?

Again, everyone here has been a tremendous help.
 
I am going to STRONGLY suggest you do NOT shoot black and white. It's been quite some time since I've done black and white photography, but shooting video is NOT the same.

You do not have a black and white camera. You have a color camera. So shoot color. Pulling the colors out in post is not the same as shooting black and white, but by the same token, shooting on a color camera (or even onto color film) is not the same as having black and white sensors or film.

If your DP is adamant about shooting black and white, rent a 16mm film camera and load some plus-x and have fun.

Part of what makes black and white SO much fun and so powerful is the starkness of it. So have your DP light as though he were shooting B&W, but record in color. And perhaps, do some tests.
 
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