Help me light this basement?

HBlack

HBlack

Underage Member
Looking for advice on lighting schemes, as well as general tips to lighting this. I've got three 1k redheads, have access to some 750watt fresnels if necessary (no stands for those), 3 1/2 CTBs and a CTO (none of which will probably be used, but I thought I should mention it). I was planning on putting the key wherever it looks best for the shot, and putting the fill close enough to achieve the desired amount of shadow.

One problem is diffusion. The lights are very bright, and I don't have the money for real diffusion, so I've been using pillow cases. They work well enough, but decrease the amount of light very significantly. Any ideas on diffusion that can either be found in a household or bought for nearly nothing, that I can layer to achieve the right brightness level? I want to pick up a few of those $10 dimmers, but again, 0 money at the moment.

Any tips on how you would go about lighting this with the tools I have available would be great. It's a horror, so I'm going for a high contrast look while still making it (at least somewhat) suit the practicals. For the majority of it, there is one person sitting to one side (to the right of the guy with a gun in the picture linked below), a dead guy sitting to his left, and one character who walks around. There are parts where both living characters are walking around.

Pictures of the basement.
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=99f1h1&s=3
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2mnm5at&s=3

Thanks
 
I'm not an expert, but here's my best shot at it.

The practicals look rather bright, but then I'm guessing the redheads will more than overpower them. If not, you're going to need to either turn them off or buy lower wattage practicals.

My first thought would be putting a redhead on the dead guy and the sitting person which, when they're exposed correctly, should make the walls go rather dark.
I don't know what the person standing up is in the story, but somehow I would guess that's the bad guy. So putting the other red lighting up the wall behind him and then using another light to edge him would create a cool silhouetted look to start with, and then put a fresnel with pillow case diffusion in front of him and move it forward/backward until you can see just the right amount of his face. Then when you're blocking the scene as he moves back and forth from the fresnel his face varies on how visible it is so you can use that as a storytelling layer.

Good luck.
 
Thanks for the advice. Anyone else have something to offer? One thing I'm concerned with is how much brighter the actors can be than the background. While I like the look suggested in the previous post of intense focused lights for high contrast, I'm worried that completely unmotivated directional lights might distract if they don't make any sense with the practicals.
 
cheap diffusion - parchment paper, and wax paper. Just watch the distance to the light. I'd be putting them a fair bit away so they dont catch fire. The parchment should be fine since it goes in ovens, but not sure when wax paper goes.
 
Do you think it would be fine clipped to the end of the barn doors? I've considered it, but if it needs to be put any further I don't think I'd realistically use it.
 
Yes, this is a tough one, with the tools that you have.

Less light is better, turn off the basement lights, use one light with the barn-doors pinched together and perhaps that will look like light coming thru a doorway. As for diffusion, pull down your Mom's shears from the window (or buy some for $1.50 from the thrift store) and tape them up in front of the light, but not too close!

You can also use other practical lamps, in the shot, if you need more.

Find a rental house and ask if they have free scrap gels.


Good Luck!
 
Some more notes: the door is closed, and there is essentially no light coming in from the windows.

Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean by shears?
 
I think he means curtains or blinds.

One thing I've used for diffusion is a translucent shower curtain. You can get them at the dollar store. I used two mic stands and clamped the curtain to the stands. Just keep it a safe distance away from the light. It's plastic, so you'll want a good 3 to 5 feet away from the hot lights. And still keep an eye on it. Safety first.
 
that's my Tota!

that's my Tota!

A picture of caution when shooting in a basement. I was just steaming my green screen for some shooting and had just moved a Lowell Tota to a new location that lit the screen perfectly. So I left it on so that I could get all the wrinkles out. I forgot about the 2" pvc pipe that I use to hang things that was a little too close. Just think what that could do to the wood in your ceiling! Of course, my wife just comes home from work at the heighth of smoke and smell upstairs...
 

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Regarding diffusion, assuming you can't afford a sheet of silk than you might want to try a thin white painters drop cloth. But as others caution, anything burnable carries attendant risks.

Good luck, Michael
 
Sheers are the thin white translucent mesh curtains that hang behind your opaque curtains. You generally open the opaque curtains but leave the sheers during the day if you want to let light in but somewhat obscure looking in.

Just had to renovate. Before then I had no clue.
 
White baking parchment should be fine, it's pretty dense, but then again you have 1Ks which are pretty bright for a small room like that.

Another option would be cheap 5in1 reflectors from ebay. I bought two huge ones recently for 20 Euro each (~25USD?) incl. shipping and they are very nice diffusors. You have to put them on a stand though, a few feet away from the 1K)
A 5in1 reflector is always a good idea to have, especially if your other equipment is scarce.

I know what problems you are facing, I was in the dilemma recently to have four 1Ks and four 100W Dedolights at hand to light an apartment in a way noir, but still soft - the 1Ks were too bright and the 100Ws hardly had enough power (HVX200...) but they were a bit hard when undiffused. I ended up lighting mostly too hard for my taste with the Dedos undiffused. Time, space and the lack of 300-500W lamps didn't allow otherwise on most shoots (and I could have used two six-bank fluo softbanks for free if they hadn't been too heavy for our guerilla-style shooting...)
 
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