Help on a rain scene!

B

blackfilm

Member
Hello, it's my first time here. I'm making a short and need to shoot a scene which I can't really figure out how. It's a closeup of a person's face, and I need rain in this scene. It's quite rainy this time of year, so that isn't much of a problem, but my main problem is that I need the rain to start when the person is still dry. The camera is on, there's no rain and then you start to see drops on ner face, and it starts to rain heavier.

I figured I'd just hold some see through umbrella and then move it when I want the rain to appear. But that would be noticeable, since the umbrella would still block some light and the rain wouldn't appear gradual. Of course I could just turn on the camera and wait for the rain to start, but chances are slim I'd get so lucky :)

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
 
What about somebody standing on a step ladder, then have a bottle or something that when squeezed, water droplets come out. Just do an extreme closeup on their face, then maybe a very slow dolly pullout, at the same time the rain gets heavier. For that, you can either make a rain device, or use a garden sprinkler the long kind that oscilate back and fourth, just have someone hold it and rotate it a bit. Like always, your best bet is to experiment befor the shoot day.
 
First of all, thanks for the fast responses guys! That's awesome :)

Jghenderson> It's a forest near a river. Well, sure since it's a close up I could probably do it near any tree, anywhere and noone would notice. But I kinda think that locations, weather and such give out a certain mood, that you can't fabricate. And that's kinda what I'm trying to show, how does a person feel at a certain time and place, and by the way I absolutely love rain it gets me in a special state of mind. If I could somehow achieve it without cheating a lot it would be awesome.

Nothing> I thought about a hose too. But I would need to to pour it through something to achieve a rain effect, right?

Maranfilms> Some great tips, gotta try it at home in the bath :)
 
Point a garden hose's spray up in the air and slowly let the water fall and drift into the shot. Play around with the spray and see what you get. By stuttering a pan-in motion the start of the rain will look more realistic. If you want to shoot down by the river you could take a large portable garden sprayer (with water in it) and do the same thing.
Good luck,
Ken
 
I suggest making your rain too. Anyone on these boards can tell you how problematic trying to work with weather can be. How are you going to book your subject and crew (or just you and your actor) when rain is so hard to predict and very off and on?

An umbrella will most certainly change the lighting.

You'd be surprised the effect you can get with a hose and spray attachment. As long as it's close enough to the subject (since it's a close-up I'd say your fine). However I'd recommend shooting on a cloudy day if at all possible, or wait for clouds. If it's sunny and there's nothing you can do, get a silk, or if on a budget, a white bed sheet/shower curtain and try and rig it above the person to block the sunlight. You might not be able to block the sunlight behind the subject but at least you're giving the impression there's a rain cloud over her.

As for where to have rain, you don't really need in the background. As long as it's on the subject and a bit in the foreground as well, then it's good. However keep in mind, especially if it's cloudy, you'll have a bit of a tough time really picking up that rain. To get really nice rain, usually some sort of back/side light is used. If you have the budget, I'd suggest a nice rim from an HMI, and it'll make the rain pop and look really good.

If you're on a budget, use a reflector, silver side, and pop as much light from behind to make that rain stand out. If it's a sunny day, get that silver reflector into the sunlight to get as much punch as possible. Obviously judge for yourself. Meanwhile give her a nice rim.

Hope that helps!
 
Starr> Thanks for your thorough response! A lot of great tips. Well, actually I don't even have a crew, it's just me and an actress. I have a lot of free time and booking the actress is not a problem at all, since I live with her :) Also, like I said it's quite rainy this time of year, and according to the weather forecast we'll be getting quite heavy rainfalls in the next few days. The location is not that far away, just a half an hour walk. I think it would be even cheaper, than to buy a hose or garden sprayer :)

The only problem I can think of is, how do I make the rain gradual? It should be a really long take, I want to show the subtle mood changes, before the rain and during. So at first, like for a minute or so, there should be no rain at all, then we start to see drops and then it starts to rain normally. As for showing the actual rain with side light, I don't think I need that, it'll show on her face and her getting wet pretty clearly.
 
Pressure washer? Works smashingly for creating a nice even mist like, coverage. Now, you probably want some larger drops in the scene though... so a 2nd hose mixed in with a normal spray head will help. So, pressure washers covering the entire area and a standard garden hose between the actor and the camera.
Also, you mentioned her/him being dry first but that the umbrella would cover too much light? There are tons of white and clear umbrellas out there...
undefined​
 
If you really trust the rain (I never do), then maybe you should build something? I think the most difficult thing will be to get it to build up gradually. How gradual? Would an umbrella be enough?

What about setting up a transparent plastic sheet above her, with holes in it? Maybe if she moves, she can move from nothing to small holes, then big holes, then removing it all together. Or maybe moving that plastic sheet so it moves gradually. The transparent umbrella could work, it depends on how soft the sun light is so there's no refraction with the shape of the umbrella, and it also might be a concern for you with the edges, as there are big drops from that.

You don't have to use a side/back light if you're close enough. I'd just suggest it as it'll sell the rain around her, and make it look amazing.

If it's a crew of one though... maybe the umbrella is your best bet again. Or get some people to help you, as most anything else will need more than one hand.

Good luck!
 
I hate relying on the weather, but sometimes you have to. What are you shooting on? I shot a S16 short late last year and we had major weather issues. As it rained for almost exactly 50% of our shooting time, and was essentially sunny for the rest, whilst we were in the middle of the rain, I talked to the Director about getting a safety shot to explain the sudden rain. The way it was scheduled happened to work out so that the first half of the film was shot in sun, and the second half in rain. At the halfway point of the film, there's a scene where a couple is arguing in the car and they get pulled over by a cop. The (probably cliche) shot that we got for a safety in case we needed to explain the rain was a shot of the female looking out the window of the stopped car as rain starts to fall on the window. We achieved this by setting up the camera (with a whole bunch of umbrellas and floppies rigged above the camera to keep it dry) to shot a close up of the window. The focus was on her, and we had someone holding an umbrella above the car window keeping it dry. As we pulled focus to the window, the umbrella was pulled away and drops started to fall onto the car window. It was a spur of the moment shot that we discussed and got in abotu 20 minutes, but it worked exactly as we wanted.
You can't tell at all that there's an umbrella above the car window, there's no lighting change at all. We did use a lighter coloured umbrella, not a black one and it was very overcast so the lighting was very even.

That said, it would be better to create it yoruself as relying on the weather is not a great thing to do (although in my hometown it's much worse as it can be sunny and 27 celsius one minute and overcast, rainy and 16 celsius the net)
 
Some very good advice given here. Since you are a one man band, place the camera on tripod with the actress already positioned. Stand on top of your car and start your spraying water on her to your hearts content, using some of the suggestions given by others. The umbrella suggestion of Jax_rox is good. There are many many ways.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top