Help with Nighttime Light Setup in Small Trailer

P

proride

Active member
I am needing to light a night scene shot during the day in a small travel trailer. Camera is DVX100b and we have a small arri setup (2) 150 (2) 300 with gels and scrims.

Character/Scene is your basic hard luck, overweight, still dreams of high-school days loser drinking a beer while watching TV inside his small trailer. Several different shots are needed and of course, space is limited.

I am confident the answer lies somewhere in the many posts here. However, I am precluded from searching due to our shooting schedule which starts later today and runs through Wednesday.

This is my first short film and candidly I am stretching my experience with lighting and techniques so any detail setups, camera info or recommendations will be extremely appreciated.

I know there are many of you on this forum who could set this shot up in your sleep. I just hope to hear from you before Tuesday. Help and Thanks!
 
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As with many things there are an infinite number of ways to light a scene depending on the script, personal taste, project style, gear package, location, etc, etc. A good starting point is to think of motivated light sources. If you're shooting on location it might just simply be enhancing what's already there - do a tech scout of the location at night seeing what it looks like and try to re-create that during the day. You're most likely gonna have to black the windows, etc. Maybe the TV is illuminating most of the scene or moonlight. Or maybe there are numerous practicals - lamps, etc.
 
And try soften your lights with some diffusion. Softer light will help make it look more like a natural interior, as opposed to the hard light that arri can give off without any diffusion. The sun is a hard light.
And one trick is to stand where you think you want the light to go and see what angles/planes it will be lighting. Watch out for hard nose shadows, etc.
Good luck.
 
Anthem and Barry,

Thanks for the comments! Anthem, I noticed you are in Lakeland. I am in Orlando.

I have included a link to another thread that addresses this subject but is getting more traffic and certainly could pertain.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=51878

I certainly would like to hear more detailed comments on this subject. Are there specific settings within the DVX100b that would help? I have a nighttime music video coming up and I would really like to come up with a solid approach.

Thanks!
 
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Alright - a local! Whatever you do, just make sure you get the room lit well enough to not use any gain. You want the image as clean as possible.
 
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