How do I shoot a dark or night scene?

A

Angelshare1

Well-known member
Hi everyone, I just got an HPX-170 and I'm just playing around with it to learn as much as I can. I just got a few shots of flowers and wow the color is amazing!

I'm looking to film something darker though. Night, The Crow-like, film noir, ect. How would I light this and what settings do I want to change on my camera? What if the actors are wearing black clothes at night, how do I make it so they stand out and look good?
 
Angelshare1 said:
Hi everyone, I just got an HPX-170 and I'm just playing around with it to learn as much as I can. I just got a few shots of flowers and wow the color is amazing!

I'm looking to film something darker though. Night, The Crow-like, film noir, ect. How would I light this and what settings do I want to change on my camera? What if the actors are wearing black clothes at night, how do I make it so they stand out and look good?
Click to expand...


If you watch the special features on various DVD's, and watch the 'night' scenes, you will notice that they have an awful lot of lighting for a 'night' scene.

If an actor's costume is 'black' on a 'black night', there will be something to highlight to give texture.

Blank Black is not a quality people work for...

Film noir often has lighting contrasts, but there is always 'detail' in both highlights and shadows... unless of course, the shot is directly into lights...

The point here is to watch films and reverse engineer the lighting setup.
 
Wow, 80 views and only one person has something to say? Come on, don't be shy.

I experimented a little more with my camera and found that my night shots were a milky white instead of a nice black. Anyone know how to shoot someone sitting on the porch swing at night, stairing up at the stars on an HPX-170?

Don't be shy, share your experience!
 
I would probably use an HMI, maybe a 4 k, set back and looking down at them for the key light. Keep the blue from the HMI to give a nice moon light feel. Then if there is a porch light I would use probably a tweenie mole for the edge behind them. Expose properly. There is obviously more to it then that (angles, diffusion, practicals, background, etc.) but I think that is where I would start. Any other thoughts?
 
check out my site:

austinvfilms.blogspot.com

In video blog 5 there is a quick short that was graded to be dark and "noir" ish.
 
Angelshare1 said:
Wow, 80 views and only one person has something to say? Come on, don't be shy.
Click to expand...

Probably because this is such a huge topic with so many factors to take into consideration.
You might take a gander at this sticky for starters: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=126269

I'd recommend searching around the forums. I know this has been touched on quite a bit in the cinematography and lighting sections.

If you post in greater detail about what you're doing people might be able to offer more advice for your situation.
 
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