How do I shoot better at night? Here is a screen shot.

don't play with the gain if you're going for a film look... the gain on an hvx should just be disabled. it's an enemy to your image. what did you use to light your scene? is this shot outide, or inside? give us some more details and we could tell you how to properly light the actress!
 
It was shot outside. I didn't have any lighting because I was doing test shots. Is there lighting I could invest in that would be decent so I would not have to rent?
 
Brandon,

Yes, if you want to do night shots (or any professional looking interior shots) you're going to need lights.

I have a 7 piece Lowel lighting kit that I got for $700 used. It comes with four 500 watt lights, two 750's, and a camera light. This kit also came with stands and power cords, some diffusion/flag accessories, and a case. This is a tungsten kit (balanced at 3200 degrees Kelvin), and with it I can do any minimal interior lighting. You can use these for night shots, but the color balance of the lights would tungsten, so it may only work for a "back porch at night" look or a "warehouse at night" look.

As far as exterior night shots go, you'll want to invest in what is called an HMI. This kind of light is balanced to 5600 degrees Kelvin. These lights reproduce daylight and simulated moonlight. So for an exterior night shot, you would almost always use an HMI as a 3/4 backlight on the subject, and then you could use another one (or a tungsten light with a CTB gel) as a fill light so you can get a little detail on the camera side.

If you want an affordable, versatile kit, that won't cost a huge amount, I would go with a Lowel kit. You can pick up used Lowel stuff all over the place, so just keep your eye out and check ebay.

Here's a couple night shots I did.

picture1zmo.png



This one is for a host segment on a Cage Fighting show. Wanted to give it that industrial back alley night feel, so I used my Lowel tungstens.

picture2fet.png


This was for a film where we wanted simulated moon light to light the actors. We rented some HMI's for this shot. Basically there's one about 30 yards camera right and behind the car. Then there's another one closer to camera, with some sort of diffusion, so that it lights her face and the camera side of the car.

Realistically, both shots don't look like REAL lighting in these same situations, but to the viewer, they look right at home. Just remember to backlight and keep the shadow to the camera's side when you're lighting a night scene and you'll be golden.
 
those are some nice screen shots. I will look into buying some lights. I don't really want to go for any affect - I just want some lights to light up my music video sets. Any suggestions for that?
 
do some research on lighting techniques and gear... we cant just tell you what to get. you also have to know how to use it.
 
I know how to use lighting. lol. I have taken some courses on it. I am just asking what kind of lights would you get to light music videos.
 
Are you going for flat lighting? Dramatic lighting? Outdoors? Indoors? Special effect lighting?Is it a small/tight set? Or a large venue situation?

Every situation is likely to require different lighting fixtures. It's never a one light fits all sort of thing.

Jim
 
Brandon,

Once again, get a Lowel brand lighting kit. They're probably the perfect mix of price and quality for the kind of stuff you'll be doing.

If you need specialty lights beyond that, just rent them as you need them.
 
Brandon, here are two tricks I use to shoot in low-light with the HVX200:

1. I use FILM CAM mode and adjust the shutter speed to 200.0 degrees. This will give you more light than shooting at 1/48th (aprox 1/2 stop more light). If you're shooting 24p, it will also retain the "film look" more than shooting with a slow shutter of 1/24th.

2. The HVX200 has many different GAMMA settings. They each affect the amount of light, in different ways. CINE GAMMA isn't good in low-light situations. I use BLACK BRESS and CINE V to make the image pop by another 1/2 stop.

Happy low-light shooting!
Andrew
 
be sure you have a couple low power focusable spots. and a case full of different gels and diffusion options. you might also keep a couple source4s and a variety of gobos handy for effects.

and dont forget lots of extension cords, clothespins, gaffer tape, sandbags and GLOVES. lights get HOT!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top