Hello everybody. The issue is that I have to light a prison yard under the sun, midday, sweat, dirt, etc... I know the I'll use reflectores for the close shots to make use of the sun but... what about the long shots? Should I keep it without artificial lighting? (I'm under low budget, only 2x650 arri, 1x1000 chimera and 1x350arri...)
How to light a exterior long shot?
- Thread starter asertyu
- Start date
There is nothing you can do with your lights as they are puny compared to the sun.
You can control the time of day you shoot and where you place the camera and its direction.
I can't think why you would want any lighting on anything but close and medium faces, and there, the general rule is setup the shots so the sun is a backlight and fill so the faces read with reflectors (assuming the sky is about cloudless). For the close-ups you might, might, want something overhead.
What are the dramatic needs for the shots? If you want sweaty and gritty, the sun is as hard as a source gets.
You can control the time of day you shoot and where you place the camera and its direction.
I can't think why you would want any lighting on anything but close and medium faces, and there, the general rule is setup the shots so the sun is a backlight and fill so the faces read with reflectors (assuming the sky is about cloudless). For the close-ups you might, might, want something overhead.
What are the dramatic needs for the shots? If you want sweaty and gritty, the sun is as hard as a source gets.
The scene takes place in August, south of Spain, in a hard and hot day. The guard is counting the prisoners, who should appear dirty ans sweaty... My only concerns are about managing contrast, and the doubt about if I can stand only with sunlight in long shots (that's what I had thought to do...) or there is something else to do, technically (with reflectors or something like that).
You'll need the sun in closeups as well. Your kit is just insufficient to add any punch outdoors especially after you add gel to correct the color temperature. You could try some mirrors but if its really long I don't see why the sun won't be sufficient. You could try some griff/ultrabounce/or silver lame to push your light levels up...what is the distance of your shots?
I think it is...have you seen the Assasination of Jesse James? Roger Deakins used notghing but bounce in that forest scene. You may want to go over to his forum, his use of natural light and practicals is inspiring. I think you'll be fine at 15m using the sun. Make sure you're not blowing out background highlights (I just did that myself), so you may want like a graduated ND and i'm figuring at least a .6 in Spain....gotta be more sun than here 
Good luck!
Good luck!