How to light for specular highlights/glint in eyes on close ups/Avoiding "dead eye".

vcassel

vcassel

Veteran
How to light for specular highlights/glint in eyes on close ups/Avoiding "dead eye".

Any tips? I'm looking for something discreet that doesn't depend on me aiming my main light source at the eyes or that distracts from my main setup. Is there a product out there or a DIY secret you can recommend?
 
A small light, perhaps a 'flashlight' or even a 'white card', hung/placed such that the glint catches. Should be placed approximate in the same line as some light in the scene, so that it appears to be from that light source. The light is sufficiently low in intensity so as not to interfere with the main lighting setup.
 
j1clark@ucsd.edu said:
A small light, perhaps a 'flashlight' or even a 'white card', hung/placed such that the glint catches. Should be placed approximate in the same line as some light in the scene, so that it appears to be from that light source. The light is sufficiently low in intensity so as not to interfere with the main lighting setup.
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That makes sense. I was thinking maybe a small camera light or a small, strategically placed mirror. Thanks!
 
Oops! I keep forgetting this site has separate sections for lighting and cinematography. Mods, I guess wherever you think this thread may be more useful.
 
Interesting thoughts...


However, I have the BladeRunner issue of American Cinematographer July 1982. It says:

Colored lights were also used occasionally for the light effect in the replicants' eyes. "One of the identifying characteristics of replicants is a strange glowing quality of the eyes. To achieve this effect, we'd use a two-way mirror- 50% transmission, 50% reflection- placed in front of the lens at a 45 degree angle. Then we'd project a light into the mirror so that it would be reflected into the eyes of the subject along the optical axis of the lens. Sometimes we'd use very subtle colored gels to add color to the eyes. Often we'd photograph a scene with and without the effect, for Ridley to have the option of when he'd use it."
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http://www.cinematography.net/edited-pages/red eye effect.htm


This is of course for a very surreal and BIG effect. Usually for a bigger 'normal' eye light use a 1x1 LED panel dimmed right above the lens, or a bigger soft source. For a tiny eye light use a smaller point source, such as a mag-light. The key is to have it as close to the lens as possible... that's why Blade Runner actually had the light come from the exact angle of the lens.
 
vcassel said:
Ryan, thanks for the info! I'm thinking of picking up something like this to hold a maglite. What do you think?
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That should rig up just find... although, you could probably find 1,000 different ways to get it on the lens. :)

Remember to test and try different things... a maglite (like the small ones 1st AC's use) can be very small in lens diameter. If you want a larger glint, using a dimmable household bulb, or likewise larger source, will make the reflection in the eye bigger. I like to go big, say a light panel mini or etc.

Remember the size of the reflection in the eye also seems to change in size with distance. What ever you choose, have some diffusion, a squeezer or some nd gel with you, because getting it to the right level of intensity is very important.
 
@OP:

Are you talking about the twinkle you see in actors' eyes in a lot of movies?

If so, that is easily achievable by either arranging your lights so that the spray of a light comes in contact with the eyeball - it does not have to be directly on the iris/pupil because actors tend to dance around, and the light will reflect off the sclera (white part) as well, which makes the eyes glow - or you can shine a small wattage light directly into their eyes, like you have been discussing.

I have used Kino Flos facing an actor while shooting in a three-quarter angle to light both eyes with a soft glint, and I've used an open-face Mole turned away from the talent so that a little bit of harsh spill shows up in just one eye during an MCU.

Lots and lots of ways to do it.
 
For anyone who found this thread useful: I went to Film Tools today and they recommended the Manfrotto Nano Clamp threaded into the camera's shoe mount to hold a maglite. Ends up being cheaper and smaller than the Ebony Lens Shade Clip I linked to before.
 
In low light situations you can use a white cardboard above the lens that is illuminated with an LED light from below, that it is just a bright white square, but acts not as an additional light source- so you don´t mess up your subtle light situation.

Frank
 
Postmaster said:
In low light situations you can use a white cardboard above the lens that is illuminated with an LED light from below, that it is just a bright white square, but acts not as an additional light source- so you don´t mess up your subtle light situation.

Frank
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Thanks for the tip in low light! I wonder how to rig something like that up. Maybe a hotshoed flash bracket? This gives me an idea for the maglite though: how about rubber banding some white tissue its glass? You could control output by bundling up the tissue paper.
 
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