how to simulate a restaurant?

FiddlerMD

FiddlerMD

Well-known member
I have to set up / light a shot that shows a couple in a restaurant. I will be doing this most likely in my house. I do have some decent walls to use as a background (brick wall witha few copper dishes in the kitchen, a tapestry in the library, the book shelves in the library, a bar w/ various bottles etc) and various tables/tablecloths.
my problem is that any time i try to set something up, it just screams "someone's house" .. i realize a lot of this is probably lighting so that's part of the setup.. the other thing is that I need 3 shots ... a medium of both of the people and over-the-shoulder shots of each person separately.
the medium can come out ok with the backgrounds that i have, but once i turn the camera to the side for one of the close-ups, i immediately stray to something that's much less restaurant and much more "someone's house"
I also have available to me a green screen and a black muslin.

have any of you set up a convincing restaurant scene in a regular apartment/house? what are some tricks i can use?
thanks!
 
Nothing like the real thing.....Can't you go to some of the smaller restaurants in your home town, and ask to film a few scenes during off hours, in exchange for a copy of your film and a credit in your movie.
Plus the advantage to them of feeding your crew and actors ?
 
Yeah I'm thinking its going to be hard without the hustle and bustle of a live restaurant. For me its the sound of the kitchen and the constant movement of the wait staff. Restaurants usually have tables as close as possible so I imagine your apartment looks way too spacious.
 
I don't see why you couldn't at least try to use your apt. You can always cram more tables, chairs and extras in there, right? The sounds can be achieved a couple of ways. Either get royalty free sound effects from someplace like sounddogs.com, or go record ambient sound in an actual restaurant. Sound will go a long, long way towards making your audience think you're really in a restaurant. And you can always have extras pass through the shot as busy wait staff and bus boys, right?

It's certainly worth a try, in my opinion. Good luck!
 
FiddlerMD said:
my problem is that any time i try to set something up, it just screams "someone's house"
Click to expand...

One thing I've learned is you have to see things from the perspective of your audience. I mean, you KNOW it's "someone's house", and that may be clouding your judgement about it. Remember that the audience doesn't know it's someone's house, so the reality of the scene is different for them.

Shoot it, then show it to some people who've never seen the inside of your house. See what they think. Don't ask leading questions, like "Did that look like the inside of someone's house??" Just get their thoughts and impressions. Keep in mind that what the audience thinks is more important than what you think.
 
it would probably help to shoot an establishing shot of a real restaurant. maybe a wide shot outside a restaurant and then cut into your scene
 
Another thing would be to bring up the audio of the restaurant 'interior' under the establishing exterior shot. Helps smooth the transition from outside to inside.
 
Stack your dressings:

Shoot as long as possible, and stack your tables/extras in front of and behind the principals, then when you switch angles, move everything around for the new angle.

I had the same shot at a hotel in the mojave desert. The story changed on the last day of the shoot and we needed to shoot a restaurant scene in order to cover our selves.

Solution? find the biggest hotel room and stack the dressing. We had 4 tables and 8 chairs that turned into 13 tables and 20 chairs with the 4 shots.
 
i should clarify - this is for a "silent" project so sound effects/atmosphere isnt doable.
what about lighting tips on simulating it?
 
Candles

Candles

FiddlerMD said:
i should clarify - this is for a "silent" project so sound effects/atmosphere isnt doable.
what about lighting tips on simulating it?
Click to expand...

Make sure to have some candles if it is a higher end restaurant. Low lighting if real fancy & intimate otherwise a little bit lighter for a less formal restaurant.

just suggestions as I haven't ever shot those sort of scenes.
 
>what about lighting tips on simulating it?

soft light from above and try to keep the light off the walls for the wide shots. As mentioned, have some candles, but be careful about placement (potential 180 degree grief) Use a soft frontal light from traditional 3point config for closeups.
 
I have always been against writing scenes before establishing locations. I commend you for the effort, however try and switch it up. Change the scene from a restaurant to a different location. In my opinion, if it is going to be a silent film, then the visuals better blow me out of the water, otherwise I will lose interest.
 
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