Lighting a big scene! need help

W

whizzkid

Active member
Hi Guys,

I'm lighting a big night scene for a pilot, have never lit this big before. I'm guessing it's about 100ft deep by 75ft width space under a bridge. The Master shot is pretty wide. My question is will a 1.2 HMI Par will be enough to create ambient moonlight and another HMI for backlight. I'm thinking of using 2K fresnels for the background and 1-2K of the edge light just to show the big support pillars of the bridge. Then I'm going to use about 3-4 flood lamps for the Fill light where the action is taking place. I need your experience with these big lights about how even is the light spread of such lights. Or anything that you guys can help with.

Much appreciated!
 
Each of these lights has published photometrics. Figure out your ISO and your desired stop. Find out how many footcandles you need. Figure out how far away from the subject your lights need to be to stay out of frame, and calculate how much light you need.

I know these specs are available from ARRI, Mole, and even Lowel. But I suspect they'd be available for most others as well.
 
Yeah a little more specific can help a lot.
I'm going to go ahead and say NO. That's PROBABLY not enough light. Really depends on your coverage and what you're shooting on. I prefer 1k par's for architectural and background washes vs. 2k's. And you can have twice as many of the for the same power.
 
We are shooting with the Sony ex3 w/ letus35. Will be shooting 320ASA at 2.8 - 4 f-stop. I am planning to shoot the master almost at dusk so I can still get enough light for distant backgrounds and overall fill. I didn't want to shoot it totally day for night because there will be multiple subjects plus car lights etc...
 
I always go way over when lighting big exteriors at night. It is easier to drop a scrim than to try to find light that doesn't exist.

On something like this I would have a 2.5 Par rigged high and bouncing off a big reflective service. And then use source4 pars for architectural and side fill with a five K or a two or three 2k's. Of course this means big power and all the costs and cable etc...
 
Seriously drive out to Mole Richardson and ask Larry Parker what he can offer you. I had to light a bridge from 60 yards away one time and i had no idea how I was going to hit a F2.8, so I went out there and asked and boom, he rolls out this beam projector. Done deal.
 
phudsontx said:
I always go way over when lighting big exteriors at night. It is easier to drop a scrim than to try to find light that doesn't exist.

On something like this I would have a 2.5 Par rigged high and bouncing off a big reflective service. And then use source4 pars for architectural and side fill with a five K or a two or three 2k's. Of course this means big power and all the costs and cable etc...
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That makes a lot of sense. The 2.5 par is pretty expensive to rent and the pilot has very very limited budget. I have to make it work using lower levels of light and achieving the same effect. Don't you think a couple of 4K soft light daylight balance will be enough to light an area approximately 50-75ft? Just for fill etc... and when we start doing coverage I can start using smaller lights for key and etc..
 
Finnegan said:
Seriously drive out to Mole Richardson and ask Larry Parker what he can offer you. I had to light a bridge from 60 yards away one time and i had no idea how I was going to hit a F2.8, so I went out there and asked and boom, he rolls out this beam projector. Done deal.
Click to expand...

Sad to say that Puerto Rico has only 2 rental houses and I wish I can drive and seek advice from those guys. Jeje... But I will consult the DP of the warehouse too regarding this.
 
Softlights by nature don't have a lot of throw, you're not going to get a lot of mileage out of them in a large space.
 
Did my post disappear, or did I stick it in the wrong thread?
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Use a Canon DSLR for this scene! It has much better low light characteristics.
 
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