Lighting an elevator

D

DDirector

Veteran
As we speek we are crewing up for our 5min short film. I got the roll as a DP.Now, I need to light an elevator scene, which half of the film takes place within.So, how would we be lighting this?*I think we will be building a break away elevator instead of using an ectual elevator. But this has not been determined yet, as we just crewed up.
 
Last edited:
Overhead lighting makes the most practical sense, but if you only go with this I think your actors faces will no doubt look like scary halloween gouls with shadows under eyes, nose, neck. (That will largely depend on how hard or soft you get the overhead lighting). What kind of light is in the elevator now? Are they focused pot lights or fluorescent?

I still think you would want some fill on your actors or the whole image will be too contrasty, especially if you plan to do any post cc or grading. For close up shots you can sheet by using white board below your actors faces, and beside the camera. For any wide or long shot it gets tricky because if you are shooting through the actual elevator door opening you won't have a lot of space for both the lighting and camera. You can place some fill lighting below the camera facing up, or if you get a Manfrotto autopole you can setup a hanging overhead light a little lower giving some fill. Another option I'd try is to tape white board on the complete inside of the elevator on the same side of door so that any light coming down will bounce and brighten up the whole elevator, and help with front fill on your actors.

Hey i just noticed you are in Oakville, I'm in Mississauga. If you need help with your production I have quite a bit of lighting I could offer to help out with. If you're also interested in shooting this on the Sony F3 let me know, I'm in a lot of preplanning right now so the camera is sitting idle and bothering me its just sitting in a box.
 
First we have to know what kind of film it is. Definitely going to be lit from above no matter what, but depending on the film, you could use hard fixtures such as fresnels, or you could use soft fixtures, such as kino flos and you might want to fill from the front as well to even things out a little...but you might not want to as well. Again, all depends on what you're going for.
 
You may want to consider some flat and compact option you can attach to the walls of the elevator somehow. Some of those flat side lit LED panels could work for you for example. A fluorescent bulb that is driven by an external ballast could work too. Just tape to wall of elevator and make sure its out of view in the shots.
 
The breakaway set (wild walls) is definitely your best bet for total control of lighting and camera angle. Also, not being limited to a 5x6 area for everything will allow you the use of a wider range of focal lengths to achieve your desired visual result.
Hope this helps.
Ken
 
I once shot a scene in an elevator (without permission, very guerrilla). It only had one angle, so we put some tape across the sensors on the door and lit from just outside the elevator. Then I squashed myself into the corner with my 550D. Damn, I love DSLRs - this is when the compact factor kicks ass.
 
How about using single fluorescent tubes in corners and along the roof and floor as needed?
They are long and skinny, so the light will be somewhat soft, and they will fit right into the corners, the furtherest position away from the actors as possible.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top