Lighting tips for a car TV commercial.

S

sojioguns

Member
Hi guys. I have this car TV commercial to shoot in the next 2 weeks and the thing is I have never done this kind of thing but know it is very tricky due to the reflective nature of cars.
- The budget is not fantastic, hence it will be shot on video (either the HVX 200 or HPX 500)
- It would be shot in a warehouse (we do not have too many studios/soundstages in Nigeria)
- We do not have rental houses that have the necessary light kits/banks. I wish Chimera had a store in Nigeria.
- The lighting kits I know that are accessible are: Kinos, red heads, blondes and HMI lights (2.5k - 4k)
- I have done a bit of research and I know I would need a large muslin material above. What is the best alternative?

Please guys, I need help. Below are still images of what I hope to achieve:
 

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Your best bet would be to get your hands on as many Kinos as you can. Hanging them straight above the car for your key will give you some nice shots and reflections. Good luck!
 
Make a big frame out of sail cloth or muslim. (30 x 15 or 20ft)

Stretch it tight and wrinkle free. Do a neat and tidy job of the rig.*

Set it horizontally above and slightly back of the vehicle.

What you see in a car shoot is a reflection of the source light.* and everything else in the studio (so make it a big clean evenly lit source)

You may want to hang a black skirt around the frame for spill control.

20ish flooded "Blondes" about 10 ft above the frame should give you reasonable flat coverage.

Note : where you position the car under the rig makes a big difference to the l"ook". Experiment a bit by moving things. If you can not move the lighting rig easily...move the car.
 
Thanks guys for thereplies. Once I am ready to shoot, I will update you on every step we take. Thanks once again.
 
Nice.

I used to light wristwatches and jewelry and ran into the same problems of speculars and shadows, but on a MUCH smaller scale.

To cut the glare on the windshield, drop a piece of black cloth on the overhead scrim. Adjust it so that there's no bright reflections where you want the windshield to be transparent.

You might want to add some white reflectors to either side if you want more definition along the sides of the car. But you get the general idea.

Keep it up!
 
Tight deadlines considered, I think they look great.

Not a lighting issue, but one thing that I had issue with was the numerous dollies from right to left. I think it would flow better the other way around, especially when revealing the Grandor plate.

I really like the final shot before the tag where the headlights light up. Very classy.
 
Thanks Deepfocus, the reason for the direction of te dollies is linked to the POV of the character (ie the direction he walks).
I really appreciate the comments as I learnt a lot from the experience. I never knew good people still existed.
 
One of the greatest things about DVXuser is that this is a worldwide forum. I enjoy seeing TV spots from all over the world, as I don't get to travel that much. Thanks for sharing.
 
good job man. I'm really interested to see some behind the scenes shots of that rig if u have or explanation or what u did.
 
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