Lightning

[pietdeyaert]

Can someone tell me how I can create a realistic lightening effect.
I heard strobo's aren't good for this so they use HMI with a shutter in front of it?
Am I correct? Why aren't they using strobo's?

Thx

 

[j]

Strobes have instant on/off.
Real lightning has a build up and fall off that can last several seconds.
Shutters on HMIs with a good operator can reproduce this organic effect quite nicely.

With strobes, the flash will only last for one frame. With a 180 degree shutter, you might even miss them.

I did once use strobes to simulate lightning in a pinch and it worked well. We decided at the last minute to have lightning come in thru a rain covered window. We called out to everyone with a digital camera on set and had about 8 of them. As each of the cameras took different times to go off, we got a decent sequence of flashes. Setting them with "red-eye" helped to add a little pre-flash effect.

If I had my druthers though, I'd have two HMIs with shutters. One for the foreground and one to reach some trees far in the background. Nothing screams "fake" like lightning only lighting up the 10' in front of the camera.

-J