Lights effects for "CampFire" set

[maheshshimpi]

Hello All,

I am not sure if this topic has been discussed on this forum before. If it has been please guide me to the correct thread.

I am making a short film that is entirely setup with a night backdrop around a campfire. Never tried this kind of filming before. I would appreciate all the ideas/feedback to show me how to light up such a set. I am specifically looking for cheap/creative way of doing it.

I was able to get a good light from the campfire itself, but would be interested in knowing how to create the moonlight effect effectively. I own a Lowell's 44 piece light kit. Will that suffice? If not what is the minimum I have to do to get it right. The location I will be working at has plenty of trees so moonlight cannot be lighting up entire area.

Thanks
Mahesh Shimpi

 

[Huy Vu]

Moonlight usually equals a blue gel (1/2 or full CTB) to give a bluish look. That's the accepted look. If you're talking beams of moonlight going through the trees then that's trickier. You would need to throw up enough of a haze (through a fog machine or haze machine) and have sufficiently powerful light (2k or above) hitting the haze and that'll create those beams.

One thing to note is that in movies, night is not dark. Look at every Hollywood movie with a campfire/forest scene. The background is always very brightly lit. I would get the most powerful light you have, slap a blue gel on it and start lighting the trees in the background and that should be sufficient to give the illusion that the place is lit up by moonlight.

The light coming off the campfire would also have to be faked using external lights. This is done by having a light source pointing at the actor in the direction that the light from the flame is casting on their faces. Then, using a dimmer, flicker the light and it will give the illusion of a moving flame.