Making a bathroom look like a nightclub.

J

jghenderson

Well-known member
Hey everyone.

So I am going to be entering a commercial contest, and the concept we came up with for our commercial involves making a women's bathroom look like a nightclub. This is far more complicated than any other lighting setup i've ever done and I really feel I need advice.

The bathroom we are hopefully going to use (I say hopefully because it's a department store's bathroom and they have to clear it through their manager first) is very big and includes a lounge with a few sofas (something we really wanted).

The equipment we have is:

3 lights...sorry don't know the exact type or the bulbs used.
Some gels of assorted colors.
A strobe light
A fog machine
Blacklights


And....that's it. I realize we probably could really use some more equipment but this is what we've got and we have to shoot this weekend.

The bathroom has white tile except in the lounge which has carpet.

The look we are going for is your typical nightclub, lots of blues but it's important that it's also pretty clear.

Any advice would be really really appreciated. I feel a little over my head here.
 
First off, what camera are you shooting on? Most cameras can't handle the fast flash of a strobe light so I don't recommend using it. I would suggest doing the effect in post if you need it.

Do you have a fog machine or a hazer? I would recommend a hazer as it will allow you to get a smoke filled room look vs just having fog on the ground.

You should get more lights than 3. Even if they are flood lights with a makeshift par can. Just so you can gel them and have more light beams in the room. Think of a night club...there are lights everywhere.
 
We will be shooting with a T2i.

And yeah I guess that makes sense that the strobe might be too much for the camera to handle.

As for the fog machine, i'm actually not sure what type we have. I will have to talk to the producer to figure that out.

As for the lights, hopefully we can come up with something. Would just some normal construction lights from Lowe's work? I don't know anyone else around here that has professional lighting equipment.
 
I've worked with fog machines before... they're frustrating to say the least. They spread unevenly, they dissipate quickly, and they take time to release. At least the ones I used were like that. Hazers seem to be better on a quick search.

Strobe lights, Next Wave Gen know more about it than me, but when I tried using my strobe light way back when I didn't know much, the first thing I realized is that it just wasn't enough light to see anything. They're designed for clubs and parties where there's very low light. So they can go the distance. But with a camera and bright lights, they don't make a dent. Post is a good idea, but if you want to see the shadows cast, then maybe consider using a blue gelled light, with a switch, and practice flicking it off and on. May not get the best effect, but it depends.

What sort of blacklights? Make sure they didn't just buy the 60 watt bulbs or anything. It's gotta be something strong, preferably fluorescent, or else nothing is going to light up.

Next Wave G is right, 3 lights is not enough. I would personally go with a bunch of small open face lights. You can spread them around the room, up high, put different coloured gels on them, and have people move them and/or turn them off and on.

If you want to see what's going on, maybe consider a bit of non gelled fill or key. Though it shouldn't overpower the colored lights as non colored lights are rarely used in clubs.

I would also suggest some back or rim lights in back of the subjects to make them pop and add some style.
 
Forgive the slight change in subject, but have you considered how your dialogue will sound recorded in a tiled room and with the sound of a fog machine? All your work in lighting could be undermined if it sounds bad.
 
you don't run the fog machine during the take so I think he'll be ok there. It'll just take longer to woft all the fog around to evenly fill the space.
 
I'm really confused - you want to replicate a nightclub - presumably NOT a nightclub lavatory? Most nightclubs I know of look nothing like what's being described here. If you want interest, then light faces, perhaps in off-white - possibly reds/pinks, and then use the hazer so that light beams get picked up in the air - you need colour changes - so you have to find some proper coloured lighting sources that respond to music - these show up in the haze and the static light for the faces lets you see them.

The location you have picked just seems so wrong - a real nightclub in the morning, after the cleaners have been in would have been better - but I guess the deal is done.
 
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