Motel Room

D

DDirector

Veteran
I have been a DP for all of my college film shoots, but this time I don't know.
We are shooting 8 scripts (webisodes - 5min ea). All of them are in a single location and 6 of them are based inside a motel.

The motel room will be built in our studio. Which really sucks as we aren't good set designers so we cant build one to look very real, but close I guess?
There is going to be a window on one wall.

I'm really lost on how to light it. I'm not sure why. I know a lot about lighting, but this lighting scene is just really... meh. I just see it being flat and boring motel room lighting.

All the scripts are somewhat drama/thriller based. So, there is a dark side to the script by the end.
And one stands out to me the most, but its all candle lit (So, i guess only here is where I see it being not flat looking, and more challenging)

But, for some reason, I don't know what to do here. And now we have resources to rent out any equipment we need.
 
I dunno if there are such videos, but if you could find some behind the scenes footage from "Breaking Bad" I think that could give you some ideas. Looks to me like several of the rooms they shot in were build, but can't be sure. Anyways, I really like the lighting they have going in that series.
 
In this situation. I go back to basics.

Step 1, what will your light sources be motivated by? Is this all set at night or during the day? Where in your planned set will / can you place practicals. Remember hotel rooms often have numerous lamps, downlights behind bed and reading lamps on desks.

Step 2, after answering the above - what is the mood of the piece? What colours would enhance that? What kind of light units would you then use - i.e. soft or hard? Where can you place them to portray your practicals and windows? How many foot candles of light will you need to cover the space you're working in?

Step 3, lighting your backgrounds. What do you need to highlight if anything? What light ratios will you need based on Step2?

Step 3, TEST.

I recently shot in a tiny hotel room and was able to get excellent results. A light meter is your friend. Ive kept this fairly simple. Sometimes just getting back to basics helps.
 
You are actually in a good position because you are building it. My second film The Island was set in a bomb shelter. We constructed the whole thing inside a storage warehouse. What that allowed us to do is only build the walls 9' high in a room with 12' ceilings. That gives you the ability to rig lights overhead to throw a base light level down on the room. Don't know what your studio setup is like, it's something to consider.

In my fantasy world I'd be able to afford to shoot about 80% of my stuff on a soundstage. I LOVE constructed sets, MUCH prefer them to shooting on location.

In general all the rules of lighting still apply. Don't just throw diffused light on everything, use some hard light, use rim lights, make it pop.
 
gonzo_entertainment said:
You are actually in a good position because you are building it. My second film The Island was set in a bomb shelter. We constructed the whole thing inside a storage warehouse. What that allowed us to do is only build the walls 9' high in a room with 12' ceilings. That gives you the ability to rig lights overhead to throw a base light level down on the room. Don't know what your studio setup is like, it's something to consider.

In my fantasy world I'd be able to afford to shoot about 80% of my stuff on a soundstage. I LOVE constructed sets, MUCH prefer them to shooting on location.

In general all the rules of lighting still apply. Don't just throw diffused light on everything, use some hard light, use rim lights, make it pop.
Click to expand...

+1

Watch some soap operas - if you can find any still airing :-). With the built set in the studio you have lots of control, and if you have the time you can move walls out of the way when needed. Plus the abilty to mount wall plates without having to worry about property damage, hang trombones over the tops of the walls, etc.
 
Sources: wall sconces, table lamps, television, window, open doors.

Hotels have crappy light distribution anyways so I think ratios wouldn't be a problem.

I think the tv is a good source to play with, set up with a DVD player. Adds motion and color.
 
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