need help on lighting

Y

yia

Well-known member
ok guys, I got three questions

1... what brand of light should I get to get the most filmlook out of it.

2... how much lights do I need to light an average room to see through the window clearly (kinna like the light in the room matches the light outside on the cloudy day)

thanks
 
No brand of light will give you what you ask for as it will come down to what you can do with it.

An Arri kit in the hands of Schlep is going to look like crap while natural sunlight and a bounceboard in the hands of Vilmos is going to be a masterpiece.
 
1. The film look is not based upon the brand or type of light. It's how you use it. I lit an entire scene of a $250,000 movie using the crudest of tools: 7 standard household lamps, taking off the lampshades, and making barn doors out of silver aluminum foil.

The point is - learn the look and behavior of lighting, the equipment will follow.

2. Matching the inside exposure to the outside exposure is usually a difference of 5-7 stops of light. My "unlit" inside exposure will often be F2.8 while my outside will be F64 or even F128. F2.8->4.0->5.6->8->11->22->45->64 which is 7 stops of light.

For all practical purposes, you can't overpower the sun. I own 4x1200 HMI pars and after softening up the light to be flattering on skin, you don't have enough horsepower left to match the exposure of the outside.

What we do in Hollywood is to gel the windows with ND .9 or ND 1.2. Often I have to double-gel the windows (ND 1.2 = 4 stops, ND 1.2 + ND .6 = 6 stops) just to get the exposure to match.

It's also one of the reasons on indie low budet movies, it's impractical to get someone to walk from outside in daylight to the inside and get a decent exposure. The light outside is just way to bright compared to the light inside.

Tim
 
what blows my mind is when I read just how much wattage a set needs. Ive read posts that describe thousands and thousands of wattage on a single interior shot. This is mind boggling to me!!!! totally mind boggling.

It sounds like they're lighting a football stadium. But the results are amazing and natural looking.
 
cheaper method?

cheaper method?

I read somewhere of a cheaper method of gelling windows but I can't remember where. Does anyone have any thoughts on a DIY method of gelling windows mabye a little cheaper? say in the 50 bucks range?
 
If you don't need to actually see what's going on outside, but just use the windows for light, you can stretch black TULE fabric over the windows. Most fabric stores carry it in several colors, especially white and pink. Mostly used to make little girls dance TU-TU's.. The black version is very similar to the fabric in "NETS", that we use every day. You can use a single layer,double it, or if need be, even triple it. Use a staple gun and make it very taut against the outside of the window. If you must rig it indoors (window too high for ladder) take great care in hiding your rigging of this, and perhaps add curtains to disguise the fabric, or somehow rig it inside the window frame itself...
This is a gorilla filmmaking tactic, but it can work on a shoestring budget. The fabric is very cheap by the yard.. Depending on the price of a 4x4 net rental, or even a 6x6 fabric rental, you might get off even cheaper rigging this up against the window. Good luck

Another cheap alternative is to use "LIMO TINT" available at most Walmarts. It clings to the window, or can be applied with soapy water in a spray bottle. The tint comes in 3-4 shades of density, and can be quite dark.
 
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