Nightime car scene, outside-in.

H

hoodeu

Member
Hi everybody, I've been lurkin' around these great forums for a while and now I need you're imput on something, hope y'all can help me!

So we're preparing to shoot a night scene this weekend that involves the camera (dvx-100b) standing about 2ft outside the front passenger's window, with a vaccum system, looking slitly downwards into the rear passenger's window (we still see the door frame and a bit of the exterior). The problem here is to how to light the scene to make it believable but still have a well lite interior.

I'd really prefer filming while the car is moving, although it might be harder to pull-off.

I've searched the net for answers and found some interresting option:

- Using battery powered incadescent or fluorescent light inside the car.
- Having a blue-ish light attached to the same vaccum rack the cam is on, light which will reflect on the car's exterior.
- Correct the image to get slitly higher contrast in post

I'm also concerned about shutter speed, aperture and framerate. I haven't used the dvx-100 before and will only have about a day to try prior to the shoot so please tell me what to experiment first.

Thanks alot.
 
I've used small tube fluorescent lights (the kind you find under kitchen counters for $12.00 about 1-2ft in length) and power them off a converter. You may need a few depending on whats in the frame. I velcro them into position so they don't bounce light around while in motion.

It is very important that you have adequate lighting as the blacks really get crushed down for the interior of cars at night. Having lots of lights highlights the details of the seats to which the actors can be defined, otherwise there is no seperation.

I always shoot 24p 1/48 and play with the color temp/detail settings. (pay particular attention to any green hue showing up as a result of the flor. lights & adjust your camera accordingly). I choose to use these lights for thier portability and soft light that does not get overblown as you use more than 2 or 3 of them (very low wattage) and they look realistic.

I use a Sony pvm-8041q to monitor the set up to ensure I've got it right, BEFORE WE SHOOT, (usually on keyed shots),but as you are moving the vehicle you need to really assess you image well through your LCD if you have no monitor. If you shoot too low & try to bring it up in post there is only so much you can do.

One last item, you mentioned having a blueish light hanging or attached to the suction that the camera is on & shooting into the car. If you do that, you may find that the shot looks un-natural and may appear quite obvious as to how it was lit from the exterior & having a bounced light off the car showing up in the frame. If that is the case, you will never get that fixed in post (just a caution).

There are pro lighting panels you can purchase for around $800-$1200 but I am assuming thats not what you wanted to hear. These fluorescents I use do essentially the same thing as the higher priced pro panels do if you pay extra attention to how you set them up.

Good luck
Steve
 
Steve's got some great advice there - you also might want to look at the little UFO LED camping lights on Ebay if you are on a tight budget. I dont have any experience but a few of these might do the trick.

If you do have a decent budget, look at the oncamera lights from vidled, litepanels, and zylight. Those would work fantastically but cost a fair bit. The vidled is actually much cheaper but is currently out of production at the moment. Kinoflo also has a baby flourescent for this type of thing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top