Outdoor lighting?

clarkage

clarkage

Well-known member
are out door lights necessary? When are they not necessary? Why are reflectors better than actual lights in some cases? When do you use reflectors instead of lights?

Answers to any of these would be great!
 
You need quite a bit of light outside to battle with the sun. A 1.2k HMI is really the minimum that can have an impact on an outside scene (well, it depends but that's for most uses).

Reflectors are better than actual lights in cases where you don't have large enough lights to do anything significant.

Out door lighting is necessary in all cases where you want to create lighting that is different from the natural lighting.

It's not necessary when you like how things look and you can expose properly.

I like to use an overhead with a silk and then bounce light in from outside the overhead for contrast on faces or whatever I need.
 
I see what you mean...

I am planning on shooting a scene where a man watches a sunrise. Would some reflectors be practical to catch the natural warm glowing colors? Or is there something else I could do?
 
It's funny I was going to post a thread asking what is this:
Picture%201.png


More so was it purchased, and does B&H carry it. As of right now I know what it does but don't know what to call it, other than sun diffusion.
 
Yeah that just diffuses the sun to prevent hard shadows. It's considered grip equipment so B&H probably doesn't have it. Worth a try though.
 
Yes, all that is necessary to achieve the precise look the DP aiming for. Now, many DPs work in their own way, utilizing a favored set of tools - some even take their own favorite gaffers and grips with them from show to show because they work well together.

That is a 12 x 12' overhead with a lite gridcloth or silk diffuser mounted. It looks to be Matthews brand. The 4 x 4 frames to the left and horizontal to the right look to be loaded with Rosco 216 diffusion or similar. The key lights are LTM CinePars - 1200s methinks. Actually, could be 2.5k based on the way the tails are coming out. Suffice it to say that they are CinePars, which are HMI daylight balance fixtures.

e
 
Last edited:
Clark it is important to realize that each scene calls for a different lighting setup. The setup in that picture was necessary for that specific situation, but another DP in the same situation might decide that they just need a big flag for negative fill and then they can shoot it.
 
Anybody have a guess as to what the two butterflies placed horizontally over the lights are doing? I cant for the life of me figure it out...
 
Erik Olson said:
Yes, all that is necessary to achieve the precise look the DP aiming for. Now, many DPs work in their own way, utilizing a favored set of tools - some even take their own favorite gaffers and grips with them from show to show because they work well together.

That is a 12 x 12' overhead with a lite gridcloth or silk diffuser mounted. It looks to be Matthews brand. The 4 x 4 frames to the left and horizontal to the right look to be loaded with Rosco 216 diffusion or similar. The key lights are LTM CinePars - 1200s methinks. Actually, could be 2.5k based on the way the tails are coming out. Suffice it to say that they are CinePars, which are HMI daylight balance fixtures.

e
Click to expand...


Man Erick how can you tell the size and the brand?
I thought it was bigger than 12x12 but now I know I will check for pricing on B&H and yes they do sell them:
 
Those 4 x 4 frames gag in for certain shots. Others, like the master, they have them gagged out.

dantewaters said:
Man Erick how can you tell the size and the brand?
I thought it was bigger than 12x12 but now I know I will check for pricing on B&H and yes they do sell them:
Click to expand...

Well, that's just what they are. The size is either the 1200w or the 2.5k, but the photo doesn't give me a clear enough view of them to decide once and for all. If the feeder comes out the back of the head, then it is the 1.2k, if it comes out at 90 degrees from the head, then it is the 2.5k. I think the length of the fixture indicates 1.2k. Again, could be wrong.

Look at the actors and you can pretty much ascertain that it is a 12 x 12'. Those guys are about 5 or 6' tall. Also, note how the closest side of the overhead has a splice in the middle?

e
 
Last edited:
yeah, it looks like it's for rain since there's also an umbrella over the ballast for the fixture on the right. i dig the branch-o-lorus, but not so hot about the fact that butterfly kit isn't tied down.
 
Check out this article about and the outdoor lighting on latest Indiana Jones movie. The rest of the article is good too. Pay close attention to the stop they are shooting at and how that changes what lights you need. Us indies tend to shoot as wide open as we can so we can get the most light and we get this really shallow depth of field but notice how many of the scenes in Indy or any movie have a greater depth of field, especially when the talent is moving around a lot. To get that greater DOF you have to close the lens down. That means less light coming in so you need more lights.

http://www.ascmag.com/magazine_dynamic/June2008/CrystalSkull/page1.php
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top