Shooting against a bright office window

morten

morten

Well-known member
I'm shooting a series of short spots in a high-rize office with floor to ceiling panoramic windows. The client really wants the windows in the background (the North Shore mountains are very nice) and will sit or stand behind a desk. Question is how do I light this without putting filters on the windows?

I have a standard 3 light kit and some homebrewed fluos for fills and I guess I can use blue gels on my lights to force them to match the daylight but I'm still concerned about reflections off the windows and the extremely bright background.

anyone have any smart ideas on how to solve this conundrum?

mor10
 
Assuming that the exterior is daytime, then you will need daylight balanced instruments for your talent. This is a job that begs for HMIs. Trying to gel tungstens to daylight is going to make their output so meager that you will likely not have anywhere enough punch to work against your windows. You will also need a decent amount of grip equipment to be able to flag off the reflections. One thing that will likely help is to not have the camera parallel to the window. The other thing to consider is the time of day that you shoot this. The difference in illumination levels is considerable between golden hours and midday.

Post some stills of the location for more specific recommendations and be certain to note the time of day and camera direction in relationship to the sun.
 
This is a gross generalization, but many high-rise offices have ND value built into their glass. It might be a stop or three - there's only one way to tell and that is to measure both inside and unobstructed with a proper meter.

Gel your tungsten interior studio fixtures (not necessarily the practicals!) between 1/2 CTB and full CTB depending on time of day and try and get your key to within three stops of the window value.

Aside from applying ND to the glass, which isn't that difficult for anyone who's done vinyl work, that's about the best you'll get on the cheap.

e
 
And remember the rule, The shot can be as open as the light you have on you. Worst case scenario, shoot a close shot, and put your lights real close.
 
One other creative solution (and be sure to test before you use it) is to use a luminance key.

Shoot the speaker in front of the window exposing for the speaker - the window will blow out prob completely. Lock the camera down. then shoot a plate of the samething without the speaker exposing for outside.

then you can use a luminance key to replace the exterior on the speaker with the properly exposed exterior.

what camera are you using.
 
thanks guys.

putting ND on the windows is a no-go: these windows are rediculously huge and we don't have the funds to get giant filters that would cover without massive overlap or lines.

I guess we can try to shoot later in the afternoon - the light should be softer - and I'll gel down the lights... I think this one will be tricky no matter what.

I'm using the DVX100A ofcourse. the only way to go :o)

mor10
 
Like mentioned by KHmuse, this shot screams H M I. Rather then try to light your actors whole office, I would just try to light their face only, or even face and chest. Use a 200 or probably a 400 joker bug with a narrow lens and spot their face. Soften it for flattering facial features and bring in some 4'x8' foam core to bounce some of the extra window light around to bring up the ambiance slightly. Or skip the foam core entirely(perhaps reflection issues) and just go with the one light. It will make your shot look hipper and edgier.
 
Consider renting the lights you'll need and passing along the cost to the client.

Also, do some testing first. Bring your camera in, see what the exposure level of the background is at the time of day you're shooting, then figure out how much light you'll need to match the exterior exposure or to at least get it close enough.

If you can get it to within a stop, you might be able to use a luminance key (combined with rotoscoping) to do a final correction of the view out the window.
 
it's more and more tempting to just turn the camera around...

I'm going to the location this weekend to do some tests and then we'll see.

thanks for the help :o)

mor10
 
morten said:
it's more and more tempting to just turn the camera around...

mor10
Click to expand...

What and lose that wonderful backlight and view?
I would just rent a joker 200 or 400 with a softbox for a key, probably less than $100/day, then use some foam core for bouncing fill.
 
don't slouch! You'll regret it. The shoot might take a day, or even a couple of hours, but the final shot will be there forever. And with your name on it. I can't count the number of shots I gave up on the set, that hount me to this day... And I'm just another begginer!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top