Shooting Elevator Scenes

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I'm working on a short that has an elevator scene. Right now I'm calling local elevator companies and asking if we can use demo elevators, but I'm not having much luck with that.

Is it practical to shoot in a working elevator at a place of business? The camera we would use is a Panasonic HVX200a with a RedRock M2 and Micro X attached to the front. I have a feeling we won't have much room to work in and lighting is going to be a pain.

Just curious as to solutions others have taken when doing an elevator scene.
 
Since there are no visible cues within an elevator (other than the ding and the lightup numbers over the door) that the thing is moving, can't you shoot the scenes with the car stopped and the doors open? That would give you the room you need for lights and camera.

Then you just need to get insert shots of the doors opening/closing and of the floor number lights changing.

Of course this all depends on your story, but in general these things might help.
 
Larry is correct.

Securing a location after hours or during a weekend is key I would think. Keep the doors open and staying back should help you.

But why use the RED ROCk for such a close up scene ? Cinematographers change lenses constantly to meet their needs; a 35mm Adapter seems moot in an elevator.

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Another option is build a set w/ removable walls and cieling. You could get every angle needed with massive room for lights and camera.
 
aplusjimages said:
I'm working on a short that has an elevator scene. Right now I'm calling local elevator companies and asking if we can use demo elevators, but I'm not having much luck with that.

Is it practical to shoot in a working elevator at a place of business? The camera we would use is a Panasonic HVX200a with a RedRock M2 and Micro X attached to the front. I have a feeling we won't have much room to work in and lighting is going to be a pain.

Just curious as to solutions others have taken when doing an elevator scene.
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If you have any resources like a sound-stage and a few grands. You can build a elevator on set. Majority build on a sound stage (INT and EXT). It's easier to fit the camera in the elevator, due to the fact that you can move the walls whenever you want. If not, then good luck finding a working elevator at a place of business.

The best way to win someone over is to show your passion and believe in yourself. Talk to the Manager or CEO. Find out when their down time is. When are they not open. Shot on a day when their not open. then pay one of their security guards a 4-8-12 hour rate.

Work your magic. You might get something out of it. I locked down a lot of locations just because of my passion and making them believe in me. Sometimes, you might have to lie a little to make it seem like your desperate. Whatever it takes man, just go for it.

Good Luck,

Murray
 
I suggested building one so we could remove walls for lights and the camera.
 
I shot in an elevator once, it was in my condo building, no lighting, camera only. It was a pretty amateur-ish shoot, so we had no options but to guerilla it. The front desk guy wasn't too happy at us because we did tie up that elevator for maybe 8 minutes or so, no big deal, but he was complaining a bit. In that case, though, there's not a lot he can do about it since I'm a homeowner and he works for me and the other homeowners, so he can put up a stink and if I say, yeah we're almost done, he has to wait it out pretty much. It's not like I can be kicked out, haha. But that experience made me wonder how you'd go about finding an elevator to shoot in normally. I think with the resources, obviously a soundstage is best. But that's very expensive. Building sets of anything is very expensive. I always prefer real locations, cheaper, there are more of them, and you need less crew.
 
most large buildings have 2 or 4 or more elevators, so having one out of service for a few hours is hardly a problem for other users. The premises support people should have a key to lock one elevator open. So with their cooperation (which will be more likely if you pick a quiet time to shoot, e.g. a weekend for an office building) it should be pretty easy. Yes, lighting may be a pain, you may need to hide some lights in the roof and hide the cables on the floor, so framing your shots will be essential

I agree a fake elevator would be far more adaptable and controllable, but only if you have a decent budget and set builders :)
 
Clang,

I didn't know they could lock the elevator for us. That is a good thing to know.
 
check out the elevator's control panel - there's usually a key lock, allowing the individual elevator to be taken 'offline' for maintenance. And sometimes there's also a manual control setting where the elevator will only respond to commands from its own control panel - typically this is used to 'reserve' a elevator for some important person or delivery, but it's also ideal for a film making situation where you want the elevator to open and close and move to specific floors on command.

Of course, these control keys aren't given out to just anyone :)
 
samaBR,

Thanks for the link. The scenes looked really cramp even with just one person in the elevator. We want it to feel like there is space in there and that the camera isn't in there at all. We have to fit 3 actors inside, plus camera op and any lights that are needed.

We hopefully secured a location that has a cargo elevator that we can dress. I didn't have any luck contacting elevator manufacturers. They all lived 5+ hours outside of town and this is a no budget movie.
 
samaBR said:
how about these shots we took:
http://filmecondominio.com/trailer/
Click to expand...

Nice. I think your actors look pretty good, I like the woman at the end with the guy pushing against her!

You are limited though to only that frame size and closer. The low angle stuff I don't like as much. You could easily build that mirrored elevator in your living-room, the push button thing should be easy to get. I think here in LA that could be built for 100 or less. and if your stories are in the elevator it will be well worth it and it will expand your possibilities and make for a much more comfortable shoot, etc etc.
 
aplusjimages said:
samaBR,

Thanks for the link. The scenes looked really cramp even with just one person in the elevator. We want it to feel like there is space in there and that the camera isn't in there at all. We have to fit 3 actors inside, plus camera op and any lights that are needed.

We hopefully secured a location that has a cargo elevator that we can dress. I didn't have any luck contacting elevator manufacturers. They all lived 5+ hours outside of town and this is a no budget movie.
Click to expand...

filmmaking is a self fulfilling prophecy. You have to say this is what I'm going to do and start telling everybody what you're doing. Tell everybody involved and everybody you know that you're building an elevator set in your living-room, then make it happen. Your biggest challenge is to make a convincing push button thing. You have wood in your town, you have mirrors, you have carpeting, you have creative people, and most importantly, your actors look creative. You're doing them a disservice by locking them into a box you have little control of and no room. Harness all that creative energy around you and build the goddamn set and let your creativity make up for lack of physical attributes.
 
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