Shooting Outside on a Cloudy Day?

[tommygdawg]

Hey all,

Just a brief, seemingly simple question: any tips on shooting outside on a cloudy day? This weekend I'll be shooting a scene for a short film where two characters walk down a sidewalk in my neighborhood. Apparently, it's supposed to be pretty cloudy out that day which means nothing by gray, gray, gray, and more gray everywhere. Any ideas on how to make a shot like this interesting? Basically, it's a short conversation and I'm probably just going to be following in front of the actors from one angle the whole way. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[Postmaster]

Add rain - or at least wet down the street, use mainly longer lenses (50mm and up), under expose and have some cars, with headlights on in the shot, maybe some other lights in the background, preferably orange or red and blurred in DOF. Don´t put the camera on your shoulder, that´s to high, unless you want a news look. Best bet: wheelchair (or something similar) as a dolly.

Frank

 

[Paper_bag]

I suppose it depends what mood, etc you're going for. Is it supposed to look depressing?

People say that overcast is good for photo and video, because the sky acts like a big softbox, but it seems also to mean that everything looks kind of downlit and flat and grey, unless you're supplying additional lighting. And you sometimes get off-putting glare (not sure if this is just an overcast thing, though).

I've done quite a few overcast shoots recently, and, to be honest, the colours were a bit crap. Here's two examples (excuse the dodgy focusing, etc):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO4J53G53_0&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da4_n41ilKg&hd=1

Things I'm thinking about doing differently next time I've got an overcast shoot:

-- not use Cinestyle profile
-- have a think about bumping up saturation
-- try to exclude the sky, which looks depressing or blows out
-- possibly, think about using a warming filter of some kind

In searching for a solution, I ran across this, which I found fascinating; it doesn't suit the sort of event coverage stuff I normally do, but I think the considerations it brings up would be useful for a more controlled shoot:

http://www.sekonic.com/Whatisyourspecialty/Photographer/Articles/Overcast-Day.aspx


Edit: Getting more glare on overcast days? It's just occurred to me (insert facepalm) that this might well be due to wet surfaces. Presumably a polarising filter can help.

 

[morgan_moore]

I would suggest a black board to add modelling on CUs and maybe a white board underneath to fill

If you subject matter is bright red dragsters (as linked above) really they will pop on a blue day

But for typical two char drama cloud is wonderful unless you have a crew with HMIs and overheads that can handle sun

You could consider costume to create a bit more mood, either bright colours or drabs..

S

 

[j1clark@ucsd.edu]

Cloudy days yield images that range from pretty 'flat lighting', that is no 'dramatic effect', to heavy circles around the eyes, and 'dank' backgrounds. On other 'cloudy' days, one has a patchwork of bright sun, ten seconds later a cloud covers said sun, and one has flat lighting...

In any case, a bounce card to put some light in to the eyes is good. Unless one has generators and budget, even on a 'cloudy' day, there's too much light for artificial lights of low light power to really be of benefit.

As for wetting down the streets... that works for 'explaining' the brightness and apparent light direction. It also works for night shots... ever wondered why films shot in LA always have wet streets (well for big budget films frequently enough...)... I can't figure it out, because we are in a veritable desert...

 

[Bruce Watson]

...t's supposed to be pretty cloudy out that day which means nothing by gray, gray, gray, and more gray everywhere.

That's just what your eyes see. The camera is going to see blue, blue, blue and more blue. Expect a color temperature north of 9000K, so white balance accordingly.

 

[tommygdawg]

Add rain - or at least wet down the street, use mainly longer lenses (50mm and up), under expose and have some cars, with headlights on in the shot, maybe some other lights in the background, preferably orange or red and blurred in DOF. Don´t put the camera on your shoulder, that´s to high, unless you want a news look. Best bet: wheelchair (or something similar) as a dolly.

Frank

Why should I underexpose? How will that help? Also, adding rain or wet streets might be kind of hard due to the fact that I don't really have the facilities to wet down the entire street I live on, but I can give it a try. What kind of lights would you recommend in the background?

I would suggest a black board to add modelling on CUs and maybe a white board underneath to fill

If you subject matter is bright red dragsters (as linked above) really they will pop on a blue day

But for typical two char drama cloud is wonderful unless you have a crew with HMIs and overheads that can handle sun

You could consider costume to create a bit more mood, either bright colours or drabs..

S

What exactly is a "black board"?

Cloudy days yield images that range from pretty 'flat lighting', that is no 'dramatic effect', to heavy circles around the eyes, and 'dank' backgrounds. On other 'cloudy' days, one has a patchwork of bright sun, ten seconds later a cloud covers said sun, and one has flat lighting...

In any case, a bounce card to put some light in to the eyes is good. Unless one has generators and budget, even on a 'cloudy' day, there's too much light for artificial lights of low light power to really be of benefit.

As for wetting down the streets... that works for 'explaining' the brightness and apparent light direction. It also works for night shots... ever wondered why films shot in LA always have wet streets (well for big budget films frequently enough...)... I can't figure it out, because we are in a veritable desert...

Any tips on how to get a bounce board to work well on a cloudy day? I did it for a recent shoot and it made virtually no difference. I have one of those five-in-one reflectors and I used the silver side to try and bounce light into the talent's faces, but it didn't really make a difference. Any suggestions for how to make that work better?

For reference, I went outside real quick and just grabbed a shot walking down the sidewalk for reference as to something similar to what I'll be using in the film. Coincidentally, it rained today At the least, this can give you a feel for the location and how to approach it.

 

[Paper_bag]

Love the garbage bin lying on the road .

Really depends on what mood, etc you're going for, but, if you'd like it a bit cheerier, at least consider doing a static shot and a sky replacement.

 

[ErikTande]

I PRAY for cloudy days anytime I'm shooting outside. Shooting in sunlight is very difficult. I'd much rather deal with flat lighting than super harsh shadows.

 

[tommygdawg]

Love the garbage bin lying on the road .

Really depends on what mood, etc you're going for, but, if you'd like it a bit cheerier, at least consider doing a static shot and a sky replacement.

Lol, it blew over. In my haste to get the shot, I forgot to pick it up! I may do that, or at least put something in the shot that I can easily motion track in order to replace the sky. But, I just don't want the actors and everything to be plain boring and flatly lit.

I PRAY for cloudy days anytime I'm shooting outside. Shooting in sunlight is very difficult. I'd much rather deal with flat lighting than super harsh shadows.

What do you do when shooting in cloudy days? Any bounce boards or special procedures?

 

[ErikTande]

What do you do when shooting in cloudy days? Any bounce boards or special procedures?

Yeah, get a reflector to bounce light on your subject to give them some definition. Do some test shots the day before to find out what angles are most interesting or work best. A longer lens will help elimate a lot of the background if it's looking too drab.

 

[j1clark@ucsd.edu]

Why should I underexpose? How will that help? Also, adding rain or wet streets might be kind of hard due to the fact that I don't really have the facilities to wet down the entire street I live on, but I can give it a try. What kind of lights would you recommend in the background?



What exactly is a "black board"?



Any tips on how to get a bounce board to work well on a cloudy day? I did it for a recent shoot and it made virtually no difference. I have one of those five-in-one reflectors and I used the silver side to try and bounce light into the talent's faces, but it didn't really make a difference. Any suggestions for how to make that work better?

For reference, I went outside real quick and just grabbed a shot walking down the sidewalk for reference as to something similar to what I'll be using in the film. Coincidentally, it rained today At the least, this can give you a feel for the location and how to approach it.

Depending on the murkiness of the day, one may have to use a bigger 'card' than perhaps a 5-in-1 type, which I presume maybe about 2 or so feet in diameter (at least the ones I'm thinking of...

Also, your clip suggests to me 'overcast' ranging from light to heavy. If it is 'light' then the bounce should be positioned so that it is 'bouncing' the brightest portion of the sky. And at some point, there won't be much difference if the overcast is pretty heavy.

Rather than buy a bunch of equipment, I'd suggest getting some foam insulation sheets at Home Depot or equivalent, and cover them with tin foil. They come 4x8' so you can get more or less, by simply cutting them with a box cutter.

 

[morgan_moore]

"What exactly is a "black board"?"

A board that is black - or a black lastolite - or a frame with a black sheet its called "negative fill" the opposite of using a reflector

It may not work for you walking shot, but for any statics you can sculpt a face - make it side lit - by using 'negative fill'

Of course they only need to walk because the director wants them to walk

S