thoughts on no light/very little lighting doc shot on dvx100b

R

robfilms

Veteran
i brought up this subject on the lighting board but got very little discussion. perhaps i should have raised the issue on the cinematography board.

here is the previous discussion link:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=124791

the concern revolves around a very difficult subject which most folks won't talk freely about. this producer wants to shoot a documentary about this topic but is concerned that a full lighting kit with a crew of 4 or 5 will create a "staged" event . this will impact the talking heads interviews by reducing the intimacy that a small crew with minimal lighting could offer.

the producer is a fan of the classic docs of wiseman, drew and the maysles bros. those films were shot on available light often with a 2 person crew.

is it realistic to think of shooting a sd doc on the dvx100b using available light for indoor interviews? talking head interviews would be shot at 1/24th a sec, wide open for a shallow dof.

any thoughts on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

be well

rob
 
It sounds like the producer feels he has to decide between "acting" and lighting. I would figure out the minimum crew you would need to accomplish the lighting you want and go that route. The other thing you could do, if you have the time, is set up all the lights several hours in advance and then spend time "hanging out" so the subjects feel more comfortable talking and interacting with the equipment and personel around. Then ease into the questions or what your filming and the subjects will hopefull feel more comfortable.
 
As a side note:
It is the director´s and the producer´s job to prepare the people for the interviews and make them feel comfortable.
Before you put up a 3 point light and a camera, the interviewee should trust the person who will ask questions that might make hin/her recall a bad memory...
 
I think for a very realistic documentary you can sacrifice picture quality for authenticity. Use available lighting and as much gain as you need - the picture will not look high end, but it will transport the reality-feel of a true documentary. For available lights interviews I would get a small on-camera fill-light (like 10W up to 30W with a dimmer and diffusion) to eliminate extreme shadows.
 
Be careful with 1/24th sec shutter, if that's what you meant, as opposed to 24 fps frame rate. 1/24th shutter makes you very vulnerable to intra-frame blurring. It could be noticeable even just with talking heads. If it's at all possible, stick to 1/48th when you're going 24 fps.

HTH
 
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