URGENT: Lighting Old Motel Set - Tips

D

DDirector

Veteran
I have 3D diagrams of the motel room I am shooting in.
I want your opinion on the lighting options.

Were shooting on the SRIII - Super16
I'm hoping to shoot at ASA160 or 250

Room Size: 16x16'

2K Bounced off ceiling for ambient light -- Possible issues: May cast shadows from Chimeras?
2 Medium Chimeras (1000w or 500w ea.)
1 Small Chimera (500w or 100w)
1K bounced off reflector [In washroom] - Open door to allow additional light through it.
4Bank 4ft Kino inside washroom for additional light (not seen in diag.) for when actors are near it for more key light through open door.
4Bank 4ft Kino anywhere in room for additional lighting.
1Bank 4ft Kino outside from door under roof (Cyan colour)
300w Arri outside window onto brick wall as outdoor lamp
White/Silver Bounce boards for fill

*Actors positions:
-Front door
-In front of window
-Sitting on bed edge by TV
-In front of washroom door

This is what I have. I wanted to know what you guys though of this lighting set up.
Tips? Pros-Cons?

LIGHTING SETUP (To-Scale):
1.jpg2.jpg3.jpg4.jpg

STORYBOARDS:
7.jpg11.jpg14.jpg17.jpg22.jpg23.jpg
 
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It should be good if you can control the spill from the lights. By looking at the skirted Chimeras I am assuming you are going for pools of light for your actors to play in so my concern in a room that small would be spill and controlling it. I am assuming a lot here.
 
Paul Hudson said:
It should be good if you can control the spill from the lights. By looking at the skirted Chimeras I am assuming you are going for pools of light for your actors to play in so my concern in a room that small would be spill and controlling it. I am assuming a lot here.
Click to expand...
Can you elaborate on that?

I got the skirts on the Chimera because the lights will have to be close to the wall, and if there wasn't a skirt on the back or sides, it would blow out the wall. And it wouldn't looks realistic - making it seem as though the light is coming from the practicals.

I dont want the room to be dark. I want it fairly lit.
Only the corner by the washroom door will be relatively darker since there are no lights nearby.
 
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If you are shooting with the 250 ASA stock it will open up the detail in the shadows nicely. Since you want the room to be fairly well lit it looks like you are on the right track. You have a 4X4 Kino on stand by... good. You may also want to keep some bounce boards handle to fill in when needed.
 
j1clark@ucsd.edu said:
On a totally unrelated tangent, what did you do your 3d pictorials with?
Click to expand...
All done on Sketchup

Paul Hudson said:
If you are shooting with the 250 ASA stock it will open up the detail in the shadows nicely. Since you want the room to be fairly well lit it looks like you are on the right track. You have a 4X4 Kino on stand by... good. You may also want to keep some bounce boards handle to fill in when needed.
Click to expand...
Thanks.
So, ASA-250 would be okay?
I thought it would not be enough, but then again the next one up we have is 500, and that may be too much.


In about 50% of the shots, it seems as though the actors will be right underneath the Pancake light. So, it may seem as though they are lit from above rather than from the side as if from the practical What would be the options to fix this? Just flagging it from above?
 
^ Liked it :)

Now, as you can see in the 3rd picture, the main lights are by the bed on the night stands. The practicals will be the ones lighting the room with the aid of the Chimeras to add more light as if it were the practical lamps. Which I hope that'll work.

The thing is, by the bed it will be lit fairly well. We are using ASA-160. Most likely at f/4.0
Right by the main door is another smaller light on the wall that will be constantly flickering very faintly. It will be to light actors by the door.

But, what about on the opposite side of the room where the chair is?
There wont be enough light to light the actors their. The majority of the action takes place in front of the window and the washroom door.

I want a yellowish light from the washroom and close to white light from the practicals. There will be a light outside the window.
When the actress opens the vertical blinds, there is a brick wall about 2 feet away. And there will be one of those ugly old yellow lights.
So, I might key the actress by the window with that ugly yellow light. But, I'm not sure... What about by the chair? Its supposed to be darker in that corner as there are no lights there. They are on the opposite sides of the room.

---------
Lighting in the corner:

If I am exposed to an f/4, and my actors are in a darker part of the room, wont it seem like I poorly exposed because they are dark?
They will be roughly in the same spot for a majority of the 5min film.

Im trying to get a contrast ratio of 3-1 ~ I believe...
But, if there is no light in the corner, how do I light it? How do I pull it off?

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What about when Im using the Chimeras and the actors are standing/sitting right under it? It'll seem as though the light is coming from above them, and not from the side as if from the Practical. What do I do then?
 
Shooting this week. Everything needs to be set and ready to go.
I don't want to be still planning it the day of and then realizing what I could have changed after its been shot.

I also wanted to add some ambient light. Just to brighten the motel up a bit. So, in the darkest part of the room, its not pitch black. The ambient light should lighten it up a bit. But not something dramatic. About 1.4-2.8 stops of light. Depending on how it actually looks.

I originally wanted to blast a 1K or 2K off the ceiling, but just remembered I have Chimeras. That will probably cause shadows on the ground of the lights. So, I need an alternative. I have a 30" Chimera Ball Lantern. 500w & 1000w bulbs w/skirts. Should I use that in the center of the room for the ambience? Im not sure if thats a good idea.
 
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