When to rely on natural light?

[charliemcdanger]

David, one other thing occurred to me. They were shooting on an Alexa with ISO 1600, and daylit tended to mean overlit. Thus it was a question of adding/removing ND filters, and I didn't watch closely enough to see if they used Charles Papert's scheme or another.

 

[CharlesPapert]

Interesting choice pushing the Alexa to 1600--I try to never go over 1280 if I can help it to keep noise down--that doesn't look like the kind of setup that would be a tough one to build up exposure to shoot at a more standard ISO.

Yes--for the scenario I listed above I would light to the higher stop then add ND (or in a pinch, lower the ISO) to be able to open the wider camera to a lower stop. Same thing in a scenario that would involve high speed or skinny shutter effects--light for the most light-hungry scenario then ND it down for everything else.

 

[David W. Richardson]

David, one other thing occurred to me. They were shooting on an Alexa with ISO 1600, and daylit tended to mean overlit. Thus it was a question of adding/removing ND filters, and I didn't watch closely enough to see if they used Charles Papert's scheme or another.

Or choosing a lower ISO.

 

[David W. Richardson]

That's not a standard conceit, David...I myself usually shoot the master/wider shoots at a more open aperture, to get the background to fall out somewhat. (i.e. 24mm at T2.8, 75 or 100mm at T4, although as seen in those stills I'd guess more like a T2 or a full frame camera).

My point is, what about situations where you want a deeper depth-of-focus? You can increase ISO (or gain) but that usually results in a grainier image. And using a wide-angle lens is great if that lens gives you the look you want, but what if it doesn't?

Artificially lighting a scene gives you a lot more choices -- in focal length and in depth-of-focus. Natural (ambient) lighting may look great in certain situations, but it's not controllable in the way artificial light is, and it doesn't let you use virtually any lens and any aperture you want to achieve the visual effect you're looking for.

 

[charliemcdanger]

David: And using a wide-angle lens is great if that lens gives you the look you want, but what if it doesn't?

I could've sworn your question was about switching from close-ups to wide shots. Anyway, if you just move your feet and use the same prime, the DoF will expand as you move focus from 4 feet to ∞.

Charles: Interesting choice pushing the Alexa to 1600--I try to never go over 1280 if I can help it to keep noise down--that doesn't look like the kind of setup that would be a tough one to build up exposure to shoot at a more standard ISO.

Camera and lighting choices were definitely budget-sensitive. They had about $1m to shoot the feature, which meant prior-generation Alexa, rather spare lighting, etc. I assume this had a role in the ISO decision.