White Void

therealslimfigge

therealslimfigge

Active member
hey guys,

i'm a film student shooting on 16mm for the first time. the movie that i'm dping calls for a white void scene a la the matrix endless white room. if this were digital, i'd shoot it against large rolls of white and add some starglow in after effects. i don't know if this technique would work on film though? how will all that white mess with the f-stop readings? what film stock would be best for this?

we will be shooting this in a large studio space so location isn't really a problem. I need help making this work though, any suggestions?
 
What you are looking for is a white "cyc" (pronounced "psych") stage.

It's hard as hell to build out of white paper and get it to look right. Also, it takes a *lot* of diffused and well placed light. My suggestion is ask around town (what town are you in BTW?) and find a stage that is built and lit and see if you can pull the film student card and see if you can get on there for free. It can happen and is worth a drive rather than try and build it and light it yourself. Sometimes TV stations have them too, but when I was in film school, Panavision Woodland hills offeredx their stage for a our production for a nominal charge.

Get a faster film stock so you don't have to light as much.

Are you doing a film print or telecine. Telecine would be easier, as you can blow the whites in post. You can also do a luma key to help get a cleaner white. I would also use a spot meter to get a good reading on the screen. Another idea is to use the DVX w/ the zebra strips to help determine how even the light is on the cyc.

Do you know what you are going to do for lighting?

Post some pics when you are done.

-j
 
thanks for the advice j.

i'm in santa barbara (ucsb actually) and i don't know the local studios around here. we're doing a telecine. we're shooting on 7245 50 daylight right now... i'd like to use a faster speed. any suggestions?

how much did panavision in woodland hils charge for using their stage?
 
Try Quixote Stages; they have suitably-equipped locations in Burbank and Hollywood and may be willing to cut you a break.
 
They charged something like the cost of a janitor. It's well worth stopping in to say hello, and checking out the rental and manufacturing side.

Isn't there some film school in Ventura that took over a studio?

Are you stuck w/ 7245? That stuff is beautyfull outside, but a bit hard to do inside. Perhaps you could do a swap with Dr. Raw Stock or Short endz in hollywood. I would hope to get 500 speed of any kind.

-j
 
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