So as I said in my last blog I have recently started lecturing at university. I wanted to talk about a subject I have covered lately which is creative lighting. So I’m going to use this blog to fill you in on how I lit some of my films and specific things I look for on set to help make a scene look interesting.
First one of the latest films, ‘Falling’. This was my first time lighting outside through the day and my DP Anderson West suggested using HMI lighting. These are specifically for shooting outside and are balanced to daylight, which is a blue light. We used two 2k HMIs that we bounced of polly boards on to the subject to give a less intense flatter light. The lights can be quite expensive at around £70 a day each, so make sure you only get what you need. Polly boards you could get from places like BnQ for pretty cheap and they give a really great look when using to reflect light. Shooting outside can be difficult having to deal with constant lighting changes. Something that would help would be a huge sun block to allow you to have greater control over lighting the subject. We unfortunately had to use polly boards which were not nearly big enough. Take a look at falling bellow and see the outcome.
Next we have ‘Playground’. It was always going to be difficult shooting outside at night. The entire in car scene was shot on a flat camera profile with a lens that allowed in more light. We lit using only the interior car light. Because of the placement of the light being above it gave shadows under the eyes and only lit half of the face, which suited the genera perfectly. Once we got outside the car things were a little trickier. Although we had lights and extensions they did not reach the location we were shooting so I decided to use only the car headlights. The spot lighting that the headlights created worked perfect with silhouetting the character and creating a moody scene. Because of the lack of light it became more about using this dark to my advantage in making the audience feel uncomfortable.
Lastly I want to talk about ‘I’ll Call You Back’. This was the first film we really had plenty of time to achieve the look I wanted. Short films don’t often have the budget and time; this can mean you have to make compromises. I feel with this film we didn’t have to do that. We lit the film bright using subtle shadows to add texture to the characters faces. In the background we made sure the lighting utilized the darker areas to help separate the character from the background. In post I brought down the skin tones and boosted specific color like red to inform the audience of impending danger and yellow to show vulnerability. I boosted the contrast to increase the darks and bring out the shadows to help define the different subjects.
When lighting I always try to find natural lights to add in the background or to help create a natural light on a characters face. I often like to shoot towards a light as this can give a fantastic looking glair if done right. Adding things in to the background to create texture can help lift the subject out of the backdrop. I was told once that if you are shooting in a room with fairly flat walls, you could use a smoke machine to help break up the backdrop and add texture.
If you have any questions about my films or anything in the blog then get in touch.
