Colour and Skin Tone Question

[David_Szasz]

Hi All,

I might be overthinking this one but I’m in the middle of pre production on a short film and am seeking some lighting advice.

We’ve been doing tests in a couple of different bathrooms and are finding that our actor’s skin is blending into the room a little in one of the locations. I’m wondering if there is anything I can do with lighting to alleviate this or is this just a case of picking a better location? I was thinking I could neutralise the pink spill with some solids on the offscreen walls and then place a soft light above camera to bring him out of the background but I’m not totally convinced.

We really like the look of the vanity lights in the cream bathroom but the pink one will be easier to film in (better clearance and window placement). Would simply introducing our own vanity lighting into the room achieve a similar look?

Perhaps the simplest answer is to just use the cream bathroom?

Thank you everyone for your time and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

David

[Nicolas POISSON]

In small spaces, LED tubes are very usefull (Astera or similar - I use Godox TL60). You need a honeycomb grid (well, a honeycomb "line" in this case) to prevent spill to the walls. Placing the tube above the mirror recreates the vanity light, but with more control over spill, colour temperature, intensity and with a better CRI.

Or maybe you could just use the installed vanity light with some Cinefoil / Blackwarp.

Edited October 28 by Nicolas POISSON

[David_Szasz]

3 hours ago, Nicolas POISSON said:

In small spaces, LED tubes are very usefull (Astera or similar - I use Godox TL60). You need a honeycomb grid (well, a honeycomb "line" in this case) to prevent spill to the walls. Placing the tube above the mirror recreates the vanity light, but with more control over spill, colour temperature, intensity and with a better CRI.

Or maybe you could just use the installed vanity light with some Cinefoil / Blackwarp.

Thanks for your answer, this is definitely the direction I've been leaning. Do you think there is any benefit to incorporating the tube light into the space as a practical for when we see the vanity (in a wide for example)? We could hide it inside something like this:

I guess we could also get away with booming it out of shot to maintain the light on the actor's face but not necessarily make it a practical vanity source per se. 

I'm slightly worried about not having anything in the frame to motivate that source, especially during a daytime scene.

 

Edited October 28 by David_Szasz

[Nicolas POISSON]

Maybe you could have only the vanity light when shooting toward the mirror, and use the LED tube only for the reverse shot. Or reach a compromise where the vanity light is close to the top of the frame in the wide shot, leaving enough room to hide the LED tube and its grid.

You may have to use lower wattage bulbs for the vanity, otherwise they will overcome the effect of the LED tube. These are really not powerful, and the honeycomb grid will reduce the light even further. Also check the vanity does not flicker.

Edited October 28 by Nicolas POISSON

[Stewart McLain]

To me, those two locations say entirely different things on an emotional level.  One suggests life, the blush of youth, warmth, vitality.  It frames subject with wood and a strong natural backlight.  The other is bland, pale, sterile, cold.  It frames the subject with a void.  I would choose based on which location suits the story better and go from there.  

 

[David_Szasz]

8 hours ago, Nicolas POISSON said:

Maybe you could have only the vanity light when shooting toward the mirror, and use the LED tube only for the reverse shot. Or reach a compromise where the vanity light is close to the top of the frame in the wide shot, leaving enough room to hide the LED tube and its grid.

You may have to use lower wattage bulbs for the vanity, otherwise they will overcome the effect of the LED tube. These are really not powerful, and the honeycomb grid will reduce the light even further. Also check the vanity does not flicker.

Yes I think something like this will work for us. Now I've just gotta work out how to make it work in the pink bathroom where there are no vanity lights already in the space. 

[David_Szasz]

4 hours ago, Stewart McLain said:

To me, those two locations say entirely different things on an emotional level.  One suggests life, the blush of youth, warmth, vitality.  It frames subject with wood and a strong natural backlight.  The other is bland, pale, sterile, cold.  It frames the subject with a void.  I would choose based on which location suits the story better and go from there.  

 

Thank you for this, you're very right! We've decided to go with the pink one for both story and practical reasons.