magic hour shoot

[jijhh]

im shooting a five minute short next week in an open farm field which, for the film's look, i plan to shoot at the end of the day (magic hourish time) to get the warm tones from late day sunlight. however, is it over ambitious to think i can shoot the entire thing in one day? i'm worried that the sun setting will ruin continuity of shots if i try to squeeze it in, but i'm also not working with a flexible budget. the coverage will probably be pretty basic (wide master, mediums, and closeups) and there is a chance ill have some 650 or 1000 fresnels to work with but im really relying on available light which is why im worried so much about continuity. the film is mostly dialogue (no major blocking or stunts) and will be shot on an hvx. i don't really have experience shooting during magic hour for an extended period of time so any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

[Guest rajavel]

hi

magic hr..is really a magic hr....u will just see it pass u like that. dont really have lot of time

it is not exactly 'hour'....lot less than that.

if ur budget can fit another camera.....do a double camera setup

or shoot it over 2 days .....watch 'butch cassidy and sundance kid' there is a magic hr shot

which lasts only few minutes on screen but was shot over 3-4 days.......of course they had the budget for it

 

maintain continuity..in magic hr is very difficult if it is long sequnce.....

i had a experinced two different looks for a shot......that was shot ..back to back ..immediately..just had to change the lens....the first shot had more steely blue skky.....than the second one....got darker sky.

 

u can cheat if u are not commiting the sky....but for that prepare a light for a fill

good luck

rajavel

[Stuart Brereton]

At Film school, we did a short (1 min) piece for the Kodak Commercial competition that was all shot at magic hour. We were on location at sunrise and shot until about 9am, then broke and came back around 5 and shot till sunset. It took us five days to shoot our one minute piece.

 

Granted, we were film students and not shooting particularly fast, and it was a fast cut commercial that needed a lot of setups, but still, it illustrates how long it can take to shoot an entire piece at magic hour.

[Brian Drysdale]

Unless it's a single shot job, you won't manage to shoot a 5 min short in a single sunset/ magic hour.

 

Most shorts that length need at least a full day's filming, if not two. Since you're only in one location, that will save time, but you are talking about needing a few hours filming.

 

How much time you've got to film will also depend on how far north (or south) you are.

[timHealy]

The length of magic "hour" will be different depending on your location. If you wanted to shoot in Alaska or Finland during the summer, you may be able to do the whole thing in one day.

 

Best

 

Tim

[Joshua Reis]

Also, remember that you can cheat the majority of your inserts by using a warming filter, slighty underexposing, and by putting CTO on some of your fresnels. May be tough on a bright sunny day, but could work on an overcast day. If you experiment I'm sure you find ways to make it work. best of luck.

[Steven Grant James]

Also, remember that you can cheat the majority of your inserts by using a warming filter, slighty underexposing, and by putting CTO on some of your fresnels.

 

 

Interesting thread - I am also planning a magic hour shoot in the next couple of months (on super 8). One question for the last poster. What does CTO stand for? Thanks!

[Bob Hayes]

You have to plan your shots very carefully like you were pulling a bank heist. One thing you can do to extend your magic hour is to shoot your close ups first. Shoot them in direct sunlight in a direction where the back ground is starting to turn to magic hour. Be prepared to use your lights. A ½ CTB might be the right color balance. Be prepared to keep shooting after the sun is gone and use the glow of the warm sky as a key.

[Ram Shani]

isn't magic hour is after the sun set until night???