recent lighting set-ups

[Daniel Smith]

Out of interest, how did you get these locations?

 

Are they built inside of a studio? That first picture looks asthough it was when considering the foreground and the light.

 

I just find it strange how film makers magically end up with these amazing locations and manage to start taking apart the ceiling as and start poking lights through them when they please.

[David Mullen ASC]

The backyard set was built in a warehouse.

 

The restaurant is a real location in a hotel in San Pedro. It had two big skylights that I had to black-out (since this was a night scene being shot in the daytime). But the big recessed sockets for the skylights were useful to tuck the lighting balloons high up in them, out of the shot. The practical lighting of the real hotel restaurant was pretty much unusable, too dim and too high up in the air (some compact fluorescent bulbs here and there.) And it was ugly. So I had to start from scratch, first by adding little table lamps to every table.

[Daniel Smith]

The backyard set was built in a warehouse.

 

The restaurant is a real location in a hotel in San Pedro. It had two big skylights that I had to black-out (since this was a night scene being shot in the daytime). But the big recessed sockets for the skylights were useful to tuck the lighting balloons high up in them, out of the shot. The practical lighting of the real hotel restaurant was pretty much unusable, too dim and too high up in the air (some compact fluorescent bulbs here and there.) And it was ugly. So I had to start from scratch, first by adding little table lamps to every table.

I see ok tnx.

 

So I take it in a situation like this the film company would pay the resturaunt the average amount of money they made each day to use it? But what about making holes in the ceiling, what about the floors above?

 

And if the lights aren't suspended by a wire through the ceiling, how are they kept up without metal frames?

 

Tnx.

[Alessandro Machi]

The backyard set was built in a warehouse.

 

The restaurant is a real location in a hotel in San Pedro. It had two big skylights that I had to black-out (since this was a night scene being shot in the daytime). But the big recessed sockets for the skylights were useful to tuck the lighting balloons high up in them, out of the shot. The practical lighting of the real hotel restaurant was pretty much unusable, too dim and too high up in the air (some compact fluorescent bulbs here and there.) And it was ugly. So I had to start from scratch, first by adding little table lamps to every table.

 

 

When the restaurant location was being scouted, did you have input as to what your preferences would be for the minimum ceiling height? Without the skylight space, what would your alternative lighting strategy have been?

[David Mullen ASC]

I see ok tnx.

 

So I take it in a situation like this the film company would pay the resturaunt the average amount of money they made each day to use it? But what about making holes in the ceiling, what about the floors above?

 

And if the lights aren't suspended by a wire through the ceiling, how are they kept up without metal frames?

 

Tnx.

 

We rented the whole hotel location although we only shut-down business in the restaurant portion. We had scenes in the lobby, check-out desk, elevator lobby, corridors, etc. -- it was supposed to be a convention in the story.

 

Yes, typically a business would calculate the loss of revenue from being closed when deciding what to charge. That's why it's near impossible to shut-down a tiny liquor store for shooting on a Saturday night -- a low-budget feature may offer $500 for the night, but the store may be drawing in $2000 in liquor sales that night. So you end up allowing customers to come in and disrupt the shooting so that the owner can still sell things.

 

But that won't really work in a restaurant with a big scene (we had about ten actors at two different tables).

 

I'm not sure why you keep mentioning ceilings, Daniel -- you rarely can move a ceiling on location! The best is maybe pop-out a few panels in a drop ceiling.

 

Hence why in a huge space with a high ceiling, the question becomes "how do I rig lights to this? Do I need to rig lights to this?" If there is a strong architectural support like beams that you are allowed to clamp lights to, you may do that. If not, then you have to think about other tricks. With balloon lights, they are filled with helium so they just float up to the ceiling -- you have some tag lines to drag them around, and some power lines for the lights inside.

 

At this location, we were also supposed to shoot in a ballroom for a convention registration scene, and I planned on using the same balloons there. But then the scene got moved to the large hallway outside the ballroom because the hotel wanted too much money to rent the ballroom. Trouble with the hallways, besides not being as attractive, was that they had a lower ceiling that was a solid wall of Cool White fluorescents. I had barely enough stop under them to shoot too. So I had to just add a few lights gelled to match the Cool Whites and shoot under that light. I thought about turning all of the Cool Whites off and using the balloons, but the ceiling was too low for that.

 

This is one reason why a DP goes out on a location scout, to tell the line producer what's involved in lighting that location. Sometimes you say "this is the only way I can light this" and they do the numbers and if it's not affordable, they may look for a more lighting-friendly location. But if the location is a real bargain, they may rather spend the money on the special lights or rigging you need to make it work because it's still cheaper.

 

On "Akeelah and the Bee" I had four large locations to light for the spelling bees; one required lighting balloons, two had a ceiling structure that allowed me to mount lights, and the first had a huge bank of windows that I could light through.

[Daniel Smith]

I see. Thanks David, that was all very usefull.

 

Since I have never really worked in the industry as such, I really don't get how the DP knows exactly what equipment to get. I mean, I've just been looking at some lighting stands, lights e.t.c. and even with that sort of equipment, I still wouldn't know how to use them in the ways I want.

 

For instance:

 

What stands did they use to get them diffusal pannels up that high? And when they got the stands, how did they attach the diffusal boards?

 

I'm not asking literally, just giving an example of how some of these film sets are overwhelming with the way they are set up.

 

All down to experience I suppose. Knowing what tools of the trade to use off by heart.

[Michael Nash]

All down to experience I suppose. Knowing what tools of the trade to use off by heart.

 

Experience is most of it. But you can learn the basic tools through books and classes, then follow up with hands-on. Just being on a working set and observing can teach you a lot as well.

 

As DP's we're constantly learning new tricks and techniques. There's always a first time for certain setups, no matter how long you've been working. That's when you ask others who have done it, how to do it! Often times that means deferring to the advice of your gaffer and key grip, who may have different experience than your own.

[David Mullen ASC]

There are "combo" stands that go over 15' in the air or so - names like "mambo-combos" and "hi-hi rollers", etc. You basically tell the Key Grip how high you need to get them in the air and he'll suggest whether stands or scissor lifts or condor cranes would be the most efficient method.

 

The gripping device ("gobo heads") on stands for grabbing frames are pretty standardized, but even without a pin on the diffusion frame to grab to, you could use clamps like Cartellini's on a frame to create something that could be mounted to a stand.

 

When you start out, you basically work with the common c-stand, probably the most useful device ever invented for filmmaking. Also common light stands -- babies & junior stands, or "combo" stands (combo because they have both a baby spud for baby lights and a junior hole for bigger lights with junior pins.)

 

From those stands, you start to learn whether you need smaller-than-normal stands (baby c-stands, primi stands, low combo stands) and the bigger-than-normal stands already mentioned.