Studio - Truck Exterior

[Matt Workman]

Hey,

 

I'm gaffing a commercial on Monday that is in a 100'x90'x30' studio. The shot is of truck (the one that pulls an 18 wheeler) and its supposed to be outside. The shot is from the side of the truck of someone talking, not driving.

 

We are shooting all tungsten. So far the rough plan (still being developed) is to:

 

- 20x12 "outdoor" backdrop (lit by 5k skypans)

- fly a 20x20 bleach muslin above the truck and bounce some 10k/5k into it.

- 20k far far back through a 10x10 silk

- 5k with chimera for fill

- 5k hard for sun hit

- some dedos snooted for accents

- kino barfly or car kit for interior of cab

 

We also have an army of solids and duv to clean up reflections in the VERY shiny truck. I suggested also having another "outdoor" backdrop on the camera side for the reflections to pickup on.

 

I feel like a lot of the effect is on the art department but we want to do everything possible to help sell the effect with lighting.

 

The only big studio daylight setup I saw was on D.Mullen's post a while back with spacelights and a dino. Our set isn't that big so we didn't go that route. But any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

I'll post pics of the setup if they let me. :ph34r:

 

Cheers,

 

Matt

[Michael Nash]

You're usually better off filling big bounces like your 20x "skylight" with multiple smaller lights, rather than one big fresnel. It's more compact and you get better coverage. Maybe two Maxi Brutes (one on either side), for aim-able lights from 1-20K. Or if the ceiling is too low, use several Mighties.

 

You don't say what ASA and stop you're shooting for. A 5K may not be bright enough to look like direct sunlight, depending on distance and exposure.

 

I don't understand what the "20k far far back through a 10x10 silk" is for. It would be more helpful if you described what you wanted the light to look like, then describe the rigs you're considering. Figure out your basic lighting setup (key, fill, etc.) including distances and angles, and that should tell you what type of units to use. As always, have some additional units available for unforseen adjustments.

[Matt Workman]

I recommended getting various maxi's, but the DP was more keen on a having 10ks/5ks. I recommended bleached muslin for the skylight.

 

We are shooting Varicam (320 asa-ish) clean look, for an industrial/corporate. The backdrop we are going to try to push over 1 stop I'd assume and keep it out of focus. So shooting wide open (t2.4-2.6) for most of it.

 

The 20k is going to be coming through the windshield, and fill in the front at the same level as the 20x overhead.

 

My default setup is to kind of surround the truck with silks with 10ks/5ks coming through them and fill in the spaces with blacks. We are trying to light as wide as possible depending on what the agency is looking for.

 

The 5k is probably too small. Maybe we'll play with a hard 20k look first if we have time. Just move the 12x12 in and out. I'm really looking to keep some sort of hard motivated "sun" source and then fill in like crazy with soft sources.

 

Thanks for the response/questions.

[Matt Workman]

Here is a quick set photo from the shoot, some of you might recognize Studio H at Kaufman.

 

 

TRUCK:

20x20 bleach mus with 10ks bounced into it

20k w/ 1/2 CTO Hard back/side light on truck

 

TALENT:

6x6 Silk w/ 5k bounced into it top

5k through silk Key

2k through silk Fill

2k 1/2CTO Hard back/side light

 

The results are far from "naturalistic." I think the key was to have really surounded the truck with a sky texture relfection. It worked fine for the shot we were doing however.

 

Matt

[Matt Workman]

Also several 5k skypans through silks and onto backdrops to fill in the reflections on the truck.