Lighting on Boat

Matt Workman · April 2, 2008

Hey,

I have a shoot coming up that we are shooting on a Yacht during the day. Has anyone had experience lighting for this?

Hopefully we are just staying still and not crusing at 40 knots or something...

My first thoughts are obviously:

- 8x8 checkerbounce

- 4x4 mirrors

- Shiny/Soft cards

Is rigging a 12x12 or 20x20 insane on a boat? In Big Pimp'n it doesn't look like they were using any, mostly so you can do wide shots of the sky.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plUy7Me_fZQ

How about dolly moves? Big Pimpin looks like steadicam. I was thinking of renting a slider and keepng it on a Fischer11 for simple camera moves.

Also I was thinking about Joker800 with the light tube extension for run and gun pickups of interiors or just eyelights right above the lens.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Matt

timHealy · April 2, 2008

Are you shooting out on the open water or in a protected bay or harbor? The wind and the size of the seas will let you know what you can and cannot do.

How big is the boat you are going to be on? Mirrors might prove difficult on the deck of ship rocking in the waves.

I would forget about a 20x unless you are shooting on the QE II. And then only if you had very good grips.

Best

Tim

Hal Smith · April 2, 2008

If you lurk cml-pro, look up threads with Laurie Gilbert S.O.C. posting. Laurie earns a fair piece of his living as a Cinematographer hanging off the side of ocean-going racing yachts and knows a lot about how to film at sea and do it safely.

http://www.ukscreen.com/crew/laurie

robert duke · April 2, 2008

If you are dockside shooting can be difficult.

If you are on the ocean gripping can be down right dangerous and crazy.

If you are dockside think more in the 4x and 6x sizes unless you are on a cruise ship. space is incredibly limited and most docks are actually floating, making them unstable.

if you are out in the ocean think no bigger than a 4x.

I spent all last summer out in the ocean on a series of fishing boats for a shark movie. we had boats ranging from 20-80ft. even the enourmous 80fter was tight dealing with waves and gear. dont bother with sandbags lash stands down.

unless you have a huge crew stay away from large frames.

slders are a huge asset for dollying on boats. they are light and easy to move. think about a bazooka too.

even docked there is no such thing as standing still. my favorite quote from last summer was " hey the boat keeps moving. can you do something?" There is no amount of gripping that will keep a boat still in the ocean, lake , nor river without taking it out of the water.

Keep things small. the 800 is a great light, the tube is effective. make sure the genset will handle it.

Also take some fresh ginger along for seasickness. dont be surprised when the DP hurls. looking through the eye piece is difficult on the water.

Matt Workman · April 2, 2008

Tim: Yeah 20x20 was a dumb idea, I want to shoot low angle towards the sky anyway.

Hal: Thanks, I haven't been over there for a while.

Robert: Very helpful.

- So I'm definitely going for the slider, where is a good place to rent one in NYC?

- What does a Bazooka do? I've seen them around, but I've never used one.

- The 800s w/ the tubes seemed good for fill light over the lens and are smaller profile, so the wind won't take them...as easily.

So...I guess a 4x8 shiny bounce would just blow away...I did a shoot on a roof in Manhattan not to long ago where we almost lost a few of them to the wind.

So most people don't bounce much huh? I'll probably bring a 4x4 shiny bounce for closeups or something and wip it out if its not too windy. Otherwise I guess it'll be pretty much natural lighting and jokers.

I think ND grads might keep the sky under control if I'm going to have to be exposing for the talent, un lit.

Good call on the dramamine or sea sick medicine...I completely forgot that I get sea sick...oh yeah I'm the DP also. Oh man...I just hope we aren't moving too much.

Thanks,

Matt