New to the boards

[Alex Yorchak]

Hey everyone, I'm new to this forum, and would just like to say Hi. I'll probably be posting often, as my cinematography skills are far from perfect. first question, is there anyway I can create a backlight/halo style light to give the talent a very soft outer glow when I am outside and have no access to electricity. (im reproducing the last scene from seven and we need to give the guy playing kevin spacey's character that outer glow he has in the last scene.) Any suggestions?

[Brian Dzyak]

Hey everyone, I'm new to this forum, and would just like to say Hi. I'll probably be posting often, as my cinematography skills are far from perfect. first question, is there anyway I can create a backlight/halo style light to give the talent a very soft outer glow when I am outside and have no access to electricity. (im reproducing the last scene from seven and we need to give the guy playing kevin spacey's character that outer glow he has in the last scene.) Any suggestions?

 

 

Hi, Alex.

 

I'm not familiar with the shot you're referring to, but in general, to create a backlight/rimlight on anything, you have to light it from behind.

 

Assuming you're shooting DAY EXT with no 110 power available at all....

 

 

First, if you're NOT shooting sound (or can ADR later), consider using a small generator to give you the power you need to power a light. Now, which light you need to give you the effect you want will drive the choice of generator (ie, how powerful it is). You could also, if the unit (lighting unit) doesn't draw too much power, use a cigarette lighter-type power transformer.

 

Or, you could use car lights as your lighting source with the vehicle just out of frame.

 

 

If none of those options are viable, consider using "shiny boards" to reflect sunlight into the backs of your talent. You could make your own by applying something very shiny (like aluminum foil or even mirrors) to something rigid (like a sturdy piece of wood). You'll have to also build in a way to mount your shiny boards so they can be "locked off" but adjustable as the sun moves across the sky.

 

 

Or, remember that exposure is relative. So if the sun is at your talent's back... thus your camera is facing the sun.... then by default, with no additional lighting, your talent will be backlit with no additional effort from you beyond blocking the action in the correct direction. To avoid a full silhouette, you may have to bounce some light back at the talent, but not so much as to match the "stop" you've chosen for the rimlight.

 

I hope that makes some kind of sense. I'm sure that someone else may be able to explain all of this in a clearer way.

[Alex Yorchak]

Hi, Alex.

 

I'm not familiar with the shot you're referring to, but in general, to create a backlight/rimlight on anything, you have to light it from behind.

 

Assuming you're shooting DAY EXT with no 110 power available at all....

 

 

First, if you're NOT shooting sound (or can ADR later), consider using a small generator to give you the power you need to power a light. Now, which light you need to give you the effect you want will drive the choice of generator (ie, how powerful it is). You could also, if the unit (lighting unit) doesn't draw too much power, use a cigarette lighter-type power transformer.

 

Or, you could use car lights as your lighting source with the vehicle just out of frame.

 

 

If none of those options are viable, consider using "shiny boards" to reflect sunlight into the backs of your talent. You could make your own by applying something very shiny (like aluminum foil or even mirrors) to something rigid (like a sturdy piece of wood). You'll have to also build in a way to mount your shiny boards so they can be "locked off" but adjustable as the sun moves across the sky.

 

 

Or, remember that exposure is relative. So if the sun is at your talent's back... thus your camera is facing the sun.... then by default, with no additional lighting, your talent will be backlit with no additional effort from you beyond blocking the action in the correct direction. To avoid a full silhouette, you may have to bounce some light back at the talent, but not so much as to match the "stop" you've chosen for the rimlight.

 

I hope that makes some kind of sense. I'm sure that someone else may be able to explain all of this in a clearer way.

 

Yea thanks alot. We are shooting with sound and have no access to a generator, so I will definatly keep in mind the car light idea or the bounce board. thanks again