Lighting for the moon!

Guy Meachin · December 19, 2004

Hi

As an experiment I'm trying to light a forest at night with the effect of the moon shining down through the trees from left to right. I have access to 1 blonde, 3 Redheads, and some microlights. I also have a geny, not sure of the power output yet, I will find out.

Would my blonde be powerful enough to light as if it were the moon? I could tighten the shot if need be. I'm not sure what to expect so I thought I'd as for some advice first. Maybe the only way to find out is to go out and do it?

I was looking at using some of the redheads for some backlight to add some depth and to get the blonde really high up in a tree somewhere! Any ideas for rigging the blonde in a tree?

I may have been ver vague here so if you want any other info - please ask!

Cheers

Guy

December 20, 2004

What are you shooting on? What lenses are you using? How wide are the shots? What action happens in the script? What colour temperatures do you want? Are you going to smoke it up? How many actors?

It's all a bit "how long's a piece of string?" at the moment! ;)

Guy Meachin · December 20, 2004

Hi

I'm shooting on DV CAM or Mini DV on my XL1s with the Canon 14x lens. Like I said it's just an experiment so I'm pretty flexible with the rest. I want the scene to look a silvery white such as the light from the moon. I wanted a wide shot to begin with and then some coverage afterwards.

Hope that helps.

Guy

Michael Nash · December 20, 2004

You're going to need a MUCH bigger light, or at least more of them. A 2K will fall off pretty quickly once you back it off far enough to cover a large enough area. Also tree braches and leaves really eat up a lot of the light, so whatever leaks through won't be very bright either.

I suppose if you frame your shots tight enough (long lens) you can stack up you lights to create some layers of depth and get enough exposure. But a wide shot's going to be tough. How do you plan to get the lights high enough to appear as moonlight, and not sidelight coming from below the treetops?

For moonlight at 400 ASA (close to your XL-1) I'd start with at least a 1200W HMI PAR, going bigger if I had to cover more area. Mombo-Combo stands are great for getting smaller units up high quite easily.

Bill Totolo · December 21, 2004

You're going to need a MUCH bigger light, or at least more of them. A 2K will fall off pretty quickly once you back it off far enough to cover a large enough area. Also tree braches and leaves really eat up a lot of the light, so whatever leaks through won't be very bright either.

I suppose if you frame your shots tight enough (long lens) you can stack up you lights to create some layers of depth and get enough exposure. But a wide shot's going to be tough. How do you plan to get the lights high enough to appear as moonlight, and not sidelight coming from below the treetops?

For moonlight at 400 ASA (close to your XL-1) I'd start with at least a 1200W HMI PAR, going bigger if I had to cover more area. Mombo-Combo stands are great for getting smaller units up high quite easily.

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I think no matter what he does with his lights he's going to suffer from the inverse square law with lights this small (assuming his actors are moving around in these scenes). I wonder if it would be a good idea to gang them together and shoot them through some light diffusion to create a larger source? At least they wouldn't fall off so rapidly, which is a hallmark of low budg production.

What do you think?

John Sprung · December 21, 2004

Since you're working in a forest with lots of trees to let only a few shafts of light through, you're in an ideal situation to do it day for night. Lotsa contrast, stop down to make the shadows go black, and you have a very nice night look.

-- J.S.

Guy Meachin · December 21, 2004

I had considered diffusing the light - the problem is that moon light is quite sharp - is it not?

For the positioning of the blonde I was just going to strap it to a very tall tree!

Justin Hayward · December 21, 2004

If it?s just a test to see if you can do it, then do whatever you can with what you have and see how it turns out.

If it?s a test for an upcoming shoot, consider talking to the director about a different way of motivating the light. I?ve had a few experiences with directors that wanted ?moonlight? in large spaces, but were only budgeted for a very small amount of lights. I usually end up lighting however I can and the results were not motivated by moonlight. On a low budget the director will probably understand. It?s just common sense.

Rigging the blonde to a tree is a good idea, but keep in mind, beyond that tree will probably be black. It just depends on what you will accept. Most people won?t notice these details, so do whatever you like.