Post one of your setups

[Dominik Muench]

The second one is a 9 min. shortfilm (Deadly Sushi) about a guy who wants to make sushi out of his girlfriends pet fish, the fish is 3d animated in maya.

Camera: Aaton XTR

Aspect: super 16mm

Stock: Kodak Vision 2 500T

Lighting: HMI's, Lowell Tungsten Softlight

Process: Normal Process

 

 

 

The film will be available as wmv online version at the end of next week.

This was my first "bigger" 16mm shoot. September last year.

[Alvin Pingol]

Lighting setup for some interviews shot on DV. These frames are from 35mm stills taken with the setup, but, knowing film's better response to highlights, the edge light was about one stop hotter from when the interviews were being conducted and recorded on video:

 

 

I can find equivalent DV captures if anyone wants to compare. ;)

 

Here's another interview setup. Direct grab from the video stream:

 

Image

 

Yes, it's a little dark, but when displayed on your average overly-bright consumer television, it works quite well. B)

 

By the way, the BG in that last interview wouldn't appear so distracting had I been able to throw it out of focus a little more, but I was already wide open!

Edited April 10, 2005 by Alvin Pingol

[Guy Meachin]

Hi people!

 

I've got some screenshots of my own that aren't already on the internet, how can I upload them onto this thread?

 

Guy

[drew_town]

Hi people!

 

I've got some screenshots of my own that aren't already on the internet, how can I upload them onto this thread?

 

Guy

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Add them as an attachment.

 

Nice work Alvin.

[Guest sserge]

By the way, the BG in that last interview wouldn't appear so distracting had I been able to throw it out of focus a little more, but I was already wide open!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Love your work Alvin, yes the last one looks outstanding on TV, could you describe your setups please ?

 

BTW, you may use the macro ring ( if your lens have one) to distract that BG

[Guy Meachin]

Right, call me thick but when I try to add an attachment it just uploads a pdf icon and not the picture itself. How big should my screen shots be to add several?

 

<_<

[Alvin Pingol]

Love your work Alvin, yes the last one looks outstanding on TV, could you describe your setups please ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Thanks,

 

The setups are quite similar. Here's a quick, ugly sketch of the lighting plan for the first two photographs. As you can see, I was in tight quarters. (EDIT: I was forced into the corner because the walls that aren't drawn were essentially right behind the camera, and the other closey behind the key light) The wall behind subject is being illuminated by some overhead built-in recessed lighting, which were not tungsten bulbs but rather their energy-saving compact fluorescent counterparts. I'm glad they didn't green up the shot any.

 

More images from the setup: In the second photograph here, subject was positioned a little too far from the corner where the other three subjects were. Not wanting the woman to have to stand up and re-situate herself after I moved the chair back (she would've needed assistance, as she was seated from being brought in on wheelchair), I took the picture and tried to frame out the window. As I feared, it spilled in...

 

 

Here's the sketch of the lighting plan for the darker interview setup. As you can see, pretty much the same.

Edited April 14, 2005 by Alvin Pingol

[Riku Naskali]

Alvin, what kind of diffusion did you use on those? Highlights look very pleasing :)

[Alvin Pingol]

what kind of diffusion did you use on those? Highlights look very pleasing

Shot naked; diffusion added digitally. ;)

[Justin Hayward]

I grabbed these from the last feature I shot (super 16, 7218, 1/8 white promist throughout).

 

The first two are lit with a skirted 500 watt china ball rigged out of frame above the table and a baby or something for a little light in the background.

 

For the CU?s, I added a little edge light with an inky gelled with 1/8cto.

 

 

 

These next three were lit with two baby juniors bounced into an 8x BW griff. The edge was a 1200 par uncorrected (obviously). It was about two stops over the key, I think.

 

 

 

[Rachel Oliver]

Hi;

 

These are from a short I did, standard 16mm 320T Kodak. We had NO budget so used 1k and 2k video lights and a 100watt photo flood for the back light, was a good learning experience for me.

PS this was not the greatest telecine of all time.....

 

Olly

[Brian Babarik]

I haven't seen any of your work recently but the product from your feature looks consistent with your high quality and style. Kudos Justin.

[Guest fstop]

I have to say, the overall quality of work here is to an extremely high standard, visiting this forum I'm obviously learning from very talented artists! Beginners like myself are in very good company!

 

JUSTIN-

 

:blink: :o I literally gasped out loud when I saw your stills- I don't know why, but they really struck a chord with me! Perhaps it's because they remind me of Freddie Francis' lighting and exposure for Scorsese's Cape Fear?

Such wonderful colour and expressive contrast- "Gaffer"?? Not for much longer I don't think! :)

 

OLLY-

I really admire yout delicate work with the small child- you make it look so easy! I love the twinkling eyelight amid all the subtley- very innocent!

 

ALVIN-

Your high quality "DVD special features"-style doco lighting seems very familiar- are you in that field or moving into it?

 

They say it's a competitive field, and with such great work done by everybody, is it any wonder why? ;)

[drew_town]

Greetings,

 

Here's a few stills from two different shorts I shot and DPed. Both were shot on an XL1s. I worked on both of these as a student.

 

The first two are from a 40 minute short titled "Through the Cracks," which we made for free.

Still one is lit with three 150 watt Par cans. Still two is natural except for a 40 watt openfaced to the right of the window.

 

The last three are from a 30 minute short title "Straw Man Unyielding" which we made for about $500. The car interior is lit with a 1k softlight from the front left and a gelled 650 fresnel from the rear left. The 3-shot is lit by a 1k softlight to the right. The hall shot is natural, but we flagged off the fluorescents as the actress walked down the hall (created a nice effect).

 

Mr. Hayward, very nice. Wonderful light setups and results. Very well balanced.

 

Mr. Morlan, nice work with an XL2. Vey clean and crisp.

[Justin Hayward]

Thanks.

 

This is beautiful Mr. Townson.

 

 

Very nice.

 

Good work everybody.

[drew_town]

Yes, it was lit with practicals. Here's a (poor quality) behind the scenes still of the setup. Far in the back I draped a black dropcloth from the grid to keep the lights from spilling into the silhouette. The 6 flags were closed as the actress walked down the hallway to the effect that the darkness followed her down the hall and kept her silhouette. The guy on the left was one of the actors- terrific guy. Glad you liked it.

[Guest Christopher Wedding]

These next three were lit with two baby juniors bounced into an 8x BW griff.  The edge was a 1200 par uncorrected (obviously).  It was about two stops over the key, I think.

 

Hey what is an 8x BW Griff? and what effect does it create when you use it to bounce?

 

Great images!

 

Mr. Townson, how were you able to make the flags close as she walked down the hall?

Edited April 16, 2005 by Christopher Wedding

[Alvin Pingol]

are you in that field or moving into it?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Not quite; the closest I've come to it was lighting for interviews for a friend's independent feature to be distributed to family and friends (and anyone else who wanted one), on DVD.

 

Apart from that, I've only lit interviews for projects connected to local organizations, as well as personal projects. Keeps me busy. ;)

 

Great work everybody!

 

Mr. Townson, what method(s) did you use to achieve the altered color balance on "Straw Man Unyielding"? I think it works quite well.

[drew_town]

Mr. Townson, what method(s) did you use to achieve the altered color balance on "Straw Man Unyielding"?

On the hallway shot? It's just a primary color correction in Final Cut Pro.

[Phil Rhodes]

Hi,

 

It's gorgeous, what light did you put on it?

 

Also, can anyone tell me how this might have looked better on film, other than perhaps very slightly smoother handling of the reflection on the floor - the hotness of which which the shot needs anyway?

 

It would have taken quite gigantic amounts of power to achieve the same effect on 16mm.

 

Phil

[Kevin Zanit]

A B&W griff is a material that is slightly reflective white on one side and black on the other.

 

It is used in frames of varying sizes (6x, 8x, 12x & 20x20). It is used as a bounce material. The key is to put it in the frame very tight so that you maintain some hardness to the light and some directionality.

 

It is either used to bounce sunlight or with your own light bounced into it.

 

Here is an example from a music video I did:

http://www.kevinzanit.com/griff2.jpg

I used a 12k off a 6x6 griff to act as a large soft key

And a side view of the arrangement (before adding a 4x frame of F-CTO)

http://www.kevinzanit.com/griff1.jpg

 

 

Kevin Zanit

[Stuart Brereton]

It would have taken quite gigantic amounts of power to achieve the same effect on 16mm.

 

Phil

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Why would it? People shoot film under normal fluorescents all the time. As the actor in this scene is deliberately underexposed, you'd need even less light.

 

I know you're not a big fan of film, but you have to forget this idea that you need truck full of lights just to get an exposure.

 

BTW, nice work, Mr Townson

 

Stuart

Edited April 18, 2005 by Stuart Brereton

[Jared Hoy]

i love this shot.

back lit the group using 2 fresnel 300 clean.

the glow comes from nook with i believe 1/4 cts + 1/4 cto (i could be mistaken, its been about a year or two) on a hand squeezebox to about 70%.

fill w/ a 1k open face blonde through 216 & 1/4 O.

 

also from the same show

650 fresnel through 1/2 O & a nice bush to get the play on our back wall.

filled with 4foot/4bank KINO tungsten tubes. Keying from camera right with i believe another 650. And she has a top down 200w pepper as a special on her hair.

 

dvx-100a can do some nice things (don't kill me)

[drew_town]

The hallway shot was, if I remember right, the only non-lit shot in the short. I knew the effect I wanted and had composed similar shots before. I'm glad to see a positive response to the stills. It seems the hallway shot is the one you guys like the most. I was hesitant about posting them with all the really great work others have done. Thanks for all the compliments.

 

The Through the Cracks short has some other nice compositions I like. Overall, it's very dark and moody, lit mostly by modified natural light. The thing I like best about that short is it's filled with all these rich textures. The director grew up in the city where we shot it, so he knew all these great locations. I could post some more from that series if you guys would want to see them.

[Phil Rhodes]

Hi,

 

> I know you're not a big fan of film, but you have to forget this idea that you need

> truck full of lights just to get an exposure.

 

To get that big hot reflection down the middle, which as I said is critical to the thing working, would require quite enormous amounts of resources. The problem is not getting exposure, although that's certianly much harder than with video - the problem is getting the highlights sufficiently over that exposure to look in any way hot or bright - you pump kilowatts at it and it never rises above a kind of uninteresting mid-grey murkiness.

 

Phil