Balancing my color temperature

[Sam Kim]

I'm having some fun challenges on this shoot and trying to find the answers on a shoe string budget.

 

Looking at the picture the camera is balanced at 5600°K and I'm trying to find a way to balance the light inside to match the CT of the sun. It's a huge tent and unfortunately I can't use lights because of our location and gennie issues. I have some answers (gels, choose to balance for interior...) but i would like to see how my peers would handle such a situation.

 

Also, does anyone know where i can maybe get a big enough sheet of gel to cover the entrance part but still let people walk in through the front entrance?

Edited April 9, 2010 by Sam Kim

[Satsuki Murashige]

Hey Sam,

 

Maybe see if they will let you dye the tent fabric to a bluer color? Or live with the difference and split the color balance between daylight and tungsten, say 4300K. I think that it the easiest way to do it without lighting.

 

You could also do this as an effects shot, either green/blue screen, or as a practical in-camera effect. For example, make a matte in the shape of the tent entrance and shoot two passes, first with the entrance only and balanced for daylight and the second with the tent interior only and balanced for tungsten. You couldn't have people cross the frame or enter the tent though.

 

Or you could carefully cut a piece of CTO in the shape of the entrance and squeegee it to an optical flat in the mattebox. Again, same problem as before though.

[Sam Kim]

Hey Sam,

 

Maybe see if they will let you dye the tent fabric to a bluer color? Or live with the difference and split the color balance between daylight and tungsten, say 4300K. I think that it the easiest way to do it without lighting.

 

splitting the difference seems to be our only option at this moment, Satsuki.

dying the tent isn't an option and the camera will be moving.

i'm looking into a blue or green screen but that's more work than i would like to do.

i'm hoping they'll follow my advice and shoot it at certain time of day where i can control things a bit better.

we shall see.

 

thanks for always dropping some advice. DAMN you're on this site a bit.

[Noah Yuan-Vogel]

Can you open any of those window flaps? Or cut a hole or pull up a part of the tent not in frame? This could be augmented with reflectors, mirrors, or white materials as well. This might help bring some daylight fill into the area and allow you to kill the tungsten lights altogether.

 

Otherwise, splitting the temp at 4300k-ish as was suggested and if you are shooting digital dialing down your color matrix or saturation a bit could significantly reduce the visibility of the mixed temp lighting though it will of course affect your whole image which may or may not be desirable. Doing some color work in post could also help (pushing highlights red and shadows blue).

Edited April 12, 2010 by Noah Yuan-Vogel

[John Sprung]

How about a 4 ft x 8 ft sheet of 85 or 85N3 plex? It would have to be set up outside the entrance with enough room for people to pass by on the sides, and you'd have to dress the bottom to hide it.

 

 

 

 

 

-- J.S.