Dry for Wet

[Eve Hazelton]

Hey everybody,

 

First post on the forums, so very sorry if this has found itself in the wrong thread etc.

I am currently in the pre production stage of an underwater project due to shoot in Sept this year. Some of it will be shot actually underwater, some of it won't.

 

I have been looking into the dry-for-wet technique, and there doesn't seem to be a massive amount of info available. I actually came across a thread back in 2009, in this exact same forum which gave me some great ideas about bouncing light off broken pieces of mirrors placed in water, but I was wondering if any one has any other suggestions about how this technique is really "sold".

 

You can find out more about the project at http://www.theunderwaterrealm.com/ and any ideas/suggestions you have will be gratefully received!

 

Many Thanks in advance.

 

Eve, Realm Pictures.

[Phil Rhodes]

Very even smoke. Maybe some floating motes of stuff - chopped feather? Gloomy bluish toplight. Suitable props. Maybe a bit of slow motion, especially when people are floating around.

 

It was done I believe for the models in The Hunt for Red October and I think, but I'm not sure, for Deepstar Six.

 

Of course it's worth looking at those, but it's probably just as worth looking at things that really were shot underwater, like The Abyss, and doing what you can to duplicate that. After all, you don't want to make it look like a dry-for-wet scene, you want to make it look like a wet-for-wet scene.

[Eve Hazelton]

Thanks Phil. I have indeed done some research into films that actually were shot underwater. We are also working very closely with some wire work teams for the actors etc, to make it look like underwater movement etc.

 

Smoke/ slow mo/ lighting is going to be the things that sell it I think.

[Jeremiah Warren]

I came across this post, and the one in 2009 while doing some very brief research for my own dry-for-wet project.

 

Check out these two threads on models from The Abyss and Red October, they both have posts in it from people who worked on both films. http://www.therpf.com/f10/abyss-models-709/ http://www.therpf.com/f11/i-present-you-ballistic-missile-submarine-red-october-20371/index2.html

 

I would check out both CineFex articles as well.

[Jeremiah Warren]

EDIT: It looks like you've gotten a lot of the lighting issues figured out since this posed based on your vlogs that I just watched. Learning a lot myself.