Rain projecting onto faces to look like tears...how to light

[M Joel W]

I want to shoot a scene, city night futuristic slums interior with most lights off or dimmed way down, primarily lit through windows--soft 1/2CTB 1/2 green for mercury vapor ambient light and 1/2 CTO 1/2 CTS for sodium vapor key (street light outside window). The look is Darius Khondji, the shots are Spielberg. Hopefully!

 

I want it to look sort of like the talent is crying because it's raining outside and the street light is projecting rain shadows onto faces...would I need a leko and how would I go about focusing it to make this read? Planning to use a hose to spray rain on a window.

 

Thanks!

[Guy Holt]

I want it to look sort of like the talent is crying because it's raining outside and the street light is projecting rain shadows onto faces...would I need a leko and how would I go about focusing it to make this read? Planning to use a hose to spray rain on a window

 

A Fresnel in full flood would work better than a Leko. Typically you would thicken the water with glycerin which is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is widely used in pharmaceutical formulations. The glycerin will slow down the run off of the water so that it's shadow has a chance to read on your talents face. It is easy to do with an insecticide sprayer, but will be hard to do with a hose.

 

- Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting and Grip Equipment Rentals and Sales in Boston.

[Stuart Brereton]

You want a very hard source. Conrad Hall did this same effect in "In Cold Blood'. I would imagine he achieved it with Carbon Arcs. You could try using HMI pars with no lens, or experimenting with open face tungsten fixtures. I had some success a few years back using an Arri 2k blonde for a similar effect.

[M Joel W]

Thanks, both of these replies are very helpful. Glad I won't need to hire a leko for this shot only. Can you rent insecticide sprayers, though? Or would one of the small ones from home depot work as well? I have seen glycerine, but not for this, and that's a clever trick.

 

I have a couple 2k location fresnels I could use for this and I can see if the lens is removable, too. So I'll put my 1/2 CTS/1/2 CTO cocktail on that and maybe expose at key or a bit under. For CUs I'll fill from the same direction at a 3/4 angle with a small soft box with the same cocktail, dimmed down so that it reads primarily as an eyesight?

 

Other than that maybe two kinoflo fat men (surf and turf) with half green through the windows as mercury vapor ambient light, two stops under? I'm excited to try this set up...and it even begs to be graded orange/teal, which is convenient.

[timHealy]

Though I agree with Stuart about it being a hard light, I think the farther away the light source is and the closer the window and water are to the actor the sharper the water pattern will be.

 

Best

 

Tim