Kino-Flo Blacklight Shoot

[Antonio Scarlata]

Hello all, I am looking for some advice on shooting under blacklight. The subject will be wearing all black except for white headband, shoes, socks and bracelets. Thinking about a couple of kino banks with blacklight bulbs. Probably will shoot on fast shutter (250) on the Panasonic 24p. Subject will be moving so I am also trying to find a way to pull clean freeze frames for after effects. Thank you all for your help.

Antonio

[Phil Rhodes]

Hi,

 

It's very easy to overexpose blacklight effects on video. Watch the zebras closely. Also, any flecks of dust or lint on the outfit will screw you up. For clean freezes, obviously, just shoot short shutter angles.

 

And why rent kinos?

 

Phil

[Antonio Scarlata]

Phil, Thanks for the reply

I figure kinos will give me enough light if I do want to shoot at a faster shutter speed (Which will of course take away some stop) Do you suggest just using commercial blacklight bulbs? I'm just afraid they might not be bright enough. Of course, I don't know that yet. I'm also worried about over exposing the background, which we want to appear as just black. Any other help much appreciated.

Antonio

[Phil Rhodes]

Hi,

 

>Do you suggest just using commercial blacklight bulbs?

 

Yes, assuming you can deal with any flicker issues.

 

> I'm just afraid they might not be bright enough.

 

Kinos aren't any brighter than any decent electronic ballasted flo. Which is of course to say that neither is likely to be that bright; whenever I've done this, I've always just rented some a few 400W mercuy vapour UV floods, which have a lot more output (and it's a lot more directional).

 

> I'm also worried about over exposing the background, which we want to appear as

> just black.

 

That can be an issue - it was for me last time I did any UV, although on that one we did use a lot of visible blue light as well. Assuming you get a decent separation it should be easy enough to crush the blacks down in post and get a clean black frame with just your white elements. Ensure the black drapes you use are clean; lint and dust will screw you up again, even if it's faint. The usual way to ensure very deep blacks, if you can afford the extra rentals, is to hang a black gauze a few feet in front of solid black (usually twill) drapes, which cuts down on reflections and can achieve a very deep black surface.

 

Phil