Portable Outdoor Lights

[CraigTarry]

Hello, I'm going to be shooting a conversation between three people outdoors under a tree canopy. I'm planning to have them stand under some sort of large umbrella to block the contrasty leaf shadows from their faces.

I want to use a portable light or two to bounce light off a reflector onto their faces. Can you recommend a small portable light for this? Thanks Craig

[Adam Frisch FSF]

I often use a big silk on a butterfly outdoors to soften the sunlight - direkt sunlight unless it's magic hour always never looks good to me. I then model light on their faces by reflecting in from a polyboard and/or a shiny board or lights. Some DP's prefer to use negative fill on exteriors, but to me it often looks a bit "lit", if you know what I mean.

 

Check out the film Elektra shot by Bill Roe, ASC for a good example of the negaive fill look.

[oscar jimenez]

Would you care to describe scenario>? is it very high? is it a large big canopy? What si going to be the background? is it forest? is it sky line? at what time of the day are u planning to do this? just one word: 575 HMI pocket pars are very light, easy to handle and low power fed. I would certainly use em, and some whiteboards to "rescue" and bounce back some of the ambience light. depending hour of the day and kind of existing sunlight, overhead butterfly may become very helpful.

[CraigTarry]

Would you care to describe scenario>? is it very high? is it a large big canopy? What si going to be the background? is it forest? is it sky line? at what time of the day are u planning to do this? just one word:

are very light, easy to handle and low power fed.  I would certainly use em, and some whiteboards to "rescue"  and bounce back some of the ambience light.  depending hour of the day and kind of existing sunlight, overhead butterfly may become very helpful.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Hi Oscar, The area is about 30ft. in diameter. There's a hillside and shrubs and vines in the background. The tree canopy is about 15-20ft high. I've tried standing under an umbrella and it took care of the shadows on my face.

I'll need to buy or build a sun block device big enough for three people to stand and move around under. We'll be shooting early to mid morning and mid to late afternoon.

When I workshopped the scenes I found trying to bounce sunlight into the actors faces to be tedious, so that's why I want the lights. I'll check out your 575 HMI pocket pars. Thanks for your thoughts - Craig

[oscar jimenez]

You can buy nylon silk or buy an old parachute and try to rigg it above canopy somewhere beetween branches, these bbackground will help a lot, since it is going to be maybe 3 over try to maintain green as background, it always looks great when it is over 3 to 4 above middle gray. so if I were you, maybe wouldnt bother diffusing light from above, what about that "coucalouris" FX made from sun coming beetween leaves? maybe you can expose for that light, and add a fill with the 575 Joker Pars, which can be rigged up there with no major problem since they are very much light weight. Ill say that with the joker pars and some 4x4 white boards you'll be doing ok. Also you could have 2 42x42 silver hard bounces on High Raiser or mumbo combo raiser stands to add some punchy kickers or even trow a piece of tracing paper over em and use em as fill light. a 12x12 butterfly with silver reflector, would also help as fill. Coming from a low angle. Will you be using a scissor platform? that will help for cam stability. Good luck, tell me how did it go when you do that. Sonunds cool.