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Wide Day Exterior, achieving shape and consistency


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Hi fellow members, 

I'm trying to come up with a plan for a day exterior; a single subject in (for example) a forest clearing or meadow.

The main shot is a wide full-body that shows plenty of the surroundings but I need  a setup that works for two cameras shooting simultaneously (the other at 3/4 angle) over the course of a couple hours. 

Because of the budget and the remote locations involved I have ruled out any HMI's or very large frames (larger than 8x8). So what else are my options to create a little shape and consistency over the shoot? 

Naturally I'll orient the scene so that any direct sun will backlight the subject. So with the sun at the subject's 6 o'clock and a cameras at 12 and 10 I had thought maybe I could boom in a light or reflector (CLRS kind of thing) on a menace arm from 2 o'clock to give one side of the face more of a key and create some shape. I'm worried this look a little hokey though? Or maybe an Aputure 1200D through a small frame, but I'm worried it wouldn't have sufficient punch. 

My instinct is that the smaller bounces and solids won't be very effective at the distances they'd need to be from the subject to clear the wide shot.

 

Any advice greatly appreciated. 

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With a tiny crew, I would avoid small fixtures and use white and black surfaces. The larger the frame, the further away it can be. Also, frames can combine for a larger surface. I'll sometimes run 4x4 ultraflops and white cards to surround the subject to create a 8x8 or 4x12 or whatever. It's faster, but not as tall as a 12x. I've done two 8x8 ultras (8x16ft) for fill as well. Either way, you'll know what amount of gear your crew can support. These are my solutions.

Another benefit to lots of white. If you're in a forest, then I'd always suggest white surfaces to replace the green and brown that would otherwise hit the face. The return may be negligible to the meter, but the face will appear "more pleasing." It'll also create a huge but dim reflection on the eye. And black the fill side to whatever flavor the project wants.

This will create a natural look, great for drama or branded commercials with 50IRE skin. But if you're doing a high-key commercial where skin has to be at 70IRE, this is not the solution. You'll need power.

And I'd avoid CRLS to the face. It's a really efficient series of frosted mirrors.

Edited by Stephen Sanchez
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19 minutes ago, Stephen Sanchez said:

With a tiny crew, I would avoid small fixtures and use white and black surfaces. The larger the frame, the further away it can be. Also, frames can combine for a larger surface. I'll sometimes run 4x4 ultraflops and white cards to surround the subject to create a 8x8 or 4x12 or whatever. It's faster, but not as tall as a 12x. I've done two 8x8 ultras (8x16ft) for fill as well. Either way, you'll know what amount of gear your crew can support. These are my solutions.

Another benefit to lots of white. If you're in a forest, then I'd always suggest white surfaces to replace the green and brown that would otherwise hit the face. The return may be negligible to the meter, but the face will appear "more pleasing." It'll also create a huge but dim reflection on the eye. And black the fill side to whatever flavor the project wants.

This will create a natural look, great for drama or branded commercials with 50IRE skin. But if you're doing a high-key commercial where skin has to be at 70IRE, this is not the solution. You'll need power.

And I'd avoid CRLS to the face. It's a really efficient series of frosted mirrors.

What about shiny bead board if you're looking to get closer to 70IRE?

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49 minutes ago, M Joel W said:

What about shiny bead board if you're looking to get closer to 70IRE?

You should consider softness as well. It's easy to place a 4x4 reflector to the face to reach level in camera. It will look like a 4x4 hard light to the face, with specular skin and squinty eyes. A 4x8 will throw even more light but not necessarily be any softer. But that's if it's a sunlight reflection.

If a skylight reflection, then it could work better for talent's experience. And the lift would depend on what breaks in the trees it can reflect. And 4x8, will be softer. It will be cooler too, which isn't necessarily bad.

There is no right or wrong answer because it depends on your values as a DP. I value with 100% conviction the shape around the face, and I will surround and lift areas of the space to make the face appear as if done by natural mechanics. The surfaces can be large, and if desiring more output, then I lift all of it, not just one small spot. Others may not value natural appearance and choose to poke a PAR light straight to the face in the middle of a forest.

Relying on collecting sunlight under treecover will disappoint expectations. Pockets will move, and the reflection will never be consistent.

Also, hard reflectors are a great short term solution, but they need "wiggling" every 3 minutes. A Silver Lame is better because its a larger surface to track the reflection across, so adjustments can range between 10 minutes to 20, depending on if 8x8 or 12x12.

 

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Thanks for this Stephen, sage advice which corroborates my instincts. The tip about using multiple small solids is a great one.

The more I think about it, having an 8x8 silk to fly overhead could also be a good idea if the weather (wind) permits it.   

 

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