Allen Parks

Looking for some movies that may be used as examples of "bad HD." I am not against HD. I work with both film and video, and know the pros and cons. Not looking to open a discussion on the topic. Just need some reference material.

Consider shooting your wides early morning and late afternoon, rimming the trees and actors. Shoot closeups mid day, using reflectors to maintain the rim effect, 8x or 12x silk or light grid overhead, if available, to diffuse the hard toplight from the sun, and poly to fill or key. Wrapping the light around from the direction of the sun is a natural looking source. Negative fill is a great way to maintain or create contrast. 4x solids or floppies can help block ambient light to maintain the contrast of your wide shots, or create contrast if you lose the sun. Neg fill can also be used to maintain an overcast look if you establish overcast and gain sunlight later, fly a solid over head and shoot into the shadows. Strange things happen in natural settings. In hard sun, light bouces "environmentally". Place poly on the ground and bounce some sun from below or bounce your reflectors into it. Use the colors of the environment. I've used wood(luan) as bounces in fall forest and in desert to simulate natural looking bouce that occurs in the environment.