Michael Morlan

I did a nighttime rainy window some years ago. I used flat soaker hoses that emit tiny streams of water all along their length. I cut it down into lengths for my windows, added new nipples to the cut ends and gaffed them over the window. After some adjustment, my open-face Baby 1K through the window did the trick.

In addition to Mitch's post, leave a little extra material to fold and crease the exposed edges and avoid lacerated hands. :D

David, Nice to hear from you. Sorry for bending your ear at the DOT wrap party. :unsure: The frames from Northfork that J. put up are most excellent. Subtle, just enough to let us see the character's "soul" without being distracted, wondering where the light is coming from. I'm looking forward to seeing the film. Here's a rather obvious example of a "Kirk Light" from one of my amateur projects. Or perhaps it doesn't qualify since it is motivated by practical blinds on the set.

Of course there's always the old, stylistic trick of creating an unmotivated slash of light across the eyes, Star Trek original serials style. To this day, I call that a "Kirk Light." :D

Watch the whole film. As I recall you will see the use of that 6-light ringlight only for the synthetic characters. It creates a distinctive reflection in their pupils and gives them a slightly "otherworldy" character.

My local Home Depot has plastic eggcrate for the 2x4 drop-ceiling flouro fixtures. They are usually silver so paint them black and you're set. This stuff matches the eggcrate on Kino's.

You can find photometric info in ARRI's PDF catalog here: http://www.arri.com/infodown/light/broch/a...og_2002_usa.pdf

That's a lot of questions. Let me see if I can give brief but effective answers to each: Studio Lighting: There is nothing special about this versus floor stands. Position the lights were you may. Most studios have a variety of trombones, "hanger extensions" so you may get the light lower below the grid. Also, you may take any of these suspended lights and place them on a light stand or set wall as you need. Film Noir: This implies hard lighting and high ratios. Single-source lights with little to no diffusion is a first-time approach. Adding slashes of unmotivated light to pick up eyes and key focal points is the next layer of detail. Reducing the bounce by designing the set with medium to lower finishes and even bringing in some black on the bounce side to absorb light. Watch some classic Film Noir fare like "Murder my Sweet" and the more contemporary "The Man Who Wasn't There." Note the extreme angles the key light may be. Note how light slashes into the scene from both motivated and unmotivated sources. Shape your talent and space with those slashes of light. Leave the rest in shadow. Meters: Read this great article about metering by Gerald Hirschfeld, A.S.C.: http://www.sekonic.com/Cinematographer_booklet.pdf

I've found that the classic, pre-light the set, watch the rehearsal, make adjustments approach works for me. Often, after an initial discussion with the director, my pre-light may inform the performers and director as they make choices in the space. After the rehearsal, I can make adjustments to model a specific location or provide support where I wasn't expecting it. I don't automatically choose the set over the actor or vice-versa. I try to light both in concert with one another. This also tends to minimize setups during coverage.

I've used photometric tables when I know the set layout, film speed, and f-stop I am striving for. That let's me quickly match up fixtures to exposure and coverage. If you walk onto a location with less than that info and are lighting with other light sources already present (like the sun), then your choices become more intuitive. Michael Morlan http://michael-morlan.net

I have a Sekonic 398M Studio Deluxe and Minolta Spot F. I prefer the separate meters for security if one is lossed/dropped/damaged/etc. and to double-check each other's calibration when an external calibration source isn't present. (Don't forget. Even if you can't check your meters' calibrations against an external reference, be sure they at least match each other.) I'll start with the incident and flat disc receptor on the key light, confirm it with the spot meter and a grey card, continue lighting by eye, confirm a reading towards the camera with the dome receptor, continue lighting by eye, and finally, check my latitude with the spot meter. There is a great article by Gerald Hirschfeld, A.S.C. about metering technique here: http://www.sekonic.com/Cinematographer_booklet.pdf Michael Morlan http://michael-morlan.net