John Allen

Wow, very nice work.

The others probably said this, cause I'm just too lazy to read them; but for beauty, you need to use soft light a lot, except not too much. Then you should light the hair with a string backlight, but remember not to put the backlight up too high either, because to get the hair to glow, you need to have the light level with it.

I would shoot it in a very dark room with the only natural light source coming from a light from above that hangs down over the table. Then light each character with just a key and maybe a backlight. Also, I try and stay away from having a white backround, just cause it makes the image look very flat.

Maybe somebody's already said this, but the book called "Cinematography" by M. David Mullins ASC is a great book. I've probably read it 5 or 6 times. It has just about everything you need in it. Also, like the others you talked to, watch a ton of movies that have great cinematography in them. Maybe even watch them without sound and just take notes on the different lighting techniques. Below are some suggestions on movies with great cinematography. Good luck. :) Rebbecca (1940; B&W) Lawrence of Arabia (1962; Color) Shawshank Redemption (1994; Color) Doctor Zhivago (1965; Color) Apocalypse Now (1979; Color) Raging Bull (1980; B&W) The Last Emperor (1987; Color) Empire of the Sun (1987; Color) Schindler's List (1993; B&W) The Godfather (Color) The Pianist (2002; Color) Memoirs of a Geisha (2005; Color) Batman Begins (2005; Color) Pan's Labyrinth (2006; Color) The Prestige (2006; Color) There Will Be Blood (2007; Color)

I like the Nikon D40. Also, the D80 is really nice.

Ok so, I need to shoot a scene at night in the forest and it's a low budget film so I don't have very many lights to shoot a wide shot at night and still make it look realistic. So I was thinking of shooting in the day using a DFN filter for the wide shots and shooting at night for the close-ups. And my question is, does anybody know if there would be a huge differince in lighting by doing that? I want it to look as realistic as possible. Any suggestions would be great!! Thanks. :)

ok so the first one you just need a small spotlight, what would work is a 60w house light with just a long rim around the outside to give it a small circle of light. Although, I don't really understand the second question.

haha.....nice. Well best of luck then. :)

Umm I don't really care if you post this here, but really you should've posted this in the classifieds. Like I said I don't really care, but there are some people on this forum that get really tight about this sort of thing. So I just wanted to let you know before they do. It looks really nice, I deffinetly have to check it out. =)

What you need to realize(and maybe you do) is that you light the set according to how the story feels. If you don't the film is just not going to feel right. Also, there are lights with different color temps., for example the 5k HMI, I believe(and somebody correct me if I'm wrong) is used for daylight. I don't know if I explaining it very well, but I hope this helped you a little. :)

Simply amazing David!! If you ever need an assistant then let me know. lol :)

Now all you need is your directors/DP chair and a beer.

haha, nice. :)

You guys will think I'm really dumb for saying this, but I'll say it anyway. You could always test it with another light meter, one you know is correct.

I can't think of my favorite off the top of my head, but I've got to say "Rebecca" (1940) had a great opening shot.

Roger Deakins. Man that would be sweet!!!

Very cool dude!!!

Thank you. Yea I already have plans on making a new dolly using 10' pvc pipes so I can get a 50' shot.

Here's a dolly I made using skateboard wheels and a ladder. It cost me about $30 to make and it runs really smooth. Any comments or suggestions about it would be great! Thanks. John

Roger Deakins Conrad L. Hall George Barnes Arthur C. Miller Freddie Young

The only way I can think of is by exposing for the stars, but then that's gonna leave your moon looking kinda flat.

I use the Sekonic Studio Deluxe, it read really sharp.

Thanks Chad!! Yea that's kinda what I was thinking too. Thanks again. :)

Ok, so could somebody tell me how to meter for a for sillouette in a forrest like the pic below? I need it to be high contrast and to be able the pickup strong streams of light. I think I have an idea of how to achieve this but need to make sure I'm right or if there's a better way. I think you meter for the spotlight against the trees right? If anybody can help me out that would be awesome!!! Thanks. :) I'm sorry the picture isn't loading.

I would love an Arri SR-3 with as much film I need. Also, it would be awesome to have a dolly and some jibs. Oh and a nice stedicam. But, still the equipment isn't what makes cinematography fun. But it always helps. :)