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Tom E. Pinkerton

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    Director
  1. Folks, Here's the situation: We've got a scene taking place in a moving car at night. One actor, obviously the driver. Driving on a road that's supposed to be fairly dark with only minor oncoming traffic. No rain or other adverse weather conditions. We need to shoot him from the front, through the windshield, and from the side as if looking from the passenger's seat. We are, as most newbies are, extremely limited in our budget. We are filming on a Canon XL-1 camera. For the majority of our shots, we have been lighting using regular and daylight-balanced photofloods. Not the best thing out there, but they've served our needs well in most cases. Except here, where they are obviously way too bright for the scene's needs. We obviously don't have the money to use a tow car, so this has to be shot with the car sitting still while giving the illusion of it being in motion. This particular car has no sunroof or other unusual features. Well, except one. It's a Scion xA, and it's instrument panel is in the center of the dashboard rather than on the driver's side, so the light would logically be coming from a slightly different direction. But, to be honest, the instrument panel is not even seen in the scene, so that won't even be noticed. The two problems we have to solve are, obviously, how to light the scene and how to effectively give the illusion of movement. Thus far, we have tried using china balls, as well as simply using a small 40-watt bulb placed in the instrument panel area. The former just didn't look right. The latter seemed to work pretty well, actually, and I think we could get away with it, but the lighting on the actor's face was honestly a bit too much for what would be coming from the dash (i.e. the whole face was lighted evenly). As for simulating motion, we tried some simple techniques of rocking the car, using Mag lights to simulate passing headlights, and having another car positioned behind this car to have the sight of headlights through the rear window. But none of these were effective, at least not how we did them. They all looked like we were, well, trying to fake motion from a car that was sitting still. So, I'm looking for any and all suggestions on where we should go from here, both in lighting the scene and in filming it in such a way that it looks like the car is in motion. Thanks in advance for your help! =Tom=
  2. Hi folks! I, along with several others, am preparing to shoot my first film. I feel like we have a good grasp on things in most areas from sound to editing. But the area where I feel we are still most lacking is in lighting. We have done some experiements thus far using photoflood bulbs, and we have achieved some decent results, but I still feel we are not where we should be. We are shooting on digital video, BTW, using a Canon XL-1s camera. I would like some information and tips from any of you who are willing to share on lighting scenes in the following three scenarios: - Indoor, in a controlled environment - Outdoor, during daylight - Outdoor, shooting night-for-night Any information would be most appreciated, including what types of lights you would recommend using for someone on an extremely low to non-existent budget. Are photofloods the way to go? Or something else? What about positioning of the lights? Can you light an outdoor scene just with natural sunlight, or do you need more? What's the best way to light a night-for-night shot, either close-ups or wide shots? Any advice and information you can give would be most appreciated! Thanks! =Tom=
  3. Thanks for the quick reply! The bulbs use a standard medium base Edison socket. What we have now are not home lamps, but rather worklights with aluminum dome reflectors on them. According to the stickers on them, they can handle up to 250 watt bulbs, rather than the 75-100 watt maximums on most household lights. However, it is my understanding that the photoflood bulbs run much hotter than even a standard 250 watt bulb. I was, frankly, a little alarmed when I started to smell a burning odor right away. Is this normal for the photofloods, or a sigh that something is wrong? Do you have a link to any fixtures you'd recommend using with these bulbs? Thanks! =Tom=
  4. Hey folks. We're doing some lighting tests in advance of our film. On the advice of some people online, I went in search of some photoflood bulbs. For test purposes, I purchased four GE 250W ECA 3200K tungsten photoflood bulbs and four GE 250W BCA daylight balanced photoflood bulbs. According to the web site of the merchant I purchased them from, they will work with any standard household fixture (assuming it can handle the wattage, of course.) We got some 250W work lamps from Lowe's to use. However, when I got the bulbs, the packaging says "Use this lamp ONLY in fixtures that have been specifically designed for it." And when I tried one of the bulbs in these fixtures, it very quickly developed a very strong burning smell. Can someone give me the straight scoop on these bulbs and whether we should be using them with a standard work light fixture from Lowe's or if we need something specialized? Thanks! =Tom=
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