Alexandre de Tolan

Some collaborations between Sven Nykvist and Ingmar Bergman are very good.

William, Do you have any scout location photos at the exact time of day you pretend to shoot? That will give us some stating point to be more accurate on how to mix daylight with your quartzes on your first scene. Anyway, I do have the same opinion has Brian. I don’t think your 1k will do anything to augment daylight unless you are shooting at magic hour with its dim natural light coming from the door. Do you have the open door on your shot? Is it a back, rim or sidelight? You can always put your 1K with the same direction as your daylight entering the door if it is a sidelight but fall off from that source would not resemble daylight at all. Answering your question it will be very difficult to simulate daylight with a 1K quartz because for that you will need a big source far away from your subject. What camera are you using? Is it a camera with a Base ISO of 800? What lens? Is it a fast lens? If yes to both my strategy would be to start looking closely at all praticals within the pub (they usually have a lot of them), and see what are the best angles for your interview. From that I would only augment (motivate), the pub’s lights and gel the quartzes to match the light coming from the practicals saving one quartz for fill if needed. Regarding your 2nd scene. What exterior? Is it in the shade (since you don't want a sun in your scene?) Shaded exteriors have higher color temp so you have to gel the quartz differently to match. Nonetheless that’s not the main issue to me. If you want soft light in a exterior day forget your quartz, choose the right day to shoot (cloudy will be best), or grab an overhead silk in a sunny day and start from there with reflectors to create some contrast on your subject’s face.

I'm replacing Photofloods for regular house bulbs since Photofloods are way too short lived for what I want (they are going to be on at least 3 hours a day accounting that we'd turn them off between takes). My first idea was to replace them for regular incandescent bulbs. They can be dimmed and there's no flicker but I'm wondering if I can source dimmers that can handle a strip of at least 6 75W bulbs on a 220V circuit. I can always connect every 2 bulbs to a floor lamp dimmer but that would imply too much cabling running out from the celling (where I want those lamps to be). Regular plastic E27 sockets can be used on these contrary to obligatory ceramic ones on Photofloods. The plastic sockets will save some weight to put this DIY overhead light on the ceiling but I still have to find the best way to put them on without hurting the ceilings. Any ideas would be welcome. The other option is CFL but that would mean no dimming. On the other hand I can run two cables feeding every alternated bulb and switch one off leaving the other on. Considering that I'm building a covered wagon with some bleached muslim to stick to the ceilings what do you guys think is the better option?

Are you attempting this with video or film? FIlm is well known for rendering highlights way different from video (they glow naturally), and if I'm not mistaken I do recognise your last image from the Russian film Vozvrashchenie and that was shot on film. You mentioned a key aspect. Make up. I would say that's certainly very important since "type of source, distance" and fixture position is easily revealed by eye lights and shadows within every image you shared.

I'm going to test it anyway and see how it will work out. The space is very tight hence my concerns. I suspect that on some shots the window will be close enough to see the trick. You're absolutely right but when it comes to us (the ones behind the camera), you know how frustrating it really is to see something you've made falling short of your expectations ;)

I Adrian. I understand the concept. My only concern is with multiple angles. It's a no brainer with Translites since they are outside the windows and the image seen will vary accordingly with the camera angle used. With a light box you'll not have that change in "perspective". I suppose the cleaner and cheaper way to do this would be to green the windows depending on how much an FX guy will ask for track an image in post. My initial idea was to shoot ProRes 4:2:2 but the Director insists on shooting RAW so that will also help post FX with a 4:4:4 color space.

Cool! :)But I don't need all that fancy gimmick. Right now I would be the happiest guy in the world if I could only have that window view to those skyscrapers :)

You read my mind :) Thank you for your tips Lance. I'm gathering all this information and I'll certainly try the least expensive ones and see how it turns out, albeit I totally agree with Phil comments bellow. Yes Phil. Your first statement is in line with my own thoughts about the subject. I don't think that a "window sandwich" will work on multiple angles. As I said previously the Director is thinking giving up the idea of NYC which I find a really bad idea since the original events in which the story is based happened in NYC. In my next meeting with him I'm suggesting one of the first possibilities Adrian suggested. I wanted to avoid the need of post FX but I think greening the windows would be the cheaper and perhaps the cleaner/best solution.

Hi Miguel, We are shooting in a Hotel in Lisbon, Portugal, called D. Pedro in Amoreiras. From the windows we only see a far distant hill with some very small house lights. Very different from NYC. The Director is thinking on giving up NYC which I think is a shame since this story is based on true events occurred in a NYC Hotel. I suspect that reflections would work in this case. They are a double-edged sword since the window glass will also reflect the crew and that is something I'll have to deal with before shooting. Ideally we would replace the original glass with anti-reflective coated ones but since we aren't allowed to do that I have to search for some anti-reflective product to apply on the windows. The bedroom is like that one and the two are connected trough a passage. The actors will be on one room in one minute and on the other in the next. Yes. I'm planning to mix color temperatures. I'm certain that I would have big difficulties trying to persuade the Director into something unrealistic. We gathered for 4 times now and he's a bit single-minded.

Hi Adrian. I think I'll do some tests with your first suggestion and see how it goes.

Hi Freya, We are going to shoot on a hotel room 20 floors above floor so no Translite whatsoever. That was my first option if the Director were able to find something on the floor that we could rig a Translite outside the room. Thanks for the link :) Hi Phil, Video or Slide projection is out of the question also for the reason I've wrote above. Besides that, this is a very very low budget feature and we don't have the means to overcome this within the budget on a room 20 floors above ground. I've thought about making an "aquarium" that could fit against the window with it's exactly dimensions, with a printed backlighted photo and anti-reflective glass but I gave up a minute after when I realized that the perspective would be odd when changing camera angles with the window on shot. I think I'll gave up from having NYC on a European hotel room :( Hi Mark, Any other suggestion to replace those short-lived Photofloods with something that can be attached to a E27 socket (or similar), can be dimmed and puts a decent light output with constant color temperature on a tight budget? Thank you all for keeping this thread alive with such valuable information!

I'm evaluating my options about rigging on overhead light with such a low celling and I'm considering going the DIY route here. I'm thinking of a row of 150W Photoflood lamps screwed into a strip of some light material (since I have to fix this without any screw to the celling), probably some plastic strip where I can attach some diffusion fabric in a covered wagon fashion. I'm having some trouble finding e27 batten fixing plastic/ceramic holders that holds more than 60W though. I'm under the impression that Photofloods are normally rated at double their respective power (one 150W bulb corresponds to a normal 75W lamp. Can anyone confirm this?). Any other suggestion to achieve this would be very appreciated. Thanks.

Hi Leonardo, Thanks for your tips. Don't forget to share your dolly once you have it with you. I'm curious. When in Rome I certainly ask for your advice :) Hotels are very expensive there and if you know some cheap accommodation I'll be eternally grateful. Last time I've stayed about 2 streets down the central train terminal in the cheapest Hotel I could find but nonetheless a bit expensive!

Hi Leonardo, A Gaffer would be great but this is a very low budget production. As I told Adrian, the Director even won't let me have a focus puller! I had the idea of buying the Alzo drums to keep them for later jobs but perhaps you're right. With such a tight budget will be best to hang some small China-Balls instead. I'm afraid the ceiling isn't very high though. Photoflood lamps are great but I don't have much experience with China-Balls. Aren't 500W too much for a paper diffuser? And which socket do you use with 500W? I assume it will be very hot after a while… And are you saying Photofloods are not flicker free? I was under the impression they were. Thinking about it perhaps Photofloods are a good alternative for my base overhead lighting. If Photofloods are flicker free I can dim them and kill 2 birds with one stone. On one side I don't have the heating problem from a 500W lamp turned all way up and on the other one dimmed Photofloods will be warmer contributing to design that orange/reddish look. You arouse my curiosity regarding the Dolly. I'm almost inclined to spend some bucks on the Kessler Shuttle Pod Mini. Can you share some photos of your Dolly? Yes we are close but my city of origin is not Sevilla, it's Lisbon in Portugal but they are only a few Kms apart anyway :). Your city is lovely too. I was in Rome last year for some days. Very very hot last summer. I've stayed in Rome a few times but unfortunately every single time I visit your city I can't manage to visit the Sistine Chapel! There's always tons of people waiting in line and I end giving up every time :)

Thanks for sharing Adrian. I know that temporary hair dye here comes in cream. Have to search for something like that. The only places that comes to my mind are carnival specialised stores that sell fake/party hair dye.

Thanks Stuart but the Director (who's paying for all this), is going to pay less than that for the set and I know for sure that he'll call me crazy if I ask for a 275USD/day dolly. For you to know almost all of the Spanish big films cost less than an US mainstream film catering! The director told me that he has 9000€ (yes, only 3 zeros), to do this feature! I'm participating for a percentage in the box office (if it will have any), with my own camera equipment... Now there's where the language (non native English speaker here), becomes an issue. Sorry but I don't understand what you mean by "Streaks and Tips" Adrian. Can you clear that out for me please?

Thanks! There's always the option of having an assortment of different wattages in the bag.

I know the feeling! Now I'm surfing through EU dealers to see if I can find any and it seems hard. IIRC you said that those CFLs can be dimmed without flicker right? Do you recommend any type of dimmer for them?

Lantern locks! So simple and so great! Well worth the money IMHO and I didn't knew them. Great great tip. So many thanks.

A couple of questions also comes to mind (besides the ones posted above): I saw that you replied a Toby's question about CFLs. Is there any tutorial on how to arrange a DIY fixing scheme to use a CFL on a boom pole? Or are there any cheap made CFL heads to attach to boom poles? And China-Balls. The ones I can sort out have 2 holes on them (top and bottom). Are there any with only the top hole?

Thanks once again Adrian for your helpful tips. Yes. China-Balls were in my to use list and they will surely help to create the look I'm after. The story's not only a crime scene but a passionate crime one so soft light will be in order. Besides that, they can be used very close to subject so the inverse square law will help to throw the background darker assisting me to crete layers of light and shadow on such a tight space (or so I think since I did not use China-Balls before). What I'm concerned is base light. I think it's best to have some overall light to just raise the light levels (sensor wise), or I'll be pushing the limits on it and I'm afraid to end with a noisy image. If I had the chance of flying some overheads just to raise f-stop and augment/shape from there with floor fresnels or China-Balls would be great.

Ouch! 6000 pounds for the DC dolly. I've looked at Kessler shuttle Pod Mini. It seems really great for tight spaces, has the advantage of the grabber wheels (so multiple angles allowed), and it sells near me. Regarding the project. I'm meeting the Director this weekend. I guess I will find what he thinks of my ideas then. I still have to find out to solve some issues like flying some overhead light without tripods, buy some dimmers and so on...

Yes you're right about that. Regarding the Dana Dolly. It's a neat system. I have to search for a similar option to EU customers since I've looked into Dana and they only ship to US and Canada.

I talked with the Director today and asked him about renting a stage for this project. He told me that the cost of gathering all the furniture and crew to arrange all the stuff on set would be more expensive than paying for the hotel (don't forget we are paying a third of the regular price). As you can see the room decoration flows between yellows and greens. I've asked the Director to arrange a meeting with the wardrobe artist. I'm going to see if both are willing to use some red props/wardrobe on actors. I fore come a great deal of effort since the Director not only wants to shoot all this in continuity (forcing me to change the lighting in every shot), but also wants to throw dolly tracks on such a tight space to make travelling shots on 90% of the film that he didn't storyboard! He comes from a documentary background so he's used to 2 or 3 member crews. So you can imagine why he has replied me that he's going to do the focus pull when I asked for a puller! I've stepped in in a early stage and committed because the Sound Director is a very friend of mine but I'm thinking that I'm digging a grave here...

Hi Adrian. Thanks for stepping in. Green is out of the question as I said but I very much like your idea of a "light-box window". It's a clever one and I'm gonna give it a try at my house and see if it works. As for lighting… I forgot to say that the Director wants to shoot in continuity so I guess it will be hard to cover everything on black fabric since there's plenty and constant actors movement from one place to another inside the room. The prop as a lighting source (motived) is also clever. Don't know about a digital clock in a super chick Hotel room but I'm going to do some research on what luminous objects do higher rate hotels have (can you give me some clues on what is used on that side of the Atlantic?). Forgot to mention that we are also going to shoot at night, completely dark (from 20pm to 5am so after sun's go down and before it goes up), so no need to match daylight.