Chad Griepentrog

Im scouting for a film now where one of the main locations is very dense forest with a solid canopy. The undergrowth is green, the leaves are green, the moss is green, the light even feels green. The tree trunks have very little character and are skinny. I do have a fogger setup and it has tested well- so at least I can bring areas out from what looks like an infinity of skinny trees and greenness. The sun is almost nonexistent, save for some very small dappled beams. My question to you is how can I bring the characters out- especially in the wider shots -without it looking lit or fake? Ill use negative fill when possible and I have some 8x & 12x frames w/ rags and a couple 1.2 hmis. Its a remote location and tiny budget. I was just surprised to see how flat the light was and how a person gets swallowed by the busy yet uniform environment. Oh- and the actors are wearing dull colors-jeans, dark sweatshirts, etc. I will ask wardrobe get a little color contrast against the green environment. Thanks,

Although source 4's are my favorite light, I'd suggest back-crossing the subjects with fresnels. You could scissor clamp 2 650's or 1k fresnels if the ceiling has tiles (I'm assuming so since the room sounds boring and has fluorescent light). If placed correctly, each light will serve as the key for one subject and back light for the other. Half scrims help here. Having the keys on the other side of the subjects (opposite of where the lekos are placed in diagram) will help the image look less flat. If you wanted fill, you could bounce a couple other 1k's into the ceiling or just manipulate the overheads. As for diffusion, you could use 251 like above mentioned. Will there be an audience?

oops- i posted that without seeing your latest post, Satsuki.

i agree. standing candelabras would be a good place to start. and using those windows.

cool location! definitely try to get your hands on something more powerful to punch through those 2 back windows (HMI's or even some source 4's with 1/2 CTB. the cooler colors will look great reflecting off of the floor as well. the harder & punchier the light, the better it will play with that hazer. I don't think the 650's will have enough mustard, especially if you cool them down with gels. could you get actual torches in there? or at least large groupings of old candles? if you had some strong flames near the guy in the chair, you could motivate a warm light onto him, which you could accent with a 650 dimmed down from a distance. the chair wrapping is fine. is the dark material reflective at all? if so, you could play color, flickers or other subtle reflections off of it to give a tiny bit of separation. or just hang something like an animal pelt over it (thinking barbaric story). the BG could be accented with candles and the dedos uplighting the walls behind them. in a slightly more perfect world, you'd have 2 HMI's outside the windows and a flicker box to run your accent lights off of.

you could always use a standing lamp and beef up the wattage of bulbs . or if it has a big enough shade, you could rig a head in there and shoot straight up into the ceiling. power it with a pig nose adaptor (& ground lifter) through the lamp's socket. i guess the biggest thing is getting the light you want without casting your own shadow.

Also, the Arri 650's tend to make a buzzing noise when dimmed. You can fit a 300w bulb in the 650 fixture to avoid this. I've been forced to use ND on lights in the past and it's never been good. Resulted in a greenish, muddied light. You can get practical in-line hand dimmers at most hardware stores that will work for the 300's and 150's. Anything of higher wattage requires a bigger dimmer (you can make these or spend a lot of money for a proper one- YouTube should have videos on how to make them)

I've been looking for the same effect. Like you mentioned, not messing with the pool's filter (or ph) is a huge obstacle. Please share what your solution ends up being. I'm curious to see what ends up working best.

I run into more issues with Kino's Diva series lights. 1/8th or 1/4 plus green is always on hand for these.

I think he was thinking of using the maxi brutes as a background piece? Not specifically to key the talent, right?

How wide is the shot (how much of the field are you seeing)? How far are you from the talent? Where is the sun/ what time of day? Can you post a photo of the location, roughly where the shot will be from? At 300fps in midday sun with no clouds, the 18k's won't give you a very dynamic look- notice how dark the sky is in your photo. Later in the day with the hard light source coming from the side will help. The maxi brutes would be killer- especially if it were raining!

Source 4 Lekos are always a solid choice for longer throws. Maybe a 50 degree lens. You can get good punch out of them and shape the light very well. They also don't look to obnoxious if seen on camera. Are there rigging points available? The further you play them back, the higher you'll want them to be.

The M18 is an incredible light. Being able to run off a 20amp circuit is mind-boggling. They're actually about as bright as a 2.5k HMI. Go for this light for sure.

Francesco- The Lekos I was referring to are the ETC Source Four Lekos. LOVE these lights. Very controllable, very punchy. I suggested them because the example picture you included had bright window patterns on the court's floor. You can use a Joker 400w HMI and an adaptor called a Jo Leko. I think you can use an 800w as well. The regular Lekos are usually 575w or 750w tungsten. And with the atmosphere- if you just give a touch of haze, you can really up the quality of your look. Like I said, you could possible see some of the sun's beams. Be very careful though- too much haze can look goofy and really slow things down on set. I'm not good with post and I try to shoot without much filtration, so I wouldn't be a good person to ask about that. I do know that you shouldn't use classic soft filters if you're shooting towards a light source. Ugh. Hope this helps...

Depends on budget. Is the gym on the ground level? Even if it is, you'll need to get your lights pretty high to achieve the beam angle. Now you're talking condors or scissor lifts. Generators for lights. Atmosphere inside. Also, the windows seem higher in your gym compared to the example you attached. You wouldn't see them as much. If the scene is short enough (or you can shoot there multiple days), maybe use the sun. Even if it doesn't shine through the windows you want. You can re-arrange the gym (hoops look to be mobile) so that it's utilizing windows that get direct sunlight. If you did that, you'd black out any other light source and add some atmosphere in hopes of getting light beams. If it's a short period of time of direct sun, shoot your wides like this and for the rest of your coverage you could use artificial light. Maybe lekos for the window patterns on the floors. Bouncing for fill.

Does your kit come with a baffle? That should eliminate any hot spots and spread the light evenly by the time it hits your silk. Is the light fully flooded?