Phil Curry

A generator not conected to a grounded system should not be grounded. To quote the chief electical inspector of LA: GENERATORS. TRUCK OR TRAILER MOUNTED Generators mounted on trucks or trailers shall be completely insulated from earth by means of rubber tires, rubber mats around metal stairways and rubber mats under any type of lift-gate or jacking device. Metal supports for trailers shall be insulated by means of wooden blocks. Safety tow chains shall be secured so as to not touch the ground. Get exert advice. Listening to amatures on this list on matters of electrical safety is dangerous.

"It will all be shot with just the light from a campfire. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for how to get enough light. We are going to be deep in the forest and we are low budget, so power is not really an option. " Use propane powered flame bars. The color and filcker match campfire light, but can provide enough brightness. Use two or more to light into the background or for an edgelight. Phil Curry

The results you obtained were consistant with your use of the meter. If you wanted her key side cheek to look line that you used the right meter and the right technique. The spot meter is a great tool, but you need to interpret the readings and adjust the stop accordingly. An incident meter is a guide to normal exposure and is not the best way to obtain a look that deviates from that. However you stopped to soon. You could have metered other areas of the scene to see how they would look, or you could have trusted your eye. Foot candles have nothing to do with your situation unless you have a foot candle meter. Ignore that idea. When you are trying to emulate a shot that was done with a 10k and you have a 1k consider that the 10k may have been much farther away, set to flood or spot, may have gone through difussion - possibly many layers and may have been dimmed or scrimed. You are on the right track to learn. Light, shoot and study the results - repeat. Consider using a still camera to start, cheaper and quicker.

For the night shots where there is fire, you can use flame bars. They give a nice soft light that matches color and flicker of your fire. No electricity, just propane tanks. I shot much of a feature with these when on a ranch with locations to remote for a generator. They cost very little to put together yourself. There are a few tricks and precautions you will need to know.

Some very bad advice that likely will damage your eye and your equipment. Talk to the camera manufacture, astronomers and look at systems for viewing an eclipse. Much better would be to use stock footage and change the shot.