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Hi! I am currently doing preproduction for a music video. It’s a horror themed music video set to reggae music. Half of the music video takes place at night. There’s a campsite scene with a bonfire and the rest of the night scenes are at the woods where the band members are exploring a creepy dark forest and eventually chased by a monster. I would like to ask for suggestions on how to light certain scenes and shots :) I did a lot of research on lighting ideas for bonfire set ups and moonlight set ups and there are various ways to do them but I’m not sure which style can work with the limited gear I have. We’re shooting with a Sony A7SII and prime lenses. Here is my lighting gear: 1x1 Led Light Bi color with softbox and grid (2) - can be battery operated 1x1 led light (medium sized) (2) - can be battery operated Led Worklight Portable led light - battery operated 1 small portable led light 85 watt daylight bulb with china ball Aputure 120D with light dome and spacelight attachments 25 W Beam video led light (2) - can be battery operated Par light (Rgbw, 3watts, 50 bulbs per par) (3) Smoke machine CTBs, CTOs, 201s, ND gel 5 in 1 reflector 2 large styrofoam Basically the first part of the night scenes is the campsite with bonfire setup. The 5 member band will be sitting by the bonfire which will be the main key light with moonlight at the side and the back. I might enhance the closeups with a led light with CTO or orange gel with fake flickering in front of them. I’m not to sure how to do the moonlight at their back. The location looks like this: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/e16f1721-016c-4b60-b861-897d38b96610/df4c80b550b51b84/res/e580c050-7fe8-4689-bed6-941e661c1dc8/IMG_3633.JPG?resizeSmall&width=832 https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/e16f1721-016c-4b60-b861-897d38b96610/df4c80b550b51b84/res/798ed9ff-3ccb-410b-b3d2-5210c7456409/IMG_3644.JPG?resizeSmall&width=832 My reference for the lighting is this: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/41a66133-af8f-4c3e-bc43-791b9e62e158/a876e3da84ed4205/res/fd34993a-240b-4a3a-8dbb-8b4b33986807/Screen%20Shot%202018-08-31%20at%2011.07.12%20PM.png?resizeSmall&width=832 https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/41a66133-af8f-4c3e-bc43-791b9e62e158/a876e3da84ed4205/res/548aaec8-cd69-494f-a98e-448968cf5bd8/Screen%20Shot%202018-08-31%20at%2011.07.29%20PM.png?resizeSmall&width=832 https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/41a66133-af8f-4c3e-bc43-791b9e62e158/a876e3da84ed4205/res/a80eaa04-48ba-4bff-b8fa-b287b1826070/39498786-bonfire-wallpapers.png?resizeSmall&width=832 The second part of the night scenes is the band exploring the dark creepy woods with their flashlight and emergency lights. So I’m thinking of having them use strong flashlight so I can bounce the flashlight light with a styrofoam back into their faces while the camera is front of them. And when the camera is from their POV, the strong light of the flashlight would be enough to light the trees (with a focused beam of course) or I can use the the portable beam lights to fake the flashlight light. I haven’t decided yet if the light will only be the flashlight cos I’m thinking I want some faint moonlight in the surroundings as well but I don’t know if it will work. The coverage for these scenes would be medium of them. They are huddled together as they walk so the light will be only concentrated on them. Then there will be pov or OTS shot of them of each other when they face one another. The location for these scenes are: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/e16f1721-016c-4b60-b861-897d38b96610/df4c80b550b51b84/res/084ad3b5-5f8c-476f-aa03-cd9934ffde1c/IMG_3668.JPG?resizeSmall&width=832 https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/e16f1721-016c-4b60-b861-897d38b96610/df4c80b550b51b84/res/349e07d2-a51d-45c0-872d-73bd68d126de/IMG_3684.JPG?resizeSmall&width=832 or this: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/e16f1721-016c-4b60-b861-897d38b96610/df4c80b550b51b84/res/b7766052-b010-4099-a16b-da1179e064d8/IMG_3756.JPG?resizeSmall&width=832 My reference for the lighting is: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/41a66133-af8f-4c3e-bc43-791b9e62e158/a876e3da84ed4205/res/5f842be8-f57b-4c04-8f28-1a274e5c1907/Screen%20Shot%202018-08-03%20at%209.43.45%20PM.png?resizeSmall&width=832 The Ritual https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/41a66133-af8f-4c3e-bc43-791b9e62e158/a876e3da84ed4205/res/38e19281-d4ef-4fa8-a1ec-78a46d341da4/Screen%20Shot%202018-08-12%20at%209.12.24%20PM.png?resizeSmall&width=832 https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/41a66133-af8f-4c3e-bc43-791b9e62e158/a876e3da84ed4205/res/53e363e0-3517-47cf-8c8e-3d663dc50599/Screen%20Shot%202018-08-17%20at%2012.26.26%20AM.png?resizeSmall&width=832 The third part would be the two last remaining characters dropping their flashlights so the key light would be the moonlight now. The monster (a bloodied haggard-looking woman) would slowly appear to them. The moonlight would be more “visible” or stronger at this point. The last remaining person would run down a hill. I would shoot a shot where the camera peeks through the trees as he runs down. It might be also important to note that the person last standing is half-black. I am planning to have our makeup artist put shimmery makeup on him so the light would reflect his skin. My reference for the lighting is: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/41a66133-af8f-4c3e-bc43-791b9e62e158/a876e3da84ed4205/res/9abdd734-a6cb-453a-912c-78a92924ebcb/Screen%20Shot%202018-08-31%20at%2011.10.32%20PM.png?resizeSmall&width=832 https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/41a66133-af8f-4c3e-bc43-791b9e62e158/a876e3da84ed4205/res/dc4f2656-8a11-4aa0-b8f9-dd827ad82dbc/Screen%20Shot%202018-08-31%20at%2011.09.15%20PM.png?resizeSmall&width=832 https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/41a66133-af8f-4c3e-bc43-791b9e62e158/a876e3da84ed4205/res/7acf2724-e66e-4e12-bf3b-63407a43c4bb/Screen%20Shot%202018-08-25%20at%2012.56.39%20AM.png?resizeSmall&width=832 https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/41a66133-af8f-4c3e-bc43-791b9e62e158/a876e3da84ed4205/res/2f38e7bc-c0bd-4c51-8d30-481e578cca3a/Screen%20Shot%202018-08-25%20at%2012.57.14%20AM.png?resizeSmall&width=832 https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/41a66133-af8f-4c3e-bc43-791b9e62e158/a876e3da84ed4205/res/49d790bf-fa59-44fe-8273-53f926f557a3/Screen%20Shot%202018-08-04%20at%202.44.54%20AM.png?resizeSmall&width=832 https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/41a66133-af8f-4c3e-bc43-791b9e62e158/a876e3da84ed4205/res/3d7ba0be-30d3-4c82-abb2-e28487116ac8/Screen%20Shot%202018-08-17%20at%201.59.29%20AM.png?resizeSmall&width=832 https://www.evernote.com/shard/s220/sh/41a66133-af8f-4c3e-bc43-791b9e62e158/a876e3da84ed4205/res/1a2496be-d3e9-46f8-8b5a-54961d10e8f8/Screen%20Shot%202018-08-17%20at%202.00.43%20AM.png?resizeSmall&width=832 I am not just sure how I will execute the moonlight light as key and background. I’m thinking of using the chinaball with the bulb wrapped in 201 and the ball wrapped in black foil attached to a boom pole and follow him as he walks and runs. I apologize if this is such a long post. If you have any suggestions on how to light the particular scenes and shots I’m not sure on, I would really appreciate it!

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Hello! We just launched the second instalment of our Kin Fables trilogy titled Salvage. Shot on the west coast of Newfoundland on the Red Epic using Zeiss Super Speed lenses. I'd love to hear what this community has to say about the film, on all aspects. Thanks for taking the time to watch! https://vimeo.com/119777338

Hey guys, I am a film student, at my senior year and about to embark on my final film project for school. My short film project is a thriller where the protagonist has to uncover clues and find out where his mistress has disappeared to. So in short, this scene is where we have our protagonist drive down a dirt track in the middle of a forest and continues on foot to the various clues. In depth, our protagonist is led to this location (forest) as the place where he'd find his mistress who has gone missing for the past few weeks. He drives down the dirt tracks, and stops when he sees a violet ribbon (recurring theme throughout the film) tied to a tire swing by a tree ahead of him. He got off on foot and whipped out his flashlight and walked towards the violet ribbon, he then sees another violet ribbon tied to a tree about 10 feet to his right and he walks towards it. He looks around for signs of his mistress, walking around the area by the tree until CREAK, he stepped on something wooden that is buried underneath the ground, he immediately dug frantically, fearing that his mistress could be underneath. He dug and dug until he uncovered a large wooden box, he opened it and his mistress lies dead inside. He freaks out. The thing is, I can use the car headlights as backlight for a portion of the scene, but then we have the protagonist turn right and walk away from the headlights. There isn't any other light source around him whatsoever, except for the flashlight he has with him. This flashlight isn't omnidirectional though as it is coming from his mobile phone. My director wants the scene to be lit not too bright, but enough to see the facial features of the protagonist. So how do I light my subject if there are no natural light sources around to use as an excuse to place my lights (china lantern, arri fresnels)? I need advise, this is my first time lighting a night scene and I need all the help I can get, in terms of what kinds of light to use and how to light the area. Thanks Internet!

I'm about to shoot a tiny test project where a 3 page Conversation scene takes place at an open spaced parking lot. Looking at the forecast, I expect our day to be a cloudless sunny day. I just wanted to hear some of your techniques on working with the sun, precisely on timing & scheduling your shot. How do you work with the sun? I'll take all the explanation you got, but a few questions I would like to have them answered would be... - Do you schedule the wide master on early AM or Magic hour? - Do you choose to not shoot when the sun is directly above, sometime around maybe 11AM - 2PM if wide diffusing isn't an option? - Do you try to backlight the actors as much as possible with the sun? - If your wide was very contrasty, then do you try to match the contrast on CU, or will you ignore the consistency and go diffused instead? Thank you all for taking your time to read this post. I'd really appreciate your opinions on this.

Hi, I'm looking for some advice on how to light a night time outdoor scene that is located alongside a road. There are some street lamps, but not many. This is a low budget film so looking to keep costs down. In the scene there is a conversation between two characters while walking along a path (some street lamps). There is then a crash scene (so will be able to use one cars headlights). If anyone has any ideas or tips as to the best way to light something like this I would be very grateful. Thanks

Hi, I'm looking for some advice on how to light a night time outdoor scene that is located alongside a road. There are some street lamps, but not many. This is a low budget film so looking to keep costs down. In the scene there is a conversation between two characters while walking along a path (some street lamps). There is then a crash scene (so will be able to use one cars headlights). If anyone has any ideas or tips as to the best way to light something like this I would be very grateful. Thanks