Hello,
I was would love to hear your thoughts on the best way to expose a bar scene. We're using a the 4k Blackmagic Production Camera and I have no idea how it responds to be under-exposed. The Arri Amira produced very good results in low-key scenes on our last film but the type of film we're doing needed a lighter camera.
I've attached an image of the location. As you can see we have a ton of space and there is a beam that we can G-clamp lights to and also a ledge. OTS right there is a bar which has air-conditioners above it which would be OK to tape fluourescents to. We can't damage the walls!
The scene is a guy who takes a girl to a really crass, tasteless joint full of pink neon and cocktail umbrellas (I actually like bars liek this but there you go). The director wants to go walkabout with the camera with a DJI Ronin so the lighting has to go above. I was going to gel Osram De Luxe fluorescents behind the bar and high on the walls and then stick a 1k PAR above the table Bob Richardson style. Once that is done, I was thinking just get a rim light raking the room from the far side and have put a four bank Kino Flo through some 216 to fill the profile shot of the couple at the table.
If this sounds like an insane way to do it, feel free to correct me, I'm relatively inexperienced and open to suggestion. I liked what Dante Spinotti did for bar scenes in LA Confidential. He somehow achieved great modelling and depth.
Many thanks and good luck to you all!
Best regards,
Haydn