"BODY HEAT" lighting

[Joe Gideon]

Hi there,

 

I'm working on a film where I'm trying to mimic a lighting effect from Lawrence Kasdan's 1981 film BODY HEAT. I'm a novice cinematographer, so any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

 

I'm trying to re-create the moment (towards the end of the film) where Kathleen Turner disappears into the dark. For those of you who are not familiar with the film, the scene is a night exterior and Kathleen Turner is seen facing the camera in a long shot; she is dimly lit by moonlight. After she finishes her dialogue, she turns 180 degrees, takes one step into the background, and completely disappears. It is a very evocative moment.

 

Can anyone suggest how to achieve to achieve this effect on a limited budget? Basically I need to know how to set up the lights so that the character goes from light to complete dark in the span of one step away from the camera.

 

Thanks,

 

J.

[Daniel Carruthers]

Hi there,

 

I'm working on a film where I'm trying to mimic a lighting effect from Lawrence Kasdan's 1981 film BODY HEAT. I'm a novice cinematographer, so any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

 

I'm trying to re-create the moment (towards the end of the film) where Kathleen Turner disappears into the dark. For those of you who are not familiar with the film, the scene is a night exterior and Kathleen Turner is seen facing the camera in a long shot; she is dimly lit by moonlight. After she finishes her dialogue, she turns 180 degrees, takes one step into the background, and completely disappears. It is a very evocative moment.

 

Can anyone suggest how to achieve to achieve this effect on a limited budget? Basically I need to know how to set up the lights so that the character goes from light to complete dark in the span of one step away from the camera.

 

Thanks,

 

J.

I have not seen this movie, but ive seen simular shots. one that comes to my mind is in eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, when kate winslet is lying on ice and she gets pulled away from the camera and dissapears in the shawdows.

how I would do it is i would front light the actor from behind the camera keep the light high up and make sure the light isnt spilling out to far in the distance,and i probly wouldent use any other set lights just make sure when the actor walks away that no light is spilling on her. some flages might help.

It should be really easy to achieve just set the exposure to your light lets say at a 5.6 and make sure the shawdows are at like a 1.8 or lower, a spot meter would help.

i hope what i said make sense. it should be really easy to achieve,especially if your shooting in a wide open area.

[Matt Sandstrom]

if it's a locked down shot you can also shoot a clean plate and cross fade. could look a bit too "magical" perhaps but if the talent is already almost invisible in the shadows it might work. it obviously starts with the lighting.

 

/matt