John Allen Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 This summer I am shooting a thriller in Chicago and have some car scenes that I need to light. It's a no budget film so I'm only going to be able to use what light that I have(shop lights) and pratical light. So I really need advise or ideas on how to go about lighting a car scene. Below are some pics of what the directer wants it to look like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiaoyu Huang Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 you can buy some fluorescents to use inside the car, the light outside of the car you can use is the practical light, and you may lay a man on the top of the car roof to control a light with hand in order to simulate the changing light from the outside when some close-up shoots if it is not fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Holland Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Dont think having a person on roof of car is very safe !!!!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Paul Bruening Posted January 24, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted January 24, 2008 As I recall from the DVD features of Collateral they used flexible panels of white LEDs attached to the ceiling of the car. They were flat, broad light source like flos but had a really low profile, were light in weight and molded well to the curved shapes in the ceiling. They spoke really well of the rigging. I assume they had to filter for the associated color spikes but that's just a guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Allen Posted January 24, 2008 Author Share Posted January 24, 2008 As I recall from the DVD features of Collateral they used flexible panels of white LEDs attached to the ceiling of the car. They were flat, broad light source like flos but had a really low profile, were light in weight and molded well to the curved shapes in the ceiling. They spoke really well of the rigging. I assume they had to filter for the associated color spikes but that's just a guess. Sweet! Thanks alot for help Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Holland Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 no way will you be able to afford LEDs how about 12volt fairy lights rigged under dash and where ever you hide then run of car battery from cig . lighter ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Allen Posted January 24, 2008 Author Share Posted January 24, 2008 (edited) Yes, that could work. Thanks. Edited January 24, 2008 by John Allen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Hal Smith Posted January 24, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted January 24, 2008 There are 12 volt DC compact fluorescent bulbs that screw into a standard edison socket. They use a high frequency solid state internal ballast so they're flickerfree. Screw them into a aluminum reflector worklight (with the AC plug removed) and run some tests. I've used a couple inside a van to shoot a scene with a miniDV camera and they worked quite well. Here's a link that will find a bunch of them: Google Compact Fluorescent Search Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert duke Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Collateral used luminescient panels similar to laptop screens to illuminate the taxi interior, which caused the greenish tint to the interior. You can use these if you can afford them. Other options are: Christmas lights run through an inverter. You can buy a 400w inverter for under $30. you can get a 50w 12v household bulb trouble light at your local RV supplier. you can get 12v puck lights/ under cabinet lights that when wired without the 12v power supply will run off a car battery. you can used a 12v inverter and use inkies and other standard fare light fixtures such as Kino's and inkies. you can get a 12v flourecent trouble light at autozone for $15. Or you can RENT a Kino car kit. All of these are options to using low budget car shots. The collateral shots utilized a sheet of luminescent panel on the ceiling of the taxi, and a Kino car kit. The other shot looks like either a kino car kit or 15" kino with an inverter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Bill Totolo Posted January 25, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted January 25, 2008 What if this were a day exterior? I'm shooting something similar and have some ideas but would love to hear from the collective. bt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Michael Nash Posted January 25, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted January 25, 2008 What if this were a day exterior? I'm shooting something similar and have some ideas but would love to hear from the collective. Daytime is a LOT tougher. Basically you can't light much from inside the car, since the exposure difference between inside and outside is too extreme for small units. You pretty much have to light from outside the car, which usually means process trailer since actors can't drive while staring into bright lights coming through the windshield. If you choose to go without external lighting you can attempt to ND the on-camera windows; use a sunroof (diffused or not); and bounce a little available sunlight in with a few small, strategically placed pieces of foamcore; or some combination thereof. Oh, and there's always the greenscreen or rear-projection approach. I sure we've discussed this many times before so there's bound to be stuff in archives. And where can I get one of those cool masks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adam Frisch FSF Posted January 25, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted January 25, 2008 Get some christmas tree lights on a loop and place around inside the car - gives a nice non-sourcey look. You can also use so called rope lights, they're decorative lights built into a flexible rope and they come in different colours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Paul Bruening Posted January 25, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted January 25, 2008 Collateral used luminescient panels similar to laptop screens to illuminate the taxi interior, which caused the greenish tint to the interior. John, I remember that now. I gave you a bum tip. I apologize for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorel Mihaila Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 hi Shot an entire short film in a car. Action took place before dawn and a little after sunrise. The car was parked so i didn-t have problems about shooting while the car was in motion. I also used some "compact fluorescent bulbs that screw into a standard edison socket"..turned out cost effective and did the job quite well, very similar to a car kit. For the shots after the sunrise i also used some lighting from the exterior of the car but no more than 2 X 500W light sources. At one point, the characters fall asleep and they wake up shortly after the sunrise. One of them turns off the light inside the car. The too lights from the exterior do their job but you can still "feel" the light from inside the car as it is turned off. Placed it right above the rear view mirror and didn-t bother me with any of the shots. Only problem was shooting from the back seat had to tilt the camera a bit but still had the mirror in the shot to see the character reflected as he was talking. good luck with your shooting d. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Get some christmas tree lights on a loop and place around inside the car - gives a nice non-sourcey look. You can also use so called rope lights, they're decorative lights built into a flexible rope and they come in different colours. Hey Adam, that sounds like a good idea. Do you have any examples where you or anyone else has done it this way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Buick Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Dont think having a person on roof of car is very safe !!!!. A car roof is designed to tolerate the weight of the car overturned, as long as the car is checked out previously, and the man on top is using grippy shoes it should be okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert duke Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Grippy shoes or not you are putting someone in great jeopardy, and opening yourself up to a career ending possibility. Placing people in harms way is not cool nor is it smart. even if you wratchet strapped someone to the roof it would still be extremely dangerous. Stop and think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Hal Smith Posted January 31, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted January 31, 2008 Grippy shoes or not you are putting someone in great jeopardy, and opening yourself up to a career ending possibility. Placing people in harms way is not cool nor is it smart. even if you wratchet strapped someone to the roof it would still be extremely dangerous.Stop and think. I would only attempt it with a full body harness tied into the car that was rigged by a stunt supervisor who had experience doing this. The G forces involved in a moving car can be amazing. In my sports car racing days I had a wreck that ripped a shoulder harness strap right out of its mounting - a mount that had been inspected by professional race safety people and deemed safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member John Brawley Posted January 31, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted January 31, 2008 (edited) Hey Adam, that sounds like a good idea. Do you have any examples where you or anyone else has done it this way? Here you go ! I use xmas lights and rope light all the time for this kind of thing. I don't have a movie example to show right now...here's a lighting preview. This is a couple of stand-ins...actually the producer and the gaffer....! (guess which one is which) So it was xmas lights across the dash and dedo 100w liners...(which were moved during the shot) The other shot is with the real actors... jb Edited January 31, 2008 by John Brawley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Thanks John. If you can get a movie version to show, that'd be great. I'm curious about the motion of the christmas lights. Great stills, btw :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member John Brawley Posted January 31, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted January 31, 2008 Thanks John. If you can get a movie version to show, that'd be great. I'm curious about the motion of the christmas lights. Great stills, btw :) thanks... What do you mean by motion ? Moving around in shot ? It's a peice o' piss...just tape them down with a bit of gaffer. I LOVE lighting with rope and xmas lights. It's so easy to shape the light by simply moving it around ! You can change the size of your source by shifting it..making it longer, shorter...whatever... They are a bit warm, but usually nothing that's not ungradeable, and they tend to look great on skin. Very flattering actually. This film was actually graded for a very de-saturated feel. So it was mostly b+w.... Im just trying to dig up a copy...get it ripped...post it etc... I'll let you know.... jb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 What do you mean by motion ? Moving around in shot ? Oh, my misunderstanding. I thought they were "twinkling" Christmas lights, which would have turned out quite strange I imagine, ha ha. I'm inspired to get a bit of LED rope lights now ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Madsen Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 What if this were a day exterior? I'm shooting something similar and have some ideas but would love to hear from the collective. In low budget situations use your location and time of day to your advantage. For example, have the car drive next to a reflective surface (building, 18 wheeler, rock face), shoot your car scene in early morning/ late afternoon when the sun is low enough to enter the car or find a back drop for the car that isn't so bright. How successful have any of you been shooting day cars interiors using a green screen and what best conveys a moving car other then the GS (shaking the car, shaking the camera, shaking the actors)? Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Brown Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Hi, A mini flow or a small 1ft Kino strategically placed along the dash can work a treat. They both work out of the cigarette lighter with the appropriate connections. I find Tungsten with 1/4+Green gives a nice dash light. Regards, James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etienne van Leeuwen Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 I use xmas lights and rope light all the time for this kind of thing. I did the same. Works great!! But a few weeks ago I found these Lumi-Sheets, thick as a cell-phone, and the length is up to you. So stick them on the roof, dashboard whatever. The light is about 5600K, but, a guy told me, they tend to be a little greenish. 12Volt is no problem for them. Succes, Etienne. Amsterdam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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