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Day for Night Examples


Sean Conaty

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I'm shooting a commercial in a few weeks and, for budgetary reasons, I'm told we have to do day for night. We are also shooting in a forest. Does anyone have any great examples they can recommend?

 

-Pan's Labyrinth is the most recent film I can think of but I was unimpressed

-Lawrence of Arabia and John Ford films just look so artificial

 

What are some things to look for? Best conditions, etc.?

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FWIW, I spent fifteen minutes trying to convince the folks who saw Pan's Labyrinth with me that it really was day-for-night. Those who are trained in cinematography can see it, but the typical audience member can't.

 

I fail to see how the DFN in Pans Labyrinth wasn't some of the best DFN you're ever going to see. I didn't notice until my second viewing. It also helps that a lot of that movie takes place from dusk to night and from dawn to morning so the exact time is often unclear.

Edited by Chris Keth
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I'm still waiting for some wise soul to share the optimal conditions for DFN...

Well, I can't claim to be a wise soul (I'm often called a wise guy, but I think there's a difference ... :-)

 

Anyway, I'm taking a cinematography class now, and we did a quick DFN setup. We used tungsten film, and underexposed 2 stops.

 

HTH!

 

--

Jim

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The best time to shoot day for night is the magic hour.....wn u have kind a even spread of light....u can go down by 2 stops to get the look.........

in rang de basanti they shot in mid afternoon one bike sequence which they later worked in D I.

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Magic Hour and overcast would produce a similar DFN effect, very soft bluish light -- just that at Magic Hour, the light levels are low enough for practical sources to expose brightly, and you'll probably have less depth of field.

 

Shooting DFN when the sun is out generally looks best in backlit or sidelit (if you need to use a Pola to darken a sky) in early morning or late afternoon when the sun is low and producing long shadows -- though in reality, moonlight can come from any angle including straight overhead. It's just that when the sun is lower and the scene is back or sidelit, you get nice shadows.

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The main thing with DFN is to avoid the things that give it away. Car headlights, for instance, can't possibly compete with the sun. Polarizers can help with the sky, but you're better off avoiding it entirely. Being in a forest, that may be a good way to go.

 

 

 

 

-- J.S.

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