Camping fire scene with RED one and ultra primes

[Robin Erik Eriksson]

Im gonna shoot a scene with RED one and Zeiss ultra primes. We are gonna shoot in the middle of the night and the only light source is a camping fire. The two actors will be a few meters away from the fire. Something like in this photo:

 

http://kevingong.com/Hiking/Images/2001RaeLakes/Day5/K03CampFire001.jpg

 

My question is, do you think this will be possible with the RED one the Zeiss ultra primes? Think they are T1.9 or 1.4. Or do I have to use fill light or a bigger fire?

 

I want it to look something like this but a little bit darker: http://whatspikelikes.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/plainview-fire.jpg

 

Any experience on this?

 

Thanks,

 

Robin

[Brian Drysdale]

If you're going to see nothing in the background but black, I'd fake it somewhere you'll have power using lights. A small camp fire isn't going to give out enough light at the distance you're thinking about. Sound may also be an issue if you use wood, however, if you're going to use real flames I'd try a gas powered effect fire a bit closer.

 

As a test, you could check your levels using a light meter with an ISO 320 to see how much light a practical camp fire actaully will throw out.

[James Brown]

I agree with Bryan, use electricity at least as some overall ambiance. If thats not possible, You would be suprised how much those gas powered flame bars can emit. I really like using the natural fire in the FG of a shot and lighting the characters with flame bar, they have the consistency of a real fire and never look like you have lit it artificially. I would suggest getting two flame bars so you can control the shape of the light a bit more.

 

Try get a REDMX and steal some extra stop.

 

Ultra Primes are 1.9.

Edited April 24, 2011 by James Brown

[Jason Cowan]

What is the exposure index to which you feel most inclined shooting at? If this is the legacy RED One, the native sensitivity is approximately 320 ISO. This would require much more light than described.

 

Try get a REDMX and steal some extra stop.

 

The second generation sensor, Mysterium-X, would offer a native sensitivity of approximately 800 ISO. Some cinematographers disregard the factory statements; these settings often time do not work realistically, especially in nature.

[Steve Munro]

Don't forget about light source (direction) as well. Unless you're after a neo-noir effect then lighting from below only is going to give you, well, that noir look. For real portability you can get some LED strip lights that can be powered by a 12v battery with maybe a dimmer along the circuit and gels over the light to match the temperature of the on-screen perceived light source; this becomes especially true if you want correct exposure with the source-light (i.e. camp fire) in shot at the same time as the actors.

Steve

[James Brown]

What is the exposure index to which you feel most inclined shooting at? If this is the legacy RED One, the native sensitivity is approximately 320 ISO. This would require much more light than described.

 

The second generation sensor, Mysterium-X, would offer a native sensitivity of approximately 800 ISO. Some cinematographers disregard the factory statements; these settings often time do not work realistically, especially in nature.

 

Last time i shot with a flame bar i was shooting RED & DSLR. I remember using a single flame bar @ 320 ASA, i had the flame at full capacity and i was reading 1.3 / 2 split on the flame. These all vary as per what type you get and testing would be a great idea.

 

As discussed an overall ambiance will help with this scene if you have the resources. A soft overhead a couple of stops down or some flicker effects with a matching flame gel could really add to the scene.

 

Cheers, James

[Jason Cowan]

Last time i shot with a flame bar i was shooting RED & DSLR. I remember using a single flame bar @ 320 ASA, i had the flame at full capacity and i was reading 1.3 / 2 split on the flame. These all vary as per what type you get and testing would be a great idea.

 

Wow. Yeah, I shot a campfire scene with a gas fire-pit in my backyard with the RED ONE. It was all MOS, so the sound wasn't an issue. We were, however, quite underexposed (more so than predicted, though magnified by my inexperience!).

 

Yeah, if you've got a bunch of bounce from the bar, I think it's possible.

 

A soft overhead a couple of stops down or some flicker effects with a matching flame gel could really add to the scene.

 

That would look pretty interesting. Good idea. That could prevent some of that under light which would allude a more noir-ish tone. Is that the purpose?

 

Maybe look into some old Westerns for inspiration. I've found some pretty sweet campfire scenes in some of those wild west flicks.