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Solar Eclipse


Sipid

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Not sure you can capture the actual eerie quality of a solar eclipse, but the simplest way to think of it is like twilight on a clear day, a lot of skylight but no hard sun.

 

So do your wide shots at twilight, or any shot where practical lights may have to play (luckily during a solar eclipse, most people haven't turned on a lot of lights yet).

 

Otherwise, it's whatever gives you soft dim overhead skylight -- shoot in overcast, shoot under large silks, shoot at night under huge soft lights like balloons.

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Not sure you can capture the actual eerie quality of a solar eclipse, but the simplest way to think of it is like twilight on a clear day, a lot of skylight but no hard sun.

 

So do your wide shots at twilight, or any shot where practical lights may have to play (luckily during a solar eclipse, most people haven't turned on a lot of lights yet).

 

Otherwise, it's whatever gives you soft dim overhead skylight -- shoot in overcast, shoot under large silks, shoot at night under huge soft lights like balloons.

 

 

 

Thanks for the response. I'll definitely take all that into consideration and put it to good use. We were also considering using large china balls instead of balloons. Do you think that might work as a replacement of the balloon?

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The total part of an eclipse is brief if it happens at all. The last time I happened to be outside to see one, the most interesting thing was the way the partially blocked sun came through the leaves in the trees. The gaps worked like pinhole cameras, projecting little crescent suns on the pavement. Hard shadows are even harder than ever. Those theatrical instruments that project cutouts might be an interesting thing to try.

 

 

 

 

-- J.S.

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The total part of an eclipse is brief if it happens at all. The last time I happened to be outside to see one, the most interesting thing was the way the partially blocked sun came through the leaves in the trees. The gaps worked like pinhole cameras, projecting little crescent suns on the pavement. Hard shadows are even harder than ever. Those theatrical instruments that project cutouts might be an interesting thing to try.

 

 

 

 

-- J.S.

 

 

Yes, I saw that during an eclipse on a bright summer day. It was eerie in a cool way because everything looked normal but then when I looked

at the blacktop beneath the trees, it looked subtly but completely different than I'd ever seen it. You described it perfectly with the hard crescent shadows.

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  • 2 weeks later...

What we ended up doing was shooting at twilight for the beginning and end of the eclipse and then shooting at night time for the middle of the eclipse. We used a 400 and 200 Joker to light the band along with 2 1k Zips, a 400 watt china ball, and strung up ambient china balls. It ended up looking really good thanks to a good crew.

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