JayneAmaraRoss Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Hello everyone, I am planning to shoot in a very isolated location, accessible only by foot (after a few hours of walking, and over uneven terrain). The location is a small abandonned cottage in the North of England. There will be a working fireplace and the room should appear to be lit by this source, and a few candles only. I need your advice/experience on finding an appropriate way of lighting the scene without electricity. I have thought about battery-run torches & triple-wick candles, and push-processing. I will be shooting on super 8 tri-x film (200 ISO) with a 4008 beaulieu camera and Schneider 6-66mm lens (max aperture: 1.8). Let me know your thoughts! Thanks a-million, Jayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zac Fettig Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Shoot a faster film with lower contrast. That lighting sounds tricky (but doable) for Vision 500T. Tri-X is a PAIN to light correctly in low light. It's only got 1-1/2 stops of lattitude total. (3/4 up, 3/4 down) If you want B&W, turn the saturation to 0 in post. Unless your workflow has you editing on film, you'll save yourself a ton of headaches down the line. Other advice would be to make sure you've got a reflector in the fireplace. No need to waste any light. If you can dress the set, large mirrors or brass shields on stands to bounce light might help some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted March 10, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted March 10, 2013 Why not get a hand-carryable Honda generator? They are only 30 lbs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Brereton Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Tri-X is a PAIN to light correctly in low light. It's only got 1-1/2 stops of lattitude total. (3/4 up, 3/4 down) Are you sure this is correct? A film with only 1 1/2 stops of latitude would be literally black & white! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Cunningham Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Yeah, my understanding is that it's closer to 3 stops. Even double-x is sadly only about 6. That's part of why "The Artist" was actually shot on color film and then graded to B&W. It was just so much more versatile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Dunn Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Are you sure this is correct? A film with only 1 1/2 stops of latitude would be literally black & white! Latitude, not dynamic range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Stevens Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Shoot 200t and 500t and go B&W in post. You won't be risking disaster that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Rodgers Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 I LOVE Tri-X! I can see why people are sensibly advising you to shoot on Vision stock but please don't shoot colour just to accommodate one low lighting set-up. It simply won't look the same and the properties of Tri-X are virtually magical to my eyes.Just buy a lot of cheap portable flicker-free LED lights* and batteries off of eBay plus use two or three reflectors add a few more candles in shot and shoot it all on Tri-X. * Try shooting a test cartridge at home with the lights beforehand, you will get a good idea of what is actually achievable then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Gladstone Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 I've been shooting nothing but tri-x at sxsw this week. Definitely have a few underexposed night exteriors. Should be fine I think, but I'll let you know after I get everything processed. Shooting a test roll with various lighting conditions is really the best advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayneAmaraRoss Posted March 11, 2013 Author Share Posted March 11, 2013 Wow, thanks guys for all your useful replies! :) I LOVE TRI-X TOO Bill!!! What a beautiful stock! I have been shooting it and processing it by hand for years. What kind of an autonomy can I expect from LED lights with portable batteries? How far would you guys push-process if that was my only solution? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Jeremy Cavanagh Posted March 11, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted March 11, 2013 Jayne, I see someone else here has also suggested LED lights - I guess you got my post at film labs on hiring the LED lights of the sort that go on the top of ENG cameras for news work - the rectangular ones that use an array of LEDs so its a spread light. These are light, flat and retangular so could lend themselves to being taped to something handy or even hand held rather than needing a tripod or stand and lifting the overall amount of light. I would've thought it would be straightforward to hire one of two of them with a battery or two and charger or perhaps I'm a bit out of touch. I have to confess I don't know how long one battery would last operating a couple of these so perhaps two or three batteries would be better - depends on how else much you are carrying in to the location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Rodgers Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Thanks to the exploding DSLR market there are now loads of portable LED lights that are cheaply available on-line. In all honesty I would try to avoid pushing Tri-X more than a stop and concentrate on using portable lighting. I strongly advise experimenting with a few examples and examining the end results. They don't cost a fortune and you can always use them again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Frazer Noakes Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Pushing reversal film is not advisable unless you have seen the results and are happy with them. As I understand it, the Beaulieu cameras are good in low light even with f1,8 beinmg the widest aperture. Here is a film shot on a 5008 with Ekatchrome 64T in low light - look at the later scenes outdoors - I think they only had hand held lights - but not really sure. https://vimeo.com/1471613 However I am not that experienced with using Beaulieu cameras myself, but Tri-X is good for medium low light situations and not very good in real low light situations. I agree that you shoudl do some tests - some pushed and some with LED portalamps and see what results you get and see if YOU are happy with the results. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayneAmaraRoss Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 Hello all, Thanks for all these really helpful answers, after thought I think I will go with LED lights, candles, reflectors and a little hope ;-)! All the best, and thank you again, Jayne 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Stevens Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 (edited) Brave woman. I admire you. I shot this straight8 under insane conditions over one long night in NYC's subways. It all came out, but I think even underground I had more light than you will have. Edited March 13, 2013 by Matt Stevens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy Velez Jr Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 (edited) Jayne you could also get a light gun on ebay, these things work wonders and if you get two or even three, then your got ghetto hollywood lighting lol, the LEDs are cool I just used one 2 days ago however my friends were shooting DSLR. Whats cool about the LED light kit I used was the fact the there were 2 cranks for hot and cold lighting on the side, it got me thinking about LED lighting and I am def gonna buy one of those and try to mix it up with my light guns. old super 8 light guns work wonders and charms and so do the LEDs ( the newer little brother to the old school light guns) I say if you have the bread use em both if your got budget go straight for the LED lights, if you got time and a budget for the super8 light guns on eBay Sidenote: as a fellow new yorker super 8 enthusiast Matt, that is AWESOME! shooting in the subway can be disastrous, at least for me, now I know, put it manual and keep it wide at 2, but yeah Tri-X is awesome Question: was there ever like a superior b&w film stock for super 8 like Eastman Double for 16mm and 35mm.. What was Plus X? Does Fuji have a b&w 8mm stock? Edited March 13, 2013 by Rudy Velez Jr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayneAmaraRoss Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 Rudy, thanks for your suggestions. I hadn't thought of that - I will check out those old super 8 guns on ebay now. A friend of mine has just suggested gasoline lamps... like this : http://www.auvieuxcampeur.fr/terre/eclairage/lanterne-a-gaz/lanterne-f1-lite.html another avenue to explore! Thanks for the video Matt, it looks great!!! Here's my contribution (tri-x beaulieu 5008 and canon 814 - then hand-processed) with various lighting situations: http://vimeo.com/14898901 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Stevens Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Jayne, I now want to see The Freemartin Calf. That trailer is sensational. Well done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy Velez Jr Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 gasoline lamps are intriguing..I wonder how much light those bad boys throw out? Has anyone else on here EVER use one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayneAmaraRoss Posted March 14, 2013 Author Share Posted March 14, 2013 Yes, I would definitely be interested if someone had any experience with these! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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