Blue Hour exteriors

[Issa Ahmad]

Hello,

I am shooting a short film next month. Our film begins at dawn where our lead character is running to her friends house. The path in which we are following her is a couple block and our production doesn't have the budget to rent lights for that much blocking. We are shooting on an Alexa Mini with Kowa anamorphics. What would you suggest for shooting to maintain the blue hour aesthetic? I am hoping this is something I could achieve through grading. 

[Issa Ahmad]

[Satsuki Murashige]

Break down your shot list, shot by shot. Take lots of location scout photos, trying to recreate the angles you want to shoot as much as possible. Line these up against your reference images. Discuss with your team what your best options for each shot are. Schedule shots based upon the plan you come up with. 

For example, if you have wide shots where you need to see the sky, it would be smart to prioritize those and shoot them at the right time of day. 

If you have tighter shots or angles that avoid the sky, then those can be scheduled later. Probably ideally under overcast skies, unless you need morning sunlight.