Filming at night

[XhuntedoverlordX]

Hey everyone, for my summer film project some friends and I need to film some scenes out in the open at night time. Does anyone have any tips for lighting. I want to be able to see things but I don't want it really obvious that there are lights set up. Thanks.

[ct_bullet]

a torch goes down well

[Clarence]

try doing a day for night shot. film it in the light of day, than adjust the contrast, brightness and color levels (to have less color, and have more of a bluish cool look). This way, you don't need lights.

[XhuntedoverlordX]

That sounds like it could work. Can I do that in Adobe Premiere? I got it a few days ago but haven't had the chance to install it.

[Clarence]

You could do that with Premiere, or with any software as long as it has color correction.

[Epsilon]

I have never seen a really good day for night shot, ever. It always looks day to me... for one you cannot get rid of a bright sky!

[BrownCowStudios]

You may want to read through this thread. It may get you started, and give you a bit more information so you can ask more specific questions. A more specific questions equals a better and more detailed answer.

http://www.matthawkins.co.uk/forum/view ... highlight=

Investing in an 80A filter may be beneficial.

[pdj]

... for one you cannot get rid of a bright sky!

Film when there's an overcast then

[Kentertainment]

If possible, ask people you know in your neighborhood or friends if they have a power generator, even though the older power generators tend to make loud noises you can set them far away and use extension cords to get away from that problem. Use your lights and place them semi-far from where you'll be filming or until you can see what it is you're filming but still get a night look.

[Epsilon]

... for one you cannot get rid of a bright sky!

Film when there's an overcast then

But it is still a light sky!

[pdj]

Fair point...sometimes if you're lucky, you can get a darker sky. Try avoid directly filming the sky. I love the old Bond movies where it’s blatantly obvious they used this technique!

[BrownCowStudios]

In a day for night situation where the sky is in the shot, you can always use a graduated filter. Still won't give the best results, but it certainly is an option. Shooting at night will be more difficult, but the results will be much better (if done properly).

[SgtPadrino]

Are you filming out in the country? If you're in town using the street lights works well enough - that's how we did it for Unforgiven and it didn't work half bad there (at least I think so)

[freed]

They day for night thing would work well. It's better and more conveinent, if your not one to set up and pepare a lot.

Simple though, just try and keep the sky out the shots and sun glare.

[lethelgirth87]

No, day for night is bad. Bad, Bad, Bad! Power generators are too loud. and torches don't burn consistently. I was in the same prediciment you were at one time....heres what we did. We bought 2, 3 million candlepower halogen lights, that run off 6 volt batteries, they last about 20 mins each...provides great light! We usually bounced the light off a sheet of white paper to spread it out, or you could use colored paper to get the desired effect. And if you need more light you can always buy more candlepowered spotlights. You get get them at Wal-Mart, Lowes, they're generally under flashlights but sometimes they're under automobile accessories.

And if you don't believe me, heres a pic of just how well it works.

[pdj]

Sorry son but thats too much light...

[BrownCowStudios]

Doesn't look very good to me. It looks like you just stuck a light out of frame and aimed it at your subject. It doesn't look natural or motivated whatsoever. A backlight would also be nice.

Aside from that, another option, if you have a car or car battery is to use one of these 8 watt fluorescents from a home improvement store.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product. ... 2874014000

This will provide a nice soft light for a key. You may want to put some blackwrap on the inside of the tube to make the light more directional and to avoid spill. You'll still need a backlight though.

Of course, if you have access to a generator or nearby outlet, there are much better options.

[redkorn]

day to night filter in the magic bullet is awsome!
example this was all shot in the daytime
http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=beast

[lethelgirth87]

Well if thats too much light, then heres a little less light, using the same setup.

[Themovieman44]

day to night filter in the magic bullet is awsome!
example this was all shot in the daytime
http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=beast

Looks like day, with the contrast dulled and blurred and out of focus, really doesn't look all that great if subbing for night. Just looks like overcast.

[Epsilon]

It needs more contrast, for one.

[BrownCowStudios]

Well if thats too much light, then heres a little less light, using the same setup.

...and now there's excessive grain and noise.

[OutcastJiob]

The best way to film day for night: don't. Practice your lighting and then film at night for real.

That, obviously, is the short answer. It's also the way to get the best results.

However, if you absolutely positively have to shoot day-for-night, make certain you use reflector boards or additional lights to reduce shadows; everything is in shadow at night and you'll want the entire scene to be rather dark but still visible, not some areas visible (due to the sunlight) and other areas pitch black (due to shadows after your tweaking down of overall brightness and contrast).

Also, as Epsilon and others have said, make certain you don't get a bright sky in your shot, because that will ruin the illusion completely. Remember that in Hollywood especially, and to a lesser extent in reality, night is somewhat blue, and change colors a bit in post accordingly.

Apart from that, I can't really help with shooting day-for-night, nor do I really want to because every time I've seen it used in low-budget films, it's destroyed any "realism" in the film.

As for shooting at night, I believe someone has mentioned portable (battery operated) spotlights of a million candlepower or so. Get a few, set up, at the very least, three-point lighting, and do NOT point the spotlights directly where you want them. Bounce the light off a reflector board (white posterboard works fine and is extremely portable, if you haven't heard of that particular trick before), diffuse it with some thin fabric stretched over a frame, whatever you need to do to make the lighting look good. Make certain you light the background of the shot properly, too.

I'm by no means an expert with regards to proper lighting, but this is either what I've used/experimented with myself or seen nice-looking examples of.

[Epsilon]

However, if you absolutely positively have to shoot day-for-night, make certain you use reflector boards or additional lights to reduce shadows; everything is in shadow at night and you'll want the entire scene to be rather dark but still visible, not some areas visible (due to the sunlight) and other areas pitch black (due to shadows after your tweaking down of overall brightness and contrast).

WRONG!!! Shadows are much, much more harsh at night. It's a backwards conceptions. The sun actually diffuses the light much better than lights at night. Evenly lighting your subject will more likely give an illusion of daylight. The lighting should be rather direct; I wouldn't use more than one fill besides the main light. Watch how the Hollwood guys light night scenes very carefully. Look at everything in real life.

Most times the lighting is from the bottom against the darkness of the horizon, as it clarifies the actor's face. WAR movies are different. They tend to be lit from the top, as if using the moon's light. This effect tends to hide the actors' eyes and provide a more mysterious illusion. There are a lot of way to play with lighting at night! Hope this helps.

[BrownCowStudios]

at the very least, three-point lighting

Actually, when shooting at night, three point lighting probably isn't the best solution. The shadows are much more apparent at night, and should be rich. Your best bet will probably be to neglect using a fill, using a soft, diffused key, and a strong backlight. Of course, you'll need to experiment quite a bit to get the look you're going after. Balance (or if necessary gel) your lights to 5600k, but white balance to 3200k.