I'm sorry for starting all these new subjects all of a sudden, but my principal photography is 2 1/2 away, and frankly I'm getting a little nervous.
There's all kinds of stuff I'm not too sure about, and instead of creating a thread for every little thing I'm wondering about, I'm just gonna use this thread for all of them.
I greatly appreciate any help I can get from you, my fellow filmmakers. ?8)?
What I want to ask first is this: What's the best way of shooting a disco scene? I'm not sure how the camera will react to all the crazy lights that are all over the place. I'm shooting HDV, and those camera's are said to handle light better than the regular DV, but I'm still not sure what will happen when the flashy lights go nuts.
Should I have the main lights turned on, dimmed low, so the camera can see the stuff well, and just make it darker in post? Or should I just have the lights like it's normally in the weekends and just light my characters with external lights? This way sounds good, but then, how about the crowd shots?
Thanks guys
We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust.
If you are shooting in a real disco go there during the hours they are closed and do some test shots to see how the lighting will look. That wy you don't waste a lot of time on the day of the shoot. If the disco will let you shoot they should be able to find an hour for your lighting tests, etc.
RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA
RJSchwarz
I've usually found it comes out OK on DV, though I haven't tried shooting dialog scenes in a disco before.
quote:
Originally posted by MarkG
I've usually found it comes out OK on DV, though I haven't tried shooting dialog scenes in a disco before.
Could you specify that "OK" a little bit more, please?
And yeah, Schwarz, I'm thinking of doing some tests next week. I just don't have the ability to test the shots in the editing room. I'm thinking of doing some magic bulliting on them.
We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust.
I've never done anything like this, but I would say a little constant, ambient light would be good (depending on the look you're going for). You're probably going to want at least some constant, directional light on your characters as well.
The only other advice I have (this could be obvious to you, I don't know your level of experience) is to FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, USE MANUAL FOCUS AND EXPOSURE. This is always a good idea, but especially when you're dealing with flashing lights, as they will make the auto functions on your camera go nuts.
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Andrew Gingerich
Exploding Goldfish Films
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Andrew Gingerich
Exploding Goldfish Films
Check out my blog at http://www.exgfilms.com
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