Today’s lighting post is from a Short Film I had the pleasure to serve as gaffer on last year. The director wanted 3 very distinct looks for the story, including a ‘black void’ type dream-space and a bluish limbo; a tall order in such a large warehouse space. To give the DP more room to work, and the actor more freedom, I opted to rig most all the lights overhead to an I-beam. So, 3x six foot Quasar Crossfades via neodymium magnets with carabiners, and safety chain. On the Tube rigged above the actor’s table, I used two safety cables on the front so the light would be angled down and lift/wrap onto talent’s face more clearly. As the shots progressed and the emotion got more intense, I added BabyBee grid to the key tube to narrow the spill and increase contrast.
Rigged to the same I-beam between each tube light, I hung clamp lights that I’d spray painted black so they’d play as existing fixtures on camera. Inside them I had Quasar 15° Spot Bulbs at 2000°K to contrast the tubes which were at around 4800°K. I also added to the deep background behind the couch with another Quasar tube on the wall, and a few B7c’s set to red to help cut out our character and show some sense of unease. To lift the middle of the warehouse, I shot a 600D Pro with 36° Spotlight Lens up into two 4x4 hard and soft silver reflectors.
For the black void I turned all the tube lights overhead off, flew in a 12x12 Ultrabounce and used the black side as a backdrop, and the overhead warm spot bulb to edge out the actors head and shoulders. For the blue limbo space I moved the 12x negative to just outside frame right, and brought in the Aputure Nova P300c with Brokeh FEF as a gentle keylight that I color matched to the late evening light coming into the warehouse. We rated the camera at 2700°K and get the ambience and Nova to coalesce into bluish tones.
We did it in a day despite a 3-hour delay due to the ladder not arriving on time, because of the extensive PrePro I did in CineTracer. I was able to talk through the emotional progression of the script with the director and DP, and provide lighting examples for each look way ahead of time. Some still from CT are included at the end. Also haze!
This was a lighthearted Spec Ad I was Gaffer on last year, DP’d by @johnnapdp . We were going for a bright and happy Mattress Commercial vibe, so, lots of daylight was required. For the arrival shot of the mattress on the porch, I used a single 600D Pro with an F10 Fresnel and some ½ CTS to backlight the box. To lift some fill light on the front, I tucked two 6ft Quasar cross fades just to the right of the door (they can be seen in the BTS photo).
For the rest of the shots we were in the upstairs bedroom that had nearly an entire wall of windows, so trying to build contrast was the goal, and I aimed to light the space as a whole so we could work quickly. We were also shooting some slow motion, and needed to see out the windows, so this required lots of light. Luckily, just outside the windows was the roof to the wrap-around porch. This let me put a 600D Pro + F10 and ¼ CTS on a stand and play as the harder ‘sun’ source. I also clipped a leafy branch to the top of the window to break up the beam a bit. Inside as the main key was a 600D Pro in a 5ft Octabox with control grid. To lift the ambient level I added another 600D Pro blasted into the ceiling, and flagged it off the talent and bed. Now to add some shape to the scene, I flew a 12x12 of negative fill on a T-bar just out of frame to the left. To cool those shadows a tad, I had a Nova P300c blasting some blue into the 12x.
This was pretty much it, other than having to cover some of the fans on my lights when we exploded a few down pillows for the final sequence. I also added a few MC’s to the ledge of the bed to lift the logo on the product box in a few of the closeups. All in all, quite a fun shoot and I am really proud of what we were able to do with just the two of us.
#lightingdiagram #lightingbreakdown #filmlighting #setlighting #lightingforfilm #onset #production #cinematography #cinematographer #gaffer #gafferlife #griptruck #gripvan #gripandelectric #keygrip #learnfilmmaking #aputure #dcgaffer #mudregaffer #setlife #aputure #commercialproduction #highkey #mattressinabox #behindthescenes
Finally going to catch up on posts from last year's gigs. This one was a blast of a day, working with two tremendously passionate people to create something meaningful. With lots of lighting challenges, the @aputure.lighting Nova was a crucial piece, letting me set the ambience exactly how I wanted. Also the MC's were perfect for animating the rising up of something evil.
Lots of legwork also being done by my favorite @quasarscience 6ft x-fade tubes with @honeycrates
Special appearance by the aluminum sheet pan from @webstaurantstore (This was before I owned the CRLS, and it worked decently well 😂)
Director/Writer/Actor: @_christophe_farmer_ tophe
DP: @sean.the.cameraman
Gaffer: 🙋♂️
#filmlife #onset #setlife #filmset #gaffer #narrativefilm #lightingtechnician #clt #chieflightingtechnician #euphoria #hbo #lafilm #acreativedc #aputure #quasarscience #arriamira #dzofilm #hotrodcameras #dcgaffers #local487 #crls #lightbridge #lightingdesign #colorcontrast #supportthearts #redcamera #novap300c #ilovemyjob #asteratubes
Nova P300c and the Honeycrates 50° are a perfect match. Fill up a 4'x4' from just about 1 Meter away with minimal to no spill.
#griplife #setlightingtechnician #setelectric #local487 #iatse #onset #setlife #cinematography #gaffer #aputurenova #honeycrates #matthewsstudioequipment #eastcoastlife #filmmaking #filmset #acreativedc #lightingtips #cinema #quasarscience #aputure #bmpcc #lightingtest #bts #behindthescenes #learningfilmmaking #atlantafilmmaker #nycfilmmaker #reels
Check out how I lit my recent short SOLITUDE, as well as some fun tips for using tube lights in small spaces. Also, more details on how and why I use Honeycrates!
Testing out a few different builds with my 6x6 Beehive from @honeycrates
The first involves rigging the @quasarscience Crossfade tubes to the "front" of the frame and pointing them down towards the ultrabounce we have on the back of the frame, then adding Lite Grid to the front. Thus, a book light in a box.
The second is a more traditional configuration where the tubes are rigged to the back of the box, and aimed directly at the diffusion on the front. This setup yielded f5.6 at 1m (800 ISO/24fps). I had the lights set to 2000k, so there's probably a tad bit more output to be had in the middle somewhere.
Throwback to some fun overnight gaffing work from last year. Shot on Alexa Mini and Amira, we had a blast creating multiple different looks throughout this house.
The exterior was a 1.2k HMI behind the house, with 2 fog machines trying their best to fill the tree. A 500w work lamp on the right of the house. An LIFX bulb hanging on the porch, and an @aputure.lighting 120D off to the left hitting some of the trees to that side. We keyed the talent with a 300Dii and 575w HMI into a 12x10 with a bottomer to keep it off the street.
Interiors were mainly 300dii in a 2x3 softbox, 3x1 @falconeyesltd fabric light in a softbox, and some quasar tubes. I also used a DIY RGB LIFX light for the fire effect at the end.
A man notices something is not as it should be, and he rectifies it... My entry for the Make it Epic contest for @hurlbutacademy
#bmpcc4k #hurlbutacademy #makeitepic #va #rva #acreativedc #gafferlife #onset #setlife #dop #setelectric #quarantinefilm #lockeddown #gvmslider #aputure300dii #quasarscience #workunion #local487 #davinciresolve #cinematography #djironins #familyactors #birdfeeder
Flashback to my turn as DP at the past #hurlbutacademy meetup! It was a blast to see how everyone approached lighting a scene. So great to meet you all, and I am excited for the next gathering!
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#cinematographer #onlinemarketing #rva #entrepreneurlife #moneymaker #entrepreneurlifestyle #entrepreneurs #gafferlife #va #thecreative #FilmIsNotDead #reddigitalcinema #startup #virginia #motivational #shotbypixel #loveva #entrepreneurship #davidmudre #schneiderlens #onset🎥🎬 #setlife #behindthescenes #filmlighting #aputure #sooc
In this video, I compare the light quality and output of the 24'x36', 31'x47', and 60" Octabank EZ-Lock Softboxes from GLOW
They open like umbrellas and come with egg crate. Let's see how they perform!
#glowsoftbox #glowezlock #cinematography #lightpirate #aputure #aputure120d #diylighting #onset #setlife #affordablefilmmaking #prettylight #gaffer #hurlbutacademy #shanehurlbut #davidmudre #acreativedc #cameradept #bmpcc4k #voigtlander #nokton #lightingtest #softbox #fxbg #blackmagicdesign #davinciresolve
