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Lighting: Night Lighting (page 2)

Night Lighting and the Long Shot

The long or wide shot at night is a lot more problematic and takes much more powerful lights to pull it off. The best lights to use for long shots at night are powerful 12K HMIs. These are usually way off the budget mark for smaller productions. However, to accomplish the type of stark, hard lighting you see in the movies or in reality, you need a lot of light. If you can get your hands on a brighter light, set it up just out of camera shot, approximating the position of the natural light source. Add tree branches or walls to provide deep shadows. If you are shooting on a street, wet it down to create a harsh, reflective surface to give the light some bounce. The idea is to create a bright background to silhouette your talent. If, however, you shoot with the light behind you so that you can see your talent's face, be very aware of your own shadow. Remember, it may seem like there is a whole lot of light flying around, but, if you check in your monitor, you will see that with the right exposure (read f-stop), you will have crisp blacks and stark whites.

Fog Lighting

Adding a touch of fog can really punch up any exterior night scene. You can rent a fog machine from a theatre supply house. Set the machine for a light mist, making sure that the light source is behind the fog and shining through it, not on it. Wait for the fog to dissipate a little bit and create a fairly even cover without obscuring your talent. This will take some experimenting to get right, but, with a little patience and luck, you should be able to create a very dramatic scene.

A Night Lighting Final Note

While lighting scenes at night can be fun and a great creative challenge, it can also be frustratingly slow to set up and shoot. Any time you set up a shoot at night, remember to add at least another half hour to every hour it might take you to do something during the day. Crews work more slowly at night, it is harder to find things by flashlight and we just don't function as quickly at night. That said, grab a flashlight, kick in the creative juices and get ready for a nighttime of lighting fun!

Contributing editor Dr. Robert G. Nulph teaches college-level video and film production and is an independent video/film producer/director.

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