Light Source: Is it Real or Just Good Lighting?

About five years ago I found myself needing a quiet outdoor scene with a flowing stream, a glowing street lamp and the first sign of blooms on the dogwood trees. Unfortunately, it was freezing outside and the trees only dreamed of blossoming. Any streams that were flowing were doing so beneath a layer of ice. I needed spring and it was winter. I needed a comfortable evening, and frostbite was about the only thing nighttime would bring. What I needed was a bit of lighting magic.
In this month's column, we look at reality lighting. Through the viewfinder, this type of lighting appears to come from the light sources visible in the shot. However, the actual illumination of the objects in the scene is done off-screen with lighting devices. To perform these techniques, all you need is some basic lighting equipment, a dash of imagination and the desire to amaze those who don't know the truth behind the curtain.

Case One: Shooting the Outside Inside

Let's go back to my dilemma. Since the real world was out of the question, I had to create a new one. In addition, since I didn't have access to a nice sound stage, I had to settle for a 20-foot by 20-foot classroom with an 8-foot ceiling and thankfully some good theater props.
I knew that if I lit the scene from a high angle with no light spilling onto the walls of the room, I could create the illusion of vast darkness. Then I added a street lamp with a 15-watt bulb and tied a couple of silk dogwood branches in full bloom to some stands. I rescued a small arched wooden bridge from the school's last theater production and threw that in too. Using the street lamp as my "real" light source, I placed a Lowel Omni reflector spot above the lamp and focused it at a 60-degree angle on my talent - two lovers meeting at a bridge. Carefully flagging the light from falling on the lamp, lamppost, walls and ceiling, I was able to create the illusion of the light coming from the street lamp and lighting our lovers. But, what about the water?
To complete the illusion, I placed another Omni with a heavy blue gel in front of the bridge and pointed it towards a baking pan sitting on the floor between the camera and bridge. I filled the pan with large broken pieces of mirror and a layer of water. Having an assistant slowly rock the pan back and forth, I adjusted the light so that the blue "moonlight" reflected off the water and mirrors into the faces of the two lovers. Adding sound effects in post production completed the illusion of reality.<…