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Fire, color temp & lighting

Flicker Pictures

Flicker Pictures

Q for the lighting pros: Are incandescent bulbs most similar in color temp to fire?

I'm shooting a scene with a small bonfire to illuminate faces and will most likely want to fill in with additional lighting. Best to use "regular" light bulbs inside china globes or soft boxes? I want to make sure the lighting sources match.
 
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Firelight is usually considered to be 2000°K and under, but it varies depending on the temperature (°C, not °K) of the flame. I'd go for dimmed or gelled tungsten bulbs on a flicker box for a convincing effect. Dimming the light will have a similar effect to gelling with CTO. Many sources individually flickering will look much more realistic than one larger source. Having the whole rig on a dimmer will allow you to key in the colour temperature precisely - a combination of gels and dimmers will give you the most control.
 
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Ya, like Chilipie noted, campfire (depending on materials, burned and other factors) sits around 800k-1800k (embers to flame), whereas incandescent~2800K. Must your additional light be mingling or can it come from a different source, altogether? Such as the headlights of a car?
 
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Good question, Bird. I was considering having the band members (music video) individually lit from above. No car headlights in this shot so I can't use that as a source. Five members of the band in a star formation around a fire. There may be enough light from the fire if we get it big enough. Maybe I'll do some tests to be sure. : )
 
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That's only half of the video. The other part we'll be recreating and riffing on the original Wicker Man movie since the song is titled Wickerman and pretty much is about being burned to death. :eek:

This is the concept for now, but it all could fall through or get changed into something else entirely.
 
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brianluce said:
I wish those guys would stop trying to be funny and just give us the info.
Click to expand...

I had a similar reaction. I can see what they're going for, mixing humor with delivering "boring" information, but I prefer straight-forward no-nonsense how-to videos. Otherwise I get distracted with the comedy/antics and miss the point entirely.

Still I appreciate the links (thanks Knightly!) and they are giving me some ideas. :)
 
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found out one of the band members has a decent video projector, so that might become our extra ambient fire light. I'll put together a looped clip of flame flicker. if I do tests I'll be sure to post.
 
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Flicker Pictures said:
found out one of the band members has a decent video projector, so that might become our extra ambient fire light. I'll put together a looped clip of flame flicker. if I do tests I'll be sure to post.
Click to expand...

Very interesting idea. I'm particularly anxious to find out how it turns out since I'm looking to do a 'tv flicker' on a couple actors' faces for a sketch I've got. I hadn't thought of it until you said something, but I've got a 16mm projector. Maybe I could use some gels, switching them out by hand, to give the right look for that.. :hmm:

Thanks for the inspiration :D
 
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Flicker Pictures said:
I had a similar reaction. I can see what they're going for, mixing humor with delivering "boring" information, but I prefer straight-forward no-nonsense how-to videos. Otherwise I get distracted with the comedy/antics and miss the point entirely.

Still I appreciate the links (thanks Knightly!) and they are giving me some ideas. :)
Click to expand...

they have great info, but if they have to concern themselves with page hits, i really wish that instead the unfunny comedy, they'd have hot chicks in bikinis giving the info. I think that'd be a fair compromise.
 
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For TV flicker, I've used a light with a blue gel and a hand passed in front of it (in slower sweeps than I would have thought initially). A red gel would make it fire looking... careful not to burn your hand, lights are hot.
 
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