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How is this this kind of lighting achieved?

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Hello new dude :cool:

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You want the lighting to be hard.

No softboxes. You want harsh, bright light.

There's a brief explanation here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_light

They're also using a gobo.

Don't know what a gobo is?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobo_(lighting)

The DP is also backlighting Thornton. It's exactly what it sounds like - backlighting.

Ever seen Psycho?

Psycho-mother-4-5-10-kc.jpg


They place a light behind the actor to just show his silhouette.

You could achieve all three of those by backlighting an actor, putting a gobo in front of the light, and making the light as bright as possible without overexposure and peaking, as well as leaving part of the room dark by focusing the light on only one are. You can do that by using black-wrap to shape where the light goes.

http://www.filmtools.com/blacfoilblac.html

Welcome to the forums!
 
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Thanks for the welcome :).

Sans the gobo, could I get this to work to some degree with one overhead hanging light, with a shade? the light's rated at 1800 lumens (halogen). It's really the only light source in the room too.

BTW thank you for your informative answer!
 
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ChimpPhobiaFilms said:
I wonder if one of those crappy $30 fog machines they sell around Halloween would work. :huh:
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Probably not - I tried this once and the fog disperses very quickly, makes it hard to get the amount right and not have it inconsistent from shot to shot. What you need is a hazer, not a fogger - 'haze' is much less dense, but persists for a very long time. Unfortunately hazers tend to be more expensive than fog machines.
 
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yeah, Iv a cheapo fogger, and its ok in a pinch.. but inconsistent results and low hang time are the hard parts. That said, if you have a dedicated hand on the fog machine then you could probably pull this off.
 
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As well as the keeping the size of the source small, don't forget to play with the distance from the light to the gobo too. The further the gobo is away from the source (and the closer the gobo is to the subject), the harder the shadows will be.

Too close to the lamp (and too far from the subject) and you will get softer edges that may ruin the look for you.

As always, if you've not done something before, then experimentation is the key. :)
 
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gpforet said:
You can buy haze in a can which works in small spaces. The hang time is much better than foggers and the particle size is smaller.
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Excellent suggestion, especially for tight areas or where there is no power.

cinemasupplies_2270_472661758.jpg


ChimpPhobiaFilms said:
I wonder if one of those crappy $30 fog machines they sell around Halloween would work.
Click to expand...

I've seen them used in some indie horror films. They can work in a pinch for a ghoul coming out of a grave or a demon standing in a doorway. Finer fogs have better hangtime and are more subtle. I actually use an old stage fogger, the F50 (pictured below) with some High End Atmospheres juice.

fogmachines.jpg



I put the F50 to extensive use for my flick, EXILE.

EXILEKinnisfog.jpg


EXILEblindinfog.jpg


EXILESiralaser.jpg
 
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