How to cover window for inside shoot?

S

scottfs

I'm going to be lighting a small room (home office) for a shoot in a couple of weeks. We go location scouting this week, but I've been given to understand the window in the room faces south or west, and it's an all-day shoot, so the light will vary too much to use.

So...the director wants to cover the window entirely. (No, I don't have a budget to use 15k lights to make a fake sunlight coming in...)

How best to do this? Some site recommend simple black fabric attached inside or outside window (outside is supposed to be best). I notice that B&H has this product that may work:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...ail&Q=&sku=44694&is=REG&si=rev#costumerReview

It's like black aluminum foil. Should be easy to tape outside the window.

Any other suggestions? I believe window is a 4X5 foot window.
 
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black plastic

super idea. I have used the 3 mill or 4 mil black plastic sheeting in construction. I probably have some laying around. That's even easier than the garbage bags. Thanks!
 
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Garbage bags should do the trick but I'd recommend keeping them on the inside as they tend to billow in the wind which can either tear them down or cause them to distort the light coming in.

Towels (as in the things you dry yourself with) can also work pretty well. Are you looking for total darkness or just to even out the sunlight?
 
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I'd be tempted to go for very heavy diffusion rather than blacking it out completely. If you don't have the budget for biggish lights, then this will give you a beautifully soft light that illuminates deep into the room and won't noticeably change direction during the course of the day.
 
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Diffusion versus complete black out. The director and the DP both weren't happy with my suggestion of just closing the curtains or minibilnds.

I'll ask them if heavy diffusion is acceptable. OTOH, I don't have cloth or whatever to give heavy diffusion, whereas I do have black plastic.
 
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We've used a big tarp before. Didn't block 100% but it was enough.

And you don't need 12k's if you close the blinds anyway. If you use an extra light or two, or even work lights outside (between the tarp and window) and lower the blinds, it'll still look like sun. And if you're using tungsten inside, the color temp will match.

We did it in NOBLE, the apartment scene was all day so we tarped off the patio and put a few extra softboxes we had on the porch. The orphanage scenes (very beginning and end) were shot at night, lights outside the windows.
 
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