lighting Lighting at Zero budget?! Help

DeuxCats

DeuxCats

Ok we're like zero budget but we're super determined to be able to film the script I wrote. Like really bad. We do have like the regular lighting 300 watts and 500 watts. but I feel these are too bright for the film we're gonna shoot. We haven't done anything like this before. Most part of the film will be shot inside a coffin. So do you guys have any advice whats the best D.I.Y lighting to use for this kind of scene?

I appreciate all your help.

Please visit our site as well. we've already done one film.

http://deuxcats.blogspot.com/

as you can see there are only like five of us working on this short film including the actors. but it so much fun shooting it.:lol:
 
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get some dimmers for your lights and also some diffusion paper. They're all inexpensive. Make sure the dimmer is strong enough to handle the wattage. You can probably find it at SM!
 
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At least you have lights and that's half the battle right there. So if I hear you correctly you may have too much light. If that's that case then your goal here is to control the amount of light in your scene(s) by using...

- Bounce: bounce the light off of a wall, a blanket, foam core, etc.
- Diffusion: place diffusing material in front of your light source
- Control: where your light falls using some sort of make shift flag (barn doors, cardboard, black foil, etc.)

I tried to use DIY type solutions above but if you can buy or rent better tools and have the cash that could help too.

You're entering the world of light design - DP land. Read up on this, YouTube it and see how other people are using day-to-day items to design their set lighting.

What kind of camera are you using? If it's a DSLR you can also consider using exposure to cut the light. I would read up on this as this is a powerful yet tricky approach to lighting. It involves understanding the Zone System Scale and what part of the scene (foreground, middle ground or background) to use for your exposure - and most importantly by how much you can underexpose items (especially flesh tones) without destroying the picture or your story. This is something worth looking into, if not for your immediate needs but for future use.

You already have lights so focus your DIY-ing on how to make them work to fit your needs. I would go that route instead of writing them off in consideration of new lights or such.

Good luck Deux.
 
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Kosh said:
- Bounce: bounce the light off of a wall, a blanket, foam core, etc.
- Diffusion: place diffusing material in front of your light source
- Control: where your light falls using some sort of make shift flag (barn doors, cardboard, black foil, etc.)
Click to expand...

Interesting tips Kosh. Thanks a lot. I'll take note of these- I'm literally noting them down.
 
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brianluce said:
get some dimmers for your lights and also some diffusion paper. They're all inexpensive. Make sure the dimmer is strong enough to handle the wattage. You can probably find it at SM!
Click to expand...

The problem there is im not sure which material to buy. I might burn every single thing. But yeah it's all about learning and experimenting. Thanks anyhow.
 
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DeuxCats said:
The problem there is im not sure which material to buy. I might burn every single thing. But yeah it's all about learning and experimenting. Thanks anyhow.
Click to expand...

What are you shooting with? If it's a DSLR with a fast lens, try this. Clamp a decent MagLite to a c-stand or something else you can adjust height with (if you have extra tripods that pan and tilt, all the better), get a piece of frosted glass from your local hardware store that is larger than the maglite lens and tape it to the body over the lens to get rid of the circles they cast. Make card board light shapers that hang on the frosted glass over the ends that stick out beyond the lens. Adjust intensity by distance. You can even shape the light further with the focus on the maglite.

This should work for close quarters like a casket.
 
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DeuxCats said:
The problem there is im not sure which material to buy. I might burn every single thing. But yeah it's all about learning and experimenting. Thanks anyhow.
Click to expand...

Are you in Manila? There are many places there, the Chiapo district for instance, that's where you can get a lot of great stuff. If you're in Cebu there's a supplier right off Fuente.

You should consider however using flos -- especially in the Philippines with the heat -- flos will keep the set much cooler and use less electricity. Btw, did you know the Philippines has the most expensive electricity in Asia?
 
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In tight spaces I've used Christmas lights before. When they're all in a general area they're decently bright and with all the low light coming from different angles mostly soft as well.

In a coffin you can run them on top of the legs or whatever isn't in the shot.

If they are touching the actor, they can still get a little warm. Just a heads up.

Whatever you do, experiment BEFORE the day of the shoot, find out what looks good.

Good luck!
 
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I'd highly recommend listening to the American Cinematographer podcast on "Buried" (episode 18). Eduard Grau tackled a very similar problem, albeit it on a much bigger budget, but using a mobile phone and a lighter as light sources are techniques you could also have a go at.

Control over the light is key, here, as you're working in such a small space - I'd probably favour spottier sources like Dedolights and fresnels over fluorescents or diffused worklights, but obviously that's dependent on how you'd like the scene to look. On a budget, some small PAR cans with narrow spot bulbs may do the trick (these are often used in theatre lighting and are fairly cheap to put together), but the light quality will perhaps not be as nice as from a more expensive fixture.

Just throwing some ideas out there, anyway!
 
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Shooting INSIDE a coffin or shooting INTO a coffin?

See kill bill Vol 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZpw8NgL_2M

You really need a coffin you can take apart. There is no physical way to get shots like above without removing the side, top, ends etc.

Stop thinking "coffin" and start thinking very small set. We get trapped into preconceptions.. you really need to "think out of the box" on this one. .thats a prey apropos pun if I do say so my self..

Regarding lighting, in the above the lighting is motivated by the flashlight, but Im pretty sure thats not where all the light is really coming from. Certainly the POV shots and shots where we dont see the flashlight are likely some small spot light..

The set lights could be well back from the "coffin" out of frame. Also, Im thinking the flash light has a REALLY powerful light, inside on an AC cord. I just watched the clip very closely and we never SEE the back end of the flashlight completely. In fact around 1:12 theirs a little jump cut that looks like it was made to remove a frame or two where the cord might have been visible.. but Im just guessing..
 
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