Newbie seeking advice

[blitz1027]

Hey all. First off let me apologize for my gross ignorance as I am new to the film making thing and this will be my first endeavor.

The film I am writing rests somewhere between a supernatural thriller and a drama with a tense opening scene a slower middle scene and a fast paced third and final scene. Lighting is a concern of mine as I'm not sure what I need. I'll give you guys an idea of what I want the scene to look like and maybe you can tell me what I should be looking for. Also for the record I am a poor guy so I don't have much money to spend. So if anyone can recommend a product/products you think I might need, as well as tips on how i should use them I would appreciate it. Anyway onto the scenes.

The opening scene takes place in an apartment. The scene involves the character coming in from outside and walking down a hallway to a dark room and turning on the light. I don't want the rooms to be super bright but I also don't want them too dark.

The second scene starts outside at night and transitions to the inside of a restaurant. I covers a meeting between the two main characters as they discuss a string of mysterious murders. The scene will then transition back outside after the meeting has concluded and follow the main character as he walks down the street and a dark figure follows him.

The final scene is in my opinion the most difficult one. I may be trying to do to much but it's how I really want to do it. The final scene involves the two main characters confronting the killer. I want the scene to start either at late evening or the dark of night outside the building where the next murder is supposed to take place. The outside part of this scene will be fairly short and then transition to the interior of the building. The first part of the interior scene will be well lit as the characters search the building for the killer. The hard part is when the killer is revealed the room is supposed to get dark and the only source of light is going to be a pendant the main character has. So I have to light the characters face without lighting anymore of the room. Then at one moment I would like a brief flash that reveals the killer and then goes straight back to pure darkness.

So how impossible is this going to be for a newbie like me? Like I said the final scene is going to be the hardest and if for some reason it does prove too difficult I have a fall back plan.

 

[gpforet]

Everyone of us started as a newbie and we are always in a constant journey to improve our craft so it' only impossible if you don't take your shot at it.

After you have your script tight, you'll start making your shot list. This is where you make choices on how to tell your story with the camera. What helps me is to remember that the camera is not there just to passively capture what's happening but rather plays a vital role in how the story is told. Framing, angles, DOF, and movement are the tools used by the camera to move the audience from point to point in the story line. Once your shot list is developed (and ideally storyboarded) you can start to develop your lighting plan. When I light a shot, I try to establish the primary motivated light, and then work out my fills and backlight.

A good place to start would be learning the 3 point lighting method. Remember that you don't necessarily need 3 actual lights, some can be natural light, some can be practical, and some can be bounce.

How much light you need is dependant on the camera and lens choices.

Two books I highly recommend are "The Grammer of the Shot" by Roy Thompson, and "Cinematography" by Kris Malkiewicz.

What's most important is putting this info into practice by getting out there and shooting, and making mistakes, and trying again, and getting a little better, and rinse and repeat. There is a reason why you see a lot of gray hair on top level film sets. It takes time and practice.

Good luck and enjoy the ride.

Hey all. First off let me apologize for my gross ignorance as I am new to the film making thing and this will be my first endeavor.

The film I am writing rests somewhere between a supernatural thriller and a drama with a tense opening scene a slower middle scene and a fast paced third and final scene. Lighting is a concern of mine as I'm not sure what I need. I'll give you guys an idea of what I want the scene to look like and maybe you can tell me what I should be looking for. Also for the record I am a poor guy so I don't have much money to spend. So if anyone can recommend a product/products you think I might need, as well as tips on how i should use them I would appreciate it. Anyway onto the scenes.

The opening scene takes place in an apartment. The scene involves the character coming in from outside and walking down a hallway to a dark room and turning on the light. I don't want the rooms to be super bright but I also don't want them too dark.

The second scene starts outside at night and transitions to the inside of a restaurant. I covers a meeting between the two main characters as they discuss a string of mysterious murders. The scene will then transition back outside after the meeting has concluded and follow the main character as he walks down the street and a dark figure follows him.

The final scene is in my opinion the most difficult one. I may be trying to do to much but it's how I really want to do it. The final scene involves the two main characters confronting the killer. I want the scene to start either at late evening or the dark of night outside the building where the next murder is supposed to take place. The outside part of this scene will be fairly short and then transition to the interior of the building. The first part of the interior scene will be well lit as the characters search the building for the killer. The hard part is when the killer is revealed the room is supposed to get dark and the only source of light is going to be a pendant the main character has. So I have to light the characters face without lighting anymore of the room. Then at one moment I would like a brief flash that reveals the killer and then goes straight back to pure darkness.

So how impossible is this going to be for a newbie like me? Like I said the final scene is going to be the hardest and if for some reason it does prove too difficult I have a fall back plan.

 

[blitz1027]

Thanks for the suggestion. I have a book called master shots by Christopher Kenworthy. I just got it so I haven't had a chance to really dig into it yet. I feel fairly confident that I can do the first two scenes with the stuff I've got but the final few minutes are going to be the tough stuff because I honestly have no idea how to light the scene when it goes to pitch black

 

[PhantomScreenwriter]

Just to clarify - is the script completed from beginning to end or do you just have those three scenes you described so far? Please excuse my ignorance if you have completed the entire script.

Practice with basic objects first to do experiments with the lighting to get the theory right and once you have what you're looking for try it with what you are actually wanting to film.

The best way, like many things in life, is to just go out there and do, even if it's small to begin with...as Egg Shen says in Big Trouble in Little China "See, that was nothing. But that's how it begins...very small"

 

[baoliun]

Do you know theory of color temperature,quality of light,basic electricity,light metering,basic rigging ? What equipment and budget do you have?

Most likely than not best would be to hire a DP

 

[blitz1027]

Just to clarify - is the script completed from beginning to end or do you just have those three scenes you described so far? Please excuse my ignorance if you have completed the entire script.

Practice with basic objects first to do experiments with the lighting to get the theory right and once you have what you're looking for try it with what you are actually wanting to film.

The best way, like many things in life, is to just go out there and do, even if it's small to begin with...as Egg Shen says in Big Trouble in Little China "See, that was nothing. But that's how it begins...very small"

Yeah the script is pretty much written. There are a few tweaks left to get the dialog but other than that it's done.

 

[Zensteve]

Okay, so you have no money, no gear, and no experience. Here's how you make your movie.

1) Volunteer to work on someone else's movie. You ain't the only local filmmaker. Get hands-on experience on their film. Make all your rookie mistakes on their film. Make friends with people on their film. Do people some favors on their film.

2) Do it again

3) Do it again

3) Make your film, now with experience, friends & favors to call in. Your film still won't be perfect, but think how much worse it would have been going in blind!

4) Send me a thank you card.

.

 

[arthobby]

Hey all. First off let me apologize for my gross ignorance as I am new to the film making thing and this will be my first endeavor.

The film I am writing rests somewhere between a supernatural thriller and a drama with a tense opening scene a slower middle scene and a fast paced third and final scene. Lighting is a concern of mine as I'm not sure what I need. I'll give you guys an idea of what I want the scene to look like and maybe you can tell me what I should be looking for. Also for the record I am a poor guy so I don't have much money to spend. So if anyone can recommend a product/products you think I might need, as well as tips on how i should use them I would appreciate it. Anyway onto the scenes.

The opening scene takes place in an apartment. The scene involves the character coming in from outside and walking down a hallway to a dark room and turning on the light. I don't want the rooms to be super bright but I also don't want them too dark.

The second scene starts outside at night and transitions to the inside of a restaurant. I covers a meeting between the two main characters as they discuss a string of mysterious murders. The scene will then transition back outside after the meeting has concluded and follow the main character as he walks down the street and a dark figure follows him.

The final scene is in my opinion the most difficult one. I may be trying to do to much but it's how I really want to do it. The final scene involves the two main characters confronting the killer. I want the scene to start either at late evening or the dark of night outside the building where the next murder is supposed to take place. The outside part of this scene will be fairly short and then transition to the interior of the building. The first part of the interior scene will be well lit as the characters search the building for the killer. The hard part is when the killer is revealed the room is supposed to get dark and the only source of light is going to be a pendant the main character has. So I have to light the characters face without lighting anymore of the room. Then at one moment I would like a brief flash that reveals the killer and then goes straight back to pure darkness.

So how impossible is this going to be for a newbie like me? Like I said the final scene is going to be the hardest and if for some reason it does prove too difficult I have a fall back plan.

From what I'm reading and learning, you'll want to have the scenes really well lit when you record them, and then make them look darker in your editing program. People on youtube are getting great results from three point lighting.

This article is pretty cool -> http://www.videomaker.com/article/10368-shooting-day-for-night -> it's about shooting during the day and then making it look like it's nighttime. The article also talks about lighting for a room where you'll have lights on and off.

I was playing around last night and if you have a well lit recording it's easy to make it look dark with just brightness and contrast, but if the recording is dark there's not much to do to make it look better.

A good sound recording will make something look much higher quality.

I think it's possible and I'm working out doing something similar.

 

[blitz1027]

From what I'm reading and learning, you'll want to have the scenes really well lit when you record them, and then make them look darker in your editing program. People on youtube are getting great results from three point lighting.

This article is pretty cool -> http://www.videomaker.com/article/10368-shooting-day-for-night -> it's about shooting during the day and then making it look like it's nighttime. The article also talks about lighting for a room where you'll have lights on and off.

I was playing around last night and if you have a well lit recording it's easy to make it look dark with just brightness and contrast, but if the recording is dark there's not much to do to make it look better.

A good sound recording will make something look much higher quality.

I think it's possible and I'm working out doing something similar.

Thanks for the info. I'm messing around with different things to see what works and what doesn't. My next problem is finding people to help me with projects. Everyone I know is interested in doing this stuff seems to be moving away .