The "trunk shot"

[Zensteve]

So I have this certain shoot coming up...

It's going out of its way to make use of that "classic" Tarantino trunk shot. Inside, looking out.

_______

It's being shot on Super-8. (k40)

Camera inside the (dark) trunk shooting out and focusing on the two people outside (in the light).

I suck at exposures and contrast, etc. I do have a film-savvy DP coming along, but I'd like to know a little more about shooting this kind of thing in advance... so I don't sound like a total chucklehead when I talk to him.

Will I be needing any kind of artificial lighting inside the trunk to "equalise" the light with the outside?

Are there certain filters that I should have on hand for this?

Since k40 is a "daylight" film, should I be considering a different stock for this particular shot?

_______

Since this is being filmed in an alley (with walls) I'm aiming to do most the shooting when the sun is mostly overhead, when the shadows will be minimised. There will still be a huge light/dark contrast from the dark interior of a trunk, and the overhead sun though.

Thoughts?

 

[Unknown Screenwriter]

Trunk shot

So I have this certain shoot coming up...

It's going out of its way to make use of that "classic" Tarantino trunk shot. Inside, looking out.

_______

It's being shot on Super-8. (k40)

Camera inside the (dark) trunk shooting out and focusing on the two people outside (in the light).

I suck at exposures and contrast, etc. I do have a film-savvy DP coming along, but I'd like to know a little more about shooting this kind of thing in advance... so I don't sound like a total chucklehead when I talk to him.

Will I be needing any kind of artificial lighting inside the trunk to "equalise" the light with the outside?

Are there certain filters that I should have on hand for this?

Since k40 is a "daylight" film, should I be considering a different stock for this particular shot?

_______

Since this is being filmed in an alley (with walls) I'm aiming to do most the shooting when the sun is mostly overhead, when the shadows will be minimised. There will still be a huge light/dark contrast from the dark interior of a trunk, and the overhead sun though.

Thoughts?

Zen,

You shouldn't have to worry about anything... K40 will be fine. I've done the exact same shot... LOL. I laugh because I did it about 7 years before I saw Quentin use it. With so much channeled light hitting the lens, it will be a piece of cake. I actually used two different cars for my shot. One was a car where I could take the back seat out and crawl inside the trunk with the camera however, this wasn't the same car that the actor was standing beside. The edit matched them perfectly.

You might want to use a little fill light or bounce some of the sunlight back onto the actor because their face could end up fairly dark if they come too far inside the trunk. If you keep them standing back far enough but still natural, enough sunlight should fall on the actor's face. Really depends on how far you want the actor to come inside the trunk.

filmy

 

[Will Vincent]

take you light readings on the actor with the trunk open, and set the exposure for that.. then close the trunk lid and do the shot. That'll work, unless you WANT to see the trunk interior (before it's opened)...

if you want to get both the actor and some of the interior, set the exposure to be somewhere between the setting for the actor and the trunk light levels, and you should be set.

 

[Zensteve]

Awesome, thanks guys.

 

[surewillfilms]

trunk shot on DV?

Although it doesn't have the image quality or warmth of film, I like DV because of how much easier lighting and things are. That said, any further suggestions for doing this shot on DV? Thanks to everyone that answers my stupid questions...I don't really know what I"m doing and I need all the help I can get. Thanks.

 

[Zensteve]

The tips I got above worked really well, and in theory should work similarly well on DV... if you are comfortable using the manual settings on your camera.

You're right that DV can be a lot easier with many things. I've made a few flicks on DV before that came out just fine, when I kept all the settings on automatic. Of course, it all went to hell when I started fooling around with the manuals.

By the way, you can see the trunk-shot that I ended up filming here.

The story is not so good, but that wasn't the point.