It was so much fun shooting the ‘Simone & Eric’ group exercise! To avoid confusion from “too many cooks” we divided the camera and lighting into two teams, which was effective and allowed each team to remain focused on decisions relevant to them whilst collaborating overall with the group. The choice to establish a moody, thriller theme somewhat developed organically from the group i.e. Andrew chose to interpret Eric as menacing, the camera team built tension through a long take, etc. Although, we may have got carried away with our creative interpretation of the scene.
Kerry and I were on lighting and after assessing the space we agreed our motivation would be simulated downlights. The house lights were not an option as they were too powerful with an uncontrollable spread. Since the scene was set in the evening, our next approach was to locate the actors against the black corner of the room to distance them from the window. Additionally, three of us risked our lives (and probably compromised RMIT’s OH&S liabilities) to fix the black blockout curtain that was broken and on the floor, but it was worth it as we gained substantial control!
We next focused on Lydia’s key, which was a diffused Dedo with the barn doors boxed to minimise spill on the table. The angle and height was just right to offer a shape under her left eye on the fill side. We also placed a diffused Dedo high and behind Lydia for a hair light, which works nicely to cut her out of the shadows and I think we got the intensity just right. Our last decision was to display an orange image on the laptop screen to provide a warm fill, this was subtle but effective. Kerry observed the scene, at this stage, felt too stylised so we set up a Keno Flow (4 bars, full CTO, no diffusion, 100% intensity) and bounced it off the polished, white ceiling. Initially it wasn’t effective as we placed it too far from the subjects (several meters) but after bringing it closer (approx. 3m) and raised it closer to the ceiling, we could really see the atmosphere it provided and the lift in the shadows.
The camera team asked if Andrew could have a rim light whilst in the hallway but we decided it wouldn’t be safe in a public thoroughfare. Though the effect was still achieved because the moody, low light in the room meant Andrew popped out against the brightly lit hallway. Andrew’s key light was a third Dedo diffused with Rosco Tough Silk to help direct the light and minimise spill. When viewing the footage back in post production I have mixed responses to the results, for me it is borderline too hard and warm, yet still acceptable in the space and mood.
The weakness of the set up was the reflected artificial light sources on the door’s glass/shiny surface, visible when it opens and closes. This was partially inescapable in the one-take coverage and how we blocked the scene. Overall we were really happy with the final product and we all bounced around ideas off one another cohesively. The camera team blitzed it with their decision to shoot the scene in a long take, as this really added to the scene’s menacing mood. Also, I felt our results on Lydia were the most effective at attaining ‘natural’ and motivated lighting.