On 16th April, we had scene 36 called CLASS ROOM to be shot in class. We were only using the natural light from the one side of windows in the classroom in Building 13, and some black cardboards to fill actress.
The key light, also the origin light of ambience light.
This is the light circumstance at that time.
During the filming, there was an obvious problem that we met is the overexposure at the back as the curtain cannot perfectly cover the windows, the sunlight came from sides as you can see the photo above and below.
We tried to use the chair to block the overexposure, not perfectly but we did a lot.
Except this, we made some negative fill into Catherine’s shot, photo as below.
It’s good that we negatively filled Catherine to reduce contrast and balance the exposure on her face. However, every times that I saw her face I feel the exposure and shadow isn’t evenly distributed, which makes her face looks not clean, I mean, a little bit dirty, not creamy enough.
From my point of view that, the shadow’s color isn’t great, compared to Colin’s shot. Photo as below. Also I noticed that her ear part is more bright than her center face part, I mean her nose and eyes, it’s look uncomfortable. If time permits us to make some try, I think we can try to use some reflective board to bright her center face.
In both of Colin’s shot and Catherine’s shot, there are no too much details of the environment, people obviously will pay more attention to actor/actress’s face, even a smile or speaking action. In this situation, the details that will not be noticed at ordinary times will be enlarged. I am thinking that can we try to set up low-power set fit light or back light to fill their faces. If we could not do it due to limited equipment, I am thinking that could we use some black cardboard, setting up the black cardboard close to the windows, to reduce the amount of incoming light. Or possibly can we hold the black cardboard closer to Catherine since it’s a close-up shot, and black cardboard won’t be on the screen.
Still, remember that there is no correct or wrong lighting, it all depends on what kind of film and style that we want. This scene is a conversation in classroom, a normal life at university. To create this feeling and environment, soft light and low contrast on people’s faces, we could say, is the best way to present.