This week I am doing more storyboarding but also some film/lighting testing. For one scene in my film, two characters are sitting in daylight in front of a fire having a conversation. First problem: can’t actually have a fire on the beach because there are laws.

I was going to use a heavy duty torch covered in cellophane and strobe it across my cast’s face to give the illusion of flickering firelight. I went and spoke to the AV techs in Building 9, however, and they suggested a battery powered lamp they had.

Tested it indoors and outdoors before the lamp got buggy and stopped working. I definitely love the way it looks in natural daylight. From the 30 second mark in my test video, it cuts to a different test shot with a narrower f stop and faster shutter speed. Definitely going to consider this in my final video, since I want there do be a balance of both natural daylight lighting the actors and also have the firelight showing up appropriately.