Shot in actual light, the scene would be very
contrasty, and then would go black when the
light went out. Here is a procedure for lighting
this scene more effectively.
1. Establish the light level. Fit a halogen lamp
in the bedside light and use it to key the
scene. Use soft fi ll from the other side, with
a crew member at the light. At this point,
set and lock the camcorder exposure setting.
2. Establish “night”. Next, turn off the key and
fi ll lights and set up a very general overall
fi ll, possibly with a pair of fl uorescent light
banks or large LED arrays. Without changing
the camera aperture, adjust this fi ll light until
the subject and bed are visible, though dark.
As an alternative, gel a spot or broad pale blue and
place it at room-window height for a moonlight look.
A window-frame cookie in front of the light will
enhance the effect.
3. Synchronize the scene lights. Rehearse
the shot until the crew member at the fi ll
light switch can turn the light off exactly
when the subject turns off the bed light, so
that the two light sources look like a single
light, Figure 16-27.
Although the remaining light (from the
fl uorescent or LED fi ll) will be somewhat too
bright for perfect realism, viewers generally
accept it as “darkness.”
Lighting Night Scenes
Lighting scenes shot at night is challenging
because there is little available light to help out.
This section suggests some ways to create
nighttime designs with relatively few instruments.
Interior Scenes
You can light indoor night scenes by using
a few standard techniques.
Use low-key mode. Create a low-key look
in which dark and medium values dominate
in the background, with brighter accents and a
well-lit subject.
Establish practicals. Since room lights are
lit at night, establish practicals in the frame, and
then mimic their light with video lights.
Control window light. If you can hang
heavy screen or neutral density material inside
or outside a window, you may be able to reduce
its light to a “nighttime” level (the bluish color
temperature will look like moonlight). If you do
not have the resources to do this, exclude windows
and their light from the frame.
Light for the highlights. In low-key lighting,
you naturally use less fi ll light, so that shadows
are deeper and show less detail.
Fake the Darkness
It is common to show a subject in bed,
turning off the bedside light and going to sleep.
Practical
Fluorescent
pan
Fluorescent
pan
Crew
member
Fill
Practical
Fluorescent
pan
Fluorescent
pan
Crew
member
Fill
A B
Figure 16-27 Faking darkness. A—The scene, as fully lit with practical, fill, and pan fill lights. B—After the
subject and crew member have simultaneously switched off the practical and fill lights, the pan fill lights provide
a very low level of light the viewer will accept as “darkness.”
Chapter 16 Lighting Applications 349