that viewers have come to accept night exteriors
full of unexplained light sources.
Atmosphere
Outside night scenes in movies are often wet
because rain or fog (real or fake) picks up and
scatters light rays, Figure 16-30.
Day-for-Night Lighting
Although you can use a camcorder in very
low light levels, there are good reasons for
shooting exterior night scenes during the day
using day-for-night lighting (Figure 16-31):
●
Daytime shooting is more convenient for
everyone.
Exterior Scenes
It is impossible to light the whole outdoors
for night scenes, but a few tricks will yield very
satisfying results. First, light only the important
action areas, as described previously. Then, try
these suggestions.
Use Back-Cross Lighting
Except where the action must be seen clearly,
place lights to the side and behind subjects (in
the nine o’clock to three o’clock arc) to edge
them with rims of light that will separate them
from the background, Figure 16-28.
Rake the Background
Night scenes are supposed to be dark. So,
use just a few lights to pick out features of the
background. As usual with background lighting,
place the lights to hit the background at oblique
angles. See Figure 16-29.
Look for Motivation
Outside of urban centers, there is often little
actual light. To motivate video lighting, simulate
car headlights and house or shop windows with
lights placed low and shooting horizontally.
For streetlights, move rim lighting directly over
subjects to create eye socket shadows.
Do not worry if some of your lights do not
have enough motivation. This lighting problem
is so common, even in big-budget productions,
Figure 16-28 Lights placed high and close to the
building provide back lighting.
Back-cross lighting
Figure 16-29 This large castle background is lit by
just three lights.
Rake the background
Figure 16-30 Rain provides effective atmosphere.
(Sue Stinson)
350 Video Digital Communication & Production