videobear
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Jul 28, 2004, 4:02 PM
Post #2 of 3
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Re: [DennisC] Day for Night ??? How do you shoot this?
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Because film (and video) requires light for a good image, shooting at night is often difficult. Long ago, early filmmakers developed a technique in which a scene is shot in daylight, but made to appear as if it were night. Some ideas to try when doing DFN:
- White balance to produce a bluish tint to the image. Either do a manual WB on a slightly red object (try your hand!), or WB normally and then place a blue filter on the lens.
- Underexpose your footage. Use a heavy ND filter to cut the light input while still giving you the latitude to open up your iris.
- Keep the sky out of the shot where possible. If not possible, try a graduated filter to darken the upper part of the image where the sky is.
- Keep the light behind you. You want to minimize the appearance of shadows in the shot.
- Shoot closeups. Long shots tend to contain objects or shadows that counter the effect you're after.
- Get closer to actual night conditions without waiting for full dark...shoot at dusk, just after sunset.
- Try not to use props that produce light, such as torches or a flashlight. They look unrealistic when using DFN techniques.
Regards,
Doug Graham
Panda Productions
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