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Dark Room Shot
I need to shoot a scene for a movie in an office, which needs to be dark (lights off). Obviously I cannot shoot this in the dark, so what would I have to do in Final Cut (tutorial?) to make this shot look like it was shot in a dark room?
–Thanks.
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7 Replies
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I recall this lesson from my cinematography teacher. Want to make a room look dark? Add a LOT of light. “What?” you ask? “But I want it dark.” Riiiight, but you still need to see your subject. So you add bright harsh light to some the background, so you can highlight the objects in the foregound as silhouettes. Or bring attention to the thing you want, like the person entering the room.
Watch the X-FILES…the early stuff. Watch ANY MOVIE where it is dark and supposed to be dark and notice the lighting. THis is the best way to figure it out for yourself.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Andrew Kramer has a great AE tutorial on Day for Night at videocopilot.com. Fabulous, but you will need to just use some of the techniques that can be done in FCP.
So, with Shane’s advice this might help.
Dave’s advice is great too.
Have a wonderful day.
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As Dave said, definitely the best idea is to do it on set, NOT in post.
Try to imagine what sources of light would plausibly still be on in a ‘dark’ office. For example the Emergency Exit signs would still be lit, and they give off a soft red glow. Perhaps somebody in the office left a computer on? Does the office have any windows? If so, they will let a little light in. What about the stairwell or foyer? Some light might leak into the room you’re shooting in. Then try to emulate those light sources with your lighting kit
Shane makes a good point too. For example, exterior night shots are often shot around noon on a bright cloudless day. That’s because the the strong shadows cast by a sun high in the sky are similar to the shadows cast by the moon. It works best in black and white together with some strong blue filtering, but the principle is the same.
When you get it into post, remember that in low light situations human vision can’t distinguish color well, if at all. So really dark scenes are practically monochrome to the eye.
Good luck! And don’t forget to share your solution when you’re done, I’ld love to know how you pull it off!
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[Lars Fuchs] “For example, exterior night shots are often shot around noon on a bright cloudless day. That’s because the the strong shadows cast by a sun high in the sky are similar to the shadows cast by the moon. It works best in black and white together with some strong blue filtering,”
Uh…only if you shoot day for night. Which might work in some cases, but doesn’t really look good….IMHO. Again, watch movies that have night scenes, they are shot at night. Light provided are from HUGE 10K or even large banks of lights that cast “moonlight”, or a street light…but a huge amount of light. I wish you could be on set when they do this. Here in LA we see this all the time. HUGE crane trucks with big lights. Even for very dark scenes…the darker you want it, the brighter you light it. Strategic lighting…that is the key.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
That my well all be true, but a look at the videocopilot tutorial is pretty amazing nonetheless, especially if your stuck with footage shot during the day.
Have a wonderful day.
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Do you have a link?
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