Day for Night Lighting Effect

[Todd Gillespie]

[fonetikfilms] “I am considering shooting at dusk and dropping the exposure in post to give the effect of it being darker than it really is. Problem with this is obviously the limited time window shooting at dusk.”

You’re on the right track, but as you are aware it would take a lot of ‘magic hour’ days to do your entire shoot.

[fonetikfilms] “Am wondering if anyone knows if it is possible to shoot at day and do something in after effects (or other program) to make it seem like it is night? This may be wishful thinking…”

Yes you can and yes it’s been done for a long time. I wouldn’t recommend it since you really need to know what you’re doing and how the process is going to work in post.
But if you look at Cast Away, they shot their night shots during the day, then adjusted them in post.

You seem to understand the basics of what you want and what you need. You can get away with alot by just using a couple of lights placed in the correct location.
If you’re after a specific ‘look’ rent some movies that do the same lighting, and think about how you could come close.

Good Luck,

Todd at UCSB
Television Production