Night Filming Help Please!!

[carlybabe]

Well, heres the deal. I need to film the Moon (at night obviously). Preferably in black & white. How should I do this, I dont even know where to begin. Do I need additional lighting, is there a particular filmstock I should use.
Anyhelp will be greatly appreciated as Im shooting the footage this weekend.
Many Thanks.
Carl.

[Lil Scorcese]

You could shoot "Day for Night" using filters. Not exactly sure which ones, but I heard a ND filter in the mix for sure.

Hope that points you in the right direction.

-Lil'S

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Check out Indie Film North http://www.indiefilmnorth.cjb.net

[tashunka]

I KNOW FOR STILL PHOTOGRAPHY YOU SHOOT ABOUT 1/250 AT F/5.6 WITH 100ASA IF YOU WANT TO GET SOME DETAIL IN THE CRATERS. YOU COULD TAKE YOUR LIGHT METER AND TRANSLATE INTO EV'S THEN RE READ YOUR METER FOR SUPER8.

YOU DIDN'T SAY HOW MUCH YOU KNOW ABOUT EXPOSURE COMPENSATION ETC. WHAT IS YOUR APERTURE RANGE OF YOUR LENS? DO YOU KNOW THE TRUE SHUTTER SPEED OF YOUR CAMERA? IF NOT, CHECK IN THE OWNERS MANUAL IF YOU HAVE IT. POST THAT INFO AND WE'LL TRY AND FIGURE IT OUT FOR YA. IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY APERTURE SETTING ON YOUR LENS THEN IT WILL BE QUITE TRICKY TO GET A GOOD IMAGE.

GOOD LUCK.
TASH.

[tashunka]

OK......I JUST WENT AND GOT MY LIGHT METER TO FIGURE IT OUT HERE'S WHAT I CAME UP WITH....

If you shoot on PlusX (asa 50):
shoot between f/5.6 and f/8 @ 24 frames per second
shoot between f/8 and f/11 @ 18 frames per second

If you shoot on TriX (asa200):
shoot between f/11 and f/16 @ 24 frames per second
shoot between f/16 and f/22 @ 18 frames per second

It's very important to know your cameras frame rate because it drastically effects your exposure, especially when shooting on reversal film which both of these are. I would recommend if you can afford the film to bracket your exposures. To do this you would shoot TriX (24 fps) @ f/11 and shoot again at f/16. If you have lots of film I would shoot again at f/8 and again at f/22. This will that at least one of the takes would be bang on. You would also have a few different exposures to choose from. I hoped I helped you out. If your camera does not have an aperture adjustment on the lens then your probably gonna have to get creative with neutral density filters and stuff. It would probably just be cheaper to buy a different super8 camera though.

Good luck and happy shooting.
Tash.

[tashunka]

oh one more thing these are all based on a full moon. You may have to open up for a less then full moon as there will be less light. once again BRACKET YOUR EXPOSURE TO BE SAFE.

[Lil Scorcese]

As far as shooting day for night, here's Mike Nyberg's brief advice to me:

"As for day for night, there are many ways. Heavy polarization will
achieve the desired result with underexposure by two f stops would be a
good start (ie. f16 instead of f8)."

-Lil'S
-Lil'S

------------------
Check out Indie Film North http://www.indiefilmnorth.cjb.net

[tashunka]

I that's a good start. I would also say to use a light blue filter and shoot on an overcast day. That way your contrast won't be unrealistic. The blue filter will help give the effect of shooting under a full moon. I don't think that's exactly what the question was though, I think it was just for how to properly expose to shoot a tight shot of the Moon. Am i right??????

tash.

[deano]

You can use a spot meter or a camera with a spot meter built within the camera...take a reading of just the moon...you'll get a reading of about F16 or F22...then open up two stops from that reading to keep the moon from going to medium grey...when you do your reading, make sure you are on 24 fps or higher...you can shoot at different frame rates but will have to account for that depending on your scene duration. Good luck.