WHAT ARE THE BEST LIGHTING TECHNIQUES FOR K40? IVE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE

[Sammm]

I have never used super 8 before but am extatic about my project. I am only using K40 and I am fortunate to get hold of a Beaulieu 4008ZM II from the 70s in mint condition. I dont know anything about lighting! Id really like to film the smoke rising from a cigarette, but i know that K40 is unforgiving when it comes to light. Also I'd like to film in a super market, but how will all of that white flourescent light come out? How can I get the best results? Any facts about how I should light super 8 are more than welcome as i know practically nothing. Tips, Tricks, Techniques, Equiptment??? Oh yeah, and I can't afford *&#$, so homemade ideas are extra helpful. Thanks a lot

[tfunch24]

1. Lighting equipment. Since you're doing things on the cheap, go to the hardware store and buy standard incandescent work lamps. Five or six should be enough to start with. They come in 100--500 watts (maybe larger). They're cheap ($4 or so a bulb). Also, take a look at this site for more info on lighting:

http://www.super8mm.org/light.html

For cheap reflectors, get a mirror or a big piece of cardboard and cover it with saran wrap.

2. The cigarette. Is this shot an interior or an exterior? Closeup, medium, or long shot? Day or night? There's not much we can do to help you without more info.

3. Filming K40. Underexpose by a full f-stop outdoors in sunlight--underexpose by only a half f-stop when you're indoors or in the shade. This will make your shots look better--highlights will less likely to be blown out and the colors will be a bit crisper. More experienced posters can enlighten you further. I assume that you do know that K40 is tungsten-balanced, meaning that you will need to use the built-in daylight correction filter when shooting outdoors or in a room illuminated by sunlight?

4. Supermarket. Flourescent light has been discussed here before. Do a search of the archive. From what I remember, green flourescent light does not come out well--I do not know about white flourescents. Again, will you be shooting in the supermarket during the day or the night?

Good luck.

Tom

[camerakid629]

Hey SAMMM,
i understand you want to know how kodachrome 40
looks when shot indoors. for me the light from a photo lamp has always been kind-of orange-yellow
looking,shooting with no daylight filter.i have a book that says to correct this you should use a blue-ish fiter, i can't tell you the name now but i can get info tomorrow,you have to compensate for light loss though,What a cool camera you have,i've never used aBeaulieu.if shooting a moving subject indoors shoot at a slow speed,then
they must move in slowmotion(when shooting)
divide 18, times the FPS you are shootong.
if you shoot at 6fps x18 fps =3 times slower
than normal. camerakid629

[Matt Pacini]

Don't use shop lights from the hardware store, they're all too low of a color temperature - they make your footage look real orange.

Don't use Fluorescent lights unless they're daylight corrected, and you don't find those in hardware stores, just specialty and/or photo stores. (Flo lights have a huge green spike in them that looks really bad on film, although you can get magenta filters to help with that.)

Go onto ebay, and type in "650" and "light" in the photo/movie section, and you'll see tons of these great, cheap lights with 650 watt PAR lights in them.
They look like a car headlight.
These are perfect for K-40, they are 3400K, and really bright. K-40 looks great lit with these, and these can be had for cheaper than the crappy shop lights at hardware stores.

For reflectors, get foamcore and spray glue silver mylar onto them on one side, and leave the other side white for soft bounce light.

Search the archives, this topic has been gone over a zillion times, you'll find much more in--depth suggestions from myself and others.


Matt Pacini

[Sammm]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by tfunch24:
2. The cigarette. Is this shot an interior or an exterior? Closeup, medium, or long shot? Day or night? There's not much we can do to help you without more info.</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

The shot is a medium, indoors. Day or night doesn't really matter, but the room in my mind is somewhat dark. If i have the key light also the backlight, coming from behind my subject to create a silhouette, will the smoke not appear (he is smoking the cigarette)? Does the background have to be dark in order to see the smoke? I'd also like to do a close up of the cigarette.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by tfunch24:
4. Supermarket. Flourescent light has been discussed here before. Do a search of the archive. From what I remember, green flourescent light does not come out well--I do not know about white flourescents. Again, will you be shooting in the supermarket during the day or the night?[/QB]</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

Again, I don't think this shot would matter, day or night, as I would be filming in super market where no natural light is entering.

Thanks a lot,
Sam

[PhilF]

Hi there!
Lighting - in part - will be your bread and butter to a great image. There are MANY things that you'll want to take into account before you make your film. Lighting takes a while to master, and even then, there are always new things to learn.

I would go on Ebay and find a good Smith Victor or Lowell lighting kit with barndoors. You'r gonna need them to make effective lighting set ups.

Invest in reflectors. I use Wescott reflectors, but you can easily buy some foamcore board (white). Actually I would buy 3 pieces of foamcoare. 1 White, 1 with aluminum foil attached, and 1 with Gold foil attached. A white reflector will bounce a nice soft light onto the area, while a silver one will reflect a harsher light. The gold is great for a warmer effect.

If you can, invest in a light meter and learn to use it. The built in light meters in the cameras are good, but fot more 'custom' control use a hand held. Again, Ebay is your friend.

Figure out the 'mood' of your scene so that you can adjust the light accordingly. A HIGH KEY scene willo require more light and less shadow compared to a LOW KEY scene which is less light and more shadows.

Creat areas of light and dark. Film is a 2 dimensional medium. We as filmmakers try to recreat a 3 dimensional world in it.

I usually cross light the men (placing a light to the side of the actor at about a 10 foot distance) And add a litle fill light with a white reflector.

Women I usually bathe in soft light. It gives them a nice romantic 'glow'.

If you want, I have a full article on lighting on the web. If your interested Email me and I'll direct you.

Take care,

PhilF