newb questions on film speed

[woods01]

Hello, I am a new Super 8 user. I picked up
a Bell&Howell MS 45 at a nearby garage sale. And have decided to jump right into making a short.

My project is going to be shot mainly
in a large windowed room during the day.
Since this is a corner room with windows on two walls and I am shooting between 11am and 5pm I feel this will be enough light for
K40 film.

But there will be a few shots in some less
lit rooms where I will have to use tungsten
light. So I am thinking of using a second
reel with Ektra. However since this is my
first experience with Super 8 I would like
to have the convinence of having all my
film processed by Kodak rather than have
different reels floating around in the mail.
Also the shots in the low lit room will
only be about 20 seconds of my 2 minute movie
so I am considering scrapping the scene because it would be expensive to shoot
such a short scene on another stock.

If anyone has any experience with using K40
indoors I would love to hear your experiences and advice.

[Actor]

I did some studio photography a couple of years back. The stats:
<ul type="square">[*]Film speed -- me: ASA 100 -- you: ASA 40 -- that's 1 1/3 stops more light you need.[*]Shutter speed -- me: 1/30 sec -- you: 1/29 sec -- no significant difference[*]Aperature -- me: f/4.0 -- you: f/1.2 -- thats 2 1/3 stops less light you need.[*]Lights -- me: 1000 watts incandescent with reflectors -- you need: one stop less or 500 watts (2 1/3 - 1 1/3 = 1)[/list]

These are only ball park figures. I was shooting in a relative large room with relatively dark walls and furniture. If you are shooting in a small room with light walls that would be in your favor.

What you need to do is buy, beg, borrow or steal a light meter and take some measurements.

[pauls opinion]

construction lamps can be a very affordable alternative or buying some cheap film floods on e bay for 10 usd.

It also depends on what you need in this low lit room; close ups, long shots, close ups are easier to lit ( at least in terms of quantities of light).

Where does the sunlight go at sunset?? If you're lucky it might just shine into that room??

Can't you fake that other room??..move some furniture to the large room, faking it is somewhere different??

my two cents..

Paul

[woods01]

Well actually now that I think about it I do
have a light meter. Although it is a crappy little plastic one from the 1960s that came with
an old regular 8mm camera that belonged to my
grandpa. I think I will do those light readings.

However, as suggested, I think I can fake it
and use a better lit room. I've been a bit too
literal in my thinking. I hadn't really considered the fact I don't have to portray the house EXACTLY the way it really is [img]smile.gif[/img] And since the shots are close ups, I can get away with a simple 3 light system.

Thanks for the tips. [img]wink.gif[/img]

[Greg Crawford]

Consider adding some fill lightng to your window scene.

If the subject is in front of the window. Your on camera meter could give you underexposed faces.

Take a reading off the face. * With a reflective meter you might want to open it up a extra stop.

If in doubt run a test. Can't afford to shoot 50 feet of film..for the test. Use a 35mm still camera with same type of film (ASA speed) .

SAME LIGHTING SET UP TIME OF DAY ETC.*

(in the zone system skin is 1 stop brighter than mid gray, that meters read as normal. )

If you have an INCIDENT METER (ROUND WHITE DOME) point it at your key light source (the window) then read the shadows. SHIELD the meter which your hand keeping the key light off the meter.

Usually you will set the exposure to the Key reading. If the light from outside coming through the window is bright enough bounce it into the foam core board back onto your subject.

Use the light meter to read the Key light to the fill lit ratio on the face.

1 stop differences would be a 2/1 ratio
1-2/2 stop differences is a 3 /1 ratio
2 stop differences is a 4/1 ratio
3 stop differences is 8/1 ratio

Save the 4 to one stuff for the dark and mood scenes.

[Mike Buckles]

I've always used K40 indoors and never had a problem with dark pictures...I would shoot the scene with different intensities of lights and placement, and pick the shot that best suits your needs. I recently filmed in my livingroom with only afternoon light coming in the large picture window, and the K40 did great! Looked very natural, not artifically lit. K40 is so cheap, it's worth a roll or two just to play around with different settings. On the Bell and Howell ms45, great camera, takes wonderful shots, nice and sharp and professional looking...does yours have the add on electronic module for more control? If so, after you take your light readings, lock the exposure in...this particular camera has a very sensitive light meter, and even panning makes it change...Mike

[woods01]

Mike, since I am shooting indoors and relying
on sunlight as my key (with some tungsten lights
for fill in the CUs). Should I use the indoor or
outdoor filter switch? I am thinking outdoor
since almost all of my light will be natural
even though I am indoors [img]smile.gif[/img]

John

[pauls opinion]

"I am thinking outdoor
since almost all of my light will be natural
even though I am indoors"

When using the outdoor setting your fills will look red, because of the lower color temperature these lights have. It is possible to avoid that by putting blue gels in front of your lights to make the lights more white.

But a bit red might also give your pictures a warm feel. Later on the day say round five p.m. you may not need the daylight setting because the sunlight will have lower colortemparature off it self, so you can turn off the daylight filter.

At earlier times of the day turning off the daylight filter will add quite a lot of blue to your film. If you stop down your aperture ring one stop, this results in a darker blueer picture ..a day for night scene.

Experimenting first is always the best.

[Mike Buckles]

That's a tough question...K40 is balanced for tungstun lighting, and when you film outdoors, you have to use the daylight switch to put that orange filter to adjust for the outdoor light...if you mix your lighting in the same scene, i would say, set your switch to the outdoor setting if sunlight is your primary light source. You may notice a bluish cast on your scene if it's mostly outdoor light, and you have it set on the indoor setting. Mike

[pauls opinion]

"I'm not worried if my movie ends
up looking bad as this is my intro to Super 8.

But a proper test roll will be the only way for
me to learn its full capabilities. I will be
sure to make sure we have detailed notes about
my lighting and exposure settings and filters.
I think I might shoot some takes with alternate
settings for comparison."

You have got the right attitude..