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To accompany my desert shots, for which some of you have kindly offered some suggested locations (ie beaches) on another post, I want to get some shots of the sun.
Does anyone have any tips for doing this. Ideally, I'd like these shots to look a bit like the ones in 'Duel in the Sun' - to give the impression that it's REALLY hot in this desert. How is this possible without a) going blind and b) ending up with just white footage!!!???
Here's a wacky thought that you may want to test. For each shot with the actors, get a quick shot from the same angle without the actors. In post, overlay the shot with the actors on top of the shot without the actors. Apply a ripple effect to the background layers, and see if you can get the sand/sky in the shot with the actors to be transparent. If you're lucky, this will create the 'heat waves' that you see on a road when the sun is shining.
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Why not underneath the camera hold something hot like a toaster! Then you get the heat haze passing inf front the lens, waving infront of the sun!!
Good question. Make sure the exposure is as low as possible, use a yellow filter and a polarizing filter, then in post-production darken it more or less to your hearts desire, add ripple effects if wanted, and bingo.
Oh, and wear sunglasses. Thick sunglasses.
Hey, brilliant idea about the 'hold something hot under the camera lens'!!!
;-)
Hi,
Oh, and remember to go to Spain, there's not much sun in the UK, is there?
Jim Bird.
And the flight would be cheaper than an a 'rip-off' ticket to Cornwall or somewhere on one of this country's death trap trains!!!
I've just read that pointing cameras at very bright objects (like the sun) is bad !
Am I going to trash my camera by doing these shots? Has anyone tried it - what can I do?
you are more likely to wreck your eyes than your camera.
The reason they say that is because you are effectivley holding up a magnifying glass over a peice of film, which would burn the film, or possibly burn the inside of the camera. But if you use a reasonable filter (polarising) you should be OK. Dont look through the eyepeice though. Id suggest setting up the camera on a tripod using a white sheet of paper (you can 'project' the image of the sun through the lens, and out the eyepeice onto the paper to line it up)
Hi,
first of all, do you have a video or film camera?
I don't know anything about film camera's, but if you're using a video cam, it's not your eye's that could be damaged if you look trough the seeker, but the camcorder. In each videocam there is a CCD chip, when you film the sun, the amount of light is too large wich will destroy the chip, and when the chip is damaged, you can trow away your cam, and then we aren't speeking of low budget films anymore.
But there are alternatives, film the sunset, then it's OK to film the sun, but use a UV filter on your cam, place something hot under your camera to get those heat waves and zoom in to the sun to get a large sun, in editing, place your large sun above your desert landscape.
Or you could use a lens flare in the editing to create a sun.
I hope I helped you a bit.
Greetings Erik Hamblok
Exarfilm http://exarfilm.tripod.com
[email protected]
Cheers Eddie. Fingers crossed on that polarising filter then - good tip about projecting onto a piece of paper too.
Hmmm - a difference of opinion. I'm shooting on DV - the thing I had read mentioned about chips being fried!!! I don't really want to risk having to buy a new camera! So a polarising filter won't really help?
I can't really shoot a sunset - it needs to be a full on shot of the sun, in the midday sky. Lens flare in post could be an option but it isn't ideal - I'd rather catch it IN the camera than have to resort to special effects... HELP!!!
[This message has been edited by twister! (edited August 08, 2001).]
I was shooting a helicopter on my mini dv camera and the sky was very bright- though I couldn't see the sun. But the camera screen went blue for a few seconds (drop out?) I recon shooting the sun would seriously fuck up your camera and isn't worth risking- you shold try and write around and see if you could use the sun set instead or whatever, i cant think of any other ways of hand
kathy
I doubt you'll hurt your eyes filming the sun through a video camera; it's an electronic device: I'd be very surprised if it could replicate the brightness of the sun.
I'm down near Cornwall; It's very sunny down here most days. If you send me your camera I'll do some shots of the sun for you (it'll definately make your movie look more professional as well). You'll have to send it to a P.O. Box number though, as I'm a farm with Foot & Mouth restrictions.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by austintash:
[B]If you send me your camera I'll do some shots of the sun for you[B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Weren't you the same person who started a long rant about stealing premier???
Now you want someone to send their camera down to you???
Ha!
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KEEP FOCUSED!
Little Rich.
http://go.to/littlerich
[email protected]
I promise to send it back. The use of the po box is just so I can make sure I don't catch foot & mouth.
(If that's not an open goal for you dingbats I don't know what is.)
I think I'll give it a miss. Unfortunately, people seem to be of the opinion that shooting the sun will trash the camera. And I don't really fancy the idea of posting a camera (especially to a PO Box). I'm not ready to start shooting yet anyway - it's still at pre-production stage.
Why don't you scan a photo of the sun and use an effects package to ripple the image?
Alternatively, send me your life savings and I'll do it for you http://www.hostboard.com/ubb/wink.gif
Paul
That probably sounds like the best and safest suggestion so far - that's the still photo with ripple effect idea not the life savings one - very funny. Cheers.
Okay... So much crap has just been thrown out there!
First of all...
Video Camera...
If it's a CCD chip camera, you CAN point it at the sun... just don't have it on the sun for a long time. Older, tube cameras (television studio cameras) can NEVER be point at the sun as the tube will get wrecked.
Film Camera...
As long as you have the appropriate filters as mentioned above you will NOT have a problem.
Aagh, now I just don't know who to believe - could be an expensive experiment http://www.hostboard.com/ubb/frown.gif
Has anyone actually tried getting footage of the sun on a bright sunny day with a DV camera?
[This message has been edited by twister! (edited August 16, 2001).]
hey, i've successfully shot the sun several times, on dv, hi8, vhs, super 8, 16 mm, 35mm still film and more. why don't you guys just stop down? the sun will obviously blow out no matter what you do, even if you add nd's or polarizers until the sky goes pitch black. so, expose for the sky and you'll be fine. ccd's can be destroyed by the sun, but it takes a long time. i wouldn't worry about it.
/matt