By Chance Shirley
July 8, 2004
Part Twelve: DP for a Day (or Two)
A few weeks ago, Sam Frazier, Jr., called to ask if I'd help him shoot a short movie. He'd been making the festival rounds for a while with his first short, DON'T MAKE EYE CONTACT, and was ready to start something new.
For this flick, Sam decided he wanted to shoot on 16mm film, as opposed to digital video (Sam usually shoots using his Sony PD-150). Since I always encourage folks to shoot their movies on film when possible, I had to say "yes" to his request. It didn't hurt that Sam helped me out a lot on HIDE AND CREEP (working on the crew and portraying numerous zombies) and had written a tight, funny script. Also, I was knee-deep in post production on HIDE AND CREEP, and I liked the idea of taking a weekend off to work on somebody else's project.
On top of all that, I was the only guy Sam knew with a 16mm camera. If I didn't help him out, who would?
It would be a short shoot -- two long nights with an additional night for pick-up shots. One location, one actor (HIDE AND CREEP alum Michael Shelton). Pretty simple as far as filmmaking goes. Which was good, since Sam's new movie, called PROGRAMMING TO DIE FOR, would be my first 16mm gig as director of photography.
The crew was minimal, even by my standards. It was Sam and me, with assistance from Kenn McCracken, Stacey Sessions and Rachel Anne Hodges.
I've often said that shooting a feature film is like a semester (or two) of film school. If that's true, shooting a short is like one of those intense two week summer courses. Needless to say, I learned a few things...
Stock
If you remember way back in my second column, I talked about deciding to shoot HIDE AND CREEP on Kodak film, only to later find out that I could get Fuji film cheaper from Film Emporium. Sam agreed to let me try out some Fuji film (specifically, their 500T stock) on PROGRAMMING TO DIE FOR. The result: it looks good. To my eye, I couldn't see any quality difference between it and the Kodak stock, at least when it's transferred to video.
The next time you're shopping for motion picture film, be sure to take a look at Fuji's stuff.
Light
Part of being director of photography means you get to play with the camera, which is fun. It also means you're in charge of lighting, which, to me, is not fun. One of the reasons so much of HIDE AND CREEP takes place during the day is that I didn't want to have to lug around a bunch of lighting equipment.
My first approach to lighting a shot when no sunlight is available is to just go with practical lights. Unfortunately, this didn't work at all in the large room that served as the set for PROGRAMMING -- there was no overhead light and only two low-wattage lamps.
I got in touch with Robb Rugan and Jimbo Roberson, who run a commercial video/post/design company called FRED (Full Resolution Design), and who both have lots more lighting experience than me. Robb was DP on HIDE AND CREEP, and Jimbo often worked as our gaffer (the person in charge of setting up lights). Jimbo brought Sam and I some of their pro movie lamps and spent some time showing us how to best take advantage of them. The basic plan: place one near each of the practical lights. Off-camera, of course.
Why put the movie lights near the practical lights? It gives the illusion that the light is coming from somewhere real (a practical lamp) instead of being placed in the room by a movie crew.
Shadows
Another thing that can make your movie look "staged" is a harsh shadow. Or, worse yet, multiple harsh shadows. Especially in interior shots. Walk around your living room and see if you cast any distinct shadows on the walls. You probably don't, because most homes are lit with "soft" sources, like fluorescent lights, lamps covered with a lamp shade (the shade diffuses the light), or sunlight coming through a window. These soft sources create soft, subtle shadows.
If, however, you take a 500 watt movie lamp and point it at an actor, you're going to create a nasty shadow somewhere behind him. Plus, he might end up squinting from all that light in his face. How often do you squint at home because there's too much light in the room?
The most direct way to soften the light is with diffusion gels -- translucent plastic squares that you place in front of a lamp. They make the light look more natural and help to cut down on shadows. They also bring down the light level to some degree, which is one of the reasons it's always better to have too many lights at your disposal than too few.
If you're working under a light-colored ceiling, you can use it to "bounce" your light. Just point the movie lamp toward the ceiling above your subject. This really softens the light, and also makes it less directional, so it doesn't work for all situations.
For more control, and a more directional light in a bouncing situation, try reflecting light off a white piece of poster paper. Poster paper is the cheap version of those reflective white umbrellas you often see portrait photographers use.
Of course, there are times when harsh shadows are good. In a traditional police interrogation scene, for example, where a bright light is pointed at someone in an otherwise dark room.
Depth
When lighting an actor, you generally want to avoid using one lamp pointed straight at him. Doing this will probably evenly fill in the actor's face, eliminating all shadows and creating a "flat" look. While harsh shadows on the wall are bad, some soft shadows on the actor actually make him look more three-dimensional.
"Three-point lighting" (explained here) is the classic method for lighting an actor. But you don't have to do anything that fancy. Even if you only have one light, you can move it closer and farther from the actor/camera axis until you find an appropriate look.
Environment
Take another walk around your living room. I'll guess there are a few areas in the room that aren't as well-lit as others. But is any part of the room in total darkness? Probably not.
When shooting a movie, keep in mind that the human eye is much more responsive to light than film and video. So, after you get light on your actors, make sure whatever else in the frame (tables, chairs, walls, bookcases) is lit well enough to appear natural. This is easy enough to check on a video camera, since you're looking through an electronic viewfinder of some sort. If you're shooting film, a trip around the room with the light meter is probably in order.
On Sam's movie, we did a pretty good job of lighting the room, but we slipped up a couple of times. The front of a coffee table, for example, just disappears in a couple of shots. It's not terribly distracting, but we could have lit it better if we'd spent a little more time checking our light levels.
Equipment vs. Expertise
When I first saw the dolly Sam rented for the PROGRAMMING shoot, I was pretty excited. It was a really nice Cameleon model, with a built-in hydraulic crane. It even had a chair for the camera operator. Nothing makes you feel more like a real DP than sitting on your ass while other people on the crew roll you around so you can get the shots you want.
Unfortunately, the Cameleon is really heavy. Getting it on the tracks is at least a four person job, and there were times when we didn't have four people available. So two or three people struggled to get it on the track, and their backs paid the price.
Although operating a dolly would seem simple enough (I mean, you just push it and it rolls, right?), there is actually a good bit of skill involved in doing it correctly. Keeping the speed consistent is difficult. Also, smoothly operating the nifty built-in crane requires a light touch.
On a larger crew, there is usually a "dolly grip" in charge of operating the dolly. We were able to get a few good shots using the Cameleon, but we would have been able to take better advantage of it if we'd had an experienced dolly grip on the crew.
All the tools in the world won't improve your movies if you don't have someone with the skills to use them. And the muscle to lug them around the set.
HIDE AND CREEP post-production update: just finished up the second rough cut (running time is 78 minutes, 42 seconds) over the holiday weekend. Chuck and I also got started on some of our pick-up shots -- we hope to knock out some more of those this week. And, on Sunday, composer Eric McGinty and I are going into the studio to start recording the score.
Speaking of pick-up shots, we're tentatively planning an August shoot in Jasper, Alabama, that will require some extras. So, if anybody in the area is interested in making a cameo in HIDE AND CREEP, this is your opportunity. Drop me an e-mail, and I'll get you the shooting info. as soon as
it's confirmed. Or, just keep an eye on our news page (http://www.crewless.com/news/) -- I'll post there anytime we're looking for extras.
In two weeks, I should be on my way to San Diego for the big Comic-Con, but I expect to get the next installment of the column posted before I leave town. Until then...
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