shooting in the streets at night--now with a trailer

Started by pete, July 03, 2005, 11:59:52 AM

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pete

so I have like a few artificial lights and I'm shooting quite a few fight scenes on vx2000 in the streets.  has anyone shot at night before on DV?  what were your conditions and what did you do to make the light sources logical/ convincing?  any lessons learned?

script link here

please read it and tell me what you think.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

Ghostboy

I love using street lights as practicals. If you're near enough to enough of them, they should be sufficient for a VX2000 (maybe with a few reflectors). Otherwise, I'd just mount lights high enough up to simulate street lights. You can cheat them to get a wider throw than would normally be natural, and it'll still be believeable on camera.

GoneSavage

Quote from: GhostboyI love using street lights as practicals. If you're near enough to enough of them, they should be sufficient for a VX2000 (maybe with a few reflectors).
Reflectors is right.  Go out a night or two to check out your surroundings and see how it looks.  We used a lot of reflectors but it took a bit of work to get it set up right and it looked good.  Someone mentioned using headlights but then your footage just looks like someone's headlights are flooding it.

socketlevel

get a couple 1ks and make the street light practicals seem more intense by filling them in to be a little stronger.  play with the light and dark areas and it can look really stylish.

-sl-
the one last hit that spent you...

pete

"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

pete

ah I just realized the script link don't work.  anyone feels like reading?  'cause I feel like some critical opinions.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

hedwig


killafilm

You can also heavily diffuse your lights and use them to bring up your overall level.  I think using China Balls at night w/ DV is a nice way to get exposure without looking 'lit.' You can also light some of the landscape, and kinda cheat that to backlight, bring up your levels, or whatever you could use it for.

pete

the two times I shot I just used giant reflector boards and they looked nice and "unlit" though the actors' faces were really nicely illuminated.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

socketlevel

Quote from: peteah I just realized the script link don't work.  anyone feels like reading?  'cause I feel like some critical opinions.

yeah send it in my email link, i'd love to check it out.

socketlevelpictures@hotmail.com

-sl-
the one last hit that spent you...

pete

"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

socketlevel

pete,

the script is lean, no fat that i can see are on the pages (and that's usually what i see when i read other's scripts).  i really enjoyed it because it's apparent that you know when to go in a scene (late) and leave a scene (early).  I'd look forward to see it.  the story really pushes forward constantly.

the only thing i would worry about if i were you would be some of the jokes within; not really my style.  it's all subjective so i might just be talking out of my ass here but i'll give you some suggestions:

I think you'd have to be very careful with the way you shoot and direct the funny bits because it could come across amateurish.  maybe you've already thought of this...  but i'd do it very dry, take those situations seriously and the humor will be twice as good.  if you try and really sell those laughs, the audience might turn away from it.  The first obvious laugh at the bar is the prime example of what i'm talking about (the one about the money in the pocket).  i'm not saying write it out (mainly because it reoccurs later in the script and that's when i found it really funny) but make it something that people laugh at a few seconds later, like they almost didn't realize what they just saw.  to make that happen you might want to make the dialog preceding the joke less scripted and more natural.  or let the main action occur off camera and we hear the sound effect exclusively; then he raises his hand back up.  The audience will think, what the fuck was that?  then when you do that joke later in the film, sell the laugh more (like cut to it for example) because it's a rehash of the old joke and demands a more immediate response.

other than that i really liked it, it was easy to read and i never got bored.

-sl-
the one last hit that spent you...

pete

not sure if this is a good idea, but here it goes:

http://s46.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2GCT9YVHCRGCH2DEQ1L8ZERM8T

5 min. scene, 150 megs.  with sound and picture problems and temp. score (real score will be done by the dudes from Devotchka) but I just wanna see if the scene makes sense logically and if it's funny (not TV funny, but actually funny).  'Cause one fighter didn't show up so we changed the scene on the spot, did a lot of improvving and things like that.
and please tell me if the Reno 911 handheld thing works or not, 'cause I kinda plan on doing the whole movie like that.

I'm so good at taking honesty you have no idea.  Be honest with me.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

Ghostboy

I think it makes sense logically, if one considers the context the scene probably occurs within. I think, though, that as a sort of establishing scene - it seems to be setting up a big fight - it's way too long, and the humor is uneven. The muscular guy with the Texas shirt is pretty funny, but in a very broad way that doesn't really match the rest of the performances. The guy who gets punched in the nose is funny, by virtue of juxtaposition. The rest of the scene is just sorta...procedural. In a very lax way. If you could chop two minutes out of it, I'll bet it would play better.

Of course, it's hard to judge it at all separated from the rest of the film like this, but on its own terms, it's weak.

The handheld stuff, for the most part, is fine. I'm not partial to shots where the camera drops to the ground -- too obviously 'operated' for my tastes -- but it's mostly negligible.

killafilm

I thought the cut to the nose bleed guy was your best bit.  It all does seem rather absurd, in a good way.  I'll second cutting out two minutes, if not more.  I'm sure about some of the editing, seems to be indecisive if it wants to be jumpy or normal.  It kinda looked like your reflector board was 'swaying' in a couple of shots.