hey, I'm shooting a kungfu short at the end of may, and I was wondering how well a canon gl1 or a sony vx2000 would do within a scene that's lit entire by torches. Is it possible? has anyone any similar experience?
I don't know about the GL-1, but the XL-1 isn't entirely great (read:terrible) for low light situations...but I did shoot a scene once lit entirely by birthday candles, and as long as the actors' faces were close to the cake, you could see them well enough. So if there are torches, as in the robust medieval sort, and more than one of them, you should do okay. Just make sure no one wears all black.
Typically, most top of the line mini-DV cameras are considered to have the equivalent sensitivity of a 320 asa. Which isn't to say the overall quality is comparable.
What you need to do is experiment. Do a test shoot. I would THINK you should be okay shooting with torches. We're talking like Indiana Jones in the snake pit torches? I've shot with the Panasonic AG-DVX100A (my personal choice) using only source lights and a small Chinese lantern for bounce. Looked great. That's how Vittori Storarro lights. If you need fill, use a paper lantern with a low-wattage bulb.
Another thing to consider is what editing equipment you're using. If you've using Avid or the latest version of FCP HD, both have pretty good picture and color correction.
Ultimately, you should do a test. I think you'll be fine. I think the camera should be sensitive enough. If Nestor Almendros needed to use electric lanterns in place of actual flames, shooting Days of Heaven in the mid-70s, you SHOULD be all right.
oh right, I saw that in that documentary about the lights and shit.
tiki torches should be enough if you have a lot of them. we did a bonfire scene in my last shoot, and when it was burning bright, the footage looked great. as the fire started to die, the footage went completely to shit.
If you're low light, then you have to compensate. Low light video looks like crap... why not use hot flares for torches with a standard lighting set-up. The torches will register well and not burn out plus you'll have a decent lighting set up.
Lighting when you're supposed to be illuminated by fire usually looks like shit. No offense. Pet peeve. Just plain looks like shit.
If you need to, diffuse the fire light with a fog machine. Fire always looks good when diffused by mist or smoke.