FMP 'Endure' setting up lighting

Before shooting the actual film me and Alex decided that we needed to make sure that the lighting was set up properly so that when it came to the basement shoot we wouldn't be loitering around and still adjusting the equipment. After Alex had a meeting with Graham, one of our tutors, we proceeded to the main location in order to test the lighting equipment in the basement and get a firm idea of what lighting conditions would be like in the other shooting locations, such as the bedroom and hallway (see storyboards). When in the basement it was immediately apparent that we wouldn't be able to rely on the fluorescent lighting already installed down there, it was far too sterile colouring wise and the actual light socket gave off a distracting buzzing the we knew would be picked up by the sensitive audio equipment we would be using.

So initially we both agreed to try using a lantern hung from the ceiling in order to provide a light source, however upon trying it something occurred to us both; the lantern looked a bit too modern and as such wasn't very reflective of the tone and feel of the basement scene, which is one of loneliness and desperation. Instead we opted for candle lights, which would be enhanced by the use of the redhead lights with orange filters and diffusion, aimed at the ceiling to create the illusion of a small light source, but still give us enough light to get a good image when filming. It was also suggested to us that we should use the box lights in conjunction with the red head lighting, however the box lights would have blue filters in them instead in order to add a cold desolate feeling the location. When we tried this though we soon realised that it simply detracted from the tone and really didn't look natural, we persisted and tried making the blue dimmer by adding more blue filters and a layer of diffusion, but it still caused problems at the other side of the room where it would bounce off the adjacent wall and become to prevalent, so we quickly scrapped that idea.

 

However when we properly analysed the room, with only the redhead lights active we came up against another problem, I was used as a stand in on either side of the room where the actual characters would be sat and we noticed the lighting wasn't completely even on both sides of the room and putting the redhead light equidistantly from either side meant that each side was a little under lit. So we once again looked to the box lights, we changed the blue filter to the same orange filter as the redhead and put it on the other side of the room whilst focusing the main light on the entrance, this worked perfectly and in conjunction with the small amount of light given off by the candles looked suitably dark. After filming some test footage to get a good sense of how the scenes would look we moved onto the bedroom. This spot was a lot easier to light as it didn't need any extra external lighting equipment, the scene starts with the curtains slightly ajar which provided more than enough light and then later during the scene the curtains are opened which floods the bedroom with light which was ideal. The lighting in the kitchen also wasn't an issue as we would again be relying on natural light.