Lighting Space.....Knights

December 11th, 2008

It's 7am and we're off to Ottawa this morning to shoot the last section of "Kardinal Sinners" wrestling show. I was at the office until 1am last night finishing things for other clients before we head out on the road. Not quite sure why im up writing a blog, but im having a little trouble sleeping.

I wanted to talk about lighting in this post. Recently Mark Hemmings and I went to FatKat Animation in Mirimachi, NB to shoot a series of 30 second commercials for their show "Space Knights".


From what I understand the show cartoon is about 4 'power ranger' type super heroes who are trying to save the world. But they aren't exactly politically correct superheroes....and one of them is gay and in a wheelchair...not that there is anything wrong with that! I just think its funny for a superhero. I guess that's why the show is a comedy.

So they wanted to shoot 4 public service announcements to help promote the show and had FatKat employee's dress up in the Space Knight costumes and act out the parts in live action.

It's so much fun to go up to FatKat. They have such a cool spot and always treat us so well. We seem to really connect well with them when we are there and the owner Gene Fowler always has time to welcome us and crack us up a thousand times over. Im glad we have formed such a good relationship, which such a talented and creative company.

It's always such a pleasure to shoot anything with Mark as well. I respect his abilities so much, especially when it comes to lighting. He just knows how to paint a scene so meticulously. Lighting is such a crucial part of shooting anything...whether is be photos, video or film, so setting up any shot with Mark is fascinating!

It took us about an hour and a half to set up this first scene. Below you will see how we did it.

They really wanted a nice warm feel to these first 2 scenes. So we brought a giant white bed sheet and suspended it from the roof to create the same effects of a giant soft box.




We then shinned 2, 300 watt and 2 500 watt lights directly down through the sheet. The result is a nice soft light that falls on the subject (as you can see in the picture at the top)

We then filled behind him with a 500 watt softbox with a blue gel. The blue gel is used to create the illusion that light is coming from the window. It gave us some really nice defined edges around the shoulders and top of the head.

We then used 2, 1000 watt lights you would buy at any hardware store and bounced them off the reflector to create a soft key light on the subject's face.

I then set up our Sony ex1 with the Letus extreme 35mm adapter. Used a 50mm f 1.4 nikon lens, which is near perfect! It gives such a perfect depth of feild...especially for this camera. I used 8 feet of track and set the camera up on our dolly. Our final image was lit perfectly. The Space Knight in the chair was clearly and softly defined. Because the chair was a darker red than his suit, the foreground was slightly darker than the subject. It made the image stand out even more and almost looked like there was a soft vingette in the bottom third of the picture. (that's me with the space helmet on!)






We headed down to the bar next and shot the final 2 commercials. One was of the space knight getting wasted in the bar talking about how to treat your woman.


Then we shot the green knight in the wheelchair in a janitors closet. Talking about how disappointed he is that he is always left behind. Mark again lit this beautifully. To top it all off he swung one our our lights from the ceiling to really give that storage closet effect. It turned out amazing!


Everyone was really pleased with the final images! We shot everything at 24p and FatKat is editing the footage and adding all the sound and voice overs in post.

It was actually really nice to only have to shoot something for a change and not have to edit it at all. It was a 17 hour day by the end of it for Mark and I....seems pretty good for 4 commercials, considering all the tear down and setup required. Hopefully I will be able to post some of the shots once FatKat is finished!

Cheers.

Well Overdue: My first blog Ever!

Well, this is my first official blog posting ever! I've kept journals before, but never have I displayed my doings for all to see!

I’m just sitting in my living room of my apartment in Saint John witnessing an amazing sunset over the city. The sky is the most brilliant purpley-pink grade that doesn't even seem real. Especially as it always seems to be so foggy you can't even see the building across the street...so this is really nice!

Anyways...I digress. I don't even know where to start really. So much has happened since I joined this company 15 months ago. I just feel so blessed to be paid to do what I love. I know so many filmmakers who struggle to find the resources to bring their visions to life, so to do this and earn a living is a real privilege. I guess I’m apologizing to myself and co-workers because I’ve been really un-inspired and grumpy at work the last couple of days, which is never the case. So, I guess this means I’m over it?

So since I have so much to talk about, why don't I start at the beginning and pick away at the last year for the next few blogs until I get up to date. I have learned so much about this business in the past year, but none more than I did working on our TV series Wrestling Reality. (photo below by Mark Hemmings) Check out his website...his photography is world class! www.markhemmings.com



So this was my first project with HHP and we went on the road to begin shooting only a week after I moved to Saint John. I was originally supposed to be a production assistant, but was quickly thrust into an assistant director role, shooting the majority of the documentary footage on the show.

I just followed the wrestlers everywhere they went, which sometimes meant staying up all night with them while they partied hard! Nothing I wasn't used to though, so it worked out really well. I found that the more I partied with them, the closer I got to the wrestlers. The more they trusted me, the more gold I captured in the camera! This was no more evident when I actually filmed Brody Steele doing steroids. To our knowledge this was the first time it had ever been broadcast on television, which created quite a buzz. I didn't seem like a big deal when I was shooting it, until I saw the clip all over country on TSN, Entertainment Tonight, you name it. It was pretty cool to see it get such publicity.

Post-production though was the most rewarding part of the whole project though. Greg was supposed to edit it, but seen as he produced it and directed the whole show, he just didn't have the time to cut the it, so he gave that duty to me! I was a little intimidated at first, no question. I had never tried to cut such an enormous project. Sorting through 150 hours of footage was a bit overwhelming, but Greg gave me so much confidence and was was so positive throughout the whole thing, it made my job a pleasure.

I can't really remember how long it actually took, but the last few weeks before going to broadcast were absolutely exhausting! We just kept on having little technical issues that seemed so unfair at the time. So much work was finished and technology was keeping us from completion. I can remember a few times working 44 out of 48 hours in a row! Just time to sleep for a few hours, then spending the rest in front of the computer. I never worked so much in my entire life! I never knew it was possible. In the end though, we produced a fantastic show and we are all pumped to shoot season two in England very soon!

After all that crazy work around that show, I tossed the idea around of going to China for 6 weeks over Christmas to visit my girlfriend Julie, never really thinking it would be possible. Then one day Greg told me he thought it was a good idea I went on the trip....I think he lived to kind of regret the decision because production ended up being really busy in December and January, but they managed fine without me...and the trip to China was amazing...travelling is just way too much fun!!! Here are a few pics. It was such a marvelous place for photography....

So there you have it, my first official blog. I'll do my best to write another one soon, unless I get a bunch of comments telling me how boring it is! Hope you enjoyed it. I'll take a page out of Lauchlan's blog too and recommend some music. Do yourself a favour and get the latest from "Fleet Foxes". At first I thought they sounded so much like "My Morning Jacket" (which isn't a bad thing), but they have an amazing sound with wonderful vocal harmonies....enjoy them!

Cheers