Looking to make a spooky house shoot with Magic Bullet...help!

[Nick Carr]

Hi everyone -

I have an upcoming project in which I'll be shooting a short (45 second) film inside a darkly lit house. And I'd like to know the best way to light it.

The overall idea is that, shortly into the film, the lights go out, and the character has to go down in the basement to the fusebox. The house is a large, airy lake house, and has large windows through which we'll see occasional flashes of lightening.

The plan is to shoot with my GL2, then use Magic Bullet in After Effects to get a really good look. This is really the first time I've done something like this at night, however, and I want to make sure I light it correctly for Magic Bullet to work its magic. My experience is that if you shoot in neutral colors and light it naturally without going too dark or bright, you can use MB more effectively...But again, I haven't done this in a darkened interior.

So the question is, what is the best way to light an interior darkened house for Magic Bullet to best work its magic? This is ultra low budget, though I'm still aiming for a professional look. Anything I should avoid or definitely watch out for?

The problem is, I don't have all that much time to experiment, and I want to get it right. How do I go about creating that dark atmosphere with just the right patches of light to get the face, body, and a few background elements?

Any advice would be much appreciated!