Faking Candlelight reflection on face ? at DVinfo.net

Michael Claerbout · May 13th, 2007, 01:30 PM

Hi guys,

for an upcomming short movie there's a scene were the actor carries a candle light while walking down a bridge. The idea is to see a nice reflection of this light on his face. But i don't know how to get realistic results. I have seen it alot in movies but its mostly not convincing. Has any of you ever performed this kind of lighting. Can you suggest a way to do it?

Thanks in advance

Greets

Michaël

Giroud Francois · May 13th, 2007, 02:20 PM

just use a candle ?

Michael Claerbout · May 13th, 2007, 02:57 PM

Yes thats seems obvious but a candle does not give enough light, or i would have to shoot really low key.

Thanks for the respons!

Tony Tibbetts · May 13th, 2007, 03:36 PM

If you have a portable light that's powerful enough. Put an orange (or reddish orange...or yellow... or yellowish orange...whatever your preference) gel on it and then create some sort of board or cloth with various shapes (or strips) cut into it then wave it in front of the light to create a flickering effect. I've seen it done just using somebody's fingers in front of the light. This is done all the time in films to simulate light from a flame. After all you cannot produce a fire of any kind with consistent light output and movement.

Michael Claerbout · May 13th, 2007, 03:52 PM

Thank you very much Tony
thats seems like a good idea!

More suggestions?

Bill Hamell · May 13th, 2007, 04:17 PM

Watch our teaser...
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=92935

Around 00:01:06:00 into it you will see what you can do with a candle. :-)

Bill

Michael Claerbout · May 13th, 2007, 04:26 PM

All that with one candle ?
Seems impressive, is tempting me to pull this off with lots of candles

Tony Tibbetts · May 13th, 2007, 04:30 PM

Of course it all depends on what your camera and lens are capable of also. I personally prefer a more controlled environment. That's why I prefer the gelled method. You could always take a look at Robert Altman's film "McCabe and Ms. Miller". It was shot using nothing but candle light, with what I would assume were some very fast lenses.

Bill Hamell · May 13th, 2007, 04:45 PM

When he blows out the candle it's all the candle, when you see him looking around in the wide shot the set is dimmly lit the reflections on his face is all the candle.

Here are a couple of stills, I had to hand hold at a 1/10 of a secod to get them.

The wide shot of the set shows our accent lights the make shift foamcore softbox gives the flickering light from the fire place.
a closer shot shows the candle light on the talent.

Isn't low light fun!! :-)

Bill

Brian Drysdale · May 13th, 2007, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony Tibbetts

Of course it all depends on what your camera and lens are capable of also. I personally prefer a more controlled environment. That's why I prefer the gelled method. You could always take a look at Robert Altman's film "McCabe and Ms. Miller". It was shot using nothing but candle light, with what I would assume were some very fast lenses.

One trick is to use a fake candle with a small light bulb concealed inside the candle stick connected to a battery carried by the actor. You have a burning candle mounted on the top of the fake section, so you have a flame, but the illumination is done by the hidden bulb.

"Barry Lyndon" has real candle film scenes shot with f0.7 Zeiss lenses.

Bruce Ellingwood · May 13th, 2007, 05:09 PM

How about an oil lamp? You can adjust the amount of light you get and it remains the right kind of light.

Michael Claerbout · May 14th, 2007, 09:09 AM

Thank you all for the respons,
I think i have some experimenting to do,

watch out for my results!

Thanks again

Michaël

Bob Hart · May 14th, 2007, 09:45 AM

Only good for face close-ups - Maybe a chinese lantern with some strips of alfoil (cooking foil) hanging inside and given a bit of a shake to make the flicker and move the light source subtly to make any shadows move.

For the static wide shot, a small lamp might be hidden from the camera behind the candle to provide added light or maybe a very narrow pin spot beam aimed at a small reflector on the tabletop behind the candle holder.

Mark Sasahara · May 14th, 2007, 11:31 AM

A Chimera Lantern on a pole works well. Held just out of frame and a 250W, or 500W lamp on a dimmer, you can get a nice effect. You can follow the actor as he walks. The Chimera Lantern is more rigid than a regular paper lantern and has a skirt that Velcroes on, so you don't flare the lens.

Rosco makes a fake candle with the bulb inside, that you can rent, or buy. Depending on the set and time, you may be able to light with just candles, but you might still need some type of base light and some help from additional luminaires.

Michael Claerbout · May 14th, 2007, 01:23 PM

Thanks Bob and Mark !

ive heard about the chimera, i have to see if they rent it here.

May 13th, 2007, 01:30 PM	#1
Michael Claerbout Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Belgium Posts: 53	Faking Candlelight reflection on face ? Hi guys, for an upcomming short movie there's a scene were the actor carries a candle light while walking down a bridge. The idea is to see a nice reflection of this light on his face. But i don't know how to get realistic results. I have seen it alot in movies but its mostly not convincing. Has any of you ever performed this kind of lighting. Can you suggest a way to do it? Thanks in advance Greets Michaël

May 13th, 2007, 04:17 PM	#6
Bill Hamell Major Player Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Mystic Ct. Posts: 477	Watch our teaser... http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=92935 Around 00:01:06:00 into it you will see what you can do with a candle. :-) Bill __________________ Cinematographers Bring Shadow To Light

May 13th, 2007, 04:45 PM	#9
Bill Hamell Major Player Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Mystic Ct. Posts: 477	When he blows out the candle it's all the candle, when you see him looking around in the wide shot the set is dimmly lit the reflections on his face is all the candle. Here are a couple of stills, I had to hand hold at a 1/10 of a secod to get them. The wide shot of the set shows our accent lights the make shift foamcore softbox gives the flickering light from the fire place. a closer shot shows the candle light on the talent. Isn't low light fun!! :-) Bill Attached Thumbnails __________________ Cinematographers Bring Shadow To Light

May 14th, 2007, 09:45 AM	#13
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 4,477	Only good for face close-ups - Maybe a chinese lantern with some strips of alfoil (cooking foil) hanging inside and given a bit of a shake to make the flicker and move the light source subtly to make any shadows move. For the static wide shot, a small lamp might be hidden from the camera behind the candle to provide added light or maybe a very narrow pin spot beam aimed at a small reflector on the tabletop behind the candle holder. Last edited by Bob Hart; May 14th, 2007 at 09:50 AM. Reason: error

May 14th, 2007, 11:31 AM	#14
Mark Sasahara Major Player Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: NYC Posts: 649	A Chimera Lantern on a pole works well. Held just out of frame and a 250W, or 500W lamp on a dimmer, you can get a nice effect. You can follow the actor as he walks. The Chimera Lantern is more rigid than a regular paper lantern and has a skirt that Velcroes on, so you don't flare the lens. Rosco makes a fake candle with the bulb inside, that you can rent, or buy. Depending on the set and time, you may be able to light with just candles, but you might still need some type of base light and some help from additional luminaires. __________________ Mark Sasahara Director of Photography

May 13th, 2007, 02:20 PM	#2
Giroud Francois Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: switzerland Posts: 2,133	just use a candle ?

May 13th, 2007, 02:57 PM	#3
Michael Claerbout Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Belgium Posts: 53	Yes thats seems obvious but a candle does not give enough light, or i would have to shoot really low key. Thanks for the respons!

May 13th, 2007, 03:36 PM	#4
Tony Tibbetts Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 385	If you have a portable light that's powerful enough. Put an orange (or reddish orange...or yellow... or yellowish orange...whatever your preference) gel on it and then create some sort of board or cloth with various shapes (or strips) cut into it then wave it in front of the light to create a flickering effect. I've seen it done just using somebody's fingers in front of the light. This is done all the time in films to simulate light from a flame. After all you cannot produce a fire of any kind with consistent light output and movement.

May 13th, 2007, 03:52 PM	#5
Michael Claerbout Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Belgium Posts: 53	Thank you very much Tony thats seems like a good idea! More suggestions?

May 13th, 2007, 04:26 PM	#7
Michael Claerbout Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Belgium Posts: 53	All that with one candle ? Seems impressive, is tempting me to pull this off with lots of candles

May 13th, 2007, 04:30 PM	#8
Tony Tibbetts Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 385	Of course it all depends on what your camera and lens are capable of also. I personally prefer a more controlled environment. That's why I prefer the gelled method. You could always take a look at Robert Altman's film "McCabe and Ms. Miller". It was shot using nothing but candle light, with what I would assume were some very fast lenses.

May 13th, 2007, 05:09 PM	#11
Bruce Ellingwood Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Corona, Calif. Posts: 47	How about an oil lamp? You can adjust the amount of light you get and it remains the right kind of light.

May 14th, 2007, 09:09 AM	#12
Michael Claerbout Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Belgium Posts: 53	Thank you all for the respons, I think i have some experimenting to do, watch out for my results! Thanks again Michaël

May 14th, 2007, 01:23 PM	#15
Michael Claerbout Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Belgium Posts: 53	Thanks Bob and Mark ! ive heard about the chimera, i have to see if they rent it here. Last edited by Michael Claerbout; May 14th, 2007 at 02:01 PM.