Natural light

I did a small short film and brought in two 60 Arri Sky panels. Beauties they are. Easy to operate, practical, power saving and true color temperature. They also feature the entire gel range built into the brain which allow you to dial in any color and effect. With just two panels outside the windows, and dialing in Amber within in minutes I got this beautiful warm light filtering to suggest the street light. So simple and just works.

INT. Parking lot DAY 35mm I loved this scene because of the simplicity in execution yet effective in result for the story. This scene was shot using only natural light. I loved the quality that was spilling in from the outside and how it revealed the texture of the roof. This also gave me a soft back and side light which revealed the textures of the roof and helped shape the mood of the scene. I chose to cut out the shapes of the characters against the white back light to create silhouettes to further amplify the drama and mystery of the scene aswell keep within the noir look of the show. On close ups we brought in 1/4 grid cloth to further soften the ambient and to allow for a more softer wrap around on the face.

We originally planned to shoot the wide at the top with the city as a background, but after we moved to the bottom to setup base I found this wide shot with the tree. I loved how it dwarfed her presence and made her feel small and almost helpless. This of course further added to the scene and the story because at that point the character has lost control of her situation and has had to resort to other measures by secretly meeting someone. She was lost. It one of those scenes where the magic just happened in the moment. We knew what we wanted but the space offered us more and we found it. You have a plan but by keeping an open mind there is always the possibility of something else. Just by moving the camera a little, it can mean so much more.