Cinematography
Through the Lens and Back Again #2
Lighting Breakdown for “360 Seconds”
I wanted to break down a little short I DP’d last December. It’s a simple setup, but it was also the first time I tried to incorporate the “light the space, not the face” philosophy.
Below is the lighting scheme:
And the finished product:
The premise was simple: an assassin swaps identities and outfits in a run-down, piss-stained bar bathroom. We had an amazing Production Designer, Sean Perreira (insta: @sap.png) build a bathroom in the director’s living room. I’m constantly amazed at how resourceful the PD Department is and yet cinematographers like myself are complaining that we don’t have enough ND to control daytime exteriors. I think one thing I’m learning is that collaboration with production design is key to making great images because if there’s nothing in the frame to shoot, your frame ain’t shit.
It was an ambitious undertaking by director Bex Bradshaw (insta: @iambexbradshaw), a creator with amazing attention to detail, especially with production design. You can check out another work of hers I shot, This Charming Man, here.
Since the set looked dingy and run-down, the lighting should complement that look. The only two colors that went through my head were yellow and green: piss and vomit. I went with vomit. And what better way to show a gross green than through a mercury vapor gel?
Key light was a 2ft Crossfade Quasar mounted above the sink, gelled with Rosco Cyan #4360 to create the mercury vapor look. An Aputure 300dii with a spotlight mount was bounced into the ceiling with the same Rosco Cyan to bring up room tone. The practical light behind talent was opened up and covered with a Lee Filter CL652 Urban Sodium with a b7c hung above her, matching the sodium vapor. The changing sequence at the end was done with a Litemat 2L, boomed above with either half or full diffusion.
All I had to do for the most part was move the camera around for different framing without only minor adjustments to lighting.
It was a great shoot and I couldn’t have done it without the help of my Gaffer/Key Grip/every-other-role-on-set Arjay Ancheta (insta: @jay_cine). Hit him up if you’re looking for a good Key Grip in LA.
Nothing spectacular in terms of set-up, but who doesn’t love a good lighting breakdown?
