CrimsonMoon

Thank you very much but, do you know where the best or most inexpensive place is to buy luan? Because quite frankly I have someone that can build whatever it is that I need but, I have to pick up supplies.
One other thing what types of lights would you advise me to use for catacombs? Is there a particular brand that works best?
I think my auditions will go a lot more smoothly now as well. However, should I provide snacks or coffee? I know I don't have to but, would that be appreciated?

__________________
"Remember to take joy in the small things life gives you, for no matter how bad life seems to be... something worse is always on it's way." ~Luisa

Ozmandius

Home Depot, Lowe's, Bob's Hardware, take your pick, man. That's just something that you have to shop around for.

Brands are pretty meaningless in lighting, but the ones I'm most familiar with are Arrii and Mole-Richardson. Any well-stocked lighting and grip department will usually have a good selection of both since they are the mainstay of the business.

As for how you would light catacombs...if it were me, I'd bathe the main set with a couple of 1k's with diffusion and blue correction gels to give the set an all-over cold feel. Then I'd set up a 5k on a flicker with a reddish-yellow gel aimed in alcoves and other hidden spots to simulate torchlight.

On auditions, coffee and snacks aren't needed, but at least have a few pitchers of water and some disposable cups. Don't want them getting cotton mouth during the audition.

Oz

CrimsonMoon

Okay, I think my guy said he can have this built in about two or three weeks. He's pretty busy but he thinks he can get it done. After that I'll have to get the auditions up and running. How much notice do you think is adequate?
Blue correction lights and 5k flickers with reddish-yellow gel? I suppose that even though I'm just the director I should learn this stuff.
First, if I go to a home depot or something of that nature are they going to know what I'm talking about? Secondly, is there a good place that I can learn what this stuff means exactly? I really do hate not knowing what you're talking about but, on my previous adventures my brother handled all of this. I just told him what I envisioned and he took care of the rest. My brother passed away several months ago and now I have to figure this out because I really don't want anyone else to take his job.
Anyways, thanks for the input. I'd probably still be completely lost if you hadn't turned on some lights.

__________________
"Remember to take joy in the small things life gives you, for no matter how bad life seems to be... something worse is always on it's way." ~Luisa

Ozmandius

You want to have your flyers and casting calls out at least a month before you cast so that people will know you're casting. Also I forgot to mention to be sure and list the date and time of the audition as well as the dates of the shoot. Then I'd do the actuall interviews about a week to two weeks before you start shooting, especially if this is an unpaid indy gig. You might however want to do it sooner if you have heavy wardrobe or makeup needs.

You most certainly should. Bad lighting is the number one factor that will kill a film. Just look at Michael Bay. His films are pure shit, but they look so gorgeous that most people don't even care. A lot of people have the misconception that it is the proper film stock that makes a movie look the way it does. It's not. You can make a camcorder look like a major motion picture if you light the set right.

Slightly confused here. They will have luan and other set building materials, but if you are talking about lights, then no, they will have no idea what you are talking about. The only source for lighting and grip equipment is at a production supply house. You'll have to do some hunting to find one, but you should find one in your area. If not, you can probably at least buy the gels online.

Amazon.com stocks a good selection of lighting and grip manuals. Just do a search on "film lighting manuals".

Oh yeah, one question. What kind of lights are you using, if I may ask?

Oz

CrimsonMoon

I have made some changes to my budget to allow for more expenses. Actually I cancelled my nine day vacation I planned. Oh well.
To answer your question I was going to use exactly what you suggested, that is if I can find a warehouse that stocks them, or if I can find them online. I'm doing exactly what you suggest for now since I really have no clue when it comes to lighting, as I explained. Hopefully, I'll be able to stop by a Borders or something. They might have a wider variety of manuals; hopefully.
Fliers; I was thinking of posting them around the colleges that are nearby. Is there anywhere else that may be worth posting at? I could post something online but, I really don't think to many people visit my friend's website. Plus, it's cluttered with other things. I'm going to get my own website as soon as I can but, for now it's my friend's.

__________________
"Remember to take joy in the small things life gives you, for no matter how bad life seems to be... something worse is always on it's way." ~Luisa

Ozmandius

You don't need your own website. There are numerous sites that actors frequent that will post your casting call for free. Just do a search on 'casting calls' and you will come up with dozens of them. But be sure to list the city and state as well, since these sites cover very large areas.

You're probably better off shopping online for film manuals. These are specialty items that most brick and mortar shops don't stock. The link below to Filmtools.com is a good place to start. In addition to books they carry a full line of grip equipment and lights. One stop shopping.
http://www.filmtools.com/books.htm

In that case I'll be much more specific. Plus, after thinking about it, I've reconsidered my recomendations. And don't worry if you're confused. Just go to Filmtools.com and you will find all of these clearly listed under the lighting section.

For the general lighting of the catacomb use Ariilite 650 Tungsten Flood lights with barn doors for each light and get a scrim kit for each one as well. You will need the barn doors to attach the gels to and to direct the light where you want it. The scrims slide into the holder at the base of the barndoors and the gels clip onto the outer edges of the barndoors with clothespins. Keep the gels as far away from the lens as possible, as the light will melt them. You will probably need at least two of the 650's, but I can't be sure without seeing a set plan.

For the torchlight use a Tungsten Ariilite 1000W Fresnel Spot. You can either buy a flicker box to create the flame effect or do it the cheap way. The cheap way is to aim the light at the floor and have a grip wobble a piece of crinkled orange gel taped to aluminum foil beneath the light. The light will bounce off of the foil and through the crinkled gel onto the walls where it will create a broken, flickering pattern that looks very convincing. Costs nothing and looks great.

Another important point. An old saying among cinematographers is to "light the set, then the actors". Do not rely on your set lights to light the actors. They should have their own seperate lights. Probably a set of 650 Fresnel Spots to make them stand out against the bluish background of the catacomb, and a 350W Fresnel backlight with the orange gel to simulate the torchlight behind them. You can flicker these lights as well if you want, but it is not necessary. Having the flicker visible in the background should be sufficient to sell the illusion.

Other considerations. You will need to get stands for all of your lights as they do not come with them. Some grip stands and bounce boards (reflective surfaces) would also be helpful. Also check with the theatre who's space you are using to make sure that their power setup can handle this many lights. You might have to look into some additional power distribution boxes as well.

Also, since you are new to lighting, if at all possible hire, bribe, or kidnap a gaffer to handle the lights as these are high voltage items that can kill if set up improperly. I would also recommend getting an experienced grip too. I cannot stress this enough. Professional lighting equipment is very dangerous in untrained hands. They get hot enough to seer the flesh off of your hand, they can crush your skull if they fall on you, and they will flash fry your innards in a second if you mess up the electrical connections. Do not fuck around. Get a professional to help you. If you cannot afford one or find one to volunteer, then contact me and I will give you a new list of lights that would be safe for you to use.

Oz

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CrimsonMoon

It's been a couple of days now and I've been trying to contact my builder but, it turns out that he went away on vacation. He got back early this morning so, he said that he'll begin working on the catacombs immediately.
Now that you've scared the shit out of me with the whole lights thing I've dug deep into my mad money and hired someone to take care of all the lighting. Luckily it won't cost much because I'm providing three meals a day. He brought along a couple of his buddies. Not sure I approve of it but, as long as he does the job right I don't care.
Thanks for being more specific though, that's already helping me out immensly. For, the flicker box; how much will one cost, or is it in your opinion, just better to do it the cheap way?

__________________
"Remember to take joy in the small things life gives you, for no matter how bad life seems to be... something worse is always on it's way." ~Luisa

Ozmandius

Glad you're getting some help with this. I was really worried that you could get hurt as most accidents on set are related to the lights. I myself have been injured multiple times by interns or otherwise relative newcomers that had no idea how to safely set up lights. In fact I'm typing this with one hand because I got rushed to the emergency room yesterday for another round of stiches. Hurts like a sonofabitch.

A few more points about lights. Do NOT get HMI's! If tungsten lights are dangerous, HMI's are ten times worse. They require special training just to use them and need their own electrical ballast just to support their massive wattage needs. Actors have gotten serious burns from just having them pointed at them for too long. No shit. The light on these things are so poweful that they have even been known to start fires on the set. And that's just the light itself. We're not even talking about actually touching them.

Also you might want to think about renting your equipment instead. For a modest price you can rent an entire grip truck that will include all the equipment you need for a shoot, including lights, gels, scrims, stands, sandbags, junction boxes and cables. All of it in one truck. The prices vary depending on the size of the package you require, but you should have no problem getting one to suit your needs.

As for flicker boxes...I couldn't find a price quote online. But I did find several places that you could rent one for about $20. The manual way should work fine, but the flicker boxes do make the effect more pronounced and dramatic. So if you can rent one, or find one for a price you can live with, then I'd say go for it.

Oz

CrimsonMoon

If HMI's are that powerful what on earth could they be used for? They sound awful dangerous. Kindy scary even. But, yes I did find some help and they are working out wonderfully, although the one guy seems like he's still stuck back in the 18th century. He's english and calls me miss or ma'am all the time. It makes me feel old, even though I'm not. Well, at least I don't think I am. Is 20 old? I hope not.
Anyways, I think I might just rent a flicker box. It does seem worthwhile so, I'll probably end up doing just that.
I posted the auditions as well. Hit up all the campuses and some other hotspots. Hope this'll work out.

__________________
"Remember to take joy in the small things life gives you, for no matter how bad life seems to be... something worse is always on it's way." ~Luisa

Ozmandius

For trained professionals, HMI's are perfectly safe to use and are a valuable asset. I've used them dozens of times to great effect. It's when you put something that powerful in untrained hands that problems arise. It's kind of like giving a soccer mom a Formula One race car to drive to the mall. Way more power than they would ever know how to handle.

HMI's biggest asset is that they simulate sunlight almost perfectly (hence the sunburn they can give you). This allows you to shoot a scene on set that looks like it was filmed outdoors or on location. One of our favorite tricks is to aim an HMI at a bouncecard (big white reflective surface) secured outside of a set window or door. The reflected light that comes through the window looks just like sunlight and sells the illusion to perfection. Anyone viewing the footage would swear that it was shot on location.

But like I said earlier, they do take special training to use properly and can't be used the same way that tungsten lights are used. For instance, an HMI can't be gelled or have anything anywhere close to the lens. They are just too hot and would melt the gel in mere moments. Second is that you don't want to point the HMI directly at your talent, which is a common mistake that way too many people make. But if you point the light at a bouncecard, like say overhead, then you get a nice even lighting source that looks like sunlight and is perfectly safe to work under. Also, HMI's just can't be flicked on and used. You have to give them several minutes to warm up to their optimal color temperature. If not, then you will get weird color fluctuations on your film that looks ugly as hell.

Good talking to you again, and I hope all goes well with your shoot.

PS. I do get a copy of this when your done, don't I?

Oz

CrimsonMoon

Of course you get a copy of it and if you don't mind I'd like to put you into the credits as a "Special thanks to" person. That is of course if you don't mind.
Also thanks for explaining about the HMI's. I can't believe they are almost like sunlight. That's fairly impressive. I don't think I'll be having anyone using them anytime soon. I don't want sunburn.

__________________
"Remember to take joy in the small things life gives you, for no matter how bad life seems to be... something worse is always on it's way." ~Luisa

Ozmandius

Mind? Are you kidding? Screen credit is the currency of the realm in this business. In fact it's the one and only thing you can offer people that will get them to work for free. How do you think most Indy films get made?

But seriously, that does bring up one other point. Always give screen credit to anyone that helps you, especially for the script. Even if it's just a minor suggestion that you used only a part of, give them a mention in the credits. That screen credit is your insurance that they can't sue you for using their idea. Although this probably won't be a problem for you now, later on in your career it can save your butt. People love to sue a succesful film for stealing their ideas. But a screen credit is considered almost as good as payment and will vastly reduce their ability to sue you, if not outright kill their case.

A good example of this is Eddie Murphy's "Coming to America". Had he given story credit to the guy that sued him, he likely would not have wound up paying him millions of dollars.

But for me, a simple Technical Advisor credit is plenty.

By the way, where are you shooting at, exactly? Just curious.

Oz

CrimsonMoon

Speaking of "Coming to America", I liked that movie.
Anyways, I'd be happy to write you into the credits.
I'll be shooting in Palmyra, Pennsylvania. It's a small town outside of Hershey. A quaint little town. Nothing spectacular but, if you wake up at the right time in the morning you can smell chocolate coming from Hershey's Chocolate Factory. It really is a fabulous town.

__________________
"Remember to take joy in the small things life gives you, for no matter how bad life seems to be... something worse is always on it's way." ~Luisa