Lighting The Perfect Date…

It was decided early on that the format of choice was Digi Beta 16:9. The 790 camera had proved more than adequate from past films such as The Christmas Eve Snowfall and Coldharbour. The lighting package for the small scale drama consisted of 3x 800w redheads, 4x 300w mizers, 2x 2k Tungsten blondes and 1x 2 foot 4 bank daylight balanced Kino-Flo, with the usual array of flags and nets for control. The design was always going to be very warm with the camera daylight balanced and most of the tungsten lights either left uncorrected or even gelled with a ½ or full CTO. A full drama matte box was chosen to house any filters needed.

Lighting the school interior was fairly minimal with the overhead soft practical light already in place. The occasional bounce to fill some shadows and with the Kino coming into play when the light began to fade. The school exterior required a 0.3 ND filter to balance the exposure of the sky to the school playground which was reading about a stop over.

The candle lit "date" scene in the restaurant was the perhaps the largest scene to light for the film. The crew arrived 3 hours before the cast in order to set up kit and completely re-decorate the location, changing a riverside tea room into an expensive restaurant. Once again warm light was the required look. The 300w mizers provided the key and back light of each of the two principle actors around the table with a 0.3 ND net in front of each. The candle light provided slight illumination in addition to one redhead gelled with a ½ CTO bounced off a bounce board to provide the fill. Originally two reds were providing the fill but proved to be too much. The table cloths were replaced with pure white to give slightly more fill from below and the Kino flo filling out the background. The exposure was reading about F2.8 which provided a nice depth of field.

Kitchen lighting plan
The early morning breakfast scene was lit with a 2k blond from outside gelled with a full CTO to provide the early morning sun rigged by gaffer Ben Pavord. In the opposite corner the kino gelled with a 1/2 CTO provided a fill and sometimes backlight on some actors. Behind the kino was a window which was never seen on camera but the lighting plan followed the sources for the scene. Ideally a 5k or 10k would have been nice to really blow out the back wall but then the crew would be in need of a power source higher than what the standard house hold circuit can provide.

Perhaps the most difficult scene in the film was the finale, which by narrative design would take place upstairs on the landing of the house but only be "lit" by the lights that have been left on downstairs. A 800w red was shone up the stairs to provide the source and two 300w mizers were cross keyed and gelled full CTB with a 0.6 ND net cutting back the intensity. The mizers provided what could be "an outside source" whether it is other house lights or even the moon coming in from windows just outside frame. Shooting at F2.8 for the majority of the scene meant camera operator Simon Pearce’s focus had to be spot on in addition to the long lens effect from using the zoom. A soft key for principle actor Tony O’Callaghan was provided by bouncing a 300w off a bounce board and also gelled at full CTB which was coming from an adjacent room.

Stairs lighting plan
Tony O' Callaghan
with the kino
back light and bannister
shadows shown
The scene before the Dad leaves for the date sees actor Tony O'Callaghan on the bottom of the stairs presenting himself for approval from his kids. He was lit from light coming from other rooms rather than trying to light the scene from within the scene or the same room. It was softer and the light fell off better than a source in close. A 800w red was bounced from the opposite kitchen and the kino from the opposite living room. Once again gelled with full or 1/2 CTO. Then when the camera was spun around to film the children's reactions they were already back lit and keyed from the lights already in place. Two 100w practicals provided some fill for the back wall of the stairs shining through the stairway bannisters creating some nice shadows on the wall behind breaking up the pale wall.

Most of the film was shot with a stop no higher than F5.6. This gave a nice look with the depth of field always fairly small. This maintained even on the exteriors on the church yard due to an overcast sky. The church yard also features the only dolly shot in the film. DP Paul Dudbridge comments, "I always saw the film as very small in scale. It’s about a family in the home, so even when picturing the shots I never felt the need to open it up and have city shots or any unnecessary exteriors or moving shots. I don’t see the point in moving the camera without the move being motivated one way or another."

LIGHTING KIT AND CONTROLS

3x 800w redheads
4x 300w mizers
2x 2k Tungsten blondes
1x 2 foot 4 bank daylight balanced Kino-Flo

6x C-stands
3x bounceboards
5x Gobo arms
Blackout drape
Sand bangs
Nets 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 ND. Diffusion screens, and flags in various sizes.
Camera filters various inc. ND, Sunset, Polar, Pro mist

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