New year, new commercial to breakdown.
I was flicking through potential projects and saw one set up from this ad that I wanted to go over. It is about using diffusion outside on wider shots and the pros and cons of doing so.
Hopefully you learn something and you can go and try it out for yourself.
Enjoy!
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In the course I detail how I learned exposure and I share how I would get up to speed the fastest way possible if I was starting over today.
Cinematography can seem incredibly complex but underneath it all there are some fundamental decisions that must be made if you are going to get images you are happy with. Exposure and understanding how to best manipulate exposure and why one way is better or more efficient than another is absolutely essential if you are going to work with a crew and on schedule.
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The Spot - Breaking the Light
Shot #1 - The Car Shot
The Shot
Shot of a car travelling down the road with two people inside. Pretty straightforward unless you are trying to pull it off on a budget.
The Lighting
The sun and the right time of day at just the right angle.
The Result
Shot #2 - Inside Dialogue
The Shot
Interior car set up with a back and forth between the driver and the passenger.
The Lighting
This was done on the back of a low loader and we rigged a few Creamsource Vortexes up front on the bonnet to help carry the light as we dipped in and out of the forest dapple.
Other than that we blacked out all the windows in the rear of the car to help control the contrast a little more.
The Result
Shot #3 - On the Go
The Shot
Car travelling over a bridge. Again pretty straightforward except we were limited in options and angles by the camera configuration and the lack of the proper gear.
The Lighting
The sun, the direction, and the schedule.
The Result
Shot #4 - Bike Shoot
The Shot
Our hero talent pulls up on a bike beside the car. She then rides off as the light changes.
The Lighting
We used the sun as the backlight and then added a 12x12 Ultra Bounce off camera left coupled with as much Neg as we had in the truck to try and eek out as much contrast as possible on a bright sunny day.
The Result
Shot #5 - The Look
The Shot
This was the most contained of the set ups all day so we took full advantage.
The Lighting
We positioned the car so as to be backlit by the sun then used a combination of the 12x12 from above plus a Lightbridge to add an edge and act as the key light.
Resting above the car window is a 4x4 diffusion frame to knock off the harshness of direct overhead sun light. Then Neg all around the camera right side meant we could dial in the contrast.
The Result
Shot #6 - The Break
The Shot
Our hero family waves to the couple in the SUV.
The Lighting
This was the main reason I wanted to break down this ad on the podcast.
Schedule limitations meant we had to be here at this time and we were very limited by the physical space as to how we could control the look.
We ended up just using a 20x20 1/2 grid diffusion between the family and the SUV in the mid ground to soften the harsh sun and give it a bit of a stylized look.
You can see the line of the diffusion on the ground. The only other add was using Neg camera right to darken what we could.
The Result
Shot #7 - The Reflection
The Shot
The reverse of the previous wide.
The Lighting
Here the camera is attached to the hood of the car. We have one Vortex to add just a hint to the face and we dialled it way back. The sun is behind the camera which gives us the dappled look in the background.
The Result
