Filming w/ 1 Light Overhead Advice?

jrazz wrote on 9/11/2007, 8:47 PM
I will be filming a wrestling event put on by Super Star Bill Dundee on Thursday at a state fair. It is inside a tent (small tent) and has 1 light source directly over the center of the ring. I will be using two Sony HVR-A1u's to film the event.

I am not able to bring additional lighting. The light that is suspended from the top is a halogen light and provides ample light for viewers, but I want to make the most of what I have available to me. Any ideas? I will have one cam up higher than the ring looking down on the wrestlers. The second cam will be ringside. Any ideas on utilizing the light I have available?

j razz

Comments

farss wrote on 9/11/2007, 8:57 PM
Given that the halogen over the ring is probably a work light kind of thing probably not much you can do with it. Try to shoot from up higher would avoid too many ugly shadows. Also pray the tent is white. I guess if you can't bring any lights then you can't bring any reflectors either.
The again if the mat in the ring is white you should get a fair amount of bounce back up off that, mightn't be so bad after all.

Bob.
jrazz wrote on 9/11/2007, 9:10 PM
Tent is white, mat is dark blue. I went and watched a match this evening. The tent does help some with the light, but anything from below has akward shadows (kind of like how the Abe Lincoln Memorial was originally lit). I will have a bucket truck type device to place one cam in at one corner of the ring. The other cam will be a roamer.

j razz
vitalforce wrote on 9/11/2007, 9:59 PM
Looks like a job for Secondary Color Corrector. You can make a matte of the luminance, which will preview as a black & white filter, then reverse it to raise the shadows (it's more precise than just raising the lower end of Curves). You lose a little contrast as you brighten the shadows but it sounds like contrast in a dark blue & white ring will not be the problem.
jrazz wrote on 9/11/2007, 10:06 PM
vitalforce, I may send you a email once I start editing on this footage. Thanks for the tip.

j razz