While we've been shooting out at Vasquez Rocks, it gives us a perfect opportunity to
look at shooting on location and how we can make that a very successful experience. So
on today's Slanted Lens Lesson, we're going to look at shooting on location. We're
going to be shooting a woman dressed as a warrior princess with her bow and arrow. And
we're going to use an air cannon to create an instant layer of smoke that will help blend
the background with our talent. But before we get started on all that, let's talk about
some of the things that will help us be ready to shoot on location.
The foundation to every good shoot on location starts with going out and scouting the location
ahead of time. You know, that's it's imperative that you go out before the day of the shoot
and see the things you're going to encounter and come up with a plan in order to make that
day go very smoothly. It doesn't matter if you're doing a large production or headshot.
You need answers to these following questions. (1) The number one question is, where is the
sun? To know where the sun is and how you're going to light the shot you're
going to need to go and scout at the very same time of day that you're going to do
your shoot. For me, that's imperative. Locations change with sunlight throughout the day and
so I want to see it in the light that I'm going to encounter when I come shoot. When
I scout a location, I'm looking for interesting, graphic areas to shoot in that will not have
the sun at my back. I can work with just about any kind of light as long as the sun is not
coming straight over my shoulder. When the sun is at my back, you have to use it as a
key source and there are very few options. It's just not a look I really enjoy.
This location we're using today is great because we'll have a nice rim light
throughout the afternoon and move into a back light or sunset as the day ends. I want to
select ahead of time the place we're I'm going to shoot so the client's not watching
me wandering around, wondering where I'm going to place my camera. I want that decision
done ahead of time so I know exactly what's going on. It makes me look more professional.
(2) Question number two is always, how will I power my equipment? You know, is there power
at the location? Can we get an extension cord to plug into power? How far is it? If I don't
have power available, do I need to bring generators? Can I use portable power? What do I need to
do to get power to my equipment? (3) The next question is, where is the bathroom?
You know, the shoot comes to a quick halt when there's no facility. You've got to
find a restroom or bring a restroom. Whatever you need to do to make sure there is a facility
on site. That's a key element to a good production day.
(4) Directions. How do I get everyone there? Check the address and decide how to explain
to people where to meet. You know, using Google Satellite is really a big help with this.
Identify a place ahead of time where you're going to stage your equipment, or your base
camp. This is important to know so that as you arrive you can set everyone up; you know
exactly where they're going to be. (5) Where is lunch going to come from? When
you're out on location, the question needs to be answered ahead of time. Are you going
to bring lunch in? Are you going to cater lunch? Are you going to send someone out to
a restaurant close-by? So that people can have food on time and the production can move
ahead. Let's move on to our production and see
how we set up our shot. The idea is to set up a structure for the talent to sit on. This
is going to give her the look of shooting the bow and pushing off from the rocks. This
gives us the option of moving her legs around and doing something interesting things when
she's in the air. We're going to get everything set up in daylight but then we're going
to shoot at sunset. We wanted to have smoke in the background, but it's not allowed
at Vasquez Rocks. So we're going to use an air cannon to blow dust into the air. This
is going to give us the same look as smoke. One thing I always bring when I'm on location
is a tilt-up. It's a great place to keep everyone out of the sun and a place to change
clothes. For our clothing, we are going to dress her in very primitive clothing but use
a very modern bow. I like the modern versus the primitive juxtaposition.
Let's take a look at the lighting breakdown. We first set a head with a reflector up on
the rocks. It's going to have Rosco CTO on it. It's a very warm light. I do this
often so I can correct the warmth out of the image and make the background blue. Here's
our image with just the rim light. Now we'll add a key light. It's a octodome with a
grid. This also has a Rosco full CTO gel; so we have that warmth that we can correct
out and make that background go a little blue. Here's our image with both the rim light
and the key. We are now going to add a head in the background that has a reflector and
a full CTB on it. I want that to be very blue. That's going to light the rocks up behind
her and backlight the dust or dirt we're blowing into the air. You can see the blue
light on the rocks in the background now. Next we add the air cannon to the image. It's
a slow process compared to using a smoke machine. Each frame, you got to reload it, reset, and
reshoot. We're going to have to work with this air cannon to get the right amount of
dust in the air. But we're doing what we have to here because that's the limitation
of the area. Here's our image with the final lighting
in place. It's now time to start work with our talent and move ahead.
Let's look at some of the final images that we shot today. Julene retouched and cleaned
up a lot of these images. It was a great look; fun to be here; thought everything came together
really well. I thought it'd be interesting to end with
a list of things you should bring. This is a list of things that you might not have thought
of, but would really help the day go much smoother.
(1) Bring sunscreen. It's a life-saver. Most people will end up without it there and
it's nice to have some on-set so everyone is taken care of and we don't get sun burnt.
(2) Bring a tarp; a plastic tarp. You can lay it on the ground. It really makes for
a nice clean place to put your equipment so you don't get dust in it. It also helps
if it gets a little windy to fold it over your equipment so the dirt's not blowing
into the equipment laying on the ground. (3) Something I've found invaluable over
the years is that I keep a head lamp in my camera case. Then when I'm cleaning up,
I can put the head lamp on, I can use it to get all of my equipment into place because
it's usually pretty dark when we finish up.
(4) It's important to have plenty of water on hand. That keeps everybody hydrated that
that makes for a successful day. That's just a few tips that I hope you find
helpful. It really should give you a foundation for making a successful day as you go out
to shoot on location. So keep those cameras rolling and keep on clicking.