How to diffuse, reflect, and expose for midday sun
Normally when you shoot inside, you need to augment any daylight coming in, to some degree, via the windows with lights. When you shoot outside, the opposite issue exists. On a sunny day, you have too much light, especially midday when the sun’s high in the sky. Shooting in the morning and late afternoon, when the sun is low, can give you nice long shadows and more interesting contrast. But most of the day, the sun’s high and harsh. So let's adjust that with some top diffusion.
Top Diffusion
If you have the equipment and crew, a 4’x4’ silk, or the larger 8'x8' 12'x12' or 20'20'x by frames with a silk will diffuse that harsh sunlight. For a small shoot, like a medium close up, you can use the silk built into a 5-way reflector. You can hold it in place for a quick shot, for a traveling shot, or just lock it in place using a grip stand.
This works great for a short shot but if you require a lot of takes, you’ll have to move that silk constantly, chasing the sun as it moves through the sky. If you were shooting an hour interview or a long scene, you’d want a much larger silk that will cover your subject the whole time. At least an 8’x8’ frame.
Adjusting Exposure
Now let's talk exposure. I’m shooting 30fps, with my shutter at 1/60. I’m also keeping my ISO low as well. ISO 320 is the lowest on the C100. Since I have plenty of light, I can shoot with my aperture high, at F/11. That smaller aperture opening means a larger depth of field, with my subject and my background in focus.
That’s perfect for certain types of shots but what if you want a shallow depth of field for an out of focus background? Now I have an issue due to too much light. I need to bring my light level down a lot but I can’t lower my ISO anymore.
ND Filters to the Rescue
ND, or neutral density filters, lower the light input into a lens, that’s the density part, without affecting the color of your shot, the neutral part. We’re shooting with our C100, which has built-in ND filters that allow for 2, 4 and 6 stop decreases. Since I’m currently at an F11 and want to shoot at an F1.4, I need a 6 stop decrease.
Backlit by the Sun
What if I need to shoot towards the sun for say a reverse shot? Now I have my back to the sun. Well, it gives me a nice rim light but my face is in shadow. I don’t need to or want to diffuse the sun, I just need to add light using a reflector. I can use the silver side for harsh effect, gold for a little orange, or white bounce to fill in the subject. The trick is to tilt the bounce around a bit to get the level you want.
Music & Audio
Rocket report and scream
by cognito perceptu
A family fireworks bottle rocket takes off and reports, then a child screams with pretend, youthful delight.
https://www.freesound.org/people/cognito%20perceptu/sounds/32984/
Music & Audio
Life Is Sweet
Silent Partner
https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/music
The Big Score (Music bed)
https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/music
Product and Affiliate Links
Neewer 43-inch / 110cm 5-in-1 Collapsible Reflector: Translucent, Silver, Gold, White and Black
http://amzn.to/2qaewHg
Neewer 40"x 60"/100 x 150CM 5-in-1 Reflector: Translucent, Silver, Gold, White and Black
http://amzn.to/2qcOaDX
Credits
Stills
12x12 frame
Teddy Smith, SOC
http://www.teddysmithstudio.com/
http://i.imgur.com/QNK 3m.jpg
20x20
Mr Calvo's SASIC Film School Blog
http://sasicfilm.blogspot.com/
8x8 Frame
http://tomantosfilms.com/
8x8 Frame
Matthews Studio Equipment
https://www.msegrip.com/
F stop illustration
by CelinaTH
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aperture_diaframma.jpg
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