Test Shoots - Using Different Colours For A Black And White Result

Test Shoots - Using Different Colours For A Black And White Result

Introduction

With only a couple of weeks left until I begin the production of my short film, I thought just before taking a week off for the Christmas break, to start doing some experimenting and being creative as possible for doing some test shots. In this blog post, I shall be showing based on the video above what I used in front of the camera, what I've created, why I had chosen specific colours, and seeing the results from the colours and see what can be appropriate and eye-catching for my fiction adaptation short film.

Two LED Lights The Power Off

Before the day came around, I had purchased a couple of LED lights from Amazon and made by a company named Raleno. I wanted to buy my own lights to start improving my confidence and interest in the quality of lighting in filmmaking and see if these LED lights can be useful and make my overall result of the short film as full of emotion as possible. 

LED Lights Power On, A Hot And Cold Temperature 

Testing and juggling the different colour temperatures, with heat and cold look from the LED lights. I think using the orange colour for a hot and early morning look will be appropriate for my short film, and in the video above the first shot of my face is the heat temperature I used to capture that morning and day view from the perspective of my character. I wanted to see the difference between a hot and cold look and see what can look authentic and realistic between the daytime and nighttime based on the two colours. 

                          

Using Colour Papers To Place On The LED Lights 

After testing the two different colour temperatures on the two LED Lights, I decided to get and use multiple colours from paper and place them on a LED. I wanted to see the differences from the colour papers and see the final result on the camera. Combing colour and black and white in post-production. 

     1. Regular Colour - Object: New York Hat

2. Blue Colour - Object: Film Mug

3. Pink Colour - Object: Glass

4. Dark Green Colour - Object: Night of the Living Dead Blu - Ray 

5. Orange Colour - Object: The Before Trilogy  Blu - Ray 

6. White, Tracing Colour - Object: The Handmaiden Blu - Ray

7.  Light Green Colour - Object: I Saw The Devil Blu - Ray 

What Went Well/ What I Have Learned

For what went well, I had spent an entire day trying to be as experimental and creative with the aspect of lighting and trying to solve which colours can be appropriate and useful for a result in a black and white picture. I had felt I had taken my time filming quick shots of the chosen objects in the video above, and also using those different objects for the camera with the different lighting. I am overall satisfied with the test shoot video and the shots I had filmed, that is going to be included in the short film, they can all be further improved with regards to lighting and post-production skills as well. With what I have learned, whilst I was editing I had come around the tools of when placing shots and scenes together, in a split-screen presentation. The process was fiddly sometimes and there was more patience I had to take in than I had expected. However, it was still an experience in using those tools in Premiere Pro for the first time, and I shall be using those editing techniques again. I had also learned, that using different and multiple coloured papers, that can really make a difference in emotion, and from the video above, the different colours can have a different and authentic effect picture from when changed the colour temperature. 

The tools to start creating a split-screen in Premiere Pro. 

The cropping tool, to cut out parts of the chosen shots and getting the right size in a split-screen, for both of the two or more shots on the screen. 

Even Better If/ What Could Have Gone Better

With regards to the shots of the stress ball, the TV, and the two-shot of myself and my clone, I didn't really use any of the LED lights. I am not disappointed with the results of the shots, however, for the benefit of my short fiction adaptation film, using the LED lights would have helped me to already problem solve when I actually shoot those shots for the final film, and by not wasting any time when production happens. Another issue I had come across with regards to editing the test shoot video, and it targets the two-shot clone moment. When I was editing and using the crop tools to include myself and my clone, I wasn't expecting that in the software, I had come across a line between myself and the clone in the same shot from the two takes. However, the positive side I had found a tool called Edge Feather and this helps to make the line dissaper, although after it did the magic on the line, it made one of my clones kinder disappear off the screen and it concerns me for when I come around to filming the actual scene with the main character and his alter ego. I believe how this issue occurred, was all of the objects placed in the background of the shot and screen, which made the line was visible for the viewers to see, and to solve this issue when production day happens, I will remove as many objects away as possible. Maybe removing some of the Christmas decorations could help to improve the issue. 

Edge Feather tool, to make small errors as dissaper as possible. 

The yellow line showing the small error I countered on the before coloured shot when after using the Edge Feather tool on Premiere Pro. 

The after shot, with the yellow line, again showing the error after using the tool and making one of my clones kinder dissaper and even making one of my clones blended into the Christmas lights object in the background. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, doing some focused test shoots for the short film, also, random and creative test shoots to be as creative, and experimental as possible, has given me more confidence in using LED lights and more specifically from my own purchased lights. I wanted to really test myself and test the chosen shots, to be as confident and expressing the creativity of lighting in filmmaking. This has been an exercise task that has made me alert and aware of small errors that came to me and have given me the potential that change can be made and I shall problem solve those errors when production weeks happen. I very much enjoyed doing this test shoot exercise task and given the current circumstances, it's shown to me that filming a scene and shot can be very possible and achievable.