27/02/24 - Recce and test shoot for studio setup

The recce for my upcoming shoot on 08/03/24 went really well and I was able to test my camera setups as well as lighting setups for the day so that I had as much pre-production done as possible. I had a Canon C200 set up in 50 fps to film in profile and in detail so that I could capture the performance in slow motion, to accentuate the movements created. The wide set up is the Canon C100. I found the most effective lighting set up to be two LED lights raised high, to backlit the performers, giving this beautiful glow to their silhouette. On the profile, this creates a strong chiaroscuro that I look forward to playing around with.

Over the course of the two hours, I was able to experiment with the mise en scene, and gain a good understanding for what I wanted from the shoot I have planned. As you can see below, I tested various lighting set ups and eventually landed on two lights from high up, rather than my initial idea of using four. Four was too bright and didn’t give the beautiful halo effect I wanted. I also experimented using just one light and having people move in front of it to interrupt it, which resulted in some interesting shots. I think I might try this out as well on the day.

Below are a series of stills and also the full footage of the final test. I will upload more stills from the other tests at a later date.