u/shaneo632

A few weeks ago I wrapped my third short EXPOSURE - a psychological horror/black comedy film following Mia (Lauren Ashley Carter), an agoraphobic woman with a dark past who is pushed to the limit during a home invasion. Gwyneth Evans co-stars as Kim, a haunted figure whose life collides with Mia's on one fateful night.

After making two ultra-DIY horror films (BREAKFAST and UNDERTONE) where I was the only on-screen actor, it was so nice to stay behind the camera and work with a small but tremendously talented cast.

This was still a very DIY shoot with only 3 crew members - myself working as director/DoP, my wife as boom op, and a friend as a general helping hand - but I'm so thrilled with the footage we got. I spent hundreds of hours over the last few months doing camera, lighting, sound, and effects tests to make sure I was as prepared as possible before we rolled cameras.

I shot it on Lumix GH7 with the Leica 10-25 F1.7 and Sigma 56mm f1.4 lenses and primarily used 3 lights - Amaran 300c, Aputure MC for fill and Aputure MC Pro for hair/accents.

Also to really dial in the confinement aspect of the film I'll be presenting it in a 4:3 aspect ratio.

I almost have a rough cut of the film ready but as I handle almost all post-production in-house it probably won't be finished until Christmas - I've got a ton of inserts to shoot, then picture-lock, getting my composer to start the score while I do sound design, final polish and finally start sending off to summer 2027 genre festivals.

Thanks for taking a look!

A few weeks ago I wrapped my third short EXPOSURE - a psychological horror/black comedy film following Mia (Lauren Ashley Carter), an agoraphobic woman with a dark past who is pushed to the limit during a home invasion. Gwyneth Evans co-stars as Kim, a haunted figure whose life collides with Mia's on one fateful night.

After making two ultra-DIY horror films (BREAKFAST and UNDERTONE) where I was the only on-screen actor, it was so nice to stay behind the camera and work with a small but tremendously talented cast.

This was still a very DIY shoot with only 3 crew members - myself working as director/DoP, my wife as boom op, and a friend as a general helping hand - but I'm so thrilled with the footage we got. I spent hundreds of hours over the last few months doing camera, lighting, sound, and effects tests to make sure I was as prepared as possible before we rolled cameras.

I shot it on Lumix GH7 with the Leica 10-25 F1.7 and Sigma 56mm f1.4 lenses and primarily used 3 lights - Amaran 300c, Aputure MC for fill and Aputure MC Pro for hair/accents.

Also to really dial in the confinement aspect of the film I'll be presenting it in a 4:3 aspect ratio.

I almost have a rough cut of the film ready but as I handle almost all post-production in-house it probably won't be finished until Christmas - I've got a ton of inserts to shoot, then picture-lock, getting my composer to start the score while I do sound design, final polish and finally start sending off to summer 2027 genre festivals.

Thanks for taking a look!

A few weeks ago I wrapped my third short EXPOSURE - a psychological horror/black comedy film following Mia (Lauren Ashley Carter), an agoraphobic woman with a dark past who is pushed to the limit during a home invasion. Gwyneth Evans co-stars as Kim, a haunted figure whose life collides with Mia's on one fateful night.

After making two ultra-DIY horror films (BREAKFAST and UNDERTONE) where I was the only on-screen actor, it was so nice to stay behind the camera and work with a small but tremendously talented cast.

This was still a very DIY shoot with only 3 crew members - myself working as director/DoP, my wife as boom op, and a friend as a general helping hand - but I'm so thrilled with the footage we got. I spent hundreds of hours over the last few months doing camera, lighting, sound, and effects tests to make sure I was as prepared as possible before we rolled cameras.

I shot it on Lumix GH7 with the Leica 10-25 F1.7 and Sigma 56mm f1.4 lenses and primarily used 3 lights - Amaran 300c, Aputure MC for fill and Aputure MC Pro for hair/accents.

Also to really dial in the confinement aspect of the film I'll be presenting it in a 4:3 aspect ratio.

I almost have a rough cut of the film ready but as I handle almost all post-production in-house it probably won't be finished until Christmas - I've got a ton of inserts to shoot, then picture-lock, getting my composer to start the score while I do sound design, final polish and finally start sending off to summer 2027 genre festivals.

Thanks for taking a look!

A few weeks ago I wrapped my third short EXPOSURE - a psychological horror/black comedy film following Mia (Lauren Ashley Carter), an agoraphobic woman with a dark past who is pushed to the limit during a home invasion. Gwyneth Evans co-stars as Kim, a haunted figure whose life collides with Mia's on one fateful night.

After making two ultra-DIY horror films (BREAKFAST and UNDERTONE) where I was the only on-screen actor, it was so nice to stay behind the camera and work with a small but tremendously talented cast.

This was still a very DIY shoot with only 3 crew members - myself working as director/DoP, my wife as boom op, and a friend as a general helping hand - but I'm so thrilled with the footage we got. I spent hundreds of hours over the last few months doing camera, lighting, sound, and effects tests to make sure I was as prepared as possible before we rolled cameras.

Also to really dial in the confinement aspect of the film I'll be presenting it in a 4:3 aspect ratio.

I almost have a rough cut of the film ready but as I handle almost all post-production in-house it probably won't be finished until Christmas - I've got a ton of inserts to shoot, then picture-lock, getting my composer to start the score while I do sound design, final polish and finally start sending off to summer 2027 genre festivals.

Gear: Lumix GH7, Leica 10-25 F1.7, Sigma 56mm f1.4

Thanks for taking a look!

I'm soon shooting a confrontation scene where one character is sat down while the other is stood up.

I've got all my coverage figured out except for the master which I'm struggling with. I don't think it looks very good. I don't intend to use it for more than 1 shot in the edit but I know it's good to have for safety.

Because this is a very confined room I can't easily replicate the lighting setup from the meds/CUs in this wide.

Things I like:

- Using the lamp as motivational which mostly matches the lighting I have in the coverage. Because of the framing you can actually move it closer to the actors without it being too obvious on camera.

- I like how the stairway establishes where we are in the house, and it gives us a good look at each character in relation to each other (even though low lit).

Things I'm thinking to improve:

- Placing a kicker light (Aputure MC) behind the sitting character to separate them from the background a bit.

- Possibly placing a kicker behind the standing character, though they do move around a bit in the scene.

- Angling the lamp so it splashes more light onto the standing character.

- Moving the kicker light on the stairs so it doesn't cast a hot spot on the banister.

- Remove the distracting picture frames off the bookshelf.

- Maybe pull the actors forward a tiny bit? I'm quite limited by the location and I'm shooting on an MFT camera so I'm constrained in terms of depth of field and how wide I can get. This is a 10mm lens right up against the wall.

- Possibly adding a "dirty" out of focus item in the foreground to add a bit of depth.

- Moving the camera up and tilting down so the ceiling isn't in frame.

Thanks for your help!

I'm shooting a scene in this kitchen soon with lavs (Rode Wireless Pro 2) and a boom (Rode NTG5) but I'm getting quite a bit of echo.

I suspect the main culprit is the slate floor, so I was thinking of covering the floor in blankets. The floor won't be visible in any shots so can cover the entirety of it.

The room itself has a decent amount of furniture/angular things on the walls so I'm hoping that might be enough?

Ultimately we're filming the scene quite tight so I can get my boom pretty close to the actor (who will be sat at the breakfast bar in the middle), but obviously want to take as many measures as possible to get bulletproof audio.

Alternatively for close-up takes would it be helpful to literally hang a blanket on a C-stand just out of frame?

Thanks so much for your help!

I'm shooting a brief cutaway in a short film soon that involves two characters drinking wine on a sofa and talking.

The room it's being shot in is both cramped and full of white walls, I don't have tons of lights and I'm shooting on an MFT sensor (GH7) so there's only so much I can back up without going wide and having a deep DOF which will expose my lack of production design/low budget. So my plan was to film it relatively tight, especially as it's only a brief sequence in the film (about 8 shots total).

I hung up some fairy lights to give the background some more visual interest.

However I also think it might be a disservice to my cast to cover the entire scene in only close ups so we can't even see any of what they're wearing. I did a few tests - some close, some a bit further back so we can see a bit more of what's going on.

Some info about each pic:

1. Shot with a longer lens (56mm on MFT) but camera pulled back as far as I could in the room
2. Wider lens (25mm on MFT) at a medium distance
3. 56mm close-up so the fairy lights get some crazy bokeh
4. Reverse angle 56mm for the other character

Thanks for your help!

Currently experimenting with looks for my next project - it's a psychological horror film and the scene in question involves someone being held hostage.

I wanted a strong shadowy contrasty look for the scene but was wondering whether I overcooked it or not? I lit it primarily with an Amaran 300c and an Aputure MC for accents etc.

300c was set to 3200k for a warm look and I played with contrast quite a bit, just hard to tell if I went too far and it's actually offputting?

I think I also might've gone a little too far with shadows in some shots and it's not always consistent, so I'll probably add some fill onto the other side of the face.

And maybe I need to add something in the background of the front-on shot (#5) because I think it looks a bit flat with so much of a white wall, hmmm. Or perhaps too much light spilling from the softbox, though tricky to flag it off while keeping enough light on the face. Or I could just go in tighter to avoid the issue altogether.

I'm working in the DIY realm so very conscious of working within my limitations and the principle of "keep it simple, stupid." - effective setups I can get ready quickly while avoiding too many wide shots that will expose my budget (the film is about agoraphobia so tight framing feels appropriate). Would love your feedback, thanks!

Currently experimenting with looks for my next project - it's a psychological horror film and the scene in question involves someone being held hostage.

I wanted a strong shadowy contrasty look for the scene but was wondering whether I overcooked it or not? I lit it primarily with an Amaran 300c and an Aputure MC for accents etc.

300c was set to 3200k for a warm look and I played with contrast quite a bit, just hard to tell if I went too far and it's actually offputting?

I think I also might've gone a little too far with shadows in some shots and it's not always consistent, so I'll probably add some fill onto the other side of the face.

And maybe I need to add something in the background of the front-on shot (#5) because I think it looks a bit flat with so much of a white wall, hmmm. Or perhaps too much light spilling from the softbox, though tricky to flag it off while keeping enough light on the face.

Thanks!

Did some test shots for my next project today. I ended up thinking the original colour grade (2nd picture in each pair) was too orange and made the skin tones look weird and the shadows were raised too high, so I pulled back the warmth and shadows.

For context this is for a horror film and the character is having a tense conversation with their therapist over Zoom.

Just wanted to get an outside opinion as you can lose a bit of perspective after grading for a while. Thanks!

For context this is a flashback to a scene in a serial killer's past when they were "in their prime", so it's meant to be vivid and vibrant compared to the duller/more subdued colour grade for the present day scenes where they're having... issues.

I did go high-saturation and contrast here, wasn't sure if I overcooked it a bit. Thanks!

I'm shooting a shot very similar to this with two characters laying on grass next to one another, just tight enough to frame them both.

The location is a very shaded garden that doesn't get much sun so using natural light isn't possible. I basically just want some even flattering light that I can easily setup.

I have access to an Amaran 300c + a large Light Dome III softbox. Would the 300c + softbox work for this, perhaps with a 3500 color temp to make it look like golden hour? Or would the softness seem a bit "off" as sunshine is a harder light? Thanks!

My next short film has a scene where a character puts their bloody hands in a sink of water and it fills up red.

The shot is going to be filmed from underneath, using a fish tank/aquarium. The actor will have fake blood on their hands but I know there's no chance of this alone filling up the aquarium.

I was thinking maybe having a crew member slowly pour a jug of fake blood in from the sides to pool at the bottom and flood the tank, timed with the actor's hands entering the tank? The shot will be filmed fairly tight so we won't see the edges of the aquarium.

I'm more interested in a compelling visual than something that's purely realistic if that helps.

And in terms of lighting I'm thinking a harsh light from above, effectively backlighting the water + fake blood combo?

Would love to know if anyone had any tips or ideas, thanks!

EDIT: I actually did a quick test here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD7jmnTDrjU

Honestly not too bad IMO, the lighting is terrible but I think the effect mostly works. You can see the blood traveling right to left but I think it looks cool. I just way overlit the hands and way underlit the background. Decent first attempt though I think.