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Making light work of High Definition

21 director Robert Luketic tells how some cheap Christmas tree lights helped him to film discreetly in a Las Vegas casino. And now you too can use the same High Definition technique…

Here’s one of Hollywood’s top directors on how to shoot better movies: grab a High Definition camera – and a 50p set of Christmas tree lights. For best results, go for white bulbs. You read it here first…

This tried-and-tested method was discovered by Russell Carpenter, director of photography of 21, the much talked-about story of students out to scam the Las Vegas casinos.

Two challenges

Carpenter and his director, Robert Luketic, faced two challenges when shooting the movie. First, they needed to light big spaces with a mobile set-up during a tight two-week schedule.

Second, the executives at Sony Pictures asked the pair if they’d use an HD camera system neither of them had come across before – Genesis, a collaboration between Sony and movie-equipment maker Panavision.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, I’ll take a look but no promises,’” recalls Luketic. “So myself and Russell – he shot this little film called Titanic – watched two scenes side by side, one shot using the Genesis and one using a normal film camera.

“Afterwards, we agreed the Genesis footage looked better. Because the image sensor is so sensitive, it sees into darkness [creating a deeper image] and you don’t need so much light.”

Christmas tree lights

But what Carpenter and Luketic really needed to test was how stealthy they could be in the casinos with a much smaller lighting rig.

“We couldn’t really truck huge lights in because we had active gambling tables right beside us. So Russell sent his assistant down to the drugstore to buy a string of 99-cent Christmas tree lights, and then used them with the Genesis to light a test shot of a female model.

“It was a beautiful portrait, so we decided to use the same approach for some of the scenes in 21. We were now able to light huge spaces using much smaller sources of light. That helped us to be very fast.”

HD consumer camcorders

You can see the great results in 21. The good news for Handycam owners is they can use this low-light technique too, as Sony’s High Definition consumer camcorders employ the same technology, allowing the user to become a HD film-maker. Just remember to unplug the lights from the Christmas tree first.

Story by Niall Hampton


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Action! Cameras! Christmas tree lights?!

For more on 21 and Sony's range of Handycams, read on. Sorry – we cannot advise on Christmas tree lights