Big Ugly Diffusion Monsters.

It was a gloomy overcast day today, which will soon become coming as we go further and further into the fall and winter months. As I was driving up to school I was thinking about how gloomy overcast days effect shoots.

Whenever you have a cloudy sky, the light outside if very soft and there is little to no shadow. This lack of shadow kills much of the contrast when shooting,making shots look flat, an effect that can be possitive or negative depending on the mood wanted for the scene.

If the scene you are shooting depicts a man who is sad or depressed, cloudy overcast skys could be just the thing to bring out the underlying theme for the shots. The character will be lit very evenly, soft, and will blend in with the background due to the lack of contrast. The shot will feel dark and gloomy, a feeling that will also be mimicked by the light on the characters face as well.

However, if you wish for your character to be in a situation that is menacing, hopeful, frustrating, happy, heroic, ect, then you will need contrast and shadows in your shots.

Its a good idea to keep track of the weather forcasts before shoots so you have an idea of what to expect and can plan accordinly. If the weather seems like it will be perfect for a particular scene then rearange the scedual and try to take advantage of the opportunity.

What do we do if we need to shoot on a cloudy overcast day but don't want our characters to feel sad? Well,you will need to light! Get the bigest lights you can, and put them as close to the actors as you see fit. Even flex fills and bounce cards won't really cut it on really overcast days because you won't be able to get the punch out of them you will require. The big thing is trying to get some shadow back into the shots.

Shooting on a gloomy day

Signed,
-)_-.