Inner Circle Podcast 19: Night Lighting, Condor Rigs & Lenses
Welcome back to the Inner Circle Podcast, where cinematography fuses with wellness and leadership! In this special episode, hosts Shane Hurlbut, ASC, and Lydia Hurlbut return to a favorite format: answering questions directly from Filmmakers Academy members. It’s a deep dive into practical challenges, creative choices, and even some essential self-care tips for life on and off set.
This episode is proudly lit exclusively by Nanlux-Nanlite Lights and sponsored by B&H and Hollyland.
From achieving the perfect moonlight to demystifying grip slang and choosing the right lens diffusion, this Q&A covers a ton of ground. Let’s break down the key takeaways for filmmakers.
Night Cinematography: The Silver Moonlight Dilemma
The first member kicked things off, asking about achieving a specific “silver moonlight” effect, questioning Shane’s method from the Night Cinematography Masterclass (using 3600K sources with the camera at 2900K) and wondering if using 5600K sources and a 4800K camera setting could work.
Shane’s answer dives deep into the practical realities of night exteriors. While technically possible in a fully controlled studio, using 5600K sources outdoors at night presents major challenges. Why? Because you can’t control the ambient light. Streetlights (sodium vapor, mercury vapor, LED), practicals in homes, storefront fluorescents – these all have distinct color temperatures, mostly clustering around the warmer 3200K range.
Setting your camera to 4800K to compensate for 5600K “moonlight” throws all those real-world practicals wildly off-color. Sodium vapors turn brown, tungsten practicals become intensely orange, and cool white fluorescents shift to an unpleasant pea-green. Shane’s advice, born from decades of experience: stick closer to a 3200K base for your moonlight (like his 3600K technique). This allows the diverse ambient light sources in the scene to render more naturally and believably, avoiding a jarring, artificial look. Save the 5600K experiments for the stage, unless you have the budget of Need for Speed to relight entire city blocks!
Rigging the Condor: Grip Talk Demystified
Next up, a member asked about setting up a Condor boom lift for night exteriors, inquiring about comfort measures and specific rigging terms like “candlesticks.”
Shane shared practical tips for those long nights in the basket – wrapping it in sound blankets to cut wind, using portable heaters, and even having a rope-and-crate system for sending up food and coffee! He then demystified some essential grip gear:
- Candlesticks: Not the dining table kind! This is a sturdy vertical steel pipe rigged to the Condor basket using cheeseboros. A “candlestick maker” fitting attaches to the pipe, providing a standard junior pin receiver for mounting heavy lights securely.
- Cup Blocks: To prevent the candlestick pipe from shifting or kicking out at the base (a major safety hazard!), grips place the bottom of the pipe into a cup block – a piece of wood (often 2×6) with a hole drilled partway through – anchoring it firmly to the basket floor.
- Bubbles: Shane’s term for the individual PAR globes within a large fixture like a Maxi Brute or Dino light. Saying “turn off six bubbles” is clearer and quicker than specifying banks, especially if manual switching on the fixture itself is needed.
- New Grip Slang: Shane celebrated the efficiency of new grip slang: “Grenades” (speed rail starters), “Burgers” (cheeseboros), and “Chips” (small aluminum shims used with burgers to securely clamp onto square tubing without damage). It’s all about clear, fast communication.
For more, check out Grip Talk: Language for Condor Rigging!
Lenses & Diffusion: Shaping Sharpness and Contrast
The following member asked about digital diffusion, specifically for sharper, contrastier lenses like the Irix line. Shane explained that modern lenses, especially still photography glass adapted for cinema, often have heightened contrast and sharpness that can look too “digital” or harsh.
His go-to solution for subtly taking the edge off without making the diffusion obvious (avoiding the tell-tale blooming halos around highlights seen with ProMists or Black Satins) is Tiffen’s Digital Diffusion FX (DFX).
- How it works: DFX primarily targets skin tones, softening fine detail and pores, while also gently blooming highlights without creating a noticeable halo. It makes the image feel more organic and less clinical.
- Scaling Diffusion: Shane shared his rule of thumb: use lower strengths on tighter lenses and higher strengths on wider lenses. Why? Tighter lenses shoot through a smaller area of the glass, magnifying the diffusion effect. His starting points:
- 100mm: DFX 2
- 150mm: DFX 1
- 35mm: DFX 4
- 21mm/18mm: DFX 5
- 14mm/12mm: DFX 6
- 8mm/10mm: DFX 7 (Adjust one step lighter for inherently softer lenses like Cooke, Leica, or Caldwell Chameleons).
The discussion also touched on the vintage lens craze, fueled by the DSLR revolution. Lenses like Kowas (known for their “sunny-side up egg flare”) and Canon K35s offer unique character, lower contrast, and distinct flare patterns that many cinematographers seek to counteract digital sharpness.
Lighting Fundamentals: Ambient vs. Fill in Studio
The final member of the session asked for clarity on ambient versus fill light, particularly in a controlled studio environment. Shane explained:
- Ambient Light: In the real world, this is the light bouncing around the environment – off the sky, trees, sidewalks, and buildings. It’s the general, non-directional light filling the scene. In a studio (typically black walls/ceiling), true ambient light doesn’t exist unless created. Shane described creating artificial ambient light by bouncing sources into custom checkerboard bounces featuring squares of blue, gray, brown, and white to mimic outdoor reflections.
- Fill Light: This is a controlled source used to “fill in” the shadows created by the key light. Its purpose is primarily to reduce the contrast ratio between the lit side and the shadow side of the subject. Fill light doesn’t typically establish the base exposure; it modifies the shadow detail. Shane emphasized his preference for lighting in a 180-degree arc, with fill coming from near the camera position.
He also noted the diminishing reliance on light meters for setting ratios in the digital age (“what you see is what you get” on calibrated monitors with good LUTs), contrasting it with the absolute necessity of meters and understanding ratios when shooting film.
Wellness & Mindset: Fueling the Filmmaker
Lydia Hurlbut brought essential wellness tips into the conversation. She highlighted the benefits of Matcha Green Tea, emphasizing that brewing it hot unlocks its anti-inflammatory and brain-boosting properties (even if served iced later).
Shane discussed his positive experience using a Shaker Box (vibration plate), noting significant improvements in balance – critical for cinematographers performing complex moves – and its benefits for lymphatic drainage and de-stressing.
Lydia underscored the importance of trusting yourself and pushing through imposter syndrome. Especially when facing new or challenging situations on set. Taking a breath and adopting a solution-oriented mindset, rather than succumbing to fight-or-flight stress, is vital for both physical well-being and creative problem-solving. Filmmaking is athletic, demanding both physical and mental resilience.
The Bottom Line:
This episode of the Inner Circle Podcast is packed with practical insights and technical breakdowns. Not to mention, essential reminders about the holistic nature of filmmaking. From navigating the complexities of night lighting to understanding the nuances of lens diffusion and the importance of self-care, Shane and Lydia provide invaluable guidance drawn from decades of experience.
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