The Dummy Factor

Director needs to learn

Just because something looks dark doesn't mean there are fewer lights. Night shooting requires a fair number of lights to bring the scene into a range that the camera you are using can capture.

When lighting avoid front lighting. Bring most light in from the side and back to create texture and shadows from the cameras point of view.

Keep your scene size small. It is far easier to light a compact scene with two people in a small room using close-ups than lots of actors in a big space and lots of wide shots. A tight shot can be lit very carefully with only a few lights, reflectors and flags and it can look great. A big set and only a few small lights will lead to heavy visual compromises.

It is always better to shoot just a tad brighter on location and grade it down in post. You can crush the blacks later but if you give the camera no light to begin with all that visual detail is gone.

Try to include some brighter objects in the frame. This prevents people's TV's from auto boosting the blacks up into Gray. A good example is a night scene including someone carrying a flashlight Cameras are not created equal. A modern higher end camera can shoot in way lower light than an older cheaper camera. That extra light sensitivity means that a limited number of lights can be used more effectively.

Record at the camera's highest data rate and lowest compression. LOG / RAW if possible.

Do lighting and camera tests to see how far you can push the camera and still get a good image.

The two biggest challenges when lighting for a dark scene are giving the camera sensor enough light to deliver a solid image and controlling spill light so it doesn't wash out the shadows. Here is where Fresnel lights are worth their weight in gold. The light from them is very directional and easily shapable. Don't forget you can add gels to lights to paint the scene.

Choose your locations so they look good and have easy access to power. If you have a big exterior scene shoot it at dusk to extend your background for free. Dusk is dangerous since the lighting changes so quickly, but if prepared for can look fantastic.

Make sure you (or your DP) have enough lighting horsepower to get the job done. One of the key differences between a very low budget production and a much higher budgeted movie is the size of their lighting fixtures. (Physics: inverse square law) Because light from a light source gets 4 times as dim each time it is moved twice as far away small light sources can only throw a limited distance and they create hot and dark spots as actors move through the set as they get closer and farther from each light. The best option is to create pools of light and shadows. Always best to work with physics than against it. A bigger budget movie can slam in a huge light far into the background and it can light a huge area that actors can move in freely without the exposure changing on them. Using lots of smaller fixtures increase the complexity of the lighting setup.

Be prepared to spend a lot of time in colour grading. Finessing the look of the movie is all important.

This stupid movie is telling kids its JUST a game sneaking into other peoples houses !

In the real world this poor kid will be met by a 357 magnum and end up in the morgue !

The writers really should have reviewed the consequences of the story line !

This film shows you don't have to have a huge studio, massive visual effects, or a huge bankroll to tell a story well.

It reminds us that children are imaginative and brave; that they live in a world slightly separated from adults because they see the world so differently.

I reserve a score of 10 for movies that change my life (Dark Waters) or have haunting artistic expression (Raise the Red Lantern). This little film earns the high mark of 8 because not only is it telling a story that big studios might ignore (unless they can franchise it) but most small productions wouldn't take on ("Oh, no! Children are so hard to work with!").

Bravo, for taking on the hard stuff, for having vision, and for showing us a soul that isn't tortured or broken, but optimistic and determined. Thanks for seeing the world through a kid's eyes, for reminding us it's their world too.

I have recently watched this film and I have to say that it is quite a possibility that it is the greatest work of art mine own eyes have ever witnessed. Jaime Naranjo is especially great in this film, and his line " have no fear Oscar is here" is one of our generations last great quotes. Ten out of ten, would watch again and I will protect the legacy of this movie with all of my heart, al of my soul, and all of my physical might.

Thank you for everything.

(Sub to my only fans btw)

Sincerely, Your greatest fan.

What an incredibly ignorant 'review'. Clearly this person is an American with a GUN under their pillow! NOT everyone in the world is waiting for the opportunity to shoot someone! Is sneaking into anyone's home a good idea -- NO -- but IT IS A MOVIE not a documentary! Not an instructional video or presented as guide to good behaviour. It is a CANADIAN film -- which should tell that reviewer something! I hope they judge this and other films on something more than their narrow (dangerous) world view. It is perfect -- no film is. But I think this film is a perfectly entraining little low budget thriller that's worth your time - it has echoes of THE WINDOW (1949)