Last Thursday, I went out to the plains to shoot an abandoned house for a lighting class assignment. We had to pick a location and take photos, describe the lighting, and what lights we could add to the location for a film.
I took this as an excuse to go somewhere really cool and shoot the rising harvest moon in the process.
Feel free to ignore the bad-school-assignment-forced writing, but do check out the pictures!
Abandoned Prairie Home
An abandoned house. A long-forgotten prairie home slowly weathering away unnoticed on the vacant plains. Insurance company’s nightmare, lighting designers dream. Although this could be one of the most out-of-the-way shooting locations, it can also be the most visually rewarding.
The Harvest Moon
One reason I chose this particular house rather than anything closer is because of the broken windows and doors. A lot of old structures have the windows and doors boarded up, and opening up these areas could pose a problem in keeping the location structurally sound. With all the natural light this specific house lets in, there’s no need to make cosmetic alterations to the building.
This cabin has three rooms: a small one with a window, a small one with a door and window, and a large one with a door and two windows. Aside from all this, there is also occasional fill peeking through from above in places where both the roof and ceiling have gaps. The basement extends under most of the house, and opens to the north and east sides of the place. It’s mostly an open dirt area, but has an old shelf on one side and another packed with tumbleweeds.
Outside and the basement
Back to the main area of the house, the most obvious problem with this location is the contrast from outside to inside. One hour to sunset on a clear day, there is approximately a 4-stop aperture difference from the outside to inside of the house. There will undoubtedly be issues if you want to capture somebody inside looking outside, or vice-versa. Without adding extra lights, there are three possible ways to handle this: expose for the background, expose for the foreground, or use a compromise exposure.
Underexposing inside just enough to see the grass outside
However, another option is adding more light inside to bring it closer to the outside exposure. But the only suggested lighting that could be used in a location such as this would have to appear as natural sunlight, since there is obviously no electricity to suggest lamps or alternate sources. The main shadows would have to fall in the same directions from the sun, and the color temperature would have to be watched closely. But instead of adding direct lights, the simplest and probably the most natural way of raising the light levels inside the house would be with bounce cards. Soft light is a must, and having a dim fill light rather than a full source will keep the scene natural.
Exposing for outside and using a flash to fill the inside
There is no power at this location, and there is also a major fire danger. This is extremely evident in having witnessed a large grass fire on the way to the location. Besides all the overgrown dry grass and a basement packed with tumbleweeds, the house itself is essentially made of firewood. However, there is plenty of room all around to set up equipment, and roads down a slope on two sides of the house to hide fire trucks and other emergency vehicles as a precaution.
More awesome photos
Evening is by far the best time to visit this location. Given the longitude, latitude, and current time of year, technically the best golden hour light would be from 6:17 pm to 7:19 pm. The softer light helps keep the scene less busy, as hard and direct lighting would turn the place into a jigsaw with all the shadows from the hard edges of the splintering wood overlapping on top of other textures. Also, the warm tones match the general colors of the cabin and the plains around it.
Frames and textures
The reason morning would not work as well as evening is because there are no windows or doors facing east. The only magic hour light that could flood into the house would be in the evening. This time of day also yields beautiful shots of the front of the cabin during a full moon. The only reasons to be there for sunrise would be to capture a full moon framed by a doorway or window, or to have the front of the cabin backlit by the sun low on the horizon.
With a busy, textured location such as this, light is extra important to direct the focus of the audience so as not to get lost in the frame. Large shadows of characters across the floor and walls can create this sort of focus, as well as a subject backlit by a doorway or window. Skimming light low across the floor can also play with the textures of the rubble and create interesting effects.
Backlighting and shadows
Lights to look like candles and fire would be fun to add to a scene at the cabin. It’s another great way to play with shadows, and would be a beautiful addition to a night scene. But again note the fire danger. A HMI light through the splintering ceiling could create another excellent effect at night, imitating the moonlight. There is one specific corner of the house, near the south door, that has a beautiful gap through the roof and attic that would be perfect for an overhead light to flood through the house.
More textures and patterns
Overall, there is a lot to work with at this location. From each of the rooms inside, to the whole area around the house, this is a location truly worth exploring for a cinematographer or any film crew.
