Need to film an interior car scene at night on a budget? Here’s what to look for.
Trying to make a short film with no budget, and you’ve written an interior car sequence at night into the script without really thinking about the logistics? Well, don’t worry — I have a stellar location that can be very useful when you don’t have any lights.
A Hollywood Staple
The interior car shot is a staple of Hollywood and Television. It’s hard to find a film or TV show that doesn’t feature one. And given that, on average, we spend a good four years of our life in a car, it’s no surprise that filmmakers take to the confined space for so many cinematic moments.
And even if you’re thinking of a period film as a clapback to that, those too often include sequences that take place inside some form of transportation.
The issue is that filming inside a vehicle and making it look good at entry level can be challenging. If you have ever seen a behind-the-scenes shoot of vehicle shots, you’ll understand the complexity. And it doesn’t get any easier with a stationary car. After all, you’re essentially in a box designed to limit sunlight entry. But things get even more difficult the moment we switch to nighttime.
The moment we, as no-budget filmmakers, write ‘Int – car – night,’ we may end up with a shot that looks this:
With no additional lights and the ISO ramped up, it just looks awful. Now, you might say, “Why not film under a street lamp?” which is a valid point. But even when doing that, we can see the street lamp’s brightness is insufficient. Again, it’s why a nighttime car scene looks like this:
Now, you might say, “Well, okay. We don’t have large, expensive film lights, but I do have a small LED that can be bought from Amazon for next to nothing.”
While these portable LED lights have their uses, placing them close enough to produce sufficient illumination results in hard light. This makes it obvious that there is a light source close by, rather than it being from the street lamp, breaking the illusion of the light’s motivation.
So, what is motivational lighting? In the realm of filmmaking, it’s a technique where lighting appears to stem from natural or logical in-scene sources, fostering a more believable and engaging setting. For example, if you check out the following behind-the-scenes from Game of Thrones Season 6, you can see when Jon Snow is lying on the table, there are candles nearby. But off to the right and behind the camera, flickering light panels are being used to emulate the candlelight at a greater intensity. But as the professional lights are the same color temperature as the candle and flickering in the same manner, the audience doesn’t notice. That is motivated lighting.
However, consider street lamps, positioned high — they cast a gentle, widespread illumination over extensive sidewalk areas. A tiny LED light inside a car does not emulate the same form of light. Instead, it clearly indicates the presence of a strong, on-site light source.
Now, it’s not to say that we need to ditch this idea altogether. Small LED lights can be quite effective in certain settings where it’s challenging to pinpoint the light source, such as carnivals, amusement parks, or funfairs, making these locations ideal for re-shooting.
Filming at the Funfair
Ok, I know this is going to be hyperspecific, and perhaps for the folks living in the middle of the countryside, this is going to be a moot point. But for those who live near a funfair or amusement parks, the flashing bright lights with colorful cycles are a great way to use ambient illumination to your advantage.
First, you want to establish where the car is situated, ensuring that the flashing lights are well in view.
Alternatively, you could have a shot from the back of the seats, pointing toward the driver or passenger seat, with the lights in the background, causing the subject to silhouette.
Now, when we jump to the front shot, we can see that there is much more illumination of our talent; however, it’s still slightly underexposed.
While the bright lights of the arcade signs bring in bursts of color and light, we need more. This is where we can now use our portable LED light. I’m using an Aputure ML9, which has a party mode that cycles through a variety of colors. When placed on the dashboard, because the lighting is so sporadic, we’re able to blend in the mini LED perfectly, lifting the darker values of the shot.
So, with nothing more than a camera and a small LED light, we’ve been able to create a shot that looks like this:
The effectiveness of this approach lies in the strategic combination of ambient lighting with controlled light sources. By leveraging the vibrant, dynamic illumination from funfair or amusement park lights, we create a lively and visually engaging background. These bright, colorful lights not only add depth and interest to the scene but also contribute to the overall mood and tone of the shot.
In contrast, the subject in the car might remain underexposed due to the relative intensity and direction of the ambient lights. This is where the portable LED light, like the Aputure ML9, becomes crucial. Its ability to cycle through various colors allows it to complement the ambient light rather than overpower it. By placing it on the dashboard, we achieve two things: first, it brings attention to the subject by subtly illuminating them, ensuring they don’t get lost in the shadows. Second, its sporadic lighting blends seamlessly with the external light sources, maintaining the shot’s authenticity and vibrancy. The result is a harmoniously lit scene that captures the essence of the location’s energy while keeping the focus on the subject.
So next time you include an interior night car scene into your script, maybe look to add funfair to the location.
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