DON'T GO IN THE ROOM

A lighting test using 3 Aputure lights at my buddy David's house. Hopefully the first of many lighting practice micro-shorts. Made plenty of mistakes on this one... but I was the only crew member and we got it done in about 4 hours. A few things I know I did wrong: key light (Storm 1200x positioned outside) was too close to the window, and my DIY cucoloris didn’t do enough to break up the light. The 3 lights I used were not controlled enough, spilled all over the place… which would happen with all those big windows, but still need to find a way to make some contrast happen. Needed a couple shots showing the windows just o see where the light is coming from. With the PYXIS 12K I need to push the exposure as high as possible and mail contrast ratios, then lower the exposure in post if possible… the shots of Margaret toward the end were underexposed, and with this camera that just introduces noise and muddiness. Needed to find an excuse for some more color contrast, maybe a few lamps turned on as an excuse for some Tungsten lighting… but again, this was a mad scramble by one lone ignoramus. Originally envisioned the light changing gag to be by lowering the 1200x while also changing the temperature via Sidus Link… that would’ve made the shadows on the edge of the painting move a little, making for a more believable time change. Still happy with what was pulled off with no crew. Will get better each time I do this. A huge Thank You to one of my very favorite actors, Margaret Glaccum; always love working with her. camera: BlackMagic PYXIS 12K lens: Venus Optics Laowa Ranger Lite 28-75mm T2.9 adapter: MOFAGE POCO Drop-In Filter Adapter (PL to L) filter: 0.3 - 2.4 Drop-In Variable ND shooting ISO: 1600 shooting resolution: 8K 3:2 Open Gate (8192 x 5360) framerate: 24 fps recording quality: Q3 lights: Aputure STORM 1200X + CF12 Fresnel, Aputure LS 600c ii + Reflector Dish, Amaran 200x + Reflector Dish color correction in DaVinci Resolve shot on February 22, 2026 in N Portland, OR