How to shoot an outdoor night scene that is suppossed to look dark (ie unlit)

[Mike Marriage]

Originally Posted by Steve Oakley

motivated lights is a nice idea, not a requirement... do what looks good.

Maybe motivation is a poncy word for it, but we need to know the light source before we talk about the details of lighting the scene.

If it is a big space and low budget, I would recommend Day for Night. It doesn't look as "Hollywood" but if done right it shouldn't detract from a decent story. Otherwise you risk blowing a lot of money on equipment that you can't afford.

If the space is more controllable, you can play around with smaller cheaper kit like Charles recommends. An open face 2K can be effective over a small space, although CTB will cut the light output significantly.