Projection of Rain Drops ?
 

Hi,

I'm shooting a short movie for school in two weeks. It's in a hotel room, on a rainy evening.

Basicly what I want to do with my lighting is to get it very dark & stylistic like 2046 with the colors of Amélie Poulain, and some noir-like contrasts..

But there's something else I want to achieve, and that is to get the shadows from the raindrops on the window projected on the opposite wall.. But I really don't know if that is possible in a good-looking kind of way?

And if so, what do you think is the easiest way to do this?

I was thinking of making a glass plate with a gardenhose attached to one side of it (wich will be the upper side) in which there are little holes, so the water can fall down over the glass plate..
Then use a 2000watt light-source to get the shadows...

What do you think? Would this work? Won't it look cheesy? Can it be done right?

Thanks!!

Good idea
 

Sounds like it would work, I would make sure that the glass is tall enough so that you can get some good streaming down the glass before it hits the light. If you try this, let us know how it works out.

Scott.

You just need a hard light source. A Fresnel spot should do the job, the effect has been used in quite a few films.

Could you please name some films where it has been done ?? It would be really helpful to see some results.

Thanks !!

Check out In Cold Blood. There's a classic shot in that of raindrops shadowing across the dude's face.

Yes, they used that in "Visions of Light". There's a rain effect in "Apocalypse Now - Redux" in the interior helicopter scene with one of the Playboy centrefolds, although the rain is a heavy downpour.

it's not necessarily the strength of the light so much as the hardness of the light, as Brian mentioned. Whether you use a 2k or 200 watts is up to you and the amount of light you have on the rest of your set. In cold blood was likely shot using brute arcs, which are incredibly sharp light sources. They have incredibly small "sources" inside, and therefore can better mimic a point source like the sun. Plus they're very powerful, so you can back them way off, and make the source even more point-like.

As an experiment, set up a light of any kind and make shadow puppets on a wall. When the source is close to your puppet, look how soft the shadow is. When the source is relatively small compared to your puppet, look how sharp the shadow is. That's basically what you're looking to do with your water. The only reason why the power of your light will matter is because once you have your light at a distance that makes the effect you want, it should have enough power to give the exposure you're looking for. Yes a 2K will have a larger lens than a 650 or a 300, but that's really more important when you're looking for large, even light.

The key in your case will be experimenting till you're happy. If you have a 2k, and the power to run it, you may try removing the lens and backing it off as far as you can outside the window, watching the effect as it moves. Have someone start with the light about 10' from the window, and back it off slowly till you like it. Then carefully flag it until its hitting what you want, and not spilling everywhere. A little water on the glass should project across the room...but be careful as it may be too extreme of an effect. Flagging the light will be your difference between success and "I think I see what you were going for...interesting idea."

Another possibility seems to me could be the use of a video projector. These all have a point hard light source (usually metal halide these days) used to project your image. A video of some drops on a glass could also yield the look you want with whatever color correction that would be necessary for the very blue look you'll get from a video projector. Just rent or borrow one if you don't have one...

The experiment worked out more or less as I hoped for. I will upload it once the film is edited, so it will take a while..

Anyway, thanks for your input !!