How do you get this type of blue sunlight cinematography? at DVinfo.net

Ryan Elder · November 3rd, 2020, 10:16 PM

I really like the blue sunlight look, like you see in movies like this example:

I tried doing it by turning my color temperature down to 3200 kelvin more around, until the sun became blue enough, but when I do that, peoples faces come out magenta of course. But in that clip, they manage to keep the magenta skin toned quite down, yet keep the sunlight quite blue at the same time. Does anyone know how they did it by any chance?

Brian Drysdale · November 4th, 2020, 01:36 AM

The video is unavailable, so I can't comment on it.

Given the number of techniques now available, you can do that type of stuff in post with Resolve and other software. You could just replace the real sun with CGI blue one, that would give you more control over an object which is beyond the dynamic range of camera sensors.

Depending on the shot, you could just put blue grad filter in front of the lens.

Again, depending on the shot, you could use large tungsten lights (10k for example) on the foreground and flag off the light from the sun and sky from the people. .

A green screen shot is another method.

Ryan Elder · November 4th, 2020, 10:23 PM

Oh okay. Well the scene is a chase scene though, from the movie Drug War (2012). Since it's a chase, they I don't think it could have been a green screen because they would have had to have a really huge one that would cover a couple of hundred meters for the extremely wide shots of the chase. But maybe.

I think using tungsten lights wouldn't have been powerful enough, unless you can light an entire city street in wide shots with tungsten that is powerful enough to overpower the entire sun?

I don't think it was CGI, because the sunlight is shining on the actors faces, unless you can put CGI light on faces, without having to go through a frame by frame process, which I don't think they would have done.

It may be a blue filter in front of the lens, but that would cause skin to turn magenta, which they somenow avoided, and I am not sure how they avoided that though.

Brian Drysdale · November 5th, 2020, 01:27 AM

With a grad (graduated) filter only part of the frame is made blue. They face won;t turn blue if the clear part is on their faces.

Looking at the trailer it looks like it was done in post using correction correction software e.g. Resolve. It's one of those things you can do with it, if you know what you're doing. "Drug Wars" was shot on film and has a digital intermediate, so lots of possibilities for this type of work.

I think this is going over old ground for you,

Paul R Johnson · November 5th, 2020, 02:18 AM

As I can't see what you can, I won't comment, but if you are planning anything, you remove the possibles that are impossible due to practical or economic things. Nowadays folk believe you can do anything in post, and with time and money you can.

Ryan Elder · November 5th, 2020, 07:00 AM

Oh okay. Well in Resolve you can use the qualifier to separate the skin so it doesn't come out magenta. However, there is still blue sunlight shining on their faces. So I guess they separated the skin in every frame, accept for the parts of their faces that were lit, which were left separate from the qualifier?

Brian Drysdale · November 5th, 2020, 07:53 AM

On a production like that they will have the time and staff numbers to do the required work. They'll also be more skilled than you and may possibly have additional software to assist in procedures like that.

Also, they may not be using Resolve, since there are other correction programs available.

Paul R Johnson · November 5th, 2020, 11:50 AM

I had to pretend to be in Canada to see the video, and it wasn't at all what I expected - just a rather odd blue tinge to a grey sky - I've got a gazillion presets in Premiere to emulate quite odd stuff like that. I certainly would not want to make a 'look' like that. For those who can't cheat their country, I've attached the stills.

Ryan Elder · November 5th, 2020, 03:44 PM

Oh okay. Sorry about the video not being available outside of Canada, I didn't know. I found another scene on youtube, but not sure if this video is available outside of Canada either. I'm just going by clips I found:

Well in Premiere for example, I can tint the sunlight blue, but if I do that, people's faces go magenta. The movie was able to get blue sunlight while avoiding this, but did they avoid the magenta faces from happening?

Brian Drysdale · November 5th, 2020, 04:14 PM

That video doesn't work either, I assume it has the same territory limitation,

As mentioned, that involves using more sophisticated colour correction software than Premiere. You can isolate areas and do complex changes if you've got the right software and you know how to use it.

I would suggest that you take a course in advanced colour correction if you plan to do this. You won't learn it by asking questions on a forum, like many things, you need to actually do it and make lots of mistakes.

Pete Cofrancesco · November 5th, 2020, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan Elder

Oh okay. Sorry about the video not being available outside of Canada, I didn't know. I found another scene on youtube, but not sure if this video is available outside of Canada either. I'm just going by clips I found:

Drug War (2012) - They're All Cops Scene (7/10) | Movieclips - YouTube

Well in Premiere for example, I can tint the sunlight blue, but if I do that, people's faces go magenta. The movie was able to get blue sunlight while avoiding this, but did they avoid the magenta faces from happening?

It must be one of those dumb digital rights thing like they did with dvd. Splitting the world into zones: North America, Europe and Asia. I can see it. You have to film with a camera in more than 8 bit color depth and then like Paul is saying you need the skill to color grade it in a program like DaVinci Resolve.

Ryan Elder · November 5th, 2020, 05:54 PM

Oh okay but in the clip, there is still blue sunlight shining on the side of the face. So do they keep that separate from the rest of the face when isolating the skin color?

I've tried isolating the skin, but I get a lot of noise problems when I do it in Resolve. Is this because of the 8 bit color depth, or is it just a matter of practicing with the tool? Do I really need more than 8 bit, if I can get really good at it?

Pete Cofrancesco · November 5th, 2020, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan Elder

Oh okay but in the clip, there is still blue sunlight shining on the side of the face. So do they keep that separate from the rest of the face when isolating the skin color?

I've tried isolating the skin, but I get a lot of noise problems when I do it in Resolve. Is this because of the 8 bit color depth, or is it just a matter of practicing with the tool? Do I really need more than 8 bit, if I can get really good at it?

8bit isn't for color grading and stop trying to copy commercial movies. You don't have the budget or skills. You should have bought a black magic pocket camera years ago. Not that it would make you a better director (broken record).

Ryan Elder · November 5th, 2020, 07:45 PM

Oh well I figure why buy a new camera, when I am going to get a DP for projects anyway, who may have their own camera, or may want to use something different? Unless I should still by my own, even if a DP is going to be using it likely? As for copying commercial movies, I just go by movies I like the look or feel of. Should I try to copy the look of other movies?

Paul R Johnson · November 6th, 2020, 01:48 AM

Ryan, sometimes you want to simulate things that frankly look poor. Your walls colour thing, now this. You are seeking to use difficult to achieve effects, when you repeatedly cannot understand basics. I am constantly amazed by what the built in tools can now do in our software. If the sky is the brightest part of the scene, it's quite easy to set this as the highlight so you can tweak that leaving the lower levels untouched. Do you understand how your editing software works? Sometimes I wonder!

November 3rd, 2020, 10:16 PM	#1
Ryan Elder also known as Ryan Wray Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Saskatoon, Canada Posts: 2,880	How do you get this type of blue sunlight cinematography? I really like the blue sunlight look, like you see in movies like this example: Drug War (2012) - Something's Wrong Scene (1/10) \| Movieclips - YouTube I tried doing it by turning my color temperature down to 3200 kelvin more around, until the sun became blue enough, but when I do that, peoples faces come out magenta of course. But in that clip, they manage to keep the magenta skin toned quite down, yet keep the sunlight quite blue at the same time. Does anyone know how they did it by any chance?

November 4th, 2020, 01:36 AM	#2
Brian Drysdale Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Belfast, UK Posts: 6,143	Re: How do you get this type of blue sunlight cinematography? The video is unavailable, so I can't comment on it. Given the number of techniques now available, you can do that type of stuff in post with Resolve and other software. You could just replace the real sun with CGI blue one, that would give you more control over an object which is beyond the dynamic range of camera sensors. Depending on the shot, you could just put blue grad filter in front of the lens. Again, depending on the shot, you could use large tungsten lights (10k for example) on the foreground and flag off the light from the sun and sky from the people. . A green screen shot is another method.

November 4th, 2020, 10:23 PM	#3
Ryan Elder also known as Ryan Wray Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Saskatoon, Canada Posts: 2,880	Re: How do you get this type of blue sunlight cinematography? Oh okay. Well the scene is a chase scene though, from the movie Drug War (2012). Since it's a chase, they I don't think it could have been a green screen because they would have had to have a really huge one that would cover a couple of hundred meters for the extremely wide shots of the chase. But maybe. I think using tungsten lights wouldn't have been powerful enough, unless you can light an entire city street in wide shots with tungsten that is powerful enough to overpower the entire sun? I don't think it was CGI, because the sunlight is shining on the actors faces, unless you can put CGI light on faces, without having to go through a frame by frame process, which I don't think they would have done. It may be a blue filter in front of the lens, but that would cause skin to turn magenta, which they somenow avoided, and I am not sure how they avoided that though.

November 5th, 2020, 01:27 AM	#4
Brian Drysdale Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Belfast, UK Posts: 6,143	Re: How do you get this type of blue sunlight cinematography? With a grad (graduated) filter only part of the frame is made blue. They face won;t turn blue if the clear part is on their faces. Looking at the trailer it looks like it was done in post using correction correction software e.g. Resolve. It's one of those things you can do with it, if you know what you're doing. "Drug Wars" was shot on film and has a digital intermediate, so lots of possibilities for this type of work. I think this is going over old ground for you,

November 5th, 2020, 02:18 AM	#5
Paul R Johnson Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Lowestoft - UK Posts: 4,016	Re: How do you get this type of blue sunlight cinematography? As I can't see what you can, I won't comment, but if you are planning anything, you remove the possibles that are impossible due to practical or economic things. Nowadays folk believe you can do anything in post, and with time and money you can.

November 5th, 2020, 07:00 AM	#6
Ryan Elder also known as Ryan Wray Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Saskatoon, Canada Posts: 2,880	Re: How do you get this type of blue sunlight cinematography? Oh okay. Well in Resolve you can use the qualifier to separate the skin so it doesn't come out magenta. However, there is still blue sunlight shining on their faces. So I guess they separated the skin in every frame, accept for the parts of their faces that were lit, which were left separate from the qualifier?

November 5th, 2020, 07:53 AM	#7
Brian Drysdale Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Belfast, UK Posts: 6,143	Re: How do you get this type of blue sunlight cinematography? On a production like that they will have the time and staff numbers to do the required work. They'll also be more skilled than you and may possibly have additional software to assist in procedures like that. Also, they may not be using Resolve, since there are other correction programs available. Last edited by Brian Drysdale; November 5th, 2020 at 08:35 AM.

November 5th, 2020, 11:50 AM	#8
Paul R Johnson Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Lowestoft - UK Posts: 4,016	Re: How do you get this type of blue sunlight cinematography? I had to pretend to be in Canada to see the video, and it wasn't at all what I expected - just a rather odd blue tinge to a grey sky - I've got a gazillion presets in Premiere to emulate quite odd stuff like that. I certainly would not want to make a 'look' like that. For those who can't cheat their country, I've attached the stills. Attached Thumbnails

November 5th, 2020, 03:44 PM	#9
Ryan Elder also known as Ryan Wray Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Saskatoon, Canada Posts: 2,880	Re: How do you get this type of blue sunlight cinematography? Oh okay. Sorry about the video not being available outside of Canada, I didn't know. I found another scene on youtube, but not sure if this video is available outside of Canada either. I'm just going by clips I found: Drug War (2012) - They're All Cops Scene (7/10) \| Movieclips - YouTube Well in Premiere for example, I can tint the sunlight blue, but if I do that, people's faces go magenta. The movie was able to get blue sunlight while avoiding this, but did they avoid the magenta faces from happening?

November 5th, 2020, 04:14 PM	#10
Brian Drysdale Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Belfast, UK Posts: 6,143	Re: How do you get this type of blue sunlight cinematography? That video doesn't work either, I assume it has the same territory limitation, As mentioned, that involves using more sophisticated colour correction software than Premiere. You can isolate areas and do complex changes if you've got the right software and you know how to use it. I would suggest that you take a course in advanced colour correction if you plan to do this. You won't learn it by asking questions on a forum, like many things, you need to actually do it and make lots of mistakes.

November 5th, 2020, 05:54 PM	#12
Ryan Elder also known as Ryan Wray Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Saskatoon, Canada Posts: 2,880	Re: How do you get this type of blue sunlight cinematography? Oh okay but in the clip, there is still blue sunlight shining on the side of the face. So do they keep that separate from the rest of the face when isolating the skin color? I've tried isolating the skin, but I get a lot of noise problems when I do it in Resolve. Is this because of the 8 bit color depth, or is it just a matter of practicing with the tool? Do I really need more than 8 bit, if I can get really good at it?

November 5th, 2020, 07:45 PM	#14
Ryan Elder also known as Ryan Wray Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Saskatoon, Canada Posts: 2,880	Re: How do you get this type of blue sunlight cinematography? Oh well I figure why buy a new camera, when I am going to get a DP for projects anyway, who may have their own camera, or may want to use something different? Unless I should still by my own, even if a DP is going to be using it likely? As for copying commercial movies, I just go by movies I like the look or feel of. Should I try to copy the look of other movies?

November 6th, 2020, 01:48 AM	#15
Paul R Johnson Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Lowestoft - UK Posts: 4,016	Re: How do you get this type of blue sunlight cinematography? Ryan, sometimes you want to simulate things that frankly look poor. Your walls colour thing, now this. You are seeking to use difficult to achieve effects, when you repeatedly cannot understand basics. I am constantly amazed by what the built in tools can now do in our software. If the sky is the brightest part of the scene, it's quite easy to set this as the highlight so you can tweak that leaving the lower levels untouched. Do you understand how your editing software works? Sometimes I wonder!