In so-called low-budget productions for the realization of a fictional story with staging, the lighting equipment is also exposed to budgetary constraints. Today, although there are rental houses for lighting and camera equipment with a variety of material that the filmmakers of the previous generation never had at their disposal before, the resources and possibilities for independent realization go through a time of very thin cows.
The projects that the directors so long to be able to carry out and that when they finally manage to consolidate themselves (even if it is with few resources such as that coming from an award or the cooperative collaboration of friends and enthusiastic technicians also in need of participating in experiences of visual expression) must resort to ingenuity, to creativity, to a meticulous pre-production and to a very effective production. Performing with a minimum team is an interesting challenge from the creative and professional point of view, while it becomes the way to seek a photographic approach according to the existing availabilities in our environment, which also means a technical and human contribution to the effort of a team that needs to solve the photographic problems of the project.
Unify criteria
From the beginning of the project, it is important to unify criteria of production, dramaturgy and narrative language, identifying what is the essence of the story, how, where and what it will be counted on so that the efforts of the production team are balanced and heading in the same direction. The leadership of the director is fundamental to lead the working group to meet this objective, since it must be aware of the priorities, the basic requirements and the circumstances inherent in the realization. For his part, the director of photography must consider as his first responsibility the balance in the demands on the necessary equipment, and that, like the heads responsible for the other departments of the production, he is aware of the situation optimizing the few resources available for the benefit of the story that is sought to express, as Roger Corman, director and producer of "B" series, said, "a dollar that you don't see on the screen, it's a dollar badly spent."
Natural light outdoors
Natural light from the sun is the most beautiful and economical light source that a photographer can count on, although it can only be available for a limited time and with few possibilities to control it. For its maximum use, patience, time and varied strategies are required, through which we can turn it into a great ally, which requires knowledge and study about it, plus a good pre-production that is aware of the facilities and conveniences of the place in terms of lighting, fundamental elements not only for a good programming, but also to better arrange the work according to the hours of light / day. The natural light of the sun provides photographers with different natural atmospheres during the course of the day, from dawn to dusk, creating sensations that can be used with different artistic and dramatic connotations that will enrich the story.
The camera must be located with respect to the position of the sun according to the time of day and the atmospheric conditions of the moment, basic aspects that we need to know to make the best possible use of natural light outdoors / day. Atmospheric changes such as untimely cloudiness and variations in color temperature must be continuously reviewed to make the respective corrections and adjustments. Apart from the study of light, it is important to identify and study the support of the image and how it will react to high contrasts of light, a situation that the sun creates especially in places like our tropics. Therefore, we must observe, analyze and know what to do when the color temperature changes, know the resources and techniques to soften or nuance the high contrasts, the differences in intensity between a cloudy sky and a green field and the photographic problems that the reflection of light in the desert or on a white beach may present. These situations could be
seen as concrete problems posed by light and nature according to geography and atmosphere, but taken in another way, they can be used as a style and a distinctive plastic image.
