Blue Lights? - An Experiment

Clearly one of the aspects of this project that I am most looking forwards to is having a blue light on the ghost. I ordered these lights from Amazon last week and they finally got here, so I though I should experiment on whether or not my idea was possible at all before making the storyboard. So just in case it did not work, I could still have time to re route. I bought these lights specifically since it comes with two, not just one, that way I can illuminate my subject from multiple angles and truly make it look as close to her being the one emitting the light rather than light shinning on her. Another reason I chose these lights in particular, is because I am able to configurate a mix of colors at the same time to achieve the hue I want. 

Limitations: Lights have to be plugged in and their powerchords are attached so my possible angles are a bit limited.

Materials

• The Lights
• My Phone
• My Sister

Variables

    Control

• Same Angle

    Independent

• Light Settings/set up 

    Dependent

• Does it look like she's glowing?

 

Attempts

1. Half Half, Light and Dark Blue, No Backrground Light

Results: I thought the blue was too overpowering and made the clip look too monotone so I dicided to add white.

2. 5/6 Dark Blue 1/6 White, No Background Light

Results: The white being mixed in from the light source made it look too purple so I decided to turn it more blue.

3. All Dark Blue, No Background Light

Results: The Blue was even more overpowering. I decided I liked the mix more but having another source of white light could give the set more color while still keeping the subject blue.

4. Half Half, w/ White Background Light

Results: The Background light worked but I thought the blue was too light so I decided to remove some of the light blue.

5. 2/3 Dark Blue, w/ White Background Light  1/3 Light Blue & New Angle

Results: I thought the color combo and light in the background worked well together. Slightly changed the angle of the bottom light from 90 degrees to about 45 degrees to minimize the light in the background and direct it more at the subject. Was satisfied with results and decided to test out the settings with a close up of her hand since most of the shots will be body parts that are not the face.

    a. Hand test

Results: Was satisfied with the results of the hand, not perfect, might try to make her hand glow in post if I can figure out how to do so in after effects.

Conclusion

So, can I make it look like she's glowing blue? Yes! In restrospect, I am not sure if I prefer the monotone look or the light in the back. I might decide to record both on the day of and decide while editing what actually works best for the vibes I want to give. But overall this experiment was sucessful. Now I can feel safe while making the storyboard.