Why It's So Difficult To Shoot Night Scenes During The Day | Movies Insider

Why It's So Difficult To Shoot Night Scenes During The Day | Movies Insider | Insider

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Күн бұрын

Most of the nighttime scenes in Jordan Peele's "Nope" (2022) were filmed in broad daylight. The same is true of films like "Mad Max: Fury Road" (2015), "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), and many other Hollywood classics. So why does Hollywood film its night scenes during the daytime? We spoke with cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema - the director of photography behind "Nope" and other films like "Tenet" (2020), "Dunkirk" (2017), and "Interstellar" (2014) - about the challenges of this approach and how he innovated an entirely new way of shooting day for night for "Nope."
Historically, the day-for-night approach hasn't always produced the most convincing results. On "Nope," Van Hoytema and director Jordan Peele wanted to avoid the aesthetic of practical smoke and fake silhouettes that characterizes traditional day-for-night scenes - an aesthetic that Van Hoytema and Peele referred to as "movie nights." To find a new approach, Van Hoytema adapted a technique he originally developed to film a lunar chase for "Ad Astra" (2019). The solution on that film involved a two-lens 3D camera rig, including one camera that filmed in color and one camera that filmed in infrared. The infrared footage allowed the team to more naturally alter the colors of the California landscape into something closer to moon lighting.
Van Hoytema used a similar two-camera rig on "Nope" that simulated the way the human eye behaves in low-light scenarios. The result: deep, immersive nights that capture the vastness of the desert and sky - and amp up the tension in Peele's sci-fi thriller.
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Why It's So Difficult To Shoot Night Scenes During The Day | Movies Insider | Insider

Пікірлер: 203

@derkeheath5172 Жыл бұрын

As someone who has watched TONS of low budget movies with night scenes where NOTHING is visible, I REALLY appreciated the ultra-clear, day-for-night photography in Nope....even if you CAN see shadows.

@sallymatthews4896 Жыл бұрын

1¹'s

@joelmercado1099 Жыл бұрын

A few weeks after seeing Nope the power went out in my neighborhood and there was a full moon, I was surprised that I could actually see my shadow made by moonlight.

@gabeleadabriel8571 Жыл бұрын

@@joelmercado1099 the most beautiful time of the day honestly, when the moon is full and it's lights out everywhere... the dim gray light is beautiful

@realchezboi Жыл бұрын

@@gabeleadabriel8571 Mmm around midnight sometimes i spot the shadows made by the stuff in my backyard by the moonlight, looks sooo beautiful

@sayansarkarz5414 Жыл бұрын

Where I live, there's always a shadow, even at night.

@selvamthiagarajan8152 Жыл бұрын

The problem as a viewer I notice with night scenes shot at day, is how actors and animals act in the night scenes like they would during day. Example, you don't squint your eyes to look at things in poor light, you open your eyes wide, you don't move swiftly or easily in the dark, but rather take deliberate careful steps, you don't sprint in the dark in a forest, you run with your arms out stretched to prevent collision, etc. I hope the filmmakers can emulate night time behaviors in day shoot for night scenes. And o the shadows cast on the subject, you need powerful day light to cast such well defined shadows, moonlight doesn't cast such strong shadows.

@L0K0M0T1V Жыл бұрын

TRUEEE

@YuutaShinjou113 Жыл бұрын

The channel really should give this comment a 'heart'.

@abhijithpanicker1990 Жыл бұрын

Damn, that was detailed!!♥️👏🏾👌🏾

@dregzartmedia4062 Жыл бұрын

Deep observations I agree 😊

@gardenfilms1 Жыл бұрын

Wait... You don't squint in the dark? Sounds sarcastic but I definitely find myself squinting more in dimly lit areas.

@jimmerhardy Жыл бұрын

The merging of normal and infrared footage is brilliant, working to open up dark complexions. Quite a breakthrough innovation.

@-arb- Жыл бұрын

youtube compression doesn't do this movie justice. it's really beautiful

@DennisSchmitz Жыл бұрын

definitely, especially in Dolby Vision.

@resa574 Жыл бұрын

Especially on a top spec oled tv The colors just pop and the blacks are beatiful

@DaveUnreally Жыл бұрын

It’s also very helpful to film on overcast days, much easier to balance things out. Digital painters in animation studios will typically have an overcast color key that they can manipulate into different times of day concept art easier. Of course, you can’t always wait for an overcast day, especially in the desert. I thought it looked great in this movie! The worse is when movies do this on a bright day in the woods, the contrast is too much and you can tell the dappled light is sunlight

@iau Жыл бұрын

Nope was such a brilliant movie. I feel for all those who saw it knowing what it was about. The movie spends so long building up to the reveal that it works so well as long as you don't know what it is.

@grapeey2k Жыл бұрын

Nope's one of the best sci fi movies ever, also one of the best looking

@DenonBoyofthe21stCentury Жыл бұрын

Horror*

@woohoobarz Жыл бұрын

@@DenonBoyofthe21stCentury I’d say it’s more terror

@wavion2 Жыл бұрын

Night scenes shot at night almost always look better because they actually have to put thought into lighting the scene with real light sources. That's half of the battle right there.

@brown9671 Жыл бұрын

The problem is that they’re filming a wide open field. It’s practically impossible to practically light a huge open field

@wavion2 Жыл бұрын

@@brown9671 I'm not talking about "Nope" specifically. Obviously, there will be times when this approach is the only practical choice. But if you can film it at night and light it practically, that is the way to go.

@annasolovyeva1013 Жыл бұрын

@@brown9671 you can practically light a huge open field of snow for example. Or anything reflective.

@fireandblood2919 Жыл бұрын

Some scenes in different movies aren’t in big cities with street lights or torches everywhere in medieval shows/movies.

@woohoobarz Жыл бұрын

It’s one of those movies that is so brilliant watching it the first time, you can’t help but watch it more to break apart the story and analyze

@LigmaDonuts Жыл бұрын

Sorry, I can't get over how awesome the name Hoyte Van Hoytema is.

@KillerTacos54 Жыл бұрын

Fantastic video!! I was really impressed with the night time cinematography in this film, so I'm glad you guys made a video about it

@aaZhan Жыл бұрын

Amazing! NOPE is one of my favourite movies! Absolutely love it! I've watched it so many times and each time I feel like I am discovering something new!

@nerd_in_norway Жыл бұрын

Yes! An underrated masterpiece!

@AntonioRodriguez-tk4wp Жыл бұрын

If you think nope is good i feel bad for you... It was a confused disaster. I think Jordan is getting worse with every movie.

@DenonBoyofthe21stCentury Жыл бұрын

@@AntonioRodriguez-tk4wpsomeone’s mad Jordan actually made a complex film this time around. It’s okay you don’t get it LMAO

@richarddecredico6098 Жыл бұрын

You need to see more films

@carlosalejandroalvarenga4913 Жыл бұрын

@@AntonioRodriguez-tk4wp if you didn’t understand a movie that’s on you

@tarunindoriya902 Жыл бұрын

For me , the northman has the most beautiful and convincing night shots i ever seen....

@KillerTacos54 Жыл бұрын

YES!! So true

@JADNCK Жыл бұрын

Do you know if those were shot as day for night?

@tarunindoriya902 Жыл бұрын

@@JADNCK i don't think so , they war shot on night and lit by overhead crane and then colour graded in post...

@ryanjosephdp Жыл бұрын

It was night

@GarretGrayCamera Жыл бұрын

The night scenes in Jaws I thought looked great. A movie doesn't have to get it exactly right, part of a movie is the dream like experience. I think going for 100% realism is putting technical over feeling. Even those old westerns where it's obviously day for night, it still tells the story and it doesn't bother you if you're wrapped up in the story.

@tricksterhoisington1470 Жыл бұрын

Exactly, movies will never be reality and that’s okay. Some people still have to learn this.

@johnnumber5660 Жыл бұрын

Jaws did also just actually film at night, but that’s not always practical. So as you said, they do what they can to emulate reality and more importantly, get across their artistic vision

@Canuck1000 Жыл бұрын

When I took a course on movie reviews (in French), this kind of scene was referred to as "Nuits Americaines" or "American Nights."

@alex.shutters Жыл бұрын

That’s very cool. Tu es canadien?

@Canuck1000 Жыл бұрын

@@alex.shutters Oui !

@fruzsimih7214 9 ай бұрын

That actually the original title of Truffaut's film mentioned in the video (La nuit américaine).

@Canuck1000 9 ай бұрын

@@fruzsimih7214 Yes, it is.

@add00rable Ай бұрын

Oh! I searched the topic with the second one, I'm Mexican! Good to know I wasn't bad

@jenn_willey Жыл бұрын

this video came up randomly in my suggestions: I havent even watched Nope yet! gonna get on that -This looks so amazing!

@mepha7876 Жыл бұрын

Day for night seems like night in full moon which is very much like a night for me and kinda nostalgic for me.

@Nebula1428 Жыл бұрын

A great "yup" to the "nope" movie🎬

@Shinya_______ Жыл бұрын

I really want someone to make a tutorial breakdown of the post production process of merging ir footage with colour like that for day for night. Cuz realistically you could get the same effect on a super small budget with 2 cameras, a filter and some creative problem solving.

@BlenderStudy Жыл бұрын

Amazing special effects..!! Thank you for the update, Insider..!!

@DojoFromYT Жыл бұрын

This movie in IMAX was such a party🎉

@anthonykearneyfilms Жыл бұрын

IMO it was mid

@DojoFromYT Жыл бұрын

@@anthonykearneyfilms everyone is entitled to their own opinion 🙂

@anthonykearneyfilms Жыл бұрын

@@DojoFromYT yeah. For me the story didn’t carry the movie well. Visuals were impressive but story lacking. Kinda like Dune

@mlw9195 Жыл бұрын

@@anthonykearneyfilms I agree! I wasn’t impressed when I saw it. I felt it would’ve been the same in a regular movie theater

@RJ-vy9ch Жыл бұрын

One of the best examples of this technique is used in The Beach with Leonardo Dicaprio. He’s walking on the beach at night with a girl and their eyes are squinting in the sun.

@trevorhunt Жыл бұрын

Such a good dive into this subject

@rickroll5504 Жыл бұрын

To me, Nope is one of the greatest movies in very long time

@richarddecredico6098 Жыл бұрын

Condolences

@derkeheath5172 Жыл бұрын

It was definitely my favorite movie of 2022, though I found 2022 to be a pretty abysmal year for films. My only complaint was with some of the editing - Peele has teased a Director's Cut that I hope we get some day.

@robertdickerson16 11 ай бұрын

I think the title says it all insider.

@fireandblood2919 Жыл бұрын

Was able to see House of the Dragon night scenes just fine. It’s no where near as dark as the image you shared on my iPhone 13 Pro whenever I watch it live on HBO app.

@RobbieSkaff Жыл бұрын

Really cool techniques

@Highrollers209 Жыл бұрын

This film is the best ive watched ever I love how they were serious at all times I love it

@richarddecredico6098 Жыл бұрын

So you have seen like three movies in your life?

@arnoldmayii3563 Жыл бұрын

Fascinating

@Maya-uj6fm Жыл бұрын

this is so cool

@Noahyus Жыл бұрын

Incredible

@JWS1968 3 ай бұрын

Wedding photographers have been using this trick forever. It's used on the first dance. No bride and groom ever wants a well lit room for their first dance . they want the lights low and romantic. So what we do is we start off with the lights low and slowly edge them up to where we can get a decent exposure.

@han_444 Жыл бұрын

i saw a day for night shot in the first season of Outer Banks and its as if they just added a blue tint and called it a day. the sun was supposed to be the moon in the shot but it was so obviously not night time it took me out lmao

@Searchingtheworld7183 Жыл бұрын

This is All I need about the how make the night scenes in the movies.

@nicholasdiaz8181 Жыл бұрын

This movie was incredible. I liked Get Out. Thought US was a little pretentious so I was unsure about this one but ended up loving this movie

@abdullah-_-. Жыл бұрын

US was pretentious? Explain please (I actually wanna know this is not a hate or sarcastic comment)

@nicholasdiaz8181 Жыл бұрын

@@abdullah-_-. In my opinion, it wasn’t bad. I’d rather watch a movie that has big ambitions but misses the target rather than a good movie that’s already been done too many times. I just felt like the concept was meant for the audience to say “wow” but it wasn’t strong enough to wow me, personally.

@ABC-sz7rd Жыл бұрын

….

@abdullah-_-. Жыл бұрын

@@nicholasdiaz8181 ohh yeah yeah I agree tho I liked it maybe more than some people I still knew the concepts were created with a certain "wow factor" in mind

@LoyaltotheNightsky Жыл бұрын

I like pretentious. We need more pretentious. It usually ends up in better films.

@khurramkhurshed9427 Жыл бұрын

Interesting facts

@YouAreStillNotablaze Жыл бұрын

Just saw this last night , was pretty good. Didn't notice all these nuances though.

@ImTHECarlos98 Жыл бұрын

That’s the point.

@YouAreStillNotablaze Жыл бұрын

@@ImTHECarlos98 Well I mean the use in "Nope" where you don't see the writing on his hat at first, such that it simulates your eyes adjusting to the darkness. Of course this is streaming with Prime Video's spotty "HD" quality. I remember thinking visual and audio wise this would have been a great movie to see in theatres.

@Ayan44 Жыл бұрын

btw the vfx team were mostly indian designers based in bangalore india for Nope

@OtsoNick Жыл бұрын

Man what a good reminder about how garbage house of the dragons night time lighting was. I stopped twice to see if my screen was fucked up or if it was glitched or something.

@t500010000 Жыл бұрын

Awesome movie

@vickinutter5733 Жыл бұрын

Loved this movie so original but not one water tank in sight for those horses

@jennglow4647 Жыл бұрын

Cool 😃

@jesseelliot4804 Жыл бұрын

0:30 yo pause 😂

@mikecappello 8 ай бұрын

John Carpenter watching this... "Yawning, yeah sure.. whatever"

@JoseFernandez-cd7ew Жыл бұрын

How did they shot the same angle with infrared and non-ir?

@pyit.876 9 ай бұрын

i m amature independent videographer and me projects are zero budget most of the time. I rather risk noises with real light than use low budget lightings that looks obvious(in my own projects of course can't risk in client ones)

@SDMasterYoda 9 ай бұрын

People talk about how good the day for night was in Nope, but I disagree; While it's better than many other movies, it was still distracting for me.

@bigdaddyprofit Жыл бұрын

i noticed though

@luzobsidiana Жыл бұрын

Why its so difficult to float in the air when you are under water

@eugene7145 Жыл бұрын

Becaz it said 'NOPE' to the night =)

@Anonymous.52 Жыл бұрын

"but you didn't had to cut me off"

@itsalexvargas Жыл бұрын

wow

@casedistorted Жыл бұрын

I love Mad Max Fury Road but I don't think their night scenes were "successful", as the narrator puts it. When I think of that film I just think of how 1/3 of the film is blue because they wanted it to seem like they were traveling at night. The night time is not convincing to me, it feels like they filmed in the daytime and just turned it blue to seem like night, I hate the effect. What they did in Nope though was incredible. Watching that movie for the first time last night on Prime I completely forgot that they recorded it in the daytime even though I had seen this video first. It was a very convincing effect, especially the morning after scene when they were running from the house to the Fry van, it looked so dang good. Even the blood rain scene I forgot that was fake night time, it was incredible cinematography. Mad Mad Fury Road should've kept the film during the day, it looks incredible in all of those shots, but the night time looks fake and takes me out of the film.

@smkowhai Жыл бұрын

What is 0:45 from?

@diegogonzales9653 Жыл бұрын

Stanley Kubrick shot scenes with only candle lighting in Barry Lyndon

@derkeheath5172 Жыл бұрын

I suspect it worked in that film only because it was so slow paced. I can't imagine an extreme-low light camera like that could work for an action movie. At least not with FILM cameras. I'll admit I'm not sure if that would have ANY effect on digital cameras.

@jamessiewert3561 Жыл бұрын

@@derkeheath5172 They also had hundreds of candles in those scenes. It's FAR brighter than moonlight. You still wouldn't have been able to get an exposure with Kubrick's modified lenses. Digital cameras like the a7s series are the only ones that are sensitive enough to be able to capture what the night actually looks like. But there's no camera like that that produces an IMAX quality image.

@hmulford3851 Жыл бұрын

Nope was 100% snubbed at the Oscars. At least deserved nominations for cinematography, VFX, original screenplay, sound editing, and even costume design (but contemporary costume design is always snubbed). What do you know, a movie about how black people's accomplishments in Hollywood being overlooked is being overlooked.

@mlw9195 Жыл бұрын

Ooop

@HereGoesKevin Жыл бұрын

So are Asian-americans and Asian-American films.

@hmulford3851 Жыл бұрын

@@HereGoesKevin So true, and I'm glad EEAAO got the recognition it deserved, it was incredible!

@NaturalDivineGoddess 9 ай бұрын

*Uh it wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that IT IS NOT DARK DURING THE DAY??* 🤣🤣

@CriesinShower Жыл бұрын

I would imagine because of the sun?

@Mio248 7 ай бұрын

So how did they do the No Country For Old Men night desert chase scene. Was that at night? Cause I was able to see what was going on. Update: I just rewatched the scene. It looked like that one was shot in the day (early morning with overcast at best). My bad.

@PavelKaras Жыл бұрын

Great video although I must say your explanation of eyes getting used to low light conditions isn’t correct. The pupils adapt their size within a second or two. It’s the chemical processes inside the light-sensitive cells of the retina that take up to 30 minutes for the eyes to get fully adapted. Astronomers and stargazers know this very well from their experience. Once away from the distracting light sources, it takes 30 minutes to be able to see the faintest stars in the sky.

@iamchrispaezjr Жыл бұрын

The other issue they didn't mention is the most obvious one lol, the CGI. Imagine trying to render in an alien nebulus cloud and you can't see jack sh*t. Lighting is really important in Visual Effects, hence why it's shot in the daytime. Game Of Thrones had it easier compared to House Of Dragons because they could just hide some of the actors playing the skeletons and don't render in effects, for the dragon, they'd need to see it though.

@DuncanDonuts119 Жыл бұрын

Just spitballing here, but is it maybe because of the sun ?

@billkingston4402 Жыл бұрын

How about being able to see and hear a film, unlike most of the current movies

@massetozacarias5693 Жыл бұрын

I use day for night technique because I'm broke af

@2006Mercury Жыл бұрын

I liked how the northmen did their nighttime scenes

@SoloTraceur 7 ай бұрын

Nah, give me the night scenes in Terminator 2 any day, or most 80's movies for that matter.

@hemoglobbin Жыл бұрын

That's all nice but where are the stars? People living in big cities might not be aware of the fact that stars exist and are visible when there are no clouds like everywhere. Even during the full Moon there are many stars in thr sky and I didn't see any on these shots.

@Catdaddy17 8 ай бұрын

Maybe it’s hard to shoot night scenes during the day because well maybe it’s day time

@DenonBoyofthe21stCentury Жыл бұрын

I love how absolutely everyone shitting on day for night in the comments, especially on NOPE, didn’t even notice it was day for night until they saw this video 😂

@R.ely.d.n 8 ай бұрын

They way daylight Works is Very different from the way the lights Work at night. As a digital artist, you learn How to Paint night scenes and It is totally different from day... Thats why It always looks fake when cinema do this.

@rodleypumpkins4174 Жыл бұрын

Ohh I know this one because it’s day time and not night lol.

@wilky1189 Жыл бұрын

Next up: why it's so hard to shoot underwater scenes on land

@SoFlyIndustry Жыл бұрын

Maybe im just picky, but i feel like its so obvious its day for night in Nope. It doesnt look dark, just tinted. A great example for me is the final scene in Sicario. Beautiful dark

@Greg_Buckingham Жыл бұрын

No Helm’s deep clips? Bruh

@jacoblane6313 Жыл бұрын

Because the sun is up 🙄 I could've told you that

@wiremesh2 Жыл бұрын

Wow, KZfaq compression absolutely destroyed this video!

@ultra_cosmic Жыл бұрын

What movie is 0:45

@derkeheath5172 Жыл бұрын

I'm pretty sure it's from an old Alfred Hitchcock movie, but I can't remember which one.

@njpofficial Жыл бұрын

Can you make a video on the process of making incense

@knl654 Жыл бұрын

I actually don’t like scene shot in day and shown as night, there something off about them.

@mrblackout22 Жыл бұрын

Stuff like this is like the black lines from green screen. We all can see it and know it's a manipulation, but they keep doing it acting like it's too legit to quit lol mean while every movie goer is like "why do they keep making daytime night?"

@zzz78979 2 ай бұрын

night too dark i cant see any

@mdihero Жыл бұрын

RLM taught me never ever shoot day for night

@richarddecredico6098 Жыл бұрын

Day for night is done to save money

@gerardfarresmataro4040 Жыл бұрын

The title?? Isn't obvius that filming a night scene during the day is hard?😂 Im wondering who's asking why

@thedeeprot Жыл бұрын

👍👍👍

@JYMAHJAMES Жыл бұрын

i cant see anything in this video

@chrisfleming9845 Жыл бұрын

did anyone hear the fart reverb sound at 2:58, please someone else tell me I'm not crazy

@DynastyUK 3 ай бұрын

Another thing that movies forget is pupil dilation. Night time you gonna have BIG pupils.

@spacetimegeezy 8 ай бұрын

I think it’s the Sun lol

@ianfisch7289 5 ай бұрын

The Nope night scenes don't seem very believable though. Maybe not the best example?

@erikm9768 Жыл бұрын

1:15 This is no longer true, many modern cameras have sensors that are much more sensitive to light than the human eye. Sony A7s III for example

@corail53 Жыл бұрын

It really isn't that hard and we do it all the time on even the most mundane of crappy tv shows.

@emerynoel567 Жыл бұрын

I hate dark scenes. I could not see the logo on the hat, even in the 2-minute side-by-side comparison.

@metalpharaoh3025 8 ай бұрын

Probably because you’re trying to shoot a “night” scene during the “day”…..

@AlejandroLZuvic Жыл бұрын

Why shooting night shots at day is hard? Answer: because it's freaking daytime.

@wolfie8012 Жыл бұрын

I want to watch Nope but I’m afraid. Is it really scary? 😂

@realchezboi 11 ай бұрын

there’s a mix of definitely scary scenes, and some fun scenes between the main characters, so expect scares but it’s not absolutely dreadful

@kirandeepchakraborty7921 Жыл бұрын

The movie script should have been far better though

@derkeheath5172 Жыл бұрын

For me, it felt more like an editing issue rather than writing. There were numerous scenes that had weird transitions or felt edited to the point of losing their power. I looked it up and, sure enough, the original cut was longer and the studio insisted Peele cut it down. The Asian Cowboy and film director lost a lot of screen time. Peele's teased a director's cut, but there's never been any confirmation of a release.

@timsullivan4566 Жыл бұрын

Jordan Peele has me SO conflicted : sure, film-lovers have gained much from the enormous talent he brings to his work, but this comes only at the LOSS his extraordinary comic performances. So what this really comes down to, is... ...Is having "Nope" really worth giving up Meegan? 🤔🤔🤔

@mickbanner Жыл бұрын

It's still looked fake as "movie nights". Don't particularly mind... but I actually thought Nope was particularly guilty of this look

@Jesusholmes64 Жыл бұрын

Lack of Skill + Advanced Camera = dull shots

@Starblockss Жыл бұрын

That title lol. Next, why it's so hard to shoot a sunset scene during a hurricane.

@TheRedRanger123 Жыл бұрын

The biggest giveaway are the shadows. If you don't have a strong, dominant, direct light source like the sun, the shadows will not be that clear and hard. Day for night just sucks and looks bad most of the times. You just get used to this.

@jamessiewert3561 Жыл бұрын

The moon produces hard shadows. The amount of people that don't realize this in this comments section is pretty wild.