Late Night Vibes

 Yesterday, I finished all the shots outside the house. So,  I'm getting closer to completing the project. In this post, I will look at what I did.

Scene 1 was about getting the story started as the paranormal events occur. The first shots are from outside the house, slowly approaching Daniel's window. In these shots, you see the house where the events of the entire movie will take place.  

Capturing the Shots with the iPhone 16 Pro Max 

The street was empty, so I could capture some natural sounds, such as crickets and wind. It made everything more real and added to the creepy vibe I wanted for the opening film. My mom's iPhone 16 Pro Max captures the details really well. (or at least, I hope so).

The enhanced Night mode on the iPhone helps me to have details visible even in the darker parts of the frame without making everything look artificial. 

Since I was filming at nighttime, I had to be careful about exposure. The iPhone’s capabilities allowed me to tweak shadows and highlights during editing without losing too much detail. 

Here is one extract from one shoot:

Outdoor shoot with some light inside the bedroom

Dealing with Outdoor Lighting

Lighting was challenging; I wanted a dark, eerie atmosphere while keeping the house visible. I used a portable LED light and the iPhone’s flash when necessary. The key was to create enough contrast so the house looked like it was in the night atmosphere.

I also positioned the tripod in different spots to make the most of the natural light sources. I had to adjust the angles a few times due to overexposure from the porch light. Adjusting the brightness function on the iPhone helped achieve a balanced look between darkness and visibility. The lighting was tricky, but I played around with different sources to keep things visible while keeping that eerie nighttime feel.

So, I’m happy with how the outdoor shots turned out. The iPhone did the night shots very well, and I can capture the combination of natural sound with the dim light house and front yard.