I always strive to use the sun as my main source when approaching a location, and in this case the whole shoot was planned around the sun's movement with as much accuracy as possible.
The beautiful architecture of the historical location — Jaigarh Fort in Jaipur, India — provided symmetrical arches and window openings for framing, and a geometrical pattern acting as a cucoloris for the sun to come through.
The scene called for a solemn, reverent mood, and as it featured a religious ceremony there were practical smoke burners in the scene, providing the haze to catch the rays of sun. Depending on the setup we used more or less of each burner, always keeping the haze in the background of the shot and mostly away from the space between the main actor and the lens.
We recce'd the location a couple of months before the shoot and determined three perpendicular, symmetrical framings — for each of which I then had to figure out the ideal time of day, so the sun would be exactly where we needed it.
The establishing frame. We wanted the sun to pick out and isolate our main character, and it was the first shot of the day: we arrived as the sun was rising, set the track and dressed the scene, then waited for the right angle so the light would land on our main actor. I supplemented with an ARRI SkyPanel S60 tucked in the corner by the window, filling in the actor facing camera, who was mostly in shadow, and a K5600 Joker Bug 800 illuminating the room in the background to create some subtle visual depth.
By the time we came around to the medium and the close-up, the sun was higher and mostly hitting the prop coffin. I still wanted the pattern on his face and body, so during the recce I had asked the production design department to build a piece of the pattern for me to use as a cucoloris. We put a K5600 Joker Bug through it and kept the shadows of the pattern on the actor's face and clothes.
For the track pushing through the window behind the character, the sun was higher still and slightly to the west — ideal for rays that cut across the frame rather than down the line of the shot, where they would have been lost graphically. No other lights were used for this setup.
Floorplan with the designed setups and light positions.
Recce. 1st AD Sajid Ali standing in while I use a sun-path app to determine the right times for each of our setups — for the date of our scheduled shoot, a couple of months away.
1st AD, gaffer and best boy standing by. The sun is still low and too perpendicular, so we wait for it to rise before going for the first wide setup.
