So you want to know how to film a club scene on a low budget? Here’s how!

The full scene we’ll be breaking down can be seen at 1:19 and 3:15 in this video we created below:

Ingredients

-30x extras (acting students are free)

-1 actor to play a DJ

-1 Working turn table

-2x PA speakers

-1 Daylight fluorescent tube

-2x Incandescent lamps with guards

-2x 650w Fresnel lamps with full blue gel (CTB: colour temperature blue), and stands

-2x Lamp operators

-A camera and tripod with operator

-4’x4’x2′ Wooden platform

Our Setup

Instructions

-Setup the DJ table and speakers.

-Your camera and camera operator will sit on top of a 2′ platform, looking above the heads in the crowd, towards the DJ.

Anthony and Martin on the camera platform

-Setup a 650w Fresnel lamp on each side of the crowd, cover the lamps with blue gel.

-Adjust the camera colour temperature to tungsten (2800k) this will allow the camera to see the blue gel covered lights as blue decorative light (as opposed to white daylight).

-Setup 3 lights behind the DJ. The first light should be a single, daylight fluorescent lamp– this will create a blue glow around the DJ. The other two lights should be incandescent lamps to create a warm glow, you’ll want these lights to be guarded so they don’t blast light directly into the camera lens. Our light guards had a red interior which created an even warmer red glow against the grid we strapped them into.

-Setup the crowd in a staggered way so that there is a mostly clear path between the camera and the DJ.

-Have a lamp operator on each light. During filming have the lamp operators flick the lights on and off in sequence. Our lamps operators danced and flicked the lights in time with the music, it was pretty hilarious.

Our dancing lamp operator

-Have music play over the speakers to get all the actors into the scene. You can replace the music with a high quality audio track during the editing process.

Voila! Your low-budget club scene is complete, and looks great.

Additional Tips

-Shoot in a variety of different ways like slow motion, moving camera, dutch tilt, stationary shot, moving camera through the crowd, and more.

-The hand was a motif in this video, so we were sure to have the crowd stick their hands in the air. If you have a motif whether it’s colours, shapes, or lines– be sure to include them in the scene.

Special thanks to Imprint Hats Co. and Lisa Ovies for producing this video with our team. Special thanks also to our crew members, specifically Martin, Charles, and Anthony.

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