Problems With Filming an Indoor Swimming Pool
- There are a number of difficulties when filming a pool indoors.pool with a mirror ceiling image by terex from Fotolia.com
Indoor swimming pools have been in a variety of films and television shows. Behind the scenes, they present a few production problems while filming. There will need to be things done, money spent and different approaches taken to successfully solve these problems Every indoor pool and production is different but there generally a few important things to keep in mind. - There will be limited amounts of light, as opposed to the large amounts of natural light that hit outdoor pools. With this in mind, equipment will need to be rented depending on the shots, the scene and how the director or cinematographer wants the film to look. Large HMI lights will need to be brought in to light large key areas of the indoor pool, while smaller 600K and kino lights can be used as fill light for close-ups on people or objects. The larger lights are also helpful for shooting underwater scenes, as they can be aimed down through the surface of the water to light what is below it.
- The water in an indoor pool begins to pose a problem for production crews due to the electricity to run the lights, monitors and other systems. This requires gaffers, grips and other crew to use incredible amounts of care when setting up lights and walking around the set when shooting. The water also poses a problem for the camera itself, as water can destroy cameras. Shooting underwater requires a special rig for the camera, which can be both difficult to use, risky and expensive to rent and operate.
- The surface of the indoor pool essentially becomes one giant mirror, so this needs to be taken into account when shooting at specific angles in the indoor pool, especially if the water is still. This doesn't mean cinematographers have to worry about the surface of the water revealing the camera itself, but rather all the other people and equipment which are used on film productions. Each shot over the surface of the indoor pool should be checked for reflections of any kind. One simple solution for this is to have someone swimming in the pool, so the water is rough and breaks up any reflection.
- The area around an indoor pool is made of tile and other hard, non-absorbent surfaces, making echoes and sound an issue. Materials either need to be brought in to help deal with the echo in the scene or those who are speaking need to be recorded by someone who has the proper equipment, like a DAT recorder or a smaller microphones attached to each actor, which helps eliminate any echo. Sound can also be added later in post production, though this is often more expensive and relatively difficult.
