Hey everyone! Today I’m talking about lighting something I’ve mentioned in a few of my other production blogs, but never fully explained. Lighting was honestly one of the trickiest parts of filming The Hollow, and even though Madison handled most of the technical stuff with her camera, the whole team worked together to figure out how to get the exact look we wanted. We didn’t always have fancy equipment, so we had to get creative.
The garage was definitely the most chaotic place to control lighting. There’s an automatic light switch that turns on the entire garage, and then another switch above it that controls one big light and one smaller one. Madison figured out how to work around it, but we all had to help because the automatic light would turn back on after about 30 seconds.
We ended up:
- Turning off the automatic light
- Turning off the big light
- Keeping the small light on
That tiny light kept everything visible but still dark enough to feel unsettling. It gave the garage scenes that creepy, suspenseful vibe we needed. And yes… the automatic light drove us CRAZY, but we pushed through it together.
Another lighting trick we used was the flashlight which I held in a few scenes. This was super intentional. We aimed the light directly at the mask, so it stood out while everything else stayed dark. It made the mask feel important, almost symbolic.
We also used the flashlight when all the props were scattered on the floor. We positioned it so everything was evenly lit without spotlighting just one item. Honestly, this scene came out SO cool. The way the flashlight hit the props looked like something straight out of a real horror film.
The kitchen was easier to control because the light switches let us adjust three different lights by sliding them up or down. We kept the smallest amount of light on so the scene wasn’t pitch black, but still dark enough to feel tense. Turning off the stronger lights helped us keep the mood consistent with the rest of the trailer.
Even though we didn’t have professional lighting equipment, we made it work. We tried different combinations until we found the perfect balance.
Lighting can completely change how the audience feels about a scene. It can make something look safe, dangerous, mysterious, or intense. That’s why we put so much thought into it.... it’s just as important as the acting, the props, or the camera work.
We had to experiment a lot, but we ended up finding three main lighting techniques that made our film look so much better:
- The garage light setup
- The flashlight scenes
- The adjustable kitchen lighting
I’m really proud of how we handled it as a team!!!
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