Bald Caps

18th January 2004

I have an actor who will not shave his head. Hair and Make-up are going to do a bald cap.

Any lighting notes would be appreciated. Thanks..

John Thomas
NYC-DP

Be careful of edge light. It will show the seams and any puckering more than a flatter, more frontal light. I'd say do the same as you would to hide wrinkles or otherwise soften an actress' face. For me that's soft front light with a bit of diffusion.

Mitch Gross
NYC DP

Mitch Gross wrote:

>For me that's soft front light with a bit of diffusion.

A baseball cap often helps... or a sneak attack on the actor, while he naps in his trailer, with a clipper and razor.

Jeff Kreines

>I have an actor who will not shave his head. Hair and Make-up are going >to do a bald cap. Any lighting notes would be appreciated. Thanks..

I just shot a feature that had both lead actress AND lead actor in bald caps. Over time I found a really good lighting setup that would hide the seams pretty good.

A soft source on the far side of the face that wraps around just enough to light up the close eyeball is good. A blade to cut a shadow on the forehead to hide the seam. Bring in some floppies to add neg fill to the close side of the face to hide the seam around the close side ear. No backlighting at all, but a splash of light on a wall behind the dark side of the close up that puts the back of their head in silhouette works well. If you are lucky enough to get into a setup where you can combine all these factors, you'll be in good shape.

Regards,

Ken Glassing
LA Based
OP/Dp