Low-budget filmmaking tip #173

Look at the shadows!  If your scene takes place in an outdoor location, near a high wall or hedge or fence, pay attention to the direction of shadows.  You may discover that the “really cool” North/South hedge setpiece casts your entire set in shadow after 1pm.

Smaller variations in light and shadow aren’t usually as critical a problem — unless viewers are really picky, or the shadows are really different, they won’t notice different shadow-lengths.

But if your entire set gets covered in shadow every day at 1pm, then you’ve got to account for that when shooting.