The photos were taken with a Fujifilm Finepix digital camera with a zoom lens set to macro.As you might appreciate a tripod was used,as the available light still meant using upto one third of a second exposure.The sky background was not lit seperately,relying on over spill.Lighting the UFO in order to bring out all of the varying effects (and there are many) is a hands on affair,trial and error,the creative process,call it what you will.There is'nt a manual called "The lighting secrets of Derek Meddings,Harry Oakes and the special effects team at the Century 21 Studios,Slough,England",although,given the task I have set myself,who knows, I just may end up writing it.(see my next statement)
This is the first of a series of re-creations concerning the various UFO models and effects from the series I intend to produce.This effect was chosen first because of its appearance in the title sequence.
Two other things to mention.When filming very close to models,you always need to use the smallest aperture possible to maximise depth of field,this will naturally increase exposure.Hence f 11 at one third of second,although it is always best to bracket exposures,as well.. Secondly when photographing using non photographic lamps,the resulting colour teperature needs to be daylight balanced through a package like Paintshop Pro 8.