During Magic Hour the light takes on tones that are warmer, with tints leaning towards magenta, and shadows are far softer than in midday sunlight.
Great cinematography is all about harnessing the power of light, which is simple in theory and extraordinarily difficult in practice. Understanding how to make lighting work for a film production, regardless of the context, takes years to learn and decades to master.
Magic Hour is the period of time, usually spanning from 30 minutes before sunset to 30 minutes after when the sun is having to travel through far more atmosphere to reach a location.
The flip side of that process, however, is the more subtle discovery of developing methods to lean into the power and beauty of naturally occurring light. For many working cinematographer and filmmakers, that process starts by maximizing the power of “Magic Hour” filming.
For readers unfamiliar with the concept, Magic Hour is the period of time, usually spanning from 30 minutes before sunset to 30 minutes after when the sun is having to travel through far more atmosphere to reach a location. This timeframe is also sometimes referred to as Golden Hour. During this window the light takes on tones that are warmer, with tints leaning towards magenta, and shadows that are far softer, than midday sunlight.
The first reason Magic Hour light is so prized by filmmakers is that it produces extremely flattering skin tones, regardless of the ethnicity of the subject. Secondly, Magic Hour light bathes an entire exterior setting in that same dreamlike glow, making wide shots more aesthetically pleasing than they might otherwise be under the noonday sun.
Magic Hour Hacks
So how can developing filmmakers harness the power of Magic Hour for their own projects? Here are some quick tips for getting the most of this Golden Hour light.
1. Underexpose your image just a little when capturing footage during magic hour. This will ensure you don’t blow out the colors or add unnecessary contrast to the highlights in your composition.
2. Carefully set the white balance on your camera, leaning into the warmer temperatures. Many cinematographers manually set their cameras somewhere between 3200 and 4300 Kalvin to ensure the auto white balance feature doesn’t accidently try to compensate for the lack of blue tones.
3. Check your weather app early to ensure Magic Hour won’t be completely eradicated by heavy cloud cover. Partially cloudy skies can be make for spectacular effects, but heavier cloud cover means the light will just fade without any Golden effects at all.
Shooting directly into the sun, when it is low enough not to damage camera sensors, allows filmmakers to capture the natural beauty in the surrounding environment.
4. Experiment with shooting directly into the sun in order to capitalize on how the softness of the light brings out the beauty in the surrounding environment. Just be careful to make sure the sun has set low enough to not be a danger to your camera’s sensor.
5. When shooting into the sun, try placing a subject into composition to create beautiful silhouettes. Try different camera angles to lean into some of the natural flaring your lens will produce.
6. When filming people at magic hour, place the sun behind them on the key side and use a bounce card or gold-tinted reflector to bring take advantage of that same light to enhance the fill side of the person’s face.
7. Lean into the beauty of Magic Hour by filming wider shots than you might normally film. Again, the quality of the light will tie the setting into your subject better and make everything look a lot more intentional than you’d expect.
Words of Caution
When it comes to filming at Magic Hour, planning is key. Because that Magic Hour time frame can be so brief (sometimes as short as 15 to 20 minutes, depending on your proximity to the equator), plan as much as you can and leave as little to chance as possible. If you’re planning on filming narrative material make sure your cast is well-rehearsed and your crew is ready to go well before it’s time to roll.
Also, it’s probably best to avoid filming interviews during Magic Hour, since you’ll be losing light too quickly to create a consistent look in post-production. Unless you’re sure you can get all of the content you need in 10 minutes or less it’s wiser to set up interviews in a more lighting-controlled setting.
It’s probably best to avoid filming interviews during Magic Hour, since you’ll be losing light too quickly to create a consistent look in post-production.
In Closing
Once you begin the process of mastering the art of filming at Magic Hour, you’ll soon begin recognizing just how ubiquitous it is as a technique for big-budget Hollywood moviemaking. Study how these master cinematographers utilize the light and you’ll soon find yourself capturing footage at levels of quality you might not have believed possible before.
Next, begin to evaluate how Magic Hour can better serve the stories you’re trying to tell. Golden Hour light evokes unique responses in the viewers' emotions, so mastering that type of filmmaking can help you tell narratives more effectively than ever before.
Experiment, get lots of reps, and enjoy the process along the way. It’s a process that will ultimately pay off big in the long run.
