There’s a term in our business called the “Golden (or Magic) Hour” – the period just before sunrise or sunset – you’ve seen it a million times, but perhaps didn’t know that in addition to being beautiful to look at, it provides cinematographers with what’s considered the optimal light to shoot in. There are many stories about the budget impact of waiting to shoot in such a small window of time (really about 25 good minutes of light).
A production would be lucky to get three ‘takes’ done in such a short timeframe. The film “Heaven’s Gate,” in which many scenes are set during this time, is famous for cost overruns while director Michael Cimino tried to perfect his film.
