I've always wondered....

[bkg]

why the streets are always wet in movies...

[Chris_]

why the streets are always wet in movies...

Likely because it reflects the effect of the Kleig lighting that is used to illuminate the shoot (so light isn't concentrated on lighting the pavement rather than the action, the pavement will appear dark to the camera).  But I haven't really noticed it.

When shooting on a set (inside), the floor is typically painted flat black for that reason......

doc

[bkg]

Likely because it reflects the effect of the Kleig lighting that is used to illuminate the shoot (so light isn't concentrated on lighting the pavement rather than the action, the pavement will appear dark to the camera).  But I haven't really noticed it.

When shooting on a set (inside), the floor is typically painted flat black for that reason......

doc

Hmmm. Interseting. But it begs the question... if they want a glossy surface to illuminate outside, why flat-black inside?

[Doc]

Hmmm. Interseting. But it begs the question... if they want a glossy surface to illuminate outside, why flat-black inside?

It is MUCH easier to light a set inside on a soundstage, and control what gets highlighted, and what does not, than it is for an outdoor shoot.  On a soundstage there is a "grid" made of pipe that is suspended from the ceiling that all of the lights are hung from, and the intensity of each is controlled by a "lightboard" which contains elaborate controls for the grips and lighting techs to use to control each light......it is much more difficult to do outdoors at night, because you have to deal with variables like ambient light, lighted buildings, streetlights, etc......much more complex setup, and usually has to be accomplished with less equipment and control.  It is simpler to wet down the surface to reflect all of the spurious light away from the scene......you don't need to do that for an indoor shoot.

doc

[Chris_]

Kinda interesting that you bring this up, as Mrs. doc enjoys the TV series CSI, which is set in Vegas.......now both she and I have spent more than a little time in Vegas, and know that it rains probably no more than three times a year there, however, when they do a night time outdoor scene, it seems to be raining a good percentage of the time......I told her that it is likely easier to control the night scenes for creative reasons by inserting the rain.......unrealistic as it may seem in real life to someone that lives there......

doc

[Thor]

On some of the shows/ movies I've watched, I've noticed that the streets were wet, too. Many of those same shows had car chase/stunt scenes in them. Wet pavement makes it much easier to slide a car without any other incidents, such as rolling over, etc. At least that's my take on it.