Shooting video that needs to look like nighttime

In its most basic form my question is "How do I make a scene appear dark without it being underexposed?" - Although I'm talking about video it actually applies to stills as well. I need the footage to look darker than normal but intentionally underexposing adds unwanted noise. Would it be best to expose at the proper levels and then darken it in Sony Vegas or something?

For example, if I shoot a scene in a restaurant during the day at correct exposure, how can I make that scene appear darker as if it was actually nighttime. Thanks.

P.S. Is there any way to use the Exposure Compensation in the D3200 to manage this.

Proper lighting, not the camera - period. If you're shooting during the day and want it to appear as if it's night, you better block out all the natural light sources. You can't fake something like that when you have glow coming through the windows. Daytime will show big swatches of diffused daylight, nighttime will have the soft glow of candles and overhead light. It's not the exposure, it's shadows and directional light that will give you the look.

You want it to look like it's night? Draw the shades and curtains and do whatever you need to to turn off the sun and turn on the interior lighting. It will be easier on a cloudy day.

Thanks for the response. So if I wanted to shoot in a bar at night, how do I get that "dark seedy bar" look without underexposing? I know a fast lens will help to get proper exposure but I actually want it to look dim. I wish I could just underexpose but for every stop underexposed it adds a certain amount of noise.

You can always lower your ISO.


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While the darker zones may contain more noise than lighter ones, it will not really show unless you "recover" these shadows (ie, boost that underexposed shoot to be "properly exposed" in post processing). Given that you want it to stay dark, I don't see what the problem is...

You need more than just underexposure. Also try incandescent WB in daylight (or use blue filter for film).

Read some here: https://www.google.com/search?q=day+for+night