Rather than hijack the Six Feet Under thread, I’ll ask here: What’s the deal with people in films leaving their headlights on when they turn off their cars and leave? In last night’s SFU episode, the driver returned to a dead battery; but in most films and television shows I’ve seen there are no consequences.
I was taught to turn off the electricals before shutting down the engine. My MGB’s radio was not wired to the ignition switch, so I had to remember to turn it off lest I run down the battery by leaving it on overnight. I was also taught to turn off the electrically-powered equipment in an airplane before turning off the master switch. (Stop the plane, brakes on, pull the mixture to idle cut-off, say ‘Off, off, off, off, off, off.’ as I turned off the radios, transponder, etc., magnetos off, master switch off.) This reinforced my habit of turning the lights off in a car. Maybe I’m weird, but I nearly always turn off my headlights before turning off the engine. (I’ve forgotten to do maybe four times in the six years I’ve owned my Jeep Cherokee, and they turn themselves off automatically after a minute when the ignition switch is turned off.)
So why are lights left on in films? It could be that there’s enough light on-set that the actor doesn’t notice. Or perhaps the actor is concentrating on acting and just forgets. There are visual reasons for leaving the lights on sometimes, but usually the image is not enhanced by this. And aside from last night’s SFU episode, I can’t remember another film or television programme where the battery ran down. (I’m sure it’s happened because the plot requires it, but I don’t remember any instances right now.)
I find it hard to believe, given how obsessively and thoroughly lighting is controlled on TV and movie sets, that any light source being on or off is an accident. That said, I also find it hard to believe that so many directors and producers think that leaving the car’s headlights on after the character(s) get out of the car is more realistic than an off-set lamp.
I don’t know why it has been done in the past, but newer cars have headlights that go off on their own. It’s really unnerving to walk away from a car with its headlights on.
My (mom’s) car, a 1999 Sable, has an “auto dimmer” dial. The headlamps stay on for as long as a few minutes after you lock up. I’ve gone back out to the driveway more than once to make sure I really had turned the lights off.
This thing with leaving the headlights on seems to have started before the auto-off headlights became popular, though. Same thing with leaving the doors wide open as you walk away from the car. I saw this during Firefox (the movie, not the browser). What gives?
I’ve seen this in films going back to at least the 1940s.
It’s simple: the reflectors in the headlamps pick up the lights used for filming. Sometimes the lights continue to glow evenly, sometimes it’s quite uneven. Leaving the headlights on covers this up.
Sometimes in more modern films you’ll see the headlights turned off and theres a nice eerie glow to them.
With parked cars whose lights aren’t going to be on, you “dust” the lenses to cut down on reflection.
Not sure about others, but the lights in Brenda’s VW would have gone off as soon as she pulled the parking brake (at least in a 5spd). I drive a Jetta, same year and that’s what mine do. Not sure about automatics, but I would think P would do the same trick.