Forging films wrote:… I don't use lighting
Lighting such as open nearby windows and doors and turning on exist practicals could be very helpful to help lighten the shadows around the work area, but without light you need to love those shadows and concentrate of making the literally hot areas look decent.
… I usually just colour adjust i Adobe Premiere.
You have a free copy of DaVinci Resolve. Strongly recommend you learn how to use its tools. Your situation is somewhat similar to the insufficient light I had on a pianist. In Resolve / Colour tab, there’s a Relight effect where you can add more than one AI light to a scene. That could save your shoot in post as it generates a depth map and casts light according to your adjustments. It’s not going to work on a black scene, but will enhance the areas that are too dark and could use a boost.
… I loose all light info or all shadow info, until the metal cools down a bit… is it too big of a contrast for the camera to handle?
Can you possibly do a test before you attempt a complete shoot? Or in the complete shoot, can you run through different shots with different settings?
As a guide, you may clip in the brightest moments, but that might look okay because it’s very brief. I’d try to find a middle ground where you lose a lot of the shadow but keep some shadow while you try your best to keep most of the highlights but don’t worry if specular lights clip. Maximize the use of ‘found’ light if you’re not able to bring some of your own light.