Help With Lighting Properly

Hazel Block · Jan 29, 2009

Hey!
I am 16, new to filming but wish to be in the film industry in the future, so i am not and expert.

Just wanted some good advice on how to get the best lighting i can out of the lighting i have and if i am doing something wrong!

Firstly this is what i am using.

150 Watt Halogen floodlight attached to an old camera tripod.
I have two of these but one is not on a tripod

60Watt with a aluminum reflector

The camera i am using is a panasonic HDC-SD9 HD camcorder.

I had really bad grainy footage, had a report back from engineer saying that he has re-aligned the software and to just use a lot of lighting.. the outcome so far has been great!

i have just used one of the 150 Watt in a test shoot pointing it upwards towards the ceiling. 1. so i don't go blind! 2. i get a nice even light around the room.

Is there certain ways to light rooms properly? can anyone direct me somewhere or tell me the basics? am i using the right lighting? (can't really afford anything professional)

I have two different angles and the colouring looks a lot different, i tried to do some colour correction in final cut and it improved a little but its not perfect.

I would say the first one looks more cinematic then the second...

Thanks

Thom 98 · Jan 29, 2009

Well, 150W+60W is not very much. I mostly use at least 3x500W for a good 3-point lighting setup. That way the camera has enough light to work with and your images don't get grainy.
I think I paid about 60$ for the three lights and they even came with a tripod for each of them.

knightly · Jan 29, 2009

http://www.mediacollege.com/lighting/three-point/

spinner · Jan 29, 2009

I think the first picture is great. Whatever you did there, keep doing it :yes:

-- spinner :cool:

thefilmgeek · Jan 31, 2009

spinner said:
I think the first picture is great. Whatever you did there, keep doing it

-- spinner

Agreed. The first picture of the guitar player looks well lit, very even. The wall isn't washed out, and the skin looks natural.

knightly · Jan 31, 2009

I would lower the amount of the light on the background a bit (aesthetic preference on my part) to draw the eye to the subject more. You can do that by putting a flag (piece of black foam core taped/clamped to a stand) in place to cut the light hitting the background.

directorik · Jan 31, 2009

My suggestion would be to add a few more pieces.

Get another “scoop” light. Get the ones with the clamp - makes it
easier to place it than the one you’re using.

Get a paper lantern - excellent for adding a soft light to the
face or filling in the background.

As knightly mentioned, some blackwrap (a sturdy aluminum foil
that’s black) can be used to break up the light. Casting shadows
on the background makes the subject stand out. So does a light
behind the subject.

Pull the buy away from the wall a bit and point a light on the
back of his head - you’ll be amazed how something so minor
changes the look.

Godchoo · May 9, 2009

your camera won't capture light as well as pro cameras.
So to compensate get a lot more lighting in the shot.
You've got to make the darks and lights more obvious (basically contrasts).
So get your backlight as Directorik said.
Other than that it looks nice!

Help With Lighting Properly

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