| LIGHTING FOR HD First off, lighting is not a symptom that needs to be cured; it is a craft that needs to be practiced. Every time a new media capture format is developed or promoted, the question as to how to light for it follows. Understanding how to light a scene when being captured to a chip is a bit different than lighting for a film format. This approach applies to filmmakers (video-makers), and still photographers who are now shooting on a digital format. Lighting for the chip takes a little bit of re-understanding lighting from what has been taught as the norm. Very few sales people behind the counter and even less lighting manufacturers really truly understand the lighting approach needed for High Definition formats. Sales people want to cling to what they learn from manufacturer’s advertising especially when it comes to latitude and exposure range, which in many cases, are very misunderstood. When lighting for HD, it is important to preserve high light detail. Even if HD cameras have excessive latitude and 10 stops of exposure range, you are going to experience difficulty maintaining high light detail if you do not light a scene correctly. When you light a scene, whether it is indoors or outdoors, if you do not have detail in the bright areas when you shoot a scene, you will not have detail in the bright areas of that scene when you go to edit. Of course, if this is your intent then you are all set. If this isn’t your intent, then you need to control the contrast levels with lighting before you shoot. One way to do this is to use a light meter as a way of referencing exposure levels in a scene. You may have heard or read that if you shoot video you don’t need a light meter; the truth is it is called a light meter NOT a video meter. A light meter has nothing to do with the camera being used. Unlike zebras or a waveform monitor, a light meter will indicate how much over or under exposure a specific area is with-in a scene compared to the Key Light exposure. You can read more about the light meter further down in lighting tips, and there is a full chapter dedicated to using a light meter in our “Lighting For Video Film Style-DVD.” Since the chip is made up of pixels, that are sharp and uniform in size and shape, they render detail of a scene with sharpness and high contrast. This sharpness effects detail of a subject and other objects within a scene. The pixel contrast is evident when a high light area meets a shadow area and the shadow line looks hard and sharp. It is also evident when the high light detail of a scene is totally blown out. I was recently hired to light a set for an inexperienced director who had just purchased a new HD camera. His approach was to light the talent for a lawyer TV spot with point blank, undiffused light which created hard shadows on the talent and on the background that created all kinds of problems that took hours to overcome. When I questioned him on what he was trying to achieve, he said he wanted a “Film Noir” look!
From Wikipedia: OK, anyone who uses this term as an excuse for not knowing how to light a scene should, at the very least, not be taken seriously. When I suggested a softer approach, he angrily yelled, “who wrote those rules”. I retorted with “Rembrandt, Vermeer, Caravaggio!” He returned with, who are they? This brings us to another issue. Artists from hundreds of years ago, who were trained to interpret light, were able to capture a mood and a look that inspires today’s artists. However, this look of realism seems to be out of reach for most of us today who shoot on the latest digital and HD formats, edit on tricked out computers and who use state of the art software. I suggest researching the artists mentioned, as well as other artists, to get a reference as to what lighting can look like. Then spend time referencing still photographers and Directors of Photography who have done work that you have admired. Simply put, great lighting is the digital equalizer!
“Diffusion filters over the lens of a camera lowers resolution, lowers contrast and can cause flare” You can actually achieve a softer image, while maintaining contrast, color, and resolution by lighting a scene correctly. The most important element in any scene is lighting. But, great lighting merely renders a look for the script and the performance of the talent. You need to get a scene lit in a short amount of time so that attention can be directed toward the camera, the script and the performance. Learning to light accurately AND quickly is part of the same job. Additionally, learning to light accurately and quickly lowers the stress level on a set and actually adds a pleasantness of being in the production business. This means that the production shouldn’t come to a screeching halt when it is time to light a scene. Remember above all; protect the high light detail within your scene. You may even choose to under expose your scene by one-third stop in order to preserve the detail in the high lights and then raise the levels when editing. Keeping in mind; smaller, sharper lights will add contrast to a scene and cause the loss of high light detail, while larger softer lights will lower contrast and will preserve high light detail. Many lighting manufacturers still have not yet grasped this concept. I have even heard lighting manufacturers sales reps make comments like, if you are going to diffuse a light, why not just use a smaller wattage unit. This is the voice of ignorance speaking. The great artists painted their subjects by using North light coming through large ten-foot studio windows to achieve a warm, soft, but natural look that has survived to this day. Hmmm, large soft sources? That’s a concept!
Lighting An Outdoor Scene At Night So depending on the script, you normally won't need giant lighting fixtures, like 10K's, unless you are intending to light a large area like a football field and even then football fields are already lit. You can use smaller wattage tungsten fixtures that can be placed to create pools of shadow and highlight. 1K & 2K lights will work well. As your subjects make their way through the scene, they might enter an area of light and then maybe walk through a shadow area, much like they are walking from streetlight to streetlight. If you are shooting a scene at a location where there are no street lights to motivate the light from, you can create the light using your lights but you will need high stands. Consider the format that you are shooting on and remember what we teach in our lighting class about soft sources. Even though night scenes will have more contrast and will have a harder look; that harder look should be created by using softer light than just a bare bulb. Remember, we are lighting for the chip! Shadows areas may need to be slightly filled, but not over lit, in order to capture detail. Some things to remember when lighting at night:
LIGHTING FOR A FEATURE SHOT ON HD & MINI DV To begin, lighting a feature is different from corporate or commercial projects. For a corporate project, we might set up our lighting first and then place the subject or subjects within it. When lighting for a feature or documentary re-enactment, we need to light for the script. This means, if you are hired by a director or producer to DP and/or to light a feature, you must get a script and you must read it carefully. If storyboards are available, get those too. You and the director must agree with how the scenes are to look. You must determine the feel or mood for each scene and location and what the director expects the audience to feel when watching the movie. It doesn’t matter what the budget is! Next, determine what equipment you will need to light each location. This can be done by reviewing the size of the space for each location and then following the principles mentioned in our Lighting Class and DVD for choosing lights. You can do this by using the conversion charts supplied with the class workbook. If you haven’t purchased our DVD as yet; simply put, you will need to evaluate, in foot-candles, what each location will demand for shooting with a particular aperture setting and match that output to the lights that you will be using. By doing this well ahead of the shoot date, you can determine what lights you might need to rent or borrow. Even though the shooting schedule might be tight, the crew small and the budget low, you still must maintain the overall quality of the lighting throughout the entire movie. If you are limited by budget, crew and lighting equipment, you must plan a look from the start, that will accommodate your resources. So, don’t plan complicated setups if you won’t have the time, equipment or crew to pull them off the right way. You may need to convince the director to broaden, but not limit, his expectations of his vision in order to render a pleasing mood throughout the entire script. You can remind him that the other alternatives to rendering the scenes, as he would like them, may be to increase the budget, extend the shoot time and get a larger crew. I have found that when shooting a feature (especially a low budget on HD or Mini-DV) the amount of lighting and grip equipment ends up being a lot more than what might be expected so, we need to be prepared for the unexpected. You should think in terms of needing at least 8,000 – 10,000 watts of tungsten light to start with for a "no" budget feature on mini DV and at the very least a 3-ton grip truck with an extensive tungsten package for a low budget feature shot on HD, rather than thinking that a light kit with 2500 watts will do the trick. You will need power distribution at each location as well. So, be sure to check each location to see if you have enough power to use the lights you are bringing. 8,000 Watts of light will need at least 4 - 20 amp circuits. Other considerations for power includes renting a generator or doing a “Tie-in”, if time and budget allow. The type of lighting instruments needed for each location and setup should also be determined prior to the shoot. You can rent special application lights like Flo-Banks or HMI’s for specific shoot days and can be returned when that location is wrapped. Next, after reading the script, determine what daylight fixtures you might need and what you might need in grip equipment for both indoor and outdoor locations. When setting up outdoors, I have noticed that some of us forget to consider any other lighting but the sun, but that is a mistake. On a bright day you may need butterfly silks, along with 4’X4’ silks to diffuse the sunlight and shiny boards to reflect it. On an overcast day the sun may not be intense enough to use a reflector with, so you may need to rent HMI lighting. Depending on the output of light needed, you may also need a generator. Don’t forget to bring enough sandbags to the location. I know this sounds a bit silly, but without enough weight on stands outdoors, one gust of wind can send an entire set sailing, and sandbags are cheap to rent. Remember; on a feature you will have many setups to do in a very limited amount of time, so the more you can prepare for each location with floor plans and lighting diagrams, the faster and more accurate you will light.
LIGHTING A GREEN OR BLUE SCREEN Light reacts much the same way, the harder you light the green or blue screen, the more splash of color you will get on your talent. So, we need to diffuse the light hitting the green screen and light it evenly. You should then be able to light the talent any way you want as long as the shadows do not hit the background. This should not be a problem if the talent is far enough away from the screen. For exposure, the luminence of the green screen should render the same setting as your key light being usde for your subject or you can take the background down one half stop darker than the key if you prefer. Just remember to avoid overexposing the background and you should have a nice clean key.
MORE ON THE "FILM LOOK!" Getting a great looking image on video is a culmination of a few different elements. If we are going to try to get a film look, we will need to approach shooting a scene "Film Style"! Here are a few elements to remember.
These are elements that should be addressed in order to successfully obtain the "Film Look" or any other desired look. Our DVD covers these topics and more. Once you have studied the information on the DVD and answered the questions in the workbook, we can then discuss the approach to lighting for "FILM LOOK " (one-on-one) over the phone.
USING LIGHT METERS When using a light meter, it doesn't matter what format camera you are shooting with. To calibrate the meter accordingly. You must refer to your owners manual to get the lux rating of your camera. With most new cameras, the sensitivity will be f-11 @ 2000 lux. If your camera sensitivity is f-11@2000 lux, set your meter at ISO 800 when shooting indoors and at ISO 500 when changing the color wheel filter for shooting outdoors. If you have an older camera that has a lux rating of f-8 @ 2000 lux, then your ISO will be 400 indoors and ISO 250 out doors. You will need to enter the ISO information into the meter along with the shutter speed (or frame rate if the meter is made for cine or Motion picture). The shutter speed is normally 1/60. ISO + Shutter Speed = f-stop. You will get a difference between the incident and reflective because the incident measures the light coming from a source and renders it as 18% gray. So what you are reading, when using an incident meter, is the uninterrupted light output that is reaching your subject at a specific distance (which is also foot-candles). Reflective readings render the amount of light that the camera will be sensitive to AFTER it is altered by the color or density of whatever it reflects off of. Darker tones will render a reading that will indicate that you should use a wider aperture setting while lighter tones will render a reading that will indicate that you use a smaller aperture setting. This is because the meter assumes you want, whatever you point it at to be 18% gray or the same as your key or subject light. We are also able to use a spot meter to read luminance on a set. Once we establish, with our incident meter, what f-stop our key light will be set at, in order to render our subject at 18% gray or let's say 80% on a waveform monitor, all we need to do to be able to control other reflective light in a scene is to measure it with a spot meter and adjust it's output until it matches that of the key light or slightly over or under as desired. By understanding the contrast range and capabilities of the format camera that you are using, and then using a light meter to measure the ratios of a scene, you will be able to control the high lights and shadows scene to scene so that little adjustment will be needed to be done in post.
CONVERTING "MINIMUM LUX" TO ISO Using my camera's sensitivity of f-11@ 2000 lux and it's established ISO of 800 as a reference, we can illustrate how to find the ISO from a minimum lux rated camera. If we already know that f-11@ 2000 lux is the maximum illumination for an 800 ISO camera, and we want to find out at what f-stop and lux rating my minimum illumination is for that same camera, all we need to do is run down the math as follows:
It seems to me that If I were to include my maximum gain setting of 18db as part of my minimum illumination, my 800 ISO speed camera would have a minimum illumination of approximately 4 lux which would put a minimum illumination of 3 -5 lux. Our example is pretty darn close, if not exact.
CHOOSING A BASIC LIGHT KIT You are most likely able to get back what you paid for quality lighting and grip equipment, if you ever need to sell them later. You can't say that about digital equipment. It is almost like we need to think of cameras as being expendable and lighting and grip equipment as being permanent. The sooner you put a good light kit together, the sooner you can begin to do the kind of work companies are willing to pay more for! In our class, we demonstrate using an ARRI SoftBank I kit. This kit contains (1) 1000 watt open face light with a small Chimera soft box, (2) 650 watt fresnels, (1) 300 watt fresnel barn doors and steel scrims (full doubles, full singles, half doubles, half singles) and light stands. In time you may want to add an additional ARRI 300 watt fresnel w/barn doors, scrims and stand and maybe a Source 4 Junior by a company called ETC, or the like. In addition to a light kit, there is an array of grip equipment that you will need to add at sometime to compliment your light kit (C-stands, grip arms, flags, nets, silks, ceiling clamps etc.). I like the "Bogen/Avenger" line because they are made to hold up under heavy use and the machining of the grip equipment is of very high quality. This will make up a basic but fundamental light kit for handling most small jobs that you might encounter. The largest problem in lighting is created by those who do not know how to light. If you use a hard, or undiffused light, you will create unwanted contrast and shadows. You will not be able to correct this problem by merely placing a diffusion filter over the lens. KNOW THIS! DV needs as much light as any other video format if you are lighting an image correctly. The rule of thumb that we teach in our class is that you start out with a 1 stop, higher wattage key light source, than you think you need, so that by time it is diffused, you still have enough light to shoot at a decent f-stop with. Every time you add a layer of heavy diffusion to a light, you will lose about a stop of exposure. So you will need to have enough light to begin with before you can diffuse it. I recently had the opportunity to try out the "BARGER-BAGLITE." This is the perfect key light. And, it will go great with the ARRI soft kit, as the optimum combination. The "BARGER-BAGLITE GT-3" holds (3) 650 watt bulbs on a small 13"x13" square, flat face fixture that is 2" thick. It is very small and compact. The GE FCM 650W lamps, that can be obtained for the unit, put out more light than a conventional 650W bulb so you end up with about 2800 watts of light when all three lights are on. Each lamp has it's own switch and when the entire fixture is on, it only draws 15 amps. The advantage of this light is that the bulbs throw a soft, gentle light and once the key is set (using one or two of the lamps in a soft box) and you need to move back for a larger shot, you can accommodate the light loss by clicking on another lamp. This will save time when need to switch out to a larger light . The fixture is very rugged and is made to accept a number of different size soft boxes, which is great when you need to be versatile with your lighting setups. You can access the companies mentioned by going to our sponsor page and clicking on to their logo.
ASSESSING SETUP TIME FOR A "RUN & GUN" SHOOT It is not the crew's fault that the producer did not schedule enough time to light and shoot a job correctly. A producer's job is to assess the needs of a production and then plan a realistic approach and budget to accommodate those needs. trying to squeeze a two day job into a one day shoot and then pressuring an under staffed crew to perform the task of "saving the shoot," is not only unprofessional, but in most cases, will contribute to the end product being of inferior quality which is then, also sometimes blamed on the crew. When we pull up to a job site, we will first need to unload the vehicle and load the gear into the location. This could take 20 minutes to a half hour for a small "run and gun" shoot depending on how much gear we have and how many are on the crew. As a reference, time yourself and see in minutes how long it takes to open a light case, set a stand in place, go back to the kit for another light and then put it on the stand and affix the proper barn doors, diffusion or softbox. Now do this with the other 3 or 4 lights that you brought and now run the appropriate cabling for power to each light. Now let’s begin setting the camera on the tripod, loading tape and running bars. Now, set up a monitor and start running back and forth to it as you adjust the lighting ( We can eliminate this "monitor shuffle" by using a light meter). OK, now look at your watch; How long did that take? Approximately 20-30 minutes to unload and park the car with about another 30 minutes to set up the first interview. And this is a small set! An average interview set up just cannot happen in 10 minutes! Now, do you want quality with that, and is there time to adjust the lights once the talent gets in place? If you are using a standin to set lights to, it will help if the clothing, complextion, hair color and height of the standin can match that of the actual subject. Otherwise, you will need to re-light once the talent gets into place. If I am doing a full blown production shoot with a 3 ton grip truck and full camera package (audio, dolly, track etc.) depending on the amount of crew (usually 3 - 4 plus myself) and the access to the location, we figure at least 2 hours for load-in and setup of the first shot. After that, the time per shot in the same location drops to about half once the equipment has been loaded into the site. To cut the setup time, you may want to talk the producer into budgeting for one other person more than your usual crew. This other person can pick up the pace considerably and move the shoot-day along as needed. Try to plan the schedule with built in time for travel, set up & breakdown and bathroom breaks (other kinds of sub-contractors, like plumbers and painters, even get occasional breaks while on the job). Make sure the crew is treated with respect and are fed properly. A happy and energetic crew will accomplish more in a day than a resentful one.
ARE YOU A SHOOTER OR A DP? So from now on, if it appeals to you, you can refer to yourself as a video DP. By the way, in the future we will address the topic of a Video Camera AC (or Camera Assistant). Just because we choose to shoot on video rather than on film does not mean that a camera assistant is no longer needed. As a rule, no matter what the format, I include a Camera AC (who is checked out on the particular camera being used) on all my shoots.
LIGHTING FOR THE EDIT The contrast range of DV and HD cameras can be greatly controlled through correctly lighting a scene and by using the right lighting instruments. I cannot emphasize enough that if your expectation is to render a beautiful, soft, warm image with your video camera, you will not do it using small, low wattage instruments with inadequate or no diffusion. Regardless of the camera format, regardless of misleading articles on lighting found in monthly video magazines, regardless of the pitches by light manufacturers for "DV LIGHTING" and regardless of all the magical software claims, the result will be nothing more exciting than a piece of news or wedding video footage unless your key light source is at least twice the size of your subject and properly diffused. Small instuments are perfect when used for what they were designed for, kickers, rakes, rims etc, but when used as a key, small hard lights (even with a sheet of diffusion) can keep you chasing the problems that they create. Let Peter Pan chase shadows, our job is to light and shoot a scene quickly and accurately.
ADDING FILL LIGHT UNDER FLUORESCENTS Another approach would be to use a fluorescent light bank fitted with the same Kelvin temp bulbs that are in the overhead fixtures (cool whites, etc.) as your key and fill lights. Tungten lights, with or without correction gel, can be used in conjunction with Flo-banks. Several companies, such as Kino Flo and ARRI, make professional Flo-banks that can be used for this application as well as with Tungsten and Daylight balanced setups.
PAY ATTENTION TO CONtrAST IN A SCENE Merely moving a low wattage light back to fill a larger scene area, and then opening the aperture to accommodate the light loss, will render a well exposed flat looking image!
FORM A STYLE FOR LIGHTING
KICKERS & RIM LIGHTS
LIGHTING FOR EYEWEAR
USING FILL LIGHTS
NEUTRAL DENSITY FILTERS You may choose to purchase a matte box to accommodate square filters. These auxiliary type filters also come in "Grads." Auxiliary ND's are great because you can use densities that may not be available on your particular camera's filter wheel and they can easily be used indoors with the #1 or tungsten filter setting. Sony camera users will notice that the daylight ND densities on their camera are in fractions. In case you were wondering how much light, in stops, each fraction represents, here is a reminder: 1/2=1 stop, 1/4=2 stops, 1/8=3 stops, 1/16=4 stops, 1/32=5 stops and 1/64=6 stops.
CHOOSING A BACKGROUND OUtdOORS Using a grip arm to attach the silk to a C-stand (minimum size of silk should be 40"x40") raise it above your subject to diffuse the intense sunlight. The silk will absorb about 1-2 stops of light. You may need to kick in some fill light and this can be done by using a white fill card or reflector board set at the opposite side to where the sun is being diffused from. I prefer using reflector boards over fabric discs because any moving light from a disc flexing in a wind will be very evident on video. These fabric discs were originally devised for still photography use and a more rigid reflector might be a bit more user friendly. Once the talent is lit outdoors using a silk and reflector, the background can appear a bit bright. Introducing a double net just behind the talent, on another C-stand, can bring the background down a stop. Be sure that the C-stands are well sand bagged so they don't fall over on the talent. You may need 2-3 bags on each stand or have a crew member hold the stand as a precation. Using a long focal length lens will help eliminate picking up detail in the net that is behind the talent. With larger sets, you will need larger silks and nets and more intense reflector boards or daylight balanced lights.
CONTROL YOUR DEPTH-OF FIELD
DIFFUSION FILTERS The camera settings that you choose to use with a particular filter can alter the intensity of the effect of that filter. The larger the aperture (i.e., f•2.8 - f•4), the more effect a filter will have. The smaller the aperture (i.e., f•11 - f•16), the less effect a filter will have. The longer the focal length lens is, the more effect a filter will have and the shorter the focal length of the lens is, the less intense the effect of the filter will be. I hate to keep preaching this, but proper lighting will control the softness of an image more than a filter will. I shoot film various formats of video and I rarely use any filter on the camera lens. In a rare instance I will use an 1/8 or 1/4 promist, black promist or soft FX just to take more of an edge off, but never want the image to look like we used any kind of special effects filter over the lens. Other considerations for choosing a diffusion filter can include camera compression, lens quality and resolution, chip size, tape format, edit process and form of distribution. Remember; what you see on the field monitor is lacking the effect of your camera format and the editing process!
Good Luck with your next shoot, Check this website often for New Lighting Tips |
Click Here for dates and locations of upcoming classes |
| Tom Musto Productions 30 Hillside Road Shavertown, Pennsylvania 18708 570-696-4774 • fax:570-696-6765 info@tommustopro.com |
| Home Film & Video Clips Photography Portfolio Tips On Lighting Lighting Workshops Camera Workshops Lighting Workshop DVD Order DVD Class Registration Class Sponsors Class Dates Directions |
