Lighting
Lighting was, is, and always shall be one of the most critical elements of a production. Good light is almost impossible to find in most locations one would want to film at, so artificial light must be substituted to achieve a desired dramatic effect. Further, in the rare cases in which natural light is usable, it is often too "hot" and is prone to wash out a scene, or cast unwanted shadows.
Back in the 20's and 30's, film light was done almost exclusively with large carbon arc lamps, and controlled with various methods of scrims and opaque drops. This continued until the mid-60's or so when practical Tungsten-Halogen incandescent lamps came into widespread use. Today, virtually all motion picture lights are tungsten incandescent types, with the exception of certain very large arc spot and area lights. These lights are known by various code names, indicative of their design. Some of them include Babys, Juniors, Seniors, Teners, Broads, Conelites, Softlites, hickencoops, Skypans and so forth.
Usually, the names give a hint towards the general application of a light, and its size. For example, Baby, Junior, Senior and so forth refer to the size of a light stand, while Softlites are a type of light designed for soft "fill" of a subject or area.
Unfortunately, most motion picture lights are very large, very expensive, and suck up an absolutely obscene amount of power. As well, they produce a significant amount of heat. These are less than ideal traits for an amateur producer to be faced with. Luckily, professional results can be had with far more modest solutions.
There are five distinctive metrics of light. Intensity, or Brightness. Focus, which determines between a soft diffused light, or a hard spot light, throwing shadows. Contrast, which is the relative brightness between the light and dark areas in your scene. Direction, as in where the light source originates off camera. Finally, Color or Temperature. All of these metrics can be manipulated to achieve different "moods" or dramatic effects within your production.
There are four basic methods for lighting a given scene. The first, and easiest, is to make use of natural lighting, and position your camera(s) and subjects to take the advantage of existing light. This generally only works well for outdoor scenes on semi-overcast days. The problem with natural light is, it changes. Shadows move, intensity changes with cloud movement, and so forth. It is also very hard to reproduce natural lighting once it has changed, and you are required to re-shoot a scene. With that in mind, natural lighting is best used in one-take large scenes in which specific lighting goals or moods are not as important as the surrounding area in a scene.
The second method is to manipulate existing natural light using scrims, reflectors, and boards. A little experimentation on a sunny day will give the amateur producer a good foundation as to the numerous ways shadow and light can be manipulated. Further, there are several books available on the subject including both theatrical and film lighting.
The third option is to improve existing lighting, whether via adding re-enforcement light to a close up of an actor in an outdoor scene, or simply replacing light bulbs in normal fixtures with higher wattage bulbs in an indoor scene. This method is still dependent on natural light, but is much easier to manipulate, so that all is not lost should a cloud obscure the sun for a prolonged period of time.
The fourth method is to light your scene entirely with artificial light sources. This gives a producer total control of the light in a scene, whether indoors or out, and allows for the exact light to be re-created at any time should re-shoots be necessary. Unfortunately, it also requires a good deal of setup time, a power supply for your lights, and either a lot of experience or a lot of experimentation with your light sources in order to properly light a scene.
So, what do we use to make all this lighting magic happen? Fortunately, there are a number of ways to approach lighting from the ground up, and most of them are very cost-effective.
First, the most-used material in the entertainment industry. Foam core. Foam core is a type of poster board which is fairly tough and light, and is available in several colors at most art supply shops. You'll want a few sheets, each about four feet square.
By combining your foam core with a cheap microphone boom stand or tripod, you now have a portable light control device for under 20 bucks. Experiment with the various ways foam core will effect natural light sources. White foam core will reflect light, while black will remove reflections almost entirely, and gold or yellow can "warm" otherwise harsh light on an overcast day.
Second, you'll want a good diffuser. These are basically screens, sometimes called "silks" used to soften light sources, be they natural or artificial. To construct your own, pick up some half inch PVC pipe and some 90 degree elbows for it. Assemble yourself a four foot square PVC frame, and then wrap the frame with white rip-stop nylon, which is available at any fabric store. Sew a hem around the fabric to keep it taught around the PVC frame, and you now have a light diffuser. Experiment by placing the diffuser between your subject and a strong light source, such as the sun or a powerful incandescent light. The later, will create your very own "Softlite" which you can use to fill otherwise dark scenes with light.
Third, you'll want a couple lights, and some filters. Your lights can be as simple or as complex as you like, from home store work lamps with 250 watt spot beam bulbs, to professional fresnels which can be purchased used for reasonable prices at any theatrical supply warehouse.
Your best bet for a bargain basement lighting setup is to purchase the following:
With these materials, you will build three types of lights.
Fixed focus spot. These lights will be built using the work lamp housings and 100 watt flood bulbs. You'll want to either find light housings with an attached clamp, or add your own clamp to an existing housing. This will make positioning your lights quite easy, as you can simply clamp them to a microphone stand or ladder. You'll want to rig some "barn doors" (those four plates seen on most motion picture lamps) with a material of your choice. The best way to go about this is to cut the flaps out of light gauge aluminum, paint it black, and secure it with a simple cage setup using heavy gauge non-insulated wire. Visit your local theatrical supply store for some insight into how these lights are built, or simply purchase a couple of used 8" fresnels pre-equipped with barn doors.
These lights will produce a "warm" incandescent light which can be used either indoors or out, and will usually be used to directly light subjects.
High power flood. Any halogen work light will suffice, preferably with a power output of 200 watts or greater. This light will be used to brighten large areas for scenes without much natural lighting, or in scenes where unwanted shadows are cast. Operate this light behind your diffuser panel for a soft, yet intense white light which will be fairly close to natural sunlight.
Floor Syc. This light will basically be tossed on the floor and used in cases where there is very little low-level light, or too much light from elevated areas. This light will make use of a fluorescent tube. The best candidates for this are rubberized fluorescent work lights that have protective casings, which is handy incase someone should step on or drop the light. You must get a polarized filter for the fluorescent tube, which will reduce glare and ass the missing "red" color back into the fluorescent light source. These are made by 3M, and can be found at most home stores. It's simply a plastic sleeve that slides over the tube, usually red or pink in color. Be sure to stock a number of spare fluorescent tubes, as they will wear out, and totally ruin a shot should they begin to flicker.
These basic lights will allow you to experiment with various lighting techniques. You'll quickly see what works, and what doesn't work. Don't be afraid to try the obscure, experience is by far the best teacher in this regard.
Finally, you will want to pick up a few color filters, or "gels" so that you can experiment with different colors of light. These can be had by the roll at any theatrical supply warehouse, or art store. You'll want several shades of red, yellow, and blue ranging in hue and intensity.
A few practical examples:
Example 1: Shooting a subject close-up on a bright, sunny day. This is tough, as direct sunlight can often "wash out" a scene or cause undesired lens-flair effects. Try positing your subject directly into the sun, so they act as a shade to the camera, blocking it from direct sunlight. This will paint a halo of light around your subject, but will unfortunately obstruct their features due to the huge difference in light intensity. To counter this effect, position a large sheet of foam core above and to the side of your subject to reflect the sunlight back onto it. This will yield a very professional look, yet only cost a few bucks.
Example 2: Shooting a subject close-up, indoors, in front of a blazing fireplace. This setup is often a PITA due to the changing light source (the fire), and the drastic underlighting (light from below) and shadows that are caused. First, you'll want to cancel out a few shadows. Do this by placing a black foam core panel low to the ground between the subject and the fireplace, parallel with the ground. This will stop a good deal of the reflections from the fire from painting the subject. Now, you'll want to replace some of the fireplace's "warm" light with your own. Do this with a fixed focus spot and a yellow or red filter which closely matches the color of the fire's light. Position this light near the fireplace, and paint the subject with it lightly, through a diffuser panel. To get a uniform light on the opposite side of the subject, bounce some of this light back with a white foam core board. If all goes as planned, you should have a subtle, warm lighting of the subject with no fire-induced flickering, but will retain the flickering and atmosphere of the fire on the background and surrounding objects.
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