Compromising Situations

Here are a couple of picts from a shoot that I lit last week. We were on the rooftop of a building in  Atlanta shooting promos for a cable television network.

Most of our lighting came from the sun. We used silks and bounce as creatively as possible for each of the different angles that they chose to shoot. We used just one light for the shoot, the ARRI M18, an 1800 watt HMI, and had quite a time keeping even that one on using the power from the  building. It is an old mill that has been converted to loft apartments, and the circuitry is quite outdated.  The HMI was used as the key light when the subject was backlit by the sun, and as the rim light when the sun was the key.

Our biggest issue on the shoot (other than fog that would not lift for several hours) was that a key visual element in each shot was a large sheet of plexiglass on which an artist was painting. And, of course, every camera, stand and lighting instrument was reflected in the shot. It took very unique shooting angles and unconventional reflector placements to keep the shot clean. We kept our grips busy moving from spot to spot until we could find just the right position on each one. I think it turned out well in the end, although I much prefer being able to put the lighting where it needs to go rather than having to compromise. But, the fact is, compromise and creativity is a huge part of lighting for film and video. If every scene could be lit from a textbook, then anyone could do the job and it would not be nearly as much fun. It can be quite rewarding to end up with a great shot from a situation that seemed impossible when you first arrived on set. The challenge of it all is the thing that makes you actually look forward to working in the blistering Atlanta sun for 14 hours on the top of a building.

Storytelling Through Composition

In considering ways to make my blog as helpful and effective as possible, I think I have found a solution. I should just forward my domain to Shane Hurlbut's blog. I have mentioned his posts often, and I will reiterate that any videographer or DP should visit Shane's blog often. It is amazing how much insight he shares on things that are often closely guarded by the DP's who are the best in the business. This particular set of posts does not necessarily have any new revelations, but it does point out and illustrate some foundational things that we all need to learn and/or be reminded of. It also may introduce you to some new terms you are not familiar with (granted, some are Shane's own creations). The waister, choker, doinker and dirty over are all great tools to use in storytelling. And John Fording is a great way to naturally get to a closeup. Read to learn more.

Storytelling Through Composition Part I
Storytelling Through Compostition Part II

Lighting With What Is Available

Probably my favorite blog for practical information about filmmaking is the one by ASC Cinematographer Shane Hurlbut (Terminator Salvation, We Are Marshall, Act of Valor). Shane is happy to share his knowledge and has garnered quite a following among aspiring DP's. In a recent post entitled, "Lighting Basics: Going With What Is Available," he breaks down the lighting (almost nothing) and light control instruments used in the street scene of one of his films. It is not easy to find this type of breakdown anywhere (believe me, I have searched far and wide), so certainly take this opportunity to read about his decisions and learn from one of the best in the business. His newest movie about to hit theaters is Act of Valor, which he shot almost entirely with Canon 5D MkII DSLR's. Read and follow Shane here.

Flag Kit from Digital Juice

Without tools for controlling and shaping the output of your lighting instruments and the sun, you will never be able to get consistently great results on-screen. This set of flags and scrims looks to be a tremendous value. As long as you have some C-stands or at least light stands with grip heads, you should consider adding this kit to your toolbox. The best thing about it is that it is super-portable, although I am not sure how durable it is for everyday use on-set. Knowing the track record of Digital Juice, I am optimistic in that regard as well.

Learn more about the DJ Flag Kit by visiting their site here.

Where It Goes, No One Knows

Don't you just love it when you find new information that shows you that the way you have been doing things for 20 years is really not the best way? Well, actually, I do love it. Better to find out late than never.

This article gives some really good insights into the use of your fill light. The ideal placement may not be where you think it is. Take the time to read this article by Art Adams, and you may improve your lighting design tremendously.

Lighting Tip #9 - Know Your Camera

While good lighting practices generally apply to every situation, it is important to know the capabilities and limitations of the camera and format you are shooting on. The amount of latitude in a camera can make a difference in the way you light. For example, when using a camera with 10 stops of dynamic range, you will be forced to light the scene much more evenly than if you had 14 stops. With a higher latitude camera, you can get away with including both well-lit and very shadowy areas in the same scene--and it may actually create a better result in some cases.

Another thing that is important to know is how your camera handles highlights. Some cameras have a nice-looking roll-off into a blown-out window while others may have the same window looking like a home video. If your camera falls under the latter category, then you will have to bring up the overall lighting of the interior, gel the window with a neutral density filter. or simply find a way to keep the window out of the shot. Be aware that each camera handles differently the highlights in different colors as well. Some may blow out reds before any other color, so you will need to take that into account when lighting the scene.

The overall light level of a scene can be affected by the camera as well. For example, if you have a camera with a higher ISO rating, then you are able to work with much less light and get the same results. While one camera may require an evening scene to have a 5k light as a key and a bunch of lights bringing up the background, another camera may capture the same scene with a small KinoFlo as the key and existing light for the background. In the picture above, we shot a scene of two boys in a fishing boat at close to nine o'clock at night. It was supposed to be a daytime scene, and because we were shooting with a camera rated at 800 ISO (Sony PMW-F3), we were able to get the look of daylight with just existing light and a single Litepanel LED light. On most cameras, this would have looked far too grainy to be of use.

Shooting Headshots Using A Flash

Every once in a while I come across something from the photography world that I could use. Even though there are many overlapping principles between photography and video, there are many things I still need to learn about DSLRs. This course from Steele Training looks like something that I may take advantage of in the near future. Among other things, it deals with shooting headshots and portraits using only a flash.

Lighting Tip #8 - Be More Controlling

Getting a good frame in the end is all about learning to control your light. Getting your instruments properly arranged in a 3-point lighting setup is fine for a usable shot, but that shot does not necessarily become a great shot without controlling it. Through the use of flags, scrims, gels and cookies we can get a frame that has the desired impact and dramatic effect.

Flags are simply a black piece of material or foamcore that is used to control the spill of the light. This may be to keep light off of the background or a particular subject. It may also be to keep light from shining directly at the camera creating lens flares. Whatever the purpose, it is not unusual to see several flags of different shapes and sizes being used to control a single light's output. It is helpful to know that the edge of the shadow created by the flag will be softer the closer it is placed to the light. Gels are generally used to color-correct a light to match the other lights in a scene. They can also be used for adding color as an effect in a scene. Scrims are diffusion material that comes in different thicknesses. They are used for lowering the light level and for softening the source by making it bigger. Finally, cookies are cutout shapes that are placed in front of a light to "break it up" and cast a more random pattern of light. Whether used on the background or on other elements in a scene, this tends to make a scene more interesting and often helps it to feel more natural. In the above example from a production by the company Encendedor, you see quite a few light-control techniques being used, including a scrim placed directly on the front windshield of the car.

On Set With Cinematographer Bob Scott

I was on-set yesterday visiting Bob Scott, the cinematographer who will be director of photography on our movie, "The Solomon Bunch," next month. We caught a few minutes here and there on breaks and lunch to discuss our plan. The rest of the time I observed the process.

I took a few behind the scenes picts with my Blackberry included here. The film is called, "Laughing At the Moon" and is being shot in Knoxville, Tennessee on about a five week schedule. The top two pictures are of a scene that was shot in the evening and as the sun disappeared, lights were added to supplement. I thought it was interesting that when the 12K (big light closest) was put up, it had very little diffusion. As the sun provided less and less light on each take, they actually added more diffusion to bring the level of the 12K down and brought the camera's iris up slightly. I assume this was so that they could still include some of the sky in the shot. If you instead added more light, then your sky would look darker and darker. At some point, you do have to abandon the sky and get shots that do not include it. The good thing is that they were able to get the master shots (wide shots) while the sky had light, then get their closeups without needing to show it after the sun was gone completely.

In the top shot, you see the First AC (assistant camera operator--also called the focus-puller) on the left, the Camera Operator on the dolly, and the Key Grip in the background looking on. The bottom shot is inside the tent that housed "video village," where the Director and Script Supervisor watch each shot as it happens. Here, the AD (assistant director) checks the frame for anything out-of-place. On the screen, you can see Bob Scott, the Cinematographer, explaining to the actor where exactly he would need to put his hands on the canvas to begin his abstract painting. Bob actually filled the role of Director as well in most cases, since the Writer/Director of the film is also the star and is on-screen in nearly all of the scenes.

Lighting Tip #7 - Outdoor Subjects

Common sense would tell you that if you are shooting a subject on a sunny day, you should position the subject so that he/she has the sun lighting their face, right? While this may be necessary and desirable in some situations, it is not generally the best way.

Backlighting, or rim lighting, is critical for a professional and flattering shot. In fact, when outdoors, it is often desirable for the backlight to be much hotter than the key. This is almost impossible to do, however, if you use the sun as your key. So, what is the best approach?

Most DP's will use a combination of diffusion and bounce in order to get the best shot possible. First, face the subject with their back to the sun (offset a little is actually a good idea for eliminating lens flares and creating less symmetrical shadows). Second, put a diffusion screen between the sun and the subject to knock down the overall light level and soften shadows a bit. Third, use a bounce (reflector) in front of the subject to act as a key light. In my experience, a white bounce usually works best. Silver is usually too harsh and causes the subject to squint (as they would if they were facing the sun). Now, sometimes you will not be able to generate enough light (depending on the look you are going for) just using a bounce and it is necessary to use an HMI in place of the bounce. The picture above is from the Elk Run Productions website and illustrates this. They have a number of other examples of lighting setups at that sight that you may want to look at as well.

Great Deal on Westcott Light Kit

If I was just getting started in video production and did not have any lights, this would be the deal I would go for! MarkerTek is selling a three-light kit from Westcott (a big name in video and photography lighting) for under $250 that is a great starter kit. With two 500watt softboxes and a kicker light for the background, you can do the vast majority of interview setups you will need to do, and the softboxes work great to add a little light here and there when shooting other footage. I would certainly recommend checking this deal out and investing in lights like these to bring your production value up to another level--from amateur to professional. If you do purchase this kit, be sure to read my lighting tip about two-point lighting.

Salvaging Poorly-Lit Shots

A couple of weeks ago I had to shoot a presentation for a speaker and had just enough set-up time for a couple of cameras and an HD Tricaster to switch between them. There was very little light in the room and the projector was directly behind the speaker--. a "worst-case scenario" because of its brightness and color temperature difference, but one in which we seem to find ourselves quite often.  My only option was to underexpose the scene, putting the whites of the screen just into the clipping range and letting the darks, including the speaker, fall where they may. I knew that there would be some graininess in my final product, but I did the best I could.

Fortunately, there are some handy ways of correcting levels in post production, and some are included already in editing software packages. The go-to correction controls are the three-way color correction filters that allow you to adjust the bright, dark, and mid tones separately. This means you can bring the brightness of the screen down without adjusting the blacks at all, and you can bring the dark areas up without pushing the bright areas to where they clip. With these controls, you can even out a contrasty shot like you see on the left (the original shot). There are other plug-ins for this, too. On this shot I actually used one of my favorites--the free Shadow-Highlight plug-in for Final Cut Pro from Lyric. In about five seconds, I was able to correct my blown out highlights and bring the shadow areas up to where the speaker is visible. While I would still not consider it a great-looking shot, it is a far cry from what it was.

Lighting Tip #6 - Matching the Mood

I love all of the websites and articles that promote 3-point lighting and the exact "formula" that you need to light an interview. While that is a good starting point, doing it right is not always that simple.

Just like anything else, rules were made to be broken. If you understand the principle of 3-point lighting, then you can begin modifying your setup to meet your specific needs. Have you noticed the look of interviews on shows like 20/20 or Dateline? Their interviews are often in support of a serious or dramatic topic, and they use the lighting on the interviewee to enhance the mood of the piece. Many times, they will use no fill light at all. This creates a bit of mystery, especially when the key light is on the side of the face away from the camera as you see in my example above. Sports segments leading up to the beginning of a game will take this concept to the max, often using very stark single-point lighting (from directly overhead, for example) to cast distinctive shadows across the face. On the other hand, lighting an interview for the Today show might call for four or five point lighting on the subject. This could include not only a key, fill, rim and additional edge light, but also a broad fill (often bounced off a white card from below the subject) to raise the overall base illumination and eliminate shadows under the chin. In addition to that, you might use several lights on the background in order to create the happier atmosphere you need on a morning show.

You have a lot of choices when lighting a scene, and though we are talking about interviews here, these same principles apply to narrative storytelling--it just becomes a little more complicated when people are moving around. The basic take-away here is to know the story you are shooting and light accordingly. Your story will be enhanced and the look of your overall piece will have a consistent feel to it.

Lighting Tip #5 - Separation

One reason for taking time to light each scene properly is that you need the subject to stand out from the background. Getting good separation keeps your shots from looking flat and uninteresting, and makes sure your subject is not lost.

There are several ways to get separation. First is by using rim lighting, also known as backlighting or edge lighting. This creates a glow around the edge of the subject and causes him or her to stand out. The image shown here is from the Lowel website. For a demonstration of where to place backlights, visit the site. Another way to get separation is to make sure the background is not too bright. Using "egg crates" on your softboxes or barn doors on your open-faced lights, you can keep the light from spilling onto the background. A few highlights on key background elements helps bring the background to life, but too much light is a distraction from your subject in the foreground. Of course, this is not a hard and fast rule. A darker subject may require a lighter background. (Note: The "Chiaroscuro" principle is a good one to know. It says that the brightness of the background should be in direct opposition to the brightness of the subject. For example, if the key light is on the left side of a person's face, the background would be darker on that side and move to lighter on the side where the fill light is placed.)

The most obvious way to create separation is to actually leave a little space between the subject and the backdrop. Instead of shooting someone on a couch against a wall, try seating them in the center of the room. While this does not necessarily create separation by itself, expecially if you are using a longer lens, it does allow the background to go out of focus with very little effort. A sharp subject stands out very well against an out-of-focus background.

Lighting for Portraits

On this blog right now, I am in the middle of a series of posts on lighting. Last night I just happened upon this video from photographer Jay P. Morgan. In it, he goes through the different types of lighting setups for shooting portraits. You will not hear this same terminology much in video production, but the principles are sound and will give you a better understanding of how your placement of the key light affects the feel of the shot. Make sure you watch the video all the way to the end--you will be glad you did.

Lighting Tip #4 - Knowledge is King

Having the best, most complete light kit in the world gets you nothing in this game. It is all about knowing how to control and shape the light, no matter what tools you have to work with. A good DP will get a better look with a couple of $10 utility lights, white foamcore and black foil than an amateur will with $50,000 worth of lights. Sure, it does make life easier when you have everything you need and the exact light you want for every job, but knowledge is the thing that you really need in every situation. In the interview shot shown above, I came to the shoot thinking I was only capturing a short stage performance. I had no light kit, and only a few sheets of diffusion in the truck. So when they mentioned interviews, I quickly went searching. Before long, I had found a lamp with a soft white shade (similar to the one seen in the shot), a coat rack, and a clip-on work light.

I positioned the subject in the room where she was sitting under (and slightly in front of) an overhead can light that provided a little rim light on the top of her head. The lamp with the white "softbox" (lampshade) went behind her left shoulder in order to even out the can light and to add a touch more backlight. It also served to provide fill light on the left side of her face. Finally, the clip light went atop the coat rack in front of and slightly to the right of her. A sheet or two of diffusion smoothed the look of the light wonderfully. The wall of the room, with it's paint-spatter look, worked great as a background, and we found a 25-watt bulb to replace the 40-watt bulbs in the lamp seen onscreen. With no professional lighting, we got a very nice look that the clients raved about once they saw it (though I am sure they were quite nervous about it up to that point, what with the coat-rack and all). Note that the overlay graphic, not the lighting, is creating the white hot spots you see in the right corners.

Lighting Tip #3 - Less Is More

When you think about the vast array of lights and lighting tools that are used on a film set, it seems ridiculous to be talking about simplicity, but it really is the key to great images. 90% of those lighting instruments sit idly by during any given scene, with just a few actually in use. Amateur videographers often approach a scene asking, "is there anywhere that needs more light?" Experienced DP's realize that shadow areas are just as critical to the image as lit areas. By using fewer lights, and flagging those off properly, you can create an artistic and more dramatic look to your scene. It is the difference between the wash-lighting look of a sitcom, and the sculptured look of a big-budget motion picture.

Another important reason to simplify is that you eliminate multiple shadows. Nothing is more unnatural than shadows being cast in three different directions by a single object. Using bounce techniques instead of additional lights is a good way to minimize this problem. And finally, using less light allows the camera iris to be opened wider for a shallower depth of field. While it is possible to stop down using neutral density filters, the less glass you have to put in front of the lens, the better.

Lighting Tip #2 - Motivation

In situations where there are practicals (light sources visible on-set) involved, such as a window or lamp, it is best to use that source as a "motivation." This means that you will light your scene to appear that the visible light source is supplying most of the light for the scene. For example, if you have a window on one side of the subject, you would avoid putting a key light on the opposite side of them. If the window does not provide enough light, or is uneven, then you would add a little more light from the same side as the window. On the opposite side of the subject, you would use only fill lighting, which could include bounce cards or very soft sources. Either way, in the end you want the shot to look as if the window is providing the primary light for the scene. In this way, the viewer gets a more believable image because the lighting fits naturally with its surroundings. Use common sense, of course. A dim lamp that is only used as a background element probably will not be the primary source in the scene. However, it might be good if your backlight hit your subject from the same direction as the lamp.

Lighting Tip #1 - Shotgunning

Have you ever been frustrated when lighting multiple subjects to find that the ones closest to the light are noticeably brighter than the ones further away? Is there a solution?

The intensity of a light source, even with a softbox, begins to fall off at a certain point on the edges. Another way of saying this is that the center of the light will have a hotter output than the edges. A technique that is used by professional DP's is called "shotgunning" and is quite simple. Place the key light off to one side of the subjects and then adjust it so that it is actually pointing in front of them more than right at them. If you can find the spot where the falloff is hitting the closest subject with the same intensity that the center of the light is hitting the furthest subject, you will have nice even lighting. Pretty simple, but it can make a huge difference in the look of your shots.