lighting

townshend88 · Post by **townshend88** » Fri Mar 19, 2004 8:54 am

sorry for the multiple postings, but i figured i might as well do something if i cant sleep.
anyway, i tried using a large lamp used for lighting photographs on my last film and found the shadows to be too large and it was obvious we were using artificial lighting. i think it would have been better to put some wax paper over the light source, but what techniques have you guys used in the past for indoor lighting?
additionally, i noticed that filming on different days could produce different feels. i think it makes sense to try and get as much done in as short a time period as possible so that the suns posistion does not change too much.

nakomass · Post by **nakomass** » Fri Mar 19, 2004 10:21 pm

I'm not an expert with lighting but I have to agree with you about filming in one day, continuaty(sp?) is all too important in making your film realistic, even if it is just the case of the actor looking more tired.

Outdoor filming is even more important, take for example if it's beautiful sunshine one day, it could all too easily be raining tomorrow or a lesser problem of more cloudier which could really affect features within the film.

pan-modo_pictures · Post by **pan-modo_pictures** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 3:26 pm

What I plan on doing for my next film is to get the outdoor stuff done quickly and in one day. The do the indoor stuff, because you can always tell it's a different time outdoors with no artificial lighting. Im not a huge fan of lighting, but Im using it more. I just use a blank piece of paper and a clothespin.

El Brenty · Post by **El Brenty** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 4:06 pm

It'll diffuse some of the available light back onto what you're trying to film, softening the strong shadows, ad brightening the foreground.

Why don't you lot take a basic photography course? It'll teach you a lot about lighting, that you can then apply to your filming.

Raptor · Post by **Raptor** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 5:16 pm

Great advice Brent! After all, we're just creating a whole bunch of photographs very quickly! Direct light is usually pretty noticeable, particularly if it is single source light. Get some white foam core or Corrugated plastic board... ( Local craft or art supply store ) and use this for a reflector, or use a diffuser ( wax paper might work, but commercial diffusion filters from a Gel vendor work better, and aren't that expensive) on your keylight, reflector on the fill light, and a low power direct light for the hair or shoulder light. A single direct light will cause incredibly unnatural shadows. Lighting, like any other part of the creation process is an art that must be practiced and learned.

lethelgirth87 · Post by **lethelgirth87** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 3:45 am

For indoor lighting I use double halogen light on a stand that are 500 watts each and I just bouce the light off the ceiling, and don't worry CamClub, we are making reflectors for our next shots in the film which should be next week, but I have a problem, couple choices here, were filming in the woods, we were gonna use a generator and use the halogen lights, but, the generator makes too much noise, so that ideas out, so its either use a lantern, which we used to film other scenes that works good for close ups but doesn't get any backround which defeats the purpose of filming in the woods, or a rechargeable 3,000,000 candlelight power 75 watt flashlight which doesn't provide much more light than the lantern, so i guess my questions are, which would you guys use, or would you do something different? Need Help here!

Raptor · Post by **Raptor** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 4:19 am

The lantern will provide a pretty uneven light that is hard to control, also depending on the type of lantern, the color temp can be hard to control. Most of your solutions can be found at the local home improvement store..
1) Get a couple sheets of exterior Insulating foam, (usually pink or blue ) and build a three sided shield with roof for around the generator, the fourth side will need to be left partially open, but you could enclose a good bit of the fourth side too, just need some airflow for the gen to breathe.
2) If you can get vehicles in, use an inverter on the vehicle, just make sure there is one vehicle which doesn't drive any lights, just in case you kill a battery and need a jump. Between shots run the engines to charge the batts back up.
3) Get several 50 - 75 watt 12 volt garden flood lamps ( probably $6 - $8 each) These have the reflector built in, you can make your own mount out of pvc pipe, just solder the leads to the terminals of the lamp ( very low heat iron, like 15 - 20 watts ) and drive them off a car battery. You could also use several white 55w - 100w halogen driving lights on a frame although these will kill a battery quicker. You can also get 'gel cell' 12v batteries similar to what is used in alrm system, emergency light and UPS power supplies. a 7AH cell should cost less than $20.00 at an alarm dealer ( wholesalers would be cheaper, check inthe phone book fopr ADEMCO distributing) One of these will drive a single 5o watt light for about 30 - 40 minutes and are a lot lighter to carry than a car battery.