Lighting DV...

[tmbrtn]

I know there is a difference when lighting film and DV...Does anyone have any advice or techniques that they could share?

Also, how are we supposed to light "dark" scenes? Any advice would be appreciated.

[Darth_Sylon]

I've been seeking help on exactly the same subject. All my attempts to light "dark" scenes have turned out looking unnatural.
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[jmoschner]

Lighting of a scene is a craft and art in and of itself and there are many a book and class dedicated to the art.

I warn you I'm not an expert in lighting, and usually the gaffer or the DP handles that on shoots.

What I do know (or think I know) is that it depends a lot on your camera and how much light it needs, the color that works best, and so forth.

Always white balance yourself, don't let the camera auto white balance.

White balance off of a good plain white board, you keep to the side and clean just to balance off of.

You should be using manual mode and keep the iso/gain setting low when shooting a dark scene.

Don't try to blow out the scene with too much light, but do need to have enough to avoid a grainy look. The exact amount of light you need is always dependent on the camera, the location, the lenses, the color of the subjects, and many more wonderful things you will never think of until you go to light the scene then have to adjust for.

Don't mix different types of light if you can keep from it, such as tungsten, fluorescent, or halogen lights. This is especially true on lower grade cameras.

I suggest heading to the library and looking for any books on lighting, preferably for DV.

Most of all Experiment and make sure to use more than 1 light source in a scene. Even the best Gaffers will adjust the lights a few times and maybe switch out a light or two while setting up a shot.

What I do know is that most pro cameras can handle lower light levels than film and can have the light blown out easily.

For dark scenes I think we usually use a good number of lights, then the DP adjusts the aperture of the camera to make it look darker.

Hope that helps.

[Darth_Sylon]

I've been looking for video tutorials on this kind of stuff and can't find anything. I'll be going to film school eventually though so I guess I'll learn all this there anyway.
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[Scott Hamilton]

Check out:

Link: (click here)

About $25, half an hour long, and it goes through the basics of lighting for video. Very basic, but will point you in the right direction, and it taught me a lot. There are more expensive ones on Amazon as well, which I imagine go into greater depth.

I'm also currently reading a book called "Cinematography" by Blaine Brown:

Link: (click here)

It's kind of a cover all book, but has a nice section on lighting. I believe the same guy wrote an entire book on lighting, which he recommends to really understand the art.

Personally, I've found that lighting dark scenes is all about diffusion. Get a clamp light (the kind with the silver metal bowl around it) for like $7 at Home Depot, some white cloth material, and clothes pins. Cut out a square to cover the circular bowl, then attach with clothes pins.

This will shine enough light to where you can see what's going on, but it won't look like you have a lightbulb right off screen shining in the actor's face.

Also, for something a little more cool in color, get a fluorescent work light from home depot. Also cheap, and can add some nice natural "moon" light without looking unnatural.

http://www.costsaving2u.com/images/Work%20Light%20with.jpg

Scott
ps - Anyone with film school knowledge, feel free to jump in!

[Darth_Sylon]

Thanks man. I'm looking into schools now, I'm hoping to start asap
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[ChristonaBike]

Johnny Wu (Director of "A Jokers Card" and "the Rapture") had a basic lighting tutorial on his website. see if u can find it
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[Darth_Sylon]

I had a look on his site and I'm not seeing anything. It could be on his blog but that would entail sifting through years worth of archives
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[ChristonaBike]

a quick google search of "johnny wu lighting 101" found this

http://vimeo.com/2171061

first result
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