So, all the footage I've ever shot sucks.

Evan S

Evan S

Veteran
I'm looking through everything I've ever shot. and it SUCKS.
The lighting blows. Which is what I need to understand. If you look at a histogram on anything I've shot, it basically looks like this.
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Which is a result of my lighting. Not enough lows, mids, or highs... so it looks FLAT. Flatter than a can of old coke. Now, is this because of lighting... or exposure?

I'm so freaking lost, I don't even know where I began. Which is why I can't offer you any details. I just know that when I set up the lights, it looks fine. When I'm looking in the viewfinder it looks fine. So... I'm lost.
 
You are over lighting. Light isn't just about illuminating everything, but "Placing Shadows." Shadows will give depth and definition, and get rid of your 'flat' look.

Go rent a couple of DVD's and look at the lighting setups, and figure out what they are doing and why it works. And read some books.

Good luck. Practice makes perfect.
 
Oh, and buck up!

There are plenty of people who don't even take lighting into consideration when doing their projects, so be glad that you demand a certain level of quality from yourself to get better at what you do. :thumbsup:
 
At least your histogram is close! In theory, that's about what a color-grader would want a histogram to look like before color timing. If you're trying to get the look in-camera instead, you'll need to follow arges03's advice, or work with your camera settings. Adjusting the master pedestal and gamma might have nice effects for you.
 
Don't go by your viewfinder for starters. Bring a quality monitor with you, or at least test it versus your viewfinder or lcd so you have an idea of how what you see through the camera reflects what you're getting. Lighiting flat in video also isn't a bad thing, as if you light too contrasty you won't have detail in the shadows. If it's a little flat you have some room to play with it in post by adjusting gamma and so forth. When I was first starting out, I would take screencaps of movies I like and try to recreate what they were doing.
 
Experimenting.
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I don't have a monitor.. I'm 0 budget. (perhaps when I get my 600 bucks from the government I'll buy one... unless I can find an alternative)
Yes, I also, realize most of these are natural lighting.. but I'm more trying to understand master ped/exposure/gamma etc.
 
I like a very contrasted look, however, grain.. no I don't like that. I'm just not much of a geek when it comes to exposure, and all these settings. (which is why I need a monitor that is WYSIWYG)
 
Since you have only given us shots of outdoors the only advice I can provide is to wait for the lighting to be what you want it. It takes great patience, but you can easily produce amazing naturally lighted shots if you wait for it. To get great contrast without grain, you need to wait for the evenings and mornings because midday is much too bright for such a look, no matter how hard you try. There's my two cents mate. I hope it helps you on your quest. Cheers.
 
Evan S said:
I'm looking through everything I've ever shot. and it SUCKS.

I'm so freaking lost, I don't even know where I began. Which is why I can't offer you any details. I just know that when I set up the lights, it looks fine. When I'm looking in the viewfinder it looks fine. So... I'm lost.
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It must suck to be you. :badputer:


What kind of camera are you using?
 
There's your problem.



Just kidding. You just need practice. Try setting up something tried and true, like 3 point lighting on an inanimate object. Then just spend a an hour or so staring at it and changing little things, like moving one light forward or backward a foot, and seeing how it affects it, and whether you like it. Then, if you look at it long enough and think something is missing, add another light. Take away something else and use a reflector. Just keep trying stuff, and the next time you shoot something, use some of the things you learned to influence your lighting setup.
 
Maybe it's just the stills, but I agree that there is a whole lot of grain for shooting in broad daylight. The DVC30 1/4 " ccd's should give you much better than that. How are your shutter speed and exposure set. It looks like the kind of grain you would get from night shooting mode.

Just for grins, what NLE are you using?
 
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Sony Vegas.

I think I need more practice setting exposure/shutter. But I haven't found anything that explains it like I was a 5 year old
 
Go to the DVX100 or the HVX200 strings and ask about exposure/shutter tutorials. There are a few folks that will answer or point you in the right direction. There are also folks that will treat you like a 5 year old...but ignore them.
 
Does that camera have zebras? Use the zebras in your camera to know when you are overexposing, and aim for just under that. You'll have to do some testing to see what you like, but it's a good way to tell exposure without needing a great monitor.
 
It does have zebras. I have them set at 90%. I set the exposure until there are no more lines. Should I have not been doing this?
 
Actually your histogram doesn't look that bad.

Keep in mind we don't create sexy light we create sexy shadows. Lighting is all about where and how deep to place shaodws. Do want soft gradation between shadow and light, or hard cuts. This is an exercise I give my students, you can read about in John Altons "Painting with light"

Get an Orange, cheaper thatn a model, and light it to accomplish the following things

Make a flat round circle out of the orange

Make a 3D sphere

Maximize the texture in the oranges skin

Minimize texture in the oranges skin

When you have accomplished these you will begin to understand the basics of lighting angles, and you can enjoy the orange afterwards, unlike a model.
 
Evan S said:
It does have zebras. I have them set at 90%. I set the exposure until there are no more lines. Should I have not been doing this?
Click to expand...

No. If at 90% IMO you should have some zebras.

This is roughly my technique.
I set my zebras to 100%
Iris close until I don't see any zebra
Iris open until I see a little zebras on my highlights, then open another half stop

Maybe you should try this... set up a 3 point light setup in a controlled place.
Mess with your camera settings, and every time you make a change, write it on a piece of paper and hold it in front of the camera for a moment. Then you will know what settings you like.
 
Your histogram is fine, don't over analyise it, it's not meant to look a certain way. So long as it doesn't have a big clipped peak at either end (..or both ends), you're fine. Mine generally look conservative and under-exposed.

Just to add another opinion- arges03's post is spot on, except that he suggested to 'properly' expose (verge of zebra-ing at 100, but not quite), then open another half stop. I certainly wouldn't open that half stop. I hate digital clipping, and I'll sooner underexpose my foreground than blow out the sky (within reason). Your little cam won't clip pleasantly at all. A teeny bit of zebras on hard highlights (specular reflections from the sun, particularly on metal) is normal, even when you under-expose... unfortunately. Except light reflections and hot-spots, you need to fix that ****.

Get some lights and practise. Find a way to diffuse them (with gel/ sheets), real pros rarely use lights without any filtration. You'll love the soft look when you see it. Keep the light off the walls, to avoid it bouncing everywhere and killing your contrast (flags, barn doors, whatever).

Kris
 
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