Advice on budget light kits

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djtacoman

Member
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/610083-REG/Westcott_402_uLite_2_Light_Video_Lighting.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/610081-REG/Westcott_403_uLite_3_Light_Video.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/592999-REG/Westcott_404_uLite_Two_Light_Kit.html

I am making a documentary. It's very low budget (all out of pocket and I only work part time) I was looking at these light kits. I am going to be shooting individual subjects in front of a green screen. What do you think of these kits? Are there any other budget friendly kits you would recommend?
 
I think three $30 500 Watt work lights from Home Depot and the proper Gels will do the trick and you'll save close to $100. I have these but with brighter bulbs. But you can't use normal bulbs with these kits. My producer bought a three light kit for $350 so I have a basic three light kit with cans. One of the lights don't work anymore so we use light from both kits and it works out pretty nice. That 2 light kit for $199 is pretty nice though.

-Nate
 
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I've seen that, but I worry that with my lack of lighting experience I won't get the desired results from work lights. I've read i other posts on here that you really have to know what ur doing when using work lights.
 
And if you know what you're doing, you won't want to use work lights. :)

Which isn't to say they don't have uses now and then; they just shouldn't be your workhorses.

This one:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._Lighting.html

May be sufficient for lighting a small greenscreen (though it'll take work to get good even coverage), but you won't have anything left for lighting your subject, which should be lit separately.


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ght_Video.html

Might be OK for close-quarters interview situations.


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ght_Video.html

Could be the same.

But these kits are so low-price, I'd seriously worry about the build quality. Might be pretty easy to pull and expose wires out of switches, connectors, etc. I wouldn't count on them for long-term use.

These lights, at least, give you some modicum of control, and they can be either hard or soft, so they're already well ahead of work lights. But, they ARE cheap, and you do get what you pay for.
 
Here's a whole thing about this kind of lighting. You should definitely read it here. There's a lot of good stuff in this article.

-Nate
 
djtacoman said:
I'm gonna need at least 4 lights. 2 for the green screen and 2 for the subject.
Click to expand...

Maybe if you are planning on 2-shots or head to toe shots.
It's a common misconception that you need to pour a lot of light on the green screen. The most important thing is that it be evenly lit. In fact the more light you use, the more you might encounter green bounce back spill on the subject. I have pulled some nice keys from 2-light setups along with a white bounce card: one big soft light on the bg that adds a bit of fill on the subject, and one backlight that is also reflected off the card onto the subject. Plus, less light = wider iris = less depth of field = softened creases or imperfections from your green screen.
 
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For proper green screen capture you need two things:


  1. Evenly lit green screen
  2. Proper distance from subject to green screen

If you are missing either one of those, than you will have a very difficult time keying the green out. The distance from the green screen is usually why people have more lights. If you have a 20'x15' screen, you'll need more than one light to light it evenly. If you have a smaller screen, then you have to have the subject closer, which increases chance of spill and shadow.
 
Softboxes, especially CFL ones, are a great way for the less experienced to light a set or greenscreen. The light is a lot more even and flattering to the subject. You can graduate to hard light later. Not t mention, with daylight CFLs you can combine light coming in a window with your lights without losing light by gelling.
 
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