Can I light an interview with this?

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DVXnNYC

Active member
Sorry if this is below what is really considered "real" set up...but I'm new to video. Here is what I have (so far):

Two Lowell Tota lights with umbrellas.

One Chimera soft box.

So, my question is, I'm doing a documentary with many interviews (indoors mostly) and wondered if I could light with this set up. And if you could add one (or two) more item(s) what would it be?

A side question for me is that the Chimera soft box is seemingly huge - like 24x36. Won't this be a bit intimidating for the "non-talent" that I'm hoping to interview? I'd like to be as discreet as possible.

Any and all help is much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
:thumbsup:
 
Yes you can light an interview for a doc with that. You should test out the lights at home and see what you think looks best. Other things to keep in mind - don't be afraid to bounce light. For example if you have one of your lights hilighting your subject consider using a flexfill or white bounce card (as simple as posterboard from staples) to get a little bounce on the other side of the face. Also, remember to try and put a back light or hair light behind your subject to separate them from the background. There is a good amount of info around here about lighting set ups... I suggest searching and reading. I am currently using a small Rifa Light and bounce card for my interviews when it's only me and I need to travel light.
 
DVXnNYC said:
Sorry if this is below what is really considered "real" set up...but I'm new to video. Here is what I have (so far):

Two Lowell Tota lights with umbrellas.

One Chimera soft box.

So, my question is, I'm doing a documentary with many interviews (indoors mostly) and wondered if I could light with this set up. And if you could add one (or two) more item(s) what would it be?

A side question for me is that the Chimera soft box is seemingly huge - like 24x36. Won't this be a bit intimidating for the "non-talent" that I'm hoping to interview? I'd like to be as discreet as possible.

Any and all help is much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

You can light a subject with those but what are you going to light up the BG of the room with? Do you want a lit subject with the BG a dark cave?

I would recommend adding a small fresnel, like a 650, to do something with the BG. A 24x36 Chimera is called a "small", no, it's not big at all. I routinely light interviews with a medium Chimera, which is 36 x 48 and I have used a large with a Barger Bag Light which is big enough to crawl into. The larger the source, the softer the light, the smaller the source, the harder the light. You can use bare lights but unless you really know what you are doing and know how to light with hard light, it will look like ass. Also, less diffused light will cause non-professional talent to complain about "being blinded" by it. Even some "pro" talent will whine about that. Everyone lights soft and flat these days, using hard light is rare because it's harder to do effectively. Softlight is easy, anybody can thrown a Chimera on someone and make it look halfway decent.

Good luck,

Dan
 
Hmm, yes, I would like to avoid the "cave effect!"

:beer:

I also made a mistake - it is a medium Chimera I have. (Still seems quite large to me!) But I guess I'm thinking that I can put that in front of one of my Tota lights for the key. And use the other for fill? Or maybe a reflector for fill and the other Tota for background?

But I can afford to pick up another light if I need it. Minimalism is better for me since I'll be a one man operation most of the time.

I originally bought this for still work, but I'm mainly wondering if I can use this for video as well.

Thanks again - I'm definitely searching and reading as much as I can! This forum is great.

:thumbsup:
 
DVXnNYC said:
Hmm, yes, I would like to avoid the "cave effect!"

:beer:

I also made a mistake - it is a medium Chimera I have. (Still seems quite large to me!) But I guess I'm thinking that I can put that in front of one of my Tota lights for the key. And use the other for fill? Or maybe a reflector for fill and the other Tota for background?

But I can afford to pick up another light if I need it. Minimalism is better for me since I'll be a one man operation most of the time.

I originally bought this for still work, but I'm mainly wondering if I can use this for video as well.

Thanks again - I'm definitely searching and reading as much as I can! This forum is great.

:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Wow I need to start asking about my lighting because I get results but I don't always like what I see. lately I've been using toughspun and it helps a lot, but I am still learning about the different thickness and which one works best for me.
 
DVXnNYC said:
Hmm, yes, I would like to avoid the "cave effect!"

:beer:

I also made a mistake - it is a medium Chimera I have. (Still seems quite large to me!) But I guess I'm thinking that I can put that in front of one of my Tota lights for the key. And use the other for fill? Or maybe a reflector for fill and the other Tota for background?

But I can afford to pick up another light if I need it. Minimalism is better for me since I'll be a one man operation most of the time.

I originally bought this for still work, but I'm mainly wondering if I can use this for video as well.

Thanks again - I'm definitely searching and reading as much as I can! This forum is great.

:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Hiya:

Big difference between a small and a medium Chimera in size.

Your post raises a red flag for me, if you bought this Chimera for strobes, DO NOT use it for video. Your Tota, when it is on for more than about 15 minutes, reaches surface temperatures of between 400 and 500 degree farenheit and will catch your still photo Chimera on fire.

You need to make sure that you buy a Quartz, Quartz Plus or Quartz Pro Chimera. They are fire retardent and are designed for hot lights. That's why a still Chimera that costs $200.00 costs $500.00 or $600.00 for the same size. Still Chimeras are only made for strobes which generate very little heat.

Safety, man, safety. Burning down locations is not good for business or your career.

Dan
 
Hi again,

Thanks for the fire concern...I wouldn't put it past myself to catch something on fire.
But the Chimera I bought (used) is an older model that says "Video Pro" - I'm assuming it's okay? It's not the "Plus" model that's available now, but I think it should still be good for my Tota. Do you agree?

And the medium really IS a big box, right? I'm worried about intimidating the people I interview with it, but is the light from that much softer than, say, a china ball?

Anyway, I will still test everything out before I set up for interview. There is someone here in town selling an Arri 300 fresnel (they might have a 650 too) that I might pick up for background. Still trying to piece some things together...I also want to pick up some toughspun. I've seen that in action - good stuff!

Thanks again for all the tips! Anything else...very much appreciated.

Cheers!
Kevin
 
According to the websites, Video Pro banks should be safe for up to a 1k or so. Don't use a larger light. When you said you bought it for your still camera, alarm bells rang, many people have tried to use strobe light boxes with hot lights with disasterous results.

Is a medium big? For smaller rooms, yes, but the quality of light kicks butt and yes it is a larger source than a China Ball so it is softer, much more directional and with an egg crate, much more controllable. To me, a 750 Tota in a medium is a little on the wimpy side unless the room you are in has really low ambient or is in the dark, I usually use a 1k with the medium and a 650 with the small, but I would try it. A lot of it depends on how fast your camera is. With a really fast camera like a DVX, no problem. For a really slow camera like a Z1, 750 might not make it.

Arri fresnels are really nice lights, I have half a dozen of them in all sizes and I use them for 95% of my lighting jobs.
 
Amen to all the above.

Your umbrellas produce a nice soft light but they will turn out not to be useful as you can't keep them from spilling light all over the background when you are lighting the face.

The Tota has virtually no built-in control as it is a broad-side fixture and you are very limited on closing its doors. It's a good and common source for your Chimera but you will need to invest in a relatively costly speed ring that holds the light and receives the softbox's spreader rods.

If you think the Chimera will be too intimidating you might try setting a white reflector just out of frame and near the face so it can serve as a soft key when you aim a Tota at it from the opposite side. You can just hang the reflector from a light stand. This scheme is excellent with a more directional light such as an Omni.

You can position the reflector so that it wraps enough light to see the eye and cheek triangle on the side opposite the key and do away with a specific fill light if you like a contrasty look that still has soft shadows (I do). Or you can use a second reflector.

The hairlight, by separating the head from the background, will make your talent look good and give your shot some depth. The background light is important as explained above.

Doug Jensen and Walter Graff both have excellent DVDs on headshots and interview lighting.
 
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