Cheap beginning basic for a poor man and n00b?
- Thread starter MatthewC
- Start date
Daniel Skubal
Veteran
well if you're looking for hardware store stuff, get a couple of those 500w tripod worklights, and a few flourescent lights. Also, if you can find them, get some china lantern balls.
onelightfilm
Member
You will want to use hard light and diffuse it if you are going for that "soft white" kind of look. Work lights can do it. hang a white sheet or shower curtain between your actor and your light. Move both of them around and back and forth until you get the look you want. Be careful not to melt the curtain! Yikes!
Work lights will throw light all over the place. To control it, you can use stuff like aluminum foil and other non-flamible items. Just be careful. These lights can burn you down to the bone before you know it.
cheers!
Oli
Work lights will throw light all over the place. To control it, you can use stuff like aluminum foil and other non-flamible items. Just be careful. These lights can burn you down to the bone before you know it.
cheers!
Oli
Also don't forget about the scoop, those little round clip lights that you can get at the hardware store that take standard bulbs. You can get photoflood bulbs for them that are color balanced for 3200K or with video lots of times you can get away with using GE Reveal bulbs, which are whiter than standard bulbs. Get some diffusion gel, or in a pinch parchment paper works too, just don't get it too hot. Get some foam core boards to use as reflectors, epically for the big work light. Chinese lanterns are great too, just watch out for spill causing lens flairs.
If you are going to be shooting somewhere that will mix with sunlight, like in places with lots of windows you are going to want lights that can mix with daylight. Full spectrum or daylight bulbs have a color temp similar to sunlight (between 5000K and 6500K). You can get them as either florescent tubes or compact fluorescents that screw into regular sockets, like the ones in a Chinese lantern or the scoop lights.
With any of the scoops or work lights you are going to need a way to soften them up. Diffusion gel is great, just don’t get it too close to the hot bulb. You can also build your own diffuser frame. You can get some PVC pipe from a hardware store and make it into a big square frame. Get some fabric to attach to the frame. For the fabric just go to a fabric store and find something white that lets lots of light through.
Also get some black wrap to control light spill.
Check these out:
http://www.jorenclark.com/whitepapers.html
http://www.bluesky-web.com/new-page6.html - epically the one about home made fluorescents.
http://www.dvinfo.net/articles/lighting/spears1.php
If you are going to be shooting somewhere that will mix with sunlight, like in places with lots of windows you are going to want lights that can mix with daylight. Full spectrum or daylight bulbs have a color temp similar to sunlight (between 5000K and 6500K). You can get them as either florescent tubes or compact fluorescents that screw into regular sockets, like the ones in a Chinese lantern or the scoop lights.
With any of the scoops or work lights you are going to need a way to soften them up. Diffusion gel is great, just don’t get it too close to the hot bulb. You can also build your own diffuser frame. You can get some PVC pipe from a hardware store and make it into a big square frame. Get some fabric to attach to the frame. For the fabric just go to a fabric store and find something white that lets lots of light through.
Also get some black wrap to control light spill.
Check these out:
http://www.jorenclark.com/whitepapers.html
http://www.bluesky-web.com/new-page6.html - epically the one about home made fluorescents.
http://www.dvinfo.net/articles/lighting/spears1.php
Jay Rodriguez
Coffee Member
Good DIY links, thanks for posting them