DIY/Cheap Lighting for Interviews

B

budha

Active member
My boss and I work for a non profit and we are on a serious budget. We really need a cheap 3 point lighting solution under 200 dollars. I did a few searches, but I really didn't come up with exactly what I needed to know. (We use an XH A1 if it matters)

We have a room that has full light control in it, so outside lighting will not be a problem. What can we use as a cheap key light, and a cheap hair light? We don't mind buying a cheap reflector for a fill, but we would love any suggestions that you have.

I've heard about people using cheap lights from home depot/other stores as well, but I have no idea what to look for.

-Mark
 
Home Depot sells some nice CFLs that you could throw into a cheap scoop fixture (also available at Home Depot). It should work well for interviews.
 
You can always go the route of getting worklights or cfl's in clamp lights from a hardware store as well as china balls. You should definitely pick up some black wrap which is pretty much black painted foil to help control the light.

Another alternative is to pick up a 2 light kit and then use a bounce board as fill to make your 3 point lighting.

Ebay has a lot of companies that sell cheap lights, but realize most of the time you get what you pay for and sometimes the lights are less then ideal. Ask a lot of questions. Some of the lights make noise and even though they say they work for video applications they may cause problems with audio.

Here is a link to a kit that might suit your needs: link. At least it will get you started. Ask questions though. I just returned a light kit with multiple bulbs because it made noise with cfl bulbs.

Best,
Andy
 
Thanks for the replies!

Andy,

What would I use for a hair/back light if I got the kit you linked to?

Horse Films:

Do you have a link of what these "CFL" lights look like, and what a cheap scoop filter is?

Sorry for my ignorance, but I have only used the light kits at school and have no clue what everything is called.
 
I think for $200 you can rent a decent set. But then again, I don't know how many days you will be filming. In Southern California, you can rent Lowel III Light Kit for $45/day. I think you might even get it half off at Samy's Camera if you're a student.

The Home Depot route is pretty damn cheap though, but renting might save you a lot of time, which you can use to do lighting tests.
 
Some1shero,

We need to have them in our office for good, so renting probably won't be an option.

Can you send me a link of exactly what this home depot setup would look like just so I can imagine this in my head and possibly go shopping for a few?
 
I can't remember who, but someone posted a "how to" build a 2 light kit with softboxes for around $200. I can try to search around for it.
 
DIY fixture with 9 Home Depot CFL lights (use the N:Vision Brand, blue label, 5000k daylight bulbs):

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/photon-management/103161-d-i-y-900-watt-cf-lighting-units.html


Or just buy a couple of these:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=workaround.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=479658&is=REG


For under $200, you could get one of the above, a reflector, and one of the cheap Home Depot clip-on work lights with a CFL bulb for a hairlight. That being said, $200 really isn't enough for a light budget of any sort.
 
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You could use a scoop/clamp light for a hairlight or you use one of the lights from a two light kit as a backlight/hairlight and the from the other direction use a bounce board to turn that backlight into a fill light. Then your second light you use as your key.

It'd be a basic 3 point lighting setup but your fill would be a bounce board using the other fall off light to bounce back onto the subject.

Best,
Andy
 
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