DVD: LIGHTING for Film and Television

I highly recommend this DVD to anyone seeking to add production value to your projects. These techniques, fully explained and demonstrated, are easy to understand and fun to watch. David and Barry do a great job of making the technical details interesting and fun.

I tested this DVD on a group of aspiring teenaged producers and dp's believing that I'd have to break up the lessons into multiple days. I was wrong. They not only watched the first disc in it's entirety, they watch the second as well, staying past the normally scheduled session to watch and learn. We watched The third DVD the next day (a day not scheduled for classes). As an instructor this instructional set made my job so easy. I sat back and let David and Barry do the work for me. All I'd did was press play.

The point I'm making is that this set of DVDs is worth every penny and maybe more. I learned many important principles of how to use light to create the look and feel of a scene using basic techniques, the proper lights, and clear and concise technical understanding of the process and science behind it.


I couldn't be happier with this product! Thanks Guys.

Dan
 
My DVDs arrived today - very quick delivery! Unfortunately I won't have time to relax and watch them until later in the year as I have a gazillion exams to do, but I look forward to it! Cheers.
 
zOMG...I truly cannot wait to order these DVD's..I feel like reading all 13pages of feedback..I'm going to buy these in the next 2 weeks, really excited as a young aspiring film maker!
 
Looking for input please.

I am an almost total newb on lighting, I watched one DVD on lighting interviews, that is it for my knowledge.

Is this a good place to begin, or is this for a level of knowledge and experience that I have not attained yet ???
 
It is designed to be easy to understand for total beginners and valuable for more advanced users alike. We start with the very basics and build lesson-for-lesson from there.
 
Hi!
International order , will i get som tracking nr or email when you have sent me the bundle (Lightning/sound)? I still havent recevied any information.

Best of regards Stefan
 
Hi, Stefan --

The package shipped on March 30. You should have received a tracking e-mail automatically, but I'll send you the details by PM. You may want to check your junk mail, though.

Thanks for the order!
 
I just finished watching the Lighting for Film and Television DVDs.

In general, I thought they were very well done. It’s geared more towards the beginner, but there was certainly
enough solid information to be of interest to industry professionals as well.

For myself, there are many lighting techniques I use everyday that I learned from trial and error. I don’t
necessarily know why they look good, they just do. This DVD really helped me understand the why. And for that I recommend it.

I will add one reservation to that recommendation. For a training DVD, I thought the imagery in the sample short film
“A Little Mouth to Feed” was too graphic. Without getting into detail, the bathroom scene contained very disturbing
imagery that I believe is not appropriate for a young audience.

It’s too bad because the rest of the DVD is very funny, with parodies of “What Not to Wear” and “Myth Busters”.
I find it strange that the tone of both short films is the complete opposite of the tone of the training portion.

Being a long-time member of dvxuser, I understand that the horror/thriller genres are favorites of young filmmakers,
so perhaps that played a part in the choice of films. However, I don’t think it was necessary.

If one sample film is a psychological thriller, why can’t the other be action, comedy or drama?

Ultimately, I still recommend the DVD for anyone wanting to understand the how and why of lighting.
I’d just caution you about “A Little Mouth to Feed” for younger or more sensitive viewers.

P.
 
Thanks for the review, Peter!

By the way, if anyone wants to see what Peter is referring to, both short films can be viewed in full on the order page. (Link in my sig.)
 
The DVDs are region-free and can played anywhere. We ship worldwide; same price everywhere (except for shipping).
 
I have a quick question. I don't really have any "professional" lighting. What I DO have is the following:

2 - 150 Halogen Video lights and light stands
A 32" Umbrella Kit with three light stands, two umbrellas and it came with 3-30W CFL bulbs
2 - Reflector work lights that I use with CFL's
Z96 LED light

Would I be able to benefit from your video if all I had was the above to work with? I realize that your video is probably aimed at someone with the equipment to do it "right" but I thought I'd ask, just in case.

Thanks,

Tony
 
We mainly talk about using light. The actual fixture that creates the light isn't something that we obsess too much over. We do make the case for using pro gear and what benefits it brings, but in general we talk about working with hardlights and softlight, how to harden and soften the various types of lights, and where to place them. The two things that matter most are the quality of the light (i.e., hard or soft) and where it's positioned. You could certainly be able to do some good lighting with fixtures such as what you've got.
 
Barry,

Thanks so much for the quick response. Looks like you'll have another order in the very near future!

Tony
 
Yep, that's one of the things we stress -- the light itself is the tool -- what makes the light isn't nearly as important as long as you know how to control and manipulate it -- and why you're doing it. That's what we show you.

But we do have a good hour and a half demystifying the pro gear so that you'll know what's what when you're ready to take that step.
 
Received my DVD set last week and have watched it twice. It's very well done and inspires you to get out whatever lighting gear you own and get to work. A nice mix of discussion, vignettes, lecture, pro interviews and practical real-world examples.

Thanks guys!
 
I'm still new (actually aspiring if you want to be technical) but after reading through more than half of these pages, I decided this was a MUST HAVE for me..so, I ordered both DVDs (Lighting and Sound) just now, can not WAIT until they get here!
 
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