First Post - Advice on Lighting Continuity please

H

Hutchman

Active member
Hi everyone,
This is my first post on DVXuser. I'm starting film school next month and wanted to get some advice before then. I've been messing around with DSLRs but I'm really excited to get my hands on the lighting equipment - Arris, kinos, dedos and the like. Can't wait!

There were a few questions I'd really be grateful if you could help me with. I'm talking about shooting drama:

* What happens with lighting continuity in a scene? I've heard people say they light for the widest shot first. Does this mean you usually don't change the lighting setups between the wides and the close-ups, or do you change them? What are your personal methods? And do you light the set or the actors first?

*I understand 3 point lighting for 1 person, but what happens when you have 2 or three people interacting? I'm sure there are different methods, but are there any you prefer?

*I've read that the closer a light source is to an object, the softer it is, while the further away, the harder it is. So if I wanted to light a scene softly, would a chimera lantern/china ball just above the actors be a good way to go?

Any answers to these questions and any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
*Before you read this, look at this post to visualize what I'm talking about, as everything I'm referencing is in that thread.*

I recently starting shooting a drama with some friends for my High School Film Festival. For one scene, it was a basic 2-person dialogue. I did all the OTS shots of 1 actor under 1 lighting setup, and then did a close up of the same actor in the same setup, so I guess you could say that I lit for my widest shot, but then kept it for a closer shot. Besides, it makes logical sense that you'd keep the same setup for any shot of 1 actor.

As for lighting for the set/actors first, I have no idea. I'm a DIY micro-budget director so I just have my actors rehearse while I'm setting up the lights.

I have also heard that the farther a light is, the harder it gets. Either of those 2 choices would do fine, but also just a plain clamp-light with a diffusion sheet would work. If the light is too bright but you like the softness/distance from the actors, use a dimmer.

One random piece of advice is to make sure the lighting doesn't look out of place. Understand how lighting in a given environment would look like naturally and simply expand from there. I guess an example would be the close-up of my actor. I only own 2 clamp lights, but even if I had three, I wouldn't have used the third as a hair-light. A hair-light in someone's bedroom just wouldn't belong there. A second example is the second set of pictures. It looks pretty much like how a bedroom would like naturally. If it looks right, it probably is.

P.S. Critique on my own setup is very welcome :D
 
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While it may make sense to light for your widest shot and then just punch in from there, keeping the lighting the same, it's often not the case. I feel like a lot of lighting is all about what you can get away with. It's not uncommon when you move in for the close to push in your lights a little closer, maybe walk in a big diffusion frame right outside of the frame to soften up the light a lot more.

Usually you'll be fighting for enough light on your wides, so you'll be pretty close to wide open, but then as you push in, you don't want to be wide open on long lens, so you'll walk your lights in.

MarkyMark, remember that dimmers will change your color temperature of your light. That's fine if you want all your lamps a little warmer than usual, but just something you shouldn't forget.

As far as if I light the set or the actors first...what usually happens on a real movie is these things.

1. Block out the scene.

The Director, AD, and DP come in and block out the scene with the actors. They figure out camera placement and where the actors are moving for that scene. This is often times just a walk through, the actors don't really act out anything, just sort of pretend to do it all.

2. Keys come to set

Bring in all your dept. heads and actually physically show them the blocking. Don't say, she comes in and sits down here and then walks out, have her actually do it. When you do this, you'll find that you might not want her to get up. This might change everything for certain people. Could save or make a lot of work for a certain department.

3. Light it.

Everyone clears the set, G/E brings in the lights, they set the camera where it should be, art dept does any changes they need to make.

4. Rehearse.

Bring your actors back in and rehearse it, now that everything is in place, you might want to change everything. This also gives the DP a moment to look at the lighting with the actors in it.

5. Tweak

Give the DP a little time to make some tweaks based on the rehearsal.

6. Shoot.

Shoot it! Start with your wide and then go into one side of the room, shoot out everything looking that way, then turn around and shoot out everything looking the other way. You shouldn't have to turn around multiple times, as that's the most time consuming thing to do for lighting/camera.

I usually try and light spaces more than actors, but I keep in mind where they go and what they do and allow that to influence my decisions. You can't light the space without the actors and you can't light the actors without the space. Simple as that.

As far as having a china ball just outside the top of the frame, that would work if you're motivating light from overhead. But if there is no overhead lamp, it might not look right. With lighting you're just trying to emulate whats already there, and making it look good for camera. Sometimes a hard light emulating the sun coming through the windows and bouncing off the ground might be a good way to go, or maybe no light on the actors at all, and only on the background...There's too many possibilities really.

Hope this helps. Good luck.
 
Thanks a lot guys!

Ryan, when you change the lights from wide to closer shots, do you just use the monitor and replay the earlier shots to judge continuity of lighting, or do you use a light meter or some other method?

Thank you
 
Hutchman said:
Thanks a lot guys!

Ryan, when you change the lights from wide to closer shots, do you just use the monitor and replay the earlier shots to judge continuity of lighting, or do you use a light meter or some other method?

Thank you
Click to expand...

I know this was aimed at another ryan, but professionals rarely have to consult playback. You should really know what the intensity of your lighting is at and the ratio you desire. Continuity does not mean it has to be the exact same... it just means the changes you do won't be noticed. I always change the lighting from wides to close-ups... I just make sure it matches enough that the changes I make improve the image but not draw attention to itself.
 
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