Getting started - flood lights + foamcore?

G

greenrider

Member
I'm trying to improve my (currently non-existent) lighting setup for shooting interiors with the DVX. I've never done serious lighting before.

I read a couple of the tutorial links in the sticky post and talked to a lighting guy at B&H yesterday. He suggested picking up a couple of cheap flood light kits. I also read that you can buy a piece of foamcore as a reflector rather than buying a fill light. So perhaps it's enough to get just a key and a back light to start?

Does anyone have any experience with that kind of setup or a recommendation for a particular kit? Are 250W bulbs going to be too bright for lighting a small apartment interior? Will I need umbrellas as well for diffusion?

This sounds like the cheapest option, but I imagine you get what you pay for: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/527915-REG/SP_Systems_SPFLK8_SPSLK8_Three_Flood_Light.html
 
Yes you can start with that. The only real issue that you'd have trouble with is a) power requirements (don't want to go blowing circuits), b) short lifespan of photofloods, and c) controlling the light.

You can get fluorescent bulbs instead of photofloods which will have a lot longer life, and draw so much less power that you don't have to worry about blowing circuits.

Control is the big issue. Casting light is only part of the battle; controlling where it goes and where it doesn't go -- that's the key to lighting.
 
Thanks, Barry - and thanks for writing the excellent DVX book as well. I think my modest goal is just to have properly exposed footage and to perhaps play around with some green screen effects. I'll wait until I have some more experience to try more ambitious lighting techniques.

It looks like the fluorescent kits B&H offers (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...2K_Fluorescent_2_Light_Kit.html#goto_itemInfo) are 30W as opposed to the 250W photo flood kits. They're listed as 10,000 average life hours vs. 4 hours for the photo floods, which sounds like a massive difference. They're only about 1/6 of the lumens, though - is that bright enough to light a small set or a green screen?
 
If you're going for this kind of kit why not just pick up some of the work light scoops ($5 or so) from Home Depot and some of the N:Vision 5500K bulbs (30 to 40w). There's not so much difference between a kit like you posted a link for and this kind of Home Depot type setup, except in cost which is a huge difference.
 
Quartz halogen work lights are great and can be had in outputs up to 1,200 watts as far as I know. The trick is finding a way to mount them to a real light stand. The stands they come with are worthless. Also, foamcore board is overpriced. You're better off buying the foil-backed 4'x8' foam insulation board from Home Depot or Lowe's and painting one side white.

If you bounce a few 500 watt floods off of a white wall or foam board, you've got all kinds of nice usable light, and - there's no such thing as having too much light in my opinion...

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