good lights to use for interviews???

W

weezhum

Active member
i have a tota light that i dont know anything about.....should i use an umbrella???? thanks in advance.
 
Don't use open face lights directly on your subject.
It's generally too harsh.
Diffuse it with the umbrella or get some spun or frost to soften the light.


-BillP
 
Tough spun or soft box. If you're broke I've heard some have found good results substituting fabric softner sheets for tough spun. Plus, if your lights get hot - the interview will smell mountain fresh.
 
i have a tota and it is way too harsh direct for just about anything. it has the umbrella clamp built in so i would snag one and use it. you can't go wrong with a softbox as your key. it wraps light around your subject so you can usually get away without a fill. softbox and hairlight from behind should kick ass. the britek/rostronics softboxes are decent and cheap. if you want quality go for a lowel rifa or chimera.

if you are low budget and can't sport a softbox, strech some thick fiberglass cloth (hobby shop) around a homebuilt pvc frame and shine your tota thru it. then use a home depot work light as your hairlight.
 
i use (1) lowell 500watt softbox...either directly or bouncing off the ceiling...works great...plenty of light... easy to setup, use and breakdown. packs into a small fabric sleeve. around $600 from b&h...another $75 for stand.

carl
 
You need to learn 3 point lighting.

Key - Fill - Backlight

lighting-floorplan-back.gif


http://www.mediacollege.com/lighting/three-point/
 
I would echo the Rifa light suggestion. It's basically a light with built-in softbox -- no clamps or adapters to mess with. Very convenient. Use that for your key and your Tota light with umbrella or some diffusion for your back light.
 
3 point lighting is NOT necessary with doc interviews. a good softbox acts as key and fill and if you pull your subject away from the wall a bit, a backlight is not necessary.
 
"3 point lighting is NOT necessary with doc interviews. a good softbox acts as key and fill and if you pull your subject away from the wall a bit, a backlight is not necessary."

I guess it's all a matter of personal taste. I am in charge of the studio at KBDI Channel 12 in Denver. I do lighting every day. I've worked on almost 1000 television productions in the last 3 years and I tend to disagree with what you are saying. A backlight can really make your interview footage look great. I think that there are situations where a backlight is absolutely necessary no matter how far your subject is away from the wall.

Just because you are doing a documentary, that doesn't mean it HAS to look like crap! Take some pride in your work and make that interview look as good as it possibly can. Sometimes that means 2, 3, or even 4 point lighting. A single softbox can be a very flat source. I'm not saying that there aren't situations where a single softbox isn't the answer. I am saying that MOST of the time, a single softbox just doesn't cut it.
 
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