How would you light this?

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David Evans

Well-known member
Hey

How would you guys light this scene?

http://www.kellyproudfoot.com/uploads/4/4/8/7/44873265/8035241_orig.jpg

I'll start a short film soon and i'm after this kind of softlight look. Much like this cronenberg look and fincher softlight look. Since i'll be shooting digital, I know I need to get a base overall light to get the shadows above noise floor and then skirt some softlight to the actors. Which lights and light scheme would you use?

Thanks!
 
How would you control spill on the walls? I was thinking of Kino flos with a grid but it will all become too expensive, too fast. Or some big flags perhaps?
 
I don't see a spill control. To me it looks like a big diffusion from above, slightly camera left and in front of the women. Then there is bounce or fill from the wall or a reflector camera right. You can see that the boys left cheek is in shadow, but the back of his head has a soft light (bounce from the wall or something else).

In the background, there is a second soft source representing the window. But there is no bounce or fill, so the shadows on the man are stronger.
 
thanks for your tips guys. But let's say I want a bigger key to background ratio. The cheapest way to get there would be to place one or two flags to avoid spill, right? But still it wouldn't prevent bouncing off the wall. That's why I was thinking of the big Kino Flos with grids. They control spill like I've never seen...
 
I believe there is also a low level of top fill, like a ceiling bounce or softbox if this is a set, which is subtly adding to the foreground characters and lighting the right wall. I believe the key is flagged off via topper and left sider, keeping it off that same wall. I don't believe the key is high enough to cause the shadows of the clothing to be so steep on that wall.

This example is a little complex to use as a template.

Generally speaking, to achieve this type of look your units should be softboxes with grids, or a healthy amount of grip gear (diffusion frames, soft grids and flags). Soft light is easy on faces but tough to control in small spaces without a good amount of hardware.
 
I don't think kino flos with grids would be suitable for getting this sort of look. Whatever they used here was much larger of a source. Without any context it's hard to tell exactly what they used but I'm thinking a book light (at least an 8x) coming from the left and a bay light or some other medium sized source almost right above camera. They had something smaller coming from the right which isn't doing a whole lot.

One thing I've noticed as my career has progressed towards more high end jobs is that controlling spill on walls really is a lot less necessary than you think it might be coming from smaller shoots. With a well decorated and dressed set, having light hitting the walls is fine. Just bear that in mind before you worry too much about how to tackle that issue. That said, for a larger source, snap grids are the best way to make the light more directional due to their low profile. For something I would call "medium" like a 4x frame or a medium Chimera bag, honeycomb grids provide even better control.
 
The easiest way is to just make the key brighter than the background light. But lets assume that the key is spilling to the background to an unacceptable level. Then yes, you would flag it off. The choice of flag or grid depends on what kind of lights you are using.

The diffused light falls of pretty quickly. So depending on how far away the background is, you may not need any spill control.
 
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