Interview Lighting

R

rkl

New member
Hi,
I am working on a low budget documentary and looking to serve as my own DP (working with one other individual). Could someone please suggest what type of lighting equipment I would need to do interviews? I will primarily shooting them in offices, homes, and hospital rooms. The less equipment and the easier set-up the better.
Thanks!
 
For run and gun interviews I would get a Lowel Rifa light. A Lowel DP 1k and a Lowel vip light. This is assuming you are on a budget and dont have a crew.
 
Second on the Rifa. I'm a fan of the Lowel Caselights as well. Not much wattage, but very portable and quick to setup.
 
china balls!!! They work great as to fill in dark spots and, if you use flourescents then you save a bunch on bulbs.

Really though get some lowel pro lights, they are small and are easy to set up and definitley a softbox setup.
 
Why would he want a 1k lowel DP light if hes a one man band, that thing is so hard to control it just spills light everywhere. With modern digial cameras getting better and better in low light theres no need for a 1k in an interview kit unless its going in a softbox. I'd say stay away from Lowel or any other overpriced worklights.

Rifa's are soo overpriced for what they are. Heres a Chimera kit that actually costs LESS than a comparable rifa light kit, includes a 40 degree grid, a badass avenger spring cushioned 10' light stand and wont fall apart after a few years: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/257304-REG/Chimera_8000_Video_Pro_Plus_1.html

If you want daylight out of it get a 200w fluorescent bulb from coollights.biz

Compared to piece of crap Lowel that includes THE shi*tiest stand ever, no grid, a case, and costs an additional $150: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/285881-REG/Lowel_LC_98LBZ_Rifa_Lite_EX88_Softbox_Light.html
If you want daylight out of it you have to buy a bunch more crappy lowel accessories.

Then i would recommend a couple small fresnels, 150's, 300's, and one 650. Look for used Arri, LTM, or Mole on ebay or buy from coollights.biz
 
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It was also suggested to me that I get a Diva-lite 400 for key, a Diva-lite 200 for fill and maybe a 150 or 300-watt fresnel (or another Diva-lite) for a backlight. I was told Kinos are great because you can use daylight bulbs and not fight any existing daylight in the room; and what makes the Diva great is that it's dimmable. Does anyone have an opinion on this type of set-up? Thanks!
 
It seems now there may be some interviews conducted while walking through a hospital. What is my best choice for a light mounted on an HVX200? Thanks!
 
Giallogreg said:
Why would he want a 1k lowel DP light if hes a one man band, that thing is so hard to control it just spills light everywhere. With modern digial cameras getting better and better in low light theres no need for a 1k in an interview kit unless its going in a softbox. I'd say stay away from Lowel or any other overpriced worklights.

Rifa's are soo overpriced for what they are. Heres a Chimera kit that actually costs LESS than a comparable rifa light kit, includes a 40 degree grid, a badass avenger spring cushioned 10' light stand and wont fall apart after a few years: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/257304-REG/Chimera_8000_Video_Pro_Plus_1.html

If you want daylight out of it get a 200w fluorescent bulb from coollights.biz

Compared to piece of crap Lowel that includes THE shi*tiest stand ever, no grid, a case, and costs an additional $150: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/285881-REG/Lowel_LC_98LBZ_Rifa_Lite_EX88_Softbox_Light.html
If you want daylight out of it you have to buy a bunch more crappy lowel accessories.

Then i would recommend a couple small fresnels, 150's, 300's, and one 650. Look for used Arri, LTM, or Mole on ebay or buy from coollights.biz
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Its a damn good key light. And I dont know how you use it but I have never seen anyone have troulbe controlling it. However if you go with the DP you should get a scrim kit and obviously a ton of gells.
 
I'm surprised no one else has mentioned Doug's lighting DVD yet. It gives great advice, including detailed information on equipment, for lighting and more importantly, SHOOTING interviews. Invaluable. Unless he's updated the section on equipment, though, it will be a bit out of date as he suggested Avenger equipment that has since changed model numbers (i.e. A620 stand is now the A0025B or something like that).

http://www.vortexmedia.com/DVD_ILDVD.html

-- mitch
 
lairhair said:
Its a damn good key light. And I dont know how you use it but I have never seen anyone have troulbe controlling it. However if you go with the DP you should get a scrim kit and obviously a ton of gells.
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Have you ever used a Fresnel? Open faced lights put out harsh, ugly light with hotspots and spill light everywhere. Fresnels have a lens to direct the light with little to no spill. Much more controllable which is a must if youre a one-man-band.
 
rkl said:
It seems now there may be some interviews conducted while walking through a hospital. What is my best choice for a light mounted on an HVX200? Thanks!
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Divas are great lights too, very quick setup, and very versatile. They fit in places most other lights wont. I prefer the light quality of a softbox but Diva's definatley have their place. If you can afford them, go for it.

Id also recommend the Kino bank select series, its a bit more versatile than the diva, but with slightly less output and a slightly longer setup time as it has an external ballast. It simply has more rigging possibilities because of the external ballast. Diva's have an onboard ballast which means you cant rig the light in certain positions because the color temp will shift.

As for the walking interview id recommend having a helper hold a chinese lantern on a boom pole with whatever color temp light you need to balance to the available light. If thats not possible an on-camera light is about all you can do if you dont have enough lighting/grip equipment to rig lights to the ceilling/off camera. For an on camera light id recommend a Comer 1800 from lacolorshop.com or the new Dedo led oncamera light here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/624594-REG/Dedolight_DLOBML_DLOBML_Mini_LED_Daylight.html
 
For interviews a soft source is a must. If you really want to run and gun check out flolights.com for their LED fixture. Its a softer sorce, daylight balanced and can run on batteries. A pair of them would be a grand but its a nice option.

For me I use Lowel.
Lowel are cheap, small, great for one-man gigs. I shoot A LOT of interviews and I do most of it as a one-man shooter.

Check my reel for the results ( must of the stuff on it was shot with the kit I listed bellow, but All I have is:



Lowel

1 tota - 750
3 Pro - 250
2 omni - 500

2 1k dimmers

and a small gel pack of CTB, CTO, and some diffusion.
 
If money is an issue, I'd (in fact I did) go with CooLights. I got two of the portable, dimming 4 banks for the cost of one Diva and they work great. I use them for interviews.

Here are a couple of links showing the results.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2030461&l=2cb4a4662b&id=645759207

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2030462&l=65cd7953df&id=645759207

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2249275&l=9192b7030f&id=645759207

Or you can try the CoolLights LED's. I'd get these way before the Flolights.
 
You can also check out an LED solution. I have never used one but cameramen I know that have say they are wonderful. Compact, no fragile bulbs like in a kino, dimmable intensity and color temperatue, and most importanly SOFT! I don't know much about them, but I think that some names are Lite Panel, Kelvin Tile, or something in that vein. Check it out, I think they are pretty neat but have not had the chance to use them yet.
 
lairhair said:
While cool lights are awesome. They are not as easy to setup and store like this guy needs.
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I have then in a rolling duffle style bag with bulbs in the lights. Open the bag and put them on top of a stand. 2 minutes tops.

But, this is why I also mentioned the CoolLights led's. The led's are smaller, easier to transport and store, but then they require a jell to correct for the green and you can't have two sets of bulbs, so you have to choose 5600K or 3200K at purchase and then have to jell to change color temp which reduces output. Also, you can get a much softer light from the flourescents.

So, there are trade offs. Led's are easier to transport and store, but the flo's are more versatile and give a nicer soft light. Really depends on your needs. In the best case you would have both types in your kit, then you are covered.
 
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Again I'm speaking out my immediate experience but I remember reading that new LED fixtures not only had dealt with the green spike issue but had also managed to allow for variable color temperature, meaning you wouldnt necessarily have to use gels to achieve any color output along the kelvin scale. I guess that those kinds of fixtures are probably much more expensive than cheaper solutions though... but its something to keep in the back of your head until an opportunity to snag one comes around.
 
lairhair said:
I have used many lights but dont think he can afford a nice fresnel. DP lights are focusables but they dont have lenses.
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Its not really very focusable either. It goes from a super wide flood that sprays light everywhere to a medium wide flood with a really hot spot in the center and sprays light everywhere.

Good fresnels can be had for less than $300 on ebay. They're worth the extra money. If he can afford a Diva, he can afford a fresnel.

And what do you mean coollights take longer to set up? You stick them on a stand, plug them in, and turn them on, thats it. Just like a Diva its got a built in ballast and sets up quicker than any other soft light rig. It actually has almost NO setup time.
 
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SeanEmer said:
Again I'm speaking out my immediate experience but I remember reading that new LED fixtures not only had dealt with the green spike issue but had also managed to allow for variable color temperature, meaning you wouldnt necessarily have to use gels to achieve any color output along the kelvin scale. I guess that those kinds of fixtures are probably much more expensive than cheaper solutions though... but its something to keep in the back of your head until an opportunity to snag one comes around.
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Not the CooLlights or FloLights. Both have green spikes and need to be gelled. The other LED lights that don't have spikes and are color adjustable are available and seem to be really ideal, but so is a Rolls Royce.

In other words, they cost over 4 to 6 times as much as the lights we are talking about!

The regular LitePanels 1x1 LED that is not color adjustable cost $1865.00 and the LitePanels 1X1 BiColor LED cost $2,545.00!

I had assumed we were talking about real world budgets for hobby and independent filmmakers. If you have an unlimited budget, then yes, LitePanels are the way to go.
 
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