Lighting a wide shot white seamless backdrop

[leaftors]

http://www.zarias.com/white-seamless-next-post-this-afternoon/

i've been reading this great article which tells you how to light when you're using a white seamless backdrop.

I want to shoot a wideshot though and he doesn't explain how to light for a wideshot of a subject head to toe without using the tile. He say's it's a pain in the ass and you can search for it by ctrl f'ing the following

Note that without that tile board, the white floor area is grey. Getting a subject standing on white paper and shooting a full length shot so that the floor and the BG are all white is a pain in the arse. You can do it but it’s a different way of lighting that I just don’t do

 

[Richard Crowley]

Depending on exactly what you mean by "wide shot", if you shoot the "infinite white" properly, then you can seamlessly composite the video image into as "wide" a shot as you like without having to actually construct, light, and shoot a big stage.

 

[leaftors]

Head to toe.

 

[j1clark@ucsd.edu]

Head to toe.

It is difficult to do in a small studio, as you need an eveoloping lighting to avoid shadows being cast on the floor. One 'cheat' may be to have your talent such that they are wearing dark shoes/clothing, then boost the contrast in the highlights just enve to minimize or eliminate shadows on the flloor.

If you have a studio/set big enough you would more likely be better off creating a 'light tent', where material would be hung, and lights behind the material, such that in the 'tent' you have an even lighting all around.

There can't be any 'hard' light on the subject such that a shadow is cast, so if you do light the subject a bit more dramatically, then you would have to take care to limit the light to say the face, by flags/wraping etc.

For something like "THX-1138"(1971) a large hangar was used as I recall... don't think too many people have that kind of access for 'huge' whiteout sets...