Lighting darker skin - what's the info?

A

andrew00

Well-known member
Hey,

So this weekend I'm gonna nail myself shooting two music videos. Well, really it's 1 1/2 b/c we've planned it so the story continues from one to the other.

I've been trying to shoot the way I want to edit lately, but since I'm essentially doing two videos at the same time I can't really do that b/c of time/setups etc.

Therefore I need to shoot in a way that gives me options for both videos without looking stupid. Video one was meant to be brighter, with lots of reds and blues in the palette. Video too is more moody, higher contrast, more dark and a warmer look in general.

The lead singer in the band is black and I was wondering if anyone could give me some recommendations on how to light the thing to ensure his skin tone is preserved. I've seen too many videos (some I've shot myself heh) where a black person's face isn't lit properly and ends up dark and indistinct when colour corrected. How can I shoot to ensure I keep him in mind, do I need to do anything or should I just light things nice and bright and even and go from there on the computer?

Speaking of, I'm a total noob at the technology of lights. I know how to light the basics, but not beyond feeling and simple knowledge. Anyone know if I need to get a complex lighting system or just a 3-point'er.

A company local to me can rent me a 4xdedo kit for not too much, they also have kino's which I've never used, but they're the same price as the dedo's. I'm tempted to get all of them, softbox up a dedo or two and just try to get things as even as I can but really it's hard for me to conceptualise in the future something I've always done on feel in the past.

One issue is the venue has fallen through and we now may be shooting the performance part in a warehouse (white balls, some natural light) or a small theatre, the theatre is number one choice but waiting to hear on that.

Any help would be sweet please!
 
In my experience, black skin tones really look good with golden lighting. I often use a gold reflective source for this.
 
Try as best you can to keep the contrast low in relation to what he's wearing and how bright his background is. That'll help you tons to maintain detail in his facial features.
 
There isn't any magic in lighting for darker skin tones. Do you do special lighting when you've got something that's mid-gray in your scenes? Keep the contrast in check, and make sure he is wearing something with a medium tone near his face. Like a blue or dark green shirt. Meter for that, and you'll be just fine.
 
hi perrone,

ahhh we meet again old friend......

on darker skins i try to use lee 188 cosmetic highlight filter
on the key..it is a combination of quarter cto and quarter half white diff. it warms up that steely glow you get on darker skin tones. use this on the kenos as the key

try to use a dedo up high into the back of the head/ shoulders un scrimmed (dim to level you require) to create an edge.

also i would bash a dedo(unscrimmed ) into the talent from about 45 degrees
opposite the key to create another edge.

the dedos are handy because the are a hard light you can soften by dimming.
this is just off the top of my head at the moment if i think of anything else will get back to you.

cheers
ian
 
had a think...

also have a dedo from the camera position barn doored to bash into the face to light up the eyes. dim to suit
i like to cut 2 inch ( aprox ) squares of half/full white diff cto etc and keep them in my back pocket...then i can just slip them into the filter holder
of the dedos when required...

cheers
 
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Thanks a lot for the advice, there's some awesome info in here! Thanks Ian I had originally planned on just getting the Dedo's but it looks like I'll be wise to get a kino, maybe two as well (or softbox one of the dedo's) to really get everything sorted.

Here's some pics of the warehouse I think we'll be shooting in, we may shoot in an underground bar that has grey bricked walls like a wine cellar, arches and all.

The later will be small and cramped, the warehouse is a nice big space but there's the big natural lights. I don't know how pronounced their effect will be so I'm unsure if the best solution would be to black them out, maybe with some bin liners or something, or if I should ctb gel the lights.

Adding all those filters seems costly so the former might have to do. I could also go for some crazy deliberately colourful lighting, i.e. placing a different shade of light on each talent but that sounds lame to me!

Here's the warehouse, we can shoot at whichever wall we want, you can also see the singer there!









 
hi mate

if you are shooting during the day in the wharehouse use the daylight coming in the windows as the key.

then fill the fill side with kenos (daylight tubes).

punch a couple of dedos down from the loft as back lights(you can leave them ungelled ctb and they will create a nice orange
edge light. (i am assuming the dedos are l50w)

i wouldnt bother with soft boxes for the dedos it cuts to much ...to soften them just put in some half white diff in the filter holder.

if its sunny hang some silks (bed sheets) on the windows.

use the 2 locations for your story one is big and expansive contrasted with one small and claustrophobic.

previous post still holds for the second location.

hope that helps

ian

i always work with the kiss theory in mind (keep it simple stupid)
 
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Can you shoot somewhere else?
That white wall is gonna kill ya. As mentioned before you need to keep the contrast between the singer's dark skin and the background low.

You'll need to really flag the spill off the wall. You'll need to bring up the level on the singer without blowing out the BKGD. Start with getting the band as far away from the wall as possible. Rimlights and kickers will set him off from the BKGD but they won't do anything about maintaining detail on his face.

Can you add props/crates anything back there to block the wall?
Also, shooting on film? Was assuming HD but film would help.
Otherwise, it can be done. Just a little tricky, good luck.
 
hi,

KISS........why not let the wall be a part of the story.

let its exposre fall where it may.....this is a music clip not avatar

andrew can only work with what he has got.

cheers
 
the brief was... 4 dedos and a couple of kinos

location.... large space with lots of daylight

time limit..... one and a half days

now light it........(without any extra gear which will clearly be beyond andrews budget)

the daylight falling on the back wall should be the same as on the talent (same source).. expose for the skin tones and let the background blow out..............now thats art.

cheers
 
Awesome thanks a lot Ian, we have a plan, cheers!

With regards to the back wall we're gonna try get around it in a somewhat kitch way but at least it should work. Gonna put up some lametta curtains (red, blue, gold) and led lights and stagger it w/the drummer at the back, bassist further forward and singer/guitarist at the front (in 3d space) so it should completely obscure the white wall at the back, then try to string some led's to connect them all along the top. It may not be too pretty but hopefully it will not look awful!
 
In my experience your talent needs 1 1/2 stops more light than the white dudes. Use anything to achieve this. Black is beautiful but you've got to see it.
 
sarcasm seems to be the standard responce to things people dont agree with.

in my opinion it is the last resort of the ignorant.
 
Your approach to the matter at hand only highlights your ignorance.
My credentials put me at the extreme far end from ignorant, son.
 
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