Lighting for guitar lessons video in 9' x 9' room - ideas?

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bhuether

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Hi, I am a guitarist and am producing some lesson videos. I just moved to Montenegro, and living in village on coast, so I don't have tons of options. And until I get my lessons profitable I am on a tight budget. I am trying to figure out how to set up lighting in the room. I attached a diagram of the layout. My desk is against rear wall facing the narrower entry way. So I will be seated for the lessons with my desk behind me. Hopefully I can get the desk, computer screen, etc blurred a little to not distract. Will be using Panasonic GH4 and 12-35mm 2.8 lens. But am willing to use different lens for better background blur. But either way, I have to shoot at no narrower than around 25mm to get the coverage I need. Will also hang up some sort of fabric behind the desk. Not sure what color. I suppose whatever color is recommended here. Goal is to get warm video, warm skin tone. So given the limited space, how would you set up lighting in this room, ideally using materials I could find in a home goods store (there is one nearby that is similar to a Home Depot but on smaller scale)?

Thanks!
 

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Hello,

In my opinion, forget about "background blur" and focus on lighting and creating a nice looking "set". Background blur comes from having a very short focus area. With only 9' max to work with and at a wide angle you would need a very small focus area to see any kind of defocus on the back wall. Thus short changing keeping you the subject in focus. I think with the GH4 you are going to need a very fast prime to achieve this.

On to lighting, I would say fluorescents are your best bet along with some sort of diffusion screen or shade. But the most important thing is to have light hitting you the subject at a flattering angle (front, at an angle from slightly above). These can be many small bulbs or the long tubes. Whatever fits the best.
 
First off, I wish you all the best with your business endeavor. As you have some very tough competition out there. As in FREE video lessons available on-line.

Second, I would likely go with energy efficient LED lights in your small room to keep costs, as well as heat to a minimum.

Third, you are not going to get a blurred background using a GH4 in that tiny space.
 
Thanks for the replies. What sort of wattage total should I be looking at, and should I get several smaller watt lights spaced apart totaling the total wattage? Maybe like a track on a wall? I am trying to figure out the mechanics of the setup. Yeah, experimented with GH4 today. There is minimal blurring of the background.
 
If the room is only for shooting I would light it light a set thinking of subject and background ratios. As far as wattage, in incandescent terms, you will want at least 500 watts but more is always better to place around.

In a small space like this you want to use light to direct the viewer instead of DOF. So you and the guitar should be the only things bright enough to want to look at to some extent.
 
Wow, 500W. Not sure what you mean about lighting in terms of subject and background ratios. I am a guitarist - if you talk about scales and modes I am all over it! With the ratios are there certain rules about distance from background to subject and what that implies for the lighting? I have a really small space to work with and it is going to get a little tighter when I add acoustic panels. So also not sure if I can do three point lighting. I am hoping to get away with one soft source, and as mentioned above, to take attention away from my desk. If someone wants to come to Montenegro to help me set up, then free wine and meals on me!
 
:) Cameras need light and more than normal room ambient light to look their best. 500w is for the total room. Ratio is the amount of brightness of your subject relative to your background. If the subject is twice as bright you would have a 2:1 ratio. Google is your friend here.

You can either under light and try to downplay the background from the viewer or make it look nice so even if it is easy to see it will still not distract from watching you. In your situation with a small room, it will be difficult to create darker areas as the light will easily spill all over the place. So you might be better off just creating a pleasant looking space and just try to light it all well with an emphasis on you the subject.
 
One large paper China ball hung from the ceiling would be great! Make sure it's out in front of where you're going to sit so it's not directly over your head so we can see your face. Then to add some interest in your backgrounds think about Christmas lights or some small fixtures. Small puck lights etc that you can stuff in those holes if you want. They could even be different colors. :) I used a similar setup for this video https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk5LvO8xIUA

you our don't have the space to get the background out of focus but you get the idea. You also don't have to have it this dark either. Open up the lens and add a little iso and you're golden. Good luck.
 
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