lighting in smal area

N

Nogert

Member
How do you get use lighting in a small area, I have a problem with shadows being casted all over the place like horrible big shadows.

I only use a lamp atm but is there anything I can do.


I see people with big white things like they look like reflectors big white thing made out of some sort of material, is this to dampen the light ? so that it's not popwerfull enough to creat shadows but enough to light a character ?
 
Hey try this:

Don't light the character. Light things around the character that aren't in frame. Start with the ceiling and see what that looks like. Then perhaps try a piece of foamcore, try moving it around. You might start seeing things "in a different light". Pun intended, and have fun!
 
Buy a book on lighting, maybe this one "Lighting for digital videoand television" by J.Jackman.
I suppose you´re just starting out...?
 
Nogert,

A lot of lighting is done from a 45 degree angle above and to the side of the talent. The shadows then fall below and beside the talent. If you are shooting level dircetly at the talent, the shadows should not be in frame. Sometime it's a matter of holding the light in your hand and just moving it around and watching where the shadows fall.

Josh
 
Watch the contrasts

Watch the contrasts

There is no single way to light a scene - duh. If you are shooting on video, you have the luxury of spotting the lit set on a video monitor to see if it meets your aesthetic needs; it is a little bit more fuzzy when dealing with film. Film you need to be somewhat more accurate and number oriented.

Anyways, the basic lighting set up is the three (sometimes 4) point set up. That is, something like a keylight, a fill, flood, and backlight. Flood sometimes helps light the master of the set. Key usually directed toward the subject, fill kills the shadows, and backlight is directed toward the subjects from behind.

First thing to consider is lighting the scene balanced so that you have enough light to actually get an exposure. After this is determined, now you can worry about aesthetic placement, that is, adding or removing light to get the artistic look you want. If you want shadows, kill the fill. If you want to see the background but not the faces of the actors in the foreground, kill the key and bump the fill. Etc.

I've had very good results with some cheap edison lighting kits. The one i have comes with three stands. I use 250 and 500 watt bulbs. One thing that i go by is that it is better to have too much light on a set than not enough. You should be able to control exposure in your camera. I forgot what director once said this but it was something like: if your actors aren't squinting, then you probably don't have enough light.
 
what is a small area ?
6x8ft ? 10x12ft ? 15x20ft ? ..ceiling 8ft ?
is subject moving around the are area ?
or is subject static ?
 
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