Lighting Techniques: Chimera and 12×12 Diffusion

escozooz

escozooz

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Lighting Techniques: Chimera and 12×12 Diffusion
http://www.cinematographydb.com/2015/10/lighting-techniques-chimera-and-12x12-diffusion/

I'm starting a series of Cinematography Tutorials that I'm going to post every Friday. I'd love to hear the DVXuser community feedback and suggestions for topics.

Cheers,

Matt
 
thanks for sharing would definitely tune in. Would be great to see info on the different applications of all the various type of lights and situations.
 
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Looks great Matt!

But your model...I think there's something wrong with her.
Does she have some kind of skin disease or something? She looks Ill.
 
I often make a wall of c-stands and conduit crossbars and jus hang yard after yard of diffusion. You can do a more L-shaped thing, you can do a big arc with a thin camera opening - when you want a real high-key set. The 12x12 is nice, but for guys who can't afford a frame system… stands, conduit, and fabric. It's usually much faster to setup as well.

But I agree that the 3D rendering is a little odd for this sort of thing. Tutorial should be "how to simulate a photo studio in 3D animation". I don't buy it that ray tracing is going to be really accurate, unless you work for ILM (and then i expect a better model!).
 
Michael Carter said:
I often make a wall of c-stands and conduit crossbars and jus hang yard after yard of diffusion. You can do a more L-shaped thing, you can do a big arc with a thin camera opening - when you want a real high-key set. The 12x12 is nice, but for guys who can't afford a frame system… stands, conduit, and fabric. It's usually much faster to setup as well.

But I agree that the 3D rendering is a little odd for this sort of thing. Tutorial should be "how to simulate a photo studio in 3D animation". I don't buy it that ray tracing is going to be really accurate, unless you work for ILM (and then i expect a better model!).
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You should check out Matt's site before judging (http://www.mattworkman.com). Several of the spots on there have his breakdowns with previz and previz lighting he implemented on set.
 
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This is very helpfull Matt, can you please post to this thread when you have your weekly updates so we can discuss+ask questions?
 
DPStewart said:
Looks great Matt!

But your model...I think there's something wrong with her.
Does she have some kind of skin disease or something? She looks Ill.
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The model does have something funky going on with her "normal/bump" map. I didn't really notice until after :)

Michael Carter said:
I often make a wall of c-stands and conduit crossbars and jus hang yard after yard of diffusion. You can do a more L-shaped thing, you can do a big arc with a thin camera opening - when you want a real high-key set. The 12x12 is nice, but for guys who can't afford a frame system… stands, conduit, and fabric. It's usually much faster to setup as well.

But I agree that the 3D rendering is a little odd for this sort of thing. Tutorial should be "how to simulate a photo studio in 3D animation". I don't buy it that ray tracing is going to be really accurate, unless you work for ILM (and then i expect a better model!).
Click to expand...

The goal of these tutorials is illustrate a concept and then the execution that you would use a professional film set.

RE: Your DIY frame, any diffusion frame can be very dangerous if it's not properly gripped. In the worst case the wind can take it and honestly kill someone. I would caution using a home made frame for this reason. I've been on a pretty much every level shoot and I've never used a DIY diffusion frame. They are dirt cheap to rent/buy and for the safety reasons I've mentioned worth their weight in gold. Matthews, American, Avenger = Safety.

3D renderings are the perfect way to illustrate lighting concepts. They do not require actual real world talent or equipment but can still visualize the effects of the light. I can also create illustrations for HUGE sets, that would be impossible to do in real life.

For the record, I'm using Maya + Arnold for the rendering. I'm developing the plug-in that creates the "film" cameras, stands, lights, etc. and it's getting more realistic over time. I'm working with The Mill and some other VFX companies that are using Maya+Arnold, so it's a legit lighting sim/solve. Google Solid Angle and look at the credits. Gravity for example. I'm using the same tech.

ILM uses V-Ray quite a bit, so we are using a similar "ray-tracing" technology. But of course their models, textures, and well everything is better than mine :)
 
Matt,

I think it would be great if you would keep all postings to this thread so if this eventually becomes a sticky all the information you provided will be centralized in one place (like Key&Peele).
 
emretufekci said:
Matt,

I think it would be great if you would keep all postings to this thread so if this eventually becomes a sticky all the information you provided will be centralized in one place (like Key&Peele).
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Hey, that is interesting. If that is the style DVXuser would like, then I'm happy to follow it. Thanks.
 
escozooz said:
RE: Your DIY frame, any diffusion frame can be very dangerous if it's not properly gripped. In the worst case the wind can take it and honestly kill someone. I would caution using a home made frame for this reason. I've been on a pretty much every level shoot and I've never used a DIY diffusion frame. They are dirt cheap to rent/buy and for the safety reasons I've mentioned worth their weight in gold. Matthews, American, Avenger = Safety.
Click to expand...

There's never been any wind in my studio, unless it's a fan pointed at a model (no, I don't think the crossbeam & stands is a killer outdoor scenario). The "12x12 with a chimera" didn't strike me as a common outdoor setup as opposed to indoor.

Putting, say, a 10' conduit across two beefy babies isn't a "DIY frame" - it's a way to hang fabric. In my first studio, the shooting area was small, about 800 s.f., and I had curved conduit in a half-arc mounted to the ceiling. It beat the heck out of frames or panels for white cyc shots, having about 150° degrees of diffusion around the talent. It really broadens the sweet spot so the models can move a bit more. Great way to hang diffusion on one side and neg fill on the other, or whatever you envision.

Love some frames and still use the Scrim Jims I bought the year they came out (smaller than 10x10s but crazy-handy for one-man shoots). But indoors, I do a lot more with crossbars and fabric when I want a really natural look. It's easy to get a 20' x 10' panel going that way, and considering how many getting-started young people & students post here, it's a really affordable tool in the kit.

I used to feel a little uptight about how many simple fabric solutions I've used, then found out Roger Deakins does a bunch of the same things. Though I've never sent a grip into JCPenney to get "one more sheet", the idea of that happening on a Coen film warms my heart...
 
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