Lighting

L

lisa33

New member
I was wondering if anyone could help. I will be doing an interview and I wanted to know if anyone had some good suggestions as to a cheap lighting set up. Ive heard a lot about a japanese lanterns (which Im going to buy). Now lets say if I were to purchase 3 of these with 200 watts in each would that be sufficient lighting for an interview. Placing one about 1ft infront but above my subject and one on each side about 2 ft away from my subject. Please let me know what you think any suggestions would be great! Thank you, Lisa
 
You'll probably need at least one higher wattage, hard light source if you want to add some depth and hi-lights.... or at least a 650-1,000 watt soft box to give you some 'umph'.

From what I've gleaned... the CHINA (not Japanese) lanterns are more for a 'finishing touch' type thing as opposed to depending on them to light a scene.
 
The latern cannot be the sum of your kit. I'm not sure what you mean by cheap?
You can purchase a three point lighting kit from rostronics.com and I think that's
the best buy for what you're looking for, I think. You may still want to get a
chinese latern even with the 3 point system, just be careful your wattage isn't
over 200 or you may light your guest's hair in flames.

Charli
 
The lanters are great, but the problem is that they spread light all over the place, they're very hard to control. For a budget of less than 100 bucks, I'd go for a china lantern with a 250W Bulb in it, and maybe two clamp lights with smaller wattage bulbs. (100 or even less). Or maybe a 500W lamp in the lantern and 125W lams on the clamp lights. Use the lantern for key, one clamp light for a kicker , and the other to light something interesting in the background. A white foamboard can take care of fill nicely.

You'll need at least a stand and an arm, to set your china lantern right, though...
 
I was thinking of this as a 3 point setup:

key light -> 500 watt quartz worklight
fill light -> 1000 watt quartz worklight (bouncing it off a wall)
backlight -> 500 watt quartz worklight
chinese paper lantern-> 2ft in front above my subject (200watt)(as extra lighting)

Does this sound ok? There will be no other light (all ceiling lights and house lamps will be turned off and there will be no sunlight shinning through windows) I want to start off with a dark room.
Any suggestions or pointers would be great!! Thank you
Lisa
 
If you buy a lantern and want to place a 200-250 watt bulb inside, make sure that it is larger than 16inchs. A 12 inch lantern will turn into a fireball, after 20 minutes from a bulb that hot. More than likely, you will have to upgrade the power cord as well, as MOST, not all lanterns ,from say... Pier One may only come with a cord that can handle 60-75 watts. You'll need to visit the hardware store for a porcelain base and cord rated for the wattage of which you speak.
 
One thing to keep in mind when it comes to interviews... the larger the light source, the softer the light and the more pleasing the light on the subject's face, therefore, investing in something like one of the larger Rifas or Chimera Soft Box is well worth it. And don't forget, mother nature provides the nicest soft box of all... the sky.
 
Thanks everyone, for your advice, but how do you think this set up would do being on a tight budget? will it do the job? or is it too strong of lighting??? Do i need to take something away? I can only spend no more then $150. Im new to the filmmaking industry and I spent so much on my camera and its accessories.


key light -> 500 watt quartz worklight
fill light -> 1000 watt quartz worklight (bouncing it off a wall)
backlight -> 500 watt quartz worklight
chinese paper lantern-> 2ft in front above my subject (200watt)(as extra lighting)

Sorry to be a pain in the a**!!
 
I suggest saving the money you'll spend on worklights and buying one light from rostronics.com. If you can swing it, buy one light, even a 300w, and a softbox. If you can't afford the softbox, buy some 1/2 toughspun or a diffusion gel for under $10. This light alone will work for a dramatically lit interview and you won't waste money on a bunch of stuff you likely won't use later.

I'm of the opinion that one decent light with the ability to control light will look much better than 3, 4, or 5 lights which are next to impossible to control without spending so much money on blackwrap, etc. that you might as well have a proper light in the firstplace.

Good luck no matter what, though!
 
I would buy a g-300 light with a softbox and 7.5' stand for $153.00 + shipping. (you'll get a 5% discount if you put "dvxuser" in the coupon code). I've used this very setup, one g-300 light plus softbox, for interviews and have been happy with the results. If you want, you could play with a china ball to be used as backlight/hairlight.

http://www.rostronics.com/products.asp?cat=27
 
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