Lights to pair w/Diva 400 for interview kit.

traviswears

traviswears

Well-known member
Hi,

Thanks everyone for the help yesterday on the Diva stand. Appreciated. Was curious to see what lights you all would pair with the Diva to create a versatile kit to be used primarily in studio interviews and some run-n-gun documentary-style gigs?

I like the Diva bc it's bright and can roll daylight balanced if needed. I'd love to pick up an additional 2 lights that can be used to compliment it. My initial thoughts are to pick up an Arri 150 and 300 fresnel. The 150 for a hair light and the 300 for a background kicker.

Or would a Diva 200 and a Arri 150 be a better bet? I like the idea of a Diva 200 for fill or background light and an Arri 150 or 300 for more focused light in the background, but the 200 is nearly the cost of the 400. Versatile, durable and portable is what I'm looking for. Would like to spend between 600 - 700 including bulbs, cases and stands.

Any ideas?
 
My first choice would be another Diva 400. Most every interview I do is lit by two Diva 400s placed side-by-side to form a square. If one were to go down I could easily continue with just the other.

Everyone should learn to light with just one source, & only then consider adding others. Much can be done with reflectors, cutters, etc. When practical I much prefer to fill with a reflector as it usually looks more natural. Then again I question whether fill is really needed in the first place.

I'm not a proponent of three-point lighting, but understand if a client occasionally requires it.
 
Bern Caughey said:
Everyone should learn to light with just one source, & only then consider adding others. Much can be done with reflectors, cutters, etc. When practical I much prefer to fill with a reflector as it usually looks more natural. Then again I question whether fill is really needed in the first place.

I'm not a proponent of three-point lighting, but understand if a client occasionally requires it.
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So are you saying you don't use hairlights at all? Can I see an example of your work? I'm still learning and love to pick up different ways to light. I pretty much use basic 3-pt on most of my interviews but that's primarily because that's what I know how to do best at the moment.

Thanks for the feedback btw. If a Diva 200 costs nearly as much as the 400, I might as well get another 400. Would love to keep it under 700 but it's not looking like that's going to be feasible.
 
In studio I would often use the diva plus two kino four banks or one kino and a bounce. That's a nice setup if you have a budget.

Otherwise maybe pick up an arri 650 and 350. Might be able to save some cash buying used, and with arri it's worth it.
 
Whatever you do remember it is almost always better to go in with bigger lights then you think you need. I would look at a 650 & 300 over a 300 & 150. You can always scrim down and cut light, but you can't punch it up if the wattage isn't there. I'll assume since you're looking at light you are not working with a gaffer? In which case I think your biggest obstacle will be the lack of c-stands, flags, cutters, diffusion, sandbags, and gels.

A lot of the time I never point my hard light sources at a subject, even for hair/rim. I'll bounce them into a 2'x2' or larger piece of foam-core/breadboard to act as the light source. Always great to have big pieces of 216, 250, opal diffusion to strap over your kinos as well that you can adjust on a subject by subject basis.
 
William_Robinette said:
Whatever you do remember it is almost always better to go in with bigger lights then you think you need. I would look at a 650 & 300 over a 300 & 150. You can always scrim down and cut light, but you can't punch it up if the wattage isn't there. I'll assume since you're looking at light you are not working with a gaffer? In which case I think your biggest obstacle will be the lack of c-stands, flags, cutters, diffusion, sandbags, and gels.

A lot of the time I never point my hard light sources at a subject, even for hair/rim. I'll bounce them into a 2'x2' or larger piece of foam-core/breadboard to act as the light source. Always great to have big pieces of 216, 250, opal diffusion to strap over your kinos as well that you can adjust on a subject by subject basis.
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Good advice. I'll be picking up a few c stands soon. I do have a few shot bags, flags and gels but could always use more. My gels are small squares built more for Arri lights than the larger Divas. I haven't had to use gels often with the divas, mostly I try to use the flozier or ND filters if I need to cut a stop or so.

Are you saying you bounce your hair light? Interesting. I haven't tried that myself. Not sure the 150 has enough oomph to be used as a hair light if it's being bounced.
 
bern-

very impressive.

wondros?

was not aware of their work-or yours-but i am now.

thumbs up.

be well.

rob
smalltalk productions
 
Bern Caughey said:
My first choice would be another Diva 400. Most every interview I do is lit by two Diva 400s placed side-by-side to form a square. If one were to go down I could easily continue with just the other.

Everyone should learn to light with just one source, & only then consider adding others. Much can be done with reflectors, cutters, etc. When practical I much prefer to fill with a reflector as it usually looks more natural. Then again I question whether fill is really needed in the first place.

I'm not a proponent of three-point lighting, but understand if a client occasionally requires it.
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bern-

on the linked mit media lab spot, i think i can see the reflection in the retina of the side-by-side divas-prof pattie maes.

http://wondros.com/video/mit-media-lab

i'm imagining the pair of divas are almost above the camera/above the subject, rather than the more traditional 45degree up/45degree over.

there is a slight "hot spot" mid-temple on several of the subjects-nothing offensive by any means-in fact, the source might even be construed as "natural"?

i'm trying to discern if any bounce was used to provide a fill light.

i'm also looking for a light that separates the subject from the background but the gray background might offer enough contrast were such a light isn't needed.

as someone who wants to continue to learn their craft, thank you for sharing your obvious talents and experience.

be well.

rob
smalltalk productions
 
Rob,

As a Lighting DP I rarely shoot A-Cam during interviews, rather look for cut-aways. Our prosocial work is low budget, & very fast paced, usually having only seconds to adjust the lights, & begin filming myself. Unfortunately this dictates that the A-Cam operator decides how close to position themselves, & the Director, to the lighting. Though you'd never know it from those samples, the light is usually 45* off angle, & always above the camera axis.

For an example of lighting over the camera see...

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?263882-The-F-Word-Famine-is-the-Real-Obscenity-(PSA)

I'm not against hair-light, or fill. But I don't slavishly employ them.

Best,
B
 
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robfilms said:
as someone who wants to continue to learn their craft,
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One piece of advice is to try feathering lights. Unless they're a point source don't aim directly at the subject. Rather feather them across, & down (if applicable), the subject to control fall-off.

There's something about the edge light of a feathered source that's prettier than dead-on.
 
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Bern Caughey said:
One piece of advice is to try feathering lights. Unless they're a point source don't aim directly at the subject. Rather feather them across, & down (if applicable), the subject to control fall-off.

There's something about the edge light of a feathered source that's prettier than dead-on.
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So if I understand correctly, you're saying to use the edge of the key light, (where it's dropping off) to play across the face as a key? What do you then do with the primary beam of the light then, flag it? I'm definitely interested in trying this.

Like I said, I've sort of taught myself and I know I need to step up my lighting game a lot.

Here's some of my recent work: http://vimeo.com/32556995

Would love some professional feedback on the lighting. I know it's not the best, so don't worry about offending me. I'm here to work hard and learn from my mistakes. It was a hastily produced shoot with not a lot of time to light the interview. I used a Diva 400 for the key, a 2ft 2-bank for the fill and an Arri 150 for the hairlight. I hit the background (Roman military garb) with a scrimmed down 300 w/some CTO.

If I were to do it again, I'd use less fill and dim the Diva down a bit to reduce the glare from the hotspot. Is this accurate? Any other suggestions?

Thanks guys. Appreciate the community here.
 
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