Low-cost, effective lighting configuration for "show" format

[xSDMx]

So, I've recently ventured from written product reviews to video product reviews and I'd love to use my GH2 in a "professional" capacity. To give you a background for the setup, imagine your standard "promotional" video with one individual speaking about a particular item, either at a location, behind a desk, or (usually) standing up in front of a backdrop. I want to get the best bang for my buck, but I want to make sure I am picking a solution that will be effective.

I thought that going on-camera might be good, because I would get good subject lighting. But I realized that, even with the 312 LED, I might end up having difficult lighting an entire person, and I am missing out on subject, key, background, and fill specific roles, giving me zero dimension.

So, I took a look at the redheads and finally found the three light britek configuration. It definitely looks like it would be great for this format, but I'm concerned that the lights might get too hot, or the temperature might conflict with other light sources.

So, given my requirements, should I jump on the on-camera 312 led, or look for a better off-camera solution? Thanks!

 

[Noel Evans]

For your purposes and technical level Id be going with "basic" three point lighting - search the internet for that. Id also be looking at two soft sources and a small source RIM/KICKER. For soft sources and it seems you want to keep your spend down - Two of these http://www.coollights.biz/clsft1p-speed-softbox-3200k-stand-p-132.html and one of these - http://www.coollights.biz/cltf0300-300w-compact-tungsten-fresnel-p-56.html.

I want to reiterate this - this is what I consider the best option for your technical level. After some time you will become comfortable with this set up and start to consider ways you could do this better - until then this will give you a nice shot as a start point.