Religious Service

Some possibilities:

1. Maybe this 13' light stand is high enough? https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...als_ls203_13_premium_air_cushioned_light.html

I use the 10' version of that.

2. Maybe you could put a light on the steps by putting an apple box or other support on the lower step? Or if you have a c-stand with a rocky mountain leg?

3. Maybe you could bring in a ladder and clamp your light onto a high step?

Regarding tripod height - do they happen to have a table they can bring in that would beat the weight of you and the tripod/camera? Otherwise, if I need super-high camera height, I usually put a tripod head on top of a tall light stand and do my best to set up the shot from below. Not ideal. And you can't operate it. Perhaps if you had a gimbal like the Ronin-S on top of the light stand, you could use wifi apps to remote monitor and operate the rig.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. It’s funny no matter how much equipment you have, you go to a new location and there’s something that totally messes you up. Really wasn’t expecting the altar being that high.

I have tall tripods 6-8’. Whatever angle I get will have to be good enough. I don’t want to entertain the risk of putting it on a table.

My colleague has standard c-stands. I’m going to try them floor level. I thought about the apple box (dred the thought of it falling), Rocky mtn leg is safer but I’d have either buy/rent, same for getting a 13’ c-stand (even though it addresses the height, the light will still be far away). Box or rocky mtn leg seems to be the best solution.
 
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This will probably not be to your liking ... but my suggestion would be to use what you have ... there appears to be 6(?) steps to the base of the altar ...
about 4 - 6 feet from the ground level you will be filming from. Also looks like you have a wonderful ceiling that will be in the background if you
have to shoot up to the altar.

Perhaps lighting the ceiling ... using the falloff from the distance of your lights to the lector ... to provide a bit of depth and accomodation for the angle
that you capture the scene ... and you might turn on the lecture light or add a small LED to provide a bit of level for the lectors face.

Medium telephoto to compress the rest of the space between the lector and the background.

The other thought is to move the lecturn back enough to allow you access to the stage. Unless it is welded or nailed to the floor.
 
That’s an interesting idea but I would consider that an alternate shot to show the location but I will keep that in mind. I’d prefer the primary camera to eye level. One thing I do know it’s a very dim location.

Glad you mentioned the lecturn I see it on the side. he’ll most likely speak there but also use the altar so i’ll need to keep the lights further back to keep them out of the shot and light a larger area. I might have to abandon my ideas of interview style close diffuse light sources.
 
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I would be wary of doing anything from a low angle - either shooting up at him or lighting him from the lectern itself.

Of course, if you just walk your camera back and shoot him on a telephoto - the farther back you can walk, the less you will be pointing up at him.

As for lighting him off the ceiling - that could work, but you'd need fairly powerful lights considering the height of the ceiling and size of the room. Also, if the light is reflecting right above him, it will rain down unflattering toplight.

This seems like a situation for theater-style lighting - lights coming down from about a 45-degree angle from the distance. You could do it with your LED panels and they dont need to be too far away since there's no audience view to block.

I guess I would probably either have 1 light on him from right in front, or 2 lights coming from left and right sides 30 or 45 degrees offset from the front (which would give you more freedom to shoot from the front). I would put them on the tallest stands you can muster.

And if your lights prevent you from getting a wide shot, you may want to consider shooting a few minutes of a very wide shot without the lights which (assuming you cant see his mouth that well) might be used in the edit wherever you want for variety.
 
I agree camera and lights high as possible, theater style 45 deg. Then use background light. I tried out my light stands at home. Even though they go up to 8’ they really are not safe past 6.5’. No question c-stands are a must. My light panels are very heavy.
 
B&h sells an impact heavy duty 13' light stand with 10 lb load capacity for $52: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1273390-REG/impact_ls_13hbi_heavy_duty_light_stand.html

Or the same thing but air-cushioned and load capacity 15lbs for $70 - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...abi_air_cushioned_heavy_duty_light_stand.html

I actually didnt realize how many filter options you can apply when searching for light stands at b&h - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/sear...capacity_4212|22-lbs&srtclk=sort&N=3660843711

You could also maybe rent something if you're not going to shoot there often

Whatever you do - make sure you've got enough sandbags!
 
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Ok the first link is working now. A few thoughts -

1. I like the color balance on sanctuary wide 1. I think it looks nice with that warmer palette

2. The light seems a little far to the side and possibly a bit hard. Is it possible to bring it a bit closer to the front and also maybe add a softbox or put a frame of diffusion in front? I dont think putting more diffusion on the source itself would help. I think it would help to make the source effectively larger.

3. I understand that the wide shot is limiting how far you can bring the light to the front. Is it possible to shoot the wide shot separately just to give yourself some cutaways? (If he kept his mask on, that would be very easy.) You could shoot the close-ups with lights in place and then move the light back and shoot a little b-roll of him in various positions during the service. But if that's not possible, i might recommend using a tighter wide shot so you can light more frontally. It might be more important to get a good-looking close-up since you will use the close-up a lot and he said he wanted good lighting. OR! If you want to get fancy, you could shoot a bit of the wide-shot with the light pulled back to use as a plate. And then put the light into the proper position. As long as the tripod doesn't move at all, it should be relatively easy to mask out the light from the wide shot with the plate you shot. And then you get the best of both worlds - a very wide shot and a close-up with 3/4 lighting instead of side lighting

4. Lastly, I might recommend a little fill from the right side because the shadow from the key light seems a bit dark. Not terribly dark, just a bit.

And honestly, with the set-up you already have here, it looks so much better than the still they have from youtube (sanctuary high view youtube), so I'm sure they will be pleased.
 
Hey Peter, this summer is definitly packed with gigs for synogogues needing virtual services for the high holidays. I'm Jewish myself so I get calls about these every week or two. I'm currently filming one this entire week. I haven't really had time to read through your post but just wanted to wish you good luck navigating the different prayers and rituals and working with controlling light in large spaces. It's definitely a challenge Just remember, the high holidays are typically long drawn out days of services so people that tune in to watch them are not expecting fireworks. They want something meaningful, beautiful where they feel like they are back with their congregation and in the sanctuary.
 
I haven't posted in a while because I lost power and internet for almost a week due to a freak tropical storm. At the meeting the biggest challenge turned out to be the complexity of doing many things that require different setups. I'll film the service, each member of the choir separately singing 6 songs, outdoor interviews, and b-roll. They also want a prayer book displayed so I'm still trying to decide how I will frame it.
ahalpert said:
2. The light seems a little far to the side and possibly a bit hard. Is it possible to bring it a bit closer to the front and also maybe add a softbox or put a frame of diffusion in front? I dont think putting more diffusion on the source itself would help. I think it would help to make the source effectively larger.
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Agreed. I'm going to move the lights closer. I'd like to make source bigger but due to cost and complexity I'm going to leave it alone. I played with the idea of larger diffusers but that would need more power mono lights, then it gets expensive.

3. I understand that the wide shot is limiting how far you can bring the light to the front. Is it possible to shoot the wide shot separately just to give yourself some cutaways? (If he kept his mask on, that would be very easy.) You could shoot the close-ups with lights in place and then move the light back and shoot a little b-roll of him in various positions during the service. But if that's not possible, i might recommend using a tighter wide shot so you can light more frontally. It might be more important to get a good-looking close-up since you will use the close-up a lot and he said he wanted good lighting. OR! If you want to get fancy, you could shoot a bit of the wide-shot with the light pulled back to use as a plate. And then put the light into the proper position. As long as the tripod doesn't move at all, it should be relatively easy to mask out the light from the wide shot with the plate you shot. And then you get the best of both worlds - a very wide shot and a close-up with 3/4 lighting instead of side lighting
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I'm going to reduce the size of the wide shot and get rocky mountain leg c-stands so I can move the lights closer.

4. Lastly, I might recommend a little fill from the right side because the shadow from the key light seems a bit dark. Not terribly dark, just a bit.
And honestly, with the set-up you already have here, it looks so much better than the still they have from youtube (sanctuary high view youtube), so I'm sure they will be pleased.
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It's unevenly lit because the power adapter for one of my lights failed. I got word today the manufacture is sending me the adapter. What a relief!
egproductions said:
Hey Peter, this summer is definitly packed with gigs for synogogues needing virtual services for the high holidays. I'm Jewish myself so I get calls about these every week or two. I'm currently filming one this entire week. I haven't really had time to read through your post but just wanted to wish you good luck navigating the different prayers and rituals and working with controlling light in large spaces. It's definitely a challenge Just remember, the high holidays are typically long drawn out days of services so people that tune in to watch them are not expecting fireworks. They want something meaningful, beautiful where they feel like they are back with their congregation and in the sanctuary.
Click to expand...
Thanks
 
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