Shooting an aquarium

timpecter

timpecter

Member
Hello! I'm pretty inexperienced with lighting for video, but I'm shooting a scene with my HVX and am looking for advice.

The scene involves a 10 gallon aquarium in a Victorian dining room. I want some shots of people in the room looking at the aquarium, and some close up shots of the aquarium by itself. Also, I'm going to be adding some CG creatures in the aquarium. I'd like to avoid any oversaturated colors, but I'd still like a bit of a blue-green cast to the aquarium. There are some windows in the dining room that will probably let some light in from outside, but not too much; I'd like the room lighting to be kinda dark and moody.

Can anyone recommend lighting setups for me? Or forewarn me of any pitfalls I might encounter?

Oh... and should I white balance the camera for tungsten or fluorescent light?

Thanks!
 
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A cheap way to light the tank, would be to go to your hardware store and buy a 24" or 48" fluorescent shop light. The 48" light would be too long for most tanks, but would light the tank well. Perhaps your pet store could hook you up with the correct size for your tank. You will then need to ask for Full Spectrum bulbs. These will closely match the daylight coming in the windows. If you decide to show the top of the tank in your shot, the correct size from the pet store could be placed directly on the tank. If you want to light up your talent, with their faces close to the glass, you might want a larger light source to spill onto their faces.
A softbox could also be used, if suspended either above your tank, or above the set/location.
 
I should have mentioned - the tank has an 18" fluoro fixture. I'll see about finding a Full Spectrum tube for it. I wonder if they make them in that size...
 
Yes they do, just look around at your local hardware store. I don't usually have a hard time finding them.
 
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