Shooting in a small office room(white walls, ugly even flourescent light above) HELP!

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dtjohns1

Well-known member
This friday im shooting a small scene for a music video in a small office room with white walls and even overhead lighting. It will basically be a single subject at a desk. I know you are supposed to stray away from white in video but I dont have another option. What would be the best way to light this type of scene so there it is not bland and has definition?
 
Keep the light off the walls as much as possible.

Use gaff tape to magnets on the metal parts of the ceiling to hang duvateen or black fabric skirts around the ceiling fluorescent lights to keep it off the walls, then fill to taste with the production lights.
 
Thanks! If im using arri fresnels do i need to get that green flourescent balanced gel so it matches to flourescent over head? also what wb setting do I set my camera to?
 
That's tough, I hope you have something with decent dynamic range as your biggest priority should probably be not to blow out/clip the white walls as that will look atrocious and video-y amateurish. I would try to dim down the total lighting ambience if possible (for example by turning off some of the rows of flourescents in the ceiling that are off frame so that you can't tell they're off) and then light the subject without spill (control the light) so that the light softly lights just your talent and doesn't spill onto the white walls and such which will cause them to blow out easily.
also if the person has to wear a dress shirt try to make it the blue kind or something else OTHER than white as that will be hideous and clipped as well.
in fact if the overheard fluorescents are not in the shot I would play with turning them off altogether IF there are large windows or something along those lines around letting in natural light as that will give a better gray gradation to the walls so they are not pure white and ugly.
 
j said:
Keep the light off the walls as much as possible.

Use gaff tape to magnets on the metal parts of the ceiling to hang duvateen or black fabric skirts around the ceiling fluorescent lights to keep it off the walls, then fill to taste with the production lights.
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Magnets! What a heckuva good idea. Thanks much for that. Harbor Freight here I come . . .
 
^^^ I wish I had a choice. Im from nc and the group is flying me out to miami. Im not from there so i wasnt able to location hunt and they had some connections to get the location for free so this is what they found.
 
ggrantly said:
If possible, turn all the building flos off and light with your own lights. Control, control, control.

Grant
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Yah, and see if you can get some art on the walls to break them up and maybe use a practical desk lamp that's warmer for some visual interest. You'll almost surely have a window so see what you can do using the blinds to take light off the wall or get some texture from them. You might be able to find out what the tubes in the fluorescent are and swap them out for some good Kino daylight ones. Get a backlight behind your subject for an edge light.

This shot looks better than you'd have guessed.

P1010678_640X800.jpg
 
ok that's no where near as bad as i thought. it's not a super high key flourescent environment, the walls already have a nice fall off gradient of shadow so they probably won't clip out. just still try to control the light best you can away from them and I would spruce up the bare office as much as possible don't let it look that bare. put stuff on walls on the desk, all over make it look like a real office room not an empty one
 
This is just a WAS (wild ass suggestion): How about shooting green screen? Not saying you should, but it is an alternative to solving all you problems before the shoot.

Grant
 
Id do as previously mentioned.

Skirt the overheads - change tubes to kino tubes or similar osrams if possible.

Use practicals.

Light for effect or style your after.


Cant change the current flo tubes to kinos or similar?

Often these types of office flo overheads (standard) have an audible hum. Check and change starters and globes on problem lamps.

Make sure at least the tubes match in color temp.

Small space needs the same thing as large, light controls. Make sure you have cinefoil on hand (blackwrap) as you may not have space to flag and cut light per an big open space.

You should also consider killing the office light in this small space, and set it up from scratch. I would.

Oh yes, and set design will take care of the rest. Break the wall up with some pictures etc.
 
bring in some plants, or even potted trees to break up the wall space, just try to make it look like it has some depth. If it has window, throw a light in front to simulate sun comming through. cto will add to the effect a bit. add some pics to the walls, and some little framed pics on the desk of kids. that always gives it a more personal feel. You can buy gel tubes for the flouresant lights if need be. but I would white balance to the mix of the two. If someone is at a desk, shoot from over their shoulder if you can to add another perspetive, it will make the space look bigger too, and help break up the stark room.
 
Just a thought, if you decide not to used the overhead flos, (color temp.,flicker,hum etc.) and bring in your own lighting fixtures. You may have to think about some over head rigging if the space is too small for light placement on stands.
 
I'd check to see where the ceiling supports are and bring in some drop scissor clamps to hang stuff from above. Bring extras and run cables on em. Having said that, I've seen these ceilings come down and would probably feel safer booming it and using the ceiling as a support.

Edit: I should add, I would probably kill the lights and hang kinos using the method I said above or in a real pinch grab a 1k or maybe more and bounce it off the ceiling. If you're in a real pinch, a bounce is easier to suspend over someone and you can use duvetyne or blackwrap to fine tune it. add some practicals and you're golden. It's a soft ambient light from above with more defined table lamps to help someone see better while they work. Ditto on the art for sure and some clutter on the desk.
 
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Safety is always 1st, If you decide to rig fixtures from overhead remove the ceiling tiles if you can and rig from the beam support if you can. You may need a few few grip items such as baby nail on plates, 20-40" c-stand arms, a few gobo heads etc. You'll have make sure everything is tight and use safety lines. If your'e not sure, consult/hire a good rigging grip.
 
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