to light talking head in small space-softbox vs fresnel

R

robfilms

Veteran
to light talking head in small space-softbox vs fresnal

here is the situation:

camera-canon 5d or 7d
lens-nikon ais prime 50mm 1.8

i have to shoot a series of upbeat talking head-12 of them-during the course of a 2hr corporate event.

the only available space is a corner office away from the gathering.

the office measures 14' x 10' but i can not totally remove the contents of the office.

consequentially, i have one spot for the interviewees to stand.

that spot is approx 4ft from the black fabric background i will put on a stands

the camera will be 8ft in front of them.

the ceiling is 8ft dropped ceiling.

i have access to two lighting instruments for my key-a small (rather than large or med) softbox with a 500watt daylight bulb (also have access to 3200 & 5600 bulbs) or a 650watt arri fresnel.

all the interviewees will be standing & are youngish, vibrant and energized-20yr-40yr-of varying heights and some-unknown amount-wear glasses.

i have 2hrs to interview 12 folks.

that means i have approx 10min with each-including lighting tweaks.

if i use the softbox as key, 45degress from camera/45 degress up, the light should be fine

but i'm worried about the spill from the softbox and glasses reflecting the lights.

i would then use a reflector as fill creating a flat look w/o much contrast but their youngish qualities will look more vibrant.

if i use a 650 fresnel as key, a can barn door/snoot the light allowing me to control the spill. i would then use a 250 bounced for fill.

both would have a 150 watt has hair/backgrd light.

i am concerned that the lighting tweaks between interviewees will chew up my time and leave me less time for the q&a.

so, softbox or fresnel?

or perhaps another thought?

thanks in advance.

be well

rob
smalltalk productions
 
Last edited:
For that type of work, I'd gravitate more toward soft light. The fresnel with no diffusion is going to create harsh shadows.
 
If it were my gig:

I'd nix pointing a 650 at someone in a tiny room - that room's gonna be an oven before long.

A samll softbox will be pretty frustrating - for just a head could be useable, head & shoulders, I'd want at least a 2' x 3', but you could easily rig diffusion of that size - just hanging white fabric over a c-stand arm (attach with a-clamps) often works fine.

Is spill a bad deal? If this is just a black BG do you need a deep look with lots of shading, or do you want the subjects to be somewhat bright & "flat" vs. dramatic shadow falloff around the face? A softbox is good for really controlling the light. But a small one can seem pretty hard, light-wise.

I'd really try to get your hands on a dual or quad biax flo, which runs much cooler and needs little or no diffusion; barn doors will help with spill, as will flags, black foamcore or black fabric.

For a 150 fresnel overhead/hair light, you can use one of those scissors clips that hang from suspended ceilings. Bring a 2nd one to manage the cable. (And a small 300 may be more appropriate.)
 
Go with the softbox as your key--you can raise it higher for the subjects that have glasses and get rid of
most if not all of the reflection(some glasses will be non-glare)--have additional fill cards/lights standing by to fill
from the bottom, if needed. Do a test in advance & work out your system if you can.
 
Yah, softbox for key, small light from scissor clip on suspended ceiling for hair light. Aim it at the shoulders too and get some rim out of it. Bring the key around to the front a bit until it illuminates some of the opposite cheek and forget about a separate fill light. And a 4 bank flo would be best because of heat and size. And don't worry, everything is going to work fine because you have the tools and clearly know what you are doing. Any way to test a little early?
 
Soft box for key, would be nice. you can attach a Soft Egg Crate to control the spill if you really concern about it. You will be in a tiny small space so for me I won't stress too much.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top