Trying to light a music video with a minimal interview lighting kit!

CraftyClown

CraftyClown

Active member
Hi guys,

I have a friend who has been let down with regard to having a music video made for the imminent release of her new single. She has asked me to step in to film something this Sunday, in a big warehouse like space. The problem is, due to having been shafted by the people who were previously meant to make her video, she now has zero budget!

I'm happy to try and help out but the only lights I have are for interview purposes.

1 x 150w Dedo soft fill light
1 x 1000w Starlite octodome soft light
2 x 150w Dedo hard lights

The only lenses I have for my Af are the Lumix 14-140mm and 20mm pancake

The location is a massive disused TV studio. I have no access to it until the day of the shoot and the only thing I've seen of it is the screen grab below;

image.jpg

There are three girls in the band; Singer, drummer and bass player.

I'm wondering if I can use the limited lighting available to some kind of stylistic effect. Arrange the girls with lead singer in front with drummer and bass player just behind to the left and right of her. Then position the two dedo hard lights, slightly above and behind the drummer and bass player, pointing towards camera, creating flare and causing the girls to be silhouetted. After that set up the two soft lights left and right of the camera to light the singer. For tighter shots of the other two, I will move the soft lights in closer.

I am also going to film the three girls smashing up their equipment in slo-mo, which will then be played backwards throughout the video, until at the end everything is fixed again. I figure I can use the same trick of hard lights behind them to give an interesting look.

This works ok in my head, but then I remember I'm trying to make a music video with some low wattage interview lights. Am I being incredibly naive here? Or could this be a way of making the most of zero budget and minimal lighting to get an interesting look?

Answers on a postcard to the usual address please
 
Any chance you can rent fast Nikon lenses and a lens adapter ?

50mm f/1.4 and a 85mm f/1.4 would be my first choices to add to your kit. ( even just the 50mm alone would make a huge difference )
 
I'd rent/borrow lights with more wattage. You'll need it.

And yes, that Lumix with a maximum aperture of f4.0 will bone you indoors as well.
 
Unfortunately, there really is no budget for this whatsoever. Not a penny :(

The girls invested all the money they had into having a video made but it is quite possibly the worst thing ever made!

Faster lenses are high on my shopping list, but I won't be able to afford them in the next couple of days, meaning I'll need to make the most of what I've got.
 
then i'd suggest looking for a different location shooting outside in the day and using bounce boards and reflectors which can be made. You have to come to grips with reality and realize that pushing to make this current video in less than ideal situations will probably be marginally better than their first video. you have absolutely no budget u say for any lights and you will need them. So be creative and use lights that are free and all day long. it will certainly look much better.
 
I'm wondering if I can use the limited lighting available to some kind of stylistic effect. Arrange the girls with lead singer in front with drummer and bass player just behind to the left and right of her. Then position the two dedo hard lights, slightly above and behind the drummer and bass player, pointing towards camera, creating flare and causing the girls to be silhouetted. After that set up the two soft lights left and right of the camera to light the singer. For tighter shots of the other two, I will move the soft lights in closer.
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I would probably go that way... Since you've no means of renting equipment the best is to assume the low light and play with that.

This was the last music video that I directed we were in a very similar situation as yours: no money, two hard lights of 250w and one soft light of 500w.

http://vimeo.com/20998407

And we had only 6 hours with the band because they were gonna go for a tour in Germany the day after.

The DP had a 50mm Canon Lenses and another that I can't recall lol. It was shot with a 7d...
 
Ok.. I'm just gonna spam random stuff below and see if it maybe sparks an idea or two for you:


How many overhead lights are there? Usually studios and warehouses have a lot of those hanging up there.

Might be a cool idea to use the roof and it's lighting as your backdrop and silhouette your band members like crazy.

Then use your available gear to at least get some nice shine on the drums and guitars.

The more color you can get in the background, the better, especially if it is at intervals between the ceiling and the camera. Maybe chuck a poster or red towels or something up there.
Might be a cool idea to try and get some stands or ladders with a curtain or two draped over it - any depth in the background helps.

Christmas lights, bedroom lamps, swinging torches etc. - All make for awesome lighting effects in the bokeh.

There are no rules when it come to music videos so you get to go nuts. El cheapo disco lights, Parcans, whatever. If you can somehow give the viewer a feel for the awesome size of your shoot location, it will add immense production value.

Even an open fridge with it's light on somewhere in the background will work!

bgundu suggested wides as silhouettes - awesome idea!

Dunno what style of music but bright clothes and hats n whatnot also make your job a bit easier with lighting. Anything that pops and reflects light.

Lots n lots of camera movement also gives an impression of budget, especially if there is a lot of stuff behind your subject in focus. Random crap works a lot better than you realize!

Meh... hope it triggers and idea or two for you.

0.02c
 
Great suggestions!

I would just like to ad that it's better when you focuse on the human dimension of the song and try that the video translates that... There's awesome music video with minimalistic - or inexistent even - technique aproaches. Like this for example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX1vsvcSn9M

It's just a guy, probably in his room, singing for the camera... but we can relate to that because all of us already posed for a camera. It's more intimate and more true than a lot of stuff done out there with thousands and thousands of dollars of production...

If you guys want to check out the video that I posted here previously with subtitles for the documentary part here it is:

http://youtu.be/fBo70n9_oZ8?hd=1

Good luck!
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys. Excellent examples of what you can do with limited light, Fernando and Bgundu. Great suggestions as well Wilbur.

I'm glad I posted this, as I now feel confident I should be able to pull something off here.
 
Why shoot at a location you clearly do not have the gear or budget for, just because that location is available?Will the outcome be any better than the other video? What's wrong with shooting outdoors? My thoughts.

Good Luck!
 
David W. Jones said:
Why shoot at a location you clearly do not have the gear or budget for, just because that location is available?Will the outcome be any better than the other video? What's wrong with shooting outdoors? My thoughts.

Good Luck!
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Because that is not my decision to make. I have been asked to help these girls make a video and they have something in mind they want to do. I have explained the pitfalls of what we are attempting however they are happy to take the risk.

I believe the outcome will be better than the other video, because the other video was appalling! It was for some unknown reason, shot in a selection of framerates and resolutions. Half of it is either out of focus or the framing is so bad that bits of kit and crew keep peeking into shot. It is mostly out of sync and ultimately it is unimaginative and boring... and they paid to have that made!

Shooting outdoors would make my life much easier, but as I mentioned, they have a look in mind and would rather use this TV studio. Besides, living in the UK you learn to expect rain at any moment... Even in the summer :)
 
Post up the final result and we can see if the (non paying) girls intransigence has paid off for them.

If they dont take your advice...they have just put you ( only you) under a lot of pressure.

Good luck and may your creativity shine thru.

BTW: I am just finishing a music video for a female artist ( also non paying). I had to bring her ideas from a world of fanta$y into somewhere near reality.
 
Shooter said:
BTW: I am just finishing a music video for a female artist ( also non paying). I had to bring her ideas from a world of fanta$y into somewhere near reality.
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something i have to do all the time. People dont seem to understand that what they have in their head...or see on mtv actually took $$ to do. I'm not saying this cant be done...but i highly doubt it will be done well. They have something in their heads but have no $$ to pull it off. And were not even talking about a couple bucks to rent extra lights...none. I'm sure a creative outdoor daylight shoot could be planned. People need to stop being so married to one idea and realize there are other ways to do things with good results...especially when you are broke. Ah well... goodluck.

btw i dont know if you noticed this but Fernando's location was WAY smaller and also very cramped space in comparison to yours. Heck that looks smaller than the average interview space. Obviously he could use his minimalistic kit.
 
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