well lit store.

[John]

I'm shooting my first short in a shop that's really well lit.. Is there any need for lights focused on the characters or should it be ok with the store lights? I know this is a pretty vague question and hard to answer. Would I benefit from soft light on a character in such a well lit area.. Would the soft light really be all that visible with naked light so highly visible?

 

[PDX_DVX]

Well, "well lit" is a vague term. Just because ther is alot of light in a store, doesn't necessarily mean it's well lit. Lighting for video is tricky. I assume the majority of the light is coming from overhead? If that's the case, you're going to get lots of shadows on peoples faces, like in their eyes and the like. However, you don't always have to use lights to light people. I would suggest trying some bounce cards to bounce the above light onto the actors from below. A bounce card is usually a piece of white foamcore poster type board that you can get from any craft or office supply store for really cheap. It might be a good idea however, to bring some lights along with you just in case, to keep your options open. But try the bounce card method, because chances are likely what seems well lit to the naked eye won't be what you're looking for with the video...

 

[John]

I rephrased right as you were posting. read again

Also, the majority of the light is "overhead" as you stated. There is mild light from underneath as the store stand is lit.

 

[PDX_DVX]

Soft light is deffinetly going to be visible. It's going to fill in those dark areas, and overall add a less harsh look to the overhead light. The way you light the scene also depends on the mood. If the store is being robbed, you probably would benefit from the harsh overhead light. If it's a happier mood, you would benefit from softening the lights. The way you light is very dependant on the mood of the scene. When in doubt, you can always look at movies with similar settings and scenes in them. The key though is to not make the soft light look artificial. They usually refer to this type of light as "fill" light as it is filling the shadows, and the harsher light is usually called "key" because it is the stronger light. Not all key light has to be naked and harsh though...It's hard to tell exactly how to light the scene, but I would say a bounce card can work wonders. Just get a grip to hold it in the correct position just out of frame, and you can really efficiently use the existing light that's already there. Don't forget also that bouncing light off of ceiling and walls can help too...

 

[John]

Thanks. We have access to a softbox so what I'm going to do is test the light before we actually shoot and see what needs to be compensated. It's my first shoot, so I wanted to make sure if the lighting would be needed or not. Just learning as I got along.

 

[taubkin]

You will probably have to color correct your light, so have your color gels ready...

It's always better to have different levels of luminance in your shot so you can add depth to the picture. If you manage to have a bright softbox in your talents, you might be able to stop down a little and make deeper looking frames...

 

[John]

You will probably have to color correct your light, so have your color gels ready...

It's always better to have different levels of luminance in your shot so you can add depth to the picture. If you manage to have a bright softbox in your talents, you might be able to stop down a little and make deeper looking frames...

Yes, I was thinking of that myself to avoid any noise. I don't think this will be hard considering it is such a well lit store, but the softbox will surely help.