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Lighting an interview

S

s_marcell

Hey guys,

I would like to film an interview. Now I1ve learnt a lot from youtube videos and other tutorial videos as well as books so now I kind of know how to set up the lights but here is my question:

What kind of lamp should my key light be? I mean exactly what company and which type. I know I would like to use a softbox on it and I am on a budget. Whad do you recommend?

Thank you!
 
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s_marcell said:
My budget would be at around $150. I would be shooting indoors with no natural light coming in. I would like to present a warm looking picture but it'd be good if I could use it for different shots as well.
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thats not a lot to work with for lighting.. not even a window or anything. are there any practicals? what sort of light is in this building right now
 
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sfoster said:
thats not a lot to work with for lighting.. not even a window or anything. are there any practicals? what sort of light is in this building right now
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Not a window. But of course there are some other light sources like practicals yea. But I have other two Led lights for the fill light and the hair light, so what I really need is a key light now.
 
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s_marcell said:
Not a window. But of course there are some other light sources like practicals yea. But I have other two Led lights for the fill light and the hair light, so what I really need is a key light now.
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i am definitely no lighting expert.. just trying to help out with getting as much information out there for when someone comes into this thread that really does know what they're talking about.

anyway if you want soft light for your key, you can use a grip stand to hold a frame, and spread out a diffuser on that such as a white bed sheet
 
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sfoster said:
i am definitely no lighting expert.. just trying to help out with getting as much information out there for when someone comes into this thread that really does know what they're talking about.

anyway if you want soft light for your key, you can use a grip stand to hold a frame, and spread out a diffuser on that such as a white bed sheet
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Thanks. However my question would be what exact product to buy with these purposes.
 
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most lighting is expensive. one possibility is to get a c-stand, a dimmer, and suspend a china ball from it. very cheap, soft light..

how wide is your shot? how close can the lighting be to the subject
well thats all i've got :P hopefully someone else can be of more help
 
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I bought this set from Amazon a few months back to use on a documentary project I'm currently working on. Mind you, it's not top quality stuff, but for the price, it's hard to beat. I've lugged it around a 3 state area for 12+ interviews so far, and have had no problems with it at all. I know it's not going to last me 10 years, but if it lasts for a year or more I'll consider it money well spent.


NP
 
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Nonprophet said:
I bought this set from Amazon a few months back to use on a documentary project I'm currently working on. Mind you, it's not top quality stuff, but for the price, it's hard to beat. I've lugged it around a 3 state area for 12+ interviews so far, and have had no problems with it at all. I know it's not going to last me 10 years, but if it lasts for a year or more I'll consider it money well spent.


NP
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Thanks for this! Will definitely check it out.
Do you have any reference shot with these lights?
 
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Yeah...

Just use your LEDs for your rim (head) and key lights then use a bounce card / reflector for your fill.

Done like dinner.

As for what to buy... if this is your only interview... don't buy anything, use what you have or rent.

If you plan on doing multiple interviews... don't buy anything if all you have is $150.

Without knowing the nature of the interview, subject, type of gig, deliverable method, this question is impossible to answer.
 
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sfoster said:
most lighting is expensive. one possibility is to get a c-stand, a dimmer, and suspend a china ball from it. very cheap, soft light..

how wide is your shot? how close can the lighting be to the subject
well thats all i've got :P hopefully someone else can be of more help
Click to expand...
This is a good idea. You can get a nice silk china ball for $15 and suspend a few home-depot lights in it (the ones with cheap aluminum reflectors) with 100W bulbs. Fired into the side of the ball is actually a bit directional and very soft. Total cost maybe $100, and that's with nice halogens inside.

Be careful mixing colors, though... you don't want to use LED flashlights without a CTO gel if you use tungsten/halogen as your key. You need to match it to the current colors of those lights you already have, or badness will happen.

funny story - I was using an office to shoot something, and couldn't borrow the lights I had used for earlier scenes ... so we were pretty limited and I tossed a whole bunch of those cheap clip-on lights into the car and a big china ball. After I set it all up and was dialing in my cameras, the woman who worked there comes out with a set of ARRIs and asks if I could use them.
 
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I recommend going to a hardware store and picking up some clamp lights + extension cords. Get a cheap reflector and cheap light stands online. Now you have a cheap 3-point lighting kit and a reflector. Or you could pick up one of those $150-ish photography lighting kits from eBay or Amazon.
 
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