I`ve been making short skits and videos for a while now with my friends and all, but i was never really serious about quality and all that until a few months ago when i started to get serious with film. I went out and bought a T3i and some sound equipment but one thing i have never really used a lot in my videos were a source of lighting that was not natural. So i was wondering, whats a cheap ( like under $20 - $50 ish) small lighting unit that i can carry with me just to give a little light to the scene? I'm not looking for something to light a whole set, just something i can point at my talent and make it look a lot better. Thanks in advance!
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Quick lighting question
- Thread starter That_film_Guy
- Start date
The main problem with poor lighting isn't the light falling
on the talent - it's an unlit background. There is also the
back light. Putting a light behind the actor to separate
them from the background can do wonders.
I think if I were to suggest just ONE light I would go with
the good ol' clamp light. I love using paper lanterns so
that would be my second recommendation.
I would second the clamp light (search around this forum, there are tons of threads on this very thing... including my recommendations on what kind of clamp light to purchase). It's easier to control than the china ball and a little more versatile than just throwing out light.
That said, a china ball makes a really nice soft light for you that looks really beautiful, but you'll want to have quite a bit of practice controlling where lights goes and doesn't before getting into that sort of thing.
light your background and foreground separately so you can control them separately. Look up "chiaroscura" and "tenebrism" here and wikipedia/google. Research portrait lighting techniques on youtube and google (and here). Put on your learning hat!
That said, a china ball makes a really nice soft light for you that looks really beautiful, but you'll want to have quite a bit of practice controlling where lights goes and doesn't before getting into that sort of thing.
light your background and foreground separately so you can control them separately. Look up "chiaroscura" and "tenebrism" here and wikipedia/google. Research portrait lighting techniques on youtube and google (and here). Put on your learning hat!
Home Depot canlights, cheap and effective. I bought two softboxes with legstands for 70$ on e-bay. Greatest filmmaking investment I ever made. Chinabowl is good and gives softer light but not as good as softboxes since they have reflective surfaces and give directional light.
Thanks everyone for the good responses. Not really sure which type il get yet but i have a better picture of what i should get.
How well do the clamps attach to the poles on the S-V kit? Is it quick and do they stay where you put them?
They'll slip a little unless you fiddle with them to find the best way to clamp them (sometimes adding some grip like a rag or some rubberized something on the pole will help give it more purchase, but you can alter them to have a pin in the bracket rather than the clamp... and that should work wonderfully.