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what lights do you recommend me get for "house party" type video

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nimihendrix

i'm a beginner when it comes to lighting, i have about a $200 budget for lights


the scenes will be mostly average room sizes, living room, bedroom, etc


what kind of lights should i get? and how many?
 
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Not much you can get for $200.

A couple of work lights with stands from any home improvement
store.
Five or six “scoop lights” - those clamp on work lights with the
silver reflector.
Three or four pieces of Foamcore from any art supply store to use
to bounce the light.
Two or three paper lanterns that you can get at Ikea. Hook each
one to a dimmer (home improvement store again) to get better
control.
Some colored gels (check on line or if there is a small theater in
your town they often have extras) and some black wrap. Check
Studio Depot.

Check out some light kits. You probably can't afford one now, but
it's good to know they are out there:
Lowel makes nice kits. Tungsten lights with stands, barndoors and
hard case. Britek makes nice light kits - cheaper than Lowel and
not as durable, but very usable. You can also check Arri lights -
more expensive and worth every penny. I have a Lowel 6 light kit
with the Omni’s and Tota’s that I bought new in 1990 and am still
using it 20 years later.
 
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nimihendrix said:
i much rather prefer to buy a kit that to put everything together

i can expand my budget whats a good start up kit
Click to expand...
Lowel makes nice kits. Tungsten lights with stands, barndoors and
hard case. Britek makes nice light kits - cheaper than Lowel and
not as durable, but very usable. You can also check Arri lights -
more expensive and worth every penny.
 
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Dimmers.

Hazer.

Flags. You'll want to make sure that the light you are using on talent isn't bathing the rest of the shot in light.

Lots and Lots of decorative string lights (x-mas lights, etc) from Ikea or the dollar store. Barring that, small lamps, anything you can use as a practical accent. Party lights. Avoid the LED kind as they will flicker unless you change shutter speeds. Use these in the backgrounds of shots against what I assume would be a dark-ish scene. Avoid strobe light if you are using a CMOS camera.

I guess it depends on the party, but low-key, specular highlights soft in the b/g, and hazer for atmospheric effects are what I would look for.
 
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Last edited:
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I just shot a house party scene. Depending on how big of a scene you are lighting and how wide you plan on shooting, you could probably get by with some super-cheap work lights (about $6 apiece at Walmart) with 100w and 60w bulbs. These have clamps, so you can attach them just about anywhere.

The room I shot in was small, so I kept it tight and only had maybe 2-3 dancers in a shot at any given time. Used 60w aluminum lights handheld for light washes on the actors. Worked really well.

I use these cheap lights on just about every shoot, even though I have better lights. Just add some black wrap, some black foam-core boards for flags, a diffusion pack, and a few light stands. Cheap and effective.
 
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