What are some methods to best achieve these kickers, especially in a more wide/master shot. I often find them protruding too much into the face or that the kicker is too large and rims the shoulder and head.

I’m pretty sure that in Se7en Darius Khondji ASC AFC and gaffer Chris Strong employed a lot of kinoflo lights for accents.

“The flashlights were normal though a bit boosted in wattage after we shot tests. Xenon flashlights are too obvious to me.”
 

I am planning on using them as a keylight, so the ability to control CCT and a high fidelity spectrum would be ideal.

I’m looking for gaffers and DPs who have experienced tricky color shifts under different light sources.
For my bachelor’s thesis at Stuttgart Media University, I’m collecting real-world examples, such as fabrics or materials showing unexpected colors on camera, differences between eye and camera, or other unusual artifacts.

I’d really appreciate it if you could share your experience in this short survey:  https://www.umfrageonline.com/c/hsh9bkak

Thanks a lot,
Simon

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OyYGIHkQ_P1fp8a3oeLaSAD49ikl_Otj?usp=share_link

I imagine, however, that if you are using carbon arc lights, it would indeed make sense to have a dedicated call to strike them, as they burn hot and consume rods. What I haven't found yet is actual evidence or documentation of a "lights" call on film sets from the silent era.

Does anyone know if silent film sets really had such a verbal sequence to strike the lights before cameras rolled?

(12:35)

My question is about actual photometric output (lux / foot-candles), not electrical compatibility.

I want to clarify something first: Let’s assume the fixtures are used correctly:

• A 120V fixture is paired with a 120V lamp and connected to a proper 120V supply

• A 230V fixture is paired with a 230V lamp and connected to a proper 230V supply

I am not asking whether a lamp can be safely connected to a different voltage. I understand that bulbs must match the voltage of the supply.

The question is this:

If we take the same type of fixture (for example an ARRI 18K, 24K, 9K, or a tungsten unit like a 1K, 2K, or 5K), does the photometric output remain the same when comparing a 120V version to a 230V version, assuming both are operating at their nominal power?

In other words:

• Does a 230V version of a fixture produce the same lux / foot-candles as its 120V counterpart when measured at the same distance?

• Or are there inherent differences in output due to filament design, electrical characteristics, or fixture optimization for different voltages?

I’m interested in real-world measurements or manufacturer-level explanations, not just theoretical electrical equivalence.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much!
Benjamin Cortes Lyon

-gb

Curious about a bit of information while reading the latest ASC article on Marty Supreme.

Darius mentions that him and Ian Kincaid came to deciding on "mushroom lights" for the indoor sequences and i'm wondering if they mean the actual shape of the diffusion or is this is a fixture?

Further, I imagine this works better as a top light since gravity is working with you.

Quote

Ian was a wonderful adviser. For the table-tennis scenes, we did some tests with different types of light, including modern, diffuse quartz, box LEDs and mushroom lights. And we ended up using the mushroom lights because there was nothing more beautiful coming down on the faces. The way the light hit the faces, and the propagation of the light around it, was just perfect.

This may be a beginner’s question, as I imagine this is fairly common knowledge, but while looking at some behind-the-scenes images from films gaffed by Bill O’Leary, I noticed a recurring setup. In several images of interior scenes, black flags or fabric are hung from the ceiling — often in combination with a relatively large light source.

This made me wonder: what is this technique called, and more importantly, what is its purpose? My assumption is that it’s used to prevent light from bouncing off the ceiling and spilling back onto the actors’ faces, but I’m not entirely sure. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Many thanks in advance,

Cisco

I have had good luck with controlling one fixture at a time with ARRI Stellar, but it was a bit of a hack to get it working. Don’t want to have to set up a separate WiFi network each time the fixtures are used. 
 

Thanks for your help. Any insights or particularly cool use cases for these lights are also appreciated. 
 

  - Bob

859 pages PDF

I would like to share with all of you an online free book I have been working on: https://chrisbrejon.com/cg-cinematography/

This is a compilation of all my knowledge regarding lighting and computer graphics for the past 20 years.

There is one specific article I would like to point out: https://chrisbrejon.com/articles/what-makes-a-good-picture-formation/

This is my latest writing and I hope it will be of interest to some of you. I discuss here a very specific aspect of cinematography: picture formation, which I believe to be at the very heart of making images.

Any feedback is welcome.

Regards,

Chris

I would like to hear some opinions from you on the matter of windows, specifically what is the degree of overexposure you favor for a window when showing what's outside is not an issue.

I am mainly asking this because i'll be filming a studio day/int scene soon, and the exterior (what's seen outside the window) is irrelevant to the movie, but i'm not sure WHETHER to drape the windows and overexpose them a few stops so they go blank, OR to go for a backdrop and keep the window clear (of drapes). Hope i'm making myself understood here.. :unsure:

I know you'll tell me "it depends on this and that" or something like that, and you'd be right, but I was wondering if you guys could advance some arguments/cases/examples on the use of one method or the other. Some cinematographers like to blow them windows big time, like Kaminski does in some scenes in Munich or Minority Report (just what came to mind), others go easy, like Rousselot in Dangerous Liaisons etc.

In Capote for instance, usually the windows seen in the shot do hold "windowframe" details, such as the folds on the drapes or the very window grid pattern, without showing the outside, though -- so i suppose this would be an intermediate solution between full-blown-blank-shaft of light-kind of window and the traditional "see the outside, the backdrop" one.

Well, I hope I didn't mess it up too much in this post, sorry if the question may sound silly but I think it's fairly important to have it discussed.

Thank you very much!

Cheers

Learning more about contrast ratios and have a question regarding keeping them consistant throughout a project.

Am I correct in thinking that when shooting all the different scenes required for a Commercial or Film I would keep my contrast ratio consistant?

For example:

My character is in a bedroom at night, bedside lights are on and moonlight is in the windows....I set my Key to Fill ratio to be: 3:1

Would I then in the next scene (e.g..in the kitchen with morning sun) set the contrast ratio again to 3:1 and carry on setting my ratio to 3:1 throughtout every scene in the commercial/film?

Or because its a seperate scene I can set it to what ever I like?
What is standard practice?

Thanks!

I have a shoot coming up this weekend where we are staging a day for night Christmas scene. 

I have been prevising some different lighting ideas in set a light and was wondering if I could get some feedback/suggestions on how to improve it. We are going for a warm, cosy feel. 

I have attached the renders and some photos of the location for reference.

I will be using a standard tungsten kit with a 1K fresnel and a couple of smaller 300w and 650w fixtures - we also have two 2ft 4 bank kinos, some dedos and a few small led lights. Definitely want to keep things simple though. 

Thank you and looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Cheers

Watched this recently and adored the look, especially interior and night time exteriors of 'Joe's' cabin. I'm curious, I'm not a pro, I'm here to learn.

I don't know what the original prints of this picture would have looked like, but the image on my tv was beautiful. Very warm, like an oil painting. Wonderful lighting. The night scenes outside the cabin were I think sets in some cases. The interior cabin scenes were wonderfully lit, with candles and kerosene lamps.

How would these scenes have been lit, what might have been the type of film stock, lenses, etc? Anyone have any opinions on it? Just curious.

I might be overthinking this one but I’m in the middle of pre production on a short film and am seeking some lighting advice.

We’ve been doing tests in a couple of different bathrooms and are finding that our actor’s skin is blending into the room a little in one of the locations. I’m wondering if there is anything I can do with lighting to alleviate this or is this just a case of picking a better location? I was thinking I could neutralise the pink spill with some solids on the offscreen walls and then place a soft light above camera to bring him out of the background but I’m not totally convinced.

We really like the look of the vanity lights in the cream bathroom but the pink one will be easier to film in (better clearance and window placement). Would simply introducing our own vanity lighting into the room achieve a similar look?

Perhaps the simplest answer is to just use the cream bathroom?

Thank you everyone for your time and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

David

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There is nothing in this image I don't love. I don't have a problem with the fact that her hair fades into the background. I love everything about this image. Why do we place such importance on separating subject from background? 

It’s actually for a Renaissance period piece but imagine it’s 1970 

I want it this blown out but fuzzy light.   That is desaturatsd cool white in one minute but picks up warm and lemon y when it’s interior.    
 

I also don’t need literal tv coverage.   Like i like this and then a lot of OC dialogue.   These are clean and fixed and when they move its languid.  

Do people spot the windows or practicals and place it at EV 0, +1, +2 etc? Or do people tend to incident the light coming through the windows/practicals?

In general also how one would expose walls, for example if you have a fill light onto walls or a texture onto a wall. Do you spot the wall or incident the light falling on it?

Im specifically referring to sources that perhaps aren’t meant to key light anyone but that just add accent to the scene.

For example in the scene below from Kyller Instinct shot by Octavio Arias, you’ve got a key light for the front characters. However, there is also:

- Light coming through the side windows throwing some shadow texture.

- Practical lamps overheard.

- Blue and green light from the window behind.

- A light behind the curtains 

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