strong eye shadows

Moshe Mishali · December 20, 2005

hello

i'm shooting a few intreviews in a small room (10X8 ft) there is a table in the middle

of the room and the two people are sitting in both sides of the table one infront of the other.

i'm shooting with two panasonic dvx100 (one for each person) and i have two fersnel kits

(650w,300w,150w) and a some open face 800W + chimerawhich i prefer not to use becuse

it will spill a lot of unwanted light all over the room.

because the room is very small i'm having trouble lighting the characters with out having strong

shadows in their eyes, when ever i will lower the light i will get a shadow on the wall behind it.

i've tried using some foamcore to bounce light from benith but it looks unreal.

i would like to hear any good ideals on how the get good light with as few shadows as possible.

thanks

mosh

Bob Hayes · December 20, 2005

Hang a china ball between them over the table; lower it until you get light in the eyes. Then use flags to take the light off the BG.

Stuart Brereton · December 20, 2005

If you light their faces from the opposite side to your camera positions, then any shadows on the walls will be behind camera. You can have your lights as low as you like. Lighting this way also places the shadow side of the face nearest camera, which for me is more appealing as you get better modelling of facial features.

Bill Totolo · December 21, 2005

Do you have an egg crate that you can velcro to the Chimera to help control the spill?

How big of a chimera are you using?

A small one might work best in a cramped office/meeting room.

What's wrong with the bounce light, why would it look unnatural? You're not bouncing from the floor are you?

I would think a bare par too close would create some harsh shadows and be very uncomfortable for the interview subjects, have you at least tried using some spun or diffusion?

Let us know what ends up working for you.

Post a screen grab?

Good luck,

bt

Chris Cooke · December 22, 2005

Depending on the feel that you want for your interview, you could also side key them so that the shadows will fall out of frame. I would use the 800w chimera for this so that you could key both people with the same light and just flag off the light from the walls. Then give them a soft fill right near the camera at eye level (if the talent is wearing glasses, you'll have to raise the fill up a bit to get rid of glare). A flagged china ball is also a good idea for this setup. Your 150 or 300 watters will probably be most efficiently used as backlights (with maybe some Bastard Amber on them) and a couple hilights in the background.

Moshe Mishali · December 23, 2005

If you light their faces from the opposite side to your camera positions, then any shadows on the walls will be behind camera. You can have your lights as low as you like. Lighting this way also places the shadow side of the face nearest camera, which for me is more appealing as you get better modelling of facial features.

I thought about lighting their faces from the opposite side but that requires a different set dressing cause as I said the room is too small and i don't have enough room to put my lights in bothe sides.

I also agree with you that having the shadow side of the face near the camera will be more appealing.

Because its a new project and right now i'm just testing and about to make a short pilot I will try to cange the set so that it would fit my needs, and than try lighting from the opposite side.

thanks

mosh

Moshe Mishali · December 23, 2005

Do you have an egg crate that you can velcro to the Chimera to help control the spill?
How big of a chimera are you using?

A small one might work best in a cramped office/meeting room.

What's wrong with the bounce light, why would it look unnatural? You're not bouncing from the floor are you?

I would think a bare par too close would create some harsh shadows and be very uncomfortable for the interview subjects, have you at least tried using some spun or diffusion?

Let us know what ends up working for you.

Post a screen grab?

Good luck,

bt

bill

i don't have an egg crate to put on the chimera, and the size of it is about 24X36 ft, also i used a full white diffusion on the key lights and it did soften the shadows but it's not enough.

anyway i will try using the cimera from the opposite side and cut the light from the background.

thanks

mosh

Paul Bruening · December 26, 2005

Hey now,

Small rooms are a pain, no doubt. Can you shoot them closer up as in a head shot? You can light them closer and let the inverse square law do the background fall-off for you. That means jamming the camera, lights, and subjects as far from the back wall as possible and baking the faces of your subjects, however. It's a trick I've used successfully. It will work even with the discomforts.

Good luck,

Paul