lighting methods?

[seth christian]

looking for methods of lighting procedures.

eg.-getting f-stops and its correlation with full/1/3stop etc...on the camera.

night shots....optimal f-stop readings, spot metering, .....etc...

or just examples you've done, .mov and its explination of what f-stop,

stop on camera, what kind of lights and how many, filters on lights, etc...

 

I'd appreciate any techniques I can get,

thanks,

thinkmonkeymedia

[David Mullen ASC]

looking for methods of lighting procedures.

eg.-getting f-stops and its correlation with full/1/3stop etc...on the camera.

night shots....optimal f-stop readings, spot metering, .....etc...

or just examples you've done, .mov and its explination of what f-stop,

stop on camera, what kind of lights and how many, filters on lights, etc...

 

I'd appreciate any techniques I can get,

thanks,

thinkmonkeymedia

 

Maybe you'd like to tell us your name first?

[Paul Bruening]

Hey now,

 

There's no fool proof trick. You are going to have to make yourself understand everything about light and exposure. I wish there were an easier way but there's not. Nothing can replace knowledge and experience.

 

Good luck,

Paul

[seth christian]

allow me to reiterate my question...:

I know a decent amount of knowledge about lighting...f-stops, spot-metering,

and color matching, and gels, etc...

but I'm coming out of video into the world of film and I'm

looking for methods for "GENERAL" lighting procedures that will give me any

heads up to do's and dont's when I'm out there next week.

 

example I'm looking for:

( On day shots I try to stay around a lower f-stop of () because of (). Then i

put the camera on 1/3stop because of (). I do this "USUALLY" because ().

For dark night shots while using a spotlight on a focal point person..I try to

aim towards an f-stop of (), because it()........whatever.....)

 

I'd appreciate any techniques and methods I can get!

[Micah Fernandez]

allow me to reiterate my question...:

I know a decent amount of knowledge about lighting...f-stops, spot-metering,

and color matching, and gels, etc...

but I'm coming out of video into the world of film and I'm

looking for methods for "GENERAL" lighting procedures that will give me any

heads up to do's and dont's when I'm out there next week.

 

example I'm looking for:

( On day shots I try to stay around a lower f-stop of () because of (). Then i

put the camera on 1/3stop because of (). I do this "USUALLY" because ().

For dark night shots while using a spotlight on a focal point person..I try to

aim towards an f-stop of (), because it()........whatever.....)

 

I'd appreciate any techniques and methods I can get!

A good skill to have is learning how to use your eye. The meter is useful in the beginning, but as you progress you should be needing it less and less.

 

There really isn't any 'silver bullet' approach to lighting. If you ask 5 different DPs advice on how to light a scene, you'd likely get 5 different answers. What is important is what the story requires and what you as a person believe to be characteristic of what you see in your viewfinder, both of which will influence your vision of how the scene must be lit. From there, it'll be a more fluid process manipulating whatever lighting equipment you have available to match the picture in your head. If you understand the principles of light and the camera, you shouldn't have too much trouble.

[Francisco Valdez]

Try asking a question... Or you can also browse around the forums

 

There are a lot of people sharing their knowledge in here.

 

Francisco

 

 

 

looking for methods of lighting procedures.

eg.-getting f-stops and its correlation with full/1/3stop etc...on the camera.

night shots....optimal f-stop readings, spot metering, .....etc...

or just examples you've done, .mov and its explination of what f-stop,

stop on camera, what kind of lights and how many, filters on lights, etc...

 

I'd appreciate any techniques I can get,

thanks,

thinkmonkeymedia

[Daniel Sheehy]

allow me to reiterate my question...:

I know a decent amount of knowledge about lighting...f-stops, spot-metering,

and color matching, and gels, etc...

but I'm coming out of video into the world of film and I'm

looking for methods for "GENERAL" lighting procedures that will give me any

heads up to do's and dont's when I'm out there next week.

 

example I'm looking for:

( On day shots I try to stay around a lower f-stop of () because of (). Then i

put the camera on 1/3stop because of (). I do this "USUALLY" because ().

For dark night shots while using a spotlight on a focal point person..I try to

aim towards an f-stop of (), because it()........whatever.....)

 

I'd appreciate any techniques and methods I can get!

 

Hi,

your question seems a bit too broad for anyone to really answer.

How about making it a little more specific...

Are there any particular projects you are working on at the moment?

[Brian Wells]

I try to stay around a lower f-stop of () because of (). Then i put the camera on 1/3stop because of (). I do this "USUALLY" because (). For dark night shots while using a spotlight on a focal point person..I try to aim towards an f-stop of (), because it()........whatever.....)

You mean, "underexposing" ? What kind of meter you got?

[seth christian]

yes!

[Gilbert]

Maybe you'd like to tell us your name first?

 

I think his name is Monkey!

[Mikael Lemercier]

hi ...mokey...,

Like Paul's answers, experience is better than any methods.

i use to work with a contrast glass b&w (for any film), i like it and with my light meter of course.

for each shoot i can learn somethings.

and when i don't shoot i use my sunglass for seeing high light.. for seeing light ...

best.

Mikael.

[Hal Smith]

Re: Lighting

 

The best advice is exactly that: there are many, many ways to light subjects and scenes. And don't be afraid to try something that might not work - you can alway experiment with video to get a feel for looks, the key/fill ratios and contrast will change with film but not the basic lighting look. I learned a lot about theatrical stage lighting early on by looking at old master's paintings and trying to duplicate the lighting in them.

 

(This longwinded tale DOES have a film point at the end of it)

 

I just lit a stage production of "Meshuggah-Nuns" here in OKC. I used an ensemble of 12 scrollers in front of Source 4's 50's with 750 watt lamps in them for down and side lighting. In the past I've always "hidden" my scroller color changes 95% of the time, only changing in blackouts or by alternating pairs of lights and scrollers. The Director was a woman with extensive acting, choreographing, and directing experience. She played Grizzabella in one of the European "Cats" companies and "Jellyrorum" all over the States and I think Japan. So she's seen the big time - a bunch. When we were setting cues in tech, I was rolling scroller colors back and forth to find the best color for a given scene, and explaining to her that I could clean up and hide the moves later. I also showed her how I had designed and made the scrolls myself so that I could have 16 of my favorite colors on them and placed the color panels in a sequence where adjacent gels could make sense as sequential color changes. We ended up with no hidden scroller color changes, all the changes happened with the lights up - sometimes between numbers/scenes and quite a few right in the middle of choreography/mood changes in numbers.

 

Finally the film point. I just saw the "Producers". Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhower (multiple Tony winners on Broadway) did the stage lighting and they're continually changing colors live in a lot of the music/dance numbers. They probably used theatrical CMY dichroic color mixing fixtures with HMI/MSR lamps, not scrollers - but the point is they weren't bashful about changing color in real-time.

 

Jules and Peggy did the theatrical lighting for "Chicago", they had a great time collaborating with Dion Beebe on that project. I got the chance to talk with Peggy about "Chicago" at a Master Class in NYC last year. She said there was a huge amount of respect and admiration both ways making that film, Dion hadn't worked with lighting being cued and moved so extensively in real time within a shot and Jules and Peggy enjoyed working closely with a Cinematographer with such a mastery of film technique. I think Peggy blushed a bit when I told her I thought "Cell Block Tango" was the most gorgeous thing I'd ever seen on film. I'm considering changing my "Most Gorgeous" award to Uma in "The Producers" but for reasons that have nothing to do with lighting.

 

My point? Don't be afraid to try anything if there's a good reason for it. It might work, it might not work, and either way you'll learn something. And don't be discouraged to find out that more experienced people got there before you, it's both humbling and encouraging to know that.

Edited December 31, 2005 by Hal Smith

[Stuart Brereton]

looking for methods of lighting procedures.

eg.-getting f-stops and its correlation with full/1/3stop etc...on the camera.

night shots....optimal f-stop readings, spot metering, .....etc...

or just examples you've done, .mov and its explination of what f-stop,

stop on camera, what kind of lights and how many, filters on lights, etc...

 

I'd appreciate any techniques I can get,

thanks,

thinkmonkeymedia

 

It's a shame that the one person who spends more time than just about anyone helping people with questions just like yours is probably not going to take the time to answer any of your questions because you won't tell us your name.

 

Is it really that much to ask, considering how much information and help you're asking for?