television lighting

[nfuller]

How would one best mimic the light that is cast onto a persons face when they watch TV? I'm trying to recreate the effect of a person watching TV, and the constantly changing lighting from the changing images on the TV. Any and all suggestions would be much appreciated.

Edited February 10, 2006 by nfuller

[Andrew Alward]

Diffuse your source that makes your TV. TVs emit blue light, at around 6500K. So, if your using a tungsten, use a full CTB(or "Correct to blue") & a half CTB. Then use a dimmer to vary the intensity. Technically, the dimmer will change the color temp when the intensity is lowered, but it shouldn't be too noticable, as long as you don't stick too long on the lower intensities.

[Gordon Highland]

The last time I did this, I actually just put the person in front of a monitor on which I played back a loop I'd pre-edited, just a series of solid-colored screens changing colors at the desired tempo. Then, depending on the scene, you may want otherwise low-key lighting around the subject so that the TV "key" light is at a higher ratio and stands out more. Closeups are much easier, although this can still work in a relatively dark room. Otherwise, maybe a dim projector doing the same?

[Tomas Koolhaas]

Hi,

I used a medium rectangular Chimera light bank on a 1k Mole fresnel with half CTB as aTV source, it looked really good and very real, I had the 1k on a flicker box, the dimming and flickering was dialled in to look like a TV, the dimming changed the color temperature slightly which looked even more like a real TV (all images on a TV are not the same color). It looked very real and good, and was very simple to set-up. The trick is getting a flicker-box that is able to dim and flicker at the same pace as a TV would. Also, because the light bank was rectangular I got a rectangular reflection in the subjects eyes that flickered and looked just like a TV's reflection.

Cheers.

Edited February 10, 2006 by Tomas Haas

[Brad Grimmett]

So, if your using a tungsten, use a full CTB(or "Correct to blue") & a half CTB.

Actually, CTB stands for 'color temperature blue'.

[Andrew Alward]

Actually, CTB stands for 'color temperature blue'.

 

Hmm, must be a west coast thing. :D Check your gang colors, man!

 

haha! I have heard both, and I coudln't remember which one was the official one. So, thx.

[Daniel Madsen]

It's not a bad idea to use a snoot either, which can be rented with a lighting package . You can also make one by extending the length of the barn doors a foot or two with cardboard and tapeing the edges together. This reduces the spill much more than barn doors and gives the light more shape and direction. You then put CTB over the opening.

 

Operate the dimmer by hand otherwise the pulse will look too regular. Goodluck.

[nfuller]

How will these ideas, mostly involving CTB, be affected if I'm shooting on 500T film? Thanks again for all the input.

[Mario C. Jackson]

Another thing you can do is take 2 650w fresnals and shoot them into a bounce card. Then cut two circles out from a old bounce card. Then put warm gels on one circle and cool gels on the other. Then once you start filming spin both of the circles of gels around. This is a good and cheap way to emulate tv light. I gaffed on a shoot and used this idea.

Hope this helps

Mario Concepcion Jackson

[Werner Van Peppen]

Another trick is to mount a couple of 60W bulbs on a board (say 6) and wire with two or three lights in series a fluorescent starter (60W bulbs is the max you can use) and of course use CTB

 

Werner Van Peppen

Gaffer/Sound/Camera Operator

London, UK

[Andrew Alward]

How will these ideas, mostly involving CTB, be affected if I'm shooting on 500T film? Thanks again for all the input.

 

The CTB is just for getting the natural blue that tvs emit. the "T" in 500T means "tungsten", meaning that the film is corrected for use with the color of Incandescent light(like your desk lamp), meaning that a white source being illuminated by a tungsten source, is going to be white. Tungsten sources are rated at 3,200 degress kelvin. If your source light is at 3200K color temp, then adding a full CTB, will change your source to 5600K color temp, which looks blue to tungsten rated film. Now, that would probably be ok, but, if you want to be really accurate with your color, then you could add another 1/4 CTB, taking your source to 6200K. Because, the color temp from TVs is rated at about 6500K. The difference between 3200 and 5600 is 2400. Full CTB adds 2400k to 3200k sources. So, adding a 1/4 CTB(1/4 of 2400 is 600) to 5600, gives you 6200k.

 

So, if every other source in your scene is tungsten color temp, then the only blue in the scene will be from the TV.

 

Hope this helps.