Eye Light

[Marc Levy]

Any ideas on a way of eye-lighting that doesn't act as a fill/increase exposure? I really struggled with this recently, and faced times when I had to choose either to keep the low-key style I was going for (but no eye-light), or a nice eye-light, but a lower-contrast effect. I am interested in both instrument ideas and technique.

Thanks.

[Kevin Zanit]

It depends on your main light levels (as you discovered). For a small eye light in close up I use a mag light with the lens off mounted on the matte box.

 

But it mostly comes down to key light levels. If you were keying a tight close up with a 10k just out of frame you could use a bare bulb of a tweenie or other small source above the lens and it would not contribute much to the exposure.

 

That?s an extreme example, but the key is just to have a bright point for the eye to reflect. So if you are lighting at low light levels, just ND down a bare bulb (or do the mag light trick).

 

 

Kevin Zanit

[Carlos M. Icaza]

I have a 120w Pepper that I often use with a very norrow spot (VNS). Does the trick most of the time. I use it in conjunction with my key light.

 

I was gaffing a night scene not long ago for an independant short, when I brought out the pepper for highlighting the eyes. The newbie Director looked at me oddly and asked why the small light, and his AD asked me the same thing. The DP laughed, and told them to hold on. Eye lights add so much depth to a scene and bring emotions to the eyes. It forces you to look at the eyes when in close up. We did the scene without the eye light to pacify the Director and AD. Then with the eye ligtht. I think everyone started taking notes.

 

A good example of eye light is found in "Signs", the scene between Phoneix and Gibson when they are talking in the sofa towards the end of the movie when Phoenix's character is about flipping out. The scene was dark, the motivation of the eye light is a good example of the simplicity and subtle impact is has on a scene.

 

 

C.-

[Marc Levy]

Thanks.

[stijnbarbe]

yeah, dedos or peppers are great for eyelight. but I like to use a very small fluorescent fixture sometimes. the "advantage" is that it fills up the entire image so your contrast is kept. also it makes the eyelight a line in stead of a spot, something I like better in closeups.

the maglite-trick is also very good when you have high contrast, but I would still try and soften it. I made a soft maglite by buying spare filters for it and then I abused the old filter with some sandpaper. worked great!

[Michael Nash]

Eyelights come in two flavors: small, hard sources that are best for filling the eye sockets with INCIDENT light; and large, soft sources that are best for filling the eyeball with specular REFLECTED light.

 

With a small hard source such as a Pepper or maglight you can run the risk of adding to much incident light on the face to get the specular reflection in the eyeball bright enough. Sometimes in a CU that little spot is all you need, and it works great. Other times you end up with what looks like a flashlight in the face and still not a good reflection in the eyeball.

 

I'll often go the opposite direction and use a large Chinaball on a dimmer, held about 5 feet away from the face. When dimmed to the right level it adds almost no fill, but puts a BIG specular reflection in the eyeballs that's especially flattering on women. In very dark or low key lighting this can be hard to get away with, at which point you're better off with a Pepper or Dedo to target just the eyes and not the whoel face.

 

Both small and large sources can be useful, and I also like using fluorescent tubes for a horizontal slash in the eye that can become soft fill when brought in close enough.

 

For interesting eyelights, check out the triple-light technique they use on all the women on the TV show "Charmed."

[Mitch Gross]

My version of the maglight trick is to unscrew the top housing all the way, leaving a bare bulb. That's usually not enough light to add any real illumination to a scene but still enough to catch a reflection in the liquid of the eyes. I'll sometimes tape a light right to the top of the mattebox, unscrewing the base a little to save the batteries between takes.

[Marc Levy]

Does the maglight read as white with a tungsten-balanced film, or is it a bit warm?

[Mitch Gross]

It reads pretty much white. Remember, it's just a dot in the eye.

[Kevin Zanit]

My version of the maglight trick is to unscrew the top housing all the way, leaving a bare bulb. 

Thats exactly what I do as well, only I forgot to add that slight detail.

 

Kevin Zanit

[Tom Guiney]

Lately I've been having some success (in brighter lighting situations, big soft 10k key, something like that) with a leko right in the face to get a simultaneous bright ping in the eye and to lift the face just a little bit more than the body/clothes. Just above and behind the camera works.

 

That may sound a bit odd, but it's good for a few reasons. As was posted earlier, if the eyelight isn't too bright relative to the key, several stops under key level, it doesn't feel like a flashlight in the face. The leko is good because its so controllable; iris it down to just the middle of the face and fuzz it out a little. It's also nice because you get a perfectly round little pop. If your light levels are not as bright as your typical studio setup, knock the leko down to something more reasonable with ND. Getting the level right is worthy of attention. If its too bright, it'll pollute the primary lighting look, and also a super-bright pop in the eyes can look a little cheesy in the wrong situation. If it's too dim, it'll melt away and not do its job, especially if the blacks get crushed a lot later. The dark area of the eye can swallow up the tiny little ping.

 

I also have had some good results in less controllable situations with an on-camera litepanel with an Airbox litepanel diffuser on it, dimmed to just the right level. That gives you more of a bright object to reflect in the eye rather than the hard kick off the wetness of the eye. Not too bright! On-camera lights and obie lights can be pretty lame if they're too bright. That "License and registration please" look.

 

Tom Guiney

Tom Guiney, Gaffer, LD, DP in NYC. I make inflatable softboxes for LEDs: www.Airboxlights.com

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