My First Shoot With A Lighting Kit

Jamie Lewis · August 14, 2007

Well I had my first shoot this weekend using a lighting kit. All I've ever done is use available light and didn't give it much thought. I did some practicing over the past few months with still life just to get a feel of how to actually paint a scene. I'm using a Canon HV20 to shoot and my lighting consists of 2 Smith Victor 600w and a Lowel Prolight 250w and of course a bunch of gels.

Here are some stills (from footage) of the shoot. Any and all critique and tips are welcome.

This was the first shot and the one I like the best. I got the exact look I was out to get.

On this one I completely forgot to put a bounce below them to get some light on them. :(

This was the 3rd choice of a location for this scene. The first location became unavailable because the person had to leave town and I didn't feel comfortable being there without her. The 2nd location became unavailable because the prior scene took longer than expected and the person went to bed! In this location we ran into a MAJOR snag, minimal power. Every outlet in the house was only 2 pronged and there was concern with the circuit breaker. The house has minimal power as more than one appliance trips the breaker. The breaker is located in another apartment and at 3am I don't think they would appreciate a knock on their door.

So the only thing we could do was use the lamps that were in the house. It was trying but fun at the same time trying to make it work.

The next two are of the same location. The first shot came out exactly how I wanted it but the 2nd one gave me some problems. I couldn't get the kitchen dark. The light was bouncing everywhere. So we decided to try and light everything!

And this last one was my first attempt at using a gobo(?) and going for a "moonlight shining through blinds look."

MZolomij · August 17, 2007

Well I had my first shoot this weekend using a lighting kit. All I've ever done is use available light and didn't give it much thought. I did some practicing over the past few months with still life just to get a feel of how to actually paint a scene. I'm using a Canon HV20 to shoot and my lighting consists of 2 Smith Victor 600w and a Lowel Prolight 250w and of course a bunch of gels.

Here are some stills (from footage) of the shoot. Any and all critique and tips are welcome.

This was the first shot and the one I like the best. I got the exact look I was out to get.

On this one I completely forgot to put a bounce below them to get some light on them. :(

This was the 3rd choice of a location for this scene. The first location became unavailable because the person had to leave town and I didn't feel comfortable being there without her. The 2nd location became unavailable because the prior scene took longer than expected and the person went to bed! In this location we ran into a MAJOR snag, minimal power. Every outlet in the house was only 2 pronged and there was concern with the circuit breaker. The house has minimal power as more than one appliance trips the breaker. The breaker is located in another apartment and at 3am I don't think they would appreciate a knock on their door.

So the only thing we could do was use the lamps that were in the house. It was trying but fun at the same time trying to make it work.

The next two are of the same location. The first shot came out exactly how I wanted it but the 2nd one gave me some problems. I couldn't get the kitchen dark. The light was bouncing everywhere. So we decided to try and light everything!

And this last one was my first attempt at using a gobo(?) and going for a "moonlight shining through blinds look."

All your shots look nice. I think the "moon light" is way too blue. I feel as though moon light is a paler blue. The shots that you could use only practicals are great... just what you had to go through makes them great. Sometimes it's the journey and hindsight that makes things sweeter. Always remember - light is light. Whether it is the instruments in a new light kit or a $5 desk lamp - in essence they do the same thing. Don't get hung up on that it doesn't have Desisti stamped on the side just keep doing it with what is there in front of you.

Keep going!

z

Jonathan Bowerbank · August 17, 2007

I thought this one worked fine without any bounce. Nice and contrasty with a well balanced sky behind them, nicely done.

Yeah, the only issue with this one is how bright that wall is behind them. You probably could have used some cutters to cut out any spill from those lights to keep'em off the walls.

I would agree that this is too blue, unless you were going for a very surrealist moonlight. Otherwise, try using CTB gel next time :)

Good work! There are better lights out there than Smith Victors, I look forward to seeing some of your stuff once you get your hands on some better tools :)

Jamie Lewis · August 20, 2007

Good work! There are better lights out there than Smith Victors, I look forward to seeing some of your stuff once you get your hands on some better tools :)

Jonathan, yeah I was going for a surreal look. It's a flashback scene. I tried to make it as blue as possible.

As for the Smith Victors, it's the only thing my "budget" I could afford at the time. I got both lights, hard case, stands and lamps for $250. I couldn't really find anything with that much light for that price. If you know of some others around that price, because I want to get a couple more lights soon, please feel free to recommend me some! Tuition, mortgage and pets don't allow for much leeway when it comes to a film budget.

Edited August 20, 2007 by Jamie Lewis

Jamie Lewis · August 20, 2007

All your shots look nice. I think the "moon light" is way too blue. I feel as though moon light is a paler blue. The shots that you could use only practicals are great... just what you had to go through makes them great. Sometimes it's the journey and hindsight that makes things sweeter. Always remember - light is light. Whether it is the instruments in a new light kit or a $5 desk lamp - in essence they do the same thing. Don't get hung up on that it doesn't have Desisti stamped on the side just keep doing it with what is there in front of you.

Keep going!

z

Thanks, Zolomij. It's quite comical to see the sound guy holding the boom in one hand and then holding a desk lamp in the other while trying to keep absolutely steady.

It was all definitely worth it as this was really a learning experience. Having that little train wreck just added a nice chunk more to the whole learning process. Much more so had everything worked out perfectly!