Green Screen Lighting for Film

[Barry Peterson]

Hi,

 

New here...I have a HDV setup that I use to shoot green screen and was going to try some experiments with Super 8mm film, Velvia 50 for something different...

 

I have a Canon 1014 XLS and the lighting in the studio is fluorescent balanced to 5500k

 

Question? Are the lighting requirements any different for shooting film in my studio then the HDV?

 

In regard to key light, fill light, placement, amount, etc.

 

I have a light meter for film if that helps, and just from that I know I am going to have to bump up the lights a bit....

 

Appreciate the input

 

Regards,

 

Barry

[Tim O'Connor]

You may indeed need more light if your film speed is slower than the response of your video camera.

 

I think that there is a broad question in here so I would say that lighting for video tends to take into account the narrower

latitude that it has compared to film, particularly negative stocks, and the different ways in which each medium handles shadow

details and highlights, as well as what you can do in post with overexposed film versus overexposed video.

 

I see that this is your first post. I would suggest that you look in the Students and First Time Filmmakers thread

which has a list of recommended books and find a good one on lighting and in particular regard to your question, read about dynamic range.

 

By the way, I would not use a light meter with a Super 8 camera as I've found that setting the aperture manually based on

one's own light meter reading is not as reliable as it is with even any 16mm camera but that's my experience. The people in the Super 8 thread would be good to ask about that.

 

It might be fun to shoot some side by side tests, testing out for yourself the exposure latitude of each, and then I'll bet you'll have some more specific questions with which people can help you.

 

Good luck!

[Jonathan Bruno]

I would suggest finding a virtual ISO for the HDV camera. I don't know what the canons usually run at. that will help you gauge how much light you're using for the HDV. You will need a color chart and a waveform monitor of some kind. Just balance the 18% grey to 50% IRE on the waveform.

 

Also, it wouldn't hurt to do a latitude test on the HDV by getting a reading and going up and down and see how many stops you got on the top and bottom.

 

Unfortunatley, you'll most likely have to change you lighting ratios between the super8 and the HDV. Even though it's 8mm, it's still going to have more range than the HDV. I've never shot the Velvia in motion picture form, but it's pretty versitile in still form. It's exactly the same film, so you will have a lot to work with.