"one source" practical lighting in studio

[Kiarash Sadigh]

I'm shooting a scene as a part of a documentary in front of a 30'by30' white limbo...

The scene is sort of an abstract rendition of an archive vault...imagine a wide shot of the pshyclorama, there is a desk in the middle of the white area surrounded by filing cabinets...there is a single shaded lamp ( practical) hanging on top of the desk, illuminating the isolated area...the rest is all dark except for the fall off of the lamp. At one point the host of the show walks from the dark areas behind the desk and stands in the light, talking to the camera...since this practical lamp and has a very topy look, I'm wondering how do you go about lighting the host gracefully without casting a double shadow on the studio floor, or disturbing the circle of light created by the practical? I also want to dolly into the set as he walks (not every take but as an alternative)...so I thought about rigging a soft bank on the dolly etc.

let's talk....

[Robert Sawin]

I'm shooting a scene as a part of a documentary in front of a 30'by30' white limbo...

The scene is sort of an abstract rendition of an archive vault...imagine a wide shot of the pshyclorama, there is a desk in the middle of the white area surrounded by filing cabinets...there is a single shaded lamp ( practical) hanging on top of the desk, illuminating the isolated area...the rest is all dark except for the fall off of the lamp. At one point the host of the show walks from the dark areas behind the desk and stands in the light, talking to the camera...since this practical lamp and has a very topy look, I'm wondering how do you go about lighting the host gracefully without casting a double shadow on the studio floor, or disturbing the circle of light created by the practical? I also want to dolly into the set as he walks (not every take but as an alternative)...so I thought about rigging a soft bank on the dolly etc.

let's talk....

 

If I think I know what you mean you want the lamp to be the primary light source as well as giving some definition to the room. you are good with a lamp as for the key I would play around with white foam core. have the white foam core at an angle situated at the wall then use more white foam core to focus the gradient of light make sure the light is even in the room no evidence of light sources. Use ether a 1 k broad light or a 500 w light to bounce off the white foam core. place it in and around corners and objects to hide the light. as for close ups you can use black foam core to bounce the light from the key to the shadow side of the actors face. so lets say the back ground is 3 to 4 stops and the shadows on his face is 3 to 4 stops under. get a good tungsten light bulb for the lamp if you can. it is cheap set up I use all the time. Hope this helps.

 

Trip...