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Lighting for CrossFit project


Sam Oddo

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Hey Guys,

I have to shoot a spot for a CrossFit gym in the near future, and was looking for any lighting recommendations.

We want to achieve a feel similar to this Reebok campaign as far as framing, camera movement and editing:
https://youtu.be/UDb-7DY3CjU

 

As far as lighting, the Director wants this to look relatively dramatic with a darker background, nice edge lights etc (please reference photo). The talent we will be filming is a woman (about 40y/o). Any recommendations on lighting a woman in a dramatic, but flattering way? I don't have any pictures of the space that I can share, but it has a series of ceiling-mounted Fluorescent lights, no windows, and a large barn door that we can open to add some daylight fill. I was planning on opening the barn door, turning off the ceiling lights and going full daylight. As far as lighting that I have access to: Joker 800, Kino Kit (one 4 bank, two 2 banks), Arri Kit (two 150s, one 300, one 650, one 750, one 1k). I also have gels and c-stands, flags etc.


-Sam

post-68458-0-69441600-1470844190_thumb.jpg

Edited by Sam Oddo
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Hey Guys,

 

I have to shoot a spot for a CrossFit gym in the near future, and was looking for any lighting recommendations.

 

We want to achieve a feel similar to this Reebok campaign as far as framing, camera movement and editing:

https://youtu.be/UDb-7DY3CjU

 

As far as lighting, the Director wants this to look relatively dramatic with a darker background, nice edge lights etc (please reference photo). The talent we will be filming is a woman (about 40y/o). Any recommendations on lighting a woman in a dramatic, but flattering way? I don't have any pictures of the space that I can share, but it has a series of ceiling-mounted Fluorescent lights, no windows, and a large barn door that we can open to add some daylight fill. I was planning on opening the barn door, turning off the ceiling lights and going full daylight. As far as lighting that I have access to: Joker 800, Kino Kit (one 4 bank, two 2 banks), Arri Kit (two 150s, one 300, one 650, one 750, one 1k). I also have gels and c-stands, flags etc.

 

 

-Sam

 

Sam,

 

I think you should consider the shadows. From the image above it's all about controlling the light to create these shafts and pools of light. Definitely, if you want the look of the commercial you'll add lot's of smoke as in the Reebok spot they used plenty in the Crossfit gym. If you can't hang lights from the ceiling then off c-stands or using your barn door opening side light, but again that barn door may let in too much-uncontrolled light, as long as you can control it then go for it. But containing the smoke will be hard with an open barn door. I think your location and positioning will really help you or make things hard, depending on your space which we don't have reference to. You have plenty of lights and gear to pull this off in my opinion. It's hard to give you more than this with the information you've given but then again that's your job! :) Have fun!!

 

Cheer,

 

-Davi

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Are you doing high-speed? Do you want to use hard light or soft light? What ISO/T-Stop are you hoping to shoot at?

 

From the looks of it, you have the right lights, but you made need a lot of grip gear and stands to shape the light like the reference photo.

 

Women usually look good in hard light with a butterfly/paramount lighting pattern (see below photo).

post-64097-0-62974300-1470869241_thumb.jpg

 

I recommend keeping your subject from the walls and having a quick drop off with your lighting (see inverse square law for lighting; basically, keep your heads closer to the subject). This will prevent your key light from hitting the back wall which allows you to use different lights entirely for the background.

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Thanks Guys,

I was planning on using a combination of hard light (maybe the Joker with a fresnel lens for a nice crisp edge) and soft light (Kinos to provide a key that wraps around the face) to light the subject. AJ, I was thinking about using the butterfly approach with the Kinos... Do you think that will play well? The other concern I have is with movement, such as lighting an individual who has a strong vertical movement (i.e. pull-ups). Any suggestions here, especially because I don't really have any large light sources?

I will mostly be shooting at 24fps (180 degree shutter) at 4k. I was planning on doing a few pickup shots in 60 fps as well, but probably nothing slower than that. I am still working out the iso: If I shoot Rec709, I'll just try to keep it as low as possible, but if I shoot SLog I will keep the iso native at 1600 (and use NDs if necessary).

 

-Sam

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You get kind of walled in with the need for an edgy look with the dynamic nature of a live workout. I shot more than 100 follow along workout videos and this was definitely a challenge. If you're doing a shot at a time, just find out what the motion is and light each shot individually. If you have to do the whole thing as if it's live, manage some expectations. Definitely get a sense from your client if the priority is to show the moves or to convey the intensity/emotion/brand. Sometimes they may fall in love with a look, but it has to be modified to suit their goals.

 

 

things I found were:

You can make the background as edgy as possible, with high contrast hard light taking over textured surfaces. Art department is your friend.

If you key with a neutral white and edge with a bit of color, it's easier to forgive stray shadows. Don't light to 70 IRE.

Fog is helpful, spend the extra for a device that can output a continuous effect.

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Hey Jon,

Thanks for the input: When you say "don't light to 70 IRE" were you referring to the specular highlights on the skin hitting 70? I'll be filming with the A7sII... I was planning on filming in a Rec709 space, but was also playing with the idea of shooting in SLog. Can you go into exposure tips a bit more for me?

 

-Sam

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When shooting something more traditional I'll usually make sure that the front of the face key side is in 70-75 IRE as viewed in REC709. When you want the dramatic edge light look, you can go darker (45-65 maybe) and give yourself room for contrast without blowing out highlights. It will look dramatic but the down side is things are harder to discern. If what you're doing is demonstrative, it probably needs to be brighter.

 

In log, the numbers are different but the philosophy is the same.

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