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three point lighting with kinos


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I have limited lighting experience with kinoflos. I will cover a speech and I want the speaker to have the same three point lighting the way I do with tungsten lights. However, I was told I cannot use tungsten because the speaker wouldn't like to be toasted with hot beams of lights. So I came up with the idea of using kinoflos. But I have some problems. I think the back light will wrap around the head so the highlight will not be that sharp looking. Second, I cannot shoot wide because the kinos will be visible in the frame (they are so soft that when I move it away from the subject, they might not be able to light the subject at all.) What do you think?

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A lot depends on the type of room you're shooting in. Can you control the light levels of where the speaker will be or will you be competing with house lights or big windows? If you're unfamiliar with or concerned about Kinoflos why not use smaller HMIs? Joker Bugs are a very handy smaller wattage HMI and you can order them in a kit that comes with a small chimera that makes a great key light. One thing to keep in mind is that by not going with tungsten units is that you will invariably pay a little extra.

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If you're shooting video, than avoiding that sharp highlight might actually be a good thing.

 

But yeah, if you're able to get your hands on a set of HMI's, go for it. They have more punch for their wattage than tungsten lamps so they don't have to be in the speaker's face. Plus they're not hot, so the speaker won't get toasted.

 

You might also want to consider some ellipsoidals. They have a great throw, so you can back them far away as well.

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There are smaller Kinos that would work as a hairlight (like the Barfly's or Diva's), or punchier ones with some throw (Parabeams). You could also mix the lights, use Kinos for key and fill, but a small tungsten (like a Dedolight) for the backlight.

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How close or bright would these tungsten lights need to be to "toast the speaker with hot light?" Small tungsten units placed farther away don't have to give off any more heat than Kino's would up close, for the same output of light.

 

I understand you've been told you can't use tungsten and you're just trying to find a solution, but honestly, if the speaker can't take a 650W or 200W fresnel at a distance, maybe even with diffusion on the barn doors, they're not going to be any more comfortable with several kinos up close...

 

The backlight may be the one light that's close enough for the speaker to feel some heat, so a kino can work for you there. And a soft backlight is usually a good thing! Usually you just want to provide some separation from the background, and avoid any odd-looking glare, reflection or shadows. Even when using tungsten I strive to soften the backlight as much as possible for situations like this.

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You should give some thought to the setting of the speech also. You might want to mention to your contact that having to use regular bank style kinos will necessitate having to have them very close. Depending on the setting of the speech this might be distracting to the audience that is in attendance. This might be something they haven't thought of.

 

If the budget won't allow HMI's, then diffused Source Four's will be the best option and really won't even be a compromise. You can back these up quite a bit and not distract the audience. Parabeams were a great suggestion, although they will be a little more expensive than the ETCs. The Source Fours will allow you to get more bang for your buck and you can get a couple extra units in case you need some light for the background as well.

 

Good luck!

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Backlight is sometimes hotter because of the reflective nature of skin. Keep that in mind. You can often use very little light for a backlight but It's important to know the hair color and style of the subject. Long black hair that's left down requires a lot more backlight than someone with blonde hair that's put up in some kind of bun.

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Backlight is sometimes hotter because of the reflective nature of skin. Keep that in mind. You can often use very little light for a backlight but It's important to know the hair color and style of the subject. Long black hair that's left down requires a lot more backlight than someone with blonde hair that's put up in some kind of bun.

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