i have a bunch of cool ideas for movies...and i have a nice camera, and i know how to film, but the thing is: i have no idea how to light WHATSOEVER.

what should I do? where should I start? i went to lowes the other day and bought six big lights....those thin aluminum ones that are used for working outside and stuff...i thought that those would cure the problem...they dont...i just dont know how to use lights, i dont know what kind to get, i dont know how to set them up so they wont be in the shot, i know nothing...can someone give me some insight and point me to an online tutorial or a book or something?!

thanks

How much money do you have to spend?

- C. Davis
YELLOW HAMMER PRODUCTIONS

right now i have around 480 bucks....i guess i'd be willing to spend it all on lights if i had to...

Before you sepnd money on lights, learn how to use them first. Learn Keys, Fill, kickers, hairlights. Learn F-stops, gels, flaging and blocking. Learn light temp. and color. All these are essential to lighting, and will be what set your film apart from the rest. I suggest you buy as many books on the subject as you can.

"Pain is temporary, Film is forever"-Peter Jackson

hey kris, thanks a lot for the info...im gonna buy a few books and start the learning process..

one more question though: how do i light scenes where my characters are moving around a lot...say an actor is running down a street at night...how would i light that? carry a light and run along with him?

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Originally posted by mickey mouse:
hey kris, thanks a lot for the info...im gonna buy a few books and start the learning process..

one more question though: how do i light scenes where my characters are moving around a lot...say an actor is running down a street at night...how would i light that? carry a light and run along with him?

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This is exactly what I wanna know cuz I have no clue of how to light either. Its just about the only thing you can't learn from watchin a movie.

"In this life, it's not what you hope for, it's not what you deserve--Its what you take".
-Frank T.J. Mackey

I just did this for a commercial that my company shot. I was DP, and the script called for a scene with a guy going for a jog at night down the street. I was shooting HD, so my lighting scheme was much different than what you may use, but it was basicly this. First, I wet down the street with water to give a nice reflection of the streetlights above, and also the moonlight. For the moonlight (now of course, I had about 60 grand to fool around with, but you can somewhat Immitate with a large Halogen source with a blue gell) I lit with an 8k HMI with a midnight blue gell on risers. This gave a nice blue backlight. (I added fog to give that latenight effect, you may want to do the same) With the streetlights above the actor, I didn't have to worry about a kicker, or placing hair-lights, cause the street lights did it for me. All I had to do was change there bulbs to mach light temp. (but you dont need to worry about that). As for the Key light, I used a 1,200 soft source to light the face, and a 300 watt pro-light to bring out the fill. This was so that not just one side of the face was lit, and the other extremely dark. To keep the light on my actors face, I had a grip use my 1,200 watt soft-box (search for lighting gear on the internet and look at what a softbox is-check B&H.com) and run along side the stedi-cam to keep the face lit, and I attached the prolight to the camera for the fill-light. So yes, it is ok to walk with a light as long as you background is not being affected by your key.

For instance, when lighting my scene I lit every house on the block so that no moving light would effect my backdrop. If it is dark in the background, you will see the light moving off your background objects, and the lighting will not look natural.

"Pain is temporary, Film is forever"-Peter Jackson

kris, we are all not so lucky. congrats on having 60 grand to fool around, but help them with something more practical.

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Alejandro Lalinde
grey.street.films

"A film is - or should be - more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later."
-Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)

Since were not all superstars like Kris, here's what I did for my moving dolly shot.
I had my character walking down a path at night, with the shot in front of him. I used a wagon as a dolly and basically secured the camera on the front of the wagon, a 500 watt halogen light on the back ( higher then the camera but angled down on the subject) and basically had the dolly in front of him and as he walked.
Of course this doesn't cover all your essential lighting needs but it lit the scene very well and made for a spooky shot. Have a portable generator handy with lots of extension cords if u want to do outdoor lighting. As for lights being in the way of your set etc, you have to remember how much work is involved, your goin to have to move the equipment around to get shots etc, you can't just place it in one section and be happy.

Set your lights up on a homemade dolly, and have someone on watch for the extension cords and you can get some good shots of people running etc.

Or you can get someone to give you 60 thousand dollars and do it Kris's way, but if you're a student like me, the above should hopefully spark some idea's.

If you don't look I'll force you to _=_

Or you could listen to those who have been in your position, and have gone before you. I want him to figure out what to with his own budget. I am not going to tell him, that take his originality right out of it. I told him my lighting sceme not expecting him to go out and rent 60 grand of equipment, but rather take my concept and conform it to his creativity. Grow up Irony...Are you jellous?
Oh, and I dont ever remeber him asking your opinion in the first place...but thankyou, it is greatly appreciated.

I sat under lessons with award winning DP Jon Schwartzman, and he showed me what he did, and left it up to me to figure out how to do it with my budget. I was only doing what helped me

So try not to be so Ignorant

-Thanks

"Pain is temporary, Film is forever"-Peter Jackson

hey mickey mouse, if you don't have much experience lighting, you may want to do some experiments first before you light for your project.

1. do a google search for 3-point lighting. research and experiment with doing that on your own subject/s. This is the basis for traditional lighting. Learn this first. once you have mastered it, then you can get creative. [it's like learning the rules so you can break them]

2. look at a scene from a film you thought looked good and try to replicate it yourself. Sortof disect the lighting.

3. within these experiments, see what happens when you get the light close to the subject. And now far away. Now rig a 1.5 foot sqare diffuser (parchment paper is cheap) infront of the light, bring the light closer to the subject and see what it gives you. Play with breakup patterns (cut slits in a peice of cardboard and put it infront of the light. See if you can get your talent's eye to sparkle by putting a low, undiffused light directly by the camera.

If you can, tape these experiments so you understand how it looks on video--it will look different. Now, when you go to light for your project, you'll be able to have a more consistent look to your lighting and be more educated on just what you can do. Not only will your lighting look better, but you'll be able to go through setups faster (which is equally important).

good luck. have fun.
joren

Mickey...or any one else on this site, listen to this guy. This is THE KEY to ultimately being creative.

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Learn this first. once you have mastered it, then you can get creative. [it's like learning the rules so you can break them]

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KEY PHRASE-

quote:

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[it's like learning the rules so you can break them]-Joren

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I think a good example of this is the scene in the resturant of Mission Impossible (the first one) when Ethan is talking to Kittridge. So many rules were broken, but the way it was broken fit, to build a tense scene between the two men.

Good call Joren!

"Pain is temporary, Film is forever"-Peter Jackson

Well Im just glad to hear you have an interest in lighting. To many beginers just want to point and shoot and expect to be "discovered". Learning the basics is key.

First, here is a great tutorial on 3 point lighting. This is a 3-D interactive lessone so it shows you exactly what happens when you put the lights in certain positions.
http://www.jamesarnett.com/lighting.html

Then I wrote a couple articles for college-film.com In the last one i gave a tip for some cheap lighting. They are at..
Tizzy article 1
Tizzy article 2
Tizzy article 3

These stills were light with that method.



Good luck.
R. Michael

"Luck, is when opportunity, meets preperation." "There are 3 sides to every story. Yours, mine, and the truth, and none of us are lying" -Robert Evans
Tizzy Entertainment

Kris check your private messages, I didn't mean to offend you by calling you superstar - you need to relax a little.

And I don't think he had to ask me personally to ask advice about lighting, I didn't realize that was a rule, I thought this forum was about helping people not getting pissed off over certain remarks - and for the record I am not "jellous"

If you don't look I'll force you to _=_

You better not be FULL OF POOP, b/c after watching Jon S.'s work on Seabiscuit, i am amazed and jealous if you really got to work with him.

what did you guys talk about? tips, tricks, pointers, lay'em on me, please!!!

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Alejandro Lalinde
grey.street.films

"A film is - or should be - more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later."
-Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)