Again, i have a quistion, but now on lighting.
I have never actually lighten a scene.

This shot (from E.T.) is the look i want, people playing arround a table (only my table is not round) and the are lit by a lamp above the table.
I think that 1 lamp above the table is not enough, unless i use a very strong light (but i think the camcorder cannot record a very bright object)

So does someone know how to achiefe something like this?





Thanks

Grab a redhead, get your art department to design a shade that will fit on it, use either a c-stand or a scaffbar between two tall boys with the light clamped on a big ben.

I have 3 Hedler lights, 1000 watt each.
Can it work with this too?

Because my camcorder does not handle bright objects good, so its will be overexposed and it wont look close to the still i posted.

I dont have a art department...

Thanks for the tip, but a very bright object will suretenly get overexposed.

Jerry

Does your camera have manual controls?

Its the Sony TRV60, i can adjust the exposure, but not the shutterspeed. Whitebalance is not fully manual. I do have a manual focusring.

Its a camcorder design for automatic work, but there are some manual controles.

Why?

P.S. I think iam going to buy the Panasonic DVX100b soon. (full of manual controles and 3ccd!) But: does that really change the way i lighting a scene?

look at the shadows of the head. There's a rear side light camera left in addition to the practical top light.

Yeah, the manual controls do change the way you light it, and here's why.

The exposure control you have is just digital gain, it brightens or darkens the scene digitally, and is typically crap. The camera is probably adjusting its own shutter and iris, and it does this based on the average brightness of the scene, which makes it difficult to have a contrast between dark in one place and bright in another. It will start under or over exposing.

If you have manual features you set the exposure properly to work with your lights. It won't be too bright.

The other thing to keep in mind is that, as Joren said, they've put a fill light in there too, to bring up the light levels in the shadows and other areas, and to lower the contrast between dark and light.

Thank you!

It was my plan already to buy the DVX100b, but not so soon, i think iam going to buy it now, because titaniumdoughnut just told that my exposure controle is crap! ( you just gave me a yet another reason to buy such a huge expensive camcorder, for me)

So there IS a BIG light above the table in the light we can see? Its not a praktical with a low small light in it?

And then the bring up the levels, lower the contrast, by putting other lights arround them?

My situation: I can buy a lamp, hang it above the table, and put a regular lightbulb in it. a bright one! Now, if i do my job good, the DVX100 can handle a very bright object, without making the rest of the room black (hope...)

Then i use my 3x1000 watt real video lights to light the people and the table from the sides..
I use softlight (point the lights into the umbrella) (then again, 3000 watt seems a big high, time to buy lesser watts lightbulbs)

Am i on the right track?
Because: the table light must seems the brightest thing in the room, so the side lights must not given more light than the table lamp.

I think iam getting to understand it, more tips are really welcome

P.S. sorry for the bad englisch, but i think you already know iam from the Netherlands (i know, its not a good excuse, i can use my dictonairy!)

Yep, I think you're on the right track. Even the DVX100 won't be able to dim a very bright spot down without making the rest turn black, but it will give you the control you need to get good results with the light you have

Just remember that all of this (lighting, camera settings, etc) takes time to get the hang of. Learn what stuff does, and then just play with it, and get a feel for the results that each change will give you.

Your best bet is to use the lamp, and then try to bring in light from the sides (preferably light that is diffused through a diffusion sheet, or bounced off of the walls) to bring up the level of the shadows. That's a fill light.

But is it important that the lamp is the strongest light? Cannot i cheat it? Because my 'real' lights are always stronger than the lamp. (unless i call the artdepartment to design something for me, but i have no artdepartement and i cannot drill holes into the ceiling.

Another problem is, that if i turn around (cut to another person sitting by the table) i see the lightstands! The room is too small to hide it.

I also think i must buy some lamps (for motivated lightsources) its seems strange that there is coming light from places were there is no lamp

You simply dress a powerful light as the shade. Hence, a practical (or you could swap a higher wattage bulb into the fixture - be careful, it could blow fairly quickly).

They are using fill in that shot, but not a huge amount. I personally don't like to use a lot of fill. One 'advantage' of video is that you can check all this stuff out before you record anything - try to output to a monitor (TV) to check the amount of fill, etc. since the LCD is not accurate.

You definitely can cheat it. It's all a matter of trial and error. Just don't stop adjusting things until it looks right.

You may also run into the problem of lights being different color temperatures. Sunlight is blue, and electric light is yellow. Fluorescents are green. Often, when mixing lights, you'll need to use colored gels on some of them, to bring it into balance, so it's all the same color of light.

Oke, thanks!

I hope the shade can restant the heath from the light... but the problem is, HOW do i get it above the table? I think building a construction...
Wel, not real easy.

Sometimes i wonder why i would do al those things,care for lighting etc.. i want to become a director. Not a DP/gaffer.
But i think its good to know about lighting, therefore i do it myself (DP and direct my little movie projects)

I think it would be a problem, getting the light there... but i shall look into it.
Thanks to EVERYONE in this topic!

More tips: my ears (well, eys) are open!

Jerry

In truth, if you're shooting with the DVX which has superb light sensitivity, you may not NEED anything brighter inside that lamp than your average 100 watt bulb, or whatever the lamp can take. Just watch it, and make sure nothing bad happens, cause it's probably only rated (a little sticker will say) to 40 or 60 wt.

But what about the fill?
(to fill in the shadows and take care for the contrast, wich is what you were saying)

I cannot use fill if my main unit is only 100watt.
Because my fill has to be lower than that.

Well, the trick then is to diffuse it by bouncing it off something, or shining it through something, so that it becomes dimmer and softer.

Oke, i understand.

Here is the livingroom (quick photo snapshot)
The large table is.. wel, the table!

The ceiling lights are VERY dimm... and too hight to frame. As you can see, not much room for lights...

Yeah, you won't be able to light it what that lamp...

You may need to come up with something else that the light is supposed to be coming from, like a nice table lamp, or just some lights off to the side.

I cannot use a table lamp, because there is a large bordgame on it. So the lamp cannot be in the middle.

I was thinking of going with a lampshade, put a lightbulb in it, hang it on a stick, point it above the table, and shoot. So it looks like the shade is hanging from the ceiling. I dont ever see the ceiling, keep my shots low.

But there is not much room for lighting the sides as fillers, its a bit narrow, dont you think? (its large, but too bad its not a square)

Nah, you should be fine fitting the stuff in. This is all personal choices at this point. There's no right or wrong way to do this. Just go with what works for you, and keep adjusting it until it looks good.