I have always wanted to find a resource online that dove into lighting- not only just the “how to” part of lighting, but also the “why” behind choices made. But as I have searched, I have not found such a resource. Even in the many lighting books I have read, they tend to favor the “how”, rather then the “why”. Do not get me wrong, there are many GREAT books and web sites on lighting, a few of which I have linked to in the Resources page in my site. But I have always wanted more.

So, I am beginning a series that I am calling Lighting Tips. As the projects allow, and as I remember, I’ll be taking photographs of the various setups and talking about the results I achieved. It will be my goal to talk about the “why” along with the “how”. As with any art, there are some things that cannot be taught. But hopefully this series will be interesting an informative to you. Each installment in the series will begin with showing the results, talking about the “how” and then delving into the “why”.

Before I dive in here, one quick disclaimer: This will be a sporadic series. One of the reasons I’m sure a series like this has not been done (That I’m aware of at least.) is that during production there are a lot of people, equipment, and schedules to manage. That means that a lot of times superfluous things take a back seat to the important items of the day. So I am going to do my best to continue this series as long as possible- providing that time and schedules permit during production. To make it easy to search for the next in this series each lesson will be labeled “Lighting Tip ##. (Original, I know. :) ).

With that disclaimer out of the way, lets dive in:

First up in this series is lighting for interviews. Regardless of what type of projects you do, you will inevitably come across a project that requires an interview. So lets take a look at some different set ups and the results I was able to achieve.

Black Infinity

This look is very simple & clean, and provides a lot of options for the production. The black background can be used as it is, or if desired, the editor could even pull a nice color matte and replace the background with whatever background they wanted. (Although in practice I have rarely seen this done.)

THE HOW:

A black muslin background was hung off of a set of stands. The talent was then lit from about 60 degrees on the far side of the camera. This key light is a 575w HMI run on half power, and used a large chimera (36” x 48”). A flag was placed placed next to the key to stop any light from spilling on the muslin. A 250w Lowell Pro Light was then placed about 180 degrees from camera and angled down to provide the hair light. The pro light was left bare / unfiltered.  Also note that the camera was placed at on a dutch angle in order to provide an off axis framing. Lastly, the door in the background was shut prior to filming, to ensure that no outside light leaked in.

Here are some other angles of the same set up:

THE WHY:

Dutch Angle:

For this project there were a series of interviews done at various locations. The set up here was for a series of interviews that covered tough issues relating around sexual addictions. Because of this, the director and I felt that it would benefit if the visuals were a little unsettling, adding to what was being said. The director also wanted a black background so that the viewer is completely focused on what was being said. So we agreed that putting the camera on a dutch angle would help to visually reinforce the message of the interviews.

Key Light:

Lighting always has to reinforce the story. Because of the content of the interviews, I wanted to keep things moody, yet provide a pleasing light to the face of the talent. To make the light more moody, I placed it further back then the traditional 45 degrees. This made the shadows on the opposite side of the face darker, and provided less wrap around fill.

I also like to place my key light on the far side of the talent. This enables you to see more of the shadowed side of the face. If the light was placed on the near side (also called the dumb side) it would hide more of the shadows, and provide less definition and flatten out the image more. (I am a big fan of texture, definition, and a feeling of dimensionality in my images.)

The Flag:

Due to the size of the key light, there was some light that was spilling on the background. To make sure that the black was rich and black, I placed a flag to remove all of the spill on the muslin.

Fill Light:

As you have probably noticed, I chose to go without a fill light in this set up. Usually I will go with a white card to provide some fill. However, due to the story, i chose to go without the fill for this set up. I felt that the chimera provided enough wrap around fill to expose the face where I wanted it, and it kept the shows darker then they would have been if fill had been used.

Hair Light:

One of the goals of lighting is to provide separation. In this setup I needed to ensure that the talent did not meld into the background. To keep the subject separate from the black I put up a hair light. This light ended up not only acting as a hair light, but also as a nice rim light around the entire subject.

Since switching over to HMI lights, I usually leave the pro light unfiltered and white balance the camera to the HMI lights. This turns the hair light into a nice golden color that looks pleasing on the hair of the majority of subjects.

On Location:

This is a still from an interview I filmed on location on Bainbridge, Wa for the documentary: American Dream. I rearranged the living room in order to set up for this interview. You can see the set up picture below.

THE HOW:

This setup is very similar to the black infinity set up. (And truth be told, the basic setup for most interviews is pretty much the same.)

The key light is a 150w HMI with 250 diffusion on it to soften it out like a chimera, which is placed 45 degrees on the far side of the camera. The Fill light is a 42” gold reflector, placed on the near side of the camera. The hair light is the 250w pro light. And another 150w with 1/2 CTO is shooting through a cookie to provide the background light.

THE WHY:

Key Light:

Being a documentary, speed is the name of the game. The less lights, the quicker it can be done the better. So I chose the 150w HMI with 250 on it to go for speed. It provided me with a soft light for the key light. (Not as soft as a chimera, but close enough for this project where time matters.) Soft light is very pleasant on the skin and faces, which makes it a great choice for interviews.

Fill Light:

I wanted a soft fill light to bring up the near side of the faces, and to soften the shadows. The name of the game is: Content is King. This interview was not particularly dramatic / moody, and so I wanted a more calm / warm look. Adding the fill accomplished this for me. I am of the firm belief that if you do not need to use an additional light, then don’t. Using the gold side of the reflector did exactly what I wanted it to do, and I didn’t have to worry about using an additional light. (Which would have taken more time then setting up the reflector.)

With the fill light, I also wanted to complement the warm glow of the fire place and the yellow walls, so I decided to go with the gold side. (Usually I’ll go with the white side.) The gold warmed up the shadow side of the face, further adding to the warmth of the picture.

Hair Light:

Same as the black infinity shot. Only this time it was spread out more to hit both people as much as possible.

Background Light:

I decided to warm up this light with 1/2 CTO to further enhance the warmth of the fireplace that would appear in the shot. However, with just a warm light on the background, which was a yellow wall, it was looking very clinical and stale. So a map was brought in from another room, and hung on the wall. (The map had to do with what they were talking about - remember content is king.) I then added a cookie to provide a soft shadow on the wall to break up the light and add some texture. The cookie here helps to separate the couple and keep the background as the background in the shot.

And there you have it. That concludes the first installment of my lighting tip series. Hopefully you have found this enlightening. ;) Until next time- get out there and shoot.

For the latest tips, tricks, and other issues related to cinematography, please visit the blog on my web site: www.ryanewalters.com .