Need some advice about lighting

[Reminiscence]

Hey everyone, now I'm totally new to the filmmaking thing. Got the camera, got the mic for sound and got the software and PC to do post production. Now as I was shooting my first short, which WAS set in my own living room, one thing bothered me big time. LIGHT!!! There was absolutely not enough light on the scene. The tv was giving off very small amount and the one lamp I had also gave off a small amount. So it got me thinking and worrying, I need a good enough light set-up that'll get me going for my first number of productions. I went to the photography that I bought my camera, tripod and mic from, but the price they gave me is too much for my dwindling budget.

So I read some articles on the net and books I got lying around. And most of them mentioned: "Get a couple of cheap lights from a camera store, hardware store, or a garage sale." Now my problem is experience in lights. I have none, 0, nothing, hehe...

I went on the net again and checked for hardware stores in my area, I'm in Cape Town btw, and found one place where they sell, cheap lighting at a high quality. So I went to the place, told the guy what I need, and he came up with this: http://www.genlux.co.za/minifloods.html

Now since I dunno anything about lights, I am here to ask, will this 150w light be good enough for my needs? Maybe get 2 of them and mess around with them? Please I wanna go the DIY way since it'll be cheaper, is this the way to go for a guerilla filmmaker like myself? If not could you recommend a more efficient way? Thanks in advance for the patience and advice...

Regards
Reminiscence

 

[David Mullen ASC]

The light in the link are gas-discharge lamps like mercury vapor or sodium, not really a good idea for filmmaking -- they produce an odd color with missing wavelengths.

First of all, lighting is more than simply shining brighter lamps on actors to get more exposure. It's a real art and you have to consider the color, texture (soft or hard), direction, etc. of the light to create the mood you want.

For starters, you could create a mix of DIY lamps. I'd get a porcelain lamp socket from the hardware store and buy a large Chinese Lantern (like at Ikea or an import store like Cost Plus, Pier One, etc.), and then get some bright lightbulbs for it. You don't want to use a plastic lamp socket that comes with some Chinese Lanterns because it can melt when you use bulbs that are brighter than 100w or so, and you may end up using 250w photofloods or something.

You can also get reflector dishes at a hardware store with a lightbulb socket and clamp. They may also have some tungsten worklamps.

Eventually you want to be on the look-out for some used quartz-tungsten movie lamps, something like a 650w or 1K. These are very bright, but useful for bouncing off of a white wall or ceiling, shining through a frame of diffusion, giving you a big strong backlight, or creating a big light effect through a window or from a distance. You need something bright & punchy for big effects or for shining from a distance.

 

[Reminiscence]

Need some advice about lighting

Hey David thanks for the quick response. Everything is much clearer now, but I have a few questions. The Chinese Lantern, that's for real right? I need to get an authentic one? Or is there a specific kind for film use? And how will I go about using the lantern, or will it just shed natural light better than anything else from the top? No light pointing at a specific subject? Also how many will be enough?

And then finally, what is reflector dishes? I am from South Africa so maybe somethings are named differently here. A short description would help.

Thanks once again for the help, I must aplogise for the amount of questions asked, but I'm really confused atm about this specific subject...

Regards
Reminiscence

 

[David Mullen ASC]

Use the basic white, round Chinese Lanterns -- the larger they are, the softer the light they make. It helps to have a C-stand so hold them out on an arm, and be moved easily, but they can also be rigged to ceilings.

Yes, they tend to shine in all directions so you may want to flag the light off of a wall or something. But they are a cheap and easy way to create a soft-light effect. Take a look at some of Phillipe Rousselot's films like "A River Runs Through It", Interview with a Vampire", "Mary Reilly", almost all lit with just Chinese Lanterns (though a bucket-load of them.)

I was just looking at the photos in the Kubrick Archives book and noticed that a lot of "Eyes Wide Shut" was lit with practical lamps combined with off-screen Chinese Lanterns to augment them.

The most obvious use is overhead for a soft ceiling light effect, but they can also be hung to one side if you don't want a top light.

You can see a photo of a hardware store reflector dish worklamp here:

http://castlewholesalers.com/cat_pr...table Work Light Fixtures&product_id=20605932

 

[Reminiscence]

Need some advice about lighting

Once again thanks David for explaining everything so clearly and helping me all the way. Without you I wouldn't have had any clue whatsoever. Now I'll need to get those things and start experimenting. Hopefully I'll not bother you soon with some more questions...

Regards
Reminiscence