What is the best type of lighting for a filmed interview?
Father Kevin M asked:
in a small room, one person being interviewed. The camera might move to some angles, but always filming the front of the interviewee. The interviewee is seated and never moves much.
in a small room, one person being interviewed. The camera might move to some angles, but always filming the front of the interviewee. The interviewee is seated and never moves much.
Please be specific: fill light key light, cross lighting etc.
I have access to 750 watt lights. How many of these should I use, and where should they be placed, and are they sufficient?
Ideally just bounce them off the ceiling.
That way you’ll have a larger area that has a soft quality to it. and your camera can move around wherever, without casting unsightly shadows on the walls or the subject.
Hope that helps [who] ranten
Basically a 3 light setup should be adequate unless there is some kind of special effect you’re looking for? Does your room have a white ceiling? If it does you can try pointing one of your lights up at a slight angle so that diffused light falls on your subject. Look for shadows under the eyes and nose. Shadows might be stronger on your video than how they appear to your eye so shoot a bit of tape, with your subject or a stand-in model, and check it on a color monitor. Use a 2nd light near the camera to lighten these shadows. You may have to move the light further back or cover it with a fire proof diffuser material if you don’t have an electronic dimmer. Just eyeball the effect and tilt or raise your 2nd light until you solve any shadow problems without washing out your shot. The spill from these 2 lights should illuminate your background adequately. Usually it’s very effective to let the background be darker than your main subject. With your 1st 2 lights acting as a main light and a fill, a third light, used as a hair light, can be placed out of sight of the camera and to the rear of the subject. The rim effect of light on the hair and shoulders is what will make your subject “pop” out of the background and look more 3-dimensional. News casts use this technique a lot. With the sensitivity of most video cameras you could get by with just one light. In a pinch, set your subject up next to a window (main light) an use a reflector (fill) to bounce light back to the shadow side. Mainly, trust your eyes and make sure your shadows fall outside the view of the camera for a nice professional looking effect. Good luck. [who] green_lantern5353