going beyond interview lighting

[jacquesstar@yahoo.com]

Okay, so here's my lighting skills:

http://www.jacquesstarvideoproductio...20Lighting.mov

I think that those interviews look decent, although i'm sure some other camera guys could kick my butt at lighting these.

"How to Setup, Light and Shoot Great Looking Interviews" DVD by Vortex Media (http://www.vortexmedia.com) definitely helped

But, since i'm doing okay with my interview lighting, i'd like to move on to other lighting scenarios.

Are there DVD's that teach other lighting techniques? For example, how to light different types of TV commercials? Like, "here's how you light a kitchen scene-daytime, kitchen scene, nighttime" "here's how to light a product shot" I know that the lighting diagrams that I learned for interviews are just guidelines, and i've tweaked them for each interview, for example, sometimes just having no fill light, or no light on the background, to leave it black, etc.

I would really like to see a DVD that teaches other types of lighting, with some guidelines, rules and diagrams.

thanks,

[john@dv.com]

This is all in my book, Lighting for Digital Video and Television:

http://www.amazon.com/Lighting-Digit...e=UTF8&s=books

But we never did the DVDs that were originally planned -- and I don't see them on the horizon this minute, either. Sorry.

John Jackman
Forum Moderator

[Jerry_R]

I like John's book also Matters of Light and Depth by Ross Lowel.

The ASC has some excellent although somewhat pricey materials available:
http://www.theasc.com/cgibin/store/a...Ps%20Bookshelf
Checkout:
Reflections & Cinematographer Style
Storaro: Writing With Light Trilogy, with bonus DVD
This is supposed to be quite good but I haven't read it:
http://www.theasc.com/cgibin/store/a...atalogno=11110

Bill Holshevnikoff has some DVDs he sells from his Web site and http://www.chimeralighting.com/
used to carry them don't know if they still do.

Also Walter Graff at bluesky-web.com has some lighting DVDs available.

[Bradley Helgerson]

Here is the link to Walter Graff's new lighting DVD. In it he shows examples of dramatic lighting in a bedroom and dinning room.

http://www.bluesky-web.com/002.html

[Philoh]

In addition to those great sugestions, there are some not-at-all-bad quickie tutorials on the DJTV site from digital juice. They may have pulled last season's videos by now to put on a DVD, but if they are still there look for Perry's little 5-minute examples of lighting product shots and little dramatic scenes. They are really quite good and stress making do with very little to get the look of something more.

[john@dv.com]

Finally looked at your video link, Jacques. These look pretty good, nice work. Only one I'd improve on was the last -- the hard light on the plant in the background. The hard shadow was ugly rather than interesting. But the rest look very professional.

Others looking at these notice that he's gotten that all-important reflection in the cornea that allows the viewer to see fine eye motion. The only time you should not have this glint in the eye is in certain dramatic shots where the face is in shadow.

John Jackman
Forum Moderator

[Jerry_R]

John I agree; I likie a low key approach and generally de emphize the backgrounds but thats a matter of taste.