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BOOKS AND ARTICLES How to get perfect video in nightmarish lighting
Standard three-point lighting does not solve all lighting problems. Here are tips and techniques to help you cope with these difficulties with minimal means. With DV camcorders, you can contrive to produce video with a quality that is quite satisfactory for most broadcasters. It's a good news. The bad news is that in less-than-ideal lighting (which happens all the time when shooting outside the studio), these camcorders need help. Too little light, too much light, too much contrast - in these situations, the capabilities of these camcorders are limited and their weaknesses appear. Therefore, I propose such solutions to these problems that allow you to get video of the same quality in conditions of lack of lighting as in a studio flooded with light. Nightmare #1: Too little light Let's start with the most common lighting trouble: too little light. Many cameras, including the Sony DCR VX1000, produce a fuzzy, noisy picture in low light. Although they work in these conditions, it is impossible to get a decent image of a scene lit by candles from them in automatic control mode. However, knowing how your camcorder works will help you solve this problem. For example, the VX1000's AUTO mode works in stages: in the first stage, the aperture changes the amount of light that enters the CCD through the lens. On the second, the electronic part of the camera changes the amplification of the signal received from the CCD target. The transition between these two stages is smooth and you can notice the moment of transition only by looking at the mechanical aperture position indicator. From it you can determine the moment of transition from mechanical adjustment of the diaphragm opening to electrical gain control. To become familiar with this process, put your camcorder in manual control mode and change the aperture settings. When you are at the bottom of the adjustment range, the indicator will show a transition from F8 to F4 and F2. The OPEN indicator in the viewfinder will then light up. In this state, the diaphragm is fully open and maximum light flux passes through the lens. If you continue to open the diaphragm, the gain of the electrical signal produced by the CCD will begin to increase. The gain level meter will show a change from +3 to +18 dB. Any experienced operator will tell you that increasing the gain makes the picture noisy. More gain means more noise. If you put the camcorder in the power of an automatic regulator, it will open the diaphragm to failure and accelerate the gain to +18 dB, trying to turn a candlelit stage into a studio flooded with light. The result: a horrendous level of noise, and the image looks worse than that obtained from a twenty-year-old VHS tape. So what to do? First of all, see if your camcorder has a mode appropriate for the situation. The Sony VCR VX1000 has a Twilight Mode (twilight). This sets the shutter speed to 1/60s and the gain is capped at +6dB. This setting ensures the minimum noise level. Similar modes are available in other camcorders. In low (but not too) light conditions, Twilight Mode provides good results with a minimum of effort. But in many cases, at low light levels, you will have to control the camera manually. The best way is to do it in a similar way to Twilight mode. Set the shutter speed to 1/60s or 1/30s and carefully raise the gain until the picture is already satisfactory and the noise level is acceptable. Two tips: don't raise the gain above +9 dB; Shutter speeds slower than 1/30 s should only be used when you are not going to pan the camera quickly and there is no fast movement in the scene being shot. Otherwise, you will get an unnecessary stroboscopic effect. To further improve video quality when shooting in low light, use the camcorder in manual control mode and add light to the frame. Turn on some home lighting fixtures. Illuminate the scene from behind or from the side with a light fixture, using a dark blue filter, such as RoscoLux #80 Primary Blue. Applying a blue filter uses film and television conventions: blue light means evening lighting. Backlighting in blue will highlight the details of the scene and give the overall impression of darkness. It's time to talk about the field television monitor from the sidebar "Minimum camping set of illuminators." Using a field monitor is also useful when working with a high-end camcorder. And when working with small camcorders, you can’t do without it at all. The tiny viewfinders of color LCD camcorders, due to their low resolution, simply cannot show defects caused by large noise. If you have a portable TV monitor on set, you can fine-tune all camera settings and see what you are actually recording on film. Nightmare #2: Too much light Videographers are always unhappy. First we complain about the lack of light, and then grumble about its excess. The root of evil is in the CCD matrices of the camcorder. They give a decent image only in a certain range of illumination and contrast. An excess of light, especially in scenes with high contrasts, creates no less problems than its lack. Windows, sunlight, and other unregulated light sources can create problems lighting a scene, especially if they are in the frame. Shooting people standing in front of windows creates the difficult but common problem of excess light. In my work, these are most often colored stained-glass windows. But regardless of the color of the windows, sooner or later you will encounter the problem of excess light. Several cameramen told me horror stories about filming corporate executives in their skyscraper offices high above Manhattan. Of course, the view from the window creates a beautiful background, but on film, the contrast between the office lighting and the light from the windows makes the head of the corporation just an outline cut out of black paper. On a sunny day, even the light from the super-powerful 2000-watt MightiMole looks dim compared to the sun shining through the windows. Well, what if the client understands the complexity of filming, that they will require more time and, accordingly, will cost more, but still wants them to take place? The first thought that comes to mind is to increase the lighting, but there is too much light from the windows and it is directed in the wrong direction. Try, as it is done in judo, use his strength and direct it where it is needed. I've always been surprised how few videographers use the experience of lighting film sets, where reflective screens and reflectors are often used. These surprisingly cheap devices do not require electricity and are often a lifesaver in seemingly hopeless lighting situations. There is no need to use expensive industrial reflectors - a flat piece of white packaging foam or a piece of cardboard covered with aluminum foil will do. Set up a piece of white foam or a reflective surface so that the fill light reflected from it falls back onto the object. Use several reflectors positioned so that the light from them hits the object from different angles. In cases of extreme contrast, use foil or even mirrors to bring as much light onto the subject as possible. Now try adding accent lighting. Turn on all the lights you have. You don't need a backlight (windows do the job), you don't need a fill light (it's created by reflectors), so use all of your light as accent lighting. Move your lights as close to your subject as possible, and keep in mind that when the distance is halved, the illumination is quadrupled. Still dark? The only solution other than using a 12kW LTM Luxarc HMI illuminator is to reduce the sunlight. Since we still cannot weaken the light of the Sun on a cosmic scale, we will have to solve this problem in an earthly way. There are two ways: mechanically reduce ambient light by installing filters on the windows, or wait until the brightness of sunlight decreases naturally at sunset or until clouds cover it. Let's start with the first one. Take points two and four from the "Minimum Camping Lighting Kit" sidebar: large area attenuating filters. The second item is black tulle, which can be found in any textile store. One layer of tulle attenuates light by 15%. Often this is enough for the accent light to work. If after this there is too much light, then the second layer of tulle should not be hung in order to avoid the appearance of the moiré effect. Use window tint instead. Rosco produces filters of various densities, including those that lower the color temperature of sunlight up to 3200 K. For small areas, use automotive tint film. To temporarily stick this film on a window, spray it with a spray bottle of water and a little soap. Then, without removing the protective coating from the film, press it against the glass from top to bottom. Apply the film on the window with a slight overlap to make the joints invisible. Glue the top and bottom of the film strips with Gaffer adhesive tape. The film will last surprisingly long, attenuating transmitted light by 20-25%, which is sufficient in most cases. Well, what about a natural solution to the problem? You can tell the client that you need a cloudy day for the shoot, but that might not be acceptable. For a natural solution that provides the best quality and depth, wait for the "golden hour", that short period of time when the sun is about to touch the horizon. At this time, sunlight takes on a deep golden hue, similar to the light of halogen sodium lamps. Dramatic angled lighting adds contrast and depth to the scene and creates beautiful warm highlights on illuminated objects. From a photographic point of view, shooting during the "golden hour" is the best and most visually appealing solution. However, in practice, waiting for the best lighting from Nature itself can be difficult. First of all, natural lighting is very variable. In addition, the client may not want to waste an afternoon waiting for magical light. And if you don't shoot fast enough, you could miss the light without completing the job. I solve the problem by covering the window with black tulle. I used a 600-watt light for highlights and a 300-watt for fill. I moved these instruments closer to the object than usual. I didn't use reflectors to get the fill light, as the light from the windows was colored. My frontal approach took half an hour to organize and worked perfectly. Nightmare #3: sun and shadows Problem: Too much light in a limited space. And again, the result is a great contrast. Somehow the shooting took place in classic field conditions: difficulties with lighting, lack of a power network and participation in the filming of a famous actor who was free only for a short time. The shooting was done inside a hut, illuminated only by the sun through a smoke hole in the roof. The image is blurry. A tiny on-camera light did not help in this case. CITY-TV operators could improve the frame by applying a combination of reflection and diffusion. A piece of white tulle stretched over the smoke hole would scatter the light of the sun. Several white baffles at the feet of the actors would spread the light around the stage and illuminate the details of the hut. Then the operator could close the aperture to get the correct exposure when shooting faces, without losing interior details. White paper or fabric could be used instead of tulle to obtain stronger dispersion. But this could result in too flat lighting. Shooting in a forest or in the shade of a single tree on a sunny day presents the same challenges. The contrasting mottled pattern is good in the background, but looks terrible on the faces. Just like in the case of filming in the office, the dilemma arises: wait for a cloudy day or the appearance of a separate cloud, or correct the situation artificially. In many cases, a good on-camera fill light will illuminate the subject's face and reduce contrast. Remember that doubling the distance quadruples the illumination. So shoot from as close a distance as possible. A white reflective sheet can fill a shadow with light if there is a direct sunlight nearby. If that area is too far away and a plain white sheet doesn't help, use a focusing reflector that can send fill light over a long distance. Glass filters In the fight against the naughty light, you have one more helper. Some lens glass filters, like the Tiffen Pro-Mist series, reduce contrast. They can help, but they don't solve the problem. However, using them along with the above recommendations will help you get great results. Tiffen's Black Pro-Mist filters, ranging from $40 to $100 (depending on size), are quite popular with videographers. Well, that's it, basically. A little preparation, a minimal camping light kit in the trunk of your car and a head on your shoulders will help you out in the most difficult situation. While I haven't covered all the lighting challenges you and your camcorder may face, I hope this article will inspire you to invent your own ways to shoot stunning video in nightmarish lighting conditions. Minimum camping light kit Gaffer: In the film industry, a lighting specialist or electrician. Guerilla gaffer: Literally, "guerilla illuminator", a lighting specialist who appears in difficult situations and is armed with the necessary technical means and creative thinking. The Guerilla Gaffer Lighting Survival Kit: A kit for taming wild lighting challenges. Keep all of these items, with the exception of the camping monitor and Styrofoam, in a gym bag. Put the bag in the trunk of your car so that it is at hand when you go on location shooting. Main components Field TV monitor: Allows you to detect problems that cannot be seen in the viewfinder due to its low resolution. The field monitor can operate on mains or battery power. A cheaper, mains-only monitor can be powered by a battery using a 12VDC/1VAC converter available at any electronics store. Black tulle: translucent fabric (for widow's veils) that can diffuse and attenuate excess light from windows. Usually sold in 112 cm wide rolls. Buy at least two meters. This fabric does not wrinkle very much, and you can store it folded several times. However, you should not put weight on it. For better preservation, roll it up into a tube and keep it in a cylindrical parcel case. White tulle: fabric for the bride's veil. Used for minimal light scattering. Buy two meters and keep in a cylindrical case for parcels. Window tint film: Buy the cheapest auto parts store available. Choose gray or bronze film, but do not take black. The film wrinkles easily - store it in a sturdy cylindrical case. Small Sprayer: Available at a garden supply store or drugstore. At the place of work, fill it with soapy water. Use to attach tint film to windows. Old white sheets or disposable plastic white tablecloths are used to obtain significant light diffusion. Wooden clothespins: Use only clothespins with a spring. Do not use plastic clips - they may melt when placed near a hot fixture. There was not a single lighting specialist I knew who did not have a lot of clothespins in his pockets. Clothespins attach gels, homemade flags and all sorts of light-scattering devices. Reflectors: Use commercially made collapsible reflectors or just pieces of white packaging foam. A couple of pieces of cardboard 45 x 60 cm, covered with aluminum foil, will also come in handy on the farm. Gaffer Tape: An amazing but not cheap tape designed specifically for lighting applications. It has a strong fabric base and very strong adhesion, but it does not tear off the paint from the surfaces to which it is attached. Well, okay, okay, in most cases you can use ordinary adhesive tape, but you should have one roll of gaffer tape. Matte tape: translucent cellophane film. Get 1/2" and 3/4" wide rolls each. Use to suppress glare on small chrome parts. Delete immediately after finishing work. In a day, you won't tear it off another. Additional components You can do without the following, but it is still better to get these, and I assure you that all this will come in handy. Lighting gels: Buy a set of gel filters and diffusers. Get some yellow (RoscoLux #2 Bastard Amber, #3 Straw and #18 Flame), some blue (#66 Cool Blue, #80 Primary Blue), red (#27 Medium Red) and green (#389 Chroma Green) . Diffuses RoscoLux #105 Tough Spun well. For greater dispersion, it can be made multi-layered. Store these materials rolled up in cylindrical cases. Matting spray: used for matting mirrors, chrome and other surfaces that give glare and flare. Fog: The least needed of all, but it's something. Dispersed in the air, makes visible beams of light from illuminators. If you have tried it, then you will apply it where it is necessary and not necessary. Black Foil: Plain black anodized aluminum foil. Pretty damn expensive compared to supermarket food foil. Indispensable when creating irregularly shaped illumination beams or when making flags. Camouflage mesh: the most "guerrilla" part of the set. It takes up very little space and helps create fancy patches of light in the background. Cut out a small (30 x 30 cm) piece and hang it in front of a lighting fixture (but not too close - it could catch fire!) instead of the bulky koukaloris used to create light spots. Author: John Jackman
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