Video light

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Video light

Hello, I wonder for you that hasn’t fancy light like movie light and all that and just using lights that you already have at home , how do you do it? I have watched all the videos but it’s a lot about film light and not really about normal light you have at home. 

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Hypnodan
Community Champion Community Champion
Community Champion

Personally for consistency I feel that investing in some lights is good and they can be purchased cheap. My first lights were about £50 for two studio lights. I have just upgraded to LED lights.

I know people who stand in film in front of their window to get lit by natural light (but not direct sunlight). This is great when the light is consistent, the challenge is if you film over many days or the weather changes or you film at different times of the day. So if you have consistent weather and film when the light is pretty much the same day after day then your videos would likely look okay without needing to re-shoot on a different day because the light dramatically changed. Lights don't cost a lot though, but they can take up a lot of room, so I think it is worth getting lights.

The two things I would invest in from the start are lights so that you can control the lighting and an external microphone.

All the best

Dan

When I first started shooting short films I used halogen work lights and used parchment paper to diffuse (soften) the light so it didn't burn out your retinas. Keep in mind that they get extremely hot so frequent breaks are needed to let them cool and hang the parchment paper in front of but away from the lights so they don't become a fire hazard.

 

If you have plain white walls you can bounce the light off the wall instead. Or hang a white shower curtain and either bounce the light off that or shoot through it. Remember to keep the lights several feet away from it or you'll be calling the fire department.

 

The more wrinkles the better because it diffuses the light even more (less shadows.) 

 

This is a temp fix until you can get a decent set of lights. I bought a softbox kit off Amazon for 50 bucks. I bought 2 actually, the best investment I made next to better microphones. 

One of the most important things to remember is whatever system you go with, stay consistent - don't mix daylight florescent bulbs with halogen and LEDs... they all have unique color temperatures so pick the ones that suit your budget and needs and stick to that style of lighting.

 

LEDs don't get hot. Fluorescents can get a tad warm, you can cook a meal on halogen work lights (always keep a fire extinguisher and heavy gloves nearby when using hot lights.)

 

Regular light bulbs in white china lanterns are used a lot too... they also diffuse the light and help eliminate harsh shadows. You can usually buy several of them for only a few bucks and hang them from your ceiling.

 

Great tips @KennCrawford! Thanks for sharing.

You're welcome. Glad to help anyway I can.

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Audio and video solutions
Figure out how to create the best audio and visual set-up for your price point and skill level. This is a great place to chat about different mics, green screens, video editing software, and more.