Let There Be Light!!! (Video Tips and Trickery)
by Keith in Video Production and Publishing / 04.01.08
No matter what environment you’re filming in, your shots will benefit greatly from motivated, intelligently-placed lighting. This is the secret to professional grade cinematography; knowing how to shoot is knowing how to light. True, the pros are blessed with a horde of goodies, from itty-bitty lights that can be mounted on the lens of the camera to great big honkers, as strong as 10,000 watts. Simple steps can be taken by the novice that will improve the shot without emptying your pocketbook.
If shooting outdoors, you have the lucky benefit of working with one of the best lighting resources around, the sun. For too long, this celestial beast has been viewed as a burden by unknowing filmmakers, casting shadows everywhere, overexposing the background terrain, and generally running amuck all over the set. But with patience and ingenuity, the sun can quickly become one of your best friends, providing the source for my personally favorite form of lighting: reflected light. When you reflect light, or bounce it (as it’s called on film sets), you disperse the beam in such a way that it creates a soft, even glow on your subject that is very pleasing to the eye. Any sort of white or shiny material is a good candidate for a reflector. Poster-board works very well for a really soft, subdued look. 
Or, for more power, buy a cheap dry-erase board. Aluminum foil, when glued to a piece of cardboard or wood, makes a wonderful reflector that is sturdy and portable and provides an intense burst of reflected light onto the subject, for times when a good deal of light is needed. Crinkle up the foil before attaching it to the board for a shimmery look, one that is reminiscent of the reflection you get off of water. Something called beadboard also works well. This is something you will readily find at craft stores and is basically a solid piece of Styrofoam.
For indoor shooting, I like to use work lights, like construction crews employ for night work. You can find these at home improvement stores for less than $10 a pop. I wouldn’t suggest plugging them in and just pointing them at your subject, but instead bounce the light off a wall or a poster-board, or put some sort of diffusion in front of the light, like a thin bed sheet or wax paper. Make sure these materials are placed a good distance from the lights, so they don’t catch on fire. As a general rule, you more often than not want to diffuse your light somehow, rather than letting it strike your subject at full intensity. Rarely do we experience such harsh light in real life, so on film and video, scattered light looks both more natural and more appealing.
Another wonderful option you can use for indoor lighting is Chinese lanterns. These decorative ornaments diffuse the light in a very pleasing way, allowing for a heavenly glow to light your shot. How I use Chinese lanterns is I begin with purchasing one with a 14″ diameter or more and attach it, via string, to a long pole like a broomstick. Then I attach three 100 watt bulbs to an extension cord with a dimmer, which will give me more control as I light the scene. Then you simply tape the cord, in segments, to the pole and let the three lights hang inside the lantern. Voilá, you have yourself a professional rig, done cheaply.
If you’re interested in more ways to spruce up your video with other cheap lighting tricks, I suggest searching the web for videographer forums and websites. There’s a whole culture out there dedicated to renegade filmmaking, and many have come up with ingenious tricks to achieve professional results with minimal funds. I’ve only listed a few here, all of which I’ve used myself.If you have any tricks or tips that might help the budding filmmaker and wish to share, please head on over to the forums section of our website and post the idea. After all, us MindBiters need to stick together.
Using the dry-erase board as a reflector, why didn’t I think of that? I’m going to try this for some digital photos. Thanks for the idea Keith.
Awesome stuff, thanks!