Rick Wise
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COW Coin
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A monitor you can trust to be color accurate.
Rick Wise
Cinematographer
MFA/BFA Lighting and Camera Instructor Academy of Art University
San Francisco Bay Area
https://www.RickWiseDP.com -
You’d need a color meter to measure each light. Expensive. But with video and a decent monitor you should be able to do some trial and error to determine the correction needed for each of your LEDs. I’d get a few sheets of 1/8 minus green. Keep doubling the amount of magenta until you model looks “normal.” Then go to the next light. Be sure to mark on each light what correction you need.
And yes, using the same lights on the foreground and the others on the background could be a way to go.
Rick Wise
Cinematographer
MFA/BFA Lighting and Camera Instructor Academy of Art University
San Francisco Bay Area
https://www.RickWiseDP.com -
You can prove it for yourself with the lights you own. Take a reading with the light, say, 4′ from the subject, any light. Now move the meter another 4′ away so the distance is 8′. Measure again. Did you lose 2 stops of light intensity? If so, the law holds. (Hint: these laws always hold…..)
Rick Wise
Cinematographer
MFA/BFA Lighting and Camera Instructor Academy of Art University
San Francisco Bay Area
https://www.RickWiseDP.com -
All abide by the same inverse-square law of optics. The moon too….. With a spot meter measure the brightness of a full moon. Then measure with an incident meter the light falling on the earth. A stunning difference, all due to the inverse square law.
Rick Wise
Cinematographer
MFA/BFA Lighting and Camera Instructor Academy of Art University
San Francisco Bay Area
https://www.RickWiseDP.com -
If you want to bounce light off the ceiling, you can tape with gaffer’s tape some reflective material there. White foamcore or for a harder bounce, space blankets crinkled up first. You could also possibly hang those on a side will and create a large side bounce.
Clearly you are limited by your lights and the situation, but it’s amazing what a bit of ingenuity can dream up. Let your sculptor move in and out of “good” light. Avoid light coming from close to the camera. Think too of his wardrobe. If he wears all black your job is much tougher than if he’s wearing light-colored clothes.
Rick Wise
Cinematographer
MFA/BFA Lighting and Camera Instructor Academy of Art University
San Francisco Bay Area
https://www.RickWiseDP.com -
Are these lenses “knock-offs” or claimed to be genuine brand glass? What return policy?
Sounds dicey to me, but possibly OK. If they are knock-offs (probably from India or China) then there’s a possibility they are pretty good. If claimed to be “genuine,” also a possibility. Also a distinct possibility in either case they are not good enough. Only tests can confirm. So ability to return at no cost is essential.
Rick Wise
Cinematographer
MFA/BFA Lighting and Camera Instructor Academy of Art University
San Francisco Bay Area
https://www.RickWiseDP.com -
Of course. Dennis and Todd are so right. Sorry to be so late to this game….. Let us know how it all worked out for you.
Rick Wise
Cinematographer
MFA/BFA Lighting and Camera Instructor Academy of Art University
San Francisco Bay Area
https://www.RickWiseDP.com -
I suspect a motion control camera was used so the speeds of trucking are exactly the same throughout.
Rick Wise
Cinematographer
MFA/BFA Lighting and Camera Instructor Academy of Art University
San Francisco Bay Area
https://www.RickWiseDP.com -
“It’s not the camera, it’s the eye and mind behind the camera.” Always.
Further, if you suddenly up-rez new footage it will make the old look bad. Audiences adapt quickly, but sudden changes distracts them. I suggest you stop worrying about getting a new camera and finish up the project with what you have. The alternative, start all over again, seems like a colossal waste of time.
Rick Wise
Cinematographer
MFA/BFA Lighting and Camera Instructor Academy of Art University
San Francisco Bay Area
https://www.RickWiseDP.com -
I agree, large soft sources will be your friend here. Plus, get the backdrop as far away from the hero product(s) and actor(s) as possible. If you are using LED lights, you can experiment with cheap, flimsy sheets as diffusion in front of the lights. The more distance between the light and the sheet/diffusion, the softer the shadows will be; the diffusion becomes the radiating source of light. The bigger that radiating source is, the softer the shadows. Big enough and they all disappear. You can quickly demonstrate that for yourself: place some object in front of a light; hold up some diffusion; watch how, as you move the diffusion further and further away from the light and closer and closer to the object, the object’s shadow becomes softer and softer. Move the diffusion closer and closer to the light and the shadow becomes harder and harder.
Rick Wise
Cinematographer
MFA/BFA Lighting and Camera Instructor Academy of Art University
San Francisco Bay Area
https://www.RickWiseDP.com