Lighting Guidelines

PREFACE

There are several approaches to studio lighting. One is the trial and error method where lights are shifted around until the scene looks presentable. This can work well sometimes, but is usually disappointing.

Another approach consists of finding a good arrangement for lights that work fine in most situations and then using it over and over. This results in rubber stamp look of sameness.

Then there is the system where the cameraman is creative and combines the basic principles of good lighting with special effects that help tell the story. He will become familiar with the script so that he can use lighting to help establish the mood and atmosphere for each sequence. He endeavors to simulate existing or natural light while at the same time improving upon it. He will try to make the talent as attractive as possible unless they are to look otherwise. He will learn how to use the tools of his trade so that his lights can be controlled easily. He will learn to use the minimum number of lamps with each having a specific purpose. When problems arise he is able to make corrections easily. He makes sure the color is balanced and will have a selection of colored gels on hand for special effects. He will know when hard light is best to use and when soft light works better.

This paper contains only very concise ideas that have been found important and useful from practical experience.

BASIC LIGHTING SOURCES

In discussing the basic lighting sources of KEY, FILL and BACKLIGHT, we can talk about portrait lighting at the same time, as portraiture forms a high proportion of all motion picture and videotape. Product lighting will be discussed later.

KEY

The key light is also known as the “main” or “modeling” light. It is the light that gives the subject form, shape, dimension and character. It can flatter or destroy a person. If you examine any existing light, you will notice there is always one light that is hitting the subject brighter than all the rest. But, with natural sources this key light usually is not coming from the most desirable direction. So, in the studio we try to simulate existing light while at the same time placing our lamps so that they give a more desirable and photogenic effect.

There should be only one key light: all subjects look better with only one key light, and it is easier to operate with only one key light. When there is more than one, the result is unflattering and confusing. Of course, if there is more than one subject in a scene, there can and should be a key on each.

Hard Light

Traditionally, fresnel spots have been used for key lights because they create hard, strong shadows and are best for modeling. A spot makes a hard, directional light, which is easily controlled. You can concentrate it, spread it, gobo it, scrim it, diffuse it, or barndoor it.

Soft Light

On many subjects or situations hard light can be too harsh and contrasty, in which case a soft light will work better as a key. The diffused quality keeps shadows to a minimum and is very flattering especially on women, children and products.

Soft light is harder to control since it spreads out into areas where you don’t want it. Also, it makes large reflections in glass, pictures, mirrors, and most any shiny surface. The circumstances of each scene usually dictate whether a soft or hard light is best to use as a key. Keep in mind there are all degrees of softness depending on the size of source.

The key light should appear to originate from its apparent source: windows, lamps, fireplaces, etc. If you are on a set, which has no apparent light source in the frame, many times it is possible to place a light in the scene such as a table lamp. This also makes the scene more interesting. If this is not possible, you must imagine a light source off-screen and make sure it is coming from a believable off-screen direction.

A key light from the camera angle gives a flat uninteresting picture with no modeling effect. As it is raised in height, shadows appear under the eyes, nose, and chin. A certain amount of shadow is desirable but as the light steepens the shadows start to become objectionable. Too high a key light makes dark shadows under all facial features, especially the eyes. A face should never be lit from directly above except for a special effect. The result is a skull-like distortion.

A slight tilt or turn of a head can alter the shadow lengths. Light, which is a perfectly well angled key when a person is looking forward, becomes a much steeper angle if the person looks down, and the facial modeling changes accordingly.

As we move the key sideways in a circle around the subject, we find the nose shadow short at first and then progressively longer. At 45° the nose shadow falls right in line with the cheek line. This is very desirable. Moving the key on around increases the shadow area. Key lights coming in from 90° from the side are bad. This source is almost as bad as the direct top light as it makes deep shadows of eyes and nose. On a head-on shot, the most flattering lighting is when the key light is coming in from the side at a 45° angle and down from above at a 45° angle. As we mentioned, this is generally the most flattering direction. You will notice in movies, when the script calls for the leading lady to look her best, this lighting is invariably used.

On a three-quarter shot the key light is most flattering when brought in from the narrow side of face, leaving the full side in shadow. This is especially true with heavy people. Heavy people can also be helped, by raising the key light so that shadows are more vertical on their face. Raising the camera angle or having heavy people lean forward also helps. These things make the shadows more vertical and help make people appear slender. This is the same principle as a large person wearing vertical patterns in clothing. A double chin can be lost, by using high angles with camera and lights. Another reason for bringing the key light in from the narrow side of the face is that this keeps the ear that is visible in the shadow and thus minimizes it.

If you have a choice as to the angle from which to photograph someone, you can note their hairline, and use the angle where they show the most hair. Also, check their eyes, one eye is sometimes larger than the other. Put the smaller eye closer to the camera.

These points are minor, but we should keep them in mind as they can become important in a particular case.

FILL LIGHT

The Fill light is used simply to fill in areas that are not lit with key. Fill light must be soft and kept fairly low and close to camera so that it covers all areas. The fill light controls the contrast and should never be as bright as key.

Pictures without a certain amount of contrast lack a sense of solidity and dimension. Unless well-defined shadows from key exist, we are completely dependent upon the subject tones for the image we record. For instance, if you are talking a picture of a billiard ball, unless there is a certain amount of lighting contrast, the ball will appear merely as a flat circle. Fill light must be soft so as not to make any additional shadows to interfere with the key.

Contrast Ratio

The brightness of the fill light determines the lighting ratio, (contrast between the key and fill light). This determines whether a scene is to be high key or low key. The most obvious use for a low key is to give a night effect.

Moods can be enhanced by the lighting ratio. A mystery or horror story calls for low-key lighting. Somber or serious scenes call for low key. High key scenes where the fill light is almost as light as key denote happy carefree, pleasant scenes with children and bright atmosphere.

Lighting treatment can modify ones impressions of health, age, or beauty. Under contrast, steep, or edge lighting most people appear tired, older or haggard. Although, make-up may have successfully enhanced or glamourized someone, lighting has more affect on there appearance.

Many times the subject itself is flat and uninteresting. High contrast can give it form and make it stand out. A single spot with no fill whatsoever is the strongest contrast you can obtain. It can be very useful where a subject blends into the background. A singer in front of a band is a good example.

Filling in Subject Only

Sometimes you need a fill light on the subject but not on the background. An example is where the cyc background is lit with colored gels and white light will wash out the color. There are several things you can do:

1. Bring as much fill in from the side as possible goboing it off the background
2. Move the subject out away from background making it easier to light separately.
3. Minimize the fill light that does hit the background by scrimming it down and moving it closer to subject so that the distance to the subject is a lot less than to the background.

Types of Fill Light

Fill lights come in all shapes and sizes. They are usually called broads because of their size. The larger the fill light, the more diffused it becomes and the better job it does. This is why it is good to bounce a spot into a large white card. The only disadvantage is the lack of mobility. It takes twice as long to set up and twice as long to adjust or move since you are handling two or three pieces of equipment instead of one.

Bouncing light off walls and ceiling can provide good fill light. A common fill has been to mount small lamps right on the camera just above the lens. These have been all shapes and sizes including on that has a louver shade that changes the intensity. The disadvantage of a camera light is that it is too weak on long shots and too bright when subject is close. It is a big advantage to be able to change the intensity. Another advantage of a camera light is to place a catch light in the eyes of a subject when otherwise the eyes would look dull.

Consistency

For continuity it is important to keep the same lighting ratio throughout a sequence. Also, the key light should be coming from the same general direction if possible; however, when there is a change in key light, this change is not as noticeable as a contrast change. In other words, it’s more important to keep the lighting ratio the same than to keep the key light coming from the same direction.

In establishing the lighting ratio it is helpful to keep in mind the limits of the medium. In working with either movies or videotape the latitude is four F-Stops. This means that the brightest tone in the scene cannot be over two stops lighter than the F-Stop you are working at. Likewise the darkest area will go black if it is more than two F-Stops darker. The waveform monitor will show this or a light meter can be used. In establishing a contrast ratio, a two-to-one ratio is average.

Always remember that each F-Stop doubles the intensity of light. One F-Stop would be a two-to-one ratio. But if the key is two stops brighter than fill this is equivalent to four times the brightness or four-to-one ratio. It doesn’t take much change in F-stop to make a scene contrasty. However, since our light meters are calculated in terms of F-Stops, it is easier to think in terms of F-Stops.

On an isolated scene, contrast ratio usually can be estimated by eye rather than using a meter. However, if there are a number of scenes in a sequence it is advisable to use a meter for consistency.

There are two ways of reading the contrast ratio. One is where the key light is read separately from the fill. However, you are really interested in knowing how bright the light side of the subject is in relation to the darker side. The fill light is usually adding brightness to the key. So, a more accurate reading is to leave the fill on while reading key. The ratio should be defined: Key-plus-fill to fill. This is more accurate and easier to read: all you have to do is turn off key (or gobo it off) and read the fill, since you already have the key-plus-fill reading.

Taking Meter Readings

There are several ways for taking meter readings.

1. The built-in auto meter in a camera is fine for an average scene. It is designed to automatically stop the lens down for an average scene or an Eastman gray card. There are obvious reasons why this overall reading does not always set the lens to the best exposure because all our scenes are not average.

   It does not compensate as well as the automatic exposure meter in your eye. You must generally help compensate the man-made auto meter. If the scene is average…fine, use the automatic and you are ready to shoot. If the subject is not average, then you can zoom to a local area that is average, or to an Eastman gray card, take an automatic reading, flip to manual, and you’re ready to shoot. (Usually it is best to slip over to manual just before starting so that any changes in camera or subject movement will not make objectionable iris changes.)

   There are times when there is an advantage to have the auto meter on while shooting, this is not often.

   Using the zoom lens you can zoom to other local areas to check to see if they are within the four-stop latitude. If there’s a problem, make the necessary light changes.

2. With videotape, there is a simple system for setting exposure when using the wave form monitor. It tells you the brightness of each area from 0% to 100%. The Eastman gray card or an average tone is 50%. A flesh tone is usually about 70%. No object should go over 100% or down to 0%.

3. Using a separate light meter.
   This system allows you to take readings while lighting a set. You can pick an F-Stop, say F2.8, and place the right amount of light on the set without even turning the camera on. You can check the brightness on each subject as you light it.

   There are two types of regular meters:

   1. Reflectance, which reads the brightness of the subject.
   2. Incident, which reads the brightness of the light source only. Each system works well so long as you compensate for the various tones of the subject.

With a Reflectance reading you point the meter towards the subject and take an overall reading or local readings.

To compensate you must open up for light tones and stop down for darker tones. With the Incident meter you place the meter at subject and point towards camera. Obviously you compensate just the opposite: light tones stop down and dark tones open up.

It is good to remember that an Eastman gray card reading with a Reflectance meter is the same as an Incident reading. Some cameramen prefer one type reading over the other. A Gossen meter gives you both. This is handy.

BACK LIGHT

The third light source is the Back Light, or light falling on the subject from behind subject shining towards camera. Its purpose is to highlight the subject and set it apart from the background – to make the subject stand out and give it a third dimension. A backlight does more than anything to add sparkle to a scene, especially the hair and shoulders. It can put detail in dark subjects. Some dark suits will go black except for back lighting catching the folds and revealing a shape.

The biggest problem is keeping it from shining into the camera lens. Barndoors and gobos are used on lights. On the camera a gobo or shade is sometimes used above the lens in addition to the regular lens shade.

Spots are used for backlights because of their control. It would be difficult and ineffective to use a soft light.

Another problem with a backlight is that it can make objectionable shadows and highlights on the foreground. Shadows from the talent’s head moving on a desktop or on products being demonstrated can be objectionable. Sometimes the backlight can be lowered to relieve this. Sometimes you can place a darker desk pad on desk.

Backlighting is very effective, however, it must not be over done. Care should be taken to make it realistic. You will notice in just about all existing light situations there is a source of light that backlights the subject.

There are scenes that require no backlight. Simulating daylight needs only one light source. The key light represents the sun and a back would not make sense.

Women can use more backlighting than men as it glamourizes the hair. Men as a rule have thinning hair or are bald. They need very little backlight and what is used should be brought in from a lower angle, back lighting the sides of their face instead of hitting the top of their shiny head.

A rim light is a backlight that is directly behind the subject. This light will give a nice effect all around the subjects hair.

All Rules Can Have Exceptions

I would like to take this opportunity to say that practically all the things we have talked about or will mention in this discussion are general rules that can be broken. A scene does not always have to have a backlight or fill. If can be contrasty or flat depending on what helps present the mood. All rules can be broken, and ironically it is the breaking of these rules, which can make the most effective pictures. Pointing the camera right into light with light flairs and no fill might be beautiful if it works into the rest of the sequence. Part of being creative is knowing when to break the rule. If we stick too close to the basics, there is a tendency to end up with a sameness even though the quality is there.

LIGHT BACKGROUND SEPARATELY

One of the greatest aids in applying these lighting techniques is to place the subject out a ways from the background. By doing this the subject can be lit separately. Most directors realize this and will plan accordingly. In Hollywood productions, you will invariably see furniture arranged so that the action can take place out away from the background. Backlighting is difficult to achieve when the subject is close to the background, room is needed to bring a backlight from the best angle.

Probably the one thing that distinguishes good and bad lighting is shadows on background. By having the subject away from background the shadows from key light fall in between and are not visible.

The fill light is soft and usually not a big problem since the shadow is diffused and can come from several sources. Also, a fill light can be placed right over the camera so that it’s shadow falls directly behind the subject and is not seen by the lens.

Instead of having confusing shadows on the background, separate lighting makes it easy to project meaningful and interesting shadows. Venetian blind shadows work very well. When using venetian blind shadows there are a couple of things to remember:

1. The sun is supposedly making these shadows so they should always slant down, never up or horizontal.
2. They should be as parallel as possible. With a spot simulating the sun, there is a tendency for the lines to fan out. Keep the blind closer to the wall than the light. Also, you can fan the blades out in the opposite direction so they end up parallel on the background.
3. 3. Use the smaller blades so that when projected they do not become too large. If the blind is halfway between the light and background the shadow will be twice its’ actual size.

Take advantage of doorways, they always offer an opportunity to make interesting patterns.

Having the top of a room fade off darker than the lower is pretty, and makes faces stand out. A large gobo, called a cutter is used for this purpose.

There are an unlimited number of other patterns that can be made from leaves, abstract devices, lattice, and screens. Just about anything that breaks up the background is good providing it is in keeping with atmosphere and helps establish the mood or location of the script.

There is a light called, LEKO that projects small metal images which is very useful. It can simulate leaves, clouds, trees, and twenty other patterns.

Shadows can reveal information that is not apparent from the camera’s view. You can give the impression of a jail simply by projecting bars onto the background. To give the impression of a rainy day, a window with dripping water can be projected on a wall.

There is many times where the subject must be standing close to a background. In this case, several things can be done:

1. Go ahead and let the one shadow from the key light show. One shadow is not objectionable.
2. Use a large, soft light as a key and the shadow will be diffused.
3. Bringing it from a high angle will minimize it more.

The Checkerboard Effect

Imagine the scene as a large checkerboard, with light and dark tones alternating. This can be accomplished by arranging props, furniture, pictures, talent and shadows so that the scene is broken up into contrasting areas. Remember the lighter areas should be used to direct attention to what you want the audience to see.

A subject can be cheated away from the background easily because our camera does not show 3-D. You can move furniture or the subject forward and whey you see the film, you can’t tell exactly how far they are apart.

LIGHTING FOR MOVEMENT

Up to this point we have talked only about static scenes. What do we do about moving subjects?

In long shots and medium shots facial lighting is not as important as in close-ups. Also, where movement is fast or extensive, poor modeling will not be noticed. It is only when the subject comes to rest on a waist shot or closer that lighting is very critical.

Most scenes can be lit keeping in mind basic lighting on these places. The action should be run through a couple of times and you will readily see where the actors pause.

Adjust your lights so that these key places are properly lit. Sometimes you will find it desirable to modify the action so that better lighting is possible. The director and talent will usually cooperate because they are just as interested in obtaining good lighting as anyone.

The most common system for lighting for movement is the one used on soap operas. The fill light consists of a bank of large broads from the audience side. Spotlights are used high and on both sides of the set slightly beyond the subject. With this setup three cameras can be operated at the same time and all have fairly good lighting. The spots work as cross lights for the main camera. From the left camera the left spot becomes the key for the right subject while the right spot is a backlight on the right subject. The camera on the right trained on the left subject also makes use of the same lights but the sources are reversed. The fill light remains a fill for all three angles. Remember that in lighting for people moving around on a set that lamps can serve a dual purpose, a backlight can become a key light and vise versa.

Also, lamps can be changed between scenes to accommodate new movements. These changes can be done quickly if planned ahead. In some cases it is possible to use a follow spot on one character as he makes a move. In this case the lamp is moved or panned with actor. On dolly shots a lamp can sometimes be mounted on the dolly.

As a last resort, where the lighting is not just what is desirable on a complicated shot, bring up the fill, this will give less contrast and relieve the problem. Our main objective is to show performers off to their best, to make them look as attractive as possible.

If a big change has to be made in lighting or anything for that matter, try to cut away to another scene and then back to the shot that has the change. A good thing to remember is that the audience does not notice changes beyond one scene. In other words, they remember only one scene ahead of the one they are looking at.

PRODUCT LIGHTING

As you view a product with your naked eye and see it from all angles, you get a different impression than from the single angle of a camera. So it is necessary to light a product in such a way as to give an overall impression. The most important thing is to show form and texture.

In doing this, soft light is usually best, and should be brought in from quite an angle to the camera. Side lighting, top lighting and especially back lighting brings out the shape and contour of object, giving a three dimensional effect. These extreme angles we avoid in portraiture.

Food is an ideal subject for top or backlighting with very little fill. A round can of paint keyed with a spot will be bright on the one side and then abruptly go to the fill side, showing only one plane. A soft light shows the roundness of the can.

If a subject has a texture that needs to be accentuated, then a spot can be bounced off the surface at an acute angle bringing out this texture. Grain in leather, tread on tires, threads in cloth, all of these are examples of texture that should be brought out.

From one angle an odd shaped object may give an optical illusion making it look distorted. Lighting and selecting the best camera angle can do wonders to make it look better.

A three-quarter view of any subject invariably looks better than head on. Always bring the key light in to light up the most important “business” side of the product.

Placing products on plexiglass so that you see a reflection of the subject adds depth and sparkle. It makes a more interesting picture. Plexiglass comes in different colors. Patterns can be made on the background by projection spots from underneath. Shadows from the product can be eliminated with this translucent light.

All the lighting moods we have discussed earlier apply to product photography. Low key is for somber, sober, coziness or tragedy. Very low key for night, sinister, mysteries, and highly dramatic. High key for care free situations.

Since products do come in such a variety of sizes and shapes, many times it is necessary to experiment until you find the best angle and lighting.

Color liquids in glass bottles usually photograph dark. Backlighting does not lighten fluids, all that happens is a flair on the edge of a bottle. Sticking white paper on the back a bottle will lighten the contents. Also, most liquids can be diluted with water making them lighter. Coke or coffee can be handled this way.

In shooting most any product it makes a more interesting picture to let the top of background fade dark. This not only gives the scene depth, but it puts more attention on the product. If the top of subject is light, the shading should start low to give good contrast. If subject is dark, then start the shading above the subject. This can be done with a cutter.

When using a soft light for a key, treat it as a “main” or modeling light. There is a tendency to let the lighting become too flat. Contrast shows form, depth, shape, it brings the subject alive. Clothing needs a fairly strong source to show off the folds and pleats in a design. Bring the key lighting from the best direction so that the shadows are the right length and fall on the best side of subject.

Spectacular Light

Spectacular light is a mirror-type reflection that comes off glossy surfaces which makes a distracting glare. Varnished wood is a common culprit. If at all possible, the best way to get around the glare is to point the camera at an angle to the surface. The hardest angle is head on, in which case the lights must be brought in from the side or overhead.

Chrome or Shiny Products

Lighting chrome objects can be difficult. Its surface is like a mirror. The only light that domes off is that which is reflected from another object. So, white cards must be placed all around the product until it looks good. This does not mean that 100% of the surfaces have something reflected into them. It is good to have some areas with half tones or black.

Where it is impossible to get reflected light on to a particular area, this area can be sprayed with dulling spray. If this doesn’t work, gray gaffer tape or white tape can be placed right on the surface itself.

On occasion, a tent can completely enclose a product but this does not allow for any half tones or black areas. A product looks more natural without an excessive amount of reflection and dulling spray.

Sometimes related objects can be placed close to a shiny product so that their reflections are interesting and add color. An example is a cooking vessel with vegetables alongside reflecting in the metal.

A brass or bronze metal object will retain its color better if a warm tone is reflected into it. Brown wrapping paper works good.

CONTROLLING LIGHT

Diffusers

Spun glass DIFFUSERS placed in front of any light will have a softening effect. These are very useful whether it’s before the sun or a fresnel spot. Also they can be used to reduce the intensity of a light. A specific area of a subject can be toned down or diffused by using a portion of the diffusing material on the selected area. Scrims will reduce flares and highlights off of shiny objects.

WIRE SCRIMS are used to darken a lamp without diffusion. There are two types: most common are the round ones that fit onto the front of spotlights. They come in singles, doubles, whole or half. The half scrims are especially handy as you can “feather” the light, as we will discuss shortly. The other type is more like a flag that can be mounted on a C-stand. These can also be used with soft lights.

In addition, to using SCRIMS you can reduce the intensity of a light by flooding, moving it farther away from subject, or by feathering. Feathering a light is a very useful technique. Lights are brighter in the middle of their beam than on the edges. We can take advantage of this characteristic by using the bright part where we need it an letting the edge fall off where we do not need as much light. An example is shooting a line of objects from an angle. The bright part of the beam can be pointed at the subject farthest from camera while the close ones get the edge light. There’s always a tendency to set up another light to lighten a dark area, many times it takes only a simple adjustment to a light already in use. Use only necessary lights as each light makes it more complicated with more reflections and shadows. When there is a problem it is a lot easier to trouble shoot with fewer light sources.

Barn Doors

Spots have a specific purpose and BARNDOORS can confine the use of the light so that other areas are not affected. Shadows and reflections are the most common problems that are controlled with BARNDOORS. They can prevent a backlight from shining into the camera lens.

BARNDOORS can also be used to make interesting shadows on the background. The disadvantage is that these shadows cannot be sharp because the barndoor is so close to the lamp. Many times the beam of one spot is not wide enough to cover a required area. With two spots and barndoors on each, it is possible to cover twice the area. By joining and blending the two beams. It will appear as one source with only one shadow except for the small area where the blending takes place.

Gobos, Cookies, Flags, Cutters and Snoots

These are all devices of various shapes that are used to place in front of a light to make shadows and “GOBO” light.

A common use for a GOBO is another way to keep light from hitting camera lens. Secondly, they are the best way to make interesting shadows on the background, especially where there is a plain area that needs to be “broken up”.

A COOKIE is a gobo that is shaped with irregular holes making an abstract but pretty pattern. These shadows can add beauty to an otherwise plain background.

A FLAG is merely a rectangular gobo. A large FLAG is called a CUTTER as it can be used to make a large shadow cutting across the middle of a set. This is a very common practice as it adds a nice effect to a room. We have discussed this earlier.

The closer these devices are to the light, the more diffused the effect. By moving them closer to background, the sharper they become.

A SNOOT is designed to place in front of a spot to concentrate the light to a small area. This comes in handy when there is a dark area in a scene or where an important object must be emphasized.

The eye is attracted to the lighter areas in a scene. Thus, the subject we want to emphasize should be well lighted. Foregrounds can be kept dark so that the eye is directed to more important parts of the frame.

Table lamps, have a tendency to draw too much attention to themselves, a Variac can control their intensity. The pattern a lamp makes on a wall is usually very interesting. However, most lampshades are too bright in relation to the patterns it makes on the wall. For this reason it is best to use a lampshade that is opaque or fairly dense.

Colored Gels – Our Ace in the Hole

Besides being pretty, colored gels are used to brighten up what might be a dull scene. Black and white subjects can be made more interesting.

Night scenes can be toned blue and backlighted with yellow or orange light simulating lanterns or incandescent light.

Moods can be emphasized with color. A dreary day should be gray. Nightclubs and discos should be brightly colored.

Sunlight shining through a window can have a warm tone.

Light from a candle or any flame is naturally yellow or orange, making a scene more interesting.

Sepia toned scenes imply old fashion or the good old days.

Probably the most common use of gels is to color the cyc any way we wish. A problem is keeping white light from washing out the color.

Another situation where colored gels can come to the rescue is where you need color separation. Once we were lighting a tree house in the studio, which was the same color as a fence behind it. A twilight scene was made with blue-sky light hitting the fence and a warm sun effect on the tree-house. Color separation made the tree-house stand out.

COLOR TEMPERATURE

Color temperature is not the problem today as it was in the past. With videotape, it is possible to combine various types of light and simply white balance. This really simplifies the situation. When you can use all tungsten light, it is even easier just to use the pre-set color balance on the camera.

In film work you have no way to white balance. For many years color temperature was a matter of dealing only with yellow and blue light. These two colors were the only colors that varied until fluorescent lights came along.

The old color temperature meters read only yellow and blue so they are useless with fluorescent lights because of the other colors that are added, especially green. Only recently has there been a meter to read all colors: the Minolta.

The trouble with the Minolta meter is that you have to take two readings and use a filter with each reading, and then compensate the exposure for each filter. This is time consuming if you are on any kind of a schedule. There are only a few situations that you really need to correct.

1. Filming exteriors in the shad, yellow is needed. 10Y or 20Y the Minolta meter will tell exact. Otherwise estimate the amount of yellow needed
2. Shooting in areas where half the light is daylight and half incandescent; use an 85c.
3. In dealing with fluorescent lights it helps to know that 90% are cool white. These cool white bulbs require daylight film and a 30 Magenta filter. All bulbs are labeled. With unfamiliar bulbs, the Minolta meter really comes in handy. If the Minolta meter is not available, a film test should be made as there is no ways the human eye can estimate.
4. When using incandescent lamps and the overhead fluorescent lights cannot be turned off, use a 10M or 20M filter depending on how much is fluorescent. Of course, the Minolta meter would tell exactly.
5. Daylight bulbs of the HMS lights mixed with fluorescent needs very little correction.

There are two reasons for estimating filter needs: if you do not have access to the Minolta color temperature meter or you don’t have time to use it.

Keep in mind that further color corrections can be made in the lab with both negative and reversal films and also when transferring to videotape.

More important than the exact color temperature is to shoot the whole sequence under the same conditions. The human eye will adjust to a slight off color of a sequence but not between scenes.

SAFETY FIRST

A photo light is like any other electrical appliance and it can be dangerous. This is why all lamps today are grounded with a third wire. Make use of this ground wire.

If this ground wire is not used and the hot wire comes in contact with the head, the whole unit becomes a 110V conductor. This is why rubber soled shoes are good to wear. If you have any doubts as to the condition of a light, it is a good idea to tap the light stand with the back of your knuckle, this way if the light is “hot” your hand will flinch back. If you take a normal grip your hand will close tightly around the light and you cannot let loose. Keep lights in good repair.

Another dangerous situation is a light that is raised extremely high. It can become top heavy and stumbling over the cord can bring it crashing down on someone. Also, when raising and lowering spotlights, beware of pinching your fingers in the telescoping stand.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER

These famous last words are worth repeating because many times it is difficult to remember or determine when to use them. They should become second nature.