When you start to dig into video, eventually you begin looking to purchase some artificial lights. This can be quite a decision for a couple reasons: 1) They’re very expensive, and 2) There are many, many options.
In this week’s video tutorial, I review several different types of lights, giving my thoughts on each. I show you an example of the kind of tungsten light I use for key and fill lights. I also show you popular fluorescent lights, an HMI light, and even an LED light. LED lights are all the rage right now, but I’ve got a couple problems with them, which you’ll see in this video.
This video is available to Izzy Video member only.
July 20, 2009
Previously I showed you how to use a light meter to set a proper exposure for your subject. In this installment of Izzy Video, I demonstrate how to use a light meter to deliberately create contrast ratios on your lighting. This is one of the most fundamental ways of creating specific ‘looks’ in your video, and this episode will make it easy for you.
Also, I added a section that delves into F-Stops, how they work, what they do, and how one relates to another one. If F-Stops have ever been confusing to you, I believe you’ll find this section helpful.
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May 27, 2009
In past episodes of Izzy Video, I’ve spent a lot of time going over the concepts of lighting. What are the best ways to light a face? How do you position the lights? What kinds of lights do you use? That’s great information to know, but there’s something else that shows up in nearly every frame of video, and it certainly deserves some attention.
In this week’s tutorial I show you how to light a background for video. This is just the first part. There will be more to come, but this does a good job of showing you the fundamental information you need to know to light a background — especially if you’re just dealing with a wall, paper, or fabric — in other words, a flat surface that you need to make more visually interesting.
If you have questions or comments about this subject, please feel free to leave them in the Comments of this post.
This week’s video is for Izzy Video Members only. If you’d like to learn more about an Izzy Video Membership, please follow this link.
May 4, 2009
In this video tutorial, I demonstrate the final tool I recommend as part of your outdoor lighting gear. It’s a black net. You can use a black net for a lot of things, but it’s an excellent tool to cut the light in a background. In this video, you’ll see how I use an 8×8 Scrim Jim with a double black net to darken the background behind the subject. This is the last lighting control tutorial I have planned for the “Shooting Outdoors” series. More on shooting outdoors is still to come, but not on lighting.
This video is archived in the members-only area.
Also, if you’re interested in the live workshop I’m doing on April 17th, 2009, you can get the details here.
If you’re not an Izzy Video member, you might want to check out how it works so you can see the rest of the videos in the “Shooting Outdoors” series, along with more than 100 other videos. Members get more. A lot more.
April 4, 2009
As promised, this is the second video in a series I’m producing on how to shoot video outdoors. In this installment I introduce you to another critical tool for outdoor lighting. It’s the old reliable reflector. Additionally I show different types of reflectors and review the advantages and disadvantages of them. Also, I show how the reflector changes the image.
This installment of Izzy Video is only available to members. If you’d like to learn about becoming an Izzy Video member, please follow this link.
Also, did you notice that I added a Products and Services link to the navigation menu? If you’ve been wondering if I’d be willing to help with a project you’re working on, please check out that page to see my services and rates.
February 26, 2009
