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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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.

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.

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.

This is a popular request I get: Will you please show different ways of shooting video outdoors, when you don’t have all the comforts of a studio?

That’s a big request, and there’s a lot to cover, so this installment of Izzy Video will get the ball rolling. This one is all about diffusion. I’ve touched on the subject in the past, but this episode goes more in-depth and does a better job of covering gear.

UPDATE: Several people have asked me to post a link to the Scrim Jim Kit that I show in this video. Here it is: Scrim Jim Broadcast Location Kit – Large

You can watch Izzy Video episode 121 here.

As I mention in the video, this is the first part of a series of tutorials on the subject of shooting video outdoors. There’s plenty to talk about, so there’s no way to fit it into one episode. If you’re new to Izzy Video, I recommend you subscribe to the RSS feed in iTunes to ensure you get the future episodes.

If you want to see every episode in the series, you’ll need to be an Izzy Video Member. Members always get more. If you’re new, you might want to learn about an Izzy Video Membership.

This topic has been a popular request. Especially after the last episode where I showed how to create a black background, several viewers wrote to ask me to please show how to create a white background.

This video will show you how to create a completely white background. It’s more complicated than creating a black background, but it’s still pretty easy. You just have to know what to do. This video will show you.

This tutorial is for members only. If you would like to learn more about an Izzy Video Membership, please visit this page.

In this installment of Izzy Video, I show you how to create a completely black background for your talking head videos. I also review the advantages of having a black background, and when you might want to avoid it.

This video is for members only. If you would like to learn more about an Izzy Video Membership, please visit this page.

At long last, I have responded to the zillions of requests I have received from Paid Members and Free subscribers alike: “Izzy, will you please make an episode about shooting Green Screens?”

Not only am I answering this request, but I’m taking it a step further! I’m doing two episodes on Green Screens. Part one is all about shooting and lighting for green screens. Part two will come out in a couple days, and it will be about making the magic happen in post-production, keying out the green, and creating the final composite. Part one is free to everyone. Part two will be members-only. (It’s the last few days of the month, and I still need to release the second members-only episode for October.)

Some of the topics I cover in this episode are:

• Choosing a green screen
• The two highest priorities for chroma key work
• Reducing spill light
• Working in zones
• How different cameras impact the quality of the key
• Choosing colors

Between the two different episodes, I cover most of the mysteries regarding this difficult topic. I hope you find them useful.

You can watch the free version of the video here.

As always, the paid members can download an HD version of this video in the member’s area. To learn more about becoming an Izzy Video Member, please visit the membership information page.

Thank you, Izzy Video Members!

All of you who are paid members, I can’t thank you enough. Because of you, I have now been full time for three weeks, and it’s off to a great start. I have received many emails from members letting me know that they have noticed a difference in the production quality of the episodes I released. Thank you for noticing! I have certainly been devoting more time to the content.

Podcamp AZ is next weekend, Nov. 1-2

I’m doing two sessions at Podcamp AZ this year, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. I’m not sure how the sessions are scheduled yet, but I know one session will be a hands-on workshop on lighting for video, and the other session will be about how you can improve your online video. Both sessions will be one hour long, and the entire two day event is free (although donations are highly encouraged because the event is far from free to host). For more details on Podcamp AZ, check out the website.

A Quick Update: I added a promo to a separate page for anyone who might like to help us advertise Podcamp AZ. Check out the page at http://www.izzyvideo.com/podcamp.

Phew, that’s a lot of updating for one week! But I think I’m done. Thanks again for watching! And I’ll see you next time on… Izzy Video!

When you walk into an electronics store and ask for a video camera with zebra stripes, you won’t get strange looks if the employees know their stuff. The zebra stripe feature of a video camera is one of the most useful tools in determining proper exposure. In this installment of Izzy Video, I explain how zebra stripes work, and how and when to use them. This episode is in response to the many emails I’ve received from viewers asking about zebra stripes. Hopefully this episode successfully answers your questions.

This video is for members only.