Motion picture & video lighting for cinematographers, gaffers and lighting technicians [Third edition.] 9780429461422, 0429461429, 9780429866654, 0429866658, 9780429866661, 0429866666, 9780429866678, 0429866674

Table of contents :
Cover
Half Title
Title
Copyright
Contents
HISTORY OF LIGHTING
Controllable Light
Early Film Production
Introduction of Tungsten Lighting
The Technicolor Era
HMI, Xenon, Fluorescent, and LED Sources
Kino Flo
LEDs
LIGHTING SOURCES
Types of Lights
Fresnels
LEDs
Efficiency
LED Panels
LED Fresnels
Remote Phosphor LEDs
Tungsten Fresnels
The 10K and 20K/24K
The 5K
Juniors
1K
650, Betweenie, and InBetweenie
Inkie
HMI Units
12K and 18K
6K and 8K
2.5K and 4K
Smaller HMIs
When an HMI Fails to Fire
Care and Feeding of HMIs
Xenons
Open Face Lights
Skypan
2K Open Face
1000/600/650 Watt Open Face
PAR 64
PAR Groups
Dino, Moleeno, and Wendy
Maxi-Brute
FAYs
HMI PARS
Soft Lights
Space Lights
Fluorescent Rigs
Color Correct Fluorescent Units
Color Correct Bulbs
Cycs, Strips, Nooks, and Broads
Plasma Lights
Other Types of Sources
Chinese Lanterns
Lekos
Crane Mounted Lights
Jokers
Dedolights
Balloon Lights
Barger Lights
LIGHTING BASICS
The Fundamentals of Lighting
The [Conceptual] Tools of Lighting
The Attributes of Light
What are the Goals of Good Lighting?
Full Range of Tones
Shape
Separation
Depth
Texture
Mood and Tone
Exposure and Lighting
Hard vs. Soft
Color Control and Color Balance
Some Lighting Terminology
Working with Hard Light and Soft Light
Hard Light
Soft Light
Direction
Avoiding Flat Front Lighting
Light from the Upstage Side
Backlight and Kicker
Intensity
Adding Texture in Lighting
Color
Lighting Techniques
Classical Hard Light
Ambient
Bringing it Through the Windows
Motivated Lighting and Practicals
Motivated Light
Lighting with Practicals
Available
Basic Principles of Lighting
Back Cross Keys
Ambient Plus Accents
Lighting Through the Windows
Available Light Windows
Day Exteriors
Open Shade and Garage Door Light
Sun As Backlight
Magic Hour
CONTROLLING LIGHT
Hard Light and Soft Light
Fill for Day Exteriors
Silks and Diffusion
Scrims and Barndoors
Flags, Solids, and Nets
Chimeras and Snoots
Softboxes
Eggcrates
The Window Problem
ND for Windows
Cookies, Celos, and Gobos
Dimmers
LED Dimmers
Hand Squeezers
SCENE LIGHTING
Lighting Plans
General Principles of Scene Lighting
Let's Look at These One by One
Read the Script
Confer With the Director
Light the Scene, Not the Set
Insist on Seeing a Full Rehearsal
Insist on Having Lighting Stand-Ins
What Are the Opportunities?
The Set
The Action
Script Hints
Consider Your Resources
Lights
Power
The Location
The Director's Concerns
Knights Around A Campfire
Lighting a Scene With Practicals
Lighting/Grip Order
LIGHT AS STORY
Storytelling With Light
Metaphor
Atmosphere
The Power of Darkness
Establish Character
COLOR
Color Terminology
Color Temperature: The Balances
Warm and Cool
Magenta vs. Green
The CIE Diagram
The Spectral Locus
The White Point
The Line or Purples
Color Balance with Gels and Filters
Conversion Gels
Light Balancing Gels
CTO
CTB
Color Correction Gels
Dealing with Fluorescent Light
Correcting Off-Color Lights
HMI
Industrial Lamps
Camera Filtration for Industrial Sources
Measuring Color
Color Meters
The Vectorscope
Calibration Test Charts
DSC Labs Test Charts
The One Shot
The X-Rite ColorChecker
Color As a Storytelling Tool
EXPOSURE
Exposure Theory
What Do We Want Exposure to Do for Us?
The Bucket
Controlling Exposure
Change the Bucket
The Elements of Exposure
Light
F/Stops
The Response Curve
Underexposure
Overexposure
Correct Exposure
Higher Brightness Range in the Scene
Two Types of Exposure
The Bottom Line
Exposure in Shooting RAW Video
The Tools of Exposure
The Incident Meter
The Reflectance Meter
A Different World of Exposure
Setting Exposure with the Waveform Monitor
F/Stops on the Waveform
Exposure Indicators in the Camera
Zebras
Histogram
Traffic Lights and Goal Posts
Goal Posts
Traffic Lights
False Color Exposure Display
Red False Colors
Comparing Red Exposure Modes
Arri Alexa False Colors
Strategies of Exposure
Don't Let It Clip, but Avoid the Noise
Texture and Detail
The Dilemma
Using Light Meters
Meter the Key
Using the Waveform Monitor
Placing Middle Gray
Start at the Bottom or Start at the Top
Expose to the Right
Zebras
The Monitor
Know Thyself and Know Thy Camera
ELECTRICITY & DISTRO
Measurement of Electricity
Potential
Paper Amps
Electrical Supply Systems
Single-phase
Three-phase
Power Sources
Stage Service
Generators
Large Generator Operation
Guidelines for Running Small Generators
Paralleling Small Generators
Does Paralleling Cause Damage to Generators?
Tie-ins
Tie-in Safety
Determining KVA
Wall Plugging
Load Calculations and Paper Amps
Ampacity
Color Coding
The Neutral
Distribution Equipment
Tie-in Clamps
Busbar Lugs
Connectors
Bull Switches
Feeder Cable
Wire Types
Wire Designation Codes
Distribution Boxes
Lunch Boxes, Snake Bites, and Gangboxes
Extensions (Stingers)
Zip Extensions
Planning a Distribution System
Balancing the Load
Working with DC
Calculating Voltage Drop
Electrical Safety
Wet Work
HMI Safety
Grounding Safety
GFCI
GRIPOLOGY
Definitions
Light Controls
Reflectors
Operating Reflectors
Flags and Cutters
Flag Tricks
Nets
Net Tricks
Cuculoris (Cookies)
Grids and Eggcrates
Open Frames
Diffusers
Butterflies and Overheads
Overhead Rules
Griff
Holding
Grip Heads and C-Stands
C-Stand Rules
Highboys
Clamps
Studded C-Clamps
C-Clamp Tips
Bar Clamps
Pipe Clamps
Cardellini and Mafer Clamps
Quaker Clamp
Wall Plates, Baby Plates, and Pigeons
2K Receivers and Turtles
Side Arms and Offset Arms
Other Grip Gear
Sandbags
Apple boxes
Wedges
Candle Sticks
Studded Chain Vise Grips
SET OPERATIONS
The DP
The Team
Gaffer
Assistant Chief Lighting Technician
Third Electric and Electricians
Other Responsibilities
The Key Grip
Grips
Other Crews
Set Operations
Load-In
Staging
The Generator
Cabling
The Process
Rough-In
Blocking
Light
Rehearsal
Shooting
Procedures
Expendables
TECHNICAL ISSUES
Lighting for Greenscreen and Bluescreen
Greenscreen/Bluescreen Tips
Lighting for Process Photography
Flicker
The Power Supply
Flicker-Free HMIs
Dimmers
Dimmer Systems
DMX
Working with Strobes
Strobe Exposure
Lighting and Exposure for High-Speed Photography
Exposure
Flicker in High-Speed Photography
Lighting with HMIs and High Speed
Tips for Lighting High-Speed with HMIs
Exposure for Macrophotography
Depth-of-Field in Close-up Work
Lighting for Extreme Close-up
Underwater Filming
Effects
Rain
Smoke
Fire
TV and Projector Effects
Day-for-Night
Moonlight Effect
Water Effects
Lightning
Using the Sun
APPENDIX
Typical Lighting Order for a Small Independent Film
Equipment Order List for a Large Studio Film
Order for a 2nd Unit Night Shoot—Big Budget Film
Light Loss for Common Diffusion Types
Effect of Diffusion on Color Temp
Lamps and Sockets
Lighting Expendables Order Form
Building Your Own Hand Squeezer
A Typical 5-Ton Truck Package
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INDEX

Citation preview

motion picture & video

for cinematographers, gaffers & lighting technicians

Lighting is at the heart of filmmaking. The image, the mood, and the visual impact of a film are, to a great extent, determined by the skill and sensitivity of the director of photography in using lighting. Motion Picture and Video Lighting explores technical, aesthetic, and practical aspects of lighting for film and video. It covers not only how to light, but also why.

Three new chapters discuss best practices of using light to benefit your film, and an extensive appendix includes discussion on additional tips and tricks. In addition, a robust companion website (www.routledge.com/cw/ brown) includes up-to-date video tutorials and other useful resources for students and professionals alike.

Blain Brown has worked as a Director of Photography on feature films, commercials, industrials, music videos, and documentaries for over thirty years. His other books include Cinematography:Theory and Practice (3rd edition) and The Filmmaker’s Guide to Digital Imaging. He can be reached at www.BlainBrown.com. LIGHTING/FILM & VIDEO

motion picture & video

lighting for cinematographers, gaffers & lighting technicians third edition

blain brown

Three new chapters: • Scene Lighting • Lighting as Storytelling • Controlling Light

• Lighting sources • The lighting process • Lighting basics • LED, tungsten, Kino-Flo, HMI, and plasma lights • Methods of controlling light • Planning your lighting • The basic methods: a lighting playbook • Visual storytelling with light • Understanding and controlling color • Terminology • Electricity and distribution • Gripology • Set operations • The team: DP, gaffer, grips, lighting technicians • Technical issues • Lighting for greenscreen/bluescreen • Typical equipment orders for large and small jobs • Lighting for high speed and macro photography • Lighting plans for small, medium, and large films

third edition

This revised edition of Motion Picture and Video Lighting is the indispensable guide to film and video lighting.Written by an experienced professional, this comprehensive book explores light and color theory, equipment, and techniques to make every scene look its best, and is heavily illustrated throughout.

Topics include:

lighting

“Written by a professional in the field, this comprehensive book reveals inside information based on years of experience and explores the challenges faced by cinematographers, lighting directors, gaffers and grips. Whether the reader is a professional or a student, this book will be a useful reference.” —Lighting and Sound International

motion picture and video

lighting

www.routledge.com/cw/brown

Top cover image: Gangster Squad (2012) © Warner Bros. Pictures Bottom cover image: Apocalypse Now (1979) © United Artists

ISBN 978-0-415-85413-9 www.routledge.com Routledge titles are available as eBook editions in a range of digital formats

9 780415 854139

A Focal Press Book

blain brown

motion picture and video

lighting for cinematographers, gaffers and lighting technicians

motion picture and video

lighting for cinematographers, gaffers and lighting technicians

blain brown third edition

Third edition published 2019 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2019 Blain Brown The right of Blain Brown to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. First edition published by Focal Press 1995 Second edition published by Focal Press 2007 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Names: Brown, Blain, author. Title: Motion picture and video lighting for cinematographers, gaffers and lighting technicians / Blain Brown. Description: Third edition. | New York : Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018. | Includes index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018014539| ISBN 9781138618015 (hardback) | ISBN 9780415854139 (pbk.) | ISBN 9780429461422 (e-book) Subjects: LCSH: Cinematography--Lighting. | Video recording--Lighting. Classification: LCC TR891 .B76 2018 | DDC 777/.52--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018014539 ISBN: 978-1-138-61801-5 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-415-85413-9 (pbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-46142-2 (ebk) Publisher’s Note: This book has been prepared from camera-ready copy provided by the author. Typeset in Bembo Book MT Standard, Skia and Myriad Pro.

CONTENTS HISTORY OF LIGHTING................................................................... 13 Controllable Light.................................................................. 15 Early Film Production............................................................ 17 Introduction of Tungsten Lighting.......................................19 The Technicolor Era...............................................................21 HMI, Xenon, Fluorescent, and LED Sources........................23 Kino Flo ........................................................................... 24 LEDs.................................................................................. 24 LIGHTING SOURCES........................................................................25 Types of Lights...................................................................... 26 Fresnels.................................................................................. 26 LEDs........................................................................................27 Efficiency.......................................................................... 29 LED Panels....................................................................... 29 LED Fresnels.................................................................... 30 Remote Phosphor LEDs.................................................. 30 Tungsten Fresnels.................................................................. 31 The 10K and 20K/24K.................................................. 31 The 5K...........................................................................32 Juniors...........................................................................32 1K...................................................................................33 650, Betweenie, and InBetweenie.............................33 Inkie..............................................................................33 HMI Units.............................................................................. 34 12K and 18K.......................................................................35 6K and 8K......................................................................... 36 2.5K and 4K...................................................................... 36 Smaller HMIs................................................................... 36 When an HMI Fails to Fire..............................................37 Care and Feeding of HMIs......................................... 38 Xenons.................................................................................... 38 Open Face Lights...................................................................40 Skypan..............................................................................40 2K Open Face...................................................................40 1000/600/650 Watt Open Face......................................41 PAR 64 ..............................................................................41 PAR Groups...................................................................... 42 Dino, Moleeno, and Wendy....................................... 43 Maxi-Brute.................................................................. 43 FAYs.............................................................................44 HMI PARs............................................................................... 45 Soft Lights...................................................................46 Space Lights................................................................ 47 Fluorescent Rigs.................................................................... 47 Color Correct Fluorescent Units....................................48 Color Correct Bulbs......................................................... 49 Cycs, Strips, Nooks, and Broads........................................... 50 Plasma Lights.......................................................................... 51 Motion Picture and Video Lighting

v

Other Types of Sources.........................................................53 Chinese Lanterns..............................................................53 Lekos .................................................................................53 Crane Mounted Lights.................................................... 54 Jokers................................................................................ 54 Dedolights........................................................................ 54 Balloon Lights...................................................................55 Barger Lights................................................................... 56 LIGHTING BASICS............................................................................57 The Fundamentals of Lighting............................................ 58 The [Conceptual] Tools of Lighting............................... 58 The Attributes of Light.............................................. 58 What are the Goals of Good Lighting?............................... 59 Full Range of Tones......................................................... 59 Shape................................................................................60 Separation........................................................................60 Depth.................................................................................61 Texture..............................................................................61 Mood and Tone................................................................61 Exposure and Lighting.......................................................... 62 Hard vs. Soft.......................................................................... 62 Color Control and Color Balance......................................... 63 Some Lighting Terminology................................................. 63 Working with Hard Light and Soft Light........................... 65 Hard Light........................................................................ 65 Soft Light......................................................................... 67 Direction.......................................................................... 70 Avoiding Flat Front Lighting............................................... 70 Light from the Upstage Side.......................................... 70 Backlight and Kicker.............................................................. 71 Intensity.................................................................................. 71 Adding Texture in Lighting...................................................72 Color........................................................................................73 Lighting Techniques.............................................................. 74 Classical Hard Light .........................................................75 Ambient ............................................................................75 Bringing it Through the Windows..................................75 Motivated Lighting and Practicals..................................75 Motivated Light.......................................................... 76 Lighting with Practicals............................................. 76 Available........................................................................... 78 Basic Principles of Lighting.................................................. 78 Back Cross Keys...............................................................80 Ambient Plus Accents.....................................................80 Lighting Through the Windows......................................81 Available Light Windows................................................ 82 Day Exteriors................................................................... 85 Open Shade and Garage Door Light.............................. 85 Sun As Backlight.............................................................. 86 Motion Picture and Video Lighting

vi

Magic Hour...................................................................... 87 CONTROLLING LIGHT.....................................................................91 Hard Light and Soft Light.................................................... 92 Fill for Day Exteriors..................................................94 Silks and Diffusion......................................................94 Scrims and Barndoors........................................................... 95 Flags, Solids, and Nets.......................................................... 97 Chimeras and Snoots............................................................98 Softboxes.......................................................................... 98 Eggcrates.......................................................................... 98 The Window Problem........................................................... 99 ND for Windows......................................................... 99 Cookies, Celos, and Gobos.................................................. 100 Dimmers................................................................................ 101 LED Dimmers..................................................................103 Hand Squeezers............................................................. 104 SCENE LIGHTING............................................................................ 111 Lighting Plans........................................................................112 General Principles of Scene Lighting...................................113 Let’s Look at These One by One..........................................113 Read the Script................................................................113 Confer With the Director...............................................113 Light the Scene, Not the Set..........................................115 Insist on Seeing a Full Rehearsal...............................115 Insist on Having Lighting Stand-Ins .........................115 What Are the Opportunities?............................................. 116 The Set............................................................................. 116 The Action....................................................................... 116 Script Hints..................................................................... 116 Consider Your Resources..................................................... 116 Lights............................................................................... 116 Power................................................................................117 The Location....................................................................117 The Director’s Concerns..................................................117 Knights Around A Campfire.................................................121 Lighting a Scene With Practicals........................................128 Lighting/Grip Order.............................................................142 LIGHT AS STORY............................................................................143 Storytelling With Light...................................................... 144 Metaphor..............................................................................145 Atmosphere................................................................... 146 The Power of Darkness..................................................147 Establish Character.........................................................147 COLOR............................................................................................. 173 Color Terminology...............................................................174 Color Temperature: The Balances................................. 175 Warm and Cool............................................................... 175 Magenta vs. Green.........................................................176 Motion Picture and Video Lighting

vii

The CIE Diagram.............................................................178 The Spectral Locus..........................................................178 The White Point.............................................................178 The Line of Purples.........................................................179 Color Balance with Gels and Filters....................................179 Conversion Gels............................................................. 180 Light Balancing Gels....................................................... 181 CTO.................................................................................. 181 CTB...................................................................................182 Color Correction Gels...........................................................183 Dealing with Fluorescent Light..........................................183 Correcting Off-Color Lights................................................ 184 HMI................................................................................. 184 Industrial Lamps............................................................ 184 Camera Filtration for Industrial Sources......................185 Measuring Color...................................................................185 Color Meters...................................................................185 The Vectorscope.............................................................189 Calibration Test Charts..................................................189 DSC Labs Test Charts......................................................189 The One Shot................................................................. 190 The X-Rite ColorChecker................................................193 Color As a Storytelling Tool ...............................................193 EXPOSURE......................................................................................195 Exposure Theory..................................................................196 What Do We Want Exposure to Do for Us?...............196 The Bucket.................................................................196 Controlling Exposure.....................................................197 Change the Bucket....................................................198 The Elements of Exposure..................................................199 Light................................................................................199 F/Stops.............................................................................199 The Response Curve............................................................200 Underexposure..............................................................200 Overexposure.................................................................200 Correct Exposure...........................................................200 Higher Brightness Range in the Scene...............................201 Two Types of Exposure...................................................... 202 The Bottom Line............................................................ 202 Exposure in Shooting RAW Video..................................... 203 The Tools of Exposure........................................................204 The Incident Meter........................................................204 The Reflectance Meter.................................................. 205 A Different World of Exposure.......................................... 205 Setting Exposure with the Waveform Monitor.........206 F/Stops on the Waveform............................................ 207 Exposure Indicators in the Camera................................... 207 Zebras............................................................................. 207 Histogram......................................................................208 Motion Picture and Video Lighting

viii

Traffic Lights and Goal Posts........................................209 Goal Posts.......................................................................209 Traffic Lights..................................................................209 False Color Exposure Display........................................210 Red False Colors...............................................................211 Comparing Red Exposure Modes..............................211 Arri Alexa False Colors................................................... 212 Strategies of Exposure......................................................... 212 Don’t Let It Clip, but Avoid the Noise.......................... 213 Texture and Detail..........................................................214 The Dilemma...................................................................214 Using Light Meters.............................................................. 215 Meter the Key.................................................................216 Using the Waveform Monitor......................................216 Placing Middle Gray....................................................... 217 Start at the Bottom or Start at the Top.......................218 Expose to the Right........................................................218 Zebras..............................................................................219 The Monitor....................................................................219 Know Thyself and Know Thy Camera......................... 220 ELECTRICITY & DISTRO................................................................. 221 Measurement of Electricity............................................... 222 Potential......................................................................... 222 Paper Amps.....................................................................223 Electrical Supply Systems................................................... 224 Single-phase................................................................... 224 Three-phase................................................................... 224 Power Sources......................................................................225 Stage Service...................................................................225 Generators......................................................................225 Large Generator Operation.................................................227 Guidelines for Running Small Generators........................ 228 Paralleling Small Generators......................................... 231 Does Paralleling Cause Damage to Generators?.... 231 Tie-ins.................................................................................... 231 Tie-in Safety....................................................................232 Determining KVA.................................................................233 Wall Plugging...................................................................... 234 Load Calculations and Paper Amps................................... 236 Ampacity........................................................................ 236 Color Coding...................................................................237 The Neutral...........................................................................237 Distribution Equipment......................................................237 Tie-in Clamps..................................................................237 Busbar Lugs.................................................................... 238 Connectors..................................................................... 238 Bull Switches.................................................................. 239 Feeder Cable.................................................................. 239 Wire Types.....................................................................240 Motion Picture and Video Lighting

ix

Wire Designation Codes............................................241 Distribution Boxes.............................................................. 242 Lunch Boxes, Snake Bites, and Gangboxes................. 242 Extensions (Stingers).................................................... 243 Zip Extensions............................................................... 243 Planning a Distribution System.........................................244 Balancing the Load........................................................244 Working with DC................................................................246 Calculating Voltage Drop................................................... 247 Electrical Safety..................................................................248 Wet Work...................................................................... 249 HMI Safety..................................................................... 250 Grounding Safety........................................................... 251 GFCI.................................................................................252 GRIPOLOGY....................................................................................253 Definitions........................................................................... 254 Light Controls.......................................................................255 Reflectors........................................................................255 Operating Reflectors.................................................257 Flags and Cutters................................................................ 258 Flag Tricks...................................................................... 259 Nets.................................................................................261 Net Tricks...................................................................261 Cuculoris (Cookies)....................................................... 262 Grids and Eggcrates............................................................264 Open Frames.......................................................................264 Diffusers...............................................................................264 Butterflies and Overheads............................................ 264 Overhead Rules......................................................... 268 Griff................................................................................. 269 Holding................................................................................ 269 Grip Heads and C-Stands.............................................. 269 C-Stand Rules............................................................ 270 Highboys.............................................................................. 270 Clamps.................................................................................. 270 Studded C-Clamps.......................................................... 270 C-Clamp Tips............................................................... 271 Bar Clamps......................................................................273 Pipe Clamps.....................................................................273 Cardellini and Mafer Clamps........................................ 274 Quaker Clamp................................................................ 274 Wall Plates, Baby Plates, and Pigeons............................... 274 2K Receivers and Turtles................................................275 Side Arms and Offset Arms........................................... 276 Other Grip Gear....................................................................277 Sandbags.........................................................................277 Apple boxes.....................................................................277 Wedges............................................................................277 Candle Sticks...................................................................277 Motion Picture and Video Lighting

x

Studded Chain Vise Grips.............................................. 278 SET OPERATIONS......................................................................... 279 The DP..................................................................................280 The Team............................................................................. 282 Gaffer.............................................................................. 282 Assistant Chief Lighting Technician............................ 283 Third Electric and Electricians...................................... 285 Other Responsibilities.............................................. 285 The Key Grip.................................................................. 286 Grips................................................................................ 288 Other Crews.........................................................................290 Set Operations.....................................................................290 Load-In...........................................................................290 Staging............................................................................291 The Generator.................................................................291 Cabling............................................................................ 292 The Process..........................................................................294 Rough-In........................................................................ 294 Blocking.......................................................................... 294 Light............................................................................... 295 Rehearsal........................................................................ 295 Shooting......................................................................... 296 Procedures........................................................................... 296 Expendables......................................................................... 297 TECHNICAL ISSUES...................................................................... 299 Lighting for Greenscreen and Bluescreen.........................300 Greenscreen/Bluescreen Tips.......................................300 Lighting for Process Photography............................... 302 Flicker................................................................................... 303 The Power Supply.......................................................... 306 Flicker-Free HMIs.......................................................... 306 Dimmers............................................................................... 307 Dimmer Systems........................................................... 309 DMX......................................................................................310 Working with Strobes..........................................................311 Strobe Exposure............................................................. 312 Lighting and Exposure for High-Speed Photography....... 313 Exposure.......................................................................... 313 Flicker in High-Speed Photography.............................. 313 Lighting with HMIs and High Speed............................ 315 Tips for Lighting High-Speed with HMIs..................... 316 Exposure for Macrophotography.......................................316 Depth-of-Field in Close-up Work.................................. 317 Lighting for Extreme Close-up................................. 317 Underwater Filming............................................................319 Effects...................................................................................319 Rain................................................................................. 320 Smoke............................................................................. 320 Fire................................................................................... 321 Motion Picture and Video Lighting

xi

TV and Projector Effects................................................ 321 Day-for-Night.................................................................322 Moonlight Effect............................................................322 Water Effects..................................................................323 Lightning.........................................................................323 Using the Sun...................................................................... 324 APPENDIX.......................................................................................325 Typical Lighting Order for a Small Independent Film..... 326 Equipment Order List for a Large Studio Film..................327 Order for a 2nd Unit Night Shoot—Big Budget Film...... 329 Light Loss for Common Diffusion Types............................ 331 Effect of Diffusion on Color Temp...................................... 331 Lamps and Sockets...............................................................332 Lighting Expendables Order Form.....................................338 Building Your Own Hand Squeezer....................................345 A Typical 5-Ton Truck Package.......................................... 346 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................. 350 INDEX.............................................................................................. 351

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

xii

history of lighting

Lighting is to film what music is to opera.

Figure 1.1. Early film stocks required enormous amounts of light. Daylight was usually the only solution. Film studios were built as greenhouses and muslin (a heavy cotton cloth we still use as diffusion today) was rigged to be adjustable for different light conditions. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

14

C.B. DeMille

Lighting creates the environment for storytelling and we must never forget that at its heart, filmmaking is telling stories with pictures. The first lighting for storytelling was the fire. For some purposes, it is still nearly perfect. Firelight is warm and glowing, associated in the mind with safety, heat, and protection from nature. It draws people toward it, they automatically arrange themselves into a circle at a comfortable conversational distance. It flickers gently and provides a visual focus that prevents one’s attention from wandering. It starts out bright and blazing, then gradually dims as the mood turns inward and eyes grow heavy; it fades away to darkness just about the time the audience is ready to go home. For the hunter returned from the hunt, the village shaman, or an elder recounting the story of the tribe, it was ideal. As theater became more formalized with written scripts and larger audiences, daylight performance became the norm: more light was necessary so that everyone could see clearly. Classical Greek plays were performed at festivals, which ordinarily began at dawn and

continued through most of the day. With little emphasis on costumes (other than masks), staging, sets, or effects, the theater subsisted almost entirely on the power of the spoken word. Some purists feel it’s all been downhill from there. Even up to the time of Shakespeare and the Globe, daylight performances were the standard for the mass market. Increasingly, though, the works were also performed in the houses of nobility and for smaller audiences. These indoor and evening performances were lit with candles and torches, which doubtless had a simple and powerful effect. Staging as we know it today came of age with the great spectacles of Inigo Jones, the seventeenth-century British architect who produced elaborate festival pieces with sumptuous costumes and sets.

Figure 1.2. As film stocks were adjusted to be more sensitive to the red-orange biased light of tungsten bulbs, artificial light made studio lighting more flexible and capable of greater artistic expression, although a huge number of lights were still needed even for a small scene like this one. The low hanging platforms above the set are called green beds and they hang from the perms, the permanent beams and catwalks at the top of the studio space. This method is still occasionally used today. (Photo courtesy Mole-Richardson).

Controllable Light

Controllable, directional lighting for the theater is not a new idea. In fact, it dates back to the French chemist Lavoisier, who in 1781 suggested that movable reflectors be added to oil lanterns. With such innovations French theater led the way in lighting during this period, but there was always a division of opinion in European drama between those who wanted simple illumination of the elaborate sets and drops and those who wanted to develop a more theatrical and expressive lighting art. History of Lighting

15

Figure 1.3. (above) Although most lighting in early silent films was flat and bland, occasionally films used lighting that was expressive and used as part of the storytelling, as in this frame from Pippa Passes (1909) with cinematography by G.W. (Billy) Bitzer. Figure 1.4. (right, top) Uncharacteristic for early silent films, this scene from Chimmie Fadden uses strong, contrasty side key light for strong effect. Director C.B. DeMille’s cinematographer Alvin Wyckoff was fearless in his innovations in lighting like this. Figure 1.5. (right, bottom) By the late 1940s film noir brought lighting to new artistic heights. Strong, directional hard light created dramatic highlights and deep shadows, appropriate to the dark stories of the genre.

The first technological advance came with the introduction of gaslight, which was more reliable and less smoky, but only slightly less hazardous. The next advance was the introduction of limelight, which burned natural gas and oxygen in a filament of calcium oxide (limestone). This significant advancement, which produced a beautiful warm light that complemented the actor’s skin tone, is still commemorated in our everyday language with the phrase, “step into the limelight.” At about the same time, this smaller, more concentrated source was combined with simple plano-convex lenses and spherical reflectors to provide the basis for one of the most important elements of modern lighting control: directional and focusable units. The great theater pioneers Adolphe Appia and David Belasco were revolutionary figures in the realm of expressionistic staging. Appia was perhaps the first to argue that shadows were as important as the light, and the first for whom the manipulation of light and shadow was a means of expressing ideas. In opposition to the “naturalism” of the time (which was in fact a very artificial broad, flat lighting), Appia created bold expressionist lighting full of sturm und drang. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

16

Figure 1.6. Black-and-white films, especially from the film noir period, are recognized as a high point of film lighting. This frame from The Big Combo, shot by John Alton, shows a characteristic use of a practical lamp to light a scene to great effect.

Belasco’s emphasis was on realistic effects to underscore the drama. He foreshadowed the private thoughts of many a modern cinematographer when he stated, in 1901, that the actors were secondary to the lighting. His electrician Louis Hartmann is credited by some as inventing the first incandescent spotlight (Appia, Gordon Craig, and Max Reinhardt are also contenders), the forerunner of most of the lights we use today. To counteract the harsh theatrical hardness, Belasco and Hartmann also developed a row of overhead reflected soft lights, which were useful for naturalistic daylight scenes. (To this day there is no such thing as a true soft light in theater lighting.) Laudably, Belasco gave Hartmann credit on the billboards for the shows. Carbon arcs that use electrodes to produce an intense flame, were also employed in theatrical applications beginning in 1849. They were widely used, particularly in high-intensity follow spots.

Early Film Production

With the advent of motion pictures in 1888, the earliest emulsions were so slow that nothing but daylight was powerful enough to get a decent exposure. Filmmaking was largely an outdoor activity until Thomas Edison unveiled his famous Black Maria. Built in 1893 by Edison’s associate William K.L. Dickson (co-creator of early motion picture technology), it was not only open to the sky but could be rotated on a base to maintain orientation to the sun. As the motion picture industry developed, early studios in New York City and Ft. Lee, New Jersey, were open to the sky as well, usually with huge skylights. Some control was possible with large muslins stretched under the skylights to provide diffusion of the light and control contrast. Because these were silent films and noise was not an issue, less space was needed in the studios since two or more production units could work within a few feet of each other. History of Lighting

17

Figure 1.7. A Brute Arc, the most powerful lighting unit of its time, is used as a fill light on Gone with the Wind. (Photo courtesy Mole Richardson).

Among the first artificial lighting sources used in film production were Cooper-Hewitt mercury vapor tubes which were suspended under the glass roof of the Biograph Studio on 14th Street in New York City around 1905. These were followed soon after by the introduction of arc lamps, which were adaptations of typical street lights of the time. The long exposure requirements, the lack of adequate equipment, and the still slender economics of the business made anything but flat, overall lighting nearly impossible to attain. As artificial sources were developed, the controlling factor was the spectral receptivity of the emulsions. Before 1927, black-and-white film was orthochromatic, that is, it was sensitive to blue and green light but not to red light. Tungsten lights, although available, were almost useless because of their large component of red. Another adaptation of contemporary industrial equipment to motion picture use was the introduction in 1912 of white flame carbon arcs, which had previously been used primarily in photoengraving. As with arcs today, these new units (called broadsides) were characterized by very high output and a spectral curve compatible with orthochromatic film. Carbon arc spotlights were purchased from theater lighting companies such as M.J. Wohl and Kliegl Brothers of New York (whose name still survives in the term klieg lights).

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

18

Another legacy of Belasco’s illustrious career was carried on by a young man who worked as an actor for him, Cecil B. DeMille. DeMille rebelled against the flat illumination characteristic of the open to the sky film stages. In the film The Warrens of Virginia, director DeMille and cameraman Alvin Wyckoff employed a startlingly modern concept: they enclosed the set in black velvet to reduce bounce reflection and used sunlight reflected through windows as the sole source.

Figure 1.8. Exterior work, even in broad daylight, still needed substantial lighting as fill­—otherwise there would have been deep shadows on the actors’ faces and on the set, such as on this Hitchcock location shoot. (Photo courtesy Mole Richardson).

At the time, only a few American filmmakers, DeMille, Edwin Porter, and D.W. Griffith’s cameraman Billy Bitzer, fought the stylistic preference for broad, flat lighting. Griffith and Bitzer had used firelight effects in The Drunkard’s Reformation in 1908 and the next year Pippa Passes evoked the changing time of day with directional lighting simulating the passage of the sun. The Thread of Destiny contained scenes lit solely by slanting rays of sunlight and may be the first truly effective use of chiaroscuro (dubbed Rembrandt lighting by Wyckoff ).

Introduction of Tungsten Lighting

For years, cameramen looked longingly at the compact, versatile tungsten lamps that were then available (called Mazda lamps at the time), but attempts to use them were foiled by the spectral sensitivity of the film stocks in use at the time; they were almost completely blind to red light—even slightly red objects would photograph as black. The tungsten incandescent bulbs were (as they are today in modified form) heavily weighted in the red end of the spectrum. In History of Lighting

19

Figure 1.9. For the original Blade Runner, the filmmakers used a lighting style heavily influenced by film noir.

1927, the introduction of a film stock sensitive to all visible wavelengths (hence its name, panchromatic) altered the lighting needs radically. The new stock was compatible with tungsten incandescent sources, which offered many advantages, including reduced cost. Broadway, produced in 1929 by Universal and shot by Hal Mohr, was the first film lit entirely with tungsten. Studio management saw in the new technology an economical means by which set lighting could be accomplished by the push of a button. The “bean counters” in the head office (they had them even then) responded enthusiastically to the economics of incandescent lighting, so much so that in some studios the use of arc lighting was banned except by special permission. With sound technology confining the cameras to immobile “ice boxes” and the resulting lack of the powerful arcs to create strong effects, the outcome was many a visually dull picture and one of the low points of studio cinematography. The makers of carbon arcs responded to this challenge by developing carbons that were compatible with panchromatic film. Even with the new carbons, arcs remained (as they do to this day) more labor intensive and bulky. The death blow was dealt by the advent of HMIs, which are more efficient in their use of power and don’t require a dedicated operator. The drawback of incandescent lights was and still is that they are inherently far less powerful than carbon arcs. The need to achieve maximum output from the incandescent lamps resulted in the introduction of an improved reflector made of highly polished, mirrored glass. Lights based on this technology were sometimes called rifles, for their ability to project sharp beams long distances. They were efficient but hard to control; they were hardly more than a raw source of light. What cinematographers yearned for was a light of even greater intensity, but with controllable beam spread and dis-

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

20

tribution. In 1934, the introduction of the Fresnel lens led to the development of lighting units that are almost indistinguishable from those we use today. Following the introduction of three-strip Technicolor with the film Becky Sharp in 1935, arcs came back into favor. Technicolor required a spectral distribution close to that of natural daylight, which made tungsten lighting difficult. In the intervening years, manufacturers had managed to make arcs quieter and so white flame carbons which produce daylight blue with very high output were just the ticket for the new process. The addition of the Fresnel lens also made them more controllable.

Figure 1.10. Always a bold experimenter technologically, Stanley Kubrick relied on fast film stock and ultra-fast lenses to recreate nineteenth-century lighting conditions in Barry Lyndon.

This was the heyday of the carbon arc. Not only did they have the correct color balance but the fact that Technicolor is a process where the image formed by the lens is split by prisms into three different film strips meant that enormous quantities of light were needed. Some early Technicolor films were lit to such intensity that piano lids warped and child performers (most notably Shirley Temple) were barely able to withstand the heat on the set. In order to use tungsten lights with color, it was necessary to lose almost half of the light to filtration, so their use on color sets was very limited; they still found wide use in black-and-white filmmaking and later in television.

The Technicolor Era

As with the advent of sound, Technicolor imposed severe restrictions on cinematographers. Until color came along, the use of light meters was almost unknown: cameramen used film tests, experience, and guesswork to establish exposure. The precise engineering History of Lighting

21

Figure 1.11. Developed by Frieder Hochheim for the film Barfly, when he realized that using tungsten units in a bar in the summer would be uncomfortably hot, Kino Flo color correct fluorescent units were a big step forward in film lighting—lightweight, cool burning, soft, and with several types of color correct tubes that can be easily interchanged they offer many advantages. (Photo courtesy Kino Flo).

needs of the three-strip process made it necessary to impose rigid standards. In the early days, cameramen were not trusted to handle the job alone. The licensing of the Technicolor process carried with it the obligation to employ one of their own advisory cameramen to oversee color balance and exposure. Films of this period are distinguished by having two cameramen listed in the credits. The constant supervision of the Technicolor cameramen, along with the employment of color advisors, gave rise to the still current myth of the “Technicolor look.” Contrary to popular belief, the Technicolor process and the film stock then available did not necessarily lead to bright, intense color completely lacking in subtlety. What we think of as the Technicolor look is in fact a reflection of the desire to show off the new technology, coupled with the somewhat primitive artistic tastes of the studio chiefs of the period. Since the process gave engineers and advisors as much input into the look of the film as the cameramen and directors, the dictates of the head office could be implemented in an orderly, bureaucratic way, thereby bypassing the age-old film tradition according to which directors and cameramen would agree to ridiculous demands in the conference room, then follow the dictates of conscience and art while on the set. The pendulum swung back to tungsten with the introduction of high-speed Technicolor film balanced for incandescent in 1951. Other companies such as Kodak and Ansco also made tungsten balance films available. This established the standard that prevails: color films balanced for tungsten light but usable in daylight with filtra-

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

22

Figure 1.12. Kino Flo Image DMX fixtures rigged in the grid. (Photo by Keith Woods, courtesy Kino Flo).

tion. Kodak and Fuji introduced its excellent line of daylight balance negative films. In 1955, yellow flame carbons (tungsten balance) were invented, which made arcs usable with the new tungsten-balanced films without the use of color correction. One major obstacle remained for incandescent lamps: the vaporized tungsten metal that burned off the filament tended to condense on the relatively cooler glass envelope of the bulb. As a result the output of the lamp steadily decreased as the lamp burned; in addition, the color balance shifted as the bulb blackened. A far more practical solution was the invention of the tungsten-halogen bulb in the early 1960s. Employing a gas cycle to return the boiled-off metal to the filament, the design resulted in lamps with longer life spans and more efficient output. Another advantage of the smaller quartz lamps is their ability to fit into smaller housings than could a conventional tungsten incandescent. The result has been more compact lights (baby babies, baby deuces) and smaller lights, such as the popular Tweenie 650 watt size.

HMI, Xenon, Fluorescent, and LED Sources

A revolution in lighting came in the late 1960s when enclosed metal arcs (HMIs) were developed for German television. Their main features are the tremendous advantage in lumens-per-watt output over conventional sources and the fact that they are daylight color balanced without the need for filtration. HMIs have changed the lighting business by allowing more powerful sources with less electrical input, which translates into smaller generators and smaller cables. The largest sources (12Ks and 18Ks) have output that equals and exceeds the output of the power-hungry arcs but don’t require direct current (DC) or a full-time operator. Meanwhile, 1982’s Blade Runner, with its stunning cinematography by Jordan Cronenweth, popularized a new player—Xenons. A gas discharge arc, the Xenon is a cousin to the HMI and big brother to xenon gas projector lamps used in theaters. A highly efficient source coupled with a polished parabolic reflector gives Xenon the capability of extraordinary output in an extremely narrow, focused beam. History of Lighting

23

Figure 1.13. Arri LED Skypanels are not only used behind the camera, they are also integral to the set— this video used the controllable dimming and huge variety of colors these units are capable of. (Photo courtesy of Arri Lighting).

Although very specific in application, Xenon has proved a useful and powerful tool for the image maker. The development of flicker-free HMIs that feature electronic rather than magnetic ballasts eliminated most of the technical problems involved in using HMIs in off-speed filming.

Kino Flo

Other developments include the creation of fluorescent tubes with color rendition good enough for color filming applications. Pioneered by Kino Flo, color correct, high-frequency (to eliminate flicker problems) fluorescent sources have been extremely popular in all types of applications.

LEDs

A more recent development is LED panel lights which are extremely compact and can be made very small; they have become very popular for applications such as car interiors and when it is important to hide lighting units throughout the set. Today’s image maker has a wide variety of powerful and flexible tools available for lighting in film and video. The history of lighting is the story of adapting new technology and new techniques to the demands of art and visual storytelling. The same concerns still face us every day on the set and we can draw on the rich experience of those who have gone before us.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

24

lighting sources

Plano-Convex Lens

Fresnel Lens

Lens/case

Wire bond Base

Gap

+

Anode

-

Cathode

Figure 2.1. (top) How a Fresnel lens works to reduce the thickness of glass necessary. Figure 2.2. (above) Basic components of an LED semiconductor. Figure 2.3. (right) The Celeb LED series by Kino Flo offers precise color and intensity control. It can also reproduce a wide variety of color gels. (Photo courtesy Kino Flo).

Lighting instruments are the tools of our trade. Just as a mechanic must know what his tools are capable of, it is important to understand the capacity of our resources in order to use them to their potential. Here we will examine them classified in their major groups: LEDs, tungsten Fresnels, HMIs, carbon arcs, open-faced units, PARs, softs, broads, and miscellaneous. You will see that lights are often referred to as 2K, 5K, etc. The “K” stands for kilowatt—a thousand watts. By comparison, a common household bulb may be 100 watts or less.

Types of Lights

Lights are generally classified in two way: according to what their front is (lens or open face with no lens) and the kind of light source­— tungsten bulb, HMI, or LED.

Fresnels

With a very few exceptions (such as the Dedo light) most lights that have a lens use the Fresnel lens (Figure 2.1). Invented in the nineteenth century for lighthouses by Augustin-Jean Fresnel, the lens was developed to address certain problems with large glass lenses, primarily the fact that a larger lens tends to collect heat in the thicker center and then often crack. He developed the idea of “collapsing” the basic curved shape into a thinner profile. The curvature (and thus the magnification) remains the same but the glass doesn’t get as thick and is therefore less prone to cracking. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

26

Figure 2.4. (above) A big advantage of LEDs is their ability to run on batteries for fairly long times—essential for this shoot on a moving train. (Photo courtesy Adam Wilt). Figure 2.5. (left) Arri Skypanels, like many high-end LEDs, have controls that include dimming (both at the head and remotely by DMX) and precise color control which includes the ability to reproduce the color of a wide variety of gels, not only CTO, CTB, and Minus Green but also “party gels” and various color gels from several manufacturers. (Photo courtesy Arri).

LEDs

LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. A diode is a semiconductor, similar to a transistor. Technically, they are a p–n junction diode that emits light when voltage is applied to the two leads, and electrons are able to recombine with electron holes in the diode, releasing light in the form of photon (see Figure 2.2). This effect is called electroluminescence, and the color of the light (corresponding to the energy of the photon) is determined by the energy band gap of the semiconductor. There is no doubt that LED lights have utterly revolutionized motion picture lighting. Their extraordinary power efficiency, in most cases lightweight and portable form factor, and the degree of control over the color and intensity make them a top choice for many, perhaps most, lighting situations. Until recently, they were confined to Lighting Sources

27

Figure 2.6. A Mole-Richardson 10K LED Fresnel. This powerful light can run on an ordinary household circuit.

only smaller sources, but LED units are now available at up to 10K (10,000 watts) equivalent (Figure 2.6). They also produce very little heat (air conditioning costs in some studios can be enormous) and have a very long life span. Naming an LED light as a 1K, 2K, etc. has little meaning. To express how much light output it has, manufacturers often refer to as the “equivalent of a 1K tungsten light.” This is equivalent as the light output of ordinary tungsten lights (1K, 2K, 5K, and so on) and is well known, quantifiable, and easily comparable. Most lighting manufacturers are now selling LED units and are converting their existing lights to use LED sources. Cheaper LEDs tend to have poor color accuracy and are usually on the green side. Also, be cautious when using LED units from different manufacturers. See comments on the OneShot in Chapter 7 on one way to deal with this. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

28

Efficiency

At the top of the list of LED advantages is their incredible efficiency, defined as light output per watt of power input. As an example, the Mole 10K has an output equivalent to a 10,000-watt tungsten fixture but consumes only 1600 watts of power—small enough to be plugged into an ordinary household circuit! Many LED units can also be run off battery power for fairly long periods of time; a huge advantage for “run and gun” productions that can’t readily access an AC power supply from a generator or mains supply.

Figure 2.7. Fill-Lite LED panels are extremely thin and can fit into spaces other lights might not be able to; their large size also makes them softer than most LED panel units. (Photo courtesy Fill-Lite).

LED Panels

The first LED units to be marketed were the flat panels (Figures 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.7 and 2.10). Individual LEDs used in film applications are all roughly the same size and output (very little light, actually); the only way to make a bigger light is to put a lot of them very close together. Assembling them into flat panels is easy for manufacturing, heat dissipation, and construction. An added bonus is that this constitutes a soft light, or at least a slightly soft light, as we’ll discuss in the next chapter. Lighting Sources

29

Figure 2.8. (above) Even economical LED panels like this one from CameTV often have controls for color temperature and dimming and can run on AC power or with the built-in battery adapter. Figure 2.9. (right) An Arri L-10C LED Fresnel. The 10 refers to the size of the lens, which makes sense as wattage is not a useful reference with LED lamps. Note the controls on the side of the unit: color temperature, tint, and hue can be continuously adjusted from 2,800 K to 10,000 K and between full Plus or Minus Green and RGBW colors. (Photo courtesy Arri).

LED Fresnels

More difficult to manufacturer, but more in line with the controllability and light qualities of traditional motion picture lights, LED Fresnel units are now available and constantly improving in design and output (Figure 2.9). To achieve this, it was necessary to make a very compact and concentrated LED source that is similar in characteristics to a traditional tungsten bulb. Together with a reflector and a Fresnel lens this makes a light source that can project hard light (Figure 3.9) and can be controlled with barndoors, flags, and equipment, as we’ll talk about in Chapter 4, Controlling Light. Multi-color Fresnels and ellipsoidals sometimes have problems with color fringing as different color LEDs have different points of focus.

Remote Phosphor LEDs

Remote Phosphor LED light fixtures are becoming increasingly available from companies such as Cineo, BBS, Arri, and Desisti (Figures 2.11 and 2.12). Remote phosphor LED fixtures use a deep blue-emitting LED to excite a phosphor-coated panel a few inches away from the LEDs—hence the term “remote” phosphor. The blue LEDs strike the remote phosphor panel, which in turn glows, emitting visible light. As the remote phosphor panel is filled with the output from the LEDs, it produces a light that does not suffer from the shadow pattern normally associated with LED-array lights (Figure 2.12). There is, however, a downside, since changing the color temperature requires swapping out the phosphor panel, so there’s no spinning a knob to change color temperature. However, the other advantages of LED lighting remain—low power consumption, long life, low heat, plus the added benefit of not having a multi-specular pattern on your subject. Replaceable remote phosphor panels provide a CRI rating of between 93 and 95, producing tungsten (3200K), daylight (5600K), 2700K, 4300K, 6500K, Chroma Blue, and Chroma Green. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

30

Tungsten Fresnels

All tungsten Fresnel lights are designated by their bulb size (2K, 5K, etc.) and come in two basic flavors: studio and baby. The studio light is the full size unit, the baby is a smaller housing and lens, which takes advantage of the smaller bulbs in use today. As a rule the baby version is the housing of the next smaller size (for example, the 5K is similar to a studio 2K) with a box that extends further from the bottom to house the socket in a position to keep the bulb centered on the reflector and lens. Their smaller size makes them popular for location work. The 10K and 20K/24K

For many years the 10K was the largest tungsten Fresnel available; it is still widely used but the larger 20K is increasingly dominate for the kinds of uses traditionally assigned to the 10K. A newer version of this big light is the 20K with a 20,000-watt 220-volt bulb (Figure 2.13). The 10K is 110 volts (in the US) and the 20K/24K is 220 volts. Still a popular unit, the 10K comes in three versions: • The baby 10K provides high-intensity output with a fairly compact, easily transportable unit with a 14-inch Fresnel lens. • The basic 10K, known as a tenner or studio 10K, has a 20-inch Fresnel. • The big daddy of the group is the Big Eye tenner which has a 24-inch lens.

Figure 2.10. (top) Cinemills Sufa Bullets in use on a music video set. Drawing only 800 watts and with a patented optical system, they have an output comparable to a 4K HMI, making them one of the most powerful LEDs available. (Photo courtesy Cinemills). Figure 2.11. (above, middle) The MaxV by Cineo is an example of remote phosphor LED units. (Photo courtesy Cineo). Figure 2.12. (above) Remote phosphor panels for Cineo LED light panels (Photo courtesy Cineo).

The Big Eye is a special light with quality all its own. The 10,000watt DTY bulb provides a fairly small source, while the extremely large Fresnel is a large radiator. The result is a sharp, hard light with real bite but with a wrap-around quality that gives it a soft light quality on subjects close to the light. A note on large lights: never burn a 10K, 20K, or a 5K pointing straight up. The lens blocks proper ventilation and the unit will overheat. Also, the filament will not Lighting Sources

31

Figure 2.13. A Mole tungsten 20K without barndoors. It’s easy to tell it’s a 20K because of the 220-volt Bates plug on the header cable. (Photo courtesy Geronimo Lighting).

be properly supported and will sag and possibly touch the glass. Either condition will cause the bulb to fail and overheating may crack the lens. The failure will cost somebody hundreds of dollars and put the light out of commission. The 5K

Also called a senior. The baby 5K is similar in size and configuration to a studio 2K, but has an enlarged box on the bottom to allow the larger 5K bulb to sit with the filament properly positioned in front of the reflector. Juniors

The 2K Fresnel (also known as a deuce or a junior) is the “jeep” of lights­—versatile and useful in many different kinds of situations (Figure 2.16). With higher speed film emulsions and faster lenses for the excellent low-light capabilities of many HD/UHD cameras, it can sometimes be powerful enough to be the largest source on the Motion Picture and Video Lighting

32

set. Baby deuces are the more compact 2K Fresnel unit, they have the body of a 1K with a larger tray on the bottom to accommodate the FEY bulb. They are also called baby juniors or BJs. 1K

The baby can use either a 750-watt bulb (EGR) or a 1000-watt bulb (EGT). The widely used name, of 750, comes from the days before quartz halogen when the 750 tungsten bulb was the most common. Most are now used with the 1K quartz bulb, but are still called 750s. The baby 1K, also called a baby baby, is the small size version. Because of its smaller lens and box, it has a wider spread than the studio 750, and this can be a useful feature when hiding small units in nooks and crannies (Figure 2.15).

Figure 2.14. (top) The Mole Tweenie, a 650-watt Fresnel light. Figure 2.15. (above) Compact tungsten-halogen bulbs allowed the invention of “baby” units—much more compact than the normal units. Shown here is a Mole Baby Baby—a “baby” size 1000-watt light. Figure 2.16. (left) A Mole Baby Junior (2K).

650, Betweenie, and InBetweenie

The 650 is a very versatile unit, sometimes called a Tweenie (Figure 2.14). Its name comes from its position between the 1K and the inkie. With high-ISO cameras, the Tweenie is often just the right light for the small jobs a baby used to do. Its compact size is a tremendous asset. Mole has also added the Betweenie at 300 watts and the InBetweenie at either 100 or 200 watts. Several manufacturers make similar units. Inkie

The inkie has long been the smallest light available. At 200 or 250 watts, it is not a powerful unit, but up close it can deliver a surprising amount of light. The inkie is great for a tiny spritz of light on the set, as an eyelight, a small fill, or for an emergency light to just raise the exposure a bit on a small area. When you finish lighting a scene, an inkie or two should always be standing by for last minute touch ups. Because they are so light, inkies can easily be mounted to a film or video camera, hand-held, hung on broomsticks, hung from suspended ceilings, and rigged in all sorts of ways to accommodate strange situations. Lighting Sources

33

Figure 2.17. (above) An Alpha 18K by K5600. (Photo courtesy K5600 Lighting). Figure 2.18. (right) An Alpha 18K on a Speed Rail rig aimed down through a 6x6 diffusion and a Snapgrid soft eggcrate to control spill. (Photo courtesy DoPchoice).

HMI Units

HMI (Hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide) is a class of lighting units which use an arc lamp instead of an incandescent bulb to produce light. At the present time, no other type of light (with the exception of rarely used Xenons) is capable of producing the intense output of an HMI. HMIs require a ballast, an electronic or magnetic device which provides the high voltage ignition pulse and regulates the arc—it acts as a current limiter. The advantages of HMIs include: • Efficiency: 2 to 5 times as efficient as incandescents for the same power input. This means they use less power and run cooler. • Color temperature: HMIs run at around 5600K, daylight temperature. This makes daylight shooting easier, as well as eliminating loss of light from gels, which may be necessary with incandescents when shooting daylight balance. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

34

12K and 18K

The 12K and the 18K HMIs are the most powerful Fresnel lights available (Figures 2.17, 2.18, and 2.19). They have tremendous output and, like all HMIs, are extremely efficient in foot-candle output per watt. Like the arc lights that they are replacing in general use, they produce a very sharp, clean light that is the result of having a very small source (the gas arc), which is focused through a very large lens. For daytime exteriors, the big lights are among the few sources that will balance daylight and fill in the shadows sufficiently to permit shooting in the bare sun without silks or reflectors. The fact that they burn approximately daylight blue (5,500° K) is a tremendous advantage in these situations: no light is lost to filters.

Figure 2.19. An electrician preps a 12K HMI to go up on the stand for this music video shoot. (Photo courtesy Christiana Wairegi).

Some ballasts have Bates connectors (Figure 9.9) but some ballasts are tied directly into the feeder cable with Cam-Lok (Figure 9.20), pin, or other types of feeder connectors. Many larger HMI units are 220-volt lights, which can make load balancing difficult. As with any large light, coordinate with the genny operator before firing it up or shutting it down. Be sure to clarify with the rental house what type of power connectors are used on the lights you are ordering, so that you can be sure you have the right connectors or adapters. Many HMIs now have flicker-free ballasts that use square-wave technology to provide flickerless shooting at any frame rate. With some units there is a penalty paid for flicker-free shooting at frame rates other than sync-sound speed (24 frames per second) when the highspeed flicker-free button is selected on these units they operate at a Lighting Sources

35

significantly higher noise level. If the ballasts can be placed outside or shooting is without sound (MOS) as off-speed shooting usually will be, this is not a problem. The other good news about large HMIs is the substantial reduction of the size of the ballasts, due to the change from magnetic to electronic ballasts. This is a great relief for electricians who have had to move the old ballasts that were the size of (and even heavier than) small refrigerators. Header cables are the power connection from the ballast to the light head itself. Most large HMIs can only take two header cables; a third header will usually result in a the light not firing.

6K and 8K

The 6K HMI (and the newer 8K) is a real workhorse. On jobs where the budget will not permit a 12K, it performs much of the same work. Although it generally has a smaller lens it still produces a sharp, clean beam with good spread. In most applications it performs admirably as the main light, serving as key, window light, or sun balance. Some 6Ks are 110 volts and some are 220 volts, depending on the manufacturer and the rental house. They may require a stage box, a twistlock connector, or a set of Siamese connectors. When ordering a 6K, it is crucial to ask these questions and be sure the rental house will provide the appropriate distribution equipment. Failure to do so may result in the light not being functional. Some makes of HMIs (such as those made by Arri) provide for head balancing. This is accomplished by sliding the yoke support backwards or forwards on the head.

2.5K and 4K

2.5K and 4K HMIs are general purpose lights, doing all of the work that used to be assigned to 5K and 10K tungsten lights. Slightly smaller than the bigger HMIs they can be easily flown and rigged and will fit in some fairly tight spots.

Smaller HMIs

The smallest units, the 1.2K, 800, 575, 400 and 200 watt HMIs, are versatile units. The 1.2K and smaller units can be plugged in to standard household outlets, which makes them extremely versatile. Lightweight and fairly compact, they can be used in a variety of situations. The electronic ballasts for the small units have become portable enough to be hidden on the set or flown in the grid. Some things to watch with smaller HMI units: • Prolonged running at a higher rated voltage may result in premature failure. • Extended cable runs may reduce the voltage to a point that the lamp won’t fire up. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

36

Figure 2.20. An HMI Fresnel and an HMI PAR pre-rigged for a night scene. Note that they both have rain covers.

• Excessive cooling or direct airflow on the lamp may cool the lamp below its operating temperature, which can result in a light with a high-color temperature and inferior CRI. • All bulbs are rated for certain burning positions, which vary from plus or minus 15° to plus or minus 45°. In general, bulbs 4K and above have a 15° tolerance while smaller bulbs have a greater range.

When an HMI Fails to Fire On every job there will be at least one HMI that will fail to function properly. Some rental houses will provide a back-up head, ballast, or both. Be sure to have a few extra header cables on hand. They are the second most common cause of malfunctions, the most common being the safety switch on the lens. • Check that the breakers are on. Most HMIs have more than one breaker. Lighting Sources

37

• After killing the power, open the lens and check the micro-switch that contacts the lens housing. Make sure it is operating properly and making contact. Wiggle it, but don’t be violent. • If that fails, try another header cable. If you are running more than one header to a light, disconnect and try each one individually. Look for broken pins, garbage in the receptacle, etc. • Check the power. HMIs won’t fire if the voltage is low. Generally they need at least 108 volts to fire. Some have a voltage switch (110, 120, 220); be sure it’s in the right position. • Try the head with a different ballast. • Let the light cool. Many lights won’t do a hot restrike but some have a special hot restrike function which sends a higher starting voltage to the head. Care and Feeding of HMIs

• Always ground the light and the ballast with appropriate grounding equipment. • Check the stand and ballast with a volt ohm meter (VOM) for leakage by measuring the voltage between the stand and any ground. There will usually be a few volts, but anything above 10 or 15 volts indicates a potential problem. • Keep the ballast dry. On wet ground, get it up on boxes or rubber mats. • Avoid getting dirt or finger marks on the lamps. Oil from the skin will degrade the glass and create a potential failure point. Many lamps come with a special cleaning cloth. • Ensure that there is good contact between the lamp base and the holder. Contamination will increase resistance and impair proper cooling.

Xenons

Related to the HMI (they are a gas arc with a ballast) they feature a polished parabolic reflector that gives them amazing throw and almost laser-like beam collimation. At full spot they can project a tight beam several blocks. They are tremendously efficient with the highest lumens-per-watt output of any light (part of the secret is that there isn’t much spread, of course). They currently come in four sizes, 1K, 2K, 4K, and 7K. There is also a 75-watt sungun unit. The 1K and 2K units come in 110-volt and 220-volt models, some of which can be wall plugged. The advantage is obvious: you have a choice between a high-output light that can be plugged into a wall outlet or a Motion Picture and Video Lighting

38

small putt-putt generator. Be sure to check with the rental house, as some units are Cam-Lok or other type of feeder connector. The 4K and 7K Xenons are extremely powerful, and must be used with a bit of caution. At full spot they can quickly break a window. Just one example of their power: with ASA 320 and full spot, a 4K delivers f/64 at forty feet from the light!

Figure 2.21. Skypans in use on a set. (Photo courtesy Mole-Richardson Co.).

Because the current at the bulb is pulsed DC, flicker is not a problem for Xenons. They can be used for high-speed filming up to 10,000 fps. There are, however, some disadvantages. All Xenons are very expensive to rent and have a cooling fan that makes them very difficult to use in sound filming. Also, because of the bulb placement and reflector design, there is always a hole in the middle of the round beam, which can be minimized but never entirely eliminated. Due to the parabolic reflectors, flagging and cutting are difficult close to the light. Flags cast bizarre symmetrical shadows. Also you need to use metal flags to cut them (see Chapter 4 Controlling Light) The extremely hot and concentrated output means that they burn through gel very quickly. Many people try to compensate by placing the gel as far as possible from the light. This is a mistake. The safest place to gel is actually right on the face of the light which is the coolest spot. The 75-watt Xenon sungun is excellent for flashlight effects. It is a small hand-held unit that was developed for the Navy, and comes in both AC (110 volt) and DC configurations. The newer models have motorized flood-spots that can be operated during the shot. They have a narrow beam with the extremely long throw of Xenons. There is, however, still a hole or a hot spot in the center of the beam. Lighting Sources

39

Figure 2.22. An open face light with no lens; in this case a Mole 2K Mighty Mole.

Open Face Lights Lights with Fresnel lenses provide a higher degree of control and “refinement”—smoother and more controllable with cleaner shadows. Open face lights have no lens and are less controllable but they make up for it by being far more efficient: an open face light will be far more powerful than an equivalent size Fresnel light. Open face lights are generally better for when just “raw power” is needed, such as bouncing the light or going through heavy diffusion.

Skypan The skypan is simple in design. It consists of a reflective white pan with a heavy-duty lamp socket positioned to keep the bulb at the center of the reflector. The primary use of the skypan is for when just raw power is needed over a fairly large area, such as lighting a large backdrop, for example (Figure 2.21). There is only one flavor of skypan but either a 5K bulb (DPY) or a 2K bulb (CYX) bulb can be used in it. When ordering, don’t forget to specify bulb size and remember that this will affect your cable order and your power considerations. Only two basic accessories are available for the skypan: a skirt that does control some of the side spill and a gel frame. You usually won’t get them unless you specify in the order.

2K Open Face The 2K open face unit is a real workhorse. Mole’s version is the Mighty Mole, Ianiro’s is the Blonde, and Arri also has a version. Its openfaced design provides far greater output per watt than a 2K Fresnel, making it the light of choice for bounce sources (Figure 2.22). If going through diffusion, it can also be a direct source. Mightys are used in book lights, frog lights, and as backlight illumination for tissued windows, tented products, etc. Most versions have a collar that clamps on the front of the light and provides the support for the barndoors, gel frames, or scrims. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

40

1000/600/650 Watt Open Face

Mickey Moles (Mole-Richardson), and the Redhead (Ianiro), and 1K ArriLite are the little brothers of the 2K open face and differ only in bulb (1K) and size. They are great as small bounce sources (such as an umbrella light for portraits), small-fill bounces, and for just sprinkling a little light on background objects. Their small size (especially the Redhead which is remarkably compact) makes them easy to hide in the set. The 650- and 600-watt baby sisters are even smaller and find use in Electronic News Gathering (ENG) and small unit video production. With a bit of diffusion they are often attached to the top of the video camera as a traveling fill light.

PAR 64

PARs are raw light power in its most basic form (it is all capitals because it stands for Parabolic Aluminized Reflector). Cousins to auto headlights, they are a sealed beam light (combined bulb, reflector, and lens) available in a wide variety of sizes and beam spreads. One of the most commonly used is the PAR 64 1000 watt. Eight inches across (64/8 of an inch), they employ a highly efficient parabolic reflector that is capable of projecting the beam with very little spread. A completely clear lens for a PAR is called a very narrow spot (VNSP) and with a light texture it is a narrow spot (NSP). This makes them useful for hitting distant background objects that cannot be reached otherwise. With a stippling effect on the lens, the light becomes a medium flood (MFL) and spreads the same amount of light over a broader beam (Figure 2.24). With a more pronounced stippling, the light is a wide-flood (WFL) with an even greater beam

Figure 2.23. (top) A Mole-Richardson 5K Tungsten PAR. (Photo courtesy Kaylights). Figure 2.24. (above) A MolePAR with a stippled bulb (Narrow Spot). On PARs of this type, the bulb and lens are integrated into one unit.

Lighting Sources

41

Figure 2.25. Parcans used as downlights create hot pools of light in this scene from X-Men. Kino Flo units are a big soft source over the fight ring. When the camera is looking up, they appear in the scene: an advantage of lights that don’t necessarily appear to be “movie” lights. (Photo courtesy of Tony “Nako” Nakonechnyj)

spread. Because PARs have a long, thin filament inside the reflector, the beam of a PAR is oval rather than circular. This can be a useful feature as the beam can be oriented to “fit” the subject. PARs are remarkable in their efficiency. A narrow spot 1K PAR, measured at the center of its beam, generates an output comparable to a 10K measured at the center of its beam. The trick, of course, is that it covers only a very small area, but it may be sufficient for many purposes such as high-speed table top, punching of light through heavy diffusion, etc. PARs come in two basic varieties. Film versions come in a solid rotary housing such as a MolePAE (Figure 2.24) that features barndoors and scrim holders and in a flimsier theatrical version called a PARcan—very popular in rock and roll concert lighting (Figure 2.25). Some refer to this unit as a “firestarter,” they can quickly break windows if you’re not careful. Larger, more powerful tungsten PARs have only recently become available such as the Mole-Richardson 5K Tungsten PAR (Figure 2.23).

PAR Groups

PARs are also made in groups, such as the Maxi-Brute, a heavy hitter with tremendous punch and throw. They are used in large night exteriors and in large-scale interior applications, aircraft hangers, arenas, etc. The bulbs are housed in banks that are individually oriented for some control. All the bulbs are individually switchable, which makes for very simple intensity control. All PAR group lights allow for spot, medium, and flood bulbs to be interchanged for different coverages. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

42

Figure 2.26. (left) A partially bulbed Dino. (Photo courtesy Kaye Lights). Figure 2.27. (above) A 1.2 K HMI PAR with the ballast, barndoors, and the set of lenses to achieve different beam spreads.

Dino, Moleeno, and Wendy

The Dino is one of the largest tungsten source available (Figure 2.26). It consists of 24 or 36 PAR 64 bulbs on a frame. Mole-Richardson makes a version called a Moleeno. A Wendy is similar but instead of PAR 64 bulbs, it uses PAR 36 ACL (aircraft landing light) bulbs. Maxi-Brute

The Maxi-Brute consists of nine 1000-watt PAR 64 globes in three racks (Figure 2.29). Each rack can be panned left/right and the entire unit can be tilted up and down. Due to the efficiency of PAR 64 bulbs, the unit has tremendous punch, especially when used with the very narrow spot (VNSP) bulbs. When the budget is limited and sheer raw power is needed, this is a good choice. Mole also makes a 12 light version. They are especially useful for night exteriors. All the bulbs are individually switchable, which makes for very simple intensity control. All PAR group lights allow for spot, medium, and flood bulbs to be interchanged for different coverages. PARs are raw light power in its most basic form. Similar to auto headlights (also PAR bulbs), they are a sealed beam light (combined bulb, reflector, and lens) available in a variety of sizes and beam spreads. They employ a highly efficient parabolic reflector that is capable of projecting the beam with very little spread. The detachable lens is the variable that affects beam spread. A completely clear lens for a PAR is called a very narrow spot (VNSP) and with a light texture it is a narrow spot (NSP). This makes them useful for hitting distant background objects that cannot be reached otherwise. With a stippling effect on the lens, the light becomes a medium flood (MFL) and spreads the same amount of light over a broader beam. With a more pronounced stippling, the light is a wide-flood (WFL) with an even greater beam spread. Because PARs have a long thin filament inside the reflector, the beam Lighting Sources

43

Figure 2.28. (above) Front and back of a Mole 9-light. Figure 2.29. (right) Two Mole-Richardson Maxi-Brutes rigged on a crane. They are mounted on candle sticks which are attached to the crane basket with Crosby clamps. A candle stick is a light stand without the tripod legs.

of a PAR is oval rather than circular. This can be a useful feature as the beam can be oriented to “fit” the subject. A narrow spot 1K PAR, measured at the center of its beam, generates an output comparable to a 10K measured at the center of its beam, however it covers only a very small area, but it may be sufficient for many purposes such as punching of light through heavy diffusion, or a very large bounce or raking down a street for a night shoot. FAYs

The smaller cousins of the Maxi-Brutes are the FAY lights, also called 5-lites, 9-lites, or 12-lites, depending on how many bulbs are incorporated. They use PAR 36 bulbs (650 watts). The FAY bulbs are dichroic daylight bulbs. Before HMIs they were widely used as daylight fill in combination with or in place of white-carbon arcs. These types of bulbs also come in tungsten versions so they can fairly easily be converted for use in either daylight or tungsten balance situations. Most people refer to any PAR 36 dichroic bulb as a FAY, but in fact there are several types. FAY is the ANSI code for a 650-watt PAR 36 dichroic daylight bulb with ferrule contacts. If the bulb has screw terminals it is an FBE/FGK. As with the larger Maxi-Brutes, the bulbs are in three adjustable banks and they generally do come with barndoors. FAY bulbs are only an approximation of daylight Motion Picture and Video Lighting

44

balance in that they do not produce light that is precisely 5600K and do tend to change color as they age. Twelve-lites, 9-lites and 5-lites are far more flexible than one might imagine. With diffusion over the barndoors they can have a large-source soft light quality with real power. Used raw they are a quick and adaptable bounce source with individual switching control and they can cover the entire side of a building for a night shot.

Figure 2.30. An Arrimax 12K/18K HMI PAR. (Photo courtesy Arri).

HMI PARs

The newest addition to the PAR family is the HMI PAR, which is available as 18K, 12K, 6K, 4K, 2.5K, 1.2K, and 575. These are extremely popular as bounce units, to create shafts, and for raw power. HMI PARs are different from tungsten units in that they have changeable lenses. The basic unit is a VNSP (very narrow spot). The auxiliary lenses can be added to make it a narrow spot, a medium flood, wide flood, and an extra wide flood. The beam is oval and the unit can be rotated within its housing to orient the pattern. Lighting Sources

45

The 1.2K HMI PAR is one of the most useful small units around. As an HMI it has great efficiency and as a PAR it has tremendous kick for its size. The real bonus is that at only 1200 watts, it is small enough to plug into wall outlets. Since it is already 5500K (daylight color temperature) and thus doesn’t require heavy blue gel to correct the color, this makes it ideal for use on locations that have windows (and thus lots of daylight); it is powerful enough to bounce or shoot through diffusion as a fill light for situations where your main lighting is the available daylight. The 18K and 12K HMI PARs (Figure 2.31), are extraordinarily powerful lights, so powerful that it is important to be very careful in what you aim it at. Usually, PARs either have the lens built in so that they permanently have a wide, medium, narrow, or very narrow beam spread, or they are multi-lens PARs which require changing the lens to get a different beam spread. Arri has devised the MAX technology or Series M—a way to make a lens-less PAR which combines the variable beam spread of a Fresnel and the light output of a PAR. The Arrimax uses a unique reflector concept for beam control which eliminates the need for spread lenses (Figure 2.30). The reflector is adjustable and provides continuous beam spread from 15°-50°. Because Series M lights do not require a set of spread lenses, the shadow quality is sharper and easily cut.

Soft Lights

Soft lights have a general design of a clamshell-shaped pan with small bulbs (usually 1000 watt-bulbs). The size of the reflector is what determines how “soft” the light is. Larger units generally just have two or more 1000-watt bulbs. They vary from the 1K studio soft (baby soft) up to the powerful 8K studio soft. All clamshell design softs have certain basic problems: • They are relatively inefficient in light output. • They are bulky. Figure 2.31. (top) A 12K HMI PAR on the set. Note the 1/2 CTO frame used to warm it up slightly. Figure 2.32. (middle) A 2K zip soft light on a wall hanger. Figure 2.33. (bottom) A Mole-Richardson LED soft light.

• While the large reflector make the light soft, the light is still somewhat raw. As a result of this rawness, some people put some diffusion over the soft light for any close-up work. Big softs through diffusion is probably the easiest and quickest way to create a large soft source in the studio. The main accessory of all soft lights is the eggcrate (see the chapter Controlling Light), which minimizes side spill and makes the beam a bit more controllable. Studio soft lights consist of one or more 1000-watt bulbs directed into a “clamshell” white-painted reflector that bounces light in a diffused pattern. Some compact versions of the studio soft lights are called zip lights, particularly the 1K and 2K zips. They are the same width but half the height of a normal soft (Figures 2.32 and 2.33).

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

46

Figure 2.34. (top) Two sizes of space lights. (Photo courtesy of Jon Fauer at Film and Digital Times). Figure 2.35. (bottom) Space lights on the set with a dimmer board in the foreground.

Space Lights

The space light is almost always hung from overhead. It consists of four, six, or 12 nook lights with a silk “skirt” and sometimes a bottom silk panel. It is like a huge lantern: it provides a soft overall ambient glow. A frequent use is to provide an overall ambient fill for very large stage sets.

Fluorescent Rigs

Fluorescent rigs can be used with color correct bulbs (either daylight or tungsten balance) or as a supplemental light when shooting in a fluorescent-lit situation such as an office or factory, where the existing lighting cannot be changed. This makes for very quick shooting as they are color balanced to the existing lighting, which is usually an overall soft ambient; with a little fill for the eyes, the lighting is often usable as is. Then it is just a matter of adding a fluorescent filter to the lens, shooting a gray card, and letting the lab take the green out (in film), or by white balancing the video camera. Lighting Sources

47

Figure 2.36. Two Kino Flo 4’ 4-bank units on a blue screen set. Note the tracking marks on the blue backdrop. For more on the importance of tracking marks, see Lighting for Greenscreen and Bluescreen in the chapter Technical Issues. (Photo courtesy Geronimo Lighting).

Color Correct Fluorescent Units

The leading manufacturer of fluorescent lights for film and video is Kino Flo, the inventor of this type of unit (Figures 2.36 and 2.37). Other companies include Mole-Richardson (the Biax); Flolight and Lowel also make them. The Pampalite is a color-correct florescent unit that comes in its own travel case, which is also the outer housing of the light itself; this makes for an extraordinarily portable and efficient unit, especially for any type of travel job. All of them employ color-correct bulbs that function at tungsten or daylight balance. Tubes are also available in green, red, and other colors for lighting chroma key. The ballasts run at high frequency, which prevents the flicker effect that is possible with ordinary fluorescents that operate at 60 hertz in the US or 50 hertz in other countries. If its frequency of its power supply isn’t compatible with the camera speed, then ordinary fluorescents will fluctuate on the filmed image (Kino Flo, Mole Biax, and Pampalites) operate at a higher frequency so this isn’t a problem). Shutter angle is also a factor. The best combinations of frequency, film speed are: • 50 Hz-25fps with any shutter opening. • 50 Hz-24fps with shutter opening of 170-175 degrees. • 60 Hz-24fps with shutter angle of 144 or 180 degrees. Overcranking for slow motion definitely increases the chance of get-

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

48

ting flicker. Kino Flo units come in a wide variety from very large lights to illuminate broad areas down to miniature bulbs that run on either AC or DC to be tucked in small places or used to light car interiors; the fact that they run cool makes them especially useful for lighting actors in cars as there is little chance of damaging the car or burning an actor as might happen with tungsten lights. Kino Flo tubes are available in five colors: • KF55 – 5500K. Daylight. Blue end caps on the tubes. • KF32 – 3200K. ­Standard tungsten – gold end caps. • KF29 – 2900K. Warm tungsten – red end caps. • 420nm blue. Extra-saturated blue for blue screens. • 525nm green. For lighting green screen.

Color Correct Bulbs

Figure 2.37. (top) A Kino Flo Flathead 80 suspended on a goal post rig made from Speed Rail and two junior stands. The light weight of the Kino unit makes this an easy rig. (Photo by Thomas Kranzel, courtesy Kino Flo). Figure 2.38. (above) A chicken coop.

Ordinary household fluorescent or LED bulbs do not have a continuous spectrum and have a heavy spike in the green area. All tubes that are used in film and video are color correct, meaning that they are full spectrum and don’t have the green spike. However, there is an additional issue: the CRI (Color Rendering Index) must be at least 90 or higher (on a scale that goes up to 100) otherwise it will not render color correctly. CRI measures how accurately a source renders the actual colors of a subject (See Chapter 7, Color). A low CRI can make color rendition very inaccurate. Some “daylight” and “growlight” bulbs may be daylight balance but they often don’t have a CRI that is acceptable. In Chapter 7 we will discuss the shortcomings of CRI when used to measure the color accuracy of LEDs. Kino Lighting Sources

49

Figure 2.39. Kino Celeb 450Qs on a car commercial. Notice the wetdown of the street­ —a frequently used trick on night exteriors. (Photo courtesy Kino Flo).

Flo bulbs can be removed from their housing and placed in ordinary fluorescent fixtures, thus making an office or classroom ready to shoot without additional lighting. This provides no protection against flicker however, but at 24fps this is usually not a problem.

Cycs, Strips, Nooks, and Broads

When just plain output is needed, broad lights are strictly no-frills, utilitarian lights. They are just a box with a double-ended bulb. As simple as it is, the broad light has an important place in film history. In classical Hollywood hard lighting, the fill near the camera was generally a broad light with a diffuser. The distinctive feature of the broad light is its rectangular beam pattern, which makes blending them on a flat wall or cyc much easier. Imagine how difficult it would be to smoothly combine the round, spotty beams of Mightys or Fresnel lights. The smallest version of the broad is the nook, which, as its name implies, is designed for fitting into nooks and crannies. The nook light is a compact, rawlight unit, usually fitted with an FCM or FHM 1000-watt bulb. Although barndoors are usually available, nooks aren’t generally called on for much subtlety, but they are an efficient and versatile source for box light rigs, large silk overhead lights, and for large arrays to punch through frames. A number of units are specifically designed for illuminating cycs and backdrops. For the most part they are open-faced 1K and 1.5K units in small boxes with an asymmetrical throw that puts more output at the top or bottom, depending on the orientation of the unit. Strip lights are gangs of PARs or broad lights, originally used as theatrical footlights and cyc lights. They are often Motion Picture and Video Lighting

50

circuited in groups of three. With each circuit gelled a different color and on a dimmer, a wide range of colors can be obtained by mixing. This can be a quick way to alter background colors and intensities.

Plasma Lights

The newest addition to the lighting arsenal is plasma lights. It’s not a new concept: fluorescent lighting creates high-energy plasma inside a tube. This plasma excites the phosphors on the interior side of the bulb, the phosphors glow, and the bulb emits that light. Soft and not very powerful, but efficient and cool burning, fluorescent lights remain a popular choice. Although they use the same principle, plasma lights work very differently. Hive Lighting has developed a plasma bulb the size of a kernel of corn that produces a strong, hard light (Figures 2.40 and 2.41).

Figure 2.40. (top) Hive plasma lights on a magic hour shoot. (Photo courtesy Hive Lighting). Figure 2.41. (above) Hive Plasma lights burn so cool they can be handled without gloves. (Photo courtesy Hive Lighting).

Hive Lighting produces two basic fixtures: the Bee and the Wasp, both with a CRI greater than 94. Hive has focused its effort on the design of the bulb, which is a marvel of technological wizardry. The bulb is filled with metal salts in an argon gas, and uses RF (radio frequency) to excite the salts, which gives the bulb a spectrum similar to that of the sun. The bulb features a variable color temperature range of 4600 to 7000K, and a constant, non-dimmable, output. The Bee is most similar to an open-face fixture and features a 100-degree beam spread for a flood-light effect. The Wasp is a PAR-style light with a ten-degree spread and accepts a variety of lenses to spread the beam. Lighting Sources

51

Figure 2.42. Sometimes a lighting unit is chosen as much for quick setup and portability as for other reasons. In this case a China Lantern (China Ball) is suspended from a C-stand. With just the grip arm, it could also be quickly hand-held by a lighting technician and moved along with an actor in a scene.

One of the distinct advantages of this type of plasma lighting is the high output to power ratio. The fixtures draw about 2 amps, but only draws about half as much power, while the Bee provides about as much light as a 1.5K light but it draws only 300 watts, making the units about five times more efficient than a tungsten bulb. It is possible to power up to seven of fixtures on a single 20-amp outlet. Hive also makes the HoneyBee, a theatrical follow spot, which features an iris. The Hive fixture runs on 90 to 300 Volts AC or, with select Hive power supplies, 18 to 38 volts DC. The color temperature range is limited to about halfway between tungsten and daylight-balanced light at the low end, which means you will need gels to match it to tungsten. The bulb itself is not dimmable, which means either using scrims or ND gels to lower the light’s output. There is also a mechanical dimming unit specifically made for the Bee and Wasp. In spite of these minor drawbacks, the advantages of plasma lighting—efficient power consumption to light output, cool running, flicker-free at any frame rate up to 22 million fps, variable, and a bulb rated for 30,000 hours of use make this an interesting new technology. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

52

Other Types of Sources Chinese Lanterns

Chinese lanterns are the ordinary paper globe lamps available at housewares stores (Figure 2.42). A socket is suspended inside that holds either a medium screw base bulb or a 1K or 2K bipost. Just about any rig is possible if the globe is large enough to keep the paper a safe distance from the hot bulb. Control is accomplished by painting the paper or taping gel or diffusion to it but a dimmer is by far the easiest way to control the overall intensity. Dimmers are a must for any light that can’t take scrims or be controlled in other ways.

Lekos

The ellipsoidal reflector spot (ERS or leko) is a theatrical light, but is used occasional as an effects light because of its precise beam control by the internal blades. By far the most popular model in production is the Source Four (Figure 2.44). Because the blades and gobo holder are located at the focal point of the lens, the leko can be focused sharply and patterned gobos can be inserted to give sharply detailed shadow effects. A wide variety of patterns are available: leaf, venetian blinds, trees, buildings, etc.

Figure 2.43. (top) Two 100K Softsuns being rigged on a crane. (Photo courtesy of Attitude Specialty Lighting). Figure 2.44. (above) A Source Four leko.

Not all lekos have gobo holder slots and if you need one you must specify when ordering. In addition to the gobo holder and the shutter blades, some units incorporate a mechanical iris that can reduce the size of the beam to a tiny spot; this also must be specified in ordering. Lekos come in a size defined by their lens size and focal length. The longer the focal length the longer the throw of the light, that is, the narrower the beam. For example the 4 1/2-inch unit has a field angle of 45° while the 8×16 throws a beam of only 6°. Lighting Sources

53

Crane Mounted Lights

The Musco is a very powerful wide coverage light. It consists of 6K HMI heads permanently mounted on a crane/truck. Similar units include the BeBee light and NightSun. It can provide workable illumination up to a half mile away and is used for moonlight effects and broad illumination of large areas. The unit comes with its own 1000-amp generator, either an on board or a tow rig. The 6K heads are individually aimable by a hand-held remote control that operates up to 1000 feet away from the truck. Figure 2.45. (top) Jokers fitted with Softubes in use on a commercial. (Photo courtesy K5600 Lighting). Figure 2.46. (above) A Dedolight uses a plano-convex lens instead of a Fresnel, is focusable, and can project precise shapes like a leko. (Photo courtesy Dedolight).

Jokers

Jokers are a line of very efficient small HMI lights in wattages of 200, 400, and 800. Extremely portable, the smaller units can be run on either 30 volt or 14.4 volt battery belts as well as AC power. They can be used as a directional, focusable light or as a bare bulb unit for use in softboxes or with the Softube (Figure 2.45).

Dedolights

Dedolights are very small units that employ two plano-convex lenses rather than a single Fresnel (Figure 2.46). They have the precise control usually associated with lekos. They have very clean, even light distribution and, like lekos, can project patterns. They have a variety of power options from 24 volt and 12 volt CD and from 100 to 255 volts AC. The low voltage DC units can run directly from car batteries, battery belts, etc. To run the lights on alternating current (AC) requires a power supply. They can be dimmed without change in color temperature. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

54

Figure 2.47. (above) A balloon light used for a large interior. The advantage of balloon lights on a set like this is that no stands that might restrict the frame are needed. (Photo courtesy Sourcemaker). Figure 2.48. (left) A boxed balloon light in use on a pirate film. Boxed balloons are better able to remain in use in windy conditions. (Photo courtesy Skylight Balloons).

Balloon Lights Large lights that fly in balloons are becoming very popular for night exteriors, and sometimes, interiors (Figures 2.47). The fact that they don’t require cranes or scaffolding (which are sometimes hard to hide) makes them very versatile. Most have HMI sources inside but some use tungsten. Their one drawback might be that they can’t be used in a windy situation. Boxed balloon lights (Figure 2.48) are better able to stay in use in windy situations. Lighting Sources

55

Figure 2.49. (above) A Barger Lite with 20 LED tubes. (Photo courtesy Barger Lite). Figure 2.50. (right) All manufacturers provide photometric data for their lights. Arri also makes a free smartphone app that will give you the output and beam spread for all of their lights at any specific distance.

Barger Lights

The compact lightweight Barger Baglight is simple in design and highly efficient in practice. It utilizes individually switched GE FCM-HIR 650-watt bulbs each of which produce the light of a one thousand watt bulb. A combination including 750, 500, or 300-watt bulbs is often used to provide different levels of light adjustment. For example, 2×500w bulbs and 2×1000w bulbs means you can reduce their intensity across a range of two stops (500w to 2×1000w) or a half stop (1000w + 500w), etc. Barger Baglights are unique in that they fill the entire front screen of a medium or large softbox with light and the speed ring (adapter to fit a softbox onto a light) is built in. The well-designed tilt lock mechanism eliminates “rogue” tilting even with the large Chimera. Barger now makes LED lights as well with the same basic idea—large, intense sources for use with a Chimera or similar softbox (Figure 2.49).

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

56

lighting basics

Figure 3.1. Some very basic techniques make for a great shot in O Brother, Where Art Thou? A key light from the far left side leaves a good deal of the face in shadow but highlights essential details such as the eye. A kicker from the right defines the head and jaw; both are motivated by the existing table lamps in the scene. Also, a backlight outlines his head and shoulders.

The Fundamentals of Lighting I’m sure you’ve heard this, “If you light it right...” or “With good lighting, the scene will...” What does that mean? What is “good lighting?” Lighting has nearly infinite permutations and variations. There is certainly no one “right” way to light a scene. As a result, there is no chance that we can just make a simple list of “proper” lighting techniques. What we can do, however, is try to identify what it is we want lighting to do for us. What jobs does it perform for us? What do we expect of “good” lighting? Starting this way, we have a better chance of evaluating when lighting is working for us and when it is falling short. Naturally, these are generalizations. There are always exceptions, as there are in all aspects of filmmaking.

The [Conceptual] Tools of Lighting In the first chapter, we talked about the conceptual tools of cinematography; lighting is, of course, one of the most important of those tools. Now let’s talk about the conceptual tools of lighting—the attributes of light: the things about light that we can change and manipulate to achieve our goals. They are: The Attributes of Light

• Hard vs. soft light. • Altitude (height). • Direction (from front, side, or back). • Color. • Focus (confined or wide). • Texture (break up patterns). • Movement. • Intensity/Contrast. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

58

What are the Goals of Good Lighting? So what is it we want lighting to do for us? There are many jobs, and they include creating an image that has: • A full range of tones and gradations of tone. • Color control and balance.

Figure 3.2. A key light so far to the side that it leaves half the face in shadow, a back light to outline the hair, and some motivated spotlights that add a strong, punchy balance on the right side of the scene, emphasize the drama of this climactic scene from Blade Runner.

• Shape and dimension in the individual subjects. • Separation: subjects stand out against the background. • Depth and dimension in the frame. • Emphasis and focus. • Texture. • Mood and tone: emotional content. • Exposure. • Balance. • Visual metaphor. Lighting can also help form the composition and most importantly, it can help you tell the story. The goal is to have your cinematography help tell the story, establish a mood and tone, and add up to a coherent visual presentation. As any working cinematographer will tell you, lighting is usually the most important aspect of the visual effect.

Full Range of Tones In most cases, we want an image to have a full range of tones from black to white (tonal range is always discussed in terms of grayscale, without regard to color). There are exceptions to this, of course, but in general, an image that has a broad range of tones, with subtle gradations all along the way, is going to be more pleasing to the eye, more realistic, and have more impact. Lighting Basics

59

Figure 3.3. An important job that lighting does is to help create a sense of depth in the frame. Of course, camera placement and use of the lens are vital as well. In this shot from Citizen Kane, the lighting defines the different planes of the scene.

The range of tones in a scene is dependent on what is actually in a scene, the colors, and the textures, but it is also a product of the lighting—flat front lighting (Figure 3.22) will tend to make everything dull and low contrast, the main reason we almost always avoid lighting this way. Lighting with lots of shadows and highlights will increase the contrast of a scene and result in a broader range of tones. Naturally, this may not be the final image structure you are aiming for—there are occasions where you want a low-contrast, dull appearance to a scene, but this happens far less often.

Shape

Flat front lighting does not reveal the shape and form of the subject. It tends to flatten everything out, to make the scene two-dimensional. Lighting from the side or back reveals the shape of an object—its texture and subtleties of form. This is important not only for the overall depth of the shot, but it also can reveal character, emotional values, and other clues that may have story importance. It also makes the image more real, more palpable, more recognizable.

Separation

By separation, we mean making the main subjects “stand out” from the background. A frequently used method for doing this is a backlight. Another way to do it is to make the area behind the main subjects significantly darker or brighter than the subject. In our quest to make an image as three-dimensional as possible, we usually try to create a foreground, midground, and background in a shot; separation is an important part of this—Figures 3.4 and 3.5. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

60

Figure 3.4. (top) Lighting can create depth and three-dimensionality in a scene. Here, the actress is lit only with a soft key: the scene is flat, twodimensional, and doesn’t seem real. Figure 3.5. (bottom) The addition of a backlight, a practical lamp, and lighting through the window and in the hallway makes the scene more three-dimensional and realistic.

Depth

Whether projected on a screen or viewed on a monitor, film and video are two-dimensional: flat (3D is really just an illusion). A big part of our job is trying to make this flat art appear as three-dimensional as possible—to give it depth and shape and perspective, to bring it alive as a real world as much as possible. Lighting plays a huge role in this. This is a big part of why “flat” lighting is so frequently the enemy. Flat lighting is light that comes from very near the camera, like the flash mounted on a consumer still camera: it is on axis with the lens. As a result, it just flatly illuminates the subject evenly. It erases the natural three-dimensional quality of the subject.

Texture

As with shape, light from the axis of the lens (flat lighting) tends to obscure surface texture of materials. The reason is simple: we know texture of the subject from the shadows. Light that comes from near the camera creates no shadows. The more that light comes from the side, the more it creates shadows, which is what reveals texture. Texture can also be present in the lighting itself (Figure 3.6).

Mood and Tone

Let’s recall our discussion of the word “cinematic.” Used in conversation, it is often used to describe something that is “movie-like.” For example, you might say a particular novel is cinematic if it has fast-moving action, lots of description, and very little exposition. Lighting Basics

61

Figure 3.6. Texture in the lighting adds mood and emotion for this shot from Gladiator.

That is not how we will use the term here. In this context, we will use the term cinematic to describe all the tools, techniques, and methods we use to add layers of meaning, emotion, tone, and mood to the content (Figure 3.7). As every good camera and lighting person knows, we can take any particular scene and make it look scary or beautiful or ominous or whatever the story calls for, in conjunction with use of lens and camera, of course. Many tools affect the mood and tone of a scene: color, framing, use of lens, frame rate, hand-held or mounted camera—indeed everything we can do with camera and lighting can be used to affect the audience’s perception of the scene.

Exposure and Lighting

It is important to remember that exposure is about more than just “it’s too light” or “it’s too dark.” Exposure for mood and tone is obvious, but there are other considerations as well—proper exposure and camera settings are critical to color saturation and achieving a full range of grayscale tones. There are really two ways in which you have to think about exposure. One is the overall exposure of the scene; this is controlled by the iris, the shutter speed, gain, and neutral density filters. All of this controls exposure for the entire frame. Except for some types of neutral density filters called grads, there is no chance to be selective about a certain part of the frame. Another aspect of exposure is balance within the frame. Film and video can only accommodate a certain brightness range. Keeping the brightness range within the limits of your particular film or video camera is mostly the job of lighting. It’s not merely a technical job of conforming your lighting to the available latitude: the lighting balance also affects the mood, tone, and style of the scene.

Hard vs. Soft

A key aspect of the quality of light mostly is how hard or soft it is. This is, in fact, the aspect of light that we most often alter. “Hard” light means specular light—parallel beams which cast a clear, disMotion Picture and Video Lighting

62

Figure 3.7. Lighting is your primary tool in establishing mood and tone, which add layers of meaning to the content. This shot is lit with a Mighty Mole bouncing off the concrete floor. A hard light punched through the venetian blinds on the window add some texture to the back wall

tinct shadow. Soft light is the opposite; it is diffuse light that hits the subject from many different angles and thus casts an indistinct, fuzzy shadow, if any (Figures 3.9 and 3.10). We’ll go into more detail a little later.

Color Control and Color Balance

Up until the eighties, it was conventional to precisely color balance all lighting sources in a scene, for example, making all the lighting sources tungsten balance, daylight balance, or even going with fluorescent balance and then correcting the color in post-production. Now with constantly improving video cameras, better film stocks, and most of all, changing visual tastes, it is common to mix slightly, even radically, different color sources in a scene. Color control is also important in the mood and tone of a scene.

Some Lighting Terminology • Key light: The dominant light on people or objects. The “main” light on a scene. • Fill light: Light that fills in the shadows not lit by the key light. Lighting is sometimes described in terms of the key/fill ratio; also called the contrast ratio. • Backlight: Light that hits a person or objects from behind and above. A rim or edge light might be added to separate a dark side of a face or object from the background or make up for a lack of fill on that side. • Kicker: A kicker is a light from behind that grazes along an actor’s cheek on the fill side (the opposite of the key light). Often a kicker defines the face well enough that a fill is not even necessary. It should not be confused with a backlight, which generally covers both sides equally. • Sidelight: A light comes from the side, relative to the actor. Usually dramatic and creates great chiaroscuro Lighting Basics

63

Figure 3.8. This shot from The Master shows three basic lighting techniques: the key light comes from the right side of the frame; the kicker is motivated by the photo lamp behind him. There is also a splash of light on the background.

(meaning light and shadow) if there is little or no fill, but may be a bit too harsh for close-ups, where some adjustment or slight fill might be needed. • Topper: Light directly from above. (The word can also refer to a flag that cuts off the upper part of a light.) If a top light spills onto the actor’s nose, some might say it is “too toppy.” • Hard light: Light from the sun or small lighting source such as a Fresnel that creates sharp, well-defined shadows. • Soft light: Light from a large source that creates soft, fuzzy shadows or (if soft enough), no shadows at all. One example: sky light on an overcast day is from many directions and is very soft. • Ambient light: There are two uses of this term. One means the light that just happens to be in a location. The second use refers to soft, overhead light that is just sort of “there.” Can also be a base light that opens up the shadows. • Practicals: Actual working prop lights—table lamps, floor lamps, sconces, and so on. It is essential that all practical lamps have a dimmer on them for fine-tuning control; small dimmers for this purpose are called hand squeezers. Anything on a set that works is also called practical, for example, a refrigerator. • Upstage: Part of the scene on the other side of the actors, opposite the side the camera is on. Downstage is the side the camera is on. Comes from theater when stages were raked (tilted) and upstage was the part farthest away from the audience.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

64

• High key: Lighting that is bright and fairly shadowless with lots of fill light; often used in fashion/beauty commercials. • Low key: Lighting that is dark and shadowy with little or no fill light. Can also be described as having a high key/fill ratio. • Bounce light: Light that is reflected off something—a wall, the ceiling, a white or neutral surface, a silk, or just about anything else; usually to make a light softer. • Available light: Whatever light already exists at the location. May be natural light (sun, sky, overcast day) or artificial (street lights, overhead fluorescents, etc.). • Motivated lighting: Where light in the scene appears to have a source such as a window, a lamp, a fireplace, and so on. In some cases the light will come from a source visible in the scene, or it may only appear to come from a source that is visible in the scene.

Working with Hard Light and Soft Light

What makes hard light hard? What makes soft light soft? How do we distinguish between them? There are many ways to light any scene; the variations are endless. The styles and techniques of lighting are nearly infinite. Oddly, there are basically only two types of light (in terms of what we are calling “quality” of light) when you really boil it down to the basics: hard light and soft light. There are, of course, all sorts of subtle gradations, and variations between completely hard and fully soft.

Hard Light

Hard light is also called specular light. As we have seen, it is light that casts a clear, sharp shadow. It does this because the light rays are traveling relatively parallel. What creates a beam of light with the rays pretty much parallel? A very small light source. The smaller the source, the harder the light will be. This is an absolutely crucial point: how hard or soft a light appears is a function of the size of the radiating source (Figure 3.11). Outside on a clear, sunny day, take a look at your shadow: it will be sharp and clean. Even though the sun is a large star, it is so far away that it appears as a small object in the sky—which makes it a fairly hard light. It is important to remember that it is not the absolute (actual) size of the source that matters—it is the size of the source relative to the subject. In this example, the sun is acting as a hard light because it is a small, point source from our point-of-view. In reality, the sun is huge, of course, it is the fact that it is millions of miles away that allows it to function as a hard source on cloudless days. The importance of this is sometimes seen when an inexperienced crew builds a large soft source with silks or bounce and then positions it a long way away from the subject—it Lighting Basics

65

Figure 3.9. (top) Hard light creates sharp, well-defined shadows. This is a Mighty Mole (2K open face) direct. An open face light would rarely be used directly on an actor without diffusion or bounced off a reflector—it is used here for illustration only. Figure 3.10. (bottom) Soft light creates soft shadows that fall off gradually. In this case, the soft light is created by the same Mighty Mole being punched through a 4x4 frame covered with 216 (a heavy diffusion) and another 4x4 frame covered in muslin.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

66

may still be soft, but it will not be nearly as soft as it would be if it was much closer to the subject (the actors, typically). On sets, when they are going for a really soft look, you will most often see the large soft source just barely outside the frame. Of course, this often means that it can’t be there for the wide shot (typically, the master) and has to be moved in closer for the close-ups. This is common practice, and a good crew can make quick work of it; however, it means that when you build a large soft source and “box it in” with flags to control spill and prevent flaring the lens, your electricians and grips need to keep the need for mobility in mind and be ready to go when the call comes out to move in for the tighter shots.

Smaller Light + Larger Object = Hard Light

Figures 3.11. What makes a light hard or soft is the size of the light source in relation to the size of the object. A larger source “wraps” around the object and so falls off slowly on the edges (middle and bottom). A smaller source doesn’t “wrap” and thus makes hard, sharp shadows (top). Some might think that diffusion alone makes a light soft—in reality, what it is doing is making the light source larger in relation to the subject. The denser the diffusion, the fewer direct (hard) beams get through, thus making the effect softer light.

Larger Light + Smaller Object = Soft Light

Diffusion Makes the Light Source Larger In Relation to the Object = Soft Light

It may seem like a small detail, but it illustrates just one of the ways to be ready for the move—make sure that there is enough cable to the light(s) so that it can be easily moved—time spend rerouting cable or adding extra cable is really inexcusable in situations like this.

Soft Light

Soft light is the opposite; it is light that casts only a fuzzy, indistinct shadow; sometimes no shadow at all. What makes light soft? A very large source. Go outside on an overcast or cloudy day and you will have little or no shadow at all. This is because instead of a small, hard source ( just the sun), the entire sky is now the light source—it’s enormous. How do we make soft light on the set? There are two ways. One is we bounce a light off a large white object. Typically we use things like foamcore (a lightweight artist board often used for temporary signs or mounting photographs) or soft materials such as cotton muslin or UltraBounce—a cloth-like material designed specifically for this purpose—but you can use almost anything lightcolored as a bounce: a white wall, an umbrella, a piece of white styrofoam building insulation (also called bead board). For larger applications, there are several materials that come in sizes from 4’×4’ up to as big as 20’×40’ and sometimes even larger. Another way is to direct the light through diffusion (Figure 3.10). There are many Lighting Basics

67

Figure 3.12. (top) A typical lighting setup for a close-up. The key light and fill light are bi-color LED panels from CAME-TV, the backlight, kicker, and background light are MoleRichardson Betweenies. The kicker has a snoot on it to control the beam spread more precisely than barndoors are capable of. Figure 3.13. (below) A diagram of classic close-up lighting. It is sometimes called three-point lighting, but it is seldom just three lights. Diagram created with the Lighting Designer iPhone/iPad app.

types of diffusion available in wide rolls and sheets. It is amazing for its ability to withstand the intense heat of being put right in front of a powerful light (although not all types of gel and diffusion are equally heat resistant). Diffusion may be attached directly to the barndoors of a light or held in a frame in front of the light, or attached to a window, etc. For some examples of diffusion, see Figures 4.36 through 4.59 in the next chapter, Controlling Light. Diffusion materials are available in grades from very light, almost translucent up to very heavy diffusion. A popular diffusion is Opal; it is so thin you can almost see through it. This doesn’t make the light very soft, but sometimes we want a very subtle effect. Heavier diffusion is much thicker, and it makes the light much softer. About the Motion Picture and Video Lighting

68

Figure 3.14. (top) Classic lighting setup for close-ups as shown in Figures 3.12 and 3.13. Figure 3.15. (second from top) The key light only. Figure 3.16. (third from top) The key light, kicker, and background light; no fill. Figure 3.17. (bottom) All lights on with a high level of fill—a 1:1 ratio.

Lighting Basics

69

heaviest, softest diffusion we normally use on the set is a cotton cloth called muslin. As previously mentioned, it has been used in filmmaking since the earliest days.

Direction

Figure 3.18. (above) Direction of light dramatically alters the mood; from top—back, side, and 3/4 front light. Figure 3.19. (right) Kicker, backlight, and background lights only. The dim light from the front is actually an eyelight, whose only job is to create catchlights in the actor’s eyes.

The direction from which the key light comes at the actors is one of the most critical aspects of lighting. The most commonly used terminology is front, 3/4 front, side, 3/4 back, and backlight. The direction of the light is a major determinant not only of the shadows, but it is also an important factor in the mood and emotional tone of a shot. If most of the light comes from the side or back, the scene will tend to be “darker,” more mysterious, more dramatic. This is especially important if you are trying to make a scene appear underlit, such as a moody scene where you want the audience to perceive the scene as very dark.

Avoiding Flat Front Lighting Flat front lighting occurs when the key light is very close to the camera. The result is an image with few if any shadows and very little depth or dimension—flat and without shape. Also, the subject is rarely separated from the background. This reminds us that one of the key jobs of lighting is to direct the eye and “pick out” key elements of the frame, usually the actors. There are exceptions, of course, but as a general rule, flat front lighting is shapeless, dull, and boring. See Figure 3.22—the lighting is hardly better than the average driver’s license photo. In Figure 3.23, the light has moved to the side and a backlight plus kicker is added. The more your key light comes from the sides or back, the more it is going to give the subject depth and dimension.

Light from the Upstage Side Particularly when lighting a dialog scene, it is almost always a good idea to light the actors from the upstage side. Upstage means the side away from the camera. If a key light is on the same side of the actors as the camera, it is downstage. Whenever possible it is best to light from the upstage side. See Figures 3.20 and 3.21 for examples. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

70

Figure 3.20. (top) Upstage is on the other side of the actors, away from the camera. Light from the upstage side gives pleasant shadows and is flattering to the face. Figure 3.21. (bottom) Downstage is on the same side of the actors as the camera. Lighting from the downstage side is unpleasant for the face, puts the shadows in the wrong place, and is more flat front lighting—something to almost always avoid.

Backlight and Kicker

Two lights that by definition come from the back are backlights and kickers. Backlight is sometimes referred to as a hair light or shoulder light (Figures 3.16 and 3.19). It outlines the subject, separates them from the background, and gives the subject more shape and depth. A kicker is a light that comes approximately from 3/4 back and brushes along the cheek of the subject. It is an extremely useful light. Once you start looking for them, you will see kickers everywhere, even on simple interview shots. As cinematographers take advantage of the higher speed film stocks and HD/UHD cameras and their ability to “see” into the shadows, there is a tendency to use less and less fill light. The kicker can be useful to define the shadow side of the face even if there is no fill light at all. Men tend to benefit from a hard kicker, while a soft kicker often works better for women.

Intensity

How bright or intense a light is clearly affects exposure, but remember that no matter how bright or dark the overall light of a scene is (within limits), we can adjust it by exposing correctly with the iris, shutter, or neutral density filters. What is important here is the relative intensity of different lights within a scene, the relative balance Lighting Basics

71

Figure 3.22. (top) Flat front lighting creates no depth, no sense of threedimensionality. It looks fake and “lit”—something we try to avoid. Figure 3.23. (bottom) Light from the sides or back (anything other than flat front lighting) creates depth, dimension, a more realistic feel. On the left side of his face, a kicker has been added to create more shape and a greater sense of depth and separation.

of the various lights. These are really two completely different ways to think about the intensity and exposure of lighting in a scene: the overall lighting level and then the comparative difference between lights in a scene—which is usually referred to as the contrast ratio between the key and fill but also applies to objects in the frame that generate their own light—windows, lampshades, candles, and on. In the next chapter we will discuss methods of controlling intensity.

Adding Texture in Lighting Light the people, not the sets. John Alton (The Big Combo, Elmer Gantry)

Texture occurs in several ways. One is the inherent texture of the subject itself, but the one that concerns us here is texture of the light itself. This is done by putting things in front of the light to break it up and add some variation of light and shadow. Things you put in front of the light are called gobos, and a particular type of gobo is the cuculoris or cookie, which comes in two types (Figure 4.19 in the next chapter). Hard cookies are plywood with irregular cutouts. Soft cookies are wire mesh with a subtle pattern of translucent plastic (Figure 4.19 in Controlling Light). Temporary cookies can be cut from foamcore, show card, or almost anything that’s available at the time. Other tricks include putting a shadow-casting object in front of the light; traditionally these include things such as vertical Charlie

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

72

Figure 3.24. (top) A dialog scene with flat front lighting—no depth, no contrast, no “shape,” in other words, boring, ineffective lighting. It also doesn’t look very natural. Figure 3.25. (middle) Back cross keys give the scene shape, depth, contrast, and a fuller range of tones. It helps create a foreground, midground, and background to create that sense of depth—this is also helped by the practical lamp as a compositional element. Figure 3.26. (bottom) A diagram of back cross keys—a basic technique in classical hard lighting. Each light efficiently serves as both a key and a backlight. A typical setup of this method might also include a fill light, backlights, and other units. Importantly, both of these lights are on the upstage side—on the side farther away from the camera. Flat front lighting results from lights being too much on the downstage side, near the camera. This may not apply for a key light on someone facing toward the camera, but the lighting will still be flat if the light is very close to the camera.

Upstage His key light and her backlight

Her key light and his backlight

Downstage

bars—vertical bars used to create shadows. This effect can also be accomplished with strips of tape on an empty frame. Another method is to put lace in a frame and place it in front of the light (Figure 3.38).

Color Color is such a large and important issue that we devoted an entire chapter to the subject earlier in the book. There are several aspects to the subject of color as we use it in filmmaking: Lighting Basics

73

Figure 3.27. The filmmakers made a deliberate choice to light the character of the Terminator with only kickers (light from behind that only skims across the sides of the face), thus leaving much of his face in darkness. This contributes to his menace and lack of humanness.

• The image-making side of color: how we use it to make better and more impactful images. • The storytelling aspect of color; that is the emotional, cultural context of color. One of the best references on this topic is If it’s Purple, Someone’s Gonna Die, by Patti Bellantoni, a fascinating look at using color in filmmaking. • Color is important at the camera—choice of film stock or video camera setup, the use of LUTs and Looks to manipulate color in the camera or at the DIT cart. We don’t always just set the camera to the technically “correct” color balance. • Controlling color at the light source, which involves both using color-balancing gels, party gels (random colors made by the gel manufacturers), and the choice of the proper lighting units (tungsten, HMI, LED, etc.).

Lighting Techniques The fundamental methods are discussed in detail later. They include: • Classical hard light. • Through the windows. • Ambient. • Motivated. • Practicals. • Available. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

74

Classical Hard Light

Classical lighting refers to the hard light style that was the norm in big movie production for decades. Some refer to it as film noir lighting. It employs hard light Fresnels individually aimed for the actors, objects on the set, the background, and so on, (Figure 3.28). The method is still sometimes employed, although soft light on the actors is more frequently used.

Figure 3.28. Classical hard lighting in the film noir classic The Big Sleep. In this method, every actor, nearly every piece of furniture, every wall, had its own Fresnel hard light.

Ambient

The term ambient has two meanings. On location, it means light that is “just there”—generally a sort of soft, overall light in the room. In lighting in the studio or on a location set, it means an overall fill that is added, usually from big soft overhead sources (Figure 2.21).

Bringing it Through the Windows

Many cinematographers say that they “bring it through the windows” whenever possible. It is a much more naturalistic look and it also frees the set of stands and cables, making setup changes quicker and more efficient (Figures 3.45 and 3.46). In many cases some accents might be added from inside the room or some supplements may be necessary if light from the windows doesn’t get into all of the parts of the set where you need it.

Motivated Lighting and Practicals

Motivated lighting and practicals are closely related. Practicals are lamps and other sources that actually work. Figures 3.34 and 3.35 show a scene lit by a practical table lamp. Lighting Basics

75

Figure 3.29. (top) In this establishing shot from Honeydripper, the oil lamps are clearly shown to be the motivation for the direction, color, and quality of the light, which is then used to great effect in the two shot. Figure 3.30. (below) Once the sources have been established in the wide shot, the lighting of this two shot, the mediums, and close-ups makes sense and seems appropriate. This is an example of both motivated lighting and carrying a lamp.

Motivated Light On Birdman, we did not use movie lights. It’s all light bulbs. All the lights that you see in the set are the lights that are lighting the scene. These cameras allow us to do that because the dynamic range of the camera was able to capture the light bulb and the face of the actor without clipping. There is one scene where we used probably a 20K. It was outside a window in the stage to create the impression of daylight, but all the other lights are just lamps and practicals. Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman, Children of Men)

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

76

Light in a scene may come from many sources, including lights that are actually in the frame such as practicals, windows, skylights, signs, and so on. In some cases, these sources are visible but do not provide enough output for proper exposure. In this case, the sources may only serve to motivate additional lighting that is off-screen. Some cinematographers and directors prefer that most or all lighting in a scene be motivated in this way—that the viewer should be able to intuitively understand where the light is coming from. In these frames from Honeydripper (Figures 3.29 and 3.30), the light is motivated by the lamps, but the illumination comes from sources not in the frame. Lighting with Practicals

This is a method that may be used by itself or in conjunction with other methods. A practical is something that works—whether it be a table lamp or a refrigerator. Here, we are only talking about lights, whether they be table lamps, sconces, floor lamps, or whatever. Practical lamps play a part in almost any scene they are in, particularly if it is a night scene. The film noir genre in particular frequently used practical lamps as a major element in the frame as a lighting source. One of the few absolute rules in lighting is that every practical must be on a dimmer of some sort. In most cases this will be a hand squeezer, a small hand-held dimmer that is usually made from an ordinary wall dimmer. The reason for this is obvious—with most kinds of lights, we can control the intensity with scrims, grip nets,

neutral density gels, and flooding/spotting. With practical lamps we don’t have these methods of control, so a dimmer is the quickest and most precise way to control the brightness. Given that these lamps appear in the frame, it is essential to be able to control them precisely, so hand squeezers are essential. We want them to appear bright, or the lamp won’t look like it’s on. This means they are right on the edge—too bright and they will burn out—overexposed and without detail but they may also be a distraction in the composition—see

Figures 3.31 and 3.32. Two examples of using existing practical lights for these scenes from Birdman.

Lighting Basics

77

Figure 3.33. Natural window light is extremely soft as long as there are no direct rays of the sun. It is not merely the light from the sky (a huge wrapping source), it is also the light bouncing off the ground, nearby buildings, and so on.

Have a clear vision, design and objective for every scene. Then, by lighting with your instincts along with your intention and setting your own level of excellence, you will find satisfaction. Rene Ohashi, ASC, CSC (Forsaken, Faces In The Crowd)

Figures 3.42 through 3.44. One limitation is that ordinary dimmers won’t work on fluorescents, LEDs, and neon lamps, although special dimmers are available. One thing to watch for is that the more you dim a practical, the warmer the light becomes. It is best to have a number of different size bulbs available in case you want to switch to a lower wattage bulb in order to avoid too much dimming.

Available

Available light applies to both interiors and exteriors. The term available light is used in two ways on film sets. One of them means whatever light is there in a location; usually an exterior location but it can refer to rooms that have windows, skylights, or ordinary room lighting as well. In general, the term “available light” means working with the existing lighting on the location. There is a third, less serious use of the term. Some might say that a particular DP is an “available light” cinematographer, as in “he uses every light available on the truck.”

Basic Principles of Lighting Some basic principles:

• Avoid flat front lighting! Lights that come more from the sides and back are usually the way to accomplish this. Any time a light is right beside or behind the camera, that is a warning sign of possible flat, featureless lighting (Figure 3.22). • Whenever possible, light people from the upstage side. This is probably the most important principle of lightMotion Picture and Video Lighting

78

Figure 3.34. (top) Her only source is the practical lamp itself. A very small source adds a catchlight in the eyes. Figure 3.35. (bottom) The lamp works for her even when she leans back, but only in a fairly narrow range of distance from the practical.

ing along with avoiding flat front lighting. (Figures 3.20 and 3.25). • Use techniques such as backlight, kickers, and background/set lights to separate the actors from the backgrounds, accentuate the actor’s features. • Use shadows to create chiaroscuro, depth, shape the scene and mood. Some DPs say that “...the lights you don’t turn on are as important as the ones you do turn on.” • Use lighting and exposure to have a full range of tones in the scene—this must take into account both the reflectances of the scene and the intensity of the lighting. • When appropriate, add texture to your lights with gobos, cookies, blinds, and other methods. Some DPs, such as Wally Pfister, almost always add some texture to their key lights. Lighting Basics

79

Figure 3.36. (above) Practical lamps light a large night exterior. Figure 3.37. (right) A practical hanging lamp used as a key in this scene from The Big Combo. Practical lamps figure prominently in the film noir genre.

Back Cross Keys

One of the most useful and commonly used techniques is back cross keys. It’s simple, straightforward, and fast but also very effective. Take a look at the next ten dialog scenes you see in feature films, commercials, or television: there’s a good chance that most or even all of them will be lit with this technique (Figures 3.38, 3.39, and 3.40). The idea is simplicity itself. For a two-person dialog scene (which constitutes a large majority of scenes in most films), one upstage light serves as one actor’s key light and also the second actor’s backlight. A second light does the opposite: it is the second actor’s key light and the first actor’s backlight. That’s all there is to it, but you may want to add some fill, backlights, or whatever else the scene calls for.

Ambient Plus Accents

Especially on larger sets, it is often difficult or impractical to light every corner of the set with many different hard or soft light units, as was usually done in the classic hard lighting method. It is often Motion Picture and Video Lighting

80

Her backlight and his keylight

His backlight and her keylight

Figures 3.38 and 3.39. (above) Two sides of scene lit with back cross keys: one light on each side is one actor’s key and the other actor’s backlight. Both lights are from the upstage side. In this case, the woman’s key is coming through a window and some lace to add texture. His key is hard without any softening or texture. Note also the matching eyelines—crucial in a dialog scene such as this. See Cinematography: Theory and Practice, third edition by the same author for more on eyelines and continuity. Figure 3.40. (left) A diagram of back cross keys. Note how the lights are on the upstage side of the scene: the side away from the camera.

better to establish an ambient base—which means to simply fill the set with a soft, featureless overhead light. This gives you a basic exposure for the entire set, but it is usually somewhat bland and low in contrast. For some scenes, this might be the desired effect, such as a scene in a frozen winter landscape. In most cases, however, you will want to add some accents to feature actors or emphasize certain elements of the set (Figure 4.9). Establishing an ambient base can be accomplished in a number of ways: • Overhead lights with an overhead silk. • Chicken coops, space lights, or softboxes. • Bouncing a light off the ceiling. • Leaving the overhead fluorescents on. • Large skylights or glass roof.

Lighting Through the Windows In the old studio days, sets were commonly lit from the grid (overhead pipes). This is still done, but these days, locations are used as frequently as sets built in studios. On locations, it may be possible to rig a temporary grid of some sort through the use of various grip equipment such as wall spreaders or other means. Lighting Basics

81

Figure 3.41. This dark, moody scene is lit primarily from the windows with four Maxi-Brutes through Hilight diffusion, supplemented by the practical library lamps on the table. A very slight smoke effect is added as mild diffusion. In cases like this, it is important to control the smoke level so that it doesn’t become noticeable in the shot. It is also very important to keep the smoke level consistent from shot to shot.

Locations are often lit “from the floor,” meaning that lights are placed on stands. This works, but it has disadvantages, among them that the working area can be cluttered with light stands, grip stands, and cable. For this reason, many DPs prefer to light from the outside—through window, doors, skylights, etc. This also has a naturalistic look almost by default; most rooms with windows naturally get a great deal of their light from the windows. Some cinematographers and gaffers go so far as to say always light from outside, although clearly there will be situations where this is not possible. This method also means that the set will be less crowded, so moving from setup to setup is quicker and easier and also gives the director much greater freedom in selecting their frame.

Available Light Windows

Window light can be some of the most beautiful light of all, if you use it right (Figure 3.33). Windows can also be disastrous—for example, if you place an actor against a window and the camera is placed so that the actor is in front with the view out the window behind them. In normal daylight conditions, this will produce a very high-contrast situation, and you have to choose between having the outside view properly exposed and the actor in complete silhouette or exposing for the actor and having the window view overexposed and blown out. (See “The Window Problem” in the next chapter, Figures 4.25 through 4.27.) There are workarounds, of course. One is to use a big light on the actor to bring up their exposure. This generally requires a very large unit and it can be difficult to make Motion Picture and Video Lighting

82

Figure 3.42. (top) If the practical is set high enough to give proper exposure to the subject, the lamp itself is completely blown out. Figure 3.43. (middle) When the practical lamp is set to a level that gives it the proper exposure, then the subject is underexposed. Figure 3.44. (bottom) A separate source is added to “carry” the lamp. It comes from the same direction as the lamp and gives the illusion that the practical lamp is lighting the actor. The source, in this case, is a MolePar in a snoot box with a dimmer. (Photo by author).

Lighting Basics

83

Figure 3.45. (top) This scene from Minority Report is lit entirely through the windows as DP Janus Kaminski frequently does. Smoke makes the shafts of light visible. Figure 3.46. (above) The two shot from the above scene. There is one addition to the lighting—a kicker catches the left side of Max von Sydow’s face (right side of the frame).

it look natural; also, the light has to be daylight balance. The other alternative is to bring down the exposure of the window. The easiest way to do this is to gel the window with ND (neutral density gel), which can reduce the light coming through the window by one, two, three, or even four stops (the ND designations for this are ND .3, .6, .9, and 1.2). If you want to use tungsten balance lights inside the room, you can also add 85 gel, which converts daylight (5600K) to tungsten balance (3200K). Or you can use gel that combines them: 85N3, 85N6, etc. But there is another alternative: change the shot. This not only makes lighting easier, but it will generally produce a better-looking shot. If the director is flexible about the staging, you’ll get a better image by placing the camera so that the actor is beside the window and the background of the shot is no longer the view out the window, but rather something inside the room. What is it that makes window light so beautiful? We have to distinguish between window light, sky light, and sunlight. Many people think of window light being “sunlight.” Direct sun is hard and contrasty. Sky light is the light coming from the sky itself, which is a huge radiating source and thus

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

84

very soft. Also coming through a window might be sun bounced off neighboring buildings, the ground, etc. All of this adds up to make window light extremely soft, consistent, and “smooth.”

Figure 3.47. Light through a window on Days of Heaven.

Day Exteriors

Working with daylight can be a lot trickier than people think. Some producers and directors believe that working with available daylight will always be faster. Sometimes, but not usually. If it’s an overcast day (soft light), then nothing could be simpler. If you are dealing with direct sun, controlling it can require constant attention and adjustment. When dealing with actors in direct sun, you have several choices: diffusion of the harsh sun, filling and balancing the shadows, finding a better location or angle for the shots, or moving the shot into open shade (Figures 3.48 and 3.49).

Open Shade and Garage Door Light

The simplest and often most beautiful solution to working with harsh direct sun is simply to get out of the sun entirely. If the director is flexible about the scene, it is usually not only faster but also better lighting to move the scene to a shady spot; best of all is open shade, which is the shady side of a building, trees, and so on, but open to the sky (Figure 3.52). In this case, the subject is lit by the soft light of the radiating sky dome, reflection off the rest of the terrain, and so on. The only danger here is your background: since the exposure will be a couple of stops down, it is critical that you not frame the shot so that the hot background behind the actor will be in direct sun and thus severely overexposed. A variation on this is garage door light (Figure 3.50). This is open shade with the darker interior as a background. It can be both beautiful and dramatic. It Lighting Basics

85

Figure 3.48. (top) A setup to simulate the sun coming from the opposite direction from where it actually is. The first step was to use a 12x solid to block off the actual sun. Figure 3.49. (above) This setup illustrates why it strikes fear in the hearts of experienced DPs when novice directors say “It’s all daylight shooting, it’ll be easy.” (Photo courtesy Campbell Cameras).

doesn’t have to be an actual garage door, of course; the key is that it is open shade with a darker background such as you would have with an actor positioned right in a large open entrance such as a garage door. Also, a good deal of the light on the actor is being bounced off the surrounding landscape and also the ground in front of them, which gives them a nice underlit fill.

Sun As Backlight If all other options are unavailable, an alternative is to turn the shot so that the actor has their back to the sun. This does two things: first of all the actor is lit by the bounce off the surroundings. In most

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

86

cases this is not quite enough, but the addition of a simple bounce board (foamcore, beadboard, or a folding silk reflector) helps. This involves working with the director to adjust the shot. Remember that shots rarely exist on their own; they are usually part of an entire scene. This means that thinking it through and planning for the sun angles must be done before starting to shoot the scene. Once you have shot the master for a scene, it is often not possible to cheat the actors around to take advantage of the sun’s position, although for some close-ups it may be possible. It is also important to think ahead about the sun’s movement, especially if the scene is going to take a long time to shoot or there is a lunch break during filming. The first time you work with the sun as a principal part of your lighting scheme, you may well be surprised at how fast it moves through the sky and thus changes the lighting on your actors or the scene overall. This calls for careful planning and scheduling and referring to one of the many computer or smartphone apps that can help you predict the location and angle of the sun in advance but will also give you accurate data on the exact time of sunset or sunrise.

Magic Hour

There is a special condition of lighting that deserves mention—magic hour is the time immediately after sunset when the light of the sky matches the existing street lights, signs, and windows of the exterior

Figure 3.50. An example of garage door light. The subject is in a doorway so there is no direct sunlight, but all of the surroundings opposite the shot (behind the camera) bounce the sunlight back as a very soft, even light.

The hardest photography in the world to do is day exteriors— you have so much less control. How to impose myself on daylight rather than it impose itself on me? In a night scene, you do it all. With daylight, it’s mostly a matter of angles and choosing good locations in terms of light and shadow. Michael Chapman (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull)

Lighting Basics

87

Figure 3.51. (top) Direct sun can be terrible on actors, especially during the middle of the day­—it also tends to make them squint. Early in the morning or late in the day makes for a much softer and more pleasing light. Figure 3.52. (bottom) By having the actor step back just a few feet so he is under the awning of the building puts him in soft and complementary open shade.

scene. It can be extraordinarily beautiful and film companies frequently plan their most special shots to be done in this time frame. The catch is that “magic hour” is nowhere near an hour; it’s more like twenty to thirty minutes and can vary according to local conditions (such as mountains) and heavy cloud cover. The Terrence Malick film Days of Heaven is famous for having been shot almost entirely at magic hour (Figure 3.53). While the cinematography by Néstor Almendros is justifiably regarded as a masterpiece, few feature film productions can afford to limit shooting to only two narrow time slots each day—morning and evening, although they do schedule special shots for that time frame. In planning shots that depend on time of day, the Assistant Director is your key resource—he or she is in charge of the schedule and they usually understand the concerns of the cinematographer in this regard. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

88

Commercials, which often require only a few setups on any give day and so can lavish time and attention on every detail, will often spend most of a day preparing for just that special shot.

Figure 3.53. A magic hour shot from Days of Heaven.

Once a magic hour shot has been planned, it’s all about preparation. Not only is the time frame extremely short, but the lighting conditions change minute by minute. If you are only doing available light, then you’ll need to check your exposure before every shot. If, on the other hand, you are adding some foreground lights on an actor, there’s another problem; as the sky darkens and exposure drops, the lights you have added will quickly become too hot—out of balance with the scene. Standard procedure by the gaffer is to have the crew standing by to adjust the intensity of the lights quickly and efficiently. This can be done by adding scrims or nets in front of the light or by dimming­— especially easy with LED units that have built-in or DMX brightness controls. If the director is trying for more than a couple of takes of one shot, or even to do two or three different shots, then it’s going to be a mad scramble and a high adrenaline situation, but when you pull it off successfully, it’s high fives all around. Always be aware that a sudden change in cloud cover can ruin the best planned shots. If clouds roll in suddenly, the exposure may drop to a level that makes proper shooting impossible. Beware of frantic directors who insist on shooting anyway, sometimes by declaring that “I don’t care how it looks.” They may say so at the time, but when they are unsatisfied with the dailies, it is you they will blame. It is very unlikely that they will remember that it was them who insisted on shooting under bad conditions. Contingency plans and setting up extra early for these types of shots are what prevents disasters and what really sets real Lighting Basics

89

Figure 3.54. A beautiful establishing shot from the movie Rush. Although not technically a “magic hour” shot as the sun is still up, the precise balance between the foreground lit by the fading sky light, the parking lot lamps, and the cloud-covered sun in the background is exactly the same idea. Although we can’t know for sure, it seems likely that this was planned as a magic hour shot but when the clouds moved in they decided to roll early and ended up with a perfect balance. This is a prime reason why it is prudent to set up for a magic hour shot well in advance. Also notice how a wet-down of the parking lot adds to the shot, especially the highlight of sun reflection that gives the shot some excitement and acts as a strong compositional element.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

90

professionals apart from the amateurs. Figure 3.54 is a perfect example of this. Even with the most accurate weather predictions, it is impossible to know if there will be clouds or not around sunset, by being ready early and having an alternate plan, the DP ended up with a beautiful shot.

controlling light

Figure 4.1. (right, top) An LED unit is bounced off a reflector to make the light soft. (Photo courtesy Westcott, Inc.). Figure 4.2. (right, bottom) For a different setup, the LED is aimed through a silk to make it soft. (Photo courtesy Westcott, Inc.). Figure 4.3. (opposite page, top) A 12x12 muslin makes a soft overhead bounce, while an LED panel through a 4x4 silk provides a soft key light for the subject. (Photo courtesy Casey Schmidt). Figure 4.4. (opposite page, bottom) Classic film noir hard light adds drama and character to the scene.

Hard Light and Soft Light

The most fundamental and consistently used way in which we control our lighting is by making it varying degrees of hard or soft. As we discussed in the last chapter, hard light is the natural output of any small source, such as a Fresnel light (Figure 4.4). As the source gets bigger, the light get softer. For this reason, an LED light panel is softer, but not a great deal softer. Since creating light sources that are many feet across is impractical in most cases, the most frequently used methods are to bounce the light off a larger (usually white) surface, sometimes a white ceiling or wall can make a convenient bounce. The other method is too aim the light through diffusion; we’ll look at several examples of this. Some people think that just using heavier diffusion makes a light soft. Not strictly accurate—heavier diffusion just allows less of the direct (hard) light through. The most fundamental rule when using diffusion is that unless you have the light fill up the whole surface, you are not getting the full effect of softness. You can always make a hard light soft but you can’t make a soft light hard, not without a great deal of difficulty. Also, if you take a soft light farther away, it gets harder, because the relative size of the source relative to the subject gets smaller. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

92

Controlling Light

93

Figure 4.5. Rosco’s Roscoflex reflector materials offer a variety of choices that are lightweight, durable, and convenient. The letter designation indicates the degree of surface texturing and quality of reflection. The metalized materials are made with a reflecting surface laminated to a durable white backing, which can also be useful as a softer reflector. They are designed for permanent mounting to reflector boards or other rigid surfaces such as foamcore or show card. In this example Roscoflex S (soft) is being used for some soft fill. Other designations are M (mirror), H (hard) SS (supersoft), and G (gold). (Photo courtesy Rosco, Inc.).

Fill for Day Exteriors

You can use bounce boards or lights to fill in the shadows and reduce the contrast. Grip reflector boards (Figure 4.5) have a hard side and a soft side and yokes with brakes so they can be set and will stay as positioned. The sun moves quickly, however, and it is almost always necessary to shake them up before each take. For this reason, a grip has to be stationed beside each board to re-aim it for each take. It is also important to table them if there is a break in filming. This means adjusting the reflector to a horizontal position so it doesn’t catch the wind and blow over. Between scenes, they should be laid on the ground on their sides so as not to damage the surfaces. Even the soft side of a reflector board can be a bit harsh; one good strategy is to aim the hard side through medium diffusion (like 216) or the soft side through light diffusion (such as Opal), which smooths it out a bit. Foamcore and beadboard are also used. Foamcore, having a smooth surface is very slightly harder than beadboard which has a pebbly surface. Silks and Diffusion

Another choice is to make the sunlight softer and less contrasty. For tight shots, a 4×4 frame with diffusion can soften the light and can be held by a grip stand, with plenty of sandbags, of course. For larger shots, frames with silk or diffusion are made in many sizes: 6’×6’, 8’×8’, 12’×12’, 20’×20’, and even 20’×40’. These larger sizes require solid rigging and should only be done if you have an adequate grip crew who know what they are doing: a 12’×12’ silk has enough area to drive a sailboat at 10 knots, meaning it can really do some damage if it gets away from you in the wind (Figure 4.7). Silking a scene can have its limitations as it can constrict the angles and camera movement in a shot. One option is to silk only the actors in the scene, possibly by “Hollywooding” (hand-holding) a silk. The disadvantage is that it may cause an imbalance in the exposure of foreground and background. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

94

Scrims and Barndoors

All Fresnels and most open face lights have a few common elements used to control them. Barndoors are one of these; they come in both two-leaf and four-leaf versions. In most cases they fit into ears that are part of the front of the light (Figure 4.11). Scrims are another form of control: they reduce the total amount of light without altering the quality of light (Figure 4.14). Many people think they are diffusion; they aren’t, however in some cases you can faintly see the pattern of the metal screen. Scrims are color

Figure 4.6. (top) An HMI PAR through a Chimera, a beadboard bounce from underneath, an LED for fill, and a 4x4 silk to control the sun as backlight—especially important for the white uniform. (Photo courtesy Calabria Lighting and Grip). Figure 4.7. (above) This day exterior shot with a vehicle uses two 12x12 bounces, a small bounce board, and a 12K HMI for a hard backlight. (Photo courtesy DP Graham Futeras).

Controlling Light

95

Figure 4.8. Large eggcrates cover the triangular soft light above the table in this setup for The Waterhorse, lit by cinematographer Oliver Stapleton. Also rigged on the grid are Tweenies with the barndoors squeezed down to give the faces more directional light. (Photo courtesy Oliver Stapleton, BSC).

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

96

coded: red for a double (reduces the amount of light by half which is a full stop) and green for a single, which reduces the light by one-half stop. A standard scrim set includes a double, a single, a half-double, and a half-single. A “Hollywood” scrim set has two doubles. Scrims should be kept in the scrim bag or box when not in use, not dropped on the floor. Scrims and barndoors should always be with the light. Bringing a light to the set without scrims and barndoors is like wearing a t-shirt that says “I’m an amateur.”

Flags, Solids, and Nets Flags are fire resistant duvetyne—black cloth on metal frames that are used to block off unwanted light, either spill from a light, blocking a window, or shading an area so a monitor can be more easily viewed. Nets are the same type of frames but covered with a textile scrim material, which is a netting with very small openings. A single net has one layer of this material and reduces the amount of light by 1/2 stop; a double net has two layers of the same material and reduces the light by one full stop. A lavender is much lighter and only very

Figure 4.9. (top) The beginnings of a large setup—PARcans are directed into angled reflectors to provide a soft overhead ambient. (Photo courtesy Oliver Stapleton, BSC). Figure 4.10. (above) A balloon light and two large silks provide soft ambient with no hard reflections, which is important for car shots. (Photo courtesy Sourcemaker).

Controlling Light

97

slightly reduces the light. Both nets and flags are available from very small ones a few inches across to 4×4s mounted on solid frames and 6×6 up to 20’×20’ and even 30’×30’ feet to be mounted on breakdown frames on the set. The larger ones are called overheads. Nets up to 24”×36” might be fully enclosed by the metal frame and may have one side open, so that there is no shadow cast onto the scene by that edge (Figure 4.12).

Chimeras and Snoots A snoot is anything that goes on the front of a light to contain the spill of the beams. Depending on how long and narrow it is, it can be more or less confining. A long and narrow snoot will shape the light to a fairly small area. Since it is on the front of a 2K soft, the light it produces will be soft but selective, a popular type of lighting.

Softboxes

Figure 4.11. (above, top) A typical set of four-leaf barndoors. Figure 4.12. (above, middle) A single grip net, a double, a silk, and solid flag. These are 18”×24”. Figure 4.13. (above, bottom) A soft eggcrate by Westcott. (Photo courtesy Westcott, Inc.). Figure 4.14. (right) Set of scrims and their scrim bag. Shown here is a “Hollywood” scrim set, which includes two doubles in addition to a single, a half-double, and a half-single.

Shooting a light through a large diffusion frame is not difficult; however, it often requires flags on both sides and perhaps above and below. Softboxes (Figure 4.15), such as the ones made by Chimera and Photoflex are self-flagging. Already enclosed, they can convert almost any type of light into an instant soft source. Many of them also have double panels: a diffusion on the face of the light but also a second diffusion inside—in some cases, these can be changed to heavier or lighter diffusion. Always be sure to open the ventilation panels, especially the ones on bottom and top. Also, be careful you are using a softbox designed for hot lights (tungsten or HMI)—some softboxes are designed only for still photo strobes, which don’t get as hot.

Eggcrates Eggcrates are much as the name implies: divided into small openings to control the spill of the light (Figures 4.13, 4.17, and 4.18). While it doesn’t confine the light as much as a snoot does, the advantage is that it works on a soft light. There are both hard and soft eggcrates. The collapsible soft variety is made in a wide range of sizes up to very large ones.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

98

The Window Problem

Windows (and glass doors) present a dilemma—the exterior is almost always much hotter than the interior. With an actor posed against the window there is a problem to solve. You can try to pump up the interior lighting to match the outdoors but this is often not practical. Figures 4.25 through 4.27 show one solution to the problem: convince the director to change the shot so that the actor is illuminated by the window light, not fighting it.

Figure 4.15. (above, top) Various sizes and shapes of flags and cutters. Figure 4.16. (above, bottom) A 4x4 open frame and a 3x3 flag. Figure 4.17. (left, top) A Chimera softbox with an eggcrate, modified by a single net. (Photo courtesy Calabria Lighting and Grip). Figure 4.18. (left, bottom) A soft eggcrate Snapgrid by DoPChoice controls spill from the soft source. In addition, Kino Flos are rigged on pipe secured with wall spreaders. (Photo courtesy DoPChoice).

ND for Windows

Another solution is to reduce the light coming through the window. There are several ways to do this—sometimes double and triple nets outside can help, but more often neutral density gel is used (Figure 4.23). ND comes in .3, .6, .9, and 1.2 densities—one, two, three, and four stops reduction. It also comes in combination with CTO and half-CTO so that it is not necessary to use two separate gels to get both exposure and color balance. Standard practice is to tape or staple the gels to the outside of the window or to spray a mist of water on the window and squeegee the gel on. It needs to be tight so it doesn’t flap in the wind and cause audio problems. It is a good idea to build up layers of ND. For example, if you will need ND .9 at the Controlling Light

99

brightest part of the day, use a layer of .6 and a layer of .3—this way you can easily peel off a layer if there are clouds or the sun is setting.

Cookies, Celos, and Gobos Figure 4.19. (top) A Matthews 24x36 cuculoris, commonly called a “cookie.” (Photo courtesy Matthews Studio Equipment). Figure 4.20. (above, middle) A soft cookie or celo. (Photo courtesy Modern Studio Equipment). Figure 4.21. (above, bottom) A window pattern gobo for a leko light. Figure 4.22. (right, top) A 4x4 cookie creates a light pattern through the smoke. Figure 4.23. (right, bottom) A grip applying Rosco ND9 to a window.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

100

Cookie is short for cuculoris, any device that is set in front of a light to create a shadow pattern (Figure 4.19). In most commercially available cookies, the pattern is soft-edged and random, but many times a specific shape is needed (such as a church window, for example) and it is possible make one on the set with foamcore, which is easily cut. A soft cookie is partially transparent so the shadows it casts are very subtle. It is called a celo, as it is made from celo flex material, which is window screen with a plastic coating that is burned in places to create the more transparent areas (Figure 4.20). A gobo is technically anything that goes between a light and the subject, but cookies are rarely called by this name. Gobo usually refers to a hard metal matt that goes inside a leko or other focusing light to create a well-defined and specific pattern (Figure 4.21). Gobo are available in a wide range of patterns: windows, trees, the moon, stars, leaves, and so on. They require a gobo holder and a leko that has a slot for it; you need to specify this in your lighting order.

Figure 4.24. (above) This set uses Arri Skypanels and their adjustable color spectrum to form a changing, multi-color set of lights. (Photo courtesy Arri Lighting). Figures 4.25 through 4.27. (left, top) With someone in front of a window or door, exposing for the exterior leaves the actor totally underexposed. (left, middle) Exposing for the actor, leaves the outdoors so overexposed it badly flares the image. (left, bottom) Not the only solution, but the easiest one is to change the camera angle so the actor is illuminated by the soft light of the window.

Dimmers Dimmers come in two basic forms: individual dimmers and systems controlled by a central dimmer control board. Older dimmers either used variable resistance or are variable autotransformers (know generically by the brand name Variac). An ordinary transformer consisting of one coil which is shared by the primary and the secondary side of the circuit is known as an autotransformer­—it converts voltage up Controlling Light

101

Figure 4.28. (above) An LED dimmer and handmade LED source used to produce a light in the hands of the actor. Figure 4.29. (right, top and middle) A fire effects rig—three lights of different sizes through half-CTO for warming, all controlled by a three circuit flicker box. Figure 4.30. (right, bottom) A fire effects rig on X-Men by Chief Lighting Technician Tony Nako using Muzzballs­—which are wrapped in muslin for a softer, more realistic effect. (Photo courtesy of Tony “Nako” Nakonechnyj).

or down, such as 120 volts to 230 volts. In a variable autotransformer the ratio of the primary to the secondary windings is variable, which means that the ratio of the primary voltage to the secondary voltage is variable. Electronic dimmers perform the same function but are far lighter and can be controlled remotely. Individual dimmer packs can be used to control a single light or a group of lights on the same circuit Motion Picture and Video Lighting

102

2K Blonde FAY Red FAY MR 16 ParCan

This FAY is under a $20,000 GPS unit and must be shut off to not destroy unit. It is heat sensitive. If it heats up we will never know the jet is on Stage A1.

Kino 2x4 bank

Figure 4.31. Running large sets with dozens or even hundreds of dimmer circuits requires some method to keep track of what is what. Gaffer Tony Nako made this diagram for a scene in X-Men. It enables him to quickly communicate to the dimmer board operator what adjustments he needs to make. (Diagram courtesy of Tony “Nako” Nakonechnyj).

Kino 2 Bank Kino Single

Notes: Blondes and ParCans on truss motors Set catches fire quickly especially the FAYS. Plexi is good for 6 min. Stairs are control under plane on ch. 48. Green screen, see green screen map 15 inch Kino has trouble unless on high output ballast.

X Jet Stage

but more frequently, dimmer packs are grouped together in a single box and controlled by a DMX dimmer board. It is a common practice to run an entire show on dimmers, which is far quicker and more efficient than having electricians run around dropping scrims into lights, especially when they are far away or up in the air. Unfortunately, some types of lights (such as HMIs) cannot be dimmed in this way, although modern units frequently have their own built-in dimmers.

LED Dimmers LED lights cannot usually be controlled by ordinary AC dimmers, but special dimmers are made for them (Figure 4.28). Nearly all professional LED lights have built-in dimmers, most of which can be controlled remotely by DMX. Most LED units of motion picture lighting also have controls for color, from the simplest bi-color controls which can change the light from daylight to tungsten balance (and degrees in between). The high-end units have an extraordinary degree of color control, including replicating the color of a wide variety of color gels.

On a recent project, I was asked by the cinematographer to light a wide shot of an audience in a theater reacting to a play they were watching on a stage. He wanted me to use a 2K with some color and a hand squeezer to dim the light up and down. Instead of a 2K, I pulled out two Arri LED’s and pushed them through a 6×6 frame. I was able to easily dim while scrolling smoothly through the colors from warm to cool to green to purple, etc. Dimming up, dimming down­—taking the audience to a sunny desert, a deep green rain forest, a soft blue beach, or whatever crazy place the director wanted his actors to imagine. We created a simple but quite effective light show, which responded beautifully on camera and motivated the talent as well. Paul Monroe, gaffer

Controlling Light

103

Figure 4.32. (above) A commercially made 2K hand squeezer (top) and a homemade 1K hand squeezer (bottom). Figure 4.33. (right, top) The gaffer using a hand squeezer to adjust the brightness of a practical lamp. Figure 4.34. (right, middle) If the lamp is turned up bright enough to get some exposure on the actress, it burns out annoyingly on screen. Figure 4.35. (right, bottom) With a Tweenie carrying the lamp, the practical is dimmed down to a more appropriate level. She is no longer being lit by the practical lamp, but it looks like she is.

Hand Squeezers A particularly useful type of dimmer is called a hand squeezer (Figure 4.32). It is an ordinary household lighting dimmer, usually 600 watts or 1000 watts, that is often homemade with male Edison plug on the input side and a female Edison on the output side. It is used for controlling practical lights on the set and occasional other uses (Figures 4.33 through 4.35). Motion Picture and Video Lighting

104

Figures 4.36 through 4.39. The basic white diffusions by Lee Filters. Since all diffusion gels reduce the amount of light to a greater or lesser extent, all of these photos will appear to be slightly underexposed. The specific amount of light loss is shown in the lower right hand corner. (Photos courtesy Lee Filters).

Controlling Light

105

Figures 4.40 through 4.43. The Hampshire Frost series of Lee Filters. (Photos courtesy Lee Filters).

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

106

Figures 4.44 through 4.47. Examples of the Opal Frost and Grid Cloth series of Lee Filters. (Photos courtesy Lee Filters).

Controlling Light

107

Figures 4.48 through 4.51. Some samples of various diffusions from Lee Filters. (Photos courtesy Lee Filters).

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

108

Figures 4.52 through 4.55. Some samples of various diffusions from Lee Filters. (Photos courtesy Lee Filters).

Controlling Light

109

Figures 4.56 through 4.59. Frost and Quiet Frost diffusions. The quiet diffusions are far less likely to create noise if there is wind on the set— something the sound department will appreciate. (Photos courtesy Lee Filters).

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

110

scene lighting

Figure 5.1. Electricians on greenbeds above the set stand by to refocus lights as needed for the scene on this 1960s set. Greenbeds are still sometimes used in large studios. (Photo courtesy Mole-Richardson).

We have looked at the tools of lighting, the elements of lighting, and some basic principles of light and exposure. Now let’s put it all together. A movie is made one scene at a time; a scene is made one shot at a time. The same applies, of course, to commercials, industrials, music videos, and even documentaries. In this chapter we will take several scenes from features, commercials, and classroom projects and analyze their lighting schemes and talk a bit about the thought process that went into planning and executing them.

Lighting Plans Have a clear vision, design and objective for every scene. Then, by lighting with your instincts along with your intention and setting your own level of excellence, you will find satisfaction. Rene Ohashi, ASC, CSC

Whenever possible, a lighting scheme is planned well in advance. In nearly all cases, there are deviations from the plan; this is normal. As a general rule, the lighting of a scene is “built”—one light at a time. With larger scenes, there will usually be a pre-rigging plan and the electricians and perhaps even a rigging crew on the day before will lay out the cable and place the larger lights in preparation for the arrival of the shoot crew. Even in these cases, however, there are always adjustments and these are generally done one light at a time. For smaller scenes, every DP has their own way of working but as a generalization it is possible to say that in most instances, the lighting is built in a methodical, incremental manner. Just having electricians run around throwing up lights at random is seldom productive. The most common procedure is to set the “key” light and then bring in additional units one at a time to see how they fit in with the existing plan. It is very difficult to preconceive exactly how a lighting plan will come together. It is not difficult to come up with an overall concept, but the exact details will change as you finally see the real set dressed

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

112

and with props and with the actual actors doing the final blocking. Don’t interpret this to mean you treat every single shot individually. This is how things were done in the classic Hollywood studio era. These days, however, it is increasingly common to light so that the scene is lit for all the shots you need, even though some shots (especially close-ups) will need a few tweaks.

General Principles of Scene Lighting • Consider the script. • Confer with the director. • Light the scene, not the set. • Insist on seeing a blocking rehearsal. • Insist on having lighting stand-ins. • What are the opportunities? -- The set. -- The action. -- Script hints. • Consider your resources. -- Lights. -- Power. • How much room can you give the director? • Grid or from the floor? • Lighting from the outside. -- What floor are you on? -- Space outside the windows/skylights?

Let’s Look at These One by One

As general principles, it goes without saying that there are exceptions and even times when you may want to deliberately break the rules, but overall these are the basic guidelines for lighting most scenes.

Read the Script

You need to do a “deep” reading of the script—not just breeze through it to get the gist of the story. You need to thoroughly understand the underlying purpose of each scene—the mood, the tone, specific actions, time of day, special effects, and so on.

Confer With the Director

Most of the time, the director will have ideas about the look of the scene, perhaps even specific ideas on the lighting. Some directors like to screen films with the DP as references for the look, feel, and tone of the lighting; others may have a “look book,”—a collection of images for reference. It’s fine, even expected, for the director to have

Lighting is so complex that it’s hard to quantify. It’s like playing piano. How did I do that? What did my fingers do? What made me think about where they should go? I like to equate cinema to music. I’m performing a musical composition when lighting a scene. There are crescendos, allegros and pizzicatos. The visual language is an undulating language, and, like music, it has to have its peaks and valleys... it’s those rhythms that are important. Conrad Hall (American Beauty, In Cold Blood, Fat City)

Scene Lighting

113

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

114

ideas about the look of the scene: “very dark, with pools of light,” “very soft,” “everything blue.” What is not good is for the director to give specific lighting plans—“I want a 5K outside the door with half CTO.” In cases like this not only are they overstepping their bounds, but may be causing problems they don’t even know about.

Light the Scene, Not the Set

What do we mean by this? Obviously you have to light the set— most of the time you can’t leave it in total darkness. What is meant by this is to avoid a common trap that many beginning filmmakers make—they light the set to look great but forget about the action that is going to be played out in the scene. There are several reasons this happens: Insist on Seeing a Full Rehearsal

You don’t get to see a proper rehearsal. This is usually caused by a director who is “in a hurry,” frantic, or doesn’t know proper procedures. They will sometimes just “tell” you what the actors are going to do, or stop the rehearsal halfway through because they’ve seen the part that is important to them.

Figure 5.2. (opposite page, top) A behind the scenes look at a setup by cinematographer Oliver Stapleton on the movie Casanova. (Photo courtesy Oliver Stapleton, BSC). Figure 5.3. (opposite page, middle) The scene as it appeared in the film. (Photo courtesy Oliver Stapleton, BSC). Figure 5.4. (opposite page, bottom) Shooting the film in Venice meant overcoming the fact that there are very few roads or parking lots outside the windows. To deal with this, Stapleton had the crew build this lighting rig on a barge. (Photo courtesy Oliver Stapleton, BSC). Figure 5.5. (above) Scene lit with a practical lamp helped by a soft light coming in from the left side.

Insist on Having Lighting Stand-Ins

You don’t get proper lighting stand-ins. Not to be confused with a stunt double, a lighting stand-in, is someone who will stand, walk, or sit where the actual actors will be in the scene. They are important because most of the time, the actors will be “in the works” before a Scene Lighting

115

scene—makeup, hair, and wardrobe, which can often take an hour or more. Not having stand-ins is another reason the inexperienced director may hurry the actors off the set before you have had time to properly light them. Insist on having lighting stand-ins! Ideally they are roughly the same height, coloring, and perhaps even the same depth of eye sockets. Even with proper stand-ins, it may still be necessary to make a few minor tweaks once the actors are in place. You want to keep tweaking to a minimum, of course, but it’s your job to make sure the lighting is up to snuff.

What Are the Opportunities? Lighting a scene doesn’t happen in a vacuum—there is the action of the scene, the mood and tone, scripted lighting cues, the set, the scene’s time of day, the director’s intentions. All of these are clues that can guide you in determining how to light the scene.

The Set The set or location will give you many clues for lighting the scene. Consider it carefully—are there windows, doors, skylights? What lights are on the set, either already there (such as overhead fluorescents) or can be brought in by the set dressers?

The Action What is happening in the scene? Especially the blocking of the actors, movement of the camera, but also are there things that change, such as lights being turned on or off, doors/windows opening or closing, lighting outside, etc.

Script Hints Of course, the script is your essential guide to the mood and tone of the scene and also the scene’s “intention”—is it a scary horror scene? a light comedy? A dark drama? Is it a day or night scene? Is there a storm approaching? Lightning? Does the script call for an actor to turn on a light, start a fire, close the window? Are the actors seating on a sofa or is there action all around the room?

Consider Your Resources Everything you do is constrained or enabled by what you have at hand; not just the lighting and grip equipment, but also the existing lights on the set, the time of day, the weather, and other factors.

Lights First you need to consider what lighting and grip equipment you have available on the truck or in the studio. Hopefully you have been able to order what you need. In many cases, the budget may dictate how much of your wish list you are able to have with you. This is why pre-production planning and location scouts are so critical. It is a rare production where you can just order everything the rental house has. For equipment orders, see the Appendix. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

116

Figure 5.6. (left) This short film about a futuristic reality show called for a soft “TV” look. The budget was low so it wasn’t possible to rent spacelights, coops, or other types of overhead soft lights, so the DP had the grips build some softboxes out of foamcore and hanging bulb sockets. Each of the four soft lights held six 250-watt bulbs (ECA). They are very deep and four separate sources which means there will be less spill onto the set walls. The softboxes establish an ambient base—an overall directionless light that serves as a base to build on and add accents to. This is supplemented by practical lights, a couple of PARs streaking down the wall, a zip light, and a 2K shooting in from the corner openings through half spun. A couple of floating Tweenies are repositioned for each shot, if needed. Figure 5.7. (above) A view inside one of the hand-built softboxes.

Power

Another critical concern is how much power you have available, either from generators, tieing in to house power, or just wall plugging. This also depends on what type of lights your using—for the equivalent output of light, tungsten requires more power than HMIs; Kino Flos or LEDs require only a ridiculously small amount of AC. But, of course, how much power they consume is not the only consideration—the quality of the light, need for dimming, even heat output are also factors.

The Location

Is it an interior or an exterior? For an interior can you place lights outside the window? What floor are you on? Is there a balcony or fire escape? Are there windows? Skylights? Will direct sun be coming through and need to be controlled with grip equipment?

The Director’s Concerns

Does the director need a lot of room for camera movement or is it more static camera setups? How tight is the schedule? Do you have time for bigger setups or do you need to keep moving quickly? As we’ve mentioned, keeping the set clear for camera movement and quicker angle changes is a big reason for trying to bring light through the windows. Scene Lighting

117

Figure 5.8. (top) This scene by Noah Nicolas Matthews uses simple techniques for a strong effect. The set design is a prime contributor to the lighting of the scene and was designed for that purpose. (Photo courtesy Noah Nicolas Matthews). Figure 5.9. (middle) For the mediums and close-ups, a combination of a hard light cut off at mid chest and bounce off the map on the table combine powerfully with the actor’s memorable face. There is also a subtle kicker on his right side (Photo courtesy Noah Nicolas Matthews). Figure 5.10. (bottom) The scroll work windows act as a cookie (cuculoris) to create a prominent texture for the lighting. Smoke is essential for this effect; without it the beams would not be visible. (Photo courtesy Noah Nicolas Matthews).

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

118

Figures 5.11 through 5.14. Outside the set windows, Mole-Richardson beam projectors, which have a very sharp, hard directional light, create the beam patterns. A few smaller lights rigged to the top of the set accent certain parts of the scene. (Photos courtesy Noah Nicolas Matthews).

Scene Lighting

119

Figures 5.15 through 5.17. There are a number of ways to create a fire effect, and several of them were used on this production. First was real fire: important not only as a source of illumination but also when it appears in the frame, there is really no realistic substitute. Fire was provided in two ways. First were flame bars; these are simple iron pipes with holes drilled in them. Propane is fed through and usually rubber cement (highly flammable) is painted on and then ignited as a starter. This type of rig has several advantages: it is fairly constant, so it is good for continuity. Real logs would be changing from take to take. Second, it is controllable; the operator can actually dial the flame up and down, thus regulating exposure and balance with some accuracy. Care must be taken to check exposure frequently, however, as the flame gets lower as the pressure in the propane tank decrease. The second part of the flame is compressed fireplace logs. These burn longer and more consistently than real logs and provide a bit more of a real campfire look than the flame bar alone.

Figure 5.15. (left, top) The fire rig next to one of the tents, which has an ECA (250-watt) bulb inside. Figure 5.16. (top) Here the moonlight dominates the scene with the fire effect adding a bit of backlight. The moonlight is two Maxi-Brutes with 1/2 CTB. At about 100 yards away, the they provided about a F/1.3 at ISO 500. Figure 5.17. (above)The fire effect was provided by three fire rigs. These consisted of a Mighty Mole, a Baby Baby, and a Mickey Mole on a triple header with all lights run through a three channel flicker box: a Shadowmaker by Magic Gadgets. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

120

Knights Around a Campfire

These scenes takes place during the Crusades and at night so there would have been no lighting sources other than campfires, lanterns, and torches (Figures 5.17 through 5.21). The first obvious choice is to bathe the entire scene with moonlight. First of all it’s natural and secondly, without an overall ambient moonlight, everything outside the circle of firelight would fall into complete blackness. Some slightly blue moonlight will serve to outline the surrounding trees and shrubs and add a bit of fill to the scene in a naturalistic way.

Figure 5.18. (left) Knights gather around a campfire consisting of a propane fire ring and compressed logs. They are also lit with a 3/4 back flicker rig and a low-key backlight from a 9-Lite coming over the top of the trees. Another 9-Lite and an electric lantern are on the wagon in the background. Figure 5.19. (above) Firelight effect from below can be used to lend dark, mysterious, moody feeling to the look of the scene.

Also, the blue will serve as a contrast to the warmth of the firelight (fires burn at around 2000K to 2500K). We only know a thing by its opposite. If the entire scene is lit only with warm firelight two things might happen: first of all it might get “timed out” at some point in post-production and secondly, the viewer’s eyes will adapt after looking at the scene for a few minutes. This adaptation will eventually lead the viewer to see the light as basically white. Spreading moonlight over such a large area (about two acres for all the scenes) usually calls for a large crane or at the very least a couple of levels of scaffolding. Either one might be a problem as they may appear in the frame at some point (the trees are very low at this location) and a crane might need to be moved: a time-consuming process in a rough location like this. Scaffolding would be even more problematic. Fortunately, the location itself offered a solution. The site chosen, with much urging from the DP (me) was a dry wash at the bottom of a steep hill, which was about 60’ high. At the top of the hill was the crew parking lot which offered a perfect spot to park the generator. Scene Lighting

121

Figure 5.20. (top) In this scene, a group of soldiers listen as their leader addresses them. The wide establishing shot showed several campfires around them. Establishing the source is an important part of selling the effect. Without establishing the source by showing it, there is a danger that it might just seem like the lights are flickering. This is not a danger in a scene like this of course. Figure 5.21. (middle) Two flicker rigs were used on this scene. One is placed on the ground in front and to camera left of the group. This simulates a campfire we saw in the wide establishing shot. The second fire rig is behind the group and camera right, its main purpose is to function as a back sidelight or kicker for some of the soldiers. The front fire rig needed to be as compact as possible so that it didn’t stick up into the frame: Baby Zip lights were bounced into a white card rigged on a C-stand. A knight’s shield was used to conceal it for the reverse angle. The white card bounce was used as direct light that close would have been too directional, even with soft lights. On camera left of the group we see two 2K juniors that add a bit of moonlight ambiance. Figure 5.22. (bottom) Lighting diagram for the scene of knights gathered to listen to their commander. The fire flicker rig is camera right and slightly behind them. In front at ground level is another, softer, fire flicker rig with three 1K zip softs. Off to camera left and high are two 2Ks bringing in some moonlight from the side/back. 2K moon effect 2K moon effect

Fire flicker rig

Fire flicker rig Low fire flicker rig

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

122

Figure 5.23. (top) This was a class lighting project and an experiment with Mole-Richardson’s beam projector. The beam projector provided a hot, sharp beam through the window. With full CTB added (and the camera set on tungsten balance), it provided an intense mood for the scene. A desk lamp provided some color contrast and a highlight on his head— a focal point for the image. Figure 5.24. (middle) A baby behind the desk adds some “kick” on the table. A 650 Tweenie keeps the area under the desk from going totally black. Without the fog effect from a smoke machine, the shot would not have been nearly as effective. Figure 5.25. (bottom) A diagram of the setup at Mole-Richardson’s teaching studio.

2k Beam Projector

Baby 1K

Tweenie

Scene Lighting

123

Figure 5.26. (top) This day exterior for a TV show needed a good deal of fill for a fairly shadowless look, both to counteract the harsh mid-day sun and also create a bright cheerful feel. Two 12’x12’ silks on one side have two 6K HMI PARs for a key and two 12K HMI Fresnels provide soft side light. Figure 5.27. (middle) On the opposite side, a 12’x12’ solid (black) creates some negative fill to give the scene some sense of contrast and make it a bit more “gutsy”—not so flat and dull. Figure 5.28. (bottom) Competing with the sun requires some real firepower, in this case a combination of Fresnel and PAR HMIs.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

124

Figures 5.29 through 5.31. General lighting that is just sort of “there” is referred to as ambient. In some cases, the ambient just forms a base on which to build with other lights. In this case, the arctic winter setting called for a soft overall ambient as the main lighting. This was accomplished with several very large silks hung on trusses and large Kino Flo units suspended above them. Notice there is a Dino (24 1K PAR lamps) standing by and also a 20K on scaffolding. (Photos courtesy Kino Flo).

Scene Lighting

125

Figure 5.32. (top) The plastic prison set in X-Men. Figure 5.33. (bottom) This diagram illustrates the use of large units even on a relatively small set: eleven 10Ks, nine Ruby 7s and many PARcans (1K PARS often used in rock & roll lighting) and Blondes (2000-watt open face lights). The diagram by Tony Nako (Chief Lighting Technician on the film X-Men and X2) also shows channel numbers for the dimmer system; he generally uses dimmer systems for all his lighting setups, even the largest ones. On a big studio picture, shooting time is so expensive that anything that saves time in adjusting the lighting pays off in the end. These are diagrams which Tony prints out and laminates in order to be able to give precise instructions to the dimmer board operator: essential when very large setups can have as many as 2000 lights/channels controlled separately. (Photo and diagram courtesy Tony “Nako” Nakonechnyj.)

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

126

Figure 5.34. (above) A general principle of night exteriors, especially in the city, is to rake a big light from the back (usually on a crane) down across the street and buildings and then add whatever you need for the foreground actors. In this scene from Gangster Squad, they chose to leave it as a silhouette. Figure 5.35. (middle) Typical lighting for a night exterior: a big unit on a crane from the back and balloon lights for overall ambient. If there are mediums and close-ups in scenes like these, they get their own key light. (Photo courtesy Oliver Stapleton, BSC). Figure 5.36. (bottom) Some Mole 12-light Maxi-Brutes on cranes prepared for a night shoot. Note that the front crane has been prepped for the operator—a tarp will protect her or him from the wind. Prepping a crane also usually includes a sound blanket, a rope for hauling, some basic supplies such as a water, and a bucket or bottle for comfort. Once a lighting technician is up in the crane and the lights are focused, they are generally stuck up there until the meal break—it can be a long night.

Scene Lighting

127

Figure 5.37. (above) Practical bulbs provide an eerie underlit glow for this scene from The Prestige. Figure 5.38. (right) A single hanging lamp establishes the mystery, menace, and underworld atmosphere of this scene from The Killing.

Lighting a Scene With Practicals

Practical lamps in the scene can be an effective and naturalistic way to light a scene. Figure 5.36 is a scene from Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, the practical bulbs on the ground not only provide an atmospheric and unworldly light for the scene, they are also a plot point. Lighting with practicals and having practical lamps appear in the scene was a key characteristic of film noir. In his neo-noir film The Killing (Figure 5.37),Stanley Kubrick foreshadowed the mastery of lighting and the use of practicals and existing light in his later films. More recently, Birdman was shot almost entirely with practical lamps that were part of the location (Figures 3.31 and 3.32).

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

128

Figure 5.39. (above) A diagram of the lighting for this set. (Photos and diagram courtesy of Tony “Nako” Nakonechnyj.) Figure 5.40. (left, top) In this scene from X-Men, units are rigged from the grid. In the case of the ring of 10Ks, they are rigged on a circular truss that is suspended from the grid. A Ruby7 (a focusable multi-PAR unit) with a “skirt” is hung directly above the actor. Figure 5.41. (left, middle) The set for the scene—only as much background as is needed for the frame is built. Figure 5.42. (left, bottom) The scene as it appeared in the film.

Scene Lighting

129

Figure 5.43. (top) Sometimes the set itself supplies the lighting, this is especially true for scenes set in submarines and space ships. Actual and motivated lighting can come from computer screens, displays, or any kind of set piece that emits light. Figure 5.44. (middle) A prop used as lighting. Figure 5.45. (bottom) Available practical light in an elevator for the film Drive. Whether it is a real elevator or a built set doesn’t matter, the existing lamps are used effectively in the scene; however, the fact that the lamps stick out so far from the walls indicates it is a set, as it is unlikely a real elevator would be built like this. Note how the bounce off the grocery bag beautifully lights the boy—a subtle and effective touch. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

130

Figure 5.46. (top) Available light night exterior in Fight Club. In situations like this, the blocking (positioning) of the actors is crucial. If he was a few feet forward, he would be in shadow and nearly invisible. Figure 5.47. (above) The hallway scenes in 30 Rock were lit with the fluorescent fixtures built into the set. Of course, color correct Kino Flo tubes were used and if an actor’s blocking called for them to stop in a position where the overhead available light was not complementary for them, additional Kino Flos of matching color were brought in from the side.

Scene Lighting

131

Figure 5.48. (above) The purpose of this scene was to duplicate the look of film noir. First of all, there were table lamps. Film noir interiors seem to always have table lamps. Here, they also provide some motivation for the lighting although they play little role in lighting the actual scene. Figure 5.49. (right, top) Two Tweenies armed out on C-stand arms are the main units for the scene. One of them provides a back kicker for the actor and the second is the key light: its only task is to bounce off the white typing paper to provide a subtle underlight for his face. An additional Betweenie gives a slight glow to the map and books on the shelf behind him. Figure 5.50. (right, bottom) A diagram of the scene—the lighting is actually quite simple.

Two Tweenies on C-stands. One is a kicker/backlight for the actor. The other bounces off the typewriter paper as his key light.

A Betweenie provides a small glow on the map in the background.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

132

Figure 5.51. (top) This scene needed to be lit low key to allow the handheld LED panel to be prominent in the frame. Figure 5.52. (second from top) Although the LED didn’t provide much lighting on the actors in the scene, it provided the motivation for a low bounce return (the 4x4 beadboard on the floor being hit with a 1K). Figure 5.53. (third from top) A 5K through each window and a 12x12 white muslin blown out behind the door provided the rest of the lighting plan for the scene. Figure 5.54. (bottom) A diagram of the scene.

2K into muslin backdrop 5K thru Venetian blinds 2K into muslin backdrop

1K onto bounce board on floor

Baby 5K thru window

Scene Lighting

133

Figures 5.55, 5.56, and 5.57. Three views of a day exterior using an overhead 12x12 silk, mirror reflectors, nets, and 4x4 silks. (Photos courtesy Casey Schmidt).

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

134

Figure 5.58. (above, top) The “training” scene from Confessions of A Dangerous Mind, as lit by gaffer Tony “Nako” Nakonechnyj. The scene as it appears in the film. Notice that the practical lamps (china hats with 250-watt BBA bulbs) also play a role, primarily as set dressing. (Photos courtesy of Tony “Nako” Nakonechnyj). Figure 5.59. (above) On one side, a series of 18K HMI Fresnels punch through the windows to provide the shafts of light. They are supported on Z-lift cranes with half blue (1/2 CTB) added. Figure 5.60. (left, middle) Focusing the lights. In cases like this, the gaffer will stand on the set and relay directions to the lighting technicians via walkie-talkie. Figure 5.61. (left, bottom) On the left side of the frame, 18K HMIs are bounced into grifflon (a black and white tarp material) to add some fill.

Scene Lighting

135

Figure 5.62. (above) A Tony Nako lighting diagram for the night exteriors of the village in the film The Brothers Grimm. This was the setup for entire sections of the film, not just one scene. The large units were the Storaro series of lights: Jumbos, Tornadoes, and Dakotas, all of which use 28 volt ACL globes, which are aircraft landing lights and very “punchy.” Having so many units placed at such large distances makes it especially important to have them all on dimmers for centralized control. The Storaro lights were invented by legendary cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. In addition to lighting placement, this diagram also details power distribution and placement of dimmer packs, which are the actual dimmers which are controlled from a central dimmer board near the camera. Figures 5.63 and 5.64. (right, middle, and bottom) Some shots from the scene as it appeared in the film.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

136

Figure 5.65. (top) A balloon rig providing moonlight effect on this night shoot. (Photo courtesy Fat Lighting, New Zealand). Figure 5.66. (middle) Creating a soft night ambiance inside. (Photo courtesy Fat Lighting, New Zealand). Figure 5.67. (bottom) A hand-built giant softbox for a vehicle shot. Very large soft sources like this are necessary for car shots to prevent hot spots. (Photo courtesy Fat Lighting, New Zealand).

Scene Lighting

137

Figure 5.68. A very simple scene from Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, but one that makes a powerfully graphic and memorable image. At first glance one would guess that it is lit with a single large unit on a crane at the end of the alley. In actual fact, it’s more complex and subtle than that. The main light is a 12K HMI PAR, which has tremendous punch. The drawback, however, is that it didn’t have the spread to give the sheen on the wall all the way down the alley. To remedy this, gaffer Tony Nako added a 12K HMI Fresnel, which has a wider spread. As an additional subtlety, he created a bare bulb socket unit which held a mogul screw base sodium vapor lamp which gave just a slight glow of yellow/ orange “street lamp” at the far end of the alley. This is an excellent example of the artistic subtlety, careful thinking, and pre-planning that goes into a wellmade lighting scheme, even on what may seem to be the simplest of shots.

Figures 5.69 and 5.70. In this scene from Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm, a series of Storaro lights (multi-PAR units which use ACL aircraft landing lights instead of PAR 64 bulbs) create strong shafts of downlight for this scene. It’s night exterior in the forest, but is being shot in the studio for more control. A smoke effect is also important to this shot. (Photos courtesy Tony “Nako” Nakonechnyj).

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

138

Figures 5.71 and 5.72. (top and middle) For the opening sequence of the second X-Men movie, an extensive set of the Oval Office and West Wing corridors was built in a sound stage. A complex set like this naturally requires a complex lighting design and extensive control. With lots of actors and crew standing by and the enclosed nature of the set, having electricians run around dropping scrims or having the grips set nets is out of the question. For scene like this multiple setups and shots, dimmer control is the only feasible answer. Figure 5.73. (bottom) A diagram of the scene including dimmer circuits. For more details, see the Appendix which includes a lighting order that details the equipment and cabling involved in running a large set all on dimmers. (Diagram courtesy Tony “Nako” Nakonechnyj).

Scene Lighting

139

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

140

Figure 5.74 and Figure 5.75. (opposite page, top and middle) Lost In Translation was shot almost entirely with available light, including the night exteriors. To accomplish this, high-speed film stock was used, aided by the fact that many Tokyo streets are brightly lit. Figure 5.76. (opposite page, bottom) Available light for a night interior in Lost In Translation. Figure 5.77. (above) A lighting diagram created in the iPhone/iPad app Lighting Designer by Clayton Combe. It allows you to position and aim lights freely and supplies symbols for nearly every type of light available. It also allows you to attach gel designation, diffusion, and DMX dimmer channels for every light. Basic furniture and some props are also available for positioning. Lighting diagrams and lighting/grip orders can be shared with production and fellow crew members such as the gaffer, the key grip, and anyone else on your crew email list. While you can build your own simple sets with the included walls, doors, and windows, in this case, the floor plan was imported as a jpeg.

Scene Lighting

141

Lighting/Grip Order HMI

(2x) 24k HMI Fresnel (1x) 18k Arrimax PAR Tungsten (2x) 20k Fresnel (2x) 5k Fresnel (4x) 2k Junior Fresnel (4x) 1k Baby Fresnel (4x) 650w Fresnel (4x) 300w Fresnel (2x) Maxi 9-light (4x) Mole PAR Kino

(4x) Diva 400 (4x) Kino Flo 4’ 4Bank (4x) Kino Flo 4’ Tube LED (4x) Arri LED Fresnel 12 (2x) Arri SkyPanel S360 (4x) Source Four LED Grip (3x) 20x20’ Double (2x) 20x20’ Single (1x) 20x20’ Solid (2x) 12x12’ Double (2x) 12x12’ Frame (2x) 12x12’ Solid (2x) 8x8’ Double (3x) 8x8’ Frame (2x) 8x8’ Single (2x) 8x8’ Solid (2x) 6x6’ Frame (2x) 6x6’ Double (2x) 6x6’ Single (2x) 6x6’ Solid

(4x) 4x4’ Double Net (8x) 4x4’ Floppy (6x) 4x4’ Open Frame (6x) 4x4’ Silk (6x) 4x4’ Single Net (6x) 2x3’ Double Net (4x) 2x3’ Open Frame (6x) 2x3’ Silk (6x) 2x3’ Single Net (6x) 18x24” Double Net (4x) 18x24” Open Frame (4x) 18x24” Silk (6x) 18x24” Single Net (6x) 18x24” Solid (2x) Large Softbox (2x) Medium Softbox Sandbags (10x) 15lb Shotbag (30x) 25lb Sandbag (10x) 35lb Sandbag C-Stands/Clamps (4x) 4 1/2” Grip Head (20x) 40” C-Stand w/arms (4x) C-stand short arms (6x) 6” Baby Pin (5x) 6” End Jaw Cardellini (6x) 8” Studded C-Clamp (6x) Duckbill Clamp Stands (6x) Baby Roller 3 riser (4x) Baby-Junior Stud Adapter (6x) Beefy Baby 3 riser (6x) Hi-Hi Boy Roller (2x) Junior Low Roller (6x) Junior Roller 3-riser (4x) Mombo Combo (4x) Super Crank-O-Vator

Figure 5.78. An equipment order created with Lighting Designer (headings added). The app allows you to easily email it to anyone on your crew list as well as the production office, production manager, and rental house. In the Gel & Diffusion list, GC stands for GamColor and L is for Lee Filters.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

142

Apple Boxes (10x) Full Apple (10x) Half Apple (10x) Quarter Apple (10x) Pancake (1x) Box of cribbing (1x) Box of wedges Gels & Diffusion (1x) GC1523 - Full CTB (1x) GC1529 - 1/2 CTB (1x) GC1532 - 1/4 CTB (1x) GC1535 - 1/8 CTB (1x) GC1540 - Extra CTO (1x) GC1543 - Full CTO (1x) GC1549 - 1/2 CTO (1x) GC1552 - 1/4 CTO (1x) GC1555 - 1/8 CTO (1x) GC1556 - CTO / .3 ND (1x) GC1557 - CTO / .6 ND (1x) GC1558 - CTO / .9 ND (1x) GC1580 - Minus Green (1x) GC1582 - 1/2 Minus Green (1x) GC1583 - 1/4 Minus Green (1x) GC1584 - 1/8 Minus Green (1x) L184 - Cosmetic Peach (1x) L188 - Cosmetic Highlight (1x) L216 - White Diffusion (1x) L250 - 1/2 White Diffusion (1x) L251 - 1/4 White Diffusion (1x) L252 - 1/8 White Diffusion (1x) L253 - Hampshire Frost (2x) L414 - Hilight Diffusion (1x) L441 - Full CTS (1x) L442 - 1/2 CTS (1x) L443 - 1/4 CTS (1x) L444 - 1/8 CTS (1x) Roll bleached muslin (1x) Roll unbleached muslin

light as story

Figure 6.1. (above) As the convicted murdered faces execution, he remains calm, but the drops of water sliding down the window make it seem as if the rain is crying for him; a memorable scene from In Cold Blood, shot by Conrad Hall. Figure 6.2. (right) A single source from above and behind, a splash of accent on the red dress and some smoke contribute to the visual storytelling of this scene. (Photo by the author).

Storytelling With Light As filmmakers, we are above all else, visual storytellers. The lighting is a big part of telling that story. It can be used to set the mood and tone of a scene, to highlight or obscure certain elements of the frame, to direct the viewer’s attention, to add shape and form to the image, to add depth and three-dimensionality, to help shape the composition. It can conceal or reveal, obscure, or define. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

144

Figure 6.3. (above) A noir lighting style established the mood and tone of The Man Who Wasn’t There. Figure 6.4. (left) A light inside the glass of possibly poisoned milk enhances the menace of this shot from Suspicion.

Metaphor It can function as metaphor and as a story element itself. In Suspicion, Hitchcock wanted to subtly emphasize that the glass of milk might be poisoned. To focus the audience’s attention (something Hitch was a master of ) he asked that a small light bulb be placed inside the glass (Figure 6.4). This, together with the silhouetted figure and the prison-like shadows on the wall, creates an ominous and foreboding image as he approaches his wife’s bedroom. In Citizen Kane, Kane’s diary is thought to be the source of the truth, the sacred text. To visually represent this, Orson Welles and DP Gregg Toland have a shaft of light (the beacon of truth) falling only onto the book as the guard reverently brings it to the table in Figure 6.8). Similarly, the

Think of some of the greatest director-cinematographer teams: the distinctive looks of their films are as traceable to cinematographers as the directors. Ian Buckwalter, critic

Light As Story

145

Figure 6.5. (top) Light and shadow are key elements of film noir, and in particular, establishing the nature of the characters, who are seldom purely good or bad, but most often are little bit of both, as in this shot from Out of the Past. Figure 6.6. (bottom) Cinematographer Gordon Willis made the deliberate choice to not get light into the eyes of The Godfather (a revolutionary idea at the time), thus making it harder for others to see what he is really thinking. Soft overall ambient lighting from the top is sometimes referred to as “Godfather lighting” for obvious reasons. Here it works as part of the visual storytelling— the fact that you can’t clearly see his eyes adds to the character’s air of mystery and understated power.

Pretty photography is easy: it’s really the easiest thing in the world. But photography that rounds a picture off, top to bottom, and holds the content together is really the most beautiful. That means it can be visually very beautiful; it can also be pedestrian in certain ways because that is more appropriate to the story. You try not to put the photography in front of the story—you try and make it part of the story. Gordon Willis (Annie Hall, The Godfather)

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

146

reporter who is seeking the real story behind Kane’s last words is never shown in full light; his introduction is in full silhouette, the only light in the room coming from the projector that has shown them the false image of Kane’s public persona. In both cases, the light of “truth” turns out to be not the real truth. A beautiful example of visual metaphor occurs in In Cold Blood (Figure 6.1). Just before his execution, the convicted murderer stands next to a rain streaked window. As the drops of water slide down the window, they make it look like he is crying—the rain is crying for him.

Atmosphere

The tone and mood of a well-made film is largely set visually. Depressing, cheerful, horrifying, mysterious, open and transparent, hidden and dark... all of these moods can be established with lighting as a key part of the visual story of the film.

Figure 6.7. (top) The reporter whose search for the “truth” about Kane drives the story of Citizen Kane is never shown in full light. His character is introduced only in full silhouette. Figure 6.8. (bottom) The shaft of light from a high window illuminates only the “sacred text” of Charles Foster Kane’s diary. The reporter whose search for the “truth” about Kane drives the story of Citizen Kane is never shown in full light. As with his introduction, the reporter is shown only in silhouette.

The Power of Darkness

As the great cinematographer John Alton put it, “It’s not what you light, it’s what you don’t light.” This applies not just to film noir and movies with a noir style (such as Blade Runner) but to many films in the modern era, such as The Godfather, with its groundbreaking lighting which broke the mold of the heavily overlit movies of the time and many others.

There is no doubt in my mind that the most beautiful music is sad, and the most beautiful photography is in a low-key, with rich blacks. John Alton (The Big Combo, T-Men)

Establish Character

In film noir the detectives (as the main character so often is) are rarely shown in full light either, they are more often shown in side light and only partially lit—in this genre are rarely purely “good guys.” In The Godfather, DP Gordon Willis uses a soft overhead light that almost never shows the eyes of Vito Corleone, unheard of at the time. This was a very deliberate choice in establishing the character—without seeing his eyes, we have a hard time knowing what he is really thinking (Figure 6.6). Light As Story

147

Figures 6.9 through 6.14. Shadows are not only a metaphor for the underground criminal culture of postwar Vienna, they establish the tone and mood of the mystery in Carol Reed’s classic film The Third Man.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

148

Light As Story

149

Figures 6.15 through 6.18. Wong Kar-Wai, working with cinematographer Christopher Doyle, has a completely distinctive visual style that emphasizes strong garish color and light that is almost invasive in nature.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

150

Figures 6.19 through 6.23. Nightcrawler uses lighting to establish the raw, gritty nature of the city at night. People caught in the glare of video lights and flashlights is a pervasive lighting effect which underscores the theme and tone of the story.

Light As Story

151

Figures 6.24 through 6.33. Few films use lighting as storytelling as well as Blade Runner—strong backlight and moving shafts of light play a major part in creating the sense of otherworldliness, the idea of a planet under constant surveillance. The deep shadows contribute to the film noir feel of the picture.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

152

“We used contrast, backlight, smoke, rain and lightning to give the film its personality and moods. The streets were depicted as terribly overcrowded, giving the audience a future time-frame to relate to. We had street scenes just packed with people. . . like ants. So we made them appear like ants — all the same. They were all the same in the sense that they were all part of the flow. It was like going in circles­­—like going nowhere. Photographically, we kept them rather colorless.” Jordan Cronenweth (Blade Runner, Buckaroo Banzai)

Light As Story

153

Figures 6.34 through 6.43. Critic Joe Buckwalter says this about Christopher Nolan’s films: “Every one of his movies, with the exception of his low-budget black-and-white debut, Following, look like the work of a singular mind. But it turns out that in this case, that singular mind is shared by two people: Nolan and his longtime cinematographer, Wally Pfister. Pfister’s role in defining the look of Nolan’s films—those characteristic rich colors, often present even in the deep shadows he also favors, juxtaposed with big, epic landscapes— really can’t be understated. This is a pair of artists who have found complementary visions in each other. Nolan has a man behind the camera who knows exactly how to capture the images he describes, and Pfister has a director just as passionate as he is about very specific ways of making films.”

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

154

Light As Story

155

Figures 6.44 through 6.53. Vittorio Storaro’s work in Apocalypse Now is practically a textbook in the use of light as visual metaphor, mood, and tone. The fiery glare of napalm, reflections of the sun on the river, colored smoke bombs, saturated colors, and the dark recesses of Kurtz’s lair which daylight can only barely penetrate are a major part of the visual storytelling of the film. Brilliantly, all of these lighting modes are entirely naturalistic and motivated for the environment of the film: war, a journey of a river, and the hidden compound at the end of the odyssey. Even the fog of a journey into hell is realistic: colored smoke grenades are standard military equipment.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

156

Light As Story

157

Figures 6.54 through 6.63. In The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, the old West is captured in naturalistic photography with varieties of soft, warm light, window light, and gas lamps by DP Roger Deakins.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

158

Most of the films I have shot have been based in reality, so it follows that much of what I do is founded in a naturalistic approach. Roger Deakins

Light As Story

159

Figures 6.64 through 6.71. Roger Deakins’ lighting in Barton Fink reinforces the isolation, loneliness, and the sleaziness that literally ooze from the walls of the cheap hotel the character takes a room in.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

160

I am finding that my lighting becomes more and more simplified as I gain experience, which facilitates moving the camera more easily. I always operate myself and so I am very aware of the flexibility I need as an operator. With that in mind I have always tended to light for the situation and not a single shot. It is hopeless to light a close shot, however brilliantly, only to find that the lighting used can in no way be justified in a wider view. Roger Deakins

Light As Story

161

Figures 6.72 through 6.81. The glitzy side of Hollywood is contrasted with its dark underbelly in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, shot by DP Michael Barrett. It is especially interesting for its use of cyan as moonlight, which is more commonly blue or blue-magenta. The unusual color choice perfectly captures the mood of the film.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

162

Light As Story

163

Figures 6.82 through 6.91. Los Angeles in the 1940s is portrayed as gaudy but subdued by the lighting of Gangster Squad; shot by the brilliant Italian DP Dante Spinotti.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

164

Light As Story

165

Figures 6.92 through 6.101. The garish, neon-lit streets of Osaka contrasted with the dark, shadowy world of the Yakusa are the visual themes of Rising Sun.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

166

Light As Story

167

Figures 6.102 through 6.111. Ranging from cold blues to warm sepias and intense orange/yellows, Skyfall manages a variety of lighting techniques and a wide range of hues in the pallet. The lighting style and color tone of each scene exactly fit the story intent at that moment.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

168

Light As Story

169

Figures 6.112 through 6.121. The film Drive has been called “sunbaked film noir” and “a Los Angeles neo-noir, a neon-lit crime story,” and the lighting by DP Newton Thomas Sigel together with gaffer Tony Nakonechnyj underscores these visual themes.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

170

Figure 6.122. (following page) Shot by cinematographer Michael Southon, a brilliant use of color and lowkey soft lighting makes the music video for Freedom! a masterpiece of the genre. Light As Story

171

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

172

color

Figure 7.1. Newton’s innovation was to take the spectrum and bend it into a circle. Note that the color wheel has magenta even though it does not appear on the spectrum. The secondaries Cyan and Yellow are mixtures of the primaries on either side of them on the spectrum, but Magenta is a mixture of Red and Blue, which are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

GREEN

Cyan

Yellow

RED

BLUE

Magenta

Color is both a powerful artistic and storytelling tool and a complex technical subject. As with most artistic tools, the better you understand the technical side, the better equipped you will be to use it to serve your creative purposes. Although we’ll be delving into the science and technology of color, it is important to never lose sight of the fact that it all comes down to human perception—the eye/brain combination and how it interprets the light waves that come in is the basis of everything we do in this area. As for technology, never forget that when it comes to achieving your artistic and crafts person goals—anything goes; you are never constrained by some “techie” requirement, unless, of course, ignoring that technical aspect is going to interfere with what you finally want to achieve.

Color Terminology

What we commonly call color is more properly termed hue. Value is how light or dark a color is and saturation is how “colorful” it is; in video we more commonly call it chroma saturation or just chroma. A desaturated color in everyday terms might be called a pastel. These terms are the basis for two color models: Hue/Saturation/Value (HSV) and Hue/Saturation/Lightness (HSL). These systems are widely used in computer graphics and sometimes show up in applications used in dealing with video streams or individual frames (such as when adjusting a frame or frames in Photoshop, for example); they are widely used in color pickers which are almost always a part of visual software. Derived from the color wheel (Figure 7.1), it is easy to conceptualize hue as a circle and saturation as its distance from neutral white in the center. This is shown in Figure 7.5; this is a simple visualization of hue, color mixing, and chroma saturation decreasing to white (no saturation). However, it does not show value/lightness decreasing Motion Picture and Video Lighting

174

Mixture of medium and long waves

Warm Medium waves

Long waves

Mixture of medium and short waves

Mixture of short and long waves Short waves

to black. This is a pervasive problem with illustrating and graphing color models since there are usually three important axes; it is hard to do it in on the two-dimensional space of paper.

Color Temperature: The Balances

Cool

Figure 7.2. (above) Warm and cool colors. This is a psychological phenomenon; in terms of physics, the color temperature of Blue is “hotter” (higher in degrees Kelvin) than Red but this has little to do with our perceptual reaction to colors. Figure 7.3. (left) The basic color chart shows the primary colors: Long wavelengths (Red), Medium wavelengths (Green), and short wavelengths (Blue), and the secondary colors that result from mixing two primaries equally.

Even simple consumer cameras can be set to “daylight,” but what is daylight? It’s not sunlight, which tends to be warmer due to the yellow sun of Earth; it’s not sky light, which is very blue, it’s a combination of the two. It is a somewhat arbitrary standard, established back in the fifties when someone went out on the front lawn of the Bureau of National Standards in Washington at noon with a color meter. They determined that daylight was 5600K. The units are K, for degrees Kelvin and this is called color temperature. The ° symbol is not used with the Kelvin scale. (Some cameras use 5500K.) If you heat a black body radiator (such as a piece of metal) to 3200K it will be the same orange color as the light bulbs we use in filmmaking; in other words, the Kelvin scale is sort of a common sense application of the terms “red hot,” “white hot,” etc. Here’s the funny part: a lower temperature makes the color “warmer,” where logic would imply that making it hotter makes it “warmer” in color (Figure 7.2). On this scale the average color temperature of daylight is 5600K—5500K and 6500K are also sometimes used as the average “daylight.” Consumer cameras (and most DSLRs) have other preset white balances in addition to daylight and tungsten. These usually include open shade, which is much cooler because it is mostly sky light which is much bluer; the same applies to overcast days, where warmer direct sunlight is not a factor.

Warm and Cool

On the warmer end of the scale are things like household light bulbs, candles, and other smaller sources which are in the 2000K to 3000K range. All this brings us to the question: what do we mean when we say “warm” or “cool” colors? Clearly it doesn’t relate to the color

Figure 7.4. (below) Color temperature in degrees Kelvin. Lower color temperature is Red/Orange; higher color temperature is bluer. 10000 K — Clear Sky

5600K — Average Daylight 4800K — Sunlight at Noon

3200K — Incandescent (Tungsten) 2600K — Candle Light

Color

175

Hue

Blue/Red-Orange Axis (measured in degrees Kelvin) on ati tur Sa

e

lu Va

Figure 7.5. (above) Hue, what most people think of as “color” is measured around the color wheel. Value goes from dark to light (Red is used as the example here), and Saturation is the “colorfulness”—high saturation is the color as very intense and low saturation is the color as a pale tint. Figure 7.6. (right) The two axes of color: Red/Orange-to-Blue and Magenta-to-Green. They are completely separate and have to be measured separately, which is why all color meters have two different measurements: Degrees Kelvin and CC (Color Correction) Index.

Magenta/Green Axis (measured as CC index)

temperature; in fact, it works in the opposite direction (Figure 7.2). Color temperatures above 5000K are commonly called cool colors (blueish), while lower color temperatures (roughly 2700–3500K) are called warm colors (yellow through red). Their relation on the color wheel is shown in Figure 7.1. The color temperatures of black body radiators are also shown in Figure 7.10; it is called the black body locus, meaning that it is a collection of points, not a single instance. Color temperature is a useful tool but it doesn’t tell us everything about the color of a light source; specifically, it doesn’t tell us anything about how much green or magenta is in a light’s radiation. This is a problem because many modern light sources have a lot of green in them, usually a very unpleasant amount, especially for skin tone; these sources include fluorescent tubes, CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lights) and even some HMIs (which we talked about in the chapter Lighting Sources). All of these produce light by electrically exciting a gas (LEDs work by a process called electroluminescence). Because color temperature and green (and its opposite magenta) are two different aspects of light, they have to be measured separately. For this reason, color meters will have two scales and output two measurements: one in degrees Kelvin (color temperature) and the other in Color Compensation (CC) units (the magenta/green scale, sometimes called tint). Cameras will have similar controls.

Magenta vs. Green

We tend to think of this process as purely about tungsten vs. daylight; this is probably because in the days of shooting on film emulsion, the manufacturers made only two types of film: tungsten or daylight. When shooting film in a lighting situation that included green (such as fluorescent in an office) you had only a few choices: Motion Picture and Video Lighting

176

Figure 7.7. (top) A neutral gray scale with the color balance skewed toward warm light. Notice how the trace on the vectorscope is pulled toward red/orange. Figure 7.8. (middle) The same chart with color balance skewed toward blue—the vectorscope trace is pulled toward blue. Figure 7.9. (bottom) The gray scale with neutral color balance—the vectorscope shows a small dot right in the center, indicating that there is no color at all—zero saturation.

• Turn off the fluorescents and provide your own lighting. • Put Minus Green (magenta) gels on the existing fluorescents. • Filter the camera lens with a Minus Green (magenta) filter. • Add Plus Green to your lights on the set and shoot a gray card for reference and fix it in post. This is not always necessary with a video camera, because the white balance function on the camera is capable of removing a color cast that takes the image away from a neutral appearance (obviously does not apply to creative choices concerning color tone). This includes green/magenta imbalance as well as red/blue (daylight/tungsten) color shifts. However, altering the lighting is still often the best choice for maintaining control of the color. Lighting situations, especially those that involve a mixture of different types of sources, are seldom about just getting a mechanically “OK” neutral appearance. Importantly, fluorescent and other “green” sources are seldom full-spectrum light—their emissions are discontinuous and heavy in the green part of the spectrum and thus won’t reproduce color faithfully. Color

177

Figure 7.10. The anatomy of the CIE Diagram. Not unlike the color wheel, it starts with the spectrum. The Spectral Locus (horseshoe) represents the colors of the spectrum at maximum saturation, with saturation decreasing as you move toward the center, where all colors mix to create white. At the bottom is the Line of Non-Spectral Purples (Magentas) which are not spectrally pure in that they can only be achieved by mixing—they don’t appear in the original spectrum, just as there is no magenta in a rainbow. Near the middle is the locus of the colors of a black body radiator at various temperatures. As you can see, no single one of them can be considered to be “pure white.” Shown here is the 1931 version.

380

Blue

480

500

520

Cyan

560

600

Green

680

Red

Yellow

520

The Spectral Locus (Spectrally pure hues)

560 500

2000K 3200K

600

“White” 6000K 680

10000K

s ple Pur g) ral y mixin t c b pe

480

380

d S on- ieve f N ach e o nly be n i L no a (C

The CIE Diagram

Over the centuries, there have been dozens of different color systems—attempts to quantify color in diagrams or numbers. To some extent, all of them are pretty much theoretical. What was needed was a system based on actual human perception of color. This is why the CIE (International Commission on Illumination or in French Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage) was formed in 1913 to conduct research into color science to develop international standards for colorimetry.

The Spectral Locus

Today, you will see the CIE chromaticity diagram (Figure 7.10) just about everywhere that video color is being discussed. It is so significant that we need to examine it in detail. First is the “horseshoe” shape with the various hues. The curved outline of this diagram is really just the spectrum bent into the horseshoe shape. This outer boundary is called the spectral locus—it is the line of the pure hues of the spectrum at maximum saturation. Also note that not all hues reach maximum saturation at the same level. Within the area enclosed by the spectral locus are all of the colors that the human eye can perceive. One tenet of color science is that if the human eye can’t see it, it isn’t really a color. Sometimes color science strays over that boundary into what are called imaginary colors or non-realizable color, but these are for purely mathematical and engineering reasons.

The White Point

In the center is a white point, where all the colors mix together to form white. It is not a single point—the CIE includes several white points call illuminants, all of them along the black body locus we talked about earlier. In the example shown in Figure 7.10, the white point Motion Picture and Video Lighting

178

Figure 7.11. How filters work—they allow only light that is the same color as the filter to pass. For secondary colors, it passes the two component colors. This applies to both gel filters for lighting and to camera filters.

Cyan filter Red Green

Green

Blue

Blue

Cyan

Magenta filter Red

Red

Green

Magenta

Blue

Blue

Yellow filter Red

Red

Green

Green

Yellow

Blue shown is D65, which is roughly the same thing (in theory) as a scene lit with daylight balance light. Other CIE Illuminants include A: Tungsten, F2: Cool White Fluorescents, and D55 (5500K). There is no one official standard but D65 (6500K) is the most widely used as the white point for monitors.

The Line of Purples

Along the bottom straight edge is an especially interesting part of the diagram: the line of non-spectral purples, commonly called the line of purples. Think back to Newton’s color wheel, which bent around to join the short wave end of the spectrum (Blues) with the long wave end (Reds) and results in magenta and its variations—all of the purples. These are colors that can only be achieved by mixing.

Color Balance with Gels and Filters

The term gel refers to color material that is placed over lights, windows, or other sources in the scene. Filter is the term for anything placed in front of the lens to (among other things) control color. There are gel-type filters that can be used in front of the lens, but these are not commonly used in film production. Color

179

Figure 7.12. All companies that make lighting gels have gel books available for free. These include samples of their color gels and diffusions. This gel book from Rosco shows CTB, CTO, and Minus Green, the three most commonly used color gels in film lighting.

There are three basic reasons to change the color of lighting in a scene, which can be done by adding gels to the sources or by using daylight or tungsten units, or a combination of them: • To correct the color of the lights to match the film type or color balance of a video camera. • To match lighting sources within the scene to achieve overall color harmony. The trend nowadays is to let the sources be different colors. • For effect or mood. Gelling the lighting sources gives you more control over the scene since not all lights have to be the same color. Using a filter on the camera makes everything uniformly the same color. The exception to this is filters called grads, which change color from top to bottom or left to right or diagonally depending on how they are positioned. It is important to remember that gels and filters only work by removing certain wavelengths of light, not by adding color. The three basic filter/gels families used in film and video production are conversion, light balancing, and color compensating. This applies to both lighting gels and camera filters. See Table 7.1 for just a few of the most commonly used types. There are also hundreds of gels that are random, non-calibrated colors called party gels (Figure 7.13).

Conversion Gels

Conversion gels convert daylight to tungsten or tungsten to daylight balance. They are by far the most commonly used color gels in film and video production. They are an essential part of any gel package you bring on a production. In general, daylight sources are in the range of 5400K to 6500K, although they can range much higher. Near sunrise and sunset, they are much warmer because the sun is traveling through a much thicker layer of atmosphere and more of the blue wavelengths are filtered out. The amount of dust and huMotion Picture and Video Lighting

180

Figure 7.13. Color gels that are not color calibrated (such as CTO, CTB, Minus Green, etc.) are called party gels.

midity in the air are also factors, which accounts for the different colorings of sun and sky at various times of the day, in different locales, or in different weather conditions. Daylight sources include: • Daylight itself (daylight is a combination of direct sun and open sky). • HMIs, Xenons, and some LED lights. • Cool-white or daylight-type fluorescents. • Color correct fluorescent tube that can be daylight balance. • Dichroic sources such as FAYs. • Arcs lights with white flame carbons (rarely used nowadays).

Light Balancing Gels

Light balancing gels are for warming or cooling the color temperature of the sources, which means they affect lights on the blue-orange axis. Various grades are available so that a source can be fully corrected (such as from daylight to tungsten balance) or only partially corrected such as to just “warm up” a scene. Light balancing gels also deal with warm versus cool color but in smaller ranges and more subtle corrections. Light balancing gels are used when only a slight correction is needed; they may also deviate from the strict blue to orange range. In the Wratten system, filters that begin with 82 are cooling filters, and those that begin with 81 are warming filters.

CTO

Correction to match tungsten balance is achieved with either 85 (camera filter) or CTO (a lighting gel), both of which are orange filters. They have the same effect; the reason they have different names is due to the history of their development: 85 is a Wratten number, which is a system developed by Kodak for filters. Their designation The Basic Gel Families 85

Conversion

Used to convert daylight to tungsten

80

Conversion

Used to convert tungsten to daylight

82

Light Balancing

Used to slightly cool the light

81

Light Balancing

Used to slightly warm the light

80

Blue

Used to cool the light

Table 7.1. The basic color gel families. Color

181

1/4 CTO

1/2 CTO

Full CTO

1/4 CTB

1/2 CTB

Full CTB

Converts 5500K to 4500K

Converts 5500K to 3800K

Converts 6500K to 3200K

Converts 3200K to 3500K

Converts 3200K to 3500K

Converts 3200K to 5500K

Figure 7.14. Color conversion values for the CTO and CTB series. Some companies make additional gels in these series, such as Double and 1/3 CTO and CTB.

system has been widely accepted in photography and filmmaking. CTO is the acronym for Color Temperature Orange. This means that it will convert 6500K (cool daylight) to 3200K (tungsten balance), which is excellent when correcting daylight sources such as HMIs (Figure 7.14) An important variation of CTO is the combination of color correction and neutral density. In many cases when we are filming inside a room, the windows will be the wrong color (too blue) and much too bright. For these gels the 85 designation is used, so the flavors are 85ND3, 85ND6, or 85ND9, meaning that in addition to the warming effect, they also reduce the amount of light by one, two, or three stops. CTO is used not only for color correction but also to warm up the lights. It’s an old adage that everybody looks better under warm light; so warming a scene with half CTO, quarter, or eighth CTO is a common practice. Every DP and gaffer has preferences as to how to approach making the light on a scene warmer. Some use dimmers on tungsten lights; dimming these lights shifts them toward red/orange. Gel manufacturers provide a wide range of both warming and cooling gels that allow for great subtlety in lighting your shots. It is important to remember, however, that both of these methods change the color of the entire scene. Putting gels on lights or windows allows you to be selective with what lights and what parts of the scene you want to change.

CTB

Filters for converting warm tungsten sources to nominal daylight are called full blue, Tough Blue, or CTB (Color Temperature Blue). The problem with “blueing the lights” is that CTB has a transmission of 36%, while CTO (the equivalent of an 85 filter) has a transmission of 58%. This means that while you lose almost a stop and a half with CTB, you lose only about 2/3 of a stop with CTO. Also, because it is so dense, CTB tends to “burn out” faster than other types of gels, this results in a color shift which can be visible if it takes a long time to complete all the coverage on a scene. CTB is inefficient; it can be used to balance tungsten lights inside a room with the daylight blue Motion Picture and Video Lighting

182

window light that is coming in. The window light is far more powerful than the tungsten lights to begin with. If we then lose a stop and a half by adding CTB, we are really in trouble. The alternatives are: • Put 85 on the windows and shoot at tungsten balance. By doing this, we avoid killing the tungsten lights with a heavy blue gel, we don’t have to use an 80B on the camera, and we lose 2/3 of a stop off the windows, which may help keep them more in balance. • Put 1/2 85 on the windows and 1/2 blue on the lights. • Put 1/2 CTB on the lights and let the windows go slightly blue. This is actually a more naturalistic color effect. • Daylight balance lights inside: use HMIs, LEDs, or Kino Flos with daylight balance tubes.

Color Correction Gels

CC or color correction gels deal with the magenta versus green color range, the other axis that we measure and utilize in lighting film productions. CC gels primarily come into play when dealing with sources other than tungsten or HMI lamps, especially fluorescent lights and industrial sources such as mercury vapor and sodium vapor lights.

Dealing with Fluorescent Light

One of the most common color problems we face today is shooting in locations where the dominant source is fluorescent light. The problem with fluorescents is that they are not a continuous spectrum source and in most cases their output is very heavy in the green part of the spectrum. Another problem is that even if they may appear to be approximately correct in color, their discontinuous spectra may cause them to have a low Color Rendering Index (CRI). As a result, fluorescents cannot be corrected only by changing the color with a gel on the lighting unit or filter on the camera lens. All of this also applies to sources such as orange sodium vapor lights (often used for street lights) and blueish mercury vapor (frequently used in parking lots). These are all classified as discharge sources because they produce light from a glowing gas excited by electrical discharge. Because of their discontinuous spectra, discharge sources can’t be considered to have a true color temperature in degrees Kelvin. The black body color temperature that they approximate is called the Correlated Color Temperature (CCT). A good color meter is invaluable in these situations (Figures 7.18, 7.19, and 7.20). If you don’t have one, you can hold correction gels over the lens to test. Remember that correcting for undesired colors does not necessarily give these sources an adequate Color

183

Table 7.2. Camera filters can be used to match existing off-color industrial sources. This can also give you an indication of how to gel your lights to match these industrial lights.

CAMERA FILTERS FOR INDUSTRIAL SOURCES Color Balance Tungsten

Daylight

Existing Source

Camera Filters

High-Pressure Sodium

80B + CC30M

Metal Halide

85 + CC50M

Mercury Vapor

85 + CC50B

High-Pressure Sodium

80B + CC50B

Metal Halide

81A + CC30M

Mercury Vapor

81A + CC50M

CRI (Color Rendering Index), and they may never be truly color correct no matter what you do. Additional tips on shooting with fluorescents, industrial lights, and other sources: • Shoot a gray card or calibration chart at the head of a scene. • Shooting with ordinary fluorescents alone and removing the green in post results in a very flat color rendition. Adding some lights (such as tungsten with Plus Green) gives a much fuller color feeling to the image. • When shooting a large area, it is often more efficient to add green to your lights than to have the crew gelling existing lights, which may be numerous or inaccessible. • When you add Plus Green or Fluorofilter to lights, they give a light that looks wrong to the eye.

Correcting Off-Color Lights

All lights that are discontinuous sources (that is, they have spikes in their color spectrum), may have variations from neutral along the green-magenta axis. We often have to correct these discrepancies in order to achieve neutral color balance.

HMI

HMIs sometimes run a little too blue and are voltage dependent, they also change color as they age. Unlike tungsten lights, their color temperature goes up as voltage decreases. For slight correction Y-1 or Rosco MT 54 can be used. For more correction, use 1/8 or 1/4 CTO. Many HMIs also run a little green or magenta. Have 1/8 and 1/4 correction gels available.

Industrial Lamps

Various types of high-efficiency lamps are found in industrial and public space situations. They fall into three general categories: sodium vapor, metal halide, and mercury vapor. All of these lights have discontinuous spectra and are dominant in one color. They all have very low CRIs. It is possible to shoot with them if some corrections are made. High-pressure sodium lamps are very orange and contain a great deal of green. Low-pressure sodium is a monochromatic light and so they are impossible to fully correct. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

184

Camera Filtration for Industrial Sources

Table 7.2 shows recommended starting points for using camera filtration to correct off-balance industrial sources. They are approximations only—obviously, these units are not manufactured with much attention to precise color balance. These gel combinations should be confirmed with metering and testing. In video you may be able to correct partly with the camera’s white balance function. In film, never fail to shoot a grayscale and some skin tone for a color corrector’s guide in post. Only with these references will the color timer or video transfer colorist be able to quickly and accurately correct the color. For more detailed information on controlling color at the camera and at the DIT cart, see Cinematography: Theory and Practice and The Filmmaker’s Guide to Digital Imaging, also by Blain Brown and from Routledge/Focal Press.

Measuring Color

There are several useful tools for measuring color that everyone involved in lighting should know about.

Color Meters

Color meters can be a bit expensive but they are valuable tools for getting proper color balance. If you’re using daylight, or all one type of source (all tungsten, all HMI, etc.) then you really don’t need to use one. If, however, your set has a mix of daylight, HMI, fluorescent, and practical lamps, a color meter will be very helpful in getting the color balance where you want it. Modern color meters will give you two readings: one for color temperature (warm vs. cool) and a separate reading for color correction (CC) which is a measure of the magenta-green axis. This is the one that’s especially important if you are using fluorescents, cheap LEDs, or HMIs in some cases.

s The dominant look of Fight Club is uncorrected fluorescent bulbs— overall green and color desaturated.

Color meters are of limited usefulness with fluorescents and LEDs. Especially LEDs. It’s better to use them as a relative tool that guides you, rather than take them literally. Undercorrecting light sources often works because gel spectra don’t always perfectly match the spectra of the lights you’re trying to correct. For example, a minus green gel has a gentle roll-off that doesn’t match the green spike of a fluorescent. Using a dense enough gel to remove the green spike may overcompensate and remove too much of the surrounding spectra as well, resulting in a magenta cast. Often partial correction balances this out. DP Art Adams

DP and VFX specialist Mark Weingartner, ASC, has this to say about color meters: “When I started as a gaffer on documentary projects in film where we were adjusting our lights to match various fluorescents, I used my mentor’s Minolta Color Meter—the old Color

185

one with the swivel head that used about twenty dollars worth of mercury batteries per day if you forgot to turn it off. I soon bought my own Minolta Color Meter II which, as a tricolor meter did not totally completely get it right with all fluorescents in film but was way better than guessing. Back then the choices were pretty limited: Warm White, Cool White, Warm White Delux, Vita-Light, Chroma 32, and Chroma 50 and other than color temp, the main issue was dealing with the 541nm green spike which is a gas emission line from the mercury gas in every fluorescent tube to excite the phosphors coating the inside of the tube. “The Minolta Color Meter II was also pretty useful trimming various HMI lights of different wattages and ages to match each other enough to prevent unhappiness because the overall characteristics of HMI lights were pretty similar to each other and we were just trimming small differences “With the advent of solid-state lighting of various sorts and quality my Minolta Color Meter II has earned a place in a cardboard box along with my Weston meter, my old Sylvania meters, my moving needle Spectra Pros and Candelas, and all sorts of other meters that will never come to the set again. No simple tricolor meter can be trusted to tell you enough useful info about LED lights to be able to match sources to each other. I have had a fair bit of experience at this point using the Sekonic C-700 to characterize light from LED and other discontinuous sources...

Figure 7.16. (top) The Sekonic C700U color meter. (Photo courtesy Sekonic). Figure 7.17. (bottom) The Gossen Color Pro color meter. (Photo courtesy of GossenFoto- und Lichtmesstechnik GmbH).

“And it has a nice feature that allows you to overlay the spectra of two or three measured sources so you can see how their peaks, valleys, spikes and dips line up. I think that the combination of its creating a profile in its measurement of many narrow band points along the spectrum makes it useful compared to all of the various tricolor meters that were bad enough with fluorescent lamps and are pretty much useless for LED sources. It has another feature that lets you store a large number of readings so that you can, if you want, read a bunch of lights (as I have) and recall various light profiles from memory to compare to the light sources you are finding on your locations. “The meter makes recommendations as to which gels or filters to use to correct, but as a former gaffer my way of trying to match one source to another is more old-school... I would keep reading my light as I put swatches of various gels in front of the filter until I saw that I was getting close enough. That way I am looking at the way actual gel affects an actual light instead of relying on the very clever math that the meter is doing based on what it thinks the filter is doing. “Two observations: 1. I tend to slightly under-correct any sources relative to the main source lighting my talent as I can tolerate and I often prefer some

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

186

color differences between sources from different directions. Note that as a recovering theatrical lighting designer this has been a standard way of adding some modeling to lighting.

Figure 7.18. The Sekonic C-700 has an extraordinary range of color measurements.

2. The meter can tell you a lot and the meter plus experience on previous jobs with similar location architectural lighting can tell you even more, but because the camera sensors of different manufacturers “see” light and make color differently based on the filters on the sensor (and often models or generations within a given manufacturer’s line) my caution would be to remind you that the meter will give you a lot of information but you might want to tweak the color of your lights from what the meter thinks once you have the camera in the room. That is an annoying reality we will never get away from again with solid state lighting sources and digital cameras. So, the C-700 costs a lot of money. Is it useful enough to have one? I say that if you are doing a lot of location work where you are adding accents and other lights to a base laid down by existing architectural lights or area lights the C-700 will be more useful than the other color meters used in photographic work and more useful than a spectroradiometer that will show you a spectrum but not tell you much about it. Color

187

Figure 7.19. (right) The iPhone app Color Meter II, combined with the Luxi dome makes a convenient and accurate color meter as well as an exposure meter. It also suggests what color correction is needed to achieve neutral color balance. (Photo courtesy Adam Wilt).

The C-700 has several different customizable ways to display the data from a given reading—data, suggested filters, spectral curves, and CRI. While CRI is NOT a reliable way to match sources, it does tell you something. The C-700 has a CRI mode that essentially gives you a bar graph showing the relative strengths of the different colors that are used in deriving CRI. That quickly tells you if a light has a good CRI because it has pretty good colors all around or if it has a good CRI because it perfectly matches seven of the colors and the eighth color is way, way, way down. (If that eighth color is red, by the way, Caucasian skin and coca cola cans are both likely to come out looking a bit off.) If you own your own lights, I would recommend that you store readings of them in the meter at various light settings and that way when you are on location you can compare them to the lights on location.” Motion Picture and Video Lighting

188

Red: 256°

Figure 7.20. The vectorscope is a valuable color reference for the DP, the gaffer, and the DIT. For a more detailed discussion of the vectorscope and waveform monitor see Cinematography: Theory and Practice and The Filmmaker’s Guide to Digital Imaging, both by Blain Brown and available from Focal Press.

Magenta: 299°

Yellow: 192° 0° Blue: 12°

Green: 119°

Cyan: 76°

The Vectorscope

The vectorscope is useful to the camera department and to the DIT, but it can be a useful tool for lighting as well. It is a graphic representation of the color distribution of the scene (Figures 7.20 and 7.21). It is based on the color wheel.

Calibration Test Charts

In the era of analog cameras from the early days of television until relatively recently, cameras need almost constant maintenance to keep them “on target.” Cameras are pretty stable in these digital days but there are still lots of things that can happen to an image, for better or worse: lighting, exposure, compression, recording format, camera settings—the list goes on and on. All of these make in-frontof-the-camera calibration test charts absolutely essential.

DSC Labs Test Charts

Without a doubt the top-of-the-line, the Lamborghini of test charts are those from DSC Labs in Toronto, in particular, the ChromaDuMonde—you will see this chart in use on nearly every professional set using video cameras, in almost every rental house, and in use by cinematographers and camera assistants everywhere (Figure 7.21). The anatomy of this chart is shown in Figure 7.22. It consists of an 11 step crossed gray scale and 28 color patches which include primaries, secondaries, and four typical skin tone patches. One of the most useful and important features is in the center—called the Cavi-Black, it is a hole in the chart which is backed by a black velvet-lined box. This forms something that is truly black, zero percent video. When aligning a scene on the waveform monitor, having a reference that we absolutely know where it belongs on the display is a huge help. On either side of the Cavi-Black are 90% white patches, the most Color

189

Figure 7.21. (top) The DSC Labs ChromaduMonde test chart and its signal shown on a vectorscope. Figure 7.22. (above) Anatomy of the DSC Labs ChromaduMonde.

reflective that can be achieved with printed materials. Many people still refer to white patches such as this as 100% white—it isn’t. The background of the entire chart is 18% neutral gray—another important reference point for exposure. The chart is glossy, which gives deeper blacks and thus more contrast. Glossy also means that reflections and glares are readily visible and can be dealt with; this also means that careful positioning and lighting of the card is important as glares and reflections will most definitely interfere with proper use of the test target.

The One Shot

Cinematographer and author Art Adams, who consults for DSC Labs, designed a quick field reference test chart called the OneShot; it consists of black, white, and middle gray patches, the primary and secondary colors, and four typical skin tone patches (Figure 7.23). Motion Picture and Video Lighting

190

Figure 7.23. The DSC Labs OneShot, designed by DP Art Adams, is a quick and handy color reference.

Adams points out that if one is setting up a camera, grayscale references are vital for adjusting exposure, but tell you little about alterations made in the color matrix—these are much more easily tracked in the color patches and especially the skin tone areas. Blogging at ProVideoCoalition.com, Adams writes about this chart: “In the old days, we shot an 18% gray card to tell a film dailies timer where we wanted our exposure placed and what color we wanted dailies to be. Now that film is being replaced by HD a simple gray card is no longer enough, because while film colors are fixed by emulsion, video colors are not. A gray card in video doesn’t communicate anything about accurate color. That’s why I designed the DSC Labs OneShot dailies reference chart. “The DSC Labs OneShot is intended to give a colorist the most information possible without taking up a lot of time on set. The chart contains white and black chips for white and black balancing (yes, black has a color, and if it’s not right your entire image will suffer); an 18% gray chip for exposure; four common flesh tone references; and the Rec.709 primary and secondary colors, at 50% saturation. This chart is only truly usable for Rec.709 colorimetry, which is HD colorimetry. We’re working on a digital cinema version, but for now, this will do as dailies are frequently viewed in Rec.709.

I use my OneShot to match lights on set all the time. For example, I recently shot dark gray product against a white background, and had to use all LED lights for power conservation. None of these lights perfectly matched each other when set to 5500K. I white balanced the camera to the key light, and then took turns turning all lights off except for the next one I wanted to look at. I then used the chart and a parade RGB scope to individually adjust the other lights to match the first one. I was able to make all the lights appear to be the same hue, which was crucial when shooting a monochromatic product on a monochromatic set. DP Art Adams

“The Rec.709 primaries and secondaries are printed at 50% saturation because it is impossible to print them at full saturation: their colors, as seen properly on a monitor, are more saturated than modern printing technology can reproduce. The primaries and secondaries are perhaps the most important references on the chart. It is certainly possible to neutralize the image using only white and black references but this doesn’t necessarily mean that color will be accurate after doing so: the camera’s matrix generally doesn’t affect neuColor

191

Figure 7.24. (top) Dark, green tinted, and not full spectrum is the color of the streets at night—the primary world in which Nightcrawler exists. Figure 7.25. (bottom) The X-Rite Color Checkers for video, full size, and pocket versions.

tral tones (white, black and gray) but it always affects colors. White balance means that neutral tones will appear white, but says very little about how red, green, blue, cyan, yellow and magenta are rendered.” DSC Labs adds this about the OneShot—“Color charts are often technically more accurate than the cameras that photograph them. Different manufacturers have their own ‘secret sauce’ formulas for defining how their cameras reproduce colors, so while the chart is accurate, it’s important to know that some cameras may have difficulty reproducing certain colors. For example, most cameras can’t reproduce the color green saturation level that puts the green chip into the green target box on a vectorscope. “The most important way to ensure color accuracy is not necessarily to make the chart colors fall into their vectorscope boxes, but rather to ensure that they fall on their ‘vectors’, or the lines that run from the center of the scope through each color target. Color accuracy is determined by whether those colors land on their vectors; color saturation is determined by how far away from the center of the scope they land. Saturation depends on a lot of variables, including the camera used and the desired look. Placing the colors on their vectors almost always matters more. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

192

Figure 7.26. Overall color tone in O Brother, Where Art Thou?

“This chart’s primary use is to ensure that dailies remain as constant as possible once a look has been determined. As the chart contains unmistakable color references that line up with targets built into any standard vectorscope, it’s fairly simple to reproduce the DP’s intended look for dailies, or to use the chart as a starting point to neutralize the footage and then add an additional look from there.”

The X-Rite ColorChecker Although some people still call it the Macbeth color checker chart (the original name), it is actually now made by the X-Rite company (Figure 7.25). You will see it frequently in camera tests, lighting tests, and other places where a familiar color reference is needed. Some color correction software can also use it (and other color test charts) for automated white balance. Also see Figures 6.31 and 6.36 through 6.40) in the chapter Digital Color in The Filmmaker’s Guide to Digital Imaging, by the same author, also from Focal Press.

Color As a Storytelling Tool As with everything in film production, stylistic choices affect the technical choices and vice versa. This is especially true with color correction. Until a few years ago, considerable time and money were spent on correcting every single source on the set. Now there is more of a tendency to “let them go green” (or blue or yellow or whatever)—a much more naturalistic look and has become a style all its own, influenced by films such as The Matrix, Fight Club, Seven, and others. More extreme color schemes for particular scenes or the entire film are frequently used. These are accomplished through lighting on the set, filtration, adding a Look or LUT to the camera while shooting, or with color correction at the DIT cart or final color correction in post. One of the earliest (and still one of the best) examples of adding an overall color palette to a film was in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Figure 7.26). Another excellent use of color in lighting is Fight Club (Figure 7.27), one of the first films to not correct the green tint of ordinary fluorescent lights, which is a key element of the grunge, industrial look of the film. Color

193

Figure 7.27. Fight Club (1999), photographed by Jeff Cronenweth. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

194

exposure

Exposure Theory

Frankly, exposure can get pretty technical, so it’s important to grasp the basic concepts first before we plunge into the world of exposure control for technical and artistic purposes. Let’s take a look at exposure the simple way just to ease into it. As a camera person or DIT, you may think you completely understand exposure (and you may well do), but it is also very possible that there’s a lot more to it than you may have thought. This introduction is a bit simplified, but it will provide a working understanding of exposure that is useful without being too technical. First of all, there is one notion that has to be put away right now: some people think of exposure as nothing more than “it’s too dark” or “it’s too light”—that’s only part of the story. There are many other important aspects of exposure that are vitally important to understand.

What Do We Want Exposure to Do for Us?

What is it we want from exposure? More precisely, what is “good” exposure and what is “bad” exposure? Let’s take a typical scene, an average one. It will have something in the frame that is very dark, almost completely black. It will also have something that is almost completely white, maybe a white lace tablecloth with sun falling on it. In between, it will have the whole range of dark to light values— the middle tones, some very dark tones, some very light tones. From a technical viewpoint, we want it to be reproduced exactly as it appeared in real life—with the black areas being reproduced as black in the finished product, the white areas reproduced as white, and the middle tones reproduced as middle tones. This is the dream. Now, of course, there will be times when you want to deliberately under or overexpose for artistic purposes, and that is fine. In this discussion, we are only talking about theoretically ideal exposure, but that is what we are trying to do in the vast majority of cases anyway. So how do we do that? How do we exactly reproduce the scene in front of us? Let’s look at the factors involved. Figure 8.1 shows film negative underexposed, overexposed, and at normal exposure. The Bucket

Let’s talk about the recording medium itself. In film shooting it is the raw film stock; in video, it is the sensor chip, which takes the light that falls on it and converts it to electronic signals. For our purposes here, they are both the same: exposure principles apply equally to both film and video, with some exceptions. They both do the same job: recording and storing an image that is formed by patterns of light and shadow that are focused on them by the lens. In this context, we’ll only mention film exposure when it serves the purpose of illustrating a point or highlighting an aspect of general exposure theory. Think of the sensor/recording medium as a bucket that needs to be filled with water. It can hold exactly a certain amount of water, Motion Picture and Video Lighting

196

A

C

E

B

D

F

Figure 8.1. Exposure on film. (A) is normal exposure—good contrast, a full range of tones, and minimal grain. (B) is the negative of the normal exposure. Notice that it also has a full range of tones from near total black (which will print as white) to almost clear negative (which will print as black). (C) is a severely underexposed frame. It’s dark but also very grainy and doesn’t have a full range of tones, hardly anything above middle grays. (D) is the negative of the badly underexposed shot; it's what we call a “thin” negative. (E) is three stops overexposed and (F) is the negative of this shot, it’s what is called a “thick” negative, difficult to get a good print from.

no more, no less. If you don’t put in enough water, it’s not filled up (underexposure). Too much and water slops over the sides and creates a mess (overexposure). What we want to do is give that bucket the exact right amount of water, not too much, not too little—that is ideal exposure. So how do we control how much light reaches the sensor? Again, in this regard, video camera sensors are no different from film emulsion.

Controlling Exposure

We have several ways of regulating how much light reaches the film/ sensor. The first is the iris or aperture, which is nothing more than a light control valve inside the lens. Obviously, when the iris is closed down to a smaller opening, it lets less light through than when it is Exposure

197

LUX

LIGHTING

100,000 +

Direct sunlight

10,000+

Indirect sun

1,0000

Overcast sky

500

Clear sunrise

200-500

Office lighting

80

Hallway

10

Twilight

5

Street lights

1

Candle at 1 m

1

Deep twilight

Table 8.1. Typical light levels in various situations. Clearly, there is an enormous range.

opened up to a larger opening. How open or closed the iris is set for is measured in f/stops (we’ll talk about that in more detail later). Remember, the film or sensor wants only so much light, no more no less (they’re kind of dumb that way). If our scene, in reality, is in the bright sun, we can close down the iris to a small opening to let less of that light through. If our scene is dark, we can open up the iris to a wider opening to let in all the light we can get—but sometimes this will not be enough. There are other things that control how much light from the scene you’re shooting reaches the image plane, which we’ll talk about. Change the Bucket

There is another, more basic way to change the exposure: use a different bucket. Every video sensor has a certain sensitivity to light; it’s part of their design. This means that some are more sensitive to light, and some are less sensitive. It is rated in ISO which stands for International Standards Organization. It was previously called ASA for American Standards Organization. Although the acronym ISO has many other uses (because the organization publishes standards for all sorts of things), in the world of cinematography it signifies a “rating” of the sensitivity of the camera/sensor; the two must be thought of as a unit because some aspects of ISO are actually handled in the Digital Signal Processor and elsewhere in the camera circuitry, not just exclusively in the sensor. In some cases, the term EI (Exposure Index) is used to indicate the sensitivity of the recording medium. The difference is that while ISO is derived from a specific formula, EI is based on what the manufacturer believes will give the best results. A sensor with a low sensitivity needs lots of light to fill it up and make a “good” image. A high-speed film is like using a smaller bucket—you don’t need as much to fill it up. A low-speed sensor is like a larger bucket—it takes more to fill it up, but on the other hand we have more water. In the case of film and video images “having more water” in this analogy means that we have more picture information, which in the end results in a better image. As we’ll see later on, this is one important difference between how film and HD cameras work and how most cameras that shoot RAW work. For more about shooting RAW, see The Filmmaker’s Guide to Digital Imaging, and Cinematography: Theory and Practice by the same author; also published by Focal Press. Art Adams puts it this way: “Every sensor has a clipping point and a noise floor. The trick is to expose a scene to capture the look one wants while keeping the details away from the noise floor and preventing important details from clipping. The quieter a sensor is, the more dynamic range it has, and the more one can push details into the shadows or protect highlight detail. It all comes down to noise control. The farther down the noise floor, the more dynamic range a sensor will have. It all comes down to what has been done on the sensor, and in internal processing, to eliminate noise from the signal.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

198

Max

Negative Density

T lin he e i slo s fi pe lm of ga th m is m a

Shoulder

Midtones

Min

Toe

Figure 8.2. The Hurter and Driffield (H&D) characteristic curve shows the exposure response of a generic type of film—the classic S-curve. The toe is the shadow areas; the shoulder is the highlights of the scene. The straight line (linear) portion of the curve represents the midtones. The slope of the linear portion describes the gamma (contrastiness) of the film—it is different in video. As we’ll see later, although the output of video sensors tends to be linear (not an S-curve like this) it is quite common to add an S-curve to video at some point.

Exposure

“One aspect of speed relates to how big the photo sites are on the sensor. Bigger ones take less time to fill and are more sensitive; smaller ones take longer to fill and are less sensitive. In this way your water analogy works well.”

The Elements of Exposure

Exposure is not one simple thing—we have several elements to contend with in achieving the ideal exposure to achieve the effect we’re going for:

Light

Intensity of light is measured in foot-candles (in the United States) or in lux in metric (SI) countries. A foot-candle (fc) equals 10.76 lux. A foot-candle is the light from a standard candle at a distance of one foot (it’s like the standard horse in horsepower). One lux is the illumination produced by one standard candle at 1 meter. A sensor exposed to a standard candle 1 meter away, receives 1 lux of exposure. Table 8.1 shows some typical lighting levels for common situations. These are just general averages, of course, individual situations may vary greatly, especially when it comes to interiors. As you can see from Table 8.1, the brightness range between the darkest situations humans encounter and the brightest situations is over 100,000 to 1—a fairly amazing range for the eye.

F/Stops

Most lenses have a means of controlling the amount of light they pass through to the film or video sensor; this is called the aperture or iris and its setting is measured in f/stops. The f/stop is the mathematical relationship of overall size of the lens to the size of the aperture. Stop is a short term for f/stop. On a lens the f/stop is the ratio of the focal length of the lens to the diameter of the entrance pupil. This works out to each f/stop being greater than the previous by the square root of 2. Opening up one stop means twice as much light is passing through the iris. Closing down one stop means that one half as much light is going through. Exposure

199

An f/stop is derived from the simple formula:

f = F/D which translates to:

f/stop = Focal length/Diameter of entrance pupil F/stops are frequently used in lighting as well; they don’t only apply to lenses. In lighting, the fundamental concept is that one stop more equals double the amount of light and one stop less means half the amount of light. If the brightest point in the scene has 128 times more luminance than the darkest point (seven stops), then we say it has a seven stop scene brightness ratio. You will sometimes hear the related term T/stop (Transmission stop). Some lenses transmit less light than the formula indicates. A T/stop is determined by measuring the transmission of the lens.

The Response Curve

In the 1890s, Ferdinand Hurter and Vero Driffield invented a way to measure how exposure affected a film negative. The H&D diagram is still used today. Figure 8.2 shows a typical H&D response curve for film negative. The X-axis indicates increasing exposure. The Y-axis is increasing negative density, which we can think of as brightness of the image—more exposure means a brighter image. To the left on the X-axis is the darker parts of the scene, commonly called the shadows. On the diagram, it is called the toe. To the right on the X-axis are the brighter parts of the scene—the highlights, called the shoulder on the diagram. In video, this area is called the knee. The middle part, which is linear, represents midtones.

Underexposure

Figure 8.3 shows underexposure. All of the original scene brightness values are pushed to the left. This means that highlights in the scene are recorded as just light or medium tones. The shadows are pushed down to where there is no detail or separation recorded because the response curve at that point is essentially flat—decreases in exposure at this point result in little or no change in the image brightness—the detail and separation are completely lost.

Overexposure

Figure 8.4 shows overexposure—the scene brightness values are pushed to the right. Dark areas of the scene are recorded as grays instead of variations of black. On the right, the scene highlights have no separation or detail—they are on the flat part of the curve; increases in exposure in the flat part of the curve don’t result in any change in the image: again all detail and separation are lost.

Correct Exposure

Looking at Figure 8.5 we see how theoretically correct exposure places all of the scene values so that they fit nicely on the curve: highlights go up to just where the curve flattens and scene shadows only go down to where they are still recorded as slight variations in image brightness. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

200

Image Brightness

These highlights are lost completely Scene highlights are pushed down to gray

No separation in the shadows

Not enough exposure Scene Brightness

Image Brightness

No separation in scene highlights

Figure 8.3. (top) Underexposure pushes everything to the left of the curve, so the highlights of the scene only get as high as the middle gray part of the curve, while the dark areas of the scene are pushed left into the part of the curve that is flat. This means that they will be lost in darkness without separation and detail. Figure 8.4. (middle) With overexposure, the scene values are pushed to the right, which means that the darkest parts of the scene are rendered as washed out grays. Figure 8.5. (bottom) Correct exposure fits all of the scene brightness values nicely onto the curve. As we’ll see later in this chapter, the visual representation here is very similar to what we see in a histogram.

Scene shadows are pushed up to gray

Dark tones in the scene are lost

Too much exposure Scene Brightness Range

Image Brightness

Highlights roll off gently

All tones of the scene fit onto the curve

Shadows compressed by the curve

Correct exposure Scene Brightness Range

Higher Brightness Range in the Scene The problem is more difficult if we consider a scene that has more stops of brightness than the sensor or film can accommodate. Here there is no aperture setting that will place all of the values on the useful part of the curve. If we expose for the shadows (open up the aperture), we get good rendition of the dark gray and black areas, Exposure

201

Figure 8.6. (left) A properly exposed frame of the DSC Labs Cambelles and its representation on the waveform monitor. Notice how there is a full range of tones from very dark to almost pure white. The two patches of surf beside the blonde model’s head are very close to 100% (pure white) on the waveform. Figure 8.7. (middle) The shot is badly underexposed: very little of the frame even reaches middle gray, and the tones of the scene are crushed together at the bottom. Figure 8.8. (right) This frame is badly overexposed: there are no real blacks or dark areas at all (the darkest tone in the scene only gets down to 40% on the waveform), but worse, all the light tones are clipped at the top. They reach 100% and then flatline—there is no information at all, just blank white, blown out. Clipping cannot be fixed in post!

but the brighter scene values are hopelessly off the scale. If we “expose for highlights” (by closing down to a smaller f/stop), we record all the variations of the light tones, but the dark values are pushed completely off the bottom edge and don’t record at all; there is no information on the negative, no detail to be pulled out.

Two Types of Exposure

There are two ways to think about exposure: overall exposure and balance within the frame. So far we’ve been talking about overall exposure of the entire frame; this is what you can control with the iris, shutter speed, and some other tools, such as neutral density filters, which reduce the total amount of light. You also have to think about balance of exposure within the frame. If you have a scene that has something very bright in the frame and also something that is very dark in the frame, you may be able to expose the whole frame properly for one or the other of them, but not both. This is not something you can fix with the iris, aperture, changing ISO, or anything else with the camera or lens. This is a problem that can only be fixed with lighting and grip equipment; in other words, you have to change the scene. Another way to deal with it in exterior shooting is to shoot at a different time of day, change the angle, or move the scene to another place.

The Bottom Line

Here’s the key point: exposure is about much more than just it’s “too dark” or “too light.” Exposure affects many things: it’s also about whether or not an image will be noisy, it’s about the overall contrast of the image, and it’s about whether or not we will see detail and subtleties in the shadows and in the highlights. It’s also about color saturation and contrast. Overexposure and underexposure will desaturate the color of the scene; this is particularly important in greenscreen and bluescreen shooting. In these situations, we want the background to be as green (or blue) as possible, in order to get a good matte. We’ll talk about chroma key in Technical Issues. The bottom line is this: you will get the best image possible only when your exposure is correct. This is true of still photos on film, motion picture film, digital photography, and, of course, video. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

202

Figure 8.9. (top) This very overexposed 11 step grayscale shows clipping in the lighter steps and the darkest steps are more light gray than they should be. These grayscales and the waveform traces that represent them would apply equally to footage shot on digital and footage shot on film that has been transferred to digital. Figure 8.10. (second down) Here an attempt has been made to “save” this shot by reducing brightness in post-production. It does nothing to bring back any separation to the clipped steps and reduces the dark steps till they just mush together. Only middle gray is where it should be and that is only because we placed it there in post. Figure 8.11. (third down) A severely underexposed frame of the grayscale. Not only are the highlights just mushy gray but the darker tones are crushed—there is much less separation in the steps. The lowest steps are also deeply into video noise. Figure 8.12. (bottom) Trying to “save” this shot by bringing middle gray back up does nothing to bring the separation between the steps; it only serves to make the darkest steps muddy gray, and, of course, the video noise will still be there.

Exposure in Shooting RAW Video

Some people make the mistake of thinking that just because you’re shooting RAW video that exposure isn’t critical—“It’s all captured in RAW so anything can be fixed later.” This is a myth of course; you can still screw up the image with bad exposure just as you can with any other type of image acquisition. Underexposure can result in a noisy image and overexposure can cause clipping. Clipped highlights cannot be fixed. There is no magic software, no cute little button you click in post, that will bring detail back into the highlights—clipping means that there is just no information there at all, nothing to recover. There is a difference between “appearing” to be clipped and actual clipping. Sometimes when RAW footage is subjected to a quick down-and-dirty conversion to Rec.709, for example, some of the highlights may appear to be burned out and clipped. However, when you look at them on the waveform monitor they are very close to the maximum but there is still something there—these are highlights that can probably be recovered with proper treatment in color corExposure

203

rection software. This is why the waveform monitor is so important: viewing footage on a less than stellar monitor or even seeing them under unfavorable viewing conditions can be misleading.

The Tools of Exposure

When shooting film (as different from video), the two most basic tools of the cinematographer’s trade are the incident meter and the spot meter. There is a third type of meter, the wide-angle reflectance meter, but it has extremely limited use in film; it is a holdover from the days of still photography. This type of meter gave you a general reading of the average reflectance of the entire scene but little else. It only read the light as it was being reflected off the scene and one had to be very careful in how you pointed it.

The Incident Meter

Figure 8.13. (top) A Sekonic DualMaster light meter. It is a combination of both an incident meter and a spot meter. It can read both continuous light and strobes. Figure 8.14. (bottom) A close-up of the readout for the Sekonic meter. In the upper right is the ISO (320 in this case). On the left is the frame rate—24 frames per second (24 f/s). Middle right is the reading: f/4. The smaller numbers are 1/10 of a stop, in this case, 2/10th, which you would probably round off to 1/3 of stop, for a lens setting of f/4 and 1/3rd. At the bottom is a graphic indicator of the f/stop. This meter can take several readings and average them.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

204

The incident meter does not always work as it should with traditional HD cameras. If you haven’t made any changes to the image with camera controls, then an incident reading will be pretty much accurate, but if you have changed any of those settings it will not be. This is not as much of a problem with cameras that shoot RAW and record log-encoded video. The incident meter measures scene illumination only: the amount of light falling on scene. To accomplish this purpose, most incident meters use a hemispherical white plastic dome that covers the actual sensing cell (Figure 8.13). The diffusing dome accomplishes several purposes. It diffuses and hence “averages” the light that is falling on it. Unshielded, the dome will read all of the front lights and even some of the side-back and backlight that might be falling on the subject. Many people use their hand to shield the backlight off the reading and use a combination of hand shielding and turning the meter to read the backlight and usually the key, fill, side lights, and backlights separately. The classical practice, however, is to point the hemisphere directly at the lens and eliminate only the backlights, then take a reading exactly at the subject position. Reading key, fill, and backlight separately is in fact only a way of determining the ratios and looking for out-of-balance sources. In most instances, reading the key light is what determines the exposure—how the lens aperture will be set. The key light, crudely put, is the main light on the subject, whether it’s an actor or a can of dog food. Later we will look at applications that go beyond the simple classical approach and are useful in dealing with unusual situations. Most meters that are used with the diffusing dome also come with a flat diffusing plate that has a much smaller acceptance angle (about 45° to 55°). This means that the angle of the light falling on the plate has an effect on the reading, just as it does in illuminating a subject. The flat plate makes taking readings for individual lights simpler and is also useful for measuring illumination on flat surfaces, such as in art copy work.

The Reflectance Meter

Reflectance meters (most frequently called spot meters) read the luminance of the subject, which is itself an integration of two factors: the light level falling on the scene and the reflectivity of the subject. It is why they are called reflectance meters (Figure 8.13).

Figure 8.15. Ansel Adams’ Zone System makes discussions of various tones in the scene and in exposure much easier and far more accurate. (Photo by author).

On the face of it, this would seem to be the most logical method of reading the scene, but there is a catch. Simply put, a spot meter will tell us how much light a subject is reflecting, but this leaves one very big unanswered question: how much light do you want it to reflect? In other words, incident meters provide absolute readouts (f/stops), while spot meters give relative readouts that require interpretation. Think of it this way: you are using such a meter and photographing a very fair-skinned woman holding a box of detergent in front of a sunset. You read the woman’s face: f/5.6, the box reads f/4, the sky is f/22. So where are you? Not only do we not know where to set the aperture, we don’t even know if the situation is good or bad. Using a spot meter to set exposure requires a high-level understanding of exposure theory. In most cases, spot meters are actually used to check potential problem areas of a scene such as a lampshade or a window which might “blow out” and clip if they’re too hot. Ideally, both incident and reflectance meters should be calibrated before use.

A Different World of Exposure

With cameras that shoot RAW, the procedure used by many DPs has changed over time, as we’ll talk about in the section Strategies of Exposure later in this chapter. Adjusting the aperture is the most Exposure

205

Figure 8.16. (above, left) Normal exposure on an HD camera. Notice the proper skin tones, the correct color saturation in the chart, and how all segments are shown on the gray scale. These images are from a latitude test on an HD camera. Figure 8.17. (above, right) At just two stops overexposed, the skin tone is blown out, the color saturation is severely reduced, and there is no separation visible in the lighter tones on the gray scale. Clipping of the highlights appears on the waveform monitor as a flatline at the top of the signal. This is at only plus two stops of exposure and already it has exceeded the latitude (dynamic range) of the HD camera. This is an older camera; more current cameras have substantially more dynamic range and don’t clip at two stops over exposure—the point at which they clip varies from camera to camera.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

206

commonly used way of adjusting exposure, but not the only way. Neutral density filters, frame rate, shutter angle (if it’s adjustable), and changing the ISO or gain can all be used to make adjustments, but of course, the key element is often adjusting the lighting of the scene. You can adjust the scene brightness values by adding or subtracting lights, dimmers, nets, flags, scrims, overheads, or other grip equipment. There are many options available even when shooting day exterior. You might also deal with exposure problems by changing the frame to exclude the offending objects. Don’t underestimate the power of persuasion in convincing the director to change the camera angle or the background to achieve better lighting results. Of course, choice of location and time of day to shoot are powerful factors in the lighting of a scene.

Setting Exposure with the Waveform Monitor

The waveform monitor is a very precise tool for judging exposure values. It may be built into the camera or monitor or may be a freestanding unit. With HD cameras, the DP would look at the waveform and set whatever values they felt were important. The waveform monior and the vectorscope are dealt with in greater detail in The Filmmaker’s Guide to Digital Imaging, in this chapter we’ll deal more with their specific use in judging the scene, setting exposure, and the general theory of exposure control. With the waveform monitor, the real trick is having some references you can use. You need to pick something in the scene that you know where you want them to fall on the waveform monitor. First, let’s get some background information.

Figure 8.18. (top) Histograms can be a very useful tool for judging exposure. The figure shows a fairly normal distribution of highlights, midtones, and shadows. Figure 8.19. (middle) An underexposed shot—all tones are pushed to the far left. Figure 8.20. (bottom) An overexposed shot, with all tones pushed far to the right.

F/Stops on the Waveform

It would be nice if a one stop change in exposure resulted in a uniform, predictable change on the waveform monitor. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite work that way. If you are shooting straight Rec.709 with no gamma or other adjustments, a one stop change in exposure will be approximately a 15% change on the waveform. This really only applies in the middle part of the curve but it’s a general rule of thumb to use as a starting point. In the highlights and shadows, there will be less of a change on the waveform. Digital consultant Adam Wilt puts it this way—“If you are shooting with a wider dynamic range, and monitoring that signal without a viewing LUT or other output conversion, then the stop variation will depend on the camera, and possibly where on the brightness scale the signal is. For example, on Alexa, or a Sony’s Hypergamma, the brighter your signal is, the less of a change you’ll see on the WFM with a 1-stop change. With the Blackmagic Cine Camera in “film mode,” on the other hand, you will see something like 10% change at low levels.”

Exposure Indicators in the Camera

Digital camera manufacturers have provided some useful exposure guides that are built into the camera and visible in the viewfinder.

Zebras

In the viewfinder or appearing on the camera operator’s monitor, zebras have long been a useful tool for judging exposure. Unlike histograms or goal posts, they show you specifically within the frame where there is overexposure or exposure at the specific level you are looking for, such as skin tone. Exposure

207

Figure 8.21. (top) Normal exposure with the zebras in the viewfinder (70% and 100% in this example) and shown on the waveform monitor. Figure 8.22. (above) The same scene very overexposed with zebras and the waveform. On this Sony camera, the two types of zebras are shown as opposite diagonal angles.

Zebras indicate a particular IRE level in the scene; however, they are useless unless you know what IRE level the zebras are set to indicate. Aside from being useful in judging specific tones for exposure, zebras excel at indicating overexposed areas. Professional cameras offer the choice of selecting what IRE level you want to set the zebras for and generally have two sets of zebras which can be used in a variety of ways. A fairly common use is to target one set of zebras for midtones (such as typical skin tone) and the other set for dangerous overexposure, such as 90, 100, or even 108 IRE. Cameras use different methods for differentiating the two sets of zebra stripes (and usually offer the option of turning one or both of them off ). In some cases, one set of stripes is diagonal, and the other set is the opposite diagonal; some are horizontal, some are “crawling ants.”

Histogram The histogram is probably the simplest tool around for analyzing an image. It is somewhat primitive but can be very effective, especially for a very quick look at the overall exposure of a shot. It is also nearly ubiquitous: even the simplest consumer still cameras have histogram displays. It is basically a distribution diagram of the tones in our scene: on the left hand are the dark tones and on the right side of the diagram our light tones (Figures 8.18 through 8.20). A normal scene properly exposed will have a more or less even distribution of tones from dark to light and won’t be too much pushed up against the left or right sides. The distribution of tones in the middle will change based on the scene; it’s the light or dark tones pushing up against the extreme limits that you really want to watch. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

208

Traffic Lights and Goal Posts

These are particular to Red cameras and provide very general but useful information. They are basically warning systems to alert the operator to percentages of the picture that are either in clipping or in “noise” at the bottom end—meaning underexposed. They may seem simplistic, but are in fact well suited to the new exposure needs of shooting RAW and log. Even though this method of shooting allows a good deal more room for error, that doesn’t mean that making errors in exposure is any more of a good idea than it was with traditional HD recording.

Goal Posts

Red’s explanation of their Goal Posts (Figure 8.24) is this: “In order to quickly balance the competing trade-offs of noise and highlight protection, Red cameras also have indicators at the far left and right of their histogram. Unlike the histogram, though, these are not affected by the ISO speed or look setting, and instead represent RAW image data. The indicators are depicted as vertical bars to each side of the histogram and are often referred to as the “goal posts,” since the aim is usually to achieve a histogram which doesn’t hit either side.

Figure 8.23. Two views of the Traffic Lights on a Red camera. It is important to note that they are not red, yellow, green as you would expect in real traffic lights. They are not the equivalent of Go, Caution, Stop. What they actually mean is that when about 2% of the pixels in a particular color channel have reached clipping, the corresponding light turns on.

“The height of each goal post reflects the fraction of overall pixels that have become either clipped (on the right), or near the capabilities of the camera to discern real texture from noise (on the left). The full scale for each goal post represents a quarter of all image pixels. In general, the left goal post can be pushed up to about 50% height and still give acceptable noise, but even a small amount on the right goal post can be unacceptable, depending on where this clipping appears in the image.”

Traffic Lights

In addition to Goal Posts, Red provides another indicator of the crucial indicator of clipping—the so-called Traffic Lights, shown in Figure 8.23. These indicators show what color channels have some areas that are being clipped. Some people assume they mean Go, Caution, Stop. Not so at all. Unfortunately, calling them traffic lights reinforces this misconception. Notice that the third color is not yellow, but blue. The real meaning is that when about 2% of the pixels in a color channel have reached clipping, the corresponding light turns on. It’s one of those things that are wonderfully precise in scientific terms but still require a great deal of human interpretation to be used properly. According to Red: “When about 2% of the image pixels for a particular color channel have become clipped, the corresponding traffic light for that color channel will light up. This can be helpful in situations where just the red channel has become clipped within a skin tone, for example. In that case, the right side goal post would be much lower than it would appear otherwise, since all three channels haven’t become clipped.” Exposure

209

Figure 8.24. Red’s Goal Posts are also helpful in judging exposure. They are the two vertical stripes at the far right and left of the histogram. The height of the bar on the right indicates what percentage of pixels are clipped or in noise. The bar on the left indicates what percentage of pixels are in noise. Full scale on these indicators is only 25% of total pixels, not all of them as you might expect.

Adam Wilt has this to say about these tools, “The traffic lights seem interesting but in the end, how valuable is it really to know that ‘2% of pixels in that channel’ are clipping? In my Red work, I find them useful as ‘idiot lights’: I can tell at a glance if there’s a possibility I might be getting into trouble. They don’t replace a careful study of the histogram; what they do is say, ‘hey, buddy, you might want to take a closer look here...’ and they say it even when I’m too busy to be focusing on the histogram, because I’m focusing instead on movement and composition. “Same with the Goal Posts, they are halfway between the see-it-ina-flash ‘idiot lights’ of the traffic lights and the study-intensive histogram. They show me (a) I have stuff in the scene that exceeds the range of the capture system at either or both ends of the tonal scale, and (b) by comparing their relative heights, I can see quickly if I’m losing more shadow details, or more highlights, or if I’ve balanced the losses equally (assuming that’s what I want, of course). “I use ‘em all: traffic lights as a quick-and-dirty warning, goal posts as a highlights/shadows balancing indicator, and the histogram or an external WFM to see in detail what the signal is doing. The traffic lights and goal posts don’t show me anything I can’t get from the histogram or WFM, but they show it to me very quickly, with a minimum of focus and concentration required on my part to interpret the results. It’s nice to have choices.”

False Color Exposure Display Many pro cameras and field monitors now offer the choice of false color display, which shows different tonal ranges coded in various “false” colors (Figures 8.26 and Table 8.2). As with any color code system, it’s worthless unless you know the key. Although different camera companies use their own set of colors, they usually have some commonalities. False color displays can usually be turned on or off either in menus or with buttons on the exterior of the camera that can be assigned to any one of several different camera controls. Be cautious when using false color displays at anything other than the manufacturer’s recommended ISO, it might not be as accurate. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

210

Red False Colors

Red cameras have two false color selections: Video Mode and Exposure Mode (Figure 8.26). Exposure Mode is a more simplified method which is used with RAW image viewing. Most of the image will appear as a grayscale but purple will be overlaid on any parts of the image that are underexposed and red will be overlaid on any overexposed regions of the frame. Since this applies to the RAW data, it indicates over and underexposed regions of the frame regardless of the current ISO or look settings. Since it is simpler, it can be less confusing to look at than video mode false colors; choosing which mode to use for viewing can depend on whether it is used only in preparing the shot (while lighting) or if an exposure mode or focus assist (peaking) is going to be used while operating the actual take. Comparing Red Exposure Modes

Table 8.1 shows the specifications of the three Red exposure modes—Video Mode, Zebra Mode, and Exposure Mode. Zebra, and Video Mode are based on IRE or RGB values, which is a relative scale based on the output signal sent to the monitor, not necessarily the actual values of the recorded scene. Red puts it this way: “As with other IRE-based modes, zebra mode is only applicable for the current ISO and look settings (such as with HD-SDI output)—not for the RAW image data. If anything is changed in post-production, the indicators won’t be representative of the final output tones. In those situations, zebra mode is, therefore, more of a preview and output brightness tool than an exposure tool.” Despite this, they can still be useful in some circumstances. In general, most exposure tools are measuring the image with the various adjustments to the look already applied. RAW, in this context, is an absolute scale based on the output of the sensor. It is not necessarily related to the viewing image in terms of brightness values. Red says:“This is most useful when trying to optimize exposure and looking toward post-production.” This is, of course, the basic concept of shooting RAW vs. shooting video that is more or less “ready to go.” Shooting RAW/Log is not about producing a final image, it’s about producing a “digital negative” that has great potential further down the line. The downside is that the images are not directly viewable and this makes using exposure tools like zebras and histograms pretty much useless—they can only be used as approximation.

Zone X

Zone IX Zone VIII Textured White Zone VII

Zone VI Zone V Middle Gray Zone IV

Zone III Zone II Textured Black Zone I

Zone O

Figure 8.25. Zones as shown by photographing a towel in sunlight. What’s important here is the concept of texture and detail.

The exposure mode you choose will determine what type of false color schemes you see displayed in the viewfinder. Red sums up their overall recommendation for using these tools: “First, in Exposure Mode, use the purple and red indicators to adjust your lighting or lens aperture. The strategy is usually to achieve an optimal balance between clipping from overexposure and image noise from underexposure. With most scenes, there can be a surprising range of exposure latitude before excessive red or purple indicators appear.” Exposure

211

Figure 8.26. False colors can give more precise exposure information about individual portions of the image, but only if you know the code! At the top is the grayscale including superblack and superwhite. Below that is the color code for Red camera false colors, then Alexa’s color code and finally the Red camera Exposure Mode at bottom.

Grayscale Tonal Values Black

White

Straw Yellow Orange Red

Pink

Green

Purple

Red Camera False Colors: Video Mode

Yellow Red

Pink

Blue

Green

Purple

Arriflex False Colors

Purple

Red Camera False Colors: Exposure Mode Red

Purple

Arri Alexa False Colors The Arri Alexa has similar false color codes but they are a bit simpler —Figure 8.26 and Table 8.2. Arri’s color code has fewer steps which some find makes it easier to read in the viewfinder or monitor. Green is middle gray (38% to 42%) and Pink is average Caucasian skin tone (52% to 56%). Red (which they call White Clipping) is 99% to 100% and Purple, which they call Black Clipping, is 0% to 2.5%.

Strategies of Exposure We’ve looked at the many tools available for judging exposure. But what about the basic philosophy of exposure—it’s not a purely mechanical, by-the-book procedure—every experienced cinematographer has their own way of working, their own favorite tools and bag of tricks. As with just about everything in filmmaking, it’s not about the right or the wrong way—it’s about achieving the desired final product, which is always several steps away down the line. Ultimately, it’s all about what appears to the viewer. There are adjustments to be made for individual cameras, artistic preferences, and so on. We know the basic goal—to get an image that will yield the best results in the end. An individual cinematographer will develop methods that work for them based on experience, testing, and the feedback they get from viewing dailies or looking at the footage on the set.

Table 8.1. Red’s Exposure modes and specifications. Notice that Video Mode and Zebra Mode are only applicable in IRE (Rec.709, not RAW). Motion Picture and Video Lighting

212

RED EXPOSURE MODES

Basis

Levels

Adjustable?

Exposure Mode

RAW

2

No

Video Mode

IRE

9

No

Zebra Mode

IRE

1–3

Yes

Figure 8.27. (top) A frame from a Red camera in standard mode. (Courtesy The Red Digital Cinema Camera Company). Figure 8.28. (below) The same frame in Exposure Mode: red indicates clipping (overexposure) and purple shows parts of the frame in noise (under nominal exposure). (Courtesy The Red Digital Cinema Camera Company).

Don’t Let It Clip, but Avoid the Noise

Homer (not Homer Simpson, the other one) wrote about two mythical sea monsters on each side of the Strait of Messina, a dangerous rocky shoal on one side and a deadly whirlpool on the other. Called Scylla and Charybdis, they are the origins of the terms “between a rock and a hard place.” In shooting video, our Scylla and Charybdis are clipping at the brightest areas of the scene and noise in the darker parts of the scene. Technically, clipping is sensor saturation; camera manufacturers refer to it as well overflow, in reference to the wells of the photosites. The noise floor is not the same as the lower black limit. It is the level of sensor output with the lens capped—no photons hitting the sensor at all. In this condition, there is still some electrical output from the photosites; simply because all electrical systems have some degree of randomness. There is noise everywhere in the sensor, but it is usually most noticeable in the darkest areas of the image. The Red company summarizes: “Optimal exposure starts with a deceivingly simple strategy: record as much light as necessary, but

Table 8.2. Numerical values and colors of the Arri Alexa False Color system. (Courtesy of Arri).

Signal Level 100% - 99%

Color red

Just below white clipping One stop over medium gray 18% medium gray

99% - 97%

yellow pink

Just above black clipping

4% - 2.5%

Black clipping

2.5% - 0%

White clipping

56% - 52% 42% - 38%

green blue purple Exposure

213

not so much that important highlights lose all texture. This is based on two fundamental properties of digital image capture: Noise. As less light is received, image noise increases. This happens throughout an image with less exposure, but also within darker regions of the same image for a given exposure. Highlight Clipping. If too much light is received, otherwise continuous tones hit a digital wall and become solid white. Alternatively, this might happen in just one of the individual color channels, which can cause inaccurate coloration. Unlike image noise, which increases gradually with less light, highlight clipping appears abruptly once the clipping threshold has been surpassed.”

Texture and Detail

Figure 8.29. (top) The classic method of incident metering—hold the meter at the subject’s position and point the dome at the camera. Technically it is called the Norwood Dome. Figure 8.30. (middle) Using the same Sekonic meter as a reflectance/ spot meter allows the DP to check the exposure levels of different parts of the scene based on a combination of the lights hitting the objects and their inherent reflectance. It is also the only way to effectively meter objects that generate their own light, such as a lampshade, a neon sign, or a campfire. Figure 8.31. (bottom) The Luxi dome on an IPhone enables the app Cine Meter II to do incident readings in addition to its reflectance metering and other functions. The dome also allows the app to work as a very accurate color meter.

Some terms you’ll hear frequently when discussing exposure are texture, detail, and separation. For example, textured white, textured black, detail in the highlights, or separation in the shadows. These are all essentially the same thing and are important references in exposure. The concepts originated with Ansel Adams, who needed terms to describe how far exposure (negative density in his case as he worked with film) can go before they are just pure black or pure white; soot and chalk as he sometimes called them; just featureless regions of the image with no detail at all. Textured white is defined as the lightest tone in the image where you can still see some texture, some details, some separation of subtle tones (Figure 8.25). Diffuse white is the reflectance of an illuminated white object. Since perfectly reflective objects don’t occur in the real world, diffuse white is about 90% reflectance; roughly a sheet of white paper or the white patch on a ColorChecker or a DSC test chart. There are laboratory test objects that are higher reflectance, all the way up to 99.9% but in the real world, 90% is the standard we use in video measurement. It is called diffuse white because it is not the same as maximum white. Diffuse means it is a dull surface (and in this context, paper is a dull surface) that reflects all wavelengths in all directions, unlike a mirror which reflects a beam of light at the same angle it hits the surface. Specular highlights are things that go above 90% diffuse reflectance. These might include a candle flame or a glint off a chrome car bumper. As we’ll see later, being able to accommodate these intense highlights is a big difference between old-style Rec.709/HD video and the modern cameras and file formats such as OpenEXR. Textured black is the darkest tone where there is still some separation and detail. On the waveform, it is the step just above where the darkest blacks merge indistinguishably into the noise.

The Dilemma

What is a great leap forward for shooting with these modern cameras is also something of a disadvantage—recording log-encoded video gives us huge benefits in terms of dynamic range, but it also means the images the camera is outputting and recording are in no way Motion Picture and Video Lighting

214

WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). In fact, on the monitor, they look awful—low in contrast and saturation. Even worse, they mean that the waveform monitor and vectorscope are not showing us the reality of the scene as it will be in the end result. A commonly used method is to display a Rec.709 conversion of the image on the set monitors. This makes the scene viewable (what we might think of as human readable), but they are only a rough approximation of what is actually being recorded and even more distant representation of what the image will eventually look like. Likewise, in a scene with a Rec.709 viewing LUT applied, the waveform monitor isn’t telling us the whole story. Not just that they don’t always have the benefit of fine-tuned color correction, but that they don’t show us what the image will look like after it has been “developed,” using the metaphor that RAW data is like a film negative. “Developing,” in this case, is not a photo-chemical process, but is the deBayering and log to linear conversions that will take place outside of the camera. If you’ve ever looked at original camera negative (OCN) you know that it is nearly impossible to comprehend visually; not only is it a negative in that tones are reversed, but also the colors are all opposite and there is a heavy orange mask. Cinematographers have developed the skill of looking at camera negative and getting a sense of what is a thick (overexposed) or thin (underexposed) image, but any understanding of color is impossible. These concepts come into play as we consider exposure with cameras that record log data either internally or on an external recorder. Some DPs and DITs prefer to have the log-encoded image on the waveform monitor and a viewing LUT applied for the monitors. But how to achieve these goals of having an ideal digital negative? What methods get you there reliably and quickly—speed is always a factor in motion picture production.

Using Light Meters Many DPs have returned to using their light meters, both incident and reflectance (spot) meters; this is after years of using them infrequently if at all when shooting HD video, where factors such as gamma, knee, black gamma, etc. altered the image enough to make light meter readings less relevant or even misleading. When shooting RAW/log, the waveform suddenly becomes less precise because the image is displayed at very low contrast. Art Adams puts it this way, “I find myself using an incident meter much more often now. I rough in the lighting and then check it on a monitor and waveform, and then use the incident meter for consistency when moving around within the scene. I still pull out my spot meter occasionally but I’m becoming less reliant on it. The incident meter helps me get my mid-tones right and keep them consistent, and the monitor and waveform tell me about everything else.” Exposure

215

Figure 8.32. Adam Wilt’s Cine Meter II is a smartphone app with reflectance and incident metering plus waveform and adjustable false color displays. (Photo courtesy Adam Wilt).

Meter the Key

This is the age-old formula for exposing film: use an incident meter (with proper ISO, frame rate, filter factors, and shutter angle dialed in on the meter) to read the key light (usually right where the actor is) and set the aperture for that reading (Figure 8.29). This provides an overall average for the scene—it is usually remarkably successful. Art Adams says, “If I have a choice I work strictly by meter. If not I work off the waveform. I use my meter to set proper mid-tones, and the waveform tells me if I’m losing detail in either the highlights or the shadows.” In the same vein, British DP Geoff Boyle states, “I’ve gone back totally to using my incident meter together with my old Pentax digital spot calibrated with the zone system. I decide where the skin will be and keep it there. Overall with the incident reading, spot checks of highlights, shadows, and skin, hang on! That’s how I used to shoot film. I have expanded the zone system range by a stop at either end, i.e. where I knew I would get pure white or black, I now know I will have detail. I use an ISO for the cameras that I’ve established from testing works for the way that I work; that sounds familiar as well. Yes, I will use a waveform on some work; it’s a great tool there or diamonds [diamond display], but otherwise it’s a rare thing for me. For me, it’s a question of dynamic range, once it gets to 12 stops or more I can relax and get into the pictures rather than the tech.” Here’s Art Adams on shooting HD: “The big change for me is that I used to use nothing but a spot meter [when shooting film] but video gamma curves are so variable that trying to nail an exposure based on a reflected reading is the true moving target. I can use a spot meter to find out how far overexposed a window will be on a scout but it’s tough to light using nothing but a spot meter in HD, the way I could in film. Film stocks had different gammas but we only had to know a couple of them; every HD camera has at least 7 or 8 basic variations, plus lots of other variables that come into play.”

Using the Waveform Monitor

When shooting HD (Rec.709), the waveform monitor has always been an important tool for making exposure decisions. It was supplemented by zebras and histograms, but those are rough guides at Motion Picture and Video Lighting

216

best; the waveform is accurate, precise, and gives you information about every part of the scene. The problem, of course, is that if the camera is outputting log/RAW information, the waveform display doesn’t reflect the actual image as it is being recorded and will be processed later down the line. This output is difficult to judge—to make any sense of it takes a good deal of experience and mental calculation. As a result, monitors on the set generally display a converted image; most often the log image is converted to Rec.709 by a LUT either internal on the camera, externally through a LUT box, or with a monitor that can host LUTs. While this makes it easier to interpret, it in no way shows the real image, particularly the highlights and shadows. Adams says, “A LUT may not show the real image but LUTs almost always show a subset of the image that throws away information by applying gamma, etc. I have no problem working off a Rec.709 converted log signal with a monitor and a waveform because I know that if it looks nice on set I can always make it look a lot nicer later in the grade. For example, if the Rec.709 image isn’t clipping then I know the log image really isn’t clipping. I make the image look nice and then shoot. I do check the log image on occasion but not very often.”

Figure 8.33. Waveform display of a log-encoded image of the DSC Labs ChromaDuMonde with exposure set by placing middle gray at the camera manufacturer’s recommended level. The highlights are far below 100%, but the important aspect of shooting RAW/log is that you are not necessarily trying to create a final look for the scene—it is a digital negative, not the desired end result.

Placing Middle Gray

When shooting film negative, the prevailing practice is to use the incident meter for setting the f/stop on the lens and using the spot meter to check highlights such as windows, lampshades, etc. Reading with the incident meter is the same as placing middle gray at 18%. Some cinematographers use a similar method when shooting log/RAW video—placing middle gray at the values recommended by the camera manufacturer. All camera companies assess where the best exposure placement of middle gray is for their equipment. Art Adams uses this method: “I go for accurate middle gray, or place middle gray where I want it, and see how the rest falls. Midtones are where our eyes are the most sensitive. We naturally roll off the extreme shadows and highlights, just as cameras have been designed to do, so it makes little or no sense to me to base a scene’s exposure on the part of the image that our brains naturally compress anyway. I generally expose raw and log based around middle gray Exposure

217

using a meter… unless I’m shooting doc-style, and quickly. In that case, I tend to look at the mid-tones and the highlights together on a waveform.” In Rec709, middle gray falls at 40% on the waveform.

Start at the Bottom or Start at the Top

Placing something pure black in the scene at 0% on the waveform seems tempting but the catch is finding something truly black. At first glance, it seems quite a bit safer than trying to select something in the frame to place at 100% white. As we have seen, what is really white is subjective and highly variable. Especially if you are shooting RAW/log and viewing in Rec.709, it is extremely difficult to even determine where the clipping level really is. Even more confounding, is the white object you selected 90% diffuse white, 100% white or something else? When using the DSC Labs ChromaDuMonde chart, the Cavi-Black (Figure 8.34) is pure black but as we saw, it takes a good deal of innovation to make it truly black; a condition very unlikely to occur in a typical scene or even in an ordinary situation when testing or setting up a camera. Art Adams puts it this way, “Putting something black at the black point is similarly pointless because there’s not a lot of real black out there unless it’s a dark shadow. Also, if a camera exhibits wide dynamic range but it isn’t equally split between highlights and shadows, you’ll always have more stops in the shadows, which means putting something black at black results in pushing the exposure way down. Also, if what’s black in one frame isn’t black in another you end up with the same problems as exposing to the right: inconsistent noise and overall exposure.”

Expose to the Right

Expose to the Right (ETTR) is popular with digital still photographers and is occasionally mentioned in connection with exposure in digital cinema. The idea is simple—since the dark areas of the image are where there is the most noise, we want to push the exposure as high as we can without clipping. On the histogram, the right side is the highlights, so those who use this method try to move the image toward the right on the histogram (Figures 8.18, 8.19, and 8.20). This method is not without its critics, however; most of them assert that it is no longer necessary as the noise level of cameras steadily improves. “Exposing to the right results in inconsistent noise from shot to shot, which can be jarring, and also tends to result in less consistency of exposure such that every shot needs its own grade,” says Adams. He adds, “Exposing to the right or to the left is great for one shot that stands alone… which almost never happens. When your images sit adjacent to others why would you base their exposures on the things that change the most between them?” Geoff Boyle comments, “I understand the expose to the right camp and I have done this at times in the past but not anymore.” He adds, “ETTR is not a practical method of working for us, every shot having to be gradMotion Picture and Video Lighting

218

ed individually and huge measures taken to match. Equally, whilst you can pull and push film you can’t do it on a shot by shot basis.” In practice, cinematographers rarely use ETTR on feature films or other long-form projects. As an exposure method, it might still be useful for isolated shots, such as landscapes or product shots, and on commercials which might consist of only a few shots in the day.

Zebras As we have previously discussed, zebras can be operator selected to appear in the viewfinder of many cameras and on some monitors and are a handy, always present (if you choose) check on highlight values and clipping. The problem is they are based on measuring the IRE (luma) value and are thus a bit more difficult to use when shooting log. In cases where you are shooting HD style (that is, basically in Rec.709 mode or WYSIWYG), they are very useful.

Figure 8.34. (above) The Cavi-Black is an important and useful feature of the ChromaDuMonde. It is an open hole in the middle of the chart which is backed by a velvet-lined foldout box on the back of the chart. It’s a complete light trap and provides a reliable pure black reference in the frame, an invaluable tool for testing and camera setup. Figure 8.35. (left, top) An example of the Expose to the Right method on the histogram. The chart looks blown out and desaturated, but in fact, nothing is clipping so the values can be brought back in color correction. The risk is obvious, even a slight increase in exposure will cause some values to clip. Figure 8.36. (left, bottom) The same Expose to the Right frame as shown on the waveform. While the high values are dangerously close to clipping, all of the darker values have been pushed up the scale, well away from noise.

The Monitor During the HD years, you often heard “Don’t trust the monitor!” Several advances have changed that. First of all, the kind of high-end monitors that are likely to be the DP’s main monitor near camera and at the DIT cart have greatly improved in color and tone scale accuracy. Also, much more attention is paid to proper calibration. David Mullen puts it like this: “I mainly come to rely on the monitor with occasional double-checks using various devices—meters, waveforms, histograms, just not on every shot. The main point is the feedback loop over time (if this is a long-form project), you check the footage again in dailies, in the editing room, etc., to see if your exposure technique is giving you good results, and sometimes you make adjustments when you find that your day work is a bit too hot or your night work is a bit too dark, etc. I also shoot tests before I begin to see how things look on the set versus later in a DI theater.” Exposure

219

Know Thyself and Know Thy Camera

Just as you get to know the characteristics of particular cameras, you also need to get to know your own inclinations. As David Mullen puts it: “Finally, the old saying ‘Know thyself ’ can be applied to exposure technique; we know if we have a tendency to overexpose or underexpose in general so we can develop a technique to take that into account.” As you go through the feedback cycle of using your meters, waveform, zebras, or whatever it is you use, then setting exposure and viewing the results in dailies, you need to watch what works and what doesn’t. Do you have a tendency to overexpose night scenes? Underexpose day scenes? Whatever it is you do, learn from it and bring that self-knowledge back to the set with you next time you shoot. Perhaps you consistently interpret your incident meter in a particular way and tend to set exposure by the waveform in a slightly different way. For more on exposure for lighting and for the camera, see Cinematography: Theory and Practice and The Filmmaker’s Guide to Digital Imaging, both by the same author as this book.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

220

electricity & distro

Signal strength

Time Wavelength Single-phase electrical supply

Three-phase electrical supply

Figure 9.1. Diagrams of single-phase and three-phase power supplies.

The set electrician need have only a basic knowledge of electricity but must have a firm grasp of the fundamentals. For our purposes we must start with an understanding of the four basic measurements of electricity: volts, amps, watts, and ohms. From there we will look at the issues that confront a set electrician and briefly review standard set operating procedure for the electrical crew. Electrical current occurs when a positively charged pole is connected to a negatively charged pole. In direct current (DC) it flows from negative to positive. Direct current is what you would get from a battery, for example but there are other sources of DC such as generators and power supplies. The electricity available in most homes and buildings is AC (alternating current). It flows in one direction, then reverses. In the US, it does this reversal 60 times a second. In Europe and other countries, it reverses 50 times a second. This cycle is measured in Hertz (Hz); thus US mains power (the electricity available on the main power grid of the country) is 60 hertz. DC is simple: only two wires are needed. A “hot” wire and a ground. Electrons, like ET, want to go “home.” Their home is the earth. Connect any electrical power source to a metal rod stuck in the ground and current will flow.

Measurement of Electricity

For our very basic uses on the set, we only need be concerned with the four fundamental measurements of electrical power: volts, watts, amps, and ampacity. Figure 9.2. Two water tanks and a pipe are an analogy for voltage or electrical potential. Figure 9.3. Two water tanks that are equally full and at the same height have no electrical potential—no water will flow.

Potential

Electricity is measured in terms of potential. That is, how much power (or “work”) it is capable of doing. Potential can be thought of as “pressure.” Electricity flows from a source of high potential to low potential. Electrical potential is measured in volts or voltage (named for Alessandro Volta, inventor of the chemical battery). A water analogy works well for electricity (Figures 9.2 and 9.3). Imagine a big water tank with a pipe leading out of it to a lower tank. The amount of water in the upper tank determines the pressure. If there’s a lot of water, there’s high pressure in the pipe; not much water and the pressure goes down. The water pressure is like voltage. Clearly, the size of the pipe influences how fast the water flows and how much of it can flow through in a certain time. The size of the pipe is resistance. In electricity, it is measured in ohms. The flow of water is the same as current in electricity. Current is how much total flow of electrons there is. Current is measured in amperes or amps. The pipe might be very large, but if there is not potential in the circuit (if the upper tank is dry) then there will be no current. The size of the pipe is how much can flow if there is potential. The maximum capacity the pipe can safely carry is the same as ampacity. All electrical cables and connectors are rated for their ampacity. Too much wa-

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

222

ter flowing (too much pressure) might make a pipe burst. Too much amperage flowing on a wire or connector (exceeding ampacity) will make it overheat and melt or start a fire. For example, an ordinary household wall plug is rated for 20 amps. That is how much current it can carry without overheating and melting or causing a fire. The wire that goes to the wall plug is usually #12 wire­—which has an ampacity of 20 amps. Europe and most of the world operates with 220 volt electrical supply. The US uses 110 volt power supply for most residences and offices. Higher voltage is used for industrial uses and for transmitting power over long distances. The high voltage transmission towers you see out in the country are usually 13,000 volts or more, for example. Higher voltage is easier to transmit long distances with minimal loss. Voltage is rarely constant. It can vary throughout the day according to the load on the system. This is why voltage often drops a bit in the summer when everyone has their air conditioning on. The total amount of work done is measured in watts. For example, with light bulbs—a 200-watt bulb delivers a lot more light than a 40-watt bulb. So here are our basic terms: • Volts or voltage = electrical potential. • Amps or amperage = the amount of current flowing. • Ampacity = amount of current a device can handle.

Figure 9.4. A 600 amp disconnect (electrical supply box)­—sometimes called a bullswitch. It is three-phase (black, red, and blue). Each leg (phase) has a 200 amp fuse. Note the double neutral. This is because it is on a stage that has a dimmer system. With dimmers it is possible to have a very out-of-balance load: this puts a greater strain on the neutral.

• Watts = a measure of the work done or capacity of a bulb. The simple calculations are all we need on set. The basic formulae are: • Watts = amps x volts • Amps = watts/volts US electrical mains vary in voltage but generally they run from 110 to 120 volts. • A 1000-watt lamp at 120 volts = 8.3 amps • A 1K (1000-watt) lamp requires 8.3 amps, a 2K draws 16.6 amps, a 10K takes 83 amps, etc.

Paper Amps

Figure 9.5. Two sizes of AC generators, both of them “tow-away” or “tow plants.”

To be safe, we always round up. This allows for loose connectors, damaged cable, and other unseen extra factors. For practical calculations, we say that a 1K draws 10 amps even though it actually draws 8.3 amps (at 120 volts). These are called paper amps. By this rule, a 10K (which actually draws 83 amps) pulls 100 paper amps, and so on. It also makes mental calculations vastly more easy­—useful when it’s 3 AM and you’re in your 16th hour of shooting. Electricity & Distro

223

Electrical Supply Systems Single-phase

With single-phase, instead of three hot legs, there are two hot wires and a neutral. This is the most common system in residential houses. Both single-phase and three-phase systems have an additional wire: the ground. Although it is essentially the same as the neutral, it is an extra safety. If the neutral is lost or there is some other sort of malfunction, the ground (always color coded green) is a back-up ground which carries the current away.

Three-phase

Figure 9.6. Cam-Lok cables distribute power from this generator.

Countries using 120 volts as a residential standard have two basic kinds of supply: three-phase and single-phase. There are many others, of course, but these are the most common. A basic electrical system is a hot wire and a ground but this is not the most efficient way to deliver it to a house or office. Three-phase consists of three hot wires and a neutral. The power comes in on the hot wires (or legs) and goes out on the neutral (this is an oversimplification of course). The hot legs are the ones that are energized—in other words, grab one and you’ll get a shock. For this reason switches and fuses are always connected on the hot legs. The three hot legs are out of phase—this means that as they turn on and off 60 times a second, they are not doing it at the same time: they are 120° out of phase. This is because the three hot legs are each supplied from a different coil on the generator. As each coil passes the electromagnet, it is energized. They each do this 60 times a second but in sequence. Remember that with AC current, it is not a simple matter of the electricity comes in one side and goes out the other. In fact it is sort of vibrating back and forth. The electrons flow one direction, then reverse. As a consequence, if the load on each of the three legs is exactly equal (that is, each one of them has an equal number of watts taking power from it) then the current flow on the neutral will be zero. Think of it this way: the neutral in a three-phase AC system only carries the excess left over from an imbalanced load. This is important because the neutral wire is usually the same size (same ampacity) as the three hot legs. Thus a severely out-of-balance load could potentially put more amperage on the neutral than it can handle. It is the second electric’s job to balance the load as close as possible. Failure to do so can also harm the generator or cause street transformers to fail. According to the National Electrical Code (NEC), the three legs are designated red, black, and blue. This is a problem because we often color code the legs with electrical tape. Black tape on a black cable would be indistinguishable. For this reason, the convention on film sets is to designate them red, yellow, blue.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

224

Three-Phase System (120/240 AC) Hot Legs Yellow (Black)

Red

240 V

Single-Phase System (120/240 AC) Hot Legs

Blue Neutral Ground

120 V

Blue

Red

240 V

Neutral

Ground

Figure 9.7. In both single-phase and three-phase electrical systems connecting any two hot legs gives you 220 or 240 volts. Connecting any hot leg and the neutral gives you between 110 and120 volts, depending on the local system and the system wide load. This is the American style system. In the European/international style system, all connections are 220, 230 or 240 volts.

120V

Connecting any two hot legs give you 240 volts. Connecting any hot leg and the neutral gives you 120 volts.

Power Sources

Power for film and video production usually comes from one of three sources: stage service, generators, and tie-ins.

Stage Service

Most studios and sound stages provide electrical service. Older stages will sometimes have DC (left over from the days of carbon arcs) and extreme caution must be used not to plug any AC only equipment into DC, which would severely damage drills and compressors. Smaller studios generally have at least 300 amps available, but be sure to ask. The most common situation is for a stage to have several hard-wired distribution points with fuse boxes and disconnect switches that terminate in either pin plug, Tweco, Cam-Lok or similar connectors. You can then easily plug in an appropriate amount of feeder cable and set a distribution box wherever you need it. The only difficulty with a setup like this is that while it is easy to check the load balance at each box, there is usually no simple way to check the overall balance. It is generally sufficient to just try to distribute the load as evenly as possible. If you sense danger, check with the house manager; she may be able to take an electrician down to the main service for a balance and load check.

Generators

On location, generators provide the simplest and safest power source. Generators are available in all sizes: from portable 30 amp putt-putts up to tractor trailer rigs capable of providing several thousand amps of service. Four issues are paramount when ordering a generator: • Capacity. Be sure to allow an extra margin of safety in calculating the total load. In most cases it’s unhealthy for a generator to run at full load. • AC/DC. Gennys are available in AC, DC, or mixed AC and DC. Think about your needs and specify the Electricity & Distro

225

Figure 9.8. A Socaplex box like this one can feed multiple light sources; in this case 24. Each output cable (on the middle box) has 6 circuits.

correct service. If you are running Brute Arcs you will need 225 amps of DC for each arc. If you are running HMIs or video, you must have AC. • Crystal sync. If you are using HMIs you must order a generator that has constant speed governed by a synchronizing crystal. Don’t assume that all gennys are crystal. Specially modified portable gennys are available that are crystal. Always request a frequency meter. This is will allow you to monitor the frequency of the AC output to ensure that it is within acceptable limits. Under normal conditions with HMIs anything greater than a quarter of a cycle variation from 60 hertz (from 59.75 to 60.25) is cause for concern. • Sound proofing. Some gennys are sound proofed (blimped) to allow sync sound to be recorded. If you can park the genny far enough away or it’s a situation with high ambient noise, a soundproofed genny may not be necessary. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

226

Other things to remember: • Physical size. Consider where the genny will be driven and parked. Be sure it will fit and that your feeder cable can reach it. • Portability. There are five types of gennys: portable handcarry units, portable putt-putts that roll, towed units that can be hitched to a truck, piggyback units that sit behind the cab of an equipment truck, and independent units from van size to full tractor trailer size. Consider which will be appropriate for your needs. • Distance of runs. On very large exteriors, it may make more sense to rent two or three smaller gennys instead of doing monstrously long cable runs to a single large genny. • Fuel. Don’t assume that the genny rental operation will provide fuel and lubricants. Sometimes they do, but always ask.

Large Generator Operation

Figure 9.9. (top) From the left, 20 amp, a 60 amp and a 100 amp Bates connectors. Figure 9.10. (above) A power distribution box with both Bates and Cam-Lok connectors. It also has four Edison “convenience outlets.” Figure 9.11. (left) A cable crossing protects feeder (and prevents tripping hazards) when it lays across a traffic zone.

If a generator operator is not provided, it will be the best boy’s responsibility to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the unit. Every genny is different, so be sure to ask the rental house if the genny has any particular needs or bad habits. Some general principles are: •  Set the generator as close to level as possible. •  Check to make sure that the exhaust vents are open and clear before starting. •  Check oil, fuel, and antifreeze before starting. • Warm a generator up for at least ten minutes before applying a load. •  Run a generator for ten minutes after the load is shut off before turning the engine off. Electricity & Distro

227

Figure 9.12. Feeder cable is figure eighted whenever there is extra cable. This prevents a power factor effect (resistance) which is hard on a generator or the distribution. This photo showed banded feeder: three wires of #2 cable secured together.

Guidelines for Running Small Generators • Make sure that all operators have read the safety instructions for the portable generator. • Secure the generator moving out of position by: -- Only leaving it unattended on a flat surface, in which there is no chance of rolling, tipping, or sliding. -- Locking all wheels, or if no locks are available, inserting wedges under all tires to stop them from rolling. -- Positioning it out of the way of frequently used pathways to prevent accidental bumping, which can cause the portable generator to tip or roll. • Avoid running generator power cords through main walkways as they are potential tripping hazards, and if they are inadvertently pulled or snagged, you can damage the cord or generator outlet. Move the generator as close to the work area as possible (unless there are noise concerns), and keep power cables guarded with a cable crossing (see Figures 9.11 and 9.13). • Use caution if operating near standing water. If this standing water is exposed to electricity, anyone nearby is at risk of potential shock. Water can damage your

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

228

generator. Water seeping into unprotected outlets or extension-cord ends can cause breakers to trip or short circuits.

Figure 9.13. (top) Threefers (splitters) are used to split the feed from the generator into two lines going to two sides of the set. Figure 9.14. (above) Socaplex multicable are wired with six hot/live pins, six neutral pins, six ground/earth pins, and a final central pin used to aid alignment of the male end of the connector with a female receptacle. Figure 9.15. (left) A Socaplex distro box.

• Don’t overload the outlets. • Take special precautions when refueling or working around fuel tanks. -- Do not refuel while the engine is running or hot. -- Keep fuel containers away from trafficked areas. -- Do not smoke or use open flame near an open generator tank or gas can. Electricity & Distro

229

Figure 9.16. Paralleling enables you to run two putt-putt generators in parallel and power loads larger than ever possible before from a small generator setup (up to 120 amps). Shown here is a setup running an Arri M90 and a 4K par at the same time with power to spare by paralleling two Honda gennys. (Photo courtesy Gearhead Production Rentals).

-- Keep an ABC fire extinguisher nearby and know how to use it. Read the instructions before a fire starts, not after! -- Store fuel in a well-ventilated area and only in a proper container. • Use in a well-ventilated area. Exhaust fumes from gasoline engines—such as those found in generators contain carbon monoxide. For this reason, never operate gas generators in poorly ventilated areas. • Use hearing protection. • Regularly service equipment. -- Use extreme caution when working on electrical components. -- For the safest work environment, keep the generator and surrounding area free of debris. Remove all grease, ice, snow, or materials that could create slippery conditions around the unit. Remove any materials that could create a potential fire hazard. Carefully clean up any gas or oil spills before starting your generator. Avoid working through or nearby standing water. Always run a ground wire from the generator chassis to a rod stuck in the earth, a water pipe, or similar ground. Generator efficiency is reduced by high altitude and high temperature. The reduction is roughly 3.5% for every 1000 feet over 500 feet above sea level. Some generators can run concurrent: producing both AC and DC at the same time. However, on most units, running concurrent means losing the three-phase capability. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

230

Figure 9.17. (above) A Honda Companion cable for paralleling their generators. Note that it comes with a 30 amp twist lock plug. Figure 9.18. (left) Small portable sources are known as putt-putt generators, usually about 5500 watts or less. Those that are adapted for film use usually have crystal sync thus making them suitable for use with HMI lights.

Paralleling Small Generators

Paralleling putt-putt generators (running generators in parallel) means connecting two generators together to provide double the power output. It is important to ensure when ordering a generator that it is capable of running alongside an additional unit—not all generators can do this. Does Paralleling Cause Damage to Generators?

Running parallel generators is not a problem as long as they are two generators that are designed to be run in this way. Furthermore, most generators require a special parallel cable to make this work. This is because each generator has its own computer. They are not designed to work well together among different manufacturers. This synchronization is usually only possible if the generators are from the same manufacturer.

Tie-ins

The third common power source is the tie-in: tapping in to the power supply of a building. Tie-ins are cheap, convenient, and provide reliable power but in some areas they are strictly illegal and the electrician and production company can be subject to civil and criminal penalties. It is your responsibility to know the local laws and act appropriately. Even if a production company pressures you to save them money with a tie-in, keep in mind that you are taking responsibility for people’s lives and safety. Any time you deal with electricity, it is not to be taken lightly. Under no circumstances should anyone perform a tie-in until they have been trained and checked out by a senior film electrician. You can be killed while doing a tie-in. Don’t take chances. Many localities require that tie-ins be performed only by licensed electricians; some require that a fire marshal be present. Electricity & Distro

231

Tie-in Safety

Everyone should know the basic safety rules of tie-ins: • Two people should be present at a tie-in. There is a very real risk of electrocution in any tie-in. The second person must know CPR techniques and electrical rescue techniques. The second person should be another film electrician. • Only one hand in the box at any time. The most dangerous situation is for current to run across the chest and heart from one hand to another. • Stand on a rubber mat or low wooden box (pancake or quarter apple box; a full apple box might make you a little wobbly). Wear rubber sole shoes. • Wear safety glasses. • Have a fire extinguisher nearby. • Never stick anything metal in the box. Metal screwdrivers should be wrapped with electrical tape. • If the fuse box is behind a door, lock, sandbag or have a guard on it so that no one can swing the door open and slam you face first into the live connectors. • Always tie-in on the load side after the fuses or main circuit breakers. • Meter the voltage of all legs and meter the case to determine that it is not hot. Check if it is AC or DC. • Use sash cord to tie the feeder cable up in a strain relief. Make sure there is no pressure on the tie-in clips that might pull them loose. Put the strain relief on before you make the connections. Ensure that the metal ends are not free to swing into the box or get in your way. • Use pieces of rubber mat or cardboard to card off the hot lugs and provide insulation anywhere that the tiein clips might contact a hot lug and the case and arc. • Always clamp onto the neutral (white) first, then the hot legs. Always disconnect the neutral last when breaking the tie-in. If you have a case ground (green) connect it first, then the neutral. • Always use a bullswitch (disconnect and fuses) between your tie-in and the load. • Always tape all neutrals so they can’t come loose. • Color code all connections and lines. • Tape or brace the door of the fuse box so it can’t swing closed on the connectors. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

232

• Put rubber mat or show card over the open box so that no one can accidentally touch it. If necessary cordon off the area.

Figure 9.19. A spider box makes multiple cable runs from the same feeder much simpler—threefers or tees are not needed.

• Pray someone will invent some safe and easy to use tiein connectors so we can stop using clumsy, dangerous, and unreliable Tricos, Anderson clamps, and alligator clips. • If you do so many tie-ins that you find yourself looking at the box and thinking it looks like some perfectly innocent metal parts, stop for a moment and remind yourself, “This is live electricity; it wants to kill me.” Go slow and easy. • If you are not a trained, tested, and certified electrician, or if there is any doubt in your mind about your ability to perform the tie-in safely, don’t do it! If you feel the tie-in would not be safe or legal, don’t do it! The gaffer is the absolute and final authority concerning electrical safety on the set. If he or she says no tiein there will be no tie-in.

Determining KVA

In many industrial and commercial situations, the service is high voltage and a portion is stepped down by transformers for the 120 volt service. In these situations, it is not enough to look at the wire feeding the 120 volt box, you must also consider the capacity of the transformer, which is often only designed to run a few houselights Electricity & Distro

233

Figure 9.20. Cam-Lok 5-wire banded feeder cable—thee hot legs (red, blue, black), one neutral (white), and one ground (green). Banded cable is usually #2 wire. (Photo courtesy Gencable).

and wall sockets. Transformers are rated in KVA, which means kilovolt amps. When we realize that a volt amp is really a watt (remember that volts times amps equals watts) the process becomes clear. Let’s take a simple single-phase example: a transformer is rated at 77 KVA. This is 77,000 watts. We divide by the voltage and get 640 amps. Thus we cannot exceed 640 amps per leg even if the feed wire and the fuses are rated higher. In three-phase, given KVA and voltage, amperage is found by: x 1000 amps = KVAvolts

In order to understand these relationships, we must recall that threephase current = 1.73 × single-phase current. x 1000 amps = KVA volts x 1.73

Before transformers burn out they issue a very distinct and unmistakable burning odor. Learn to recognize that smell and add it to your mental list of things to check periodically when running a heavy load through a house transformer. If you detect it, reduce the load immediately, but don’t panic. It usually isn’t necessary to shut down the bullswitch and throw everybody into a tizzy. Just switch off as many lights as you can until you can rebalance.

Wall Plugging

For very small setups where only a small amount of light is needed, it is possible to plug small units into the walls. In most areas in the US, wall convenience outlets are usually 15 amp or 20 amp circuits. The standard two- or three-prong Edison plug duplex outlet that we are all familiar with is by convention rated at 20 amps. If there is Motion Picture and Video Lighting

234

Sub-feeder (e.g. Bates cable)

Lunch box

The set Lunch box

Lunch box Lunch box

Main Distro Box

The Ring of Fire Feeder cable

From the generator or other power source

nothing else on the circuit, they will usually hold a 2K light (16.6 amps). Kino Flos and LED lights have made this method far more practical. As we saw in Lighting Sources, even a Mole 10K LED can be wall plugged! Some things to remember: • Check to see what’s on the circuit. Switch off anything that isn’t needed. The simplest technique is to station people throughout the house while someone switches each breaker on and off and labels it. It takes a few minutes but it’s worth doing.

Figure 9.21. The “ring of fire” around the outside of the set is a standard method of arranging electrical distribution on a set. It ensures that power will be available on all sides of the set without the need for cables to cross the set and be in the way of dolly moves, actors’ movement, or otherwise be in the way of the shot. It is shown here in a simplified distro configuration.

• Have some spare fuses handy or if it’s circuit breakers, be sure the fuse box is not behind a locked door. • Never plug into a circuit that serves computers, delicate electronics, or any type of medical life support. • Don’t assume that each room has its own circuit. It is general practice in laying out household electrical to have circuits serve different areas to distribute the load. The same circuit might serve an outlet in the hallway and in an upstairs bathroom, while an outlet a few feet away is served by an entirely different circuit. • Let the lights burn for a few minutes after plugging. Better fuses blow now than when you are shooting. Electricity & Distro

235

Load Calculations and Paper Amps

Lighting units are rated in terms of their wattage. A resistance unit (such as a tungsten filament) draws amperage based on its size (amps equals watts divided by volts); the larger the filament, the greater the draw. At 1000 watts or more the term kilo (thousand) watts is used, hence, their common names 10K, 5K, etc. For broad calculations we round off to 10 amps per thousand watts—this is called “paper amps.” It gives us a margin of safety and simplifies the arithmetic. In planning and executing a power distribution system we have two jobs: to determine the amount of electricity needed and to order cable and connectors of the correct size to carry the load and get the power where we need it. Figure 9.22. (top) A circuit tester is not only important for safety, it is also a quick way to check if a line is hot or not. Figure 9.23. (above) A cube tap and a 3-to-2, also known as a ground lifter, or U-ground adapter or pig nose. The cube tap has an Edison connector.

And don’t forget the inevitable iron for the stylist, the hot curlers for the hairdresser, and the most critical power need on the set, the coffeepot. These items draw surprisingly high amperages. Determining the load is a simple matter. We merely add up the total wattage of the units we plan to use.

Ampacity

Cable and distribution equipment is rated in terms of their ability to carry electrical loads without overheating. This is called ampacity. The larger a cable or connector (and hence the lower its resistance) the greater the amount of current flow it can carry without overheating. If we push more amperage through a cable than it is rated for, it will overheat, then melt and possibly burn. We must then select the cable that will safely carry that load. To do so we must look at the ampacity table. See Table 9.1. Ampacities are not absolute; they vary according to situation, temperature, type of wire, type of usage, and courage. The conditions are generally related to heat buildup. For example, two individual cables lying next to each other on a cold concrete floor can handle a greater load than two cables run side by side in an enclosed metal conduit in a boiler room. Wire size is designated by a number, the lower the number the larger the wire. Most household wiring is done with #12 wire. The power cords on a typical piece of home electronics might be #14 or #16. Speaker wire is usually #20. The largest cable we commonly use in film production is #0000 (pronounced four ought). Cable larger than #0000 is rated in MCM (mean circular mils), and is a measurement of the cross-sectional area of the conductor. A mil is 1/1000th of an inch. For example: we are burning a 10K, 2 5Ks, 4 2Ks, and 2 1Ks. This is a total of 30K watts. Multiplying by 9 gives us 270 amps. Of course we always allow more for unexpected additional units and to run the equipment at something less than its full rated load­—usually a wise idea. This gives us 300 amps. If we are dealing with three-phase four-wire service we will assume that we will distribute the load as evenly as possible over the three legs. This gives us 100 amps per leg.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

236

Color Coding

All service equipment must be color coded. In the US the standard colors for 110 and 220 volt circuits are: • Neutral: white • Ground: green • Hot legs: red, blue, and black. Electricians carry color coding tape with them and check that all circuits are correctly color coded. Cable marked with black tape would be impossible to distinguish, so film electricians use yellow marking for the “black” leg. The international colors are • Neutral: blue • Hot leg: red • Ground: yellow/green

The Neutral

The neutral is a very important part of the system. If the neutral were mistakenly plugged into a hot leg, creating 220 volts, serious equipment damage and injury could result. To prevent this many rental houses make it difficult to do this. Two strategies are common:

Typical Ampacities for Copper Cable Rated Rated Rated at 90°C at 75°C at 60°C

Type W, SC, SCE, E #0000 400 360 300 #000 350 310 260 #00 300 265 225 #0 260 230 195 #2 190 170 140 #4 140 125 105 #6 100 95 80 #8 80 70 60 Types, S, SJ, SJO, SPT, ET, etc. #2 95 #4 70 #6 55 #8 40 #10 30 #12 25 #14 18 #16 13 #18 10 Table 9.1. Ampacities of commonly used types of cable and wire. If the type of cable is not known, use the 60°C rating.

• The neutral has a different size connector. • Reversed neutral. In bundled cable, the neutral is run backwards so the male and females are at opposite ends from the hot legs. Losing the neutral can also be very dangerous. Under certain conditions, losing the neutral can allow the voltage to wander and rise to dangerous levels. The neutral should never be fused. To prevent loss of neutral connections, the neutral lines must be taped with gaffer’s tape to make sure they don’t pull apart. Always connect the neutral first and disconnect it last. If there is a short or an arc, you want the current to have a better place to go than through you.

Distribution Equipment

Let’s look at power distribution equipment from the source all the way out to the light.

Tie-in Clamps

There are six main varieties of tie-in connectors: Tricos, Anderson clamps, alligator clips, busbar lugs, and bare wires. Tricos are the most common. They come in 60 amp, 100 amp and 200 amp sizes, referred to as #1, #2, and #3. Anderson clamps are for larger jobs, are unwieldy and difficult to tighten. They are all exposed metal that makes them more dangerous. Alligator clamps are only for extremely small jobs. They don’t tighten down with sufficient pressure and are not recommended for this reason. Electricity & Distro

237

Figure 9.24. A distro box with CamLok splitters and a grounding squid.

Busbar Lugs Busbar lugs are for connecting the feeder cable directly to a bus bar. They can be used for tie-ins and are used in spider boxes, which are busbar distribution boxes. Some large generators use bus bars and lugs for the primary connection. With the new five-wire grounded systems, the lugs are required to be keyed so that the neutral and ground lugs will only fit into the proper sections of the bus bar. Bare wires are simply a piece of feeder cable that has the insulation stripped off at one end and terminate in a connector (Tweco, CamLok, pin plug, Twistlock) at the other end. They are designed for use where there are large empty lugs available or for difficult situations where it is impossible to get clamps in.

Connectors Connectors can be a nightmare, especially if the equipment comes from several different rental houses and adapters are needed. The simplest are pin plugs, copper cylinders that are split down the middle. They are also used to connect the head cables of many large tungsten lights (5K and above). They need frequent maintenance to ensure a solid connection. If the contact is loose, push a screw driver into the split to spread the connector and create better copper-to-copper contact. Cam-Loks are more positive in their locking and seldom freeze together. They also form a watertight and completely enclosed connection that is much safer. Union connectors are more common in the theater and video studios. They are high-tech versions of three-pins and have a secure locking device. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

238

#0000

#000

#00

#0

#1

#2

#3

#4

#6

#8

#10

#12

Ordinary plugs such as you will find around the house (two parallel flat blades and a round ground pin) are referred to as Edison plugs, Hubble, U-ground, and household plugs. The adapters that convert a 3-blade grounded Edison to a 2-blade ungrounded is called a 3-to-2. Twist locks have the pins arranged in a circle. One or more of the pins has a nib on the end that creates a positive lock when given a final twist. Twist locks are safe and easy to use and come in an enormous variety of arrangements.

Figure 9.25. (above) Bus bars on an older generator. This one can also run concurrent, which means it can produce both AC and DC at the same time. Figure 9.26. (left) Sizes of copper wire used for distribution and sub-distribution.

Bull Switches A bull switch is a portable disconnect switch with fuses for each hot leg. They come in 60, 100, and 300 amp sizes, most often with bladed cartridge fuses. A bull switch should be put in every distribution system, usually right after the tie-in or generator. In some cases you may want it near the set where it can be used as a master switch to shut everything down.

Feeder Cable Feeder cable runs from the power source to the distribution boxes. The real workhorse of the business was #2 welding cable—for safety reasons, welding cable has been replaced by entertainment cable, which is essentially the same thing but double jacketed to stand up to the abuse of being on set. Rated at 115 amps, it is compatible with the most common fuse boxes and distribution boxes (generally 100 amps per leg). It is flexible and easy to work with. Most often terminates in Cam-Lok connectors. For larger service #0 (one ought) and #00 are frequently used. For the really big jobs, such as a 225 amp Brute Arc, #0000 is the largest size most rental houses carry. These heavy cables come as individual wires, in 25, 50, and 100 foot lengths. Picking up a 100 foot length of #0000 is a heavy lift. Electricity & Distro

239

Figure 9.27. (right, top) A passthrough lunch box. It has a 100 amp Bates input on one side and a 100 amp Bates output on the other side. Figure 9.28. (right, bottom) A gang box with 100 amp Bates connector. Figure 9.29. (above, top) A Snake Bite—Cam-Lok to Bates. Figure 9.30. (above, bottom) A ground squid with Cam-Lok connectors; used when you have several lines to ground but only one ground outlet on the distro box.

Wire Types Typical wire coding is as follows: 12/3 SJ 600V (UL). This indicates that the wire has 3 conductors of #12 wire. It is type SJ, is rated for service up to 600 volts, and is certified by Underwriter’s Laboratory. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

240

Wire Designation Codes

• A­—Asbestos. Dry use only. • T—Dry only, operate at less than 140° under full current load. • F—Fixture wire. CF is cotton insulation. AF has asbestos insulation, SF is silicone insulation. • R—Rubber or neoprene • S—Appliance cord, stranded conductors, rubber outer jacket. S is rough service, SJ is more flexible, SV is for light service.

Figure 9.31. (left) A four way with Edison (Hubbell) connectors. Four ways may be short like this or 10, 15, or 25 feet long. Figure 9.32. (above, top) 18/2 zip cord for lamps and other small devices. It has Quick-On connectors attached. Figure 9.33. (above, bottom) A male Quick-On connector for zip cord.

• SP—Lamp cord • SPT—Lamp cord, plastic insulation • X—Very tough, heat and moisture resistant • ...H—Higher load current temperatures, up to 167°F • ...HH—Up to 194°F load current temperature • ...N—Jacket is nylon. Gas and oil resistant. • ...O—Neoprene jacket • ...W—Wet use • UF—Underground feeder. Moisture resistant. • USE—Underground service entrance cable. • E—Entertainment cable. The new code requirement for film and video use. Double jacketed and heavier. • SC entertainment cable has resistance to acids, liquids, and solvents; crushing and abrasion; heat, flames, and UV­—for sets and locations indoors and out. • S & SJ—Commonly used as cable in film and video; wire types such as THHN, THN, and THWN are prevalent as household wiring. Electricity & Distro

241

All lights (except Maxi-Brutes) must be highly mobile. All lights (except 9-Lite FAY) to have 1/4 or 1/2 CTS) and be on flicker box. Maxi-Brutes to have 1/2 CTO. We might have voltage drop issues.

Two Maxi-Brutes with 1/2 CTB

9-Lite FAY with 1/2 or 1/4 CTS

Generator

100 Amp Bates (three lengths)

B (a and pp ed ro fe x. ed 50 e 0’) r c ab le

#00 feeder

Lunch box

300 Amp distro box

Banded feeder cable (approx. 300’)

600 amp pass thru distro box

Slope of the terrain

Lunch box 100 Amp Bates

Lunch box

1K zip lights set up as safety and worklights along paths and workzones

100 Amp Bates Lunch box 2Ks with flicker box and 1/4 CTS

60 Amp Bates and Single extensions

Figure 9.34. This is the distribution diagram for the Medieval knights film shown in the chapter Scene Lighting. Enough information so that the gaffer can make the final calculations on generator size, ampacity of distro cable, number of distro boxes, connectors, and adapters. This multi-day shoot would have scenes shot in different parts of the larger area—advance cabling for future scenes was a time-saver.

Distribution Boxes Distribution or “distro” boxes (sometimes called D-boxes) accept feeder cable inputs (in the US, most commonly Cam-Lok) and has output connectors for sub-feeder such as 100 amp or 60 amp Bates. Most distro boxes are “pass-through” which means that there are also outputs for the same size feeder as the inputs, thus allowing other distro boxes on the same line (Figures 9.10, 9.24, and 9.36). Outputs for the Bates connectors must also be fused. As a rule, any line must be fused for the smallest load it can handle. In this case, since each output goes to 100 amp Bates, that output must also be fused for 100 amps, regardless of the size of the input cable.

Lunch Boxes, Snake Bites, and Gangboxes At the end of a Bates cable, it is often necessary to have some Edison connectors. To do this, the most convenient solution is a lunch box, which consists of a 100 amp Bates input and 100 amp Bates passthrough (Figure 9.27). The output is five Edison circuits, duplex connectors. Snake bites go directly from Cam-Lok or pin plug to Bates outputs, usually 100 amp (Figure 9.29). A gangbox is 100 amp or 60 amp input with four or five Edison connectors. A four way is a 20 amp Edison input with four Edison outputs (Figure 9.28). Motion Picture and Video Lighting

242

Extensions (Stingers) Lines that terminate in Bates, Cam-Lok or pin plug can be connected directly into the distro box. Large lights (5K and above) usually have one of these types of connectors. Smaller units are Edison and go into a Bates connector, Cam-Lok, or pin.

Figure 9.35. Plan for a studio set distribution system. Planning and supervising distro is up to the Assistant Chief Lighting Technician.

If the head cable of the light doesn’t reach to the box there are several options. To extend out to a light that has a Bates, Cam-Lok, pin plug, or other type of connect we need sub-distribution. Bates cables are the most commonly found for this. For lighter loads (up to 20 amps) we can use single extensions. A beefier cousin of the household extension cord, it consists of a length of 12/3 (three conductors of #12) with Edison plugs. It is also called a single, single extension, a stinger, or a 12/3.

Zip Extensions Occasionally, you may need to power small devices such as a prop table lamp. For this zip cord is often used, especially if you need to hide it or make it blend in with the set. Zip is what an ordinary household extension is made. It is either 18/2 or 16/2 wire that comes in several colors, including black, brown, and white. For larger uses, 12/2 and 12/3 are also available and capable of carrying 20 amps. Electricity & Distro

243

Figure 9.36. A typical Cam-Lok to Bates distribution box. At the bottom are Cam-Lok inputs for feeder cable and 100 amp Bates outputs along the top row.

Planning a Distribution System

The primary challenge of planning is to get the power where you need it. The basic trick to get enough stage boxes (or whatever distribution boxes you are using) so that your final cabling to the lights is reasonable. The most common ways to get into trouble with distribution are: • Not enough distribution boxes so that a complex web of extensions, stingers, and gang boxes cross and recross the set. •  Not enough secondary distribution, (e.g. Bates). •  Enough power but not enough break-outs: gang boxes, lunch boxes, or Bates outlets, depending on which system you are using. As much as any other part of lighting, planning a distribution system requires thinking ahead, anticipating variations, and allowing slack for the unexpected.

Balancing the Load

Once the power is up, one major responsibility remains, balancing the load. Simply put, keeping a balanced load means keeping a roughly equal amount of current flowing on all legs, whether it be a three-wire or a four-wire system (not counting the ground line which makes them four-wire or five-wire systems). If a system is rated at 100 amps per leg and the load is 100 amps, what is wrong with it all being on the same leg—after all, the fuses aren’t going to blow? Motion Picture and Video Lighting

244

Three-Phase Electrical Supply

Single-Phase Electrical Supply

Hot Legs Red

Yellow (Black)

Hot Legs Blue Neutral

Red

Ground

Blue

83 amps on the neutral!

Neutral

0 amps on neutral

Distro Box

Red

Yellow (Black)

No light connected

Ground

Distro Box

Blue

Red

Blue

No light connected 10K 83 amps

10K 83 amps

A seriously out-of-balance load.

10K 83 amps

A perfectly balanced load.

There are several problems. First, we have to remember that electricity travels in two directions. Remember Fudd’s Law, “What goes in, must come out.” To put it more mathematically, the current on the neutral is equal to the sum of the difference between the load on the hot legs. In other words, on a three-phase system, if there are 100 amps on each leg, the current on the neutral will be zero, the phases cancel each other out. On the other hand, if the same system has 100 amps on one leg and nothing on the other legs, the current on the neutral will be 100 amps.

Figure 9.37. Balanced and unbalanced loads. One is single-phase and the other three-phase but the same principles apply to both systems. These are used for illustration only, whether the load is balanced has nothing to do with it being a single-phase or three-phase system.

This is dangerous for several reasons. First of all, we run the danger of overloading the neutral wire. Keep in mind that a neutral is never fused, so overloading it can have dire consequences. Secondly, even if our system can handle an overcurrent in the neutral, the transformer in the electric room or on the pole outside might fail as a result of the imbalance. In the realm of “things that will ensure you never get hired again by this company,” melting down the transformer is near the top of the list. The moral of the story is: balance your load. As you plug in or switch on, distribute the usage across all legs. Once everything is up and running, the load is checked with a clamp-on ammeter. Generically called an amprobe (after a major manufacturer of the devices), Electricity & Distro

245

Figure 9.38. Checking the balance with a clamp-on ammeter, commonly called an amprobe.

this type of meter is one of the most fundamental tools of the film electrician. A good trick is to always read a load in the same order, for example red, yellow, blue (RYB: “rib”). That way you only need to memorize a set of three numbers. This will help you remember which legs are high or low. In some cases, it may be necessary to run a ghost load. For example, you have a 100 amp generator but are running only one light, a 10K. Since there is only one light, the load would be entirely on one leg, deadly to a small genny. Plug unused lights into the other legs and point them away so that they don’t interfere with the set lights. Don’t set them face down on the ground or cover them. This could cause them to overheat and create a fire hazard or blow the bulb. In a tie-in situation don’t forget that there may be other uses in the building. Check the load at the tie-in and on the building service itself. Even though your lights are in balance, there may be other heavy use in the building that is overloading the system or throwing it out of balance. This can be tricky—the worst offenders are, in fact, intermittent users: freezers, air conditioners, etc., which might be off when you scout the location and check the load, but kick in just as you are pulling your heaviest load.

Working with DC

DC is used much less than it was a few years ago. This is the tail end of a battle that dates back to the earliest days of electricity. When electrical power was first being used outside of the laboratory and proposals were being made to wire up parts of cities, both types of power had their champions. Thomas Edison felt that DC was the Motion Picture and Video Lighting

246

preferred form of power. Nikola Tesla, the other great electrical innovator of the era, favored AC for its ability to be run over greater distances by stepping the voltage up and down—higher voltages will carry over longer distances with less loss of power. In the end, of course, AC prevailed and now AC power grids cover entire continents, while DC power transmission is limited to a few miles at best. DC has other disadvantages. Since all the current flows in one direction it tends to eat the connectors by constantly eroding one side and depositing metal on the other. And, of course, modern electronics (such as those found in HMIs, Xenons, and even Variacs) are not possible with DC. Still, it has its uses. Until recently its major function on sets was for Brute Arcs, which will run only on DC. Even today, if Brutes are planned you must ensure that the generator or location is supplied with DC. Some generators will provide both AC and DC (some are switchable and will supply one at a time). This is a major consideration in ordering generators. Special ballasts are available that will run DC and also on AC—most of them require three-phase.

AWG OHMS/FOOT #12 0.0019800 #10 0.0012400 #8 0.0007780 #6 0.0004910 #4 0.0003080 #2 0.0001940 #1 0.0001540 #0 0.0001220 #00 0.0000967 #000 0.0000766 #0000 0.0000608 Table 9.2. Resistance per foot of cable—needed to calculate voltage drop.

Some older stages are still wired with DC. If you work on one, the first thing the electricians must do is clearly label all DC boxes (white camera tape is usually used). DC can be deadly to AC equipment. If an HMI, compressor, computer, or any other AC device is plugged into DC, it will be cooked immediately. So, while tungsten lights (and most powered light stands, generically called Molevators or Cinevators) will run on either AC or DC, few other devices are so indiscriminate. Extreme caution is always paramount.

Calculating Voltage Drop

A problem with long cable runs is that the resistance of the cable itself will cause the voltage to drop. This has always been a problem since each 10 volt drop creates a 100 K drop in color temperature in tungsten bulbs. Now with HMIs, voltage drop (VD) can be an even more serious problem. Many HMIs won’t fire at all if the voltage is too low. Color temperature can be corrected with gels or in the lab, but a light that won’t turn on can be fatal. Voltage drop is a function of resistance. It can be dealt with in one of two ways: either shorten the cable run (not often possible) or reduce the resistance by increasing the size of the cable (and thereby decreasing resistance). Voltage drop should be dealt with in the planning stage. This means that the calculations must be done beforehand. The formula for voltage drop is: • VD = C × R where VD is voltage drop, C is current in amps, and R is resistance in ohms. If you call voltage drop V, you can remember it as • VCR Electricity & Distro

247

The current is the total amperage of your expected load. Resistance is the resistance per foot of the cable times the total run (the distance in both directions). For example, we expect a 100 amp load at 1000 feet from the genny. We try #2 welding cable. Its resistance per foot is: .000162. R is thus 1000 feet times 2 (the run coming and going) times .000194 times 100 amps: • 1000’ × 2 × .000194 × 100 = 38.8 The voltage drop would be 38.8 volts. If we start with 120 volts we would end up with 120 - 38.8 = 81.2 volts, way below acceptable. Let’s try it with #00 cable. The resistance per foot of #00 is .0000967 ohms per foot. • 1000’ × 2 × .0000967 × 100 = 19.34 • 120 - 19.34 = 100.66 Still not good enough. How about #0000? • 1000’ × 2 × .0000608 × 100 = 12.16 This means that with 120 volts we would end up with 107.84. Almost there. But the generator has a trim adjustment! We can crank the generator up to 130 volts. This leaves us with 117 volts. More than enough. That’s why we get the big bucks.

Electrical Safety

Electrical safety must be taken seriously. Following is a list of the most fundamental rules to remember on a set: • When connecting to a distro box, always connect the ground first, then the neutral, then the hot legs. When disconnecting, uplug the hot legs first, then the neutral and the ground last. • Ground all systems whenever possible. • No one but an electrician should ever plug in a light or provide power. • Don’t touch two lights or light stands at the same time. • Always tape your neutrals. Never fuse the neutral. • Keep distribution boxes away from water and off wet ground. Use half apples and rubber mats. •  Check voltage before plugging anything in. •  Tape loose hot connectors or energized metal.   • Never overload distribution equipment. • The fuse should always be the weakest link of the chain. The capacity of any fuse should always be less than the ampacity of any part of the system. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

248

• Never bypass the fuses. • Cables should be routed sensibly. Never let loops of cable stick up to trip somebody. Use cable crossings or rubber mats where there is substantial traffic.

Figure 9.39. A 4x4 gel frame being used as a rain hat to protect the Arri HMI from any sprinkles that might come up. The transformer (lower left) also has rain protection. (Photo courtesy Fat Lighting).

• The head cable of a light on a stand should always hang vertically. It should never come off a light at an angle so as to put sidewards force on the stand. • Keep your load balanced. • With large lights (5K and above in tungsten and some HMIs) the bulbs should be removed for transportation. • Hot lenses can shatter when water hits them. If rain or rain effects are a problem, provide rain hoods, plastic covered flags, or other rain protection. • Warn people to look away when switching on a light by shouting “striking.” • Don’t assume it’s alternating current (AC). DC can be deadly to AC equipment. Check it.

Wet Work

Because water triples conductivity, working in or near water is probably the most hazardous situation a crew can face. Extra precautions and constant vigilance are required. Saltwater soaked beaches are Electricity & Distro

249

Figure 9.40. A Shock Stop GFCI installed between the generator and output circuits improves safety in the wet conditions for a winter exterior shoot. Here it feeds a Bates 100 amp to 60 amp splitter with one side feeding the Edison gangbox sitting on the half apple box.

particularly hazardous. Some things to keep in mind: •  Keep all stage boxes and connectors dry by wrapping them in plastic and keep them on half apple boxes. Remember that gaffer’s tape is not resistant to water or cold; plastic electrical tape will work. Garbage bags are useful, but visqueen or heavy plastic is better. •  Ground everything in sight. •  Keep HMI ballasts out of water and off of damp sand. •  Use waterproof shoes and rubber gloves if necessary. Place dry rubber mats liberally, wherever someone might be working with hot items such as HMI ballasts, distribution boxes, etc.

HMI Safety HMIs can be extremely hazardous. The startup voltage on an HMI can be 13,000 volts or more. • The ballast should always be grounded. The ground should be of substantial wire and attached to the ground metal with something that can take a large load such as a Trico, vise grips, Anderson clamp, etc. Incredibly, few ballasts provide an attachment point for a ground wire. Usually a screw must be slightly loosened or a bit of paint scrapped off. •  Read voltage from the ballast to a ground and from the head to a ground. •  Never operate the HMI with the lens off. The lens filters harmful ultraviolet radiation. •  Never attempt to defeat the micro-switch, which prevents the unit from firing if the lens is open. •  Don’t let anyone lean on the stand or sit on the ballast. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

250

Grounding Safety

The concept of safety grounds is simple. We always want the electricity to have a path that is easier to follow than through us. In general, any metal object that is in some way connected to the earth will serve as a suitable ground. A metal rod buried in the ground is the most basic and perhaps most reliable ground. Most permanently installed electrical systems are grounded.

Figure 9.41. A Lifeguard GFCI box protects crew and equipment on the set of the film Sully. (Photo courtesy Bender, Inc.).

Many building codes require that the neutral and ground be bonded together at the box and that a direct ground run from the box to the earth. This ground is then continued by the continuous metal contact of conduit and box to the metal housing of all devices. Cold water pipes are a reliable ground since they have a continuous metal-to-metal circuit connected to the supply pipes that are buried in earth. Hot water pipes are less likely because the metal-to-metal contact may be broken at the hot water heater. Sprinkler system pipes are grounded but it is considered unsafe (and in most cases illegal) to ground to them. •  Always check for adequate ground with a voltage meter. Read the potential voltage between the ground and a hot source. •  Remember that paint is an insulator. You will not get a good ground if you don’t scrape down to bare metal. Electricity & Distro

251

•  A ground is not truly safe if it is not capable of carrying the entire load. A 200 amp load cannot be safely grounded with #20 wire. •  When in doubt, ground it.

GFCI

Figure 9.42. An electrical tester that includes GFCI testing.

A ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) can help prevent electrocution. GFCIs are generally installed where electrical circuits or those using them may accidentally come into contact with water but may be useful in many other situations where the equipment is not grounded in other ways. A ground fault is a conducting connection between any electric conductor and any conducting material that is grounded or that may become grounded. Electricity always wants to find a path to the ground. In a ground fault, electricity has found a path to ground, but it is a path the electricity was never intended to be on, such as through a person’s body. How Does a GFCI Work?

The GFCI will sense the difference in the amount of electricity flowing into the circuit to that flowing out, even in amounts of current as small as 4 or 5 milliamps. The GFCI reacts in less than one-tenth of a second to shut off the circuit. Shock Stop and Lifeguard are two examples of portable GFCI protection (Figures 9.40 and 9.41).

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

252

gripology

Figure 10.1. A reflector modified with 4x4 double and single nets. (Photo courtesy Casey Schmidt).

Grip work is an important part of the lighting process. An understanding of basic grip procedure and equipment is essential for any lighting professional. This chapter will cover the tools and equipment of grip work, standard methods, and general set operating methods. What is a grip? Grips do many jobs on a film set: they set up and push the dolly, they handle cranes and all “rigging,” which would include hanging lights from a wall, over the side of a cliff, on the front of a roller coaster, or anything that goes beyond simply placing a light on a stand or on the floor. They also handle any lighting control devices (such as nets, flags, and silks) that are not attached to the light. Anything that is actually attached to the light, such as diffusion clipped on with C-47s, is done by electricians. This is the American system; in most other countries, all lighting control is done by the electricians.

Definitions

Baby means a 5/8-inch stud on a light or pin on a piece of grip equipment or female receiver. Junior and Senior refer to 1 1/8-inch stud or female receiver. Other standard sizes are 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2-inch. These plus the 5/8-inch are all found on most standard grip heads. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

254

Light Controls

Grip effects units modify the character or quantity of light—blocking, redirecting, feathering, and wrapping the light—in a word, control. The basic rule of thumb is that when the control is attached to a light, it is an electric department deal; if it is separate from the light (on a grip stand, for example) it becomes a grip thing and, for the most part, different equipment is used to deal with it.

Figure 10.2. Mole 12 light MaxiBrutes and some single MolePARs being readied for a night shoot. The Maxis are on candle sticks. For rigs like this you need to think about the cable runs and how they will be affected by raising and lowering the crane. (Photo courtesy Greg Bishop).

Reflectors

Reflector boards or shiny boards are ancient and venerable film equipment. On “B westerns” of the 1940s and 1950s they were practically the only piece of lighting equipment used, those being the times of day-for-night, a now largely abandoned technique. Traditionally, reflector boards are roughly 42×42-inch and are two-sided, a hard side and a soft side. The hard side is mirror-like, smooth finish highly reflective material. The soft side is reflective material with just a bit of texture. This makes it a bit less specular and slightly softer. As a result the soft side has considerably less punch and throw than the hard side, which is sometimes referred to as a bullet for its ability to throw a hard, specular beam of reflected sunlight amazing distances. Gripology

255

Figure 10.3. A grip standing by to “shake up” (refocus) a reflector. Because the sun moves so rapidly, it is usually necessary to shake them up before almost every take.

The soft side is important for balancing daylight exteriors. Because the sun is so specular, daylight exteriors are extremely high-contrast. The problem is that the sun is so intense, most film lights are insignificant in relation to it. Only an arc, 6K, or 12K means much against direct sun. The answer is to use the sun to balance itself. This is what makes reflector boards so useful: the intensity of the reflection rises and falls in direct proportion to the key source. A variety of surfaces are available for reflector boards. The hardest is actual glass mirror, which provides tremendous punch and control, but of course is delicate to handle. Easier to transport but less regular is artificial mirror, which can be silvered Plexiglas or silvered mylar (which can be stretched over a frame). Hard reflector is very smooth and specular and has very high reflectivity. The soft side is usually silver leaf, which is not as smooth and has the leafy edges that hang loose. Boards are also available in gold for matching warm light situations such as sunsets. Beadboard is just large sheets of styrofoam. Beadboard is a soft reflector because of the uneven surface, but it is not rigid and seldom stays flat for very long. This is not a problem for the soft side, but it makes it very difficult to focus and maintain an even coverage on the hard side. Beadboard is a valuable bounce material, but keep in mind that a single sheet of beadboard is the equivalent of thousands of styrofoam cups. Rosco and Lee also make supersoft and other reflector materials available in rolls. They can be stretched on frames and made into 6×6s, 12×12s, etc. A good trick is to take a cheap glass mirror that is permanently mounted to a backing board (the kind of inexpensive full-length

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

256

mirror available at a dime store, for example) and smash it with a hammer in several places. With a semi-soft light, it provides a dappled bounce with nice breakup. With a hard light, it makes a sparkly reflection that can simulate reflection off buildings. Operating Reflectors

The key rule in relation to operating a reflector is of course the old physics rule: angle of incidence = angle of reflection. This is the problem with reflectors. Because the sun is constantly moving, the boards require constant adjustment. For fast-moving work, it is necessary to station a grip or electrician at each board (one person can handle a couple of boards if they are together). Before each take, the command shake ‘em up means to wiggle the boards to check that they are still focused where they should be. Reflector boards are equipped with a brake in the yoke to keep them properly focused. Other rules for using reflectors are:

Figure 10.4. Grips “Hollywood” (hand hold) a quarter stop silk to cover a walk. Since the actors are walking and the dolly moving, they can’t set it in highboys. One of them rides the dolly for ease of movement. A full silk, which is much heavier diffusion, would have been too much; the actors would have been significantly darker than their background and would have needed additional lighting, which would have been difficult on a walking shot (a walk and talk) and even more difficult without shutting down the entire street—which is much more difficult to get a permit for.

• Keep reflectors tabled (parallel to the ground) when not in use. This keeps them from blinding people on the set and makes them less susceptible to being knocked over by the wind. It also serves as a reminder that they need refocusing. Gripology

257

• If it’s windy at all, lay the boards on the ground when not being attended by a crew member. • The reflection of direct sun is very intense. Try to keep it out of people’s eyes. • Boards must be stabilized during the take. A moving reflection is very noticeable and obviously artificial. Standard procedure for aiming a board is to tilt it down until the reflection of the sun is just in front of you. Once you have found the spot, it is easier to aim it where you want it to go. Figure 10.5. (top) Set up for a day exterior single (close-up or medium shot). (Photo courtesy Calabria Lighting and Grip). Figure 10.6. (above) A 4x4 cart holds 4x4 open frames “skinned up” with various gels and diffusion. Extra rolls of diffusion are stored on the side.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

258

Specialized stands known as reflector stands are usually used for shiny boards. Also called combo stands, they feature junior receivers, leg braces, no wheels, and a certain amount of heft to help keep things in place. They are called combo stands because they are also used as light stands.

Flags and Cutters

Flags and cutters are basic subtractive lighting. Coming in sizes from 12×18-inches to 24×72-inches, they are used to cast shadows, control spill, and shape the light. They are constructed with 3/8-inch wire and terminate in a 3/8-inch pin that fits in grip heads. Flags come in the standard sizes 12×18, 18×24, 24×36, and 48×48-inch (four by four). There are other less common sizes as well.

post

Flag Tricks

Figure 10.7. (top) Two highboys and a piece of Speed Rail are used to rig a goal post to support a MolePAR. This type of rigging would be done by the grip crew in collaboration with the electricians. Figure 10.8. (above) A detail of the goal post—pipe clamps hold the Speed Rail (aluminum pipe). Figure 10.9. (left) 4x4 solids and pieces of duvetyne (fire resistant black cloth) being used to tent a window. This blocks out all extraneous light while leaving room for a light to be aimed through the window. (Photo courtesy Casey Schmidt).

The most basic rule about flags is that the farther away the flag is from the light source, the harder the cut will be, that is, the sharper the shadow will be. This is why flags are such an important adjunct to barndoors. Being attached to the light, barndoors can’t be moved away from the light and there is a limit to how sharp a cut they can produce. The flag can be moved in as far as the frame will allow, making the cut almost infinitely adjustable. For the sharpest cut of all, remove the Fresnel, usually by opening the door of the light. The more flooded the light, the sharper the Gripology

259

Figure 10.10. (right) The right hand rule. As you face the stand, the handles are on the right. Figure 10.11. (above, top) A highboy (hi-hi roller stand) has a 4-1/2” grip head which in this case holds a grip arm. The arm is doubled to get it out further. Figure 10.12. (above, middle) A detail of the doubled grip arm. Figure 10.13. (above, bottom) A Matthews dots and fingers kit: very small flags and nets, some of them round (dots).

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

260

cut. For razor sharp control of light (and for harder shadows) the light must be at full flood. The more spotted a light is, the softer the shadows will be, and the harder it is to control with barndoors and flags. Cutters are longer and narrower. Sizes include 10×42, 18×48, and 24×72-inch. Floppy flags have two layers of duvetyne (the black cloth covering material); one of them is attached only on one side and can be “flopped down” to make a 4x4 into a 4x8, for example. Just position the spring clip so that it doesn’t cast an unwanted shadow. Except in rare circumstances, never mount a flag directly to the grip head on a C-stand. Always include at least a short arm so that the flag can be repositioned. As with any piece of equipment you set, always think ahead to the next step—that may be where you want it now, but what happens if it needs to move. Don’t get yourself too locked in. Leave some slack. Common terms are sider, topper, top chop, bottomer, and bottom chop, all self-explanatory.

Nets

Nets are similar to flags, but instead of opaque black duvetyne (which is fire resistant), they are covered with bobbinet, a net material that reduces the amount of light without altering its quality. Nets come in two predominant flavors, single and double, (there is a third, called a lavender, rare but it reduces the light 1/4 stop). Double nets are a double layer of bobbinet. Each layer is rotated 90° from the layer underneath it. Nets are color coded in the bindings that secure the scrim to the frame. Singles are white, doubles are red, and silk is color coded gold. Net material comes in black, white, and lavender, but black is predominately used. A single net reduces light by a 1/2 stop, a double by 1 stop, and a triple, 1-1/2 stops. A lavender reduces by 1/4 stop or less. The values are, of course, approximate—the actual reduction depends on the light sources, its distance from the net, and the angle of the net material relative to the direction of the light. The main difference between a flag frame and a net frame is that net frames are open-ended: that is, they have one side open so that it is possible to orient the net so that there is no shadow of the bar where it might show.

Figure 10.14. (above, left) Everything about this C-stand setup is wrong. The right hand rule is not observed, the arm is set at eye level in a way someone could poke their eye out, the weight (of the flag and arm) is not over the high leg, there is no sand bag, and they have started by raising it not on the top riser. You can see how easily this stand would tip over. If you see a stand set like this—just say no! Figure 10.15. (above, right) A properly done C-stand. The right hand rule is observed, the arm is set safely out of the way, the weight is over the high leg, and a sand bag is set also on the high leg.

Net Tricks

If you tilt a net so that it is at an angle to the light, it becomes “thicker” and cuts the light even more. This is an easy way to fine-tune the attenuation. As with a flag, the farther away the net is from the light source, the harder the cut will be. Gripology

261

Figure 10.16. A grip truck on location. Carts for C-stands and 4x4s stand ready. A four step ladder makes it easier to get on and off the truck via the lift gate. Reflector stands are stored on the door.

To set a single source so that the f/stop stays constant over a long distance (to cover a walk, for example), nets can be stacked, overlapped so that the area nearest the light is covered by a single and a double, then a single only, then nothing. To fine-tune very small areas, paper tape can be applied directly to a net. When the gaffer calls for a single or double net on a light, don’t just bring the one he asks for, bring them both, it might save a trip. This goes for just about anything that you offer to a light: diffusion, scrims, etc. Very small flags and nets are called dots and fingers (Figure 10.13).

Cuculoris (Cookies)

Cuculoris or cookies as they are commonly called, are random patterns designed to break up the light either subtly (if close to the light) or in a hard shadow pattern (if away from the light). Standard cookies come in two varieties: wood, made from 1/4-inch plywood and celo, which is a layer of wire net covered with plastic-like material which has a random pattern burned into it to create a varying pattern of transparency and semi-opacity. Celos are much more subtle than a wood cookie. Any flat device designed to cast a patterned shadow is a cookie. Leaf patterns, blinds, and stained-glass windows are common cookie patterns. Cookies of this type are also known as gobos. Foamcore is easily Motion Picture and Video Lighting

262

cut, but rigid enough to be self-supporting. When actual branches and leaves are used as cookies they are called dingles. A small branch is a 1K dingle and larger ones are 2K or 5K dingles; another name is branch-aloris. If they actually appear in the frame they are called smilex or lettuce.

Figure 10.17. Tips for Grips. (Drawing by Brent Hirn, Master of Gripology).

Gripology

263

As with flags, the farther away from the light, the sharper the cut. If a hard, sharp shadow pattern is needed, be sure to employ a light large enough to back way off and still get the stop. For maximum sharpness, take the lens off the light. This reduces the radiator to a point source which casts the sharpest possible pattern.

Grids and Eggcrates

The use of grids came from still photographers, who used them to make non-directional light directional. Honey-comb grids have very small openings and are one to two inches thick. They function in the same way as an eggcrate on a soft light.

Open Frames

Figure 10.18. (right) Pipe clamps secure Arri LED Fresnels to an aluminum truss, usually called a rock n’ roll truss. Figure 10.19. (above, top) A set cart for C-stands and 4x4 nets and flags. Figure 10.20. (above) A compact set cart for C-stands and milk crates for smaller grip equipment.

All size frames also come uncovered so that the grips can put on the diffusion of the day. A couple of open frames in each size are a must in any grip order. Paper tape can be used to apply gel to a frame, but double-stick tape is also useful. Snot tape is the more professional solution, it is double sided transfer tape in a dispenser, is a very quick and efficient way to gel up a frame, and is the best way to accomplish the job.

Diffusers

Also known as silks, diffusers come in all the standard flag sizes and are covered with a white silk-like diffusion material. Originally, it was real silk, and still is if you order China silk. More often, the silk is made of white nylon, which is easier to clean and doesn’t turn yellow as readily. Silks soften light and reduce it by about 2 stops. There is also a much lighter diffusion 1/4 stop silk that reduces the light by about 1/3 stop—go figure.

Butterflies and Overheads

Permanently mounted silks are seldom larger than the standard 4×4 foot. Six-by-sixes are called butterflies. They come in breakdown frames which are assembled on site and the covering is stretched and secured with ties. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

264

Figure 10.21. (left, top) Hive plasma lights mounted on Speed Rail with pipe clamps. The short pieces of Speed Rail are mounted on the truss with Crosby clamps. Figure 10.22. (left) A Matthews junior grid clamp. Figure 10.23. (above, top) Beach tires make it possible to roll this 12K HMI on sand. (Photo courtesy Greg Bishop). Figure 10.24. (above) A standard grip head. (Courtesy Matthews Studio Equipment).

Larger silks are called overheads and come in the standard sizes 8×8, 12×12, and 20×20-foot, commonly called 8 by, 12 by, and 20 by. The frames are transported disassembled with the covering off. Also available are 9×12 and 20×40 and 30×30 and even 40×40. Butterflies (6×6-foot) can be flown on one stand (usually a highboy). Large frames are flown on two highboys. The critical factor in flying a 20-by is knowing that it is sufficient area to drive a sailboat at 12 knots; it can be powerful! Use extreme caution when a large silk is up. Don’t Gripology

265

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

266

Figure 10.25. (above ) A park scene using a mirror reflector, 4x4 silks, and a 6x6 griffolyn in the foreground. (Photo courtesy Casey Schmidt). Figure 10.26. (left) A right-angle Cardellini clamp attached to a fence rail. Figure 10.27. (opposite page, top) A Speed Rail rig creates mounting points for lights, a 4x4 silk, and a China ball. (Photo courtesy Casey Schmidt). Figure 10.28. (opposite page, bottom) Another view of the Speed Rail rig holding a 6x6 silk with some duvetyne skirts to limit spill onto the rest of the scene. (Photo courtesy Casey Schmidt).

fly a silk without an adequate size crew of knowledgeable grips and the proper ancillary supplies—lots of sandbags, tie-down points, and plenty of sash cord. Loose silks with no frames can be very large and are often stretched over backlot streets. On Memoirs of a Geisha, loose silks were flown over a set that covered several acres—important because the quality of sky light in California (where the film was shot) is very different from that in Japan (the setting of the picture). Gripology

267

Figure 10.29. (above) A 20x20 silk rigged to a crane—this permits quick mobility and eliminates the need for highboy stands that might limit the camera angles for the scene. Figures 10.30. (right) Another view of the crane supporting the 20x silk and a 6K HMI punching through an 8x8 diffusion frame.

Overhead Rules

Never leave silks unattended when they are up in the air. One grip per stand is required at all times and two or three more when moving it in anything but dead calm conditions. These things can do some damage if they get away from you. Bag liberally! Run your lines out at as shallow an angle as you can and secure properly. If possible, leave the top riser of the highboy unextended and leave it loose so it can take out any torsion that builds up in the system. Standard technique for the lines is to take a 100-foot hank of sash cord and find the center which is then secured to one of the top corners. The excess line is then coiled and left to hang far enough down so that it can be reached even if the frame is vertical. Tying off to several heavy sand bags can make readjustment easier than tying off to something permanent. It is then possible to just drag the bags a bit, rather than having to adjust the knot. Attach the rag to the frame using a shoelace knot. Set the frame up on apple boxes when attaching or removing the rag to keep it off the ground. The best idea is to learn how to do this from an experienced grip crew. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

268

Griff

One more type of covering that can go on overhead frames is griffolyn. Originally produced as a farm product (it’s really just a high-tech tarpaulin), griffolyn is a reinforced plastic material. Its advantage is that the white side is extremely reflective and the whole unit is highly durable and waterproof. Griff comes in all sizes from 4×4-foot to 20×20-foot or even larger and also can be had in rolls for custom application. Matthews markets special tape, which can fuse sections together, and duck feet griff clips, which provide attachment points so that a custom-made piece can be quickly flown in a variety of situations—with or without a frame. Matthews offers griff in black-and-white, white-and-white, and clear configurations. With all large overheads, ordering it complete means that it includes the silk, a solid (black duvetyne), a single net, and a double net, which gives you a wide variety of controls on the same frame. Bleached muslin (very white, about the consistency of a bedsheet) and unbleached muslin (yellowish white for a warmer look) can also be stretched on frames as a very heavy diffusion or bounce. Griff is versatile. Its most frequent use is as a large reflector, either for sun or for a large HMI as a bounce fill. A 12×12-foot or 20×20 foot white griff with a 6K, 12K, or 18K bounced into it is also a popular combination for night exteriors. It’s soft enough to appear sourceless, but reflective enough to provide a good stop. A griff on a frame can also be used by turning the black side to the subject as a solid cutter or as negative fill. If it rains the griff is waterproof so it can be an excellent rain tent. With the white side down it even provides a bit of sky ambiance.

Holding

One of the most essential aspects of grip work is getting things to stay where they are supposed to, even under stressful conditions. A big part of the fun of grip work is facing new and original challenges, like “secure this $100,000 dollar camera to the front of this roller coaster and make sure it can withstand 3 Gs.” A good deal of grip equipment is designed for exactly this purpose. However, keep in mind that more than one grip’s famous last words were “that ain’t goin’ nowhere.”

Grip Heads and C-Stands

Much of grip hardware is just for that purpose—gripping stuff. A good deal of the grip’s job is getting things to stay where you want them. The grip head is one of the most valuable grip’s repertoire for getting just about anything to stay just about anywhere. The grip box is full of things that are designed only to hold something somewhere, firmly but adjustably. The grip head or gobo head is one of the most important inventions of the twentieth century. Versatile, powerful, and stable, the grip head has been called upon to perform a mind-boggling array of tasks. It is a connector with two pressure Gripology

269

Figure 10.31. A pipe clamp secures a Kino Flo LED Celeb to Speed Rail.

plates and holes various size pins. It can also accept slotted flat plates (such as on the ears of an overhead mount) and foamcore, show card, plywood, etc. In place, it can hold a grip arm, a 5/8” stud for a light, a baby plate, a small tree branch, armature wire, pencils, and just about anything else you can imagine. A gobo arm is the same device but permanently mounted on a steel rod, which is 40 inches standard. Short arms are usually around 20 inches and are an important part of any order. A short arm with a grip head attached is known as a short arm assembly. C-Stand Rules

As any grip will tell you, one of the most basic rules of gripology is the right hand rule (Figure 10.10) The rule is, always set a grip head so that gravity wants to tighten it. Remember: “righty tighty, lefty loosey.” It’s simple when you think about it. Grip heads are friction devices. By tightening the screw in a clockwise direction you are putting pressure on the arm (or whatever you are holding) and friction is what is both holding the arm in, and preventing the pressure from releasing. If the item being held extends out from the stand, it exerts rotational force in the direction of gravity. If this rotational force turns the screw in a counterclockwise direction, it will release the pressure. Make sure that the force of the load is trying to turn the head in the same direction that you did to tighten it.

Highboys

The highboy, also called a “high-high stand” is a roller stand used for holding large silks, making goal posts and rigging all manner of large items. It can extend very high, usually about 18’ which makes them useful for getting lights high enough to shoot through second floor windows—in cases like this be sure and secure it with rope guy lines. Most have a larger 4-1/2” grip head.

Clamps Studded C-Clamps

Studded clamps come in a range of sizes from 4 to 10 inches and with either baby (5/8”) studs or junior (1 1/8”) receivers. They are used for rigging lights, grips heads, tie off points, and other items to beams, trees, and anything else they can be fitted on. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

270

Figure 10.32. (above) Rigging for a shoot in Venice offers some real challenges—outside many windows there are only canals. A barge and crane was the solution for DP Oliver Stapleton. (Photo courtesy Oliver Stapleton, BSC). Figure 10.33. (left) Another ingenious floating rig by Oliver Stapleton and his team. (Photo courtesy Oliver Stapleton, BSC).

C-Clamp Tips

• A properly mounted studded C-clamp can hold a substantial load securely. It is not good at resisting the turning load perpendicular to its axis, so don’t try to make it do that. • A C-clamp will definitely leave marks on just about anything. Standard procedure is to card it: put a small piece of show card underneath the feet to protect the surface. Gripology

271

Figure 10.34. (above, top) A large rig for a moving bus scene. The space lights provide overall ambient and PARs aimed into the angled bounces are programmed to go on and off sequentially to simulate light in a moving vehicle. (Photo courtesy Oliver Stapleton, BSC). Figure 10.35. (above) Soft 360 degree bounce PAR light lighting all on a dimmer for control. (Photo courtesy Oliver Stapleton, BSC). Motion Picture and Video Lighting

272

• Always put a safety line around the item being mounted and the C-clamp itself. • Choose the appropriate size C-clamp. A clamp that is too large for the job will have to be extended too far. When this happens the threaded bar can wobble and twist because it is too far from its support. This is an unsafe condition and should be avoided.

Figure 10.36. A simple and elegant solution to providing overall ambient light for a night interior: China balls are rigged to Speed Rail which is suspended by wall spreaders. (Photo courtesy Bryan Hong).

• If you are clamping to a pipe you must use a C-clamp that has channel iron mounted to it (U-shaped steel feet). A flat C-clamp will not safely grab a pipe. If available, a pipe clamp is often the better choice for this.

Bar Clamps

A variation on the studded C-clamp is the bar clamp, which is a furniture clamp with a 1K stud attached to it. Bar clamps can be extremely wide (up to several feet) and so can fit around items that would be impossible for a C-clamp.

Pipe Clamps

Pipe clamps are specialty items for mounting directly to pipes and grids. They get their most frequent use in studio work. If you are likely to be working in a studio or an industrial situation with a pipe grid, pipe clamps can free lights from stands. Gripology

273

Cardellini and Mafer Clamps

Pronounced may-fer, these clamps are indispensable: don’t leave home without them. They can bite anything up to the size of a 2×4, and have interchangeable studs that can do anything from rigging a baby spot to holding a glass plate. A Cardellini is similar but a bit more versatile and has tremendous holding power (Figure 10.39). They have dozens of other uses: Figure 10.37. (top) A massive rigging job using rock and roll trusses and Speed Rail to support dozens of Arri Skypanels. (Photo courtesy Arri Lighting). Figure 10.38. (above) A 2K turtle base. This one is actually the bottom of a C+ stand. Others are designed only as bases for lights or equipment (such as wind machines) that have a 1-1/8” (junior) stud.

• Grips often clamp one onto the end of the dolly track so the dolly won’t run off the end. • With the baby stud clamped into a grip head, they can hold up a 6×6-foot frame. • With a baby plate mounted in it, the mafer can be attached to pipe or board to hold a small reflector card— the uses are endless.

Quaker Clamp

Also known as a duck bill, platypus or more prosaically known as a beadboard holder; it’s a studded vise grip with 5×6-inch plates for grabbing beadboard and foamcore with minimal breakage (Figure 10.41).

Wall Plates, Baby Plates, and Pigeons

Although technically different things, the names are used interchangeably. They are all basically baby studs with a flat plate attached. It can also be done with a junior (1 1/8”) receiver. The plate always has screw holes. With a pigeon, some drywall screws, and a portable Motion Picture and Video Lighting

274

Figure 10.39. (left, top) A Mafer (left) and a Cardellini clamp. Figure 10.40. (left, bottom) Some Arri LED Skypanels rigged on Speed Rail with pipe clamps. Figure 10.41. (above, top) A platypus (quacker clamp, duck bill)­—used for holding beadboard and foamcore in a C-stand or highboy. Figure 10.42. (above) A pigeon— baby plate on a pancake.

drill, a grip can attach small lights, grip arms, cutters, reflectors, and props to any wood surface. A particularly popular combination is a baby plate mounted on a half apple, quarter apple or pancake—it is called a pigeon. This is the standard low mounting position for small lights. When you need even lower, a pancake (the slimmest form of apple box) should be used, although the depth of the screws is limited. When a half apple is not enough, other apple boxes can be placed beneath for some degree of adjustability.

2K Receivers and Turtles While a pigeon is generally a baby plate, a similar rig can be made with a 2K receiver. A variation on the 2K pigeon is the turtle, which is a three-legged low mount for any 2K studded light. The advantage of the turtle is that it is self-supporting with a sandbag or two. The T-bone is similar. It is a “T” made of two flat steel bars with a Gripology

275

Figure 10.43. (top) Full apple, half apple, quarter apple and on top, a pancake. Figure 10.44. (above) Three full apples in the standard positions (from left to right): Number three (upright—full height); number 2 (on the side—medium height); and number 1: laid down—lowest height. Figure 10.45. (right) Maxi-Brutes rigged to a crane basket with candle sticks and Crosby clamps.

2K receiver. It will mount the light lower than a turtle and can also be screwed to a wall. T-bones all have safety chains attached. The chains are constantly in the way and always seem to get under the T-bone or apple box when you try to get it to sit flat. They have no conceivable application, and yet they are permanently mounted. We can all hope that manufacturers will wake up and make T-bones without the chains. Several manufacturers now make C-stands with a detachable base. When the vertical riser is removed the legs are an independent unit with a junior hole. This makes an instant turtle. The riser can be clamped to a fire escape or mounted in other hard to get to places as an extendable mount.

Side Arms and Offset Arms Side arms (both 1K and 2K varieties) serve two functions: they arm the light out a bit for that little extra stretch. Because they can clamp onto the stand at any level, they are useful for mounting a light low. Offset arms are similar but fit into the top of a baby or junior stand, not on the side. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

276

Other Grip Gear Sandbags Sandbags are absolutely essential for film production. Most often used to weigh down light stands, C-stands, and highboys to make them more safe, they have multiple other uses from holding doors open to helping an actor sit higher in a chair.

Figure 10.46. An Arri Skypanel mounted on the dolly so it travels with the camera. A junior offset arm is used to position it. This is inside the set shown in Figure 10.37. (Photo courtesy Arri Lighting).

Apple boxes The term comes from the early days of Hollywood, when they used actual apple boxes. Now they are specially made items that are sturdily built. Simple boxes in four sizes, they are used for an amazing variety of uses (Figures 10.43 and 10.44). The sizes are full apple, half apple, quarter apple and, “pancake.”

Wedges Wedges are simple wooden wedges used primarily for leveling; most often leveling dolly track. A box of wedges is a normal accessory for any work with dolly track. Smaller ones, called “camera wedges” are used for small jobs around the camera and dolly.

Candle Sticks Candle sticks are basically the upper part of a baby or junior light stand, without the legs that extend out for stability. They are most often used to secure lights in a crane—usually with chain vise grips which do an excellent job of keeping them in place, even with the kind of heavy lights that are typically rigged in cranes (Figure 10.45). Gripology

277

Figure 10.47. A studded chain vise grip.

Studded Chain Vise Grips

This is a grip’s grip tool. Studded versions can mount lights to vertical pipes, beams, bumpers, and other odd places (Figure 10.47). Non-studded chain vise grips are often used to secure two pipes together or to mount a light stand on a crane or a fire escape. They provide the kind of bite and stability that you just can’t get from sash cord or clamps.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

278

set operations

The way the camera and lighting team work together is fairly standardized; there are some regional variations but the basics are the same throughout most of the world. The commonalties of technique and tools make it possible for a crew that has never worked together before to get the job done with a fair amount of efficiency, even when it includes members from other countries. In this chapter we will examine the duties of each member of the team and how they work together on and off the set.

Figure 11.1. (above, top) Don’t forget to put a strain relief on all header cables on a light. Figure 11.2. (above) A C-47 (left, a wooden clothespin) and a C-74 (right)—a reverse clothespin for pulling scrims out of lights. Figure 11.3. (right) Crew members adjust a 4x4 diffusion frame under snow effect.

The DP The person responsible for the lighting team varies depending on the type of production. In feature films, single camera television, and commercials the team is run by a director of photography (DP in the US; in other regions—DoP). The DP works with the director and has authority over the electric crew, camera crew, and grip crew. He or she will also consult directly with the production designer, especially on issues that will affect the lighting. 1) Learn how to listen; 2) Choose one strong idea per film; and 3) Really understand your motivations, why you do something and not something else, and the direction you take in your work. Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC

Although directors differ in the amount of input they make concerning the frame (lens selection, camera position, angles, camera moves), it is the job of the DP to fulfill the director’s vision of the scene. The DP implements this through the camera operator, the camera assistants, and the dolly grip. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

280

Figure 11.4. (above) A Rocky Mountain leg can help with leveling smaller units. It can be extended to adjust to uneven terrain, stairs, etc. Figure 11.5. (left) Moving a large unit safely requires teamwork and co-ordination. Here the best boy and electricians get a hand from the grips in leveling the light: a half apple and quarter apple keep the light (an 18K with a Chimera) level while one leg extends off the sidewalk.

The cinematographer’s vision of the lighting is implemented by the gaffer (also called chief lighting technician) and the key grip. In video production for television, the responsibility is split. The camera operator deals strictly with the video camera and framing the shot, and a lighting director (LD) takes full responsibility for lighting the scene. This is not unlike the English system (also used in many other countries) where the operator is responsible for working with the director on camera moves, placement, and lens choice, and the DoP (Director of Photography) devotes his or her full attention to the lighting. Know what you want to see in the shot before you plan logistics. John Newby, ASC

In addition, there may be a DIT (digital imaging technician, however this person does not get involved in lighting, it is a camera crew position). In commercials there are many director/cameramen (or director/camerawomen). With their attention devoted primarily toward directing the scene, dealing with the client, and operating the camera, they have come to depend heavily on lighting gaffers who light the scene based on a brief discussion of the scene with the director/DP. Set Operations

281

Figure 11.6. A grip “Hollywooding” (hand-holding) a courtesy flag for the camera operator. Note that the Fisher dolly is mounted on a track dolly which sits on the tracks.

The Team Gaffer

First let’s clear up an old controversy. You will likely have heard many fanciful stories about the origin of the term gaffer. Let’s set the record straight—according to the Oxford English Dictionary, gaffer is a sixteenth-century term meaning “one whose position entitled him to respect” or more directly, “the foreman of a gang of workmen: a headman... a master, a governor.” The gaffer is the DP’s chief lieutenant for lighting. Recently the title has been changed to chief lighting technician. This more accurately reflects the job, since the gaffer rarely deals with electricity, which is the responsibility of the second electric (assistant chief lighting technician). The gaffer implements the DP’s vision by issuing orders to the electricians and works in conjunction with the key grip. The gaffer: • Scouts the location for lighting problems and opportunities and determines the availability of power, cable runs, etc. • After consultation with the DP and the production manager, prepares the lighting and electrical order. • Consults with the grip about rigging lights in the grid or ceiling, rigging lights on cars for running shots, silks or butterflies, diffusion frames, etc. • Gives orders to the electricians concerning what lights to place, and where and what diffusion or color correction they will need. • Meters the scene, directs the electricians in focusing and balancing the lighting, spot/flooding, adding or removing scrims or dimmers. Directs the grips in placing flags, nets, cutters, and diffusion frames. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

282

• Alerts the DP to any potential problems. For example, the lighting may look great for a certain position but the actor will burn up if she gets too close to a window. • Consults with the DP, operator, and AC about special conditions such as frame speed, practical monitors, HMI sync, filtration, etc. • During filming, monitors the scene for changing conditions, shifting sunlight, or clouds. Particularly where the DP is also operating the camera, the gaffer functions as the “eyes alert for trouble.” The DP and gaffer’s tools include: • Incident meter • Spot meter • Color temperature meter (optional) • Digital camera • Gel books (available for smart phones) • HMI sync charts (available for smart phones) • 18% gray card and color chart • Viewing filter (gaffer glass) • Compass (or smart phone app) • Flashlight • Sun charts (available as smart phone apps)

Assistant Chief Lighting Technician

The assistant chief lighting technician (second electric or best boy) is the NCO in charge of the electric crew. He or she is the gaffer’s or lighting director’s key assistant. Some people don’t like the term best boy (particularly with many women fulfilling the function these days) and the preferred titles are second electric or assistant chief lighting technician. The job covers:

Figure 11.7. (above, top) Never do this! Stacking a smaller net against a larger one will most certainly cause damage; same with flags and silks. Figure 11.8. (above) A good trick with milk crates: the boxes that reams of paper come in exactly fit inside to prevent small objects from poking out and getting tangled.

• Everything electrical: performing the tie-in or generator hookup, cable runs, load balancing, and electrical equipment selection. • Direct supervision of the crew. On larger jobs the second will schedule electricians, see that their time sheets are filled out, and so on. • Equipment management. The second coordinates with production to ensure that all equipment requested is available and accounted for, and works out plans for swing trucks, rigging crews, and strike crews. The second should be ready at any time to tell the gaffer what lights are in use and what is still available. Set Operations

283

Figure 11.9. Soldiering the lights in a studio keeps the work area organized and efficient. Figure 11.10. C-stands soldiered. It’s not about aesthetics, it’s about being able to get the equipment quickly and efficiently; knowing what’s available and quickly being able to assess if all units are complete and ready to go.

• Staging. The second should be ready to maneuver for a good staging area and then supervise off-loading the equipment and preparing it for use, and at the end of the day, is responsible for making sure it all gets back on the truck safely and efficiently. On larger productions, many of these functions will be performed by the third or fourth electric and the second electric will generally stay on the truck, taking care of the paper work. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

284

Third Electric and Electricians The third electric is the corporal of the crew. On smaller jobs the third is the lowest on the totem pole, but on a large feature he may have some supervisory duties over the electricians and day players (hired on a day to day basis). In the early days when open arcs were the only lights, there were no motors to advance the carbons as they burned down. Instead, an electrician tended each light, slowly turning a crank to keep the carbons in trim. This required considerable skill and these people earned the title lamp operators. Even today on the standard feature budget forms you will see the category, lamp operators.

Figure 11.11. Large rigging jobs such as these dozens of Kino Flo Image 80s for the film X2 are tasks better handled by rigging crews: rigging gaffer, rigging grip, and as many electricians and grips as are needed to get the set prepped in time for when the shoot crew is scheduled to arrive. (Photo courtesy of Tony “Nako” Nakonechnyj).

Other Responsibilities

Equipment preparation: it is up to the third to make sure every piece of equipment is ready to go: every light has barndoor and scrims, Bates extensions and singles are standing by, and so on. In general, when the gaffer calls for a light, it is the third who actually brings the light, while at the same time the second brings power to the position so that the light is hot as soon as it hits the stand. An electrician (lighting technician) would probably carry on the belt or in pockets: • Cutter (usually a mat knife or razor knife) • Wooden clothespins • Work gloves Set Operations

285

• Crescent wrench • Flashlight • Volt/ohm meter (both AC and DC) • Continuity tester • Amprobe • Slotted screwdriver • Slip-joint pliers • Marking pens In the tool kit • Vise grips • Channel lock pliers • Phillips screwdrivers: #1, #2 • Set of hex wrenches • Fuse puller • Cube taps—heavy duty • Current taps ‘The only reason to be late for a call is being dead.’ This was drilled into me by Freddie Young, BSC. Jon Fauer, ASC

• 3-to-2’s • Electrical tape (black) • Colored electrical tape (red, blue, yellow, white, green, black) • Heavy-duty staple gun • Tape measure • Wire nuts • Zip cord

The Key Grip

The grip team’s responsibilities in regard to lighting include: • Rigging all lights hanging from the grid or from the set walls or ceiling. • Rigging lights to vehicles for running shots. • Setting of flags, cutters, and nets and cookies. • Setting up and adjusting reflector boards. • Rigging and adjusting silks, butterflies, and overheads. • Seeing to any diffusion or gel not attached to the light, such as gel tacked to windows, on frames, or otherwise tricked up. • Placing all sand bags, tieing off tall stands with sash, grip chain, etc. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

286

• Any hoisting or rigging of heavy equipment. • Helping out with heavy units or hard to reach situations, especially if cranes, lifts or other heavy equipment is needed to handle the units. • Providing ladders, lifts, cranes, scissor lifts, etc. • Providing rain protection for lights. • Leveling all tall stands with apple boxes, step-ups, and wedges. • If there is no dolly grip, the key grip usually tends to the dolly and the electricians deal with the second grip. As described here, the responsibilities of the grips are strictly according to the American system as it was developed in Hollywood in the first 50 years of this century. To a certain extent it is the result of union rivalries between electrics, grips, and prop people. In Europe, Japan, and elsewhere different systems are used; typically, the electricians handle all lighting tasks including rigging, sand bagging, and setting flags and cutters. Grips supervise when there is a heavy or complex rigging job, such as one involving cranes or pulleys.

Figure 11.12. (top, left) The absolute worst thing you can do when setting up a light—“clotheslining” the cable practically assures that someone will trip over it and be injured, damage the light or worse. Figure 11.13. (top, middle) A properly set up light. Most important of all, the cable is not clotheslined, it hangs down straight and is tucked in. Also the light has its barndoors and scrims, a strain relief on the cable, and a sandbag on the leg. Figure 11.14. (top, right) A detail of the strain relief on the header cable. It also keeps the switch handy. Figure 11.15. (above) Avoid letting any type of cable have ground loops which creates a tripping hazard.

This leaves the grips free to run the dolly, work with the set carpenters, attend to cranes, and other important duties. The division of labor under the American system can be a source of problems. It is possible for an electrician to set a light, focus, gel and scrim it, and then have to search for a grip to move the flag two inches. If it needs further adjustment, he has to find the grip again, explain with much discussion and hand waving what the flag is supposed to accomplish, and then stand by while the grip adjusts the flag. Set Operations

287

Figure 11.16. The equipment carts are kept close to the set but tucked away so they don’t block pedestrian traffic.

A great grip crew can be an invaluable support, but for many grips, working with the electricians is low priority, and often they must wait while he sees to more pressing duties with the camera support, dolly, or crane. In the meantime, the electrician’s job can grind to a halt while he stares at a piece of equipment that he knows perfectly well how to operate but is not allowed to touch.

Grips

The second grip works for the key grip just as the best boy electric does for the gaffer. On larger jobs the duties become largely administrative, but as with the key, the grips might be called on to perform a variety of duties in lighting control, rigging, leveling, camera support, cranes, and safety. Most grips carry a large assortment of tools including: • Mat knife and extra blades • Hammer • Tape measure • Slip-joint pliers • Channel lock pliers • Work gloves • Slotted screwdriver/Phillips screwdriver • Flashlight • Heavy-duty staple gun Motion Picture and Video Lighting

288

Figure 11.17. The basics that every technician should have on the set: a cutter, some kind of multi-tool, a Swiss Army knife, and a flashlight. One additional essential for grips and electricians: work gloves.

• Portable drill; drywall screws and drill bits • Bubble level • 4’ Level • Crescent wrench • Vise grips • Chain vise grips • Motorcycle straps (ratchet straps) • Socket wrench set • Set of hex wrenches • S-hooks • WD40 or silicone spray • Marking pens (Sharpie) • Chalk for marking the floor • Squeegee and spray bottle for applying gel to windows • Bailing wire • Camera wedges • Chalk line • Side cutters/diagonal cutters (dykes) • 3/8”—16 Bolts of various lengths (camera tie-downs) Set Operations

289

Motion Picture Crew Organization Producer Production

Director

UPM AD Dept. First AD and seconds

Art Dept. Prod. Designer and crew

Department Heads

Rigging Key Grip Rigging Grips

Sound Dept. Mixer

Director of Photography

Boom Operator

Production Assistants Grip Dept.

Electric Dept.

Key Grip

Gaffer

2nd Grip

2nd Electric

3rd Grip

3rd Electric

Grips

Electricians

Day Player Grips

Day Player Electrics

Figure 11.18. A chart of the organization of a typical film crew.

Camera Department

1st AC (Focus Puller)

Rigging Gaffer

2nd AC (Clapper/Loader)

Rigging Crew

3rd AC (Loader) Camera Intern

Camera Operator

Second Unit 2nd Unit DP

DIT 2nd Unit Crew “B” Camera “B” Camera Operator “B” Camera Crew

Other Crews One of the great secrets of efficiency and speed in filming is pre-rigging. This consists of a crew arriving on a set the day before to run power, position large lights, rig lights in unusual places, etc. It can make it much more efficient when the shoot crew arrives. A pre-rig (or pre-light) crew may consist of a single electrician or grip all the way up to a large crew with a rigging gaffer, rigging grip, and support services.

Set Operations The difference between a smoothly run set and a chaotic one can mean the difference of many hours in a production day. The DP is in charge creatively, but it usually falls to the gaffer and second to run the lighting operation efficiently.

Load-In One of the most crucial decisions on many locations can be where to park the truck. Try to keep it as close as you can and with sufficient room behind the loading gate. One of the most fundamental mistakes is to park the truck where it will appear in a shot later in the day. Moving the truck during the shoot day can be a disaster. Pin down the AD on what is a safe location. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

290

Figure 11.19. (above) The assistant chief lighting technician is in charge of all distro and cabling on the set. Figure 11.20. (left) A well-organized truck is crucial when working on location.

Staging Arrive early and stake out a good staging area before other departments take all the good ones. You will need room to line up all the equipment in an orderly fashion so they can be reached quickly. You will need room to line up lights and stands so they can be grabbed quickly. Depending on how the day is expected to run, it may be efficient to leave some items on the truck, but every shoot is different.

The Generator Finding a parking place for the generator is even a more critical operation than staging the trucks. A generator should be as close as possible in order to minimize time-consuming cable runs and voltage drop. On the other hand, even blimped generators make some noise Set Operations

291

Good

Pick Fast Any Two Cheap

Figure 11.21. (above) The eternal triangle. Figure 11.22. (right). A crew mounting a Cinemills Silver Bullet 12K HMI. (Photo courtesy Cinemills).

and if you are shooting sound you will want to keep the genny back far enough to minimize sound problems. You will probably want to have the genny operator fire up the engine as soon as possible to allow time for warming up before applying a load. Voltage output and crystal sync must be checked at the beginning of the day and monitored periodically.

Cabling A well thought out cable run from the power source can make a huge difference in the day. It should be as direct as possible, but it should not go any place where it might appear in a shot—this is critical. Likewise, it should cross the path of traffic as little as possible, particularly in regard to the dolly, stands on wheels, and so on. It may be necessary to fly it to keep it out of the way of vehicles or dolly traffic. Sash cord is used to tie it off to beams, highboys, the truck, or whatever is available. As the cable is laid out, it is checked for proper color coding. A quick visual check of connectors is a good idea. Then the neutrals are taped and distro boxes or lunch boxes are plugged in. The second tests each box for proper voltage and marks the boxes if AC and DC are being mixed. Once she is satisfied that the power supply is safe and hot she informs the gaffer.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

292

block

Figure 11.23. Block, light, rehearse, shoot: the standard methodology is not only efficient, it is also a safeguard against chaos and confusion.

Light

Rehearse

Shoot

Set Operations

293

Figure 11.24. A crew using a silk and 4x4 floppies on a roof day exterior. (Photo courtesy Vertical Church).

The Process Rough-In

Based on previous plans the DP and gaffer might know some things about where they want the lights. As soon as they can, they start to rough-in. This is not really “lighting,” it is things like running power from the generator, pre-positioning cranes, getting the units to the set (or nearby), that sort of thing. Running power is a big part of this. All power and distribution on a set is the responsibility of the second electric/assistant chief lighting technician. With larger distro setups, the second electric should “walk the line,” inspecting the cabling, checking the connections, and making sure the right lines are plugged into the correct phases of the power source. Once lights are up and running the second electric will also use a clamp-on ammeter (commonly called an amprobe) to verify that the load is in balance and no phase, line or connector is loaded above ampacity.

Blocking

Really serious lighting can only begin when you know the fram­e— what area you are lighting and where the camera goes. You also need to know the actions: are the actors standing or sitting? Does the car enter the alley from the left or right? Does the door stay open or does the actor close it? All this is critical information you will need to do lighting and most of all: to do lighting efficiently. If you don’t know the action and blocking of the actors (or cars or horses, or whatever) you may end up “lighting air”—making the set look beautiful but not really lighting the actors for the scene. Even worse in terms of efficiency: you may end up lighting things that are not even going to be in the movie. You must insist on knowMotion Picture and Video Lighting

294

ing what the frame is and what the blocking of the shot is. Directors may be otherwise preoccupied; in that case, the AD will usually be your ally in insisting on nailing down the frame and seeing a blocking rehearsal.

Figure 11.25. Shooting a day exterior with large solid for negative fill. (Photo courtesy Heavy Horse Productions).

Light

Once the blocking is done, the AD will say two things. First of all, she will say “put them through the process,” meaning start the actors in makeup, hair, and wardrobe. The second thing she will say is “lighting has the set,” meaning that control of the set now belongs to the DP, the gaffer, key grip, and their crews. Everyone else should leave the set to make room for the lighting crew. Of course, the ACs will be prepping the camera but whenever possible, they should do that in a place that won’t interfere with lighting (and also protect the camera from any potential damage). It is critical that the lighting team have the real actors or good stand-ins for this phase. Lighting is fine-tuned for a particular blocking and a particular facial shape and coloring. No stand-in or one that does not match in height, coloring, or depth of eye sockets will often mean delays later on, when the director and the high-priced talent will be even more impatient. It is the AD’s responsibility to provide for this. Insist on it. At this stage, the lights are positioned and focused. Scrims, nets, dimmers, or spotting and flooding are used to balance the lighting, and flags cast shadows where they are needed.

Rehearsal

With lighting complete, the lighting crew retires from the set and the DP and gaffer observe as the director rehearses the actors. This is probably the first time that they can see with finality the full scope Set Operations

295

Figure 11.26. Part of your expendables order will be practical bulbs— ordinary household light bulbs of many types and wattages. Shown here are PH bulbs, which are photo enlarger bulbs and have a heavier diffusion than regular bulbs. These are marked with dots on the top for quick identification—one dot is a PH 211 (75 watts) and two dots is a PH 212 (150 watts). Also frequently used is a PH 212 (three dots) which is 250 watts.

of what they must do and any particular conditions that must be met. Rehearsal complete, the director and actors leave and the DP may need to make a few fine-tuning adjustments, or “tweaking.” Hopefully it won’t be necessary, but sometimes things come up that need to be taken care of.

Shooting

Time for coffee, right? Wrong. The lighting team (gaffer and grip) must be alert and ready. This is when fuses are short and everyone is impatient. Some items are standard and should be standing by as close to the set as possible and completely ready to go: two or three each of inkies, tweenies, and babies and usually at least one of each type of light that you are using. These should be on stands with barndoors, scrims, snoots, and diffusion attached. While shooting, the gaffer and electricians stay alert for changing conditions, bulb burnouts, etc.

Procedures

As the gaffer calls for a light the procedure is generally this: an electrician goes to get the light and another lighting technician brings power to it with the appropriate cable. If necessary, one of the group passes on to the grips any required rigging, bagging, flagging, or ladders. The most important part of this process is communication. As the crew is set in motion they announce what they are doing: for example the third calls out deuce flying in while the second says “bringing power to you.” The reason for this is so that no task is duplicated (there is no more obvious example of an amateur crew than having three anxious to please electrics all run for the same light), and the gaffer and best boy know that all the bases are being covered. When bringing a light to the set, it must be complete; never bring a light to the set without barndoor and scrims. Diffusion and clothespins should come with the light or be readily available—anticipate. If called for (or anticipated) bring snoots, gel frames, etc. If the gaffer calls for a single scrim, don’t go up the ladder with just a single scrim, take the whole set Motion Picture and Video Lighting

296

Figure 11.27. Cinefoil or Black Wrap are both black anodized aluminum—useful for all kinds of jobs on the set.

with you; she may change her mind. The same goes for electrical equipment. If you need a stinger on the other side of the set, why not take two, to stay ahead of the game? Scrims must stay with the light, with scrim clips or scrim pouches. Time permitting, a piece of each standard diffusion and gel can be precut and attached to the light. Cut the gel large enough to fit outside the doors; it can be trimmed down to fit inside.

Expendables

Expendables are the supplies that are used on the set. They are supplied by the production company (according to the order placed by the gaffer or best boy). Crew members should not be expected to supply them, even on the smallest project; the exception is colored electrical tape, which lighting technicians do often carry with them, however on a project that lasts more than a couple of days, the production company should provide these as well. There are many expendables that are potentially needed, see the Appendix for a complete order form. The most basics are: • Gaffer tape (Not the same thing as duct tape!) • Paper tape • Photo matte black paper tape • Clothes pins (C-47s) • Gels, diffusions, and muslin • Black Wrap or Cinefoil • Sash cord • Trick line (mason’s line) • Practical bulbs • Colored electrical tape for marking cables • 4x8 Beadboard • 4x8 Foamcore (white two sides or black and white) • Duvetyne • Sharpies • Dulling spray Set Operations

297

Figure 11.28. Setting up on a New York City roof for a music video night shoot. (Photo courtesy Christiana Wairegi).

Sometimes these might also be requested by the lighting team: • Zip cord (18/2) • Add-a-Tap male and female • Various types of connectors for wiring practicals, etc. • J-Lar tape for gels • Sash chain (grip chain) • Safety clips/wire • Manila rope • Snot Tape (ATG tape)

For an even more extensive list of expendables, see Figure 14.15 in the Appendix.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

298

technical issues

Figure 12.1. A day exterior greenscreen shoot. Note the foamcore x-shaped gobo on a crank-up stand—it will rotate to provide a shadow simulating the helicopter blades. (Photo courtesy Fat Lighting, New Zealand).

As more high-tech equipment becomes available, lighting becomes more complex. A solid grounding in the theory and practice of using tools for lighting is essential to not only complete the day successfully, but also to avoid disaster in the screening room. In this chapter we will examine these issues and review basic operating techniques associated with them.

Lighting for Greenscreen and Bluescreen

Chroma key, also known as greenscreen, bluescreen, or process photography, is a method of producing mattes for compositing. The basic principle is simple: we place what we want to be the foreground object (typically an actor) in front of a uniformly colored background. Software later on makes that background color transparent. It is then replaced with a different background scene. Process photography based on photo-chemical means has been around since the earliest days of film. The color of the background can theoretically be anything that does not appear as a color in the foreground, but for film, blue has been found to work well, while in video, green is best color as it is the strongest channel.

Greenscreen/Bluescreen Tips • If the camera moves at all be sure to include tracking marks on the background. • Guard against backsplash (light bouncing off the green or blue background). • Block off any background screen not in use. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

300

• Don’t use a complementary color as a backlight. • Ask if they need to see the floor, as you will need to deal with the shadows. Consult with the VFX team to see how they want them treated. • Avoid using smoke or diffusion. • Don’t include the matte color in the scene. Blue and green are the most widely used colors, but any color that’s different from the foreground can be used.

Figure 12.2. (above) The steps of the process (top to bottom) the greenscreen, the holdout matte, the background plate, and then the final composited shot. Figure 12.3. (left, top) A typical greenscreen setup. Kino Flo Flathead 80s on a pipe in the grid illuminate the background evenly. Two more fill in the floor behind the actor and also give the actor some definition around the edges (that is they add some slight highlight to the black tux) while another Flathead gives him a good backlight/hairlight. Figure 12.4. (left, middle) A reverse view of the setup. Figure 12.5. (left, bottom) A 2K Fresnel gives him a bit of a kicker. Finally another large Kino gives him a soft 3/4 front key. The ramp is for his walk toward the camera. Because the camera moves in this shot, tracking marks have been added to the green cyc so the compositor can do motion tracking of the background matte.

Technical Issues

301

With 60 hertz AC and a camera exposure of 1/24th of a second, each frame “sees” five light pulses.

When camera speed or lighting frequency is not stable, each frame sees a slighting difference number of pulses which results in uneven exposure.

Other recommendations: • Do not use diffusion over the lens. Do not use heavy smoke effects. • Always shoot a gray scale lit with neutral light (3200K or 5500K) at the beginning of each roll. Shoot the gray scale or chip chart in a place where they will not be contaminated by “backsplash” from the background. • Whenever possible use a polarizing filter to eliminate specular glare, especially on the floor. • With a zoom lens avoid shooting with the lens wide open. The reason for this is that many zoom lenses “vignette” slightly when wide open, which can create problems with the matte. • The camera should be color balanced for the foreground subject. • To match the depth-of-field of the foreground, shoot the background plate with the focus set at where it would be if the foreground object was actually there. • Plan the screen direction and perspective of the background plates to match the foreground. Figure 12.6. (top) Cinematography Electronics iPhone app for determining flicker-free frame rates. The small arrow marked “2” means that there are two additional flicker-free shutter angles, which can be easily accessed by swiping. Figure 12.7. (above) The shutter angle at 50hz for 48fps is 172.8. Figure 12.8 (right) A mismatch between the shutter and frequency of the light is what causes flicker.

Lighting for Process Photography

A few basic principles apply to lighting for greenscreen and bluescreen photography: • Light the background as evenly as possible. Within a 1/3 of a stop from edge to edge and from top to bottom is ideal. • Keep the subject as far away from the background as possible to prevent backsplash which will put green or blue onto the subject at precisely the worst possible place—along the edges. • Unless the post-production supervisor or compositor says otherwise, exposure on the background should match the exposure on the foreground objects. Check this by reading the background with a spot meter (re-

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

302

Figure 12.9. These charts show shutter angles for flicker-free shooting at various frame rates when using 60hz power (blue, far left) and 50hz (red, near left). (Charts courtesy Cinematography Electronics).

flectance meter) and the foreground with an incident meter. Note however, that some compositors prefer that the background be slightly hotter than the subject and some prefer the opposite. Always check with the person who will be doing the compositing. Nothing will undermine the believability of a composite more than a mismatch of lighting in the foreground and background. Careful attention must be paid to recreating the look, direction, and quality of the lighting in the background plate.

Flicker

Shooting with AC powered non-tungsten lights always presents the danger of flicker. Flicker appears on film or video (if not shooting at 30P or 60i) as a rhythmic change in exposure. It is caused by uneven exposure from frame to frame as a result of a mismatch in the output waveform of the light and the framing rate of the camera. Flicker can be serious enough to render an entire shooting unusable. To understand the reason for flicker, we must look at how an HMI, fluorescents, and other types of units generate their light output. Except for Brute Arcs and studio situations in which tungsten lamps are run on DC, most filming situations utilize alternating current. The fundamental nature of alternating current is, of course, that it alternates. The output of an AC generator varies constantly as a sine wave. When the current flow is at the maximum (top of the peak) or minimum (bottom of the trough), the output of the light will be maximum. The light doesn’t care whether the flow is positive or negative. At the moment when the sine wave crosses the axis, however, the current flow is zero. At that instant the electron flow is static—the light can generate no output. Since the light is on for both the positive and negative side of the sine wave, it reaches its maximum at twice the rate of the AC: 120 cycles per second (cps) for 60-Hz current and 100 cps for 50-Hz current. Technical Issues

303

Figure 12.10. A dimmer system controls Kino Flo units for a large blue screen shot. (Photo courtesy of Kino Flo, Inc.)

This applies to any source powered by AC, but with tungsten filament lamps the result is negligible because the tungsten stays glowing hot even when the current is momentarily zero. There is some loss of output, but it is minimal, usually only about 10% to 20%. With enclosed arc lamps (HMIs as well as CSI and CID lamps) the variation is greater. For an HMI with a standard reactance ballast, the minimum output may be as low as 17% of total output. At first glance it would seem that we might just average the maximum and minimum output (58%) and take this as the total average output. In a crude sort of way this is exactly what does happen. In film, however, there is another complication. The shutter is opening and closing at a rate which may be different than the rate at that the light output is fluctuating. As illustrated in Figure 12.8, when the relationship of the shutter and the light output varies in relation to each other, each film frame sees different amounts of the cycle. The result is unequal exposure. This problem can occur in three ways: • The frame rate of the camera varies unevenly. • The frequency of the electrical supply varies unevenly. • The frame rate of the shutter creates a mismatch in the synchronization of the shutter and the light output. The first two are intuitively obvious. If either the shutter rate or the light output is random, it is clear that there will be different amounts of exposure for each frame. The third is a bit more complex. Through experimentation, engineers have found that only certain combinations of shutter speed and power supply frequency can be considered acceptably safe. The danger of HMI flicker will always be greatest when there are no other non-flicker sources (tungsten, DC arcs, daylight) and when all HMIs are being run on the same electrical phase. The risk will be reduced by combining other sources or by powering the HMIs on all three electrical phases. None of these, however, completely Motion Picture and Video Lighting

304

Figure 12.11. A Rat Pac DMX controlled with 10 20 amp outputs. (Photo Courtesy Rat Pac).

eliminates the risk of at least a small amount of noticeable exposure variation. To prevent flicker four conditions are absolutely essential: • Constant frequency in the AC power supply. • Constant framing rate in the camera. • Compatible shutter angle. • Compatible frame rate. In practice the first two conditions are met with either crystal controls on the generator and camera or by running one or both of them from the local AC mains, which in most countries are considered reliable in frequency. The shutter angle and frame rate are determined by consulting the accompanying charts. The relationship of AC frequency to shutter is generally only crucial in high-speed cinematography and is usually not a factor in most filming situations. At 24 fps camera speed, if a stable power supply is assured, shutter angle can be varied from 90° to 200° with relatively little risk. Theoretically, the ideal shutter angle is 144° since this results in an exposure time of 1/60th of a second and thus matches the frequency of the power supply. In practice, there is little risk in using a 180° shutter if the camera is crystal controlled and the power supply is regulated. At 144°, the camera is exposing 2 1/2 pulses per frame (rather than the exactly 2 pulses per frame as you would get with 144°) and so exposure can theoretically vary by as much as 9%. As cinematographer Art Adams puts it, “Given the number of flickering sources in the world, I always shoot at 144° now. I’ve been burned by everything from fluorescent tubes in the background to exit signs backlit by LEDs. 1/48 of a second is on the edge of this window, so if something goes wrong it’ll show up faster at 180°. Flicker can very hard to see using on-set monitors, so I like to do what I can to eliminate the problem before it arises.” Technical Issues

305

The Power Supply

Figure 12.12. A Fluke 87 true RMS volt-ohm-continuity meter.

Any variation in the frequency of the power supply will result in an exposure fluctuation of approximately .4 f/stop, essentially a half stop, which will definitely make the footage unuseable. The time for one cycle of fluctuation to occur will depend on how far off is the power supply. (Figure 12.8). When working with a generator it is essential that it be crystal controlled. Governor controls are never sufficient for the accuracy demanded. Even with a crystal controlled generator, a frequency meter should be used and constantly monitored. As a general rule, plus or minus one-quarter of a cycle is considered acceptable but anything more than this is risky—noticeable flicker can make a scene unusable and might result in a reshoot, which doesn’t make anybody happy.

Flicker-Free HMIs The newest generation of HMIs use flicker-free ballasts, which minimize the danger of exposure fluctuation. The ideal shutter angle for shooting at 24 fps with 50Hz per supply is 172.8°. Figure 12.9 lists the acceptable safe frame rates for shooting at any shutter angle (with either 50Hz or 60Hz electrical supplies) and the acceptable safe frame rates for specific shutter speeds. A simple way to think about it is to divide 120 by a whole number, such as: 120/4 = 30, 120/8 = 15. With electronic ballasts, there is less likelihood of a mismatch from frame to frame. The major disadvantage of this method is an increase in the noise level of the light. Some flicker-free units are switchable from normal to flicker-free operation. Flicker-free units are now available in every size of HMI. Some caution is required when using flicker-free ballasts. Because they convert the normal sine wave of AC current to a series of sharp peaks, the load on different phases does not cancel out. This means that you cannot balance the load in the normal manner: whatever comes out on the hot legs goes back on the neutral. For this reason, it is essential that you use an oversize neutral when running large loads at near capacity. Because it is not a normal sine wave, the load can only be read with a true root mean square (RMS) ammeter, such as the Fluke 87 with a clamp-on accessory (Figure 12.12). Flicker-free ballasts have the advantage of being able to run on either AC or DC; they are also less susceptible to variation in frequency and can operate effectively from 47 to 63 hertz on AC. They will generally fire on from 100 to 132 volts. They have a color temperature adjustment which will vary the output roughly plus or minus 500K. Because they generate less firing voltage, flicker-free ballasts may sometimes fail to fire heads that are not well maintained or that have the igniter box spark gap set improperly. With properly maintained heads, there should be no problem. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

306

Dimmers

There are a number of ways we control the intensity of light output at the unit itself: • Flood-spot. • Wire scrims. • Grip nets. • Diffusion. • Neutral density filters. • Aim (spilling the beam). • Switching off bulbs in multi-bulb units (soft lights, Maxi-Brutes, etc.). The alternative is to control the power input to the light with dimmers. The advantages are: • Fine degree of control. • Ability to control inaccessible units. • Ability to quickly look at several different combinations. • Ability to do cues. • Ability to preset scene combinations. • Ability to save energy and heat buildup by cooling down between takes. The disadvantages are: • Tungsten lights change color as they dim. • Some lights cannot be dimmed, particularly some HMIs. • Necessity of additional cabling. • LEDs (especially cheaper ones), can flicker when dimmed. For larger applications, silicon-controlled rectifiers are used. Known as SCRs, these are electronic devices that are small in size, quiet, and relatively low-cost. They can be controlled remotely by dimmer boards, which means that the dimmer packs can be near the lights. This saves cabling, since only a small control cable needs to run from the board to the dimmer packs. SCR dimmers do not alter the voltage. They work by clipping the waveform so that the voltage is heating the filament for a shorter period of time. The result is that the output of this type of dimmer cannot be read with an ordinary voltage meter. Only a VOM that reads root mean square voltage (RMS), such as the high-end Fluke meters, will work—there must be a load to read the output. Technical Issues

307

Passing “headlights” of approaching cars

“Streetlight” swings past the windows

2K bounce for moonlight or street ambient

“Headlights” of following cars

Figure 12.13. Diagram of a typical setup for poor man’s process. The key is that all of the lights (except the ambient bounce) move by being panned past the windows in a way that imitates the changing lights of real traffic. It is the movement that sells the gag (as these types of effects are called). Many people use an interior light mimicking dashboard glow instead of or in addition to the ambient moonlight or city lights.

The shorter rise time can sometimes cause filament sing and create RF (radio frequency) and AF (audio frequency) noise. The RF interference can be transmitted back along the power line and cause problems, particularly for unbalanced high-impedance type sound systems. In most cases, with properly grounded audio systems, there should be no problem, but a portable radio can be used to test. When using an SCR dimmer with a generator, the genny must be frequency controlled—the loss of sync will cause flicker. Also, since most dimmers are voltage regulated, raising the voltage of the generator will not increase the output. An anomaly of these systems is that the neutral load can, in some cases, be higher than the hot leg. SCR dimmers are basically theatrical equipment so their connectors will not always be compatible with the rest of your equipment. As a rule, the outputs will be theatrical three-pin connectors, either 60 amp or 100 amp. It is important to order adapters compatible with your system. The first dimmers invented were resistance units. They operate by placing a variable resistance in the power line. The excess energy is burned off as heat. Resistance dimmers are still available up to 10K, are heavy and clumsy, but cheap. The major problem with resistance dimmers is that they must be loaded to at least 80% of their capacity in order to operate. If you put a 5K on a 10K dimmer, for example, the dimmer will only reduce a small amount of the output. You won’t be able to dim all the way down—a dummy load may be necessary to operate.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

308

The next generation of dimmers were autotransformers. They operate as variable transformers and alter the voltage. They do not have to be loaded to capacity and they don’t generate excess heat but they do operate only on AC. Known as variacs (for variable AC) they are still standard equipment, particularly in the 1K and 2K sizes.

Figures 12.14 through 12.17. (top) The whole setup—in the front, two bounce lights (a 2k and a Tweenie) add some soft moonlight for inside the car. A Tweenie is operated by an electrician in front to simulate passing headlights. Extended out on a C-stand (left, middle) is a Tweenie that simulates the car passing under street lights—important for creating a sense of movement. Behind the car are two small lights that add car headlights coming up from behind and the red tail lights of cars have just passed (this is co-ordinated with the passing headlights in the front). (bottom left) The end result. This is only a single frame, of course; what is important about this rig is that the lights are moving, which is what convinces the viewer that the car is moving, even though they don’t see any movement in the background of the shot. (above) A compact 12 volt Kino Flo unit is perfect for car shooting as it can easily run off the car battery and fits into small places. In this position it simulates the glow of dashboard lights.

Dimmer Systems

It is increasingly popular to run entire sets from a central dimmer board. While this calls for additional cabling, it has enormous advantages in speed and efficiency, which are always a premium on a Technical Issues

309

Figure 12.18. (right, top) DMX inputs on a Dedo LED unit. There are both an input and an output in order to accommodate daisy chaining other units. Figure 12.19. (right, below) A Rat Pac DMX controller.

working set, especially when many lights are somewhat remote or difficult to reach, making them more difficult to make quick adjustments in level. Since a dimmer board makes it possible to radically alter the balance of the load, it is often a good idea to run a double size neutral cable as an imbalanced load on the hot legs sends more amperage back on the neutral.

DMX

DMX (Digital MultipleX) is a serial protocol, digital, unidirectional control signal for lighting, audio devices, and even items such as smoke machines. DMX is built into most dimmer systems and the majority of LED lights can be remotely operated with a DMX controller. The cable itself consists of two shielded twisted pairs (though only one is pair is used). Technically, 5-pin DMX cabling should be used, but some manufacturers have implemented 3-pin versions which can run over traditional microphone XLR cabling. Devices can be daisy chained together in a single cable and terminated with a special plug. A single DMX master is used to control, while every other device is known as a slave. Each device on the DMX setup must have a start address set on the device itself. Most devices will take up more than Motion Picture and Video Lighting

310

one channel. Identical devices can be set with the same address; these will both react to those instructions. Basic principles include: • Daisy Chaining—When you wire fixtures together, with each fixture looping out of the previous fixture to create a line of fixtures connected back to the console. • 32 Fixture Rule—DMX only allows you to connect up to 32 fixtures in a single daisy chain for signal strength. Sometimes, depending on the units and cable length, this number is less. • Splitting DMX—To get around the 32 fixture rule, you can split your DMX signal and create multiple daisy chains. Splitting your DMX also can help you make your cable runs cleaner. • Very long cable runs may require a DMX repeater to preserve signal strength.

Working with Strobes

There are several types of strobe lighting for cinematography, the most widely known being Unilux. Clairmont Camera also has strobe units that are widely used. Frame rates of up to 500 fps are possible. The strobes are fired by a pulse from the camera which signals when the shutter is open. Any camera that provides such a pulse is compatible with the system. In some cases, a pulse contact is added to a moving part of the camera and this provides the sync signal. Strobe lighting in film is used for several reasons:

Figure 12.20. The Unilux strobe lighting system for film and video. (Photo courtesy of Unilux).

• To light cooler (strobes produce substantially less heat than tungsten heads), which can be a tremendous advantage when shooting ice cream, for example. • To produce sharper images. The exposure duration for each flash can be as short as 1/100,000 of a second. As a result, the image is frozen and appears sharper than if photographed on moving film at standard exposures. • To provide sufficient exposure for high-speed photography with a small power input. It is often used in spray shots of soft drink cans being opened: the strobe effect captures each droplet of spray crisply. In fact, it can be too sharp for some people. In shower scenes for shampoo commercials, the shower can appear as a series of razor sharp drops rather than a soft spray. As a result, for beauty applications, it is common practice to combine strobes with tungsten lighting. In most cases, the strobe light is balanced with an equal amount of tungsten within a range of plus or minus one stop. Most strobes run about 6000K in color temperature. When combining strobes with other sources, appropriate filtration is required. When mixing with tungsten use an 85 filter to obtain 3400K and an 85B to reach Technical Issues

311

Table 12.1. Effects of dimming on the color temperature of lights.

Type

Lamp color shift

CCT direction

Degree of shift

Tungsten

Orange-red

Lower

Marked

Fluorescent

Not discernible

Negligible

Negligible

Metal Halide

Blue

Higher

Drastic

Mercury

Not discernible

Negligible

Negligible

3200K. To maximize the strobe light, use 80A or CTB on the tungsten lights. Most people prefer to light only the moving object with strobe and the rest of the scene with tungsten. Strobes are fan cooled and so are not useful for sync-sound shooting.

Strobe Exposure

Consider this situation: you are shooting at 96 fps and equal amounts of tungsten and strobe lights are desired. Every time you increase the frame rate of the motion picture camera, you are decreasing the amount of time the shutter stays open­—you are decreasing exposure. Ninety-six fps is four times faster than normal, therefore, the shutter speed is 1/200 of a second instead of the normal 1/50. This is an exposure loss of two stops. This is simple enough. To achieve a f/5.6, for example, you light to an f/11. But the same is not true of the strobe lighting. The strobe is instantaneous. It fires for only a few thousandths of a second at some time while the shutter is open. As a result, it is completely independent of the frame rate. It doesn’t matter whether the film is moving at six frames a second or 600, the exposure will be the same. Here’s the problem. We read the tungsten and have to compensate. We then read the strobe with a strobe meter and we don’t have to compensate. How do we arrive at a setting for the lens? The answer is intuitively obvious, but mathematically a bit complex. We read them separately and then add the two exposures. As it turns out, adding an f/stop is not especially simple. Let’s take the simplest case first. We read the strobe by itself (and it is very important to turn off all tungsten lights when we do this) and find that it is f/5.6. We have to balance the tungsten to that. As we know, at 96 fps, we have to set the tungsten lights for f/11, which will be f/5.6 at 96 fps. The logical temptation might be to average them, which would result in a very incorrect exposure—therefore we must add them. What is f/5.6 plus f/5.6? In effect we are doubling the amount of light. The tungsten is providing f/5.6 and the Unilux is supplying an entirely different illumination that is also f/5.6. Twice as much light as f/5.6 is f/8. Recall that each f/stop represents a doubling of the amount of light. Now it gets a bit stickier. Let’s say that the strobe is f/8 and the tungsten is f/5.6. Think of it this way: if f/8 is a base of 100%, then the tungsten light is 50% (one stop less equals onehalf the amount of light). We then have 150% of the base light. One hundred fifty percent of f/8 is one-half stop hotter than f/8, f/8 and one-half. If one of the sources is f/8 and the other is f/4, the correct exposure is f/8 and 1/4. F/4 is only 25% the amount of light of f/8, Motion Picture and Video Lighting

312

125%. Although a flashmeter is the preferred method, many ordinary electronic light meters can read high-speed strobes. The reason is that at 60 flashes per second, it is perceived as continuous by many meters—not really different from fluorescents, for example.

Lighting and Exposure for High-Speed Photography

The following is courtesy Love High Speed (lovehighspeed.com): “Even with the great sensitivity of modern cameras such as the Phantom Flex4K, be prepared to use a considerable amount of light. Shooting at a frame rate of 1000fps requires 5.25 times more light than at 24 or 25 fps. The predominate type of light used is still large tungsten lamps as they seldom present flicker issues. Fresnel tungsten lamps with a power output of 5000w or higher are for the most part the safest option to avoid issues with flicker. However, tungsten lamps are not always the most suitable choice for a shoot, smaller physical size, lower power consumption, and heat output may be required, many of these lights will produce unwanted image flicker. Smaller bulbs show more variation as the AC current rises and falls, the larger bulbs stay ‘hot’ when the current drops to zero as part of the cycle.

Figure 12.21. (above) The Thundervoltz unit by Lightning Strikes is battery run but a powerful lightning unit.

Exposure

Frame rate refers to the number of individual frames that comprise each second of video of film you record, also known as FPS (frames per second.) The most common frame rates in video and film are 24, 25 and 30 frames per second. When you’re slowing down your footage by shooting high frame rate, you need to consider the required increase in exposure. Shooting at high frame rates requires substantial lighting levels. As the number of frame per seconds doubles, the amount of light required to achieve the same exposure also doubles. This can be demonstrated in the table below.

Flicker in High-Speed Photography

Beyond illumination, the largest issue in high-speed lighting is flicker. When powered by alternating current (AC) electricity, the lamps power cycles 50 or 60 times per second (depending on the country). During the down cycle the tungsten lamp filament can dim slightly. Frames Per Second

Stop Compensation

25

+0

50

+1

100

+2

200

+3

250

+3 ¼

500

+4 ¼

1000

+5 ¼

1500

+5 ¾

2000

+6 ¼

2500

+6 ½

Table 12.2. Exposure loss for high speed photography. Technical Issues

313

Figure 12.22. A night exterior shot using day-for-night. The sky was altered digitally in post.

Above certain frame rates a camera sensor is photographing enough images per second to see the alternation of the filament, resulting as flicker in the image. The amount of flicker is related to the type of bulb, wattage and physical size of filament. In general, lamps of 5000w or larger that use tungsten filaments are so large that they do not have time to cool and dim before the power cycles back up. Therefore, it is recommended using 2K or greater tungsten light fixtures when shooting above 120fps in 60hz countries and 5K or greater when shooting above 100fps in 50hz countries. Some additional recommendations are to use DC power for tungsten lights, which eliminates flicker entirely. The direct current supplied to the lamp head means there is no alternation between cycles and the filament is illuminated constantly. Smaller practical bulbs can be battery powered thus avoiding flicker issues. HMI and fluorescent lights are generally fine for speeds under 100fps as long as they use electronic ballasts and are set to flicker free. Although HMI lights do not suffer from the flicker which effects tungsten, HMIs can suffer from arc wander, whereby a plasmatic “hot spot” moves within the bulb, causing an amorphous shifting movement in the light output. The most common side effect to this is a rapid color shift in a shimmering effect. No HMI light with a normal electronic ballast can be guaranteed against some form of flicker, no matter how big the lamp is. In recent years high frequency ballasts have been produced for HMI lamps. These ballasts dramatically reduce or even eliminate flicker in most situations, but under practical use of these tools, it has been found that in certain lighting conditions and with certain lamps and bubbles, flicker still may be apparent. Testing of the specific lamps to be used on a job is always advisable. LED lights are subject to the electronic circuits driving them which can create a vast array of refresh

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

314

rates, but generally LED fixtures designed for the film industry will not flicker as long as they are not dimmed. In recent times, more and more LED lights are becoming available for motion picture, many of these are now being commonly used for high-speed shooting.

Figure 12.23. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is unusual in employing cyan (bluegreen) for the moonlight effect, instead of the more usual 1/2 Blue (1/2 CTB) or Blue plus lavender for more romantic scenes.

Finally, the shutter angle on the high-speed camera can affect flicker as well, as a greater shutter angle allows for a longer response time from the light. When shooting extremely high frame rates, it may no longer be necessary to retain a 180-degree shutter to capture the motion generally preferred for a filmic look. A 360-degree shutter allows both more light sensitivity and can reduced flicker possibilities.

Lighting with HMIs and High-Speed

HMI lighting that uses electronic ballasts will not flicker, but they can be prone to another artifact. This would be arc wander, as described in the previous passage, the hot spot of the electrical arc that travels in the plasmatic gas within the glass bubble moves back and forth between the two cathodes. The resulting effect appears as shimmer and color shift. If one big light is used directly pointed at the subject, this effect can be quite obvious. If many lights are mixed together or if the light is punched through diffusion then arc wander can often be limited to an unnoticeable level. Additionally, arc wander is much more apparent in a dark studio scenario, when used outside to complement natural daylight these effects can often be negligible. With the 300Hz and 1000Hz high-speed ballasts it is possible to achieve high quality flicker free images at frame rates of 1000 fps and in many cases beyond even with a single HMI daylight source. This new technology supplies the lamp with a greatly raised square wave current rather than the typical 75Hz. High frequency ballasts are available for all wattages from 125 W – 18,000 W. It is recommended to still test the lamps at the shooting speeds required prior to a job.” Technical Issues

315

Figure 12.24. A macrophotography setup for jewelry requires an insane amount of lighting for depth-of-field and high speed. The primary lighting here is HMI (a daylight source), but tungsten balance MolePARs are added from some warm highlights. (Photo courtesy A MakoFoto).

Tips for Lighting High-Speed with HMIs • Test your fixtures before shooting. • Obtain 300Hz or 1000Hz ballasts. • Use as bigger sources as possible. • Use diffusion or bounce the source. • Using HMIs when shooting outside is much less noticeable than when inside. • If there’s a problem, most of the problem is the header cable but it may be the head, the ballast, or the power supply—such as low voltage. • Often changing the head or the ballast can help any issues. • Make sure the ballast is set to flicker-free. Some specialty lights that do not have flicker issues at high frame rates include: • Luminys Longstrike 99k and 299k. • Luminys LabLight 30k. • Kino Flo VistaBeam. • Kino Flo ParaBeam. • Molebeam 5k and 10k.

Exposure for Macrophotography

Most regular prime lenses and zooms have a minimum focus; they can’t focus on anything closer than a certain distance. Extreme closeup photography has a set of problems all its own. The most critical aspect of macro work is the degree of magnification. A magnification of 1:1 means that the object will be reproduced on film actual size, that is, an object that is 1/2 inch in reality will produce an image Motion Picture and Video Lighting

316

on the negative (or video receptor) of 1/2 inch. 1:2 will be 1/2 size, 1:3 will be 1/3 size, and so on. In film, the 35mm academy frame is 16mm high and 22mm wide. In 1:1 reproduction a 22mm object will fill the entire frame. Most lenses of ordinary design can focus no closer than a ratio of 1:8 or 1:10. When a small image is being spread over a large piece of film, it naturally produces less exposure. With reproduction ratios greater than 1:10, exposure compensation is necessary. The formula is: Shooting stop =

f/stop determined by light meter 1+magnification ratio

Example: Meter reading is f/8. Your reproduction ratio is 1:2 or 1/2 size. The calculation is 8/(1+.5) = 5.3.

Depth-of-Field in Close-up Work

There are many misconceptions associated with macrophotography; perhaps the most basic is that wide-angle lenses have more depth-offield. Frequently this prompts the DP who is having a depth-of-field problem to ask for a wider lens. Sorry, it doesn’t help. Depth-of-field is a function of image size, not focal length. Yes, it is true that wide-angle lenses have more depth-of-field—a look at any depth-of-field chart confirms this. The problem is that once you have put a wider lens on, you still want the same image you had before, and in order to accomplish this, you must move the camera closer to the subject. Once you do this, the depth-of-field is exactly the same as it was before, since focus distance is also an important determinant of depth-of-field. The important aspects of close-up photography are: • Depth-of-field decreases as magnification increases. • Depth-of-field decreases as focus distance decreases. • Depth-of-field is doubled by closing down the lens two stops. Lighting for Extreme Close-up

There are two basic considerations in lighting for extreme close-up. The first is that due to extremely small depth-of-field (which is inherent in close focusing), and the need to stop down for improved optical performance, very high light levels are needed. Particularly in conjunction with high-speed photography, an uncorrected stop of f/64 and higher is often called for. Since the area being lit is usually very small, there is generally no problem with this, although in dealing with large units (such as 10Ks) it can be quite a job just to get them close together and all focused on a small subject. The other problem is caused by the lens being so close to the subject. In some cases, the front of the lens may be no more than an inch away from the subject. This makes it very difficult to have any front lighting or fill light, as the camera and the lens itself are in the way. Technical Issues

317

Figure 12.25. High-speed photography requires enormous amounts of light, especially when shooting macro at high magnifications. (Photo courtesy Ben Dolphin).

A further difficulty is introduced when the subject is reflective. In this case no matter how much light is poured on the subject, what you will see in the reflective surface is a mirror image of the lens itself, which will appear as a large black circle. There are two solutions. One is to cut a hole in a reflector card just large enough for the lens. Sometimes it is not even necessary for the hole to cover the entire front optic. You will find by experimenting that the actual working area is smaller and that the hole can be smaller without interfering with the image. This is a form of ring light and a number of subtleties are possible with a little imagination. Black strips of tape can put some modulation into the reflective surface, and slightly bending the card can create a pattern of highlights and shadows. The other solution is a half silver mirror. The mirror is placed between the lens and the object and angled slightly to reflect the image of the light source onto the subject in axis with the lens. Don’t forget that the mirror has an exposure factor that you can measure with a spot or incident meter. Ring lights, which are any type of unit that fits around the lens, may be useful in lighting for extreme close-up, if they are small enough.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

318

Underwater Filming

Water acts as a filter, absorbing the red wavelengths first, on down the spectrum, until all frequencies are absorbed. This is why there is no light at all below a certain depth, which varies according to the clarity of the water.

Figure 12.26. The SeaPar light by HydroImage for underwater lighting. (Photo courtesy HydroImage).

There are several underwater lighting units available. Most of them are smaller battery operated units. Observe the manufacturers rated maximum depth carefully, as exceeding it may lead to an implosion and short circuit. Tungsten-halogen PAR 64s (1000 watt) and PAR 36s (650 watt) are also available in watertight housings. The PAR 36 can be configured for use with an underwater battery pack that can run two lights for an hour. In the tungsten units, the bulbs can be changed to alter the beam from wide-flood to narrow-spot and for daylight or tungsten balance. The SeaPar by HydroImage (Figure 12.26) is built around a 1200watt Sylvania HMI par bulb, encased in a watertight container, which can withstand depths of up to 220 feet in salt water (110 pound per square inch). The Fresnel is permanently bonded to the front of the bulb to reduce the amount of glass, so instead of changing lenses, it is necessary to change lights.

Effects

Mechanical effects (physical effects done on the set, as opposed to VFX, which are done largely in post-production) frequently involve lighting or need proper lighting to make them effective. Technical Issues

319

Figure 12.27. (above) A Kino Flo in an underwater housing. (Photo courtesy of Kino Flo, Inc.). Figure 12.28. (right) Like rain, smoke effects work best with some backlight.

Rain Rain is the province of the prop department, but it does have implications for lighting. To be visible, rain must be backlit. Front lighting will not work with anything but the most intense downpours, and even then the result will be anemic. Even with controlled rain effects, water gets everywhere. Several precautions are necessary: • Raise all connectors, especially distribution connectors, off the ground on apple boxes. Wrap them in plastic and seal with tape. Use electrical tape as gaffer tape won’t withstand water. • Ground everything you can. • Put rain hats on all lights. Protect the lenses of all large lights; water on a hot lens will shatter it. • Cover hampers and other spare equipment with heavy plastic. • Wear insulating shoes and stand on rubber mats whenever working with hot equipment. • Observe all electrical safety rules religiously.

Smoke Many types of smoke are available for use on sets: incense in bee-smokers, smoke powder, hazers, and others. Cracker smoke is atomized oil such as baby oil. The oil is atomized by forcing compressed air or nitrogen through extremely small holes. The smoke has the added advantage of hanging for an extremely long time, which can be a tremendous time-saver in production. Other methods require “smoking it up” before every take, followed by wafting it around, then waiting for it to settle—a time-consuming process. Smoke machines and hazers are available in many types and sizes, from small hand carry units up to big industrial size crackers with compressors that are moved on dollies. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

320

Fire

Fire is established by a low-key orange flickering effect. CTO can be used to warm the light and the flicker can be accomplished in a variety of ways. Silver foil, waving hands, and rotating mirror drums are used, but the simplest and most convincing effect is usually to place the source light on a dimmer and have an electrician with an “eye” operate it. A more high-tech method is the use of a flicker generator. Two kinds are available. One is a random generator that can be programmed for various rates of random flicker. The other uses an optical sensor to read the light of a candle or fire and drives a dimmer in sync with it. This is particularly effective for scenes where the dimmer or fire is the primary source and is visible in the scene. Large lamps don’t do well with flicker boxes as they remain glowing too long after the current is reduced. Small hand-held candles or oil lamps can be executed with an inky socket and a small bulb. They can be AC powered with a wire running up the actor’s sleeve or DC powered with a battery hidden on the actor’s body. In a pinch, flashlight bulbs can be used, although the socket will be a bit more difficult to rig.

Figure 12.29. (top) Rain effects almost always need a backlight in order to show on film. Figure 12.30. (above) A multifunction flicker box. (Photo courtesy of McIntire Enterprises).

TV and Projector Effects

Like fire effects, the look of a flickering TV is best accomplished with dimmers or, even better: a flicker box. The source, which might be a Fresnel or practical bulbs in porcelain sockets with some diffusion, is usually placed in a snoot box to confine the light in a realistic pattern. In general, one-half or full CTB cools the light to simulate the blue look of black-and-white television; even though most people watch color TV, which projects a variety of colors. Here again, it is important that the person operating the effect has some sensitivity to the mood of the scene and keeps it random. Actual television flickers considerably less than is usually portrayed, but the activity helps sell the effect. Projection effects can be accomplished the same way with the addition of bouncing the light for a softer look. Film projection is bounced off a large screen, while Technical Issues

321

television is a smaller direct source. Projection can also be simulated by running actual film through a projector and aiming it at the audience. It is necessary to defocus the projector or remove the lens so the image won’t appear on the faces.

Day-for-Night

Figure 12.31. (top) A day-for-night shot in Kurosawa’s Yojimbo. Figure 12.32. (above) A very accurate compass is essential for daylight shooting, especially on the location scout and for setting up sunrise and sunset shots.

With the advent of high-speed film and video cameras, high-speed lenses, high-efficiency HMIs, and sunguns, day-for-night is hardly ever done anymore. In the early days of black-and-white infrared film was used for night effects, generally in conjunction with a filter such as a Wratten #25. Traditionally, day-for-night is done around noon since long shadows would give away the fact that it is day. Of course, showing the sky is strictly forbidden. In color, it is possible to achieve a reasonably convincing effect by underexposing from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 stops. Moonlight blue can be simulated by removing the 85 filter with tungsten-balanced film or white balancing the video camera for tungsten. Subtleties of color balance can be achieved with color correcting filters depending on the feel that is desired. If reflectors are used, gold reflectors are a better choice to preserve the correct color balance. Silver reflectors without an 85 will probably be cold. Harrison and Harrison make a series of day-for-night filters. The #1 is blue-red; the blue gives the night effect while the red component helps hold the skin tones in balance. The #2 is the same color but also lowers the contrast, which can help maintain the night illusion. The #3 filter offers a greater degree of contrast control. They all have an exposure factor of 2 stops.

Moonlight Effect

It is a widely accepted convention that moonlight is blue, even though it isn’t actually blue. We only perceive it as blue due to something called the Purkinje effect—the tendency for the sensitivity of the human eye to shift toward the blue end of the color spectrum at low illumination levels. Of course, these are all in addition to whatMotion Picture and Video Lighting

322

Sun

Figure 12.33. A quick way to judge how long you have until sunset is to hold your hand out at arms length. The width of each finger roughly equals 15 minute until sunset.

Horizon ever blue is used to establish basic color balance. Full blue for moonlight is called “Cameron Blue,” after director James Cameron, who likes very blue nights. Most night exteriors don’t use anywhere near this much blue—1/2 CTB is typical. 1/2 CTB plus 1/4 Plus Green or white flame green is common as well. Slightly cyan moonlight can be very pretty, and in some cases might even appear monochromatic (see Figures 12.22, 12.23, and 12.29).

Water Effects The dapple of light reflected on water can be a beautiful and subtle effect. It can be achieved in a number of ways. Some people use broken mirrors or crumpled aluminum foil to reflect a strong directional light (usually a Fresnel or a PAR). These tend to be somewhat stilted and artificial. The best effect is always achieved by actually using water. In a shallow pan with a black backing (black visqueen or a garbage bag is effective) water itself can be highly reflective if you use a strong enough unit.

Lightning Sometimes flashbulb rigs are used for the effect. M-type flashbulbs, which have a long burn time, are most effective for this purpose. Regular flashbulbs fire very quickly, and they might burn while the shutter is closed. Most of these methods have fallen into disuse however, as purpose built lightning machines such as those by Lightning Strikes are become very popular for this type of effect. They make several different units of various sizes and also units which recreate the flashbulbs of paparazzi and similar effects. They also make a battery powered unit, the Thundervoltz which is surprisingly powerful. Modern high-end LED units such as Arri Skypanels can also produce a lightning effect. Technical Issues

323

Using the Sun

Daylight is an important resource in film and we are often in the position of maximizing its effectiveness. Keep in mind that local weather conditions can seriously affect the amount of usable light. Software is available which will predict the exact altitude and azimuth of the sun for any time on any date. A good compass is essential in being able to predict sun conditions, the exact spot where the sun will rise or set, etc. Several smartphone apps are also available that can show you where the sun will be at any time of the day for the current day or far into the future. An excellent one is Sun Seeker, as shown in Figures 12.34 through 12.37.

Figures 12.34 through 12.37. The Sun Seeker app for smartphones can display the sun’s path for a particular location (top, left), as a chart for all times of the day (top, middle), as augmented reality (top, right), and in map view (above).

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

324

appendix

Typical Lighting Order for a Small Independent Film

This one is shown as an example only, you must adapt to your budget, location, and type of production. Power 1—Generator 450 amp three phase with Cam-Lok connections Lights 2—Maxi-Brutes with barndoors, gel frames, and high stands 2—9 light FAY with tungsten NSP bulbs, barndoor, and stands 4—Mightie Mole open face 2K with barn door, scrims, and stands 4—Mickey Mole open face 1K with barn door, scrims, and stands 4—Baby Junior with barn doors, scrims, and triple riser stands 4—Baby Baby with barn doors, scrims, and stands 4—Tweenie with barn doors, scrims, and stands 4—Inkies with barn doors, scrims, and snoot set 4—1K zip soft lights (worklights for craft service, makeup, wardrobe, etc.), and stands 4—2K zip soft light with eggcrates, and stands Distro 500’—Five wire banded feeder cable—Cam-Lok 50’—Five wire #00 feeder cable—Cam-Lok 10—Cam-Lok tees 6—100’–100 amp Bates extensions 5—Bates 100 amp to 60 amp splitters 8—50–60 amp Bates extensions 2—3 phase distribution boxes 4—lunch boxes 4—60 amp Bates to 6 outlet Edison 25—50’ single extension (stingers) 20—25’ single extension (stingers) 2—Flicker boxes (three channel) 2—2K dimmer (Variac) 1—12K dimmer Grip 20—C-stands 30—Sand bags 8—Shot bags 6—Cardellini clamps 6 — Mafer clamp 10—full apple boxes 10—1/2 apple boxes 10—1/4 apple boxes 10—pancakes 1—box of wedges 2 — 12’ 2”x12’ dolly boards 8—4x4 floppy 6—4x4 open frames 2—4x4 cuculoris 2—4x4 celo (soft cookie) 2—4x4 single 2—4x4 double 2—4x4 silk

8—24x36 flags 4—24x36 single nets 4—24x36 double nets 6—18x24 flags 6—highboys 4—1K offset arm 2—1K sidearm Dolly Fischer 11 with seats, side boards, etc. 2—12” risers 5—pieces straight track 3—pieces wide circle track (45°) Expendables Full CTB 1/2 CTB 1/4 CTB CTS 1/4 CTS 1/8 CTS Rosco Opal Rosco 3026 (216) Rosco 3027 (1/2 216) 5—Bags wooden clothes pins 2—Rolls 2” black gaffer tape 1—Roll 2” white gaffer tape 2—Rolls 2” black paper tape 1—Roll 2” white paper tape 1—Black wrap 24” 3— yards—bleached muslin 2—Sash cord 200’ #8 1—Trick line (mason’s line)—black 100’ 1—Dulling spray 1—Streaks n’ Tips—black

Figure 14.1. A sample lighting and grip order for a low-budget independent feature. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

326

Equipment Order List for a Large Studio Film

This lighting order is for the film Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and was supplied by Chief Lighting Technician Tony “Nako” Nakonechnyj, a top Hollywood gaffer and an accomplished cinematographer in his own right. This is the “truck package”—the basic order which is carried on the truck (a 40’ semi-trailer) to all locations and stages. Other packages covered specific stages, 2nd unit, special locations, etc.

HMI

(All ballasts must be electronic and flicker-free; all units complete with barndoors and scrims) 1 - 18 Fresnel w/2-50’ Head Feeders (LTM) 1 - 6K Par w/2-50’ Head Feeder (LTM) 2 - 4K Par w/2-50’ Head Feeder (LTM) 2 - 2500 Par w/2-50’ Head Feeders (LTM) 2 - 1200 HMI Pars w/2-50’ Head Feeders (LTM) 2 - 575 HMI Pars w/2-50’ Head Feeders (LTM) 1 - 575/2K Hybrid Par (CMC) 2 - 200w Joker Bug Lights Tungsten

2 - 20K Mole Complete 4 - Maxi-Brutes 4-w/FFN & 4-w/FFR Globes 2 - Mini-Brutes Complete w/FCX Globes 3 - Baby 10K Complete w/4-way doors 3 - Baby 5K Complete w/4-way doors 3 - Baby Junior Complete w/4-way doors 3 - Baby Complete w/4-way doors 6 - Tweenie Complete w/4-way doors 6 - 100 Peppers Complete w/4-way doors 2 - 2K Zips Complete w/Eggcrate 2 - 750 Zips Complete w/Eggcrate 8 - Par 64 Complete (w/Narrow,Medium,Wide) 16 - Par Cans w/Baby Spuds (FFN) 2 - Source Four Focal Spot Kino Flo

1 - Image 80 w/Kino55 and Kino32 Tubes 4 - 4’ 4-Tube Kino w/Kino55 and Kino32 Tubes 4 - 4’ 2-Tube Kino w/Kino55 and Kino32 Tubes 4 - 4’ 1-Tube Kino w/Kino55 and Kino32 Tubes 2 - 2’ 4-Tube Kino w/Kino55 and Kino32 Tubes 2 - 2’ 2-Tube Kino w/Kino55 and Kino32 Tubes 4 - 2’ 1-Tube Kino w/Kino55 and Kino32 Tubes 2 - Mini Flo Kit Stands

4 - Roadrunners 2 - Super Crank-O-Vator 4 - Mini Crank-O-Vator 8 - 3-Riser Jr. Combo 6 - 2-Riser Jr. Combo

24 - 3-Riser Baby 8 - Jr. Low Stands 8 - Baby Low Stands Dimmers

4 - 6x12kw Electronic Dimmer Packs (DMX) 4 - 12x2.4kw Electronic Dimmer Packs (DMX) 2 - Spare DMX Brains 1 - Expressions 3 Control Board (1200ch) 1 - ETC 48/96 Control Board 1 - Gray’s DMX Combiner 2 - Opto Splitter 10 - 100’ DMX Control Cable 10 - 18” DMX Jumper 4 - 12K CD-80 Independent Electronic Dimmer 2 - 20K CD-80 Independent Electronic Dimmer 4 - 2K Variacs 4 - 1K Variacs 8 - 100’ Socoplex 6-channel cables 8 - 50’ Socoplex 6-channel cables 10 - Male Break-ins (20amp M-Bates to F-Saco) 10 - Female Break-outs (M-Saco to F-Edison) Hardware

2 - Trapeze 4 - T-Bones 4 - Turtles 4 - Baby Pipe Hangers 4 - Baby Plates 4 - Jr. Pipe Hangers 4 - Jr. Plates 4 - Baby Off-Sets 4 - Jr. Off-Sets 12 - Chain Vise Grips 6 - Candle Sticks Special

1 - Electrician’s 7 Crate Cart 1 - Kino Cart 1 - Chimera Cart 2 - Distro Cart 2 - Tungsten Head Carts 2 - HMI Head Cart 4 - Cable Carts

Figure 14.2. A lighting and grip order for a high-budget studio feature. Appendix

327

2 - 4’ Ladder [other ladders supplied by grips] 1 - Case of Tota-Lights 1 - Case of Stick-ups 1 - K5 Kit 2 - 13” JEM Paper Lantern Harp and Ball 2 - 19” JEM Paper Lantern Harp and Ball 4 - 22” JEM 1000w Muz Ball 4 - 30” JEM 1500w Muz Ball 2 - 19” JEM Bug Light Grid Ball 4 - Mini Space Lights 1 - 1K Baby Chimera Ring - w/Soft Eggcrate 1 - 1K Red Head Chimera Ring 2 - 2K Baby Chimera Ring - w/Soft Eggcrate 2 - 2K Blonde Chimera Ring 2 - 5K Baby Chimera Ring w/Soft Eggcrate 1 - 10K Baby Chimera Ring w/Soft Eggcrate 2 - 575 HMI Par Chimera Ring 2 - 1200 HMI Par Chimera Ring 1 - 2500 HMI Par Chimera Ring 1 - 4K HMI Par Chimera Ring 1 - 6K HMI Par Chimera Ring 2 - Tweenie Snoot 2 - Baby Baby Snoot 2 - Baby Junior Snoot 2 - Baby 5K Snoot 1 - Baby 10K Snoot Cable/distro

5 - 100’ 4/0 CAM (Cam-Lok connectors) 5 - 50’ 4/0 CAM 10 - 100’ 2/0 CAM 5 - 50’ 2/0 CAM

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

328

12 - 50’ 2/5 CAM Banded (Three-Phase) 20 - 6’ - 4/0 CAM Jumpers 12 - Male CAM to Lug adapters 12 - Female CAM to Lug adapters 8 - Male CAM Suicide adapters 8 - Female CAM Suicide adapters 8 - Male CAM to Female Pin adapters 8 - Female CAM to Male Pin adapters 24 - CAM Soft Three-Fers 12 - CAM Ground Squids 4 - 600amp Pin Through CAM Distro Box 8 - 100amp Lunch Boxes 4 - 100amp Gang Boxes 4 - 60amp Gang Boxes 8 - 100amp M-Bates to 2-100amp F-Bates Splits 8 - 100amp M-Bates to 2-60amp F-Bates Splits 4 - 60amp M-Bates to 2-60amp F-Bates Splits 12 - 100amp Reverse Snake-Bite 4 - 100amp Triple Snake-Bite 4 - 100amp Single Snake-Bite 4 - 220volt 220 Reverse Snake-Bite 4 - 220volt 220 Snake-Bite 50 - 25’ Stingers 50 - 50’ Stingers 8 - 50’ 220 volt Bates 6 - 25’ 220 volt Bates 2 - 100’ 100amp Bates 8 - 50’ 100amp Bates 6 - 25’ 100amp Bates 8 - 50’ 60amp Bates 6 - 25’ 60amp Bates 12 - Cable Crossovers

Order for a 2nd Unit Night Shoot—Big Budget Film HMI

1 - 16K HMI Balloon Complete w/2-50’ Head Feeders (LTM) (All ballasts must be electronic) 2 - 575 HMI Par Complete w/2-50’ Head Feeders (LTM) 4 - 575/2K HMI/TUNG Complete Tungsten

3 - 20K Complete 2 - Baby 5K Complete 2 - Baby 2K Complete 2 - Tweenie Complete 4 - Blonde Compete 4 - Red Head Complete Kino Flo

4 - 4’ 4-Tube Kino w/Kino55 and Kino32 Tubes 2 - 4’ 2-Tube Kino w/Kino55 and Kino32 Tubes 2 - 2’ 4-Tube Kino w/Kino55 and Kino32 Tubes 2 - 2’ 2-Tube Kino w/Kino55 and Kino32 Tubes 12 - 4’ Cool White Tubes 12 - 2’ Cool White Tubes Stands

3 - Super Crank-O-Vator 3 - Mini Crank-O-Vator 4 - 3-Riser Jr. Combo 12 - 3-Riser Baby Combo 4 - Jr. Low Stands 6 - Baby Low Stands Dimmers

3 - 20K Independent 2 - 12K Independent 4 - 2K Variacs 4 - 1K Variacs Hardware

4 - T-Bones 4 - Turtles 4 - Baby Pipe Hangers 4 - Baby Plates 4 - Baby Off-Sets 4 - Jr. Pipe Hangers 4 - Jr. Plates 4 - Jr. Off-Sets Special

2 - 2K Baby Chimera Ring - Med Daylight Bank Plus w/30° Light Tool 2 - 5K Baby Chimera Ring - Large Daylight Bank Plus w/30° Light Tool 4 - Cable Carts Figure 14.3. This is the order for a second unit night shoot on a large studio feature. Appendix

329

Cable

25 - 100’ 4/0 CAM (as in Cam-Lok) 20 - 50’ 4/0 CAM 25 - 25’ 4/0 CAM 6 - 50’ 2/5 Banded CAM (Three-Phase) 24 - 2’ - 4/0 CAM Jumpers 12 - Male CAM Lug adapters 12 - Female CAM Lug adapters 5 - Male CAM Suicide adapters 5 - Female CAM Suicide adapters 24 - CAM Three-Fers 12 - CAM Ground Squids 4 - 600amp CAM-through distribution boxes 4 - 100amp Lunch Boxes 4 - 100amp M-Bates to 2-100amp F-Bates Splits 4 - 100amp M-Bates to 2-60amp F-Bates Splits 4 - 220volt M-Bates to F-Mole Pin (220 Reverse Snake-Bite) 4 - 220volt F-Bates to M-Mole Pin 3-wire (220 Snake-Bite) 20 - 25’ Stingers 20 - 50’ Stingers 4 - 50’ 220 volt Bates Extension 2 - 25’ 220 volt Bates Extension 6 - 50’ 100amp Bates Extension 4 - 25’ 100amp Bates Extension 4 - 50’ 60amp Bates Extension 2 - 25’ 60amp Bates Extension 12 - Cable Crossovers Generator

1 - 1200 amp tow plant

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

330

Light Loss for Common Diffusion Types White Diffusion

Effect of Diffusion on Color Temp SOURCE

3200K 3180K

White Diffusion (216)

1 1/2 stops

Tough Spun

1/2 White Diffusion (250)

3/4 stop

Light Tough Spun

3180K

1/4 White Diffusion (251)

1/3 stop

Quarter Tough Spun

3200K

1/8 White Diffusion (252)

1/4 stop

Tough Frost

3000K

Lt. Tough Frost

3060K

Opal Opal (410)

1/2 stop

Opal Tough Frost

3100K

Light Opal Frost (420)

1/4 stop

Tough White (216)

3120K

Hampshire Frost (253)

1/4 stop

Tough 1/2 White

3150K

Heavy Frost (129)

2 stops

Tough 1/4 White

3150K

Grid Cloth

2960K

Tough Silk

3160K

Soft Frost

2840K

Half Soft Frost

3180K

Hilite

3050K

Hamburg Frost

3200K

Grid Cloth Grid Cloth (430) or Silent Grid Cloth

2 1/2 stops

Light Grid Cloth (432), Silent Light Grid

2 stops

1/4 Grid Cloth (434) or Silent 1/4 Grid

1 stop

Tough Spun

Full Tough Spun (214)

2 1/2 stops

1/2 Tough Spun (215)

1 1/2 stops

1/4 Tough Spun (229)

3/4 stop

Silk Artificial Silk

1 2/3 stops

1/4 Silk

2/3 stop

China Silk

1 stop

Figure 14.5. Light loss for different types of diffusion material. (Data courtesy Rosco Laboratories).

Muslin Unbleached Muslin

2 stops

Bleached Muslin

2 stops

Heavy Diffusion Muslin, Grid Cloth, 216, Heavy Frost

2 stops

Medium Diffusion 250, Light Grid

1 stop

Light Diffusion Opal

1/2 stop

Hampshire Frost

1/4 stop

251

1/3rd stop

252

1/4 stop

Figure 14.4. Light loss for different types of diffusion material.

Appendix

331

Figure 14.6. Common incandescent shapes. Figure 14.7. (opposite page) Types of bulbs.

Lamps and Sockets Bulb Handling and Safety • Never touch a bulb with your bare fingers—to do so shortens its life. • Don’t move a light with the bulb on. Excessive vibration can damage the filament. • Use extreme caution installing and removing bulbs, especially double-ended bulbs like the FCM and FHM that have very delicate and damage-prone porcelain ends. • Follow the recommended operating positions of bulbs, particularly large bulbs like DTY and 6K/12K HMI bulbs, which are not only sensitive to position, but also extremely expensive. • Try to minimize on and off switching. Dimmers are an excellent way to control the light and reduce total energy consumption.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

332

Figure 14.8. Bulb classifications. (Courtesy General Electric). Appendix

333

Figure 14.9. Typical bulb shapes. (Courtesy GTE-Sylvania Lighting).

LEDs

An LED (light-emitting diode) is a semiconductor that emits light when an electric current is passed through it. Light is produced when the particles that carry the current (known as electrons and holes) combine together within the semiconductor material. Since light is generated within the solid semiconductor material, LEDs are described as solid-state devices. The term solid-state lighting, which also encompasses organic LEDs (OLEDs), distinguishes this technology from other sources that use heated filaments (tungsten-halogen lamps) or gas discharge (fluorescent lamps). Inside the semiconductor material of the LED, the electrons and holes are contained within energy bands. The separation of the bands (i.e. the band gap) determines the energy of the photons (light particles) that are emitted by the LED. The photon energy determines the wavelength of the emitted light, and hence its color. Different semiconductor materials with different band gaps produce different colors of light. The precise wavelength (color) can be tuned by altering the composition of the light-emitting, or active, region. LEDs are comprised of compound semiconductor materials, which are made up of elements from group III and group V of the periodic table (these are known as III-V materials). Examples of III-V materials commonly used to make LEDs are gallium arsenide (GaAs) and gallium phosphide (GaP). Until the mid-90s LEDs had a limited range of colors, and in particular blue and white LEDs did not exist. The development of LEDs based on the gallium nitride (GaN) material system completed the palette of colors and opened up many new applications.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

334

Carbon Arc

The oldest type of radiating source is the open arc. All carbon arc sources consist of a positive and a negative electrode. Current flows from the negative to the positive electrode. The high-current flow across the tip of the negative carbon gasifies the carbon/cerium metals electrode and creates a small flame that is an extremely hot plasma produced by the arc. The output is intense and can only be viewed through dark glass viewing ports in the side and back of the unit. Tungsten

The incandescent lamp works on the principle of incandescence— the greater the current passing through the filament, the brighter the bulb will burn. Tungsten is used because it has the highest melting point of any material suitable for forming a filament. The tungsten molecules boil off and accumulate on the relatively cooler glass envelope, where they form a sooty coating that gradually dims the bulb. To slow this evaporation, the globe is filled to about 80% atmospheric pressure with the inert gases nitrogen and argon. Tungsten-Halogen

The accumulation of soot on the bulbs was solved by the introduction of the tungsten-halogen bulb. The idea for a tungsten-halogen bulb originated with Edison, but at the time there was no glass that could withstand the temperature. In general use, the term tungsten refers to any incandescent bulb. Quartz refers to tungsten-halogen bulbs. Tungsten-halogen bulbs operate on a gas cycle that works to redeposit the evaporated metal back onto the filament. As the tungsten molecules leave the filament, they chemically combine with the iodine and bromine gases in the bulb. The resulting tungsten halide migrates back to the filament, where the very high temperature decomposes it back into tungsten, iodine, and bromine. Practical Bulbs

Practical bulbs are needed for just about any desk lamp, floor lamp, wall sconce, or hanging light that appears in a scene. It is important to order a variety of sizes that will fit these units.

Figure 14.10. (top) Bases for fluorescent lamps. (Courtesy of GTE-Sylvania Lighting). Figure 14.11. (above) Typical lampholders for fluorescent lamps. (Courtesy GTE-Sylvania Lighting.)

A practical bulb kit is a must on any production that involves on-camera practicals. It is common practice for any company to have a box of bulbs always available. (Most of these bulbs are medium screw base, which is the most common socket in household lamps, sconces, and ceiling-mounted lamps, followed closely by the smaller candelabra base). One of the most important things to understand about household and photo-flood bulbs is that they come in different sizes. The fiddles of many table or floor lamps may not be large enough to accommodate a large 200-watt household bulb. A BBA, on the other hand measures only 4 15/16, small enough to fit in most lamp housings. Other popular bulbs include the 211, 212, 213 series of photo enlarger bulbs. These feature a special bonded ceramic coating for even and soft light. The 211 is 75 watts and the 212 is 150 watts and 213 is 250 watts; all are medium screw base. Appendix

335

Interference waves cancel each other

Air Zinc Sulfide Glass

Figure 14.12. (above) Dichroic filter on a FAY bulb. Figure 14.13. (right) Dichroic Filter operating principles.

Fluorescent Tubes

Fluorescent tubes have electrodes at each end of the tubes that propel electrons into the mercury vapor in the tube. The impact of an electron on a mercury atom dislodges an electron from its orbit. When it returns to its orbit, ultraviolet radiation is produced. The UV rays strike the phosphor coating around the interior of the tube causing it to fluoresce in the visible spectrum. All fluorescents operate with a ballast that limits current flow and raises the voltage for initial firing. Ballasts may emit an audible hum that can interfere with sound filming. Some bulb types have special phosphors added that change their spectral output. Bulbs have been developed that closely simulate daylight and tungsten-balanced light and have color rendering indexes high enough for reliable color filming. Continuous spectrum bulbs have few of the color rendition problems of standard fluorescents but have about 35% lower output. Dichroics

Some bulbs have built-in conversion filters, primarily for converting tungsten to daylight balance. Generically called FAYs or faylights, they are a reliable old standby for daylight fill. Technically, FAY is the ANSI code for a 650-watt PAR 36 with ferrule contact terminals and a color balance of 5000K. This most commonly occurs in PAR clusters, such as the nine-light, although one- and two-lamp units are common for just a touch of fill on cloudy days or for hood-mounted rigs for running shots. Some units take a similar bulb that has screw terminals, the FBE/FGK. They may look quite similar from the outside, so check carefully before ordering bulbs. Both of these bulbs have dichroic filters for conversion to approximate daylight color balance. Dichroic filters operate on the principle of interference. Glass is coated with a number of layers that are one-quarter or one-half the thickness of the wavelength of the color they are to filter. As that wavelength enters these layers, it creates a series of interior reflections that cancel out the color. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

336

Figure 14.14. Bulb Base codes. (Courtesy GTE-Sylvannia). Appendix

337

Lighting Expendables Order Form

Figure 14.15. An extensive expendable order form. (Form courtesy of Hollywood Expendables). Motion Picture and Video Lighting

338

Paper Tape 1" Green Paper Tape 1" Red Paper Tape 1" Orange Paper Tape 1" Yellow Paper Tape 1" Purple Paper Tape 1" Flo. Pink Paper Tape 1" Flo. Green Paper Tape 1" Flo. Orange Paper Tape 1" Flo. Yellow PAINTERS TAPE Painters Tape 2" Blue Painters Tape 1" Blue PHOTO PAPER TAPE Photo Paper Tape 2" Photo Paper Tape 1" Photo Paper Tape 1/2" Photo Paper Tape 2" Small Core ELECTRICAL TAPE 3/4" Electrical Tape 3/4" Black Electrical Tape 3/4" White Electrical Tape 3/4" Green Electrical Tape 3/4" Blue Electrical Tape 3/4" Red Electrical Tape 3/4" Yellow Electrical Tape 3/4" Orange Electrical Tape 3/4" Purple Electrical Tape 3/4" Brown Electrical Tape 3/4" Grey J-LAR TAPE CLEAR J-Lar Tape Clear 1" J-Lar Tape Clear 2" DOUBLE STICK TAPES Carpet Tape 2" Location Tape 2" Killer Red Clear 1/2" Killer Red Clear 1" Killer Red Clear 2" ATG TAPE (SNOT) ATG Tape 1/2"

FRICTION TAPE 3/4" Gorilla Tape 2" Gorilla Tape 1" OFFICE SUPPLIES Sharpie Fine Point Black Sharpie Fine Point Red Sharpie Fine Point Blue Sharpie Fine Point Green Sharpie Xtra Fine Point Black Sharpie Xtra Fine Point Red Sharpie Xtra Fine Point Blue Sharpie Xtra Fine Point Green Sharpie Ult. Fine Point Black Sharpie Ult. Fine Point Red Sharpie Ult. Fine Point Blue Sharpie Ult. Fine Point Green Sharpie Silver Sharpie Twin Tip Black Sharpie Twin Tip Red Sharpie Twin Tip Blue Sharpie KING Size Black Sharpie MAGNUM Black Sharpie MAGNUM Red Marks-A-Lot Black Marks-A-Lot Red China Marker Black China Marker White China Marker Red China Marker Blue China Marker Yellow Bic Clic Pen Black School Chalk Box Railroad Chalk Ea. Paint Pen Black Paint Pen White Paint Pen Blue Paint Pen Red Paint Pen Yellow Paint Pen Gold

ATG Tape 3/4"

Appendix

339

Paper Tape 1" Green Paper Tape 1" Red Paper Tape 1" Orange Paper Tape 1" Yellow Paper Tape 1" Purple Paper Tape 1" Flo. Pink Paper Tape 1" Flo. Green Paper Tape 1" Flo. Orange Paper Tape 1" Flo. Yellow PAINTERS TAPE Painters Tape 2" Blue Painters Tape 1" Blue PHOTO PAPER TAPE Photo Paper Tape 2" Photo Paper Tape 1" Photo Paper Tape 1/2" Photo Paper Tape 2" Small Core ELECTRICAL TAPE 3/4" Electrical Tape 3/4" Black Electrical Tape 3/4" White Electrical Tape 3/4" Green Electrical Tape 3/4" Blue Electrical Tape 3/4" Red Electrical Tape 3/4" Yellow Electrical Tape 3/4" Orange Electrical Tape 3/4" Purple Electrical Tape 3/4" Brown Electrical Tape 3/4" Grey J-LAR TAPE CLEAR J-Lar Tape Clear 1" J-Lar Tape Clear 2" DOUBLE STICK TAPES Carpet Tape 2" Location Tape 2" Killer Red Clear 1/2" Killer Red Clear 1" Killer Red Clear 2" ATG TAPE (SNOT) ATG Tape 1/2" ATG Tape 3/4"

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

340

FRICTION TAPE 3/4" Gorilla Tape 2" Gorilla Tape 1" OFFICE SUPPLIES Sharpie Fine Point Black Sharpie Fine Point Red Sharpie Fine Point Blue Sharpie Fine Point Green Sharpie Xtra Fine Point Black Sharpie Xtra Fine Point Red Sharpie Xtra Fine Point Blue Sharpie Xtra Fine Point Green Sharpie Ult. Fine Point Black Sharpie Ult. Fine Point Red Sharpie Ult. Fine Point Blue Sharpie Ult. Fine Point Green Sharpie Silver Sharpie Twin Tip Black Sharpie Twin Tip Red Sharpie Twin Tip Blue Sharpie KING Size Black Sharpie MAGNUM Black Sharpie MAGNUM Red Marks-A-Lot Black Marks-A-Lot Red China Marker Black China Marker White China Marker Red China Marker Blue China Marker Yellow Bic Clic Pen Black School Chalk Box Railroad Chalk Ea. Paint Pen Black Paint Pen White Paint Pen Blue Paint Pen Red Paint Pen Yellow Paint Pen Gold

DUST OFF/CANNED AIR Dust Off Classic (Chrome Valve) Dust Off Plus (Vector Valve) Dust Off XL (Built in Valve) Dust Off Jr. (Built in Valve) Dust Off Chrome Valve Dust Off Vector Valve ZIP TIES Zip Tie 5-1/2" White 100PK Zip Tie 5-1/2" Black 100PK Zip Tie 8" White 100PK Zip Tie 8" Black 100PK Zip Tie #11 White 100PK Zip Tie #11 Black 100PK Zip Tie #14 White 100PK Zip Tie #14 Black 100PK Zip Tie Mount White 100PK Zip Tie Mount Black 100PK Zip Tie W/Mount WHT. 8"100PK Zip Tie W/Mount BLK. 8"100PK Zip Tie W/Mount WHT14"100PK Zip Tie W/Mount BLK.14"100PK ROPES/SASH Manila Rope 1/2" X 600' Manila Rope 3/8" X 600' Manila Rope 1/4" X 1200' Mason Line #4 White 48' Mason Line #4 White 500' Mason Line #4 Black 48' Mason Line #4 Black 500' Sash #6 White 100' Sash #6 Black 100' Sash #8 White 100' Sash #8 Black 100' Sash #10 White 100' Sash #10 Black 100' Sash #12 White 100' Sash #12 Black100' Spot Cord 3/8" White 600' Spot Cord 3/8" Black600' FENDER WASHERS

Spot Cord 1/2" White 600' Spot Cord 1/2" Black 600' Multi-Line 3/8" White 600' Multi-Line 3/8" Black 600' Multi-Line 1/2" White 600' Multi-Line 1/2" Black 600' Monofilament 4LB. Test Monofilament 8LB. Test Monofilament 12LB. Test Monofilament 20LB. Test Monofilament 50LB. Test Clamps/Clips C47 Closepins 50PK. Grip Clip Mini Grip Clip #1 Grip Clip #2 Grip Clip #3 Binder Clip Small 12PK. Binder Clip Medium 12PK. Binder Clip Large 12PK. Kino-Flo Clips 24PK. DRYWALL SCREWS Drywall 3/4" 100pk. Drywall 3/4" 5lb. Drywall 1" 100PK. Drywall 1" 5lb. Drywall 1-1/4" 100PK. Drywall 1-1/4" 5 LB. Drywall 1-5/8" 100PK. Drywall 1-5/8" 5LB. Drywall 2" 100PK. Drywall 2" 5LB. Drywall 2-1/2" 100PK. Drywall 2-1/2" 5 LB. Drywall 3" 100PK. Drywall 3" 5LB. Drywall 4" 100PK. Drywall 4" 5LB. Drywall 6" 100PK. Utility Knifes/Blades

Appendix

341

3/16" X 1" 100PK. 1/4" X 1-1/4" 100PK. 5/16 X 1-1/4" 100PK. 3/8" X 1-1/2" 100PK. 1/2" X 2" 100 PK. COTTER PINS 1/8" X 1-1/2" 100PK. BBY. 3/16" X 1-3/4" 100PK. JR. "S" HOOKS Small 1" 50 PK. Medium 2" 50 PK. Large 3" 50 PK. ARMATURE WIRE 6 AWG-10' 4 AWG 10' 3/16 AWG 10' 1/16 AWG 26' STOVE PIPE WIRE 18 AWG Stove Pipe Wire 18 AWG 5LB. Grip Chain Copper Diped 100' SPRAY PAINT Krylon Dulling Spray Krylon Matt Finish Krylon Crystal Clear Krylon Gloss Black Krylon Gloss White Krylon Ultra Flat Black Krylon Flat White Krylon Regal Blue Krylon Red Krylon Brown Krylon Dark Blue Krylon High Heat Black Krylon High Heat White Krylon Copper Krylon Stirling Silver Krylon 18CT. Gold Krylon Chrome Chroma Green Spray Digital Green Spray FABRICS Duvetyne 48" X 50YD.

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

342

Stanley Quick Change UT. Knife Box Cutter 2PK. Breakoff Knife X-Acto Knife #2 Utility Knife Blades 5PK. Utility Knife Blades 100PK. Single Edge Razor Blade 100PK. X-Acto Knife Blades #11 15PK. Brakeoff Blades Repl. 10PK. ADHESIVES Zap-A-Gap Slow Zap Zip Kicker Crazy Glue Spray 77 Spray 80 Spray 90 Gorilla Glue Rubber Cement Glue Sticks 10PK. Hot Glue Gun Dewalt SOLVENTS/LUBRICANTS Goo Gone Goof Off Bestine Qt. Acetone Qt. Denatured Alochol Qt. Triflo Silicone Spray WD-40 Boshield T-9 Contact Cleaner CLEANERS /WIPES Windex Formula 409 Brasso Lemon Pledge Diapers 10PK Paper Towels Roll Bag-O-Rags DIFFUSION LEE 216 White Diffusion

Duvetyne 48" X 25YD. Duvetyne 48" X 1YD. Muslin 9' X 15' Muslin Bleached 9' X 15' Chroma Green 5' X 1YD. Digital Green 5' X 1YD. Chroma Blue 5' X 1YD. Digital Blue 5' X 1YD. Refrasil 5YD. FOAM BOARD/SHOW CARD Black & White 4'X8' White/White 4'X8' Black/Black 4'X8' Chroma Green 4'X8' Gator Board 1/2"X4'X8' Black Gator Board 1/2"X4'X8' White Foamular 4'X8'X1" Bead Board 4'X8'X1" Coroplast 4'X8' Black Coroplast 4'X8' White Layout Board 4'X8' Show Card White/White Show Card Black/White Show Card Black/Black Show Card Shiny Silver Show Card Dull Silver Show Card Pebbled Silver Show Card Shiny Gold Show Card Dull Gold Show Card Pebbled Gold Show Card Chrome Green Lite-Board (Depron)27"X39" Lite-Board (Depron)39"X50" VISQUEEN(POLYETHYLENE) Visqueen 6M. 20'X100' Black Visqueen 6M. 20'X100' Clear Visqueen 10M. 20'X100' Black Visqueen 10M. 20'X100' Clear Black Wrap Foil 12"X50' Black Wrap Foil 24"X25' Black Wrap Foil 36"X25' LEE 443 1/4 CT Straw LEE 444 1/8 CT Straw LEE 226 UV

LEE 416 3/4 White Diffusion LEE 250 1/2 White Diffusion LEE 251 1/4 White Diffusion LEE 252 1/8 White Diffusion LEE 255 Hollywood Frost LEE 410 Opal Frost LEE 420 Light Opal Frost LEE 258 1/8 Hampshire Frost LEE 257 1/4 Hampshire Frost LEE 256 1/2 Hampshire Frost LEE 253 Hampshire Frost LEE 254 New Hampshire Frost LEE 129 Heavy Frost LEE 430 Grid Cloth LEE 432 Light Grid Cloth LEE 434 1/4 Grid Cloth LEE 460 Quiet Grid Cloth LEE 439 Heavy Quiet Frost LEE 402 Soft Frost LEE 429 Quiet Frost LEE 404 1/2 Soft Frost LEE 414 Highlight LEE 261 Tough Spun LEE 262 3/4 Tough Spun LEE 263 1/2 Tough Spun LEE 265 1/4 Tough Spun COLOR CORRECTION LEE 200 Double CTB LEE 201 Full CTB LEE 281 3/4 CTB LEE 202 1/2 CTB LEE 203 1/4 CTB LEE 218 1/8 CTB LEE 287 Double CTO LEE 204 Full CTO LEE 285 3/4 CTO LEE 205 1/2 CTO LEE 206 1/4 CTO LEE 223 1/8 CTO LEE 441 Full CT Straw LEE 442 1/2 CT Straw LIGHT BULBS HH 25W. Clear HH 37W. Clear

Appendix

343

LEE 213 White Flame Green LEE 247 Minus Green LEE 248 1/2 Minus Green LEE 249 1/4 Minus Green LEE 279 1/8 Minus Green LEE 244 Plus Green LEE 245 1/2 Plus Green LEE 246 1/4 Plus Green LEE 278 1/8 Plus Green LEE 239 Polariser LEE 298 .15 ND LEE 209 .3 ND LEE 210 .6 ND LEE 211 .9 ND LEE 299 1.2 ND LEE 269 Heat Shield ACRYLIC PANEL (HARD GEL) Acrylic Panel .3 ND 4' X 8' Acrylic Panel .6 ND 4' X 8' Acrylic Panel .9 MD 4' X 8' WIRING DEVICES Add-A-Plug Male (Black) Add-A-Tap Female (Black) Add-A-Plug Male (White) Add-A-Tap Female (White) Carnival Socket Hubbell Male 5266 Hubbell Female 5269 Pig Nose Adaptor Med.Base-2 AC/Female Med. Edison-Med. Base Female Ground Lift Adaptor Cube Tap Power Strip 6-Outlet 18/2 Lamp Wire Black 250' 18/2 Lamp Wire White 250' 18/2 Lamp Wire Brown 250' 16/3 Wire 250' 12/3 Wire 250' Dynamite Wire B/R Twist 250'

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

344

HH 58W. Clear HH 71W. Clear HH 25W. Frosted HH 37W. Frosted HH 58W. Frosted HH 71W. Frosted HH 150W. Frosted HH 200W. Frosted PH 211 PH 212 PH 213 BBA #1 Frosted 250W. BCA #1 Blue 250W. EBV #2 Frosted 500W. EBW #2 Blue 500W. ECA Frosted 250W. ECT 500W. GLOBES ESR 100W. ESP 150W. FEV 200W. ESS 250W. GCA 250W. FKW 300W. EKB 420W. DYS 600W. FAD 650W. FRK 650W. HPL 575W. HPL 750W. EJG 750W. DXW 1000W. FCM 1000W. EGT 1000W. CYX 2000W. DPY 5000W. DTY 10'000W. CHINA LANTERN China Lantern 12" China Lantern 16" China Lantern 18" China Lantern 24" China Lantern 30" China Lantern Socket

Building Your Own Hand Squeezer Hand dimmers, known as squeezers, are standard equipment on a film set. Often the gaffer and electricians bring their own or build them with materials supplied by the production company; they are seldom rented. Ordinary household dimmers are available at hardware stores but they usually carry the more common 600-watt dimmers (not really adequate for use on the set). Electrical supply houses or on-line is likely a better source of 1000-watt or 2000-watt dimmers which are what is used on film and video sets. You will want to enclose the whole rig in some sort of box. The most common method is to use a standard electrical box, such as might contain a dimmer or switch when it is installed inside a wall. Be sure to use proper connectors, electrical tape and be sure to make it so there are no loose wires or exposed copper which might cause a shock hazard. Always be careful with electricity!

Household dimmer

Lead from dimmer Male connector

Lead from dimmer #12 THHN wire connecting the neutrals

Female connector Figure 14.16. (above) Diagram of a homemade hand squeezer. Figure 14.17. (left) A commercially available 2K dimmer from Barndoor Film and Video Lighting. (Photo courtesy Barndoor Film and Video Lighting).

Appendix

345

A Typical 5-Ton Truck Package

4 - White Silks

Lighting

2 - Open Frames

2 - Baby 5K’s Complete 4 - Baby 2K Juniors Complete 4 - 1K Baby Babys Complete 4 - 650W Tweenie Ii Complete 4 - 200W Mini Moles Complete 1 - 2K Zip Softlight W/Eggcrate 2 - 1K Zip Softlights W/Eggcrate 2 - 2K Mighty Moles Complete 2 - 1K Mickey Moles Complete

Lighting Control 2 - 1K Variac 2 - 2000W Dimmers 2 - 1000W Dimmers 2 - Baby Junior Snoot Set 2 - Baby Baby Snoot Sets 2 - Tweenie Snoot Sets 12- 3-Riser Baby Stands 6 - 2-Riser Baby Stands 1 - Low Baby Stand

Distro 8 - 50’ 5-Wire Banded Cam-Lok 8 - 50’ 100Amp Bates 4 - 10’ 100Amp Bates 2 - 50’ 60Amp Bates 2- 600 Amp Pass-Thru Distros 1- 900 Amp Pass-Thru Distro 4 -100 Amp Flow-Thru Lunch Boxes 2 - 100 Amp Gang Box 2 - 60 Amp Gang Box 2 - 100A To 100A Twofers 2 - 100A To 60A Twofer 20 - 3-Fers 5 - Grounding Squids 4 - Female Lug-Ons 1 - Male Lug-Ons 4 - F Trico Clips 1 - M Trico Clip 1 - 100Amp Snake Bite 2 - Crates 50’ Stingers 1 - Crates 25’ Stingers 6 - Cable Cross-Overs 1 - Head Cart

8 - Solids 1 - Wood Cuculoris

24X36 4 - Singles 4 - Doubles 4 - White Silks 8 - Solids 2 - Open Frames 1 - Wood Cuculoris 2 - Metal Solids 1 - Metal Single 1 - Metal Double

4X4 2 - Singles 2 - Doubles 2 - White Silks 1 - Wood Cuculoris 1 - Celo Cuculoris 8 - Solids W/Flop 8 - Open Frames 2 - 18”X4’ Blades 2 - 2’X5’ Blades 1 - 6X6 Frame W/Single, Double, Silk, Solid, Ultra Bounce 1 - 8X8 Frame W/Single, Double, Silk, Solid, Ultra Bounce 2 - 12X12 Frames W/Single, Double, Silk, Solid, Ultra Bounce 1 - 20X20 Frame W/Single, Double, Silk, Solid, Ultra Bounce 1 - Dots And Finger Kit Complete

Speed Rail 4 - 20’, 8 - 12’, 4 - 8’ 12 - Corners & 6 Sliders W/Ears 8 - 50’ Handlines 4 - Flex-Arms 3 - Silver Leaf Reflectors 1 - Mirror Reflector

Ladders 24’ Extension, 12’, 10’ 8’ - 6’ & 4’-Double Sided

Grip Equipment 1 - Scaffold To Jr Receiver 2 - Scaffold To Combo Ear 1 - Outrigger Ear 2 - Jr Pipe Clamps 1 - Jr 6” C-Clamp

Grip Package

2 - Jr Offset Arms

18X24

6 - Jr To Baby Adapters

2 - Jr Plates

4 - Singles

1 - Jr Riser

4 - Doubles

1 - 2X4 Wall Spreader Kit

Figure 14.18. A typical 5-ton lighting and grip rental package. (Courtesy JR Lighting, Las Vegas). Motion Picture and Video Lighting

346

2 - 2X Holder, 1 - 1X Holder

6 - Baby Plates

1 - Tree Branch Holder

4 - Baby Scissor Clips

2 - Regular 6” C-Clamps

2 - Scissor Clip Cable Holders

4 - Foamcore Holders

2 - Baby Pin Putty Knives

4 - Bead Board Holders

2 - C-Stand To Baby Pins

1 - 1 1/4” Pipe Condor Mount

1 - 9” Baby Riser, 2 - 6” Baby Risers

1 - 4X4 Cart

1 - 4” Baby Riser W/9O Deg. Offset

1 - Taco Cart

1 - Baby 90 Deg. Offset,

1 - 2 Wheel Handtruck

Stands—Grip 20- 40” C-Stands W/Grip Head & Arm 2 - 40” C-Stand W/Removable Base 2 - 40” C-Stands W/Stair Leg 2 - 20” C-Stands W/Grip Head & Arm 4 - Long Arms 4 - 2.5” Grip Heads 4 - 4.5” Grip Heads (Lollipops) 6 - Sky-High Rollers 2 - Mombo Combos 6 - Combo Stands (3-Riser) 2 - Low Combo Stands

Grip Accessories 1 - 12’ Scaffold Complete 8 - Sets Apple Boxes 10- Cup Blocks 2 - Stair Blocks 1 - Crate Wedges 1 - Crate Cribbing 1 Doorway Dolly Complete 1 - 4’ Level

Misc 8 - Furniture Pads 1 - First Aid Kit 2 - Fire Extinguisher

Expendables Gel Rolls 1 - L-201 Full Ctb 1 - L-202 1/2 Ctb 1 - L-203 1/4 Ctb 1 - L-218 1/8 Ctb 1 - L-204 Full Cto 2 - L-205 1/2 Cto 2 - L-206 1/4 Cto 1 - L-223 1/8 Cto 1 - L-247 Minus Green 1 - L-248 1/2 Minus Green 1 - L-249 1/4 Minus Green 1 - L-209 .3Nd 1 - L-210 .6Nd

Diffusion Rolls

4 - 4X8 Birch Plywood

2 - L-216 White Diffusion

2 - 1”X12”X12’ Poplar Dolly Planks

2 - L-250 1/2 White Diffusion

2 - 2X12x12’ Dolly Planks

1 - L-251 1/4 White Diffusion

6 - 1X4x12’, 6 - 2X4x12’, 4 - 2X6x12’

1 - L-253 Hampshire Frost

Sandbags 40 - 20Lb Sandbags

2 - L-410 Opal Frost 1 - L-432 1/2 Grid/Light Grid Cloth 2 - L-201 Full Ctb

10 - 20Lb Shot Bags

2 - L-202 1/2 Ctb

Clamps & Holders

2 - L-203 1/4 Ctb

6 - Baby Pipe Clamps

2 - L-218 1/8 Ctb

4 - Baby 6” C-Clamps

2 - L-204 Full Cto

2 - Baby 8” C-Clamp

2 - L-205 1/2 Cto

2 - Baby 10” C-Clamp

2 - L-206 1/4 Cto

5 - 12’” Furniture Clamps W/Pin

2 - L-223 1/8 Cto

8 - Mafers

2 - L-248 1/2 Minus Green

2 - Cardellini Clamps (Center Spud)

2 - L-249 1/4 Minus Green

2 - Cardellini Clamps (End Jaw)

2 - L-209 .3Nd

6- Chain Vise Grips W/ Pin

2 - L-210 .6Nd

2 - Baby Gaffer Clamp

2 - L-211 .9Nd

2 - Baby Offsets

1 - L-269 Heat Shield

4 - Pigeons W/Baby Plates

1 - 1000H Paper 60” X 20 Yd Roll

Appendix

347

Gel Sheets 21”X24” 2 - L-101 Yellow 2 - L-106 Primary Red 2 - L-115 Peacock Blue 2 - L-116 Medium Blue Green 2 - L-132 Medium Blue 2 - L-124 Dark Green 2 - L-126 Mauve 2 - L-158 Deep Orange 2 - L-164 Flame Red 2 - L-218 1/8 Ctb 2 - L-223 1/8 Cto 2 - L-244 Full Plus Green 2 - L-245 1/2 Plus Green 2 - L-246 1/4 Plus Green 2 - L-278 1/8 Plus Green 2 - L-247 Full Minus Green 2 - L-248 1/2 Minus Green 2 - L-249 1/4 Minus Green 2 - L-279 1/8 Minus Green 2 - L-441 Full Cts 2 - L-442 1/2 Cts 2 - L-443 1/4 Cts 2 - L-444 1/8 Cts 2 - L-211 .9Nd

Paper Products 1 - 12” X 50’ Blackwrap 1 - 24” X 25’ Blackwrap 10 - Ft 36” Rubber Matting Per Foot 5 - 4’ X 8’ B/W Foamcore 2 - 4’ X 8’ Beadboard 8 - 4’ X 8’ Layout Board 50 - Yd. Duvetyne Per Yard 10 - B/W Showcard 1 - Gold Matte Showcard 1 - Silver Matte Showcard 2 - Visqueen 10’ X 25’ Black 4 Mil

Rope/Chain

1 - 4’ X 8’ Acx Plywood 3/4” 2 - 4’ X 8’ Dbl-Sided Masonite

Electrical Expendables 6 - Cube Taps 1 - 18/2 Zip Cord-Black 1 - 18/2 Zip Cord-White 2 - 3/2 Ground Lift Adapter 1 - Female Hubbell Connector 1 - Male Hubbell Connector 1 - Mogul/Medium Base Adapter 2 - Pignose Adapter 6 - Porcelain Socket Med. 1 - Power Strip 15 - Quick Taps-Add A Tap Female 5 - Quick Taps-Male 1 - Socket Dimmer 2 - Socket Extensions

Household Bulbs 4 - #1 Blue-Bca 250W 6 - 100W Household 6 - 60W Household 6 - Ph211-Photo Globe 75W 6 - Ph212-Photo Globe 150W 6 - Ph213-Photo Globe 250W

Tapes 2 - Atg Adhesive Tape (Snot Tape)-3/4” 2 - Gaffers Tape-Black 2” 2 - Gaffers Tape-White 2” 2 - Gaffers Tape-Grey 2” 2 - Camera Tape-Black 1” 2 - Camera Tape-White 1” 1 - Camera Tape-Red 1” 1 - J-Lar Tape-2” X 60Y 2 - Paper Tape-Black 1” 2 - Paper Tape-Black 2” 2 - Paper Tape-White 1” 2 - Paper Tape-White 2”

2 - #4 Black Trickline

2 - Photo Tape-Black 2”

2 - #8 Sash Cord-White

2 - Roll Black 3M Elect. Tape

1 - Box Grip Chain #40 100’

1 - Roll Blue 3M Elect. Tape

1 - Monofilament Line 20Lb Test

1 - Roll Green 3M Elect. Tape

1 - Rope-1/4” Manila-600’

1 - Roll Red 3M Elect. Tape

2 - Stove Pipe Wire 18Ga (Bailing Wire)

1 - Roll White 3M Elect. Tape

Lumber 6 - 1” X 4” X 12’ Pine

1 - Caution Tape Roll 3” X 300

Paints/Sprays

6 - 2” X 4” X 12’ Fir

1 - Pledge 14Oz

4 - 2” X 6” X 12’ Fir

1 - Silicon Spray

2 - 1” X 12” X 12’ Dolly Planks

1 - Streaks & Tips-Black

2 - 2” X 12” X 12’ Fir

1 - Streaks & Tips-Brown

1 - 4’ X 4’ Birch Plywood 3/4”

1 - Streaks & Tips-White

3 - 4’ X 8’ Birch Plywood 3/4”

1 - Wd-40 Spray

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

348

Grip Hardware 8 - Bag C-47 (Wood Clothes Pins) 20 - #1 Grip Clips 20 - #2 Grip Clips 1 - #2 Gross Safety Pins 12 - 1” Crutch Tips 1 - Box 16D Common Nails 1 - Box 6D Common Nails 1 - Box 8D Common Nails 1 - Box 8D Duplex Nails 1 - Box 16D Duplex Nails 1 - Box 6 X 1” Drywall Screws 1 - Box 6 X 1 5/8” Drywall Screws 1 - Box 8 X 2 1/2” Drywall Screws 1 - Box T-50 Staples-1/2” 1 - Box T-50 Staples-3/8” 1 - Box T-50 Staples-5/16” 1 - Box T-50 Staples-9/16” 1 - Box Push Pins 1 - Box Shop Towels

Additional 2 - Large Chalk (White) 1 - Box Chalk (White) 12 - Lg Acco 2” Binder Clips (12 Box) 2 - Marks-A-Lot (Black) 5 - Sharpie Fine Point (Black) 5 - Matte Knife Blades-Pack Of 5

Appendix

349

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to the following for their assistance with this book. Larry Mole Parker Tony “Nako” Nakonechnyj Michal Gallart Clayton Combes Adam Wilt Art Adams http://www.artadamsdp.com/ Oliver Stapleton, BSC cineman.co.uk Lee Lighting leelighting.com Lee Filters leefilters.com Mole-Richardson mole.com DSC Laboratories dsclabs.com Gossen Foto gossen-photo.de Barger BagLites barger-baglite.com Arri arri.com Fill-Lite fill-lite.com Kino Flo kinoflo.com Rosco rosco.com Love High Speed lovehighspeed.com DoPchoice dopchoice.com Piotr Kukla piotrkukla.com Fat Lighting fatlighting.co.nz Calabria Lighting calabrialightingandgrip.com Casey Schmidt northwestgrip.com

Special Thanks

Special thanks to Brock D. Lafond for creating the 3D models of motion picture lights used in the illustrations: brock@ ateires-media.com. Everyone at Cinematographer’s Mailing List created by Geoff Boyle—www.cinematographer.net.

About the Author:

Blain Brown has worked in film and video production for over 30 years as a cinematographer and as a director, line producer, and screenwriter on features, commercials, music videos, documentaries, and industrials. His other books include Cinematography: Theory and Practice, and The Filmmaker’s Guide to Digital Imaging. He can be reached at his website: www.BlainBrown.com. Motion Picture and Video Lighting

350

index

Page numbers in italics refer to figures.

apple boxes 276, 277 arc lamps/lights 18, 34, 181, 304 arc wander 314, 315 Arri 30, 40, 41, 46, 56, 212, 213 Arrimax 45

AC (Alternating Current) 222, 224, 230, 239, 247, 303–304 accent lights 80–81 action 116

Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The 158–159 assistant chief lighting technician 282, 283– 284, 291

Adams, Ansel 205, 214

atmosphere 146

Adams, Art 190–192, 198, 215, 216, 217,

autotransformers 309

305

available light 65, 78, 82, 140–141

AF (audio frequency) noise 308 Alexa 212, 212, 213

baby 33, 254

alligator clips 237

baby baby 33, 33, 120

Almendros, Nestor 88

baby deuces 33

Alpha 18K 34

baby Fresnel lights 31

Alton, John 17, 147

baby juniors (BJs) 33

ambient base 117

baby plates 274–276, 275

ambient light 64, 75, 80–81, 125

back cross keys 73, 80, 81

ammeter 245, 246

background 60, 73

ampacity 222–223, 236, 237

background lights 68–69

amprobe 245, 246, 294

background plate 301

amps 222, 223

backlight, sun as 86–87

Anderson clamps 237

backlights 59, 60, 61, 63, 68, 70, 71

Ansco 22

backsplash 300, 302

aperture 197–198

Baglight 56

Apocalypse Now 156–157

balancing the load 244–246

Appia, Adolphe 16, 17

ballast 34, 36

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

351

balloon lights 55, 55, 97, 127, 137

Birdman 77, 128

banded cable 234

Bitzer, Billy 19

banded feeder 228

black body color temperature 183

bar clamps 273

black body locus 176, 178

bare wires 237, 238

black body radiator 175, 178

Barfly 22

Black Maria 17

Barger lights 56, 56

Black Wrap 297

barndoors 95–96, 98

Blade Runner 20, 23, 59, 147, 152–153

Barrett, Michael 162–163

blimped generators 226, 291–292

Barry Lyndon 21

blocking 131, 293, 294–295

Barton Fink 160–161

Blondes 40, 126

basic gel families 181

blueing the lights 182–183

Bates connectors 35, 227, 240, 242, 243

bluescreens 202, 300–303, 300, 301, 304

Bates distribution box 244

bobbinet 261

beadboard 94, 256, 275

bottom chop 260

beadboard holder 274

bottomer 260

beam projectors 119

bounce board 87

BeBee light 54

bounce/bounce light 65, 67, 92–93, 95, 118

Becky Sharp 21

boxed balloon lights 55, 55

Bee 51–52

boxes 283

Belasco, David 16, 17, 19

Boyle, Geoff 216, 218–219

Bellantoni, Patti 74

branch-aloris 263

best boy 281, 283

brightness, higher 201–202

Betweenie 33, 68, 132

broad lights 50

bi-color controls 103

broadsides 18

Big Combo, The 17, 80

Broadway 20

Big Eye tenner 31

Brothers Grimm, The 136, 138

Big Sleep, The 75

Brown, Blain 185, 189

Biograph Studio 18

Brute Arc 18

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

352

Buckwalter, Joe 154

C-clamps 270–271, 273

bullet 255

Celeb LED series 26

bull switches 223, 239

celo 100, 262

bus bar 238, 239

character, establishing 147

busbar lugs 237, 238

Charlie bars 72–73

butterflies 264–265

chiaroscuro 19 chicken coop 49

C-47 280

Chief Lighting Technician 281, 282–283

C-74 280

Chimera 56, 98, 99

cable crossing 227

Chimmie Fadden 16

cabling 292

China Lantern (China Ball) 52, 53, 273

calibration test charts 189

China silk 264

Cambelles 202

ChromaDuMonde 189–190, 190, 217, 218,

camera filters 184, 185

219

camera wedges 277

chroma key 48, 300–303, 300, 301

Cameron, James 323

CIE (International Commission on

Cameron Blue 323 Cam-Lok connectors 35, 224, 227, 234, 238, 238, 239, 243, 244 candle sticks 44, 255, 276, 277 carbon arcs 18, 20–21, 335

Illumination) Diagram 178, 178 Cinefoil 297 Cinematography Electronics app 302 Cinematography: Theory and Practice (Brown) 185, 189, 220

Cardellini clamp 267, 274, 275

Cine Meter II 214, 216

carrying a lamp 76, 83, 104

Cinemills 31

car shooting 308, 309

circuit flicker box 102

Casanova 114–115

circuit tester 236

catchlights 70, 79

Citizen Kane 60, 145–146, 147

Cavi-Black 189, 218, 219

Clairmont Camera 311

CC (Color Correction) gels 183

clamps 270–274

CC (Color Correction) Index 176

classical hard light 75, 75 Index

353

clipping 202, 203, 203, 206, 213–214, 213

Color Rendering Index (CRI) 183, 184

close-up work 68–69, 316–318

color temperature 175, 185, 312, 331

clotheslining cable 287

color wheel 174, 174, 175

clothespins 280

Combe, Clayton 141

cloud cover 89

combo stands 258

color: as attribute of light 58; CIE

communication 296

Diagram 178; color balance 63, 179–181;

compass 322, 324

color correction gels 183; CTB (Color

composited shot 301

Temperature Blue) 182–183; CTO

conceptual tools of lighting 58

181–182; fluorescent light and 183–184;

concurrent 230, 239

magenta vs. green 176–177; measuring

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind 135, 138

185–193; off-color lights 184–185;

confined focus 58

overview of 73–74; spectral locus 178;

connectors 238–239

temperature 175; terminology for 174–175;

contrast 58, 60

warm and cool 175–176; white point 178–

contrast ratio 72

179

conversion gels 180–181

color balance 63, 179–180

cookies 72, 100, 100, 118, 262–264

color coding 224, 237, 261, 292

cool colors 175–176, 175, 177

color compensating gels 180

Cooper-Hewitt mercury vapor tubes 18

Color Compensation (CC) units 176

correct exposure 197, 197, 199, 201

color control 63

Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) 183

color conversion values 182

courtesy flag 282

color correct bulbs 49–50

Craig, Gordon 17

color correct fluorescent units 48–49

crane mounted lights 54

color correction (CC) 185

CRI (Color Rendering Index) 49–50, 188

color correction gels 183

Cronenweth, Jordan 23, 194

Color Meter II 188

Crosby clamps 44, 265, 276

color meters 185–188

crystal sync 226, 231

color pickers 174

C-stands 52, 261, 269–270, 275, 276, 284

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

354

CTB (Color Temperature Blue) 182–183

deuce 32

CTO (Color Temperature Orange) 181–182

dichroic daylight bulbs 44

cube tap 236

dichroic filter 336

cuculoris 72, 100, 100, 262–264

dichroics 336

current 222

dichroic sources 181

current limiter 34

Dickson, William K.L. 17

cutters 99, 258, 260

diffuse light 63

cutting 39

diffuse white 214

cyan 174

diffusing dome 204

cycs 50

diffusion/diffusers 46, 67–68, 67, 70, 82, 92, 94, 98, 105–110, 264–267, 331

daisy-chaining 310, 311

Digital Signal Processor 198

darkness, power of 147

dimmer board 309–310

day exteriors 85, 94, 95, 124, 134, 295

dimmers 64, 76–78, 101–104, 102–104, 136,

day-for-night 255, 314, 322, 322

139, 304, 307–310, 321, 345, 345

daylight 14, 15, 17, 85, 181, 324

dimming, color temperature and 312

day players 285

dingles 263

Days of Heaven 85, 88, 89

Dino 43, 43

DC (Direct Current) 222, 225, 230, 239,

direction 58, 70, 70

246–247, 314 Deakin, Roger 160–161

director: concerns of 117; conferring with 113, 115

Dedo LED units 310

discharge sources 183

Dedolights 26, 54, 54

disconnect 223

definitions, for gripology 254

discontinuous emissions 177

degrees Kelvin 175, 176, 176

discontinuous spectra 183, 184

DeMille, Cecil B. 16, 19

distribution boxes 238, 242–243

depth 61, 61, 73, 79

distribution diagram 242, 243

depth-of-field 317

distribution equipment 237–242

detail 211, 214

distribution system, planning 244–246 Index

355

DIT (digital imaging technician) 281

electricians 285–286

DMX (Digital MultipleX) 310–311, 310

electricity: about 222; calculating voltage

DMX cabling 310

drop 247–248; distribution equipment for

DMX dimmer board 103

237–246; generators for 227–233; KVA

DMX repeater 311

and 233–234; load calculations for 236–

DoPChoice 99

237; measurement of 222–223; safety for

dots and fingers 260, 262

248–252; supply systems for 224–227; wall

double nets 97, 98, 261

plugging and 234–235; working with DC

downstage 64, 71

246–247

Doyle, Christopher 150

electroluminescence 27, 176

DP (director of photography) 280, 281

electronic dimmers 102–103

Driffield, Vero 200

Electronic News Gathering (ENG) 41

Drive 130, 170–171

ellipsoidal reflector spot (ERS or leko) 53

Drunkard’s Reformation, The 19

enclosed metal arcs (HMIs) 23–24

DSC Labs test charts 189–190, 190

energy band gap 27

DTY bulbs 31

equipment order 142

duck bill 274, 275

eternal triangle 292

duck feet griff clips 269

expendables 296, 297–298, 338–344

duvetyne (black cloth) 97, 259, 260, 261,

Expose to the Right (ETTR) 218–219, 219

266–267

exposure: about 196–197; balance of 202; brightness range and 201–202; camera

Edison, Thomas 17, 246–247

indicators for 207–212; controlling

Edison connector 236, 241, 242

197–198; elements of 199–200; for high

Edison plugs 239

speed photography 313–316, 313; lighting

effects 319–323

and 62; for macrophotography 316–318;

eggcrates 46, 96, 98, 98, 99, 264

setting with waveform monitor 206–207;

EI (Exposure Index) 198

in shooting RAW video 203–204; strategies

85 181–182

of 212–215; strobes and 312–313; tools of

electrical supply systems 223

204–205; types of 202

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

356

exposure indicators 207–208

fireplace logs 120

Exposure Mode (for false colors) 211, 212,

“firestarters” 42

213

Fisher dolly 282

exposure response 199

flagging 39

exposure theory 196–198, 197

flags 97–98, 98, 99, 258–260, 283

extensions (stingers) 243

flame bars 120

extra wide flood lights 45

flashbulbs 323

extreme close-up work 317–318

flat front lighting 70, 72, 73, 78

eyelights 70

Flathead 80 49

eyelines 81

flat lighting 61 flicker 302, 303–306, 303, 313–315, 316

false color exposure display 210

flicker box 321, 321

false colors 212, 213

flicker-free ballast 306

false color selections 211

flicker generators 321

FAY lights 44–45, 336, 336

flicker rigs 122

feeder cable 228, 234, 239

Flolight 48

Fight Club 131, 185, 193, 194

Fluke 87 306, 306

figure eighted cable 228

fluorescent light 183–185

filament sing 308

fluorescent rigs 47–50

fill 94

fluorescent tubes 336

fill lights 68

Fluorofilter 184

Fill-Lite LED panels 29, 30

flying cable 292

Filmmaker’s Guide to Digital Imaging, The

foamcore 94, 100, 262–263, 275

(Brown) 185, 189, 193, 220 film noir 16, 75, 76, 80, 92–93, 132, 146, 147, 152–153, 170–171

focus 58 Following 154 foot-candles (fc) 199

filters 179–183, 179

foreground 60, 73

fire effects 102, 120–121, 122, 321

four way 241

firelight 14

Freedom! 171–172 Index

357

Fresnel, Augustin-Jean 26

Goal Posts 209, 210, 270

Fresnel lens 21, 26, 26

gobo arm 270

Fresnel lights 31

gobo head 269–270

“from the floor,” lighting from 82

gobos 53, 72, 100, 100

front lighting 60, 70

Godfather, The 146, 147

Frost diffusions 110

“Godfather lighting” 146

f/stops 198, 199–200, 207

Gone With the Wind 18

Fuji 23

Gossen Color Pro color meter 186

full apple 276, 277

grads 180

full blue filters 182

grayscale references 191

full-spectrum light 177

greenbeds 15, 112 greenscreens 202, 300–303, 300, 301

gaffer 281, 282–283

Grid Cloth series 107

gamma 199

grids 264

gangboxes 242, 250

griff clips 269

Gangster Squad 127, 164–165

Griffith, D.W. 19

garage door light 85–86, 87

grifflon 135

gas lamps 158–159

griffolyn 267, 269

gaslight 16

grip head 265, 269–270

gel books 180

gripology 254–278

gels 39, 179–183, 181

grips 281, 288–289

generators: about 225–227; large 227; SCR

ground fault 252

dimmers and 308; set operations and 291–

grounding safety 251–252

292; small 228–231

grounding squid 238, 240

GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) 250, 251, 252

ground lifter 236 ground loops 287

ghost load 246 Gladiator 62

hair light 71

goal post rig 49, 259

half apple 276, 277, 281

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

358

Hall, Conrad 144

honey-comb grids 264

Hampshire Frost series 106

Honeydripper 76, 76

hand squeezers 64, 76–77, 104, 104, 345, 345

household plugs 239

hard cookies 72

Hubbell plugs/connectors 239, 241

hard light 16, 30, 58, 62–63, 64, 65–67, 66,

hue 174, 176

67, 92–93, 92–93, 118

Hue/Saturation/Lightness (HSL) 174

hard side 255–256

Hue/Saturation/Value (HSV) 174

Hartmann, Louis 17

Hurter, Ferdinand 200

head balancing 36

Hurter and Driffield (H&D) curve 199, 200

header cables 36, 37, 287

HydroImage 319

highboys 259, 260, 265, 270, 275 high-high stand 270

Ianiro 40

high key 65

If it’s Purple, Someone’s Gonna Die 74

high speed photography 313, 318

illuminants 178–179

histograms 207, 209, 219

InBetweenie 33

Hitchcock, Alfred 145

incandescent lamps 20, 23

Hive Lighting 51–52

incident meter 204, 204, 214, 215–216

Hive plasma lights 51

In Cold Blood 144, 146

HMI Fresnel 37

industrial lamps 184

HMI PAR 37, 43, 45–46, 45, 46, 95, 124, 138

industrial sources 185

HMIs 20, 23–24, 34, 35–36, 35, 181, 184,

inkie 33

226, 247, 304, 306, 314, 315–316

intensity 58, 71–72

HMI safety 250

IRE levels 208

HMI troubleshooting 37–38

iris 197–198

Hochheim, Frieder 22

ISO (International Standards Organization)

holding 269–270

198

holdout matte 301 “Hollywooding” (hand holding) 257, 282

jokers 54, 54

HoneyBee 52

Jones, Inigo 15 Index

359

junior 254, 265

29, 334

junior offset arm 277

LED soft light 46

juniors (2K Fresnel) 32–33

Lee Filters 105–110 lekos 53

Kaminski, Janus 84

lettuce 263

Kar-Wai, Wong 150

Lifeguard GFCI 251, 252

Kelvin scale 175

light: attributes of 58; controllable 15;

key grip 281, 286–288

controlling 92–110; filming process and

key lights 58, 59, 63, 64, 68–69, 70

293, 295; as story 144–172

kickers 58, 63, 64, 68–69, 71, 72, 74

light balancing gels 180, 181

Killing, The 128, 128

light controls 255

Kino Celeb 450Qs 50

lighting: basic principles of 78–79; basics of

Kino Flo 22, 23, 24, 26, 42, 48, 48, 49, 49, 50, 99, 125, 131

58–90; exposure and 62; history of 14–24; scene 112–142; sources for 26–56

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang 162–163, 315

lighting and grip package, 5-ton 346–349

Kliegl Brothers 18

Lighting Designer 141, 142

Kodak 22–23

lighting director (LD) 281

Kubrick, Stanley 21, 128

lighting gaffers 281

Kurosawa, Akira 322

lighting order, samples of 326–330

KVA, determining 233–234

lighting plans 112–113 lighting stand-ins 115–116

lamp operators 285

lighting techniques 74–78

lamps and sockets 332–337, 332–335, 337

light levels 198, 199

lavender 97–98, 261

light loss 331

Lavoisier 15

light meters 215–220

LED dimmers 103

lightning 323

LED Fresnels 30, 30

Lightning Strikes 313, 323

LED panels 29, 29

limelight 16

LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) 24, 27–29, 27,

line of non-spectral purples 178, 179

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

360

load balance 225, 244–246, 245

Mazda lamps 19

load calculations 236–237

measuring color 185–188

load-in 290

medium flood light (MFL) 41, 43, 45

location 117

Memoirs of a Geisha 267

Lost in Translation 140–141

mercury vapor lights 183, 184

Love High Speed (lovehighspeed.com) 313

metal halide lights 184

Lowel 48

metaphor 145–146, 148–149, 156–157

low key 65

Mickey Moles 41, 120

lunch boxes 242

middle gray 217–218

LUT 217

midground 60, 73

lux 199

midtones 199, 200, 218

Luxi dome 188, 214

Mighty Mole 40, 63, 66, 120 Minolta Color Meter II 185–186

Macbeth color checker chart 193

Minority Report 84

macrophotography 316–318, 316, 318

mirror reflectors 134

Mafer clamps 274, 275

Mohr, Hal 20

magenta 174

Mole 9-light 44

magenta/green scale 176–177, 183, 185

Moleeno 43

Magic Gadgets 120

MolePAR 41, 42, 255, 259

magic hour 87–90, 89, 90

Mole-Richardson 28, 29, 41, 42, 43, 46, 119,

magnification 316–317

123

Malick, Terrence 88

Mole tungsten 20K 32

Man Who Wasn’t There, The 145

monitors 219

Master, The 64

mood 61–62, 63, 121, 144, 146, 148–149,

Matrix, The 193

156–157

Matthews, Noah Nicolas 118

moonlight 120, 315, 322–323

Maxi-Brute 42, 43, 44, 82, 120, 127, 255, 276

motivated lighting 65, 75, 76, 76

MAX technology 46

motivated spotlights 58, 59

MaxV 31

movement 58 Index

361

Mullen, David 219, 220

ohms 222

Musco 54

OneShot 190–193, 191

muslins 17, 70, 92–93, 269

opal 68

Muzzballs 102

Opal Frost series 107 open face 40

Nakonechnyj, Tony “Nako” 102, 103, 126, 135, 136, 138, 170–171

open face lights 40–41, 40 open frame 99, 264

narrow spot (NSP) 41, 43, 44, 45

open shade 85–86, 88, 175

National Electrical Code (NEC) 224

operating reflectors 257–258

“naturalism” 16

orthochromatic film 18

negative fill 124, 295

Out of the Past 146

nets 97–98, 261–262, 283

overcranking 48–49

neutral, the 237

overexposure 197, 197, 200, 201, 202, 203,

neutral density gel (ND) 84, 99–100, 100, 206

206, 207, 208, 213 overheads 98, 264–268

Newton, Isaac 174 Nightcrawler 151, 192

Pampalite 48

night exteriors 127

pancake 275, 276, 277

night shoots 137–138, 140–141

panchromatic film 20

NightSun 54

paper amps 223, 236–237

noise 213–214, 213

paracans 42

Nolan, Christopher 128, 154–155

parallel cable 231

non-realizable color 178

paralleling small generators 230, 231, 231

nooks 50

PARcans 42, 97, 126

Norwood Dome 214

PAR groups 42 PARs (Parabolic Aluminized Reflectors)

O Brother, Where Art Thou? 58, 193, 193

41–43, 41, 272

off-color lights, correcting 184

party gels 181

offset arms 276, 277

passthrough lunch box 240

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

362

pastel 174

process photography 300–303, 300, 301

perms 15

projector effects 321–322

Pfister, Wally 154–155

Purkinje effect 322

Photoflex 98

putt-putt generators 231, 231

photometric data 56 pigeons 274–276, 275

quaker clamp 274, 275

pig nose 236

quarter apple 276, 277, 281

pin plugs 238, 243

Quick-On connectors 241

pipe clamps 265, 270, 273, 275

Quiet Frost diffusions 110

Pippa Passes 16, 19 plano-convex lens 54, 54

rain effects 320, 321

plasma lights 51–52, 51

rain hat 249

platypus 274, 275

Rat Pac DMX 305, 310

Plus Green 184

RAW video 203–204, 205, 209, 211

p–n junction diode 27

reactance ballast 304

poor man’s process 308, 309

Red cameras 209–211, 209, 213

Porter, Edwin 19

Redhead 41

potential 222–223, 222

Reed, Carol 148–149

power 117

reflectance meter 205, 214

power distribution box 227

reflector boards 94, 254, 255–258, 256, 267

power factor effect 228

rehearsal 115, 293, 295–296

power sources 225

Reinhardt, Max 17

power supply 306

remote phosphor LEDs 30

practical bulbs 296, 335

resistance 228, 247–248

practicals 17, 64, 75, 76–78, 79, 80, 83, 115,

resistance units 308

128, 128, 130

resources 116–117

pre-rigging 290

response curve 199, 200

Prestige, The 128, 128

RF (radio frequency) noise 308

procedures, on set 296–297

rifles 20 Index

363

rigging crew 285

selling the effect 122

right hand rule 260, 261, 270

senior 32, 254

ring lights 318

separation 60, 61, 71, 79, 206, 214

“ring of fire” 235

Series M 46

Rising Sun 166–167

set, evaluation of 116

rock n’roll truss 264, 274

set carts 258, 264, 288

Rocky Mountain leg 281

set operations 280–298

root mean square (RMS) amp meter 306, 306,

Seven 193

307

Shadowmaker 120

Roscoflex 94

shadows 16, 146, 148–149, 152–153

rough-in 294

shaking boards up 94, 256, 257

Ruby7 126, 129

shape 60

Rush 90

shiny boards 255 Shock Stop GFCI 250

safety: for bulb handling 332; electrical 248– 252; for tie-ins 232–233

shooting 293, 296 short arm assembly 270

sand bags 268, 277, 287

short arms 270

sash cord 292

shoulder lights 71

saturation 174, 176

showcard 271

scrims 95–96, 97, 98

shutter angles 48

script, reading 113

Siamese connectors 36

script hints 116

side arms 276

SeaPar 319

side lighting 70

second electric 282, 283–284

sidelights 63–64

second grip 288–289

sider 260

Sekonic C-700 color meter 187–188, 187

Sigel, Newton Thomas 170–171

Sekonic C-700U color meter 186

silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs) 307, 308

Sekonic Dual-Master light meter 204

silks 94, 97, 98, 134, 257, 264–268, 266–268,

Sekonic meter 214 Motion Picture and Video Lighting

364

283

Silver Bullet 292

Southon, Michael 171–172

single nets 97, 98, 99, 261

space lights 47, 47, 272

single-phase supply 222, 223, 225, 245

spectral locus 178, 178

650 33

specular highlights 214

Skyfall 168–169

specular light 62–63, 65–66

sky light 84–85

Speed Rails/Speed Rail rig 34, 49, 259, 265,

Skypanels 24, 27, 101, 274, 275, 277, 323

266–267, 270, 273, 274, 275

Skypans 39, 40

speed ring 56

smaller HMIs 36–37

spider box 233, 238

smilex 263

splitting DMX 311

smoke 118

spot meter 204, 205, 214, 216

smoke effects 320, 320

square-wave technology 35

Snake Bite 240, 242

stage service 225

snoots 68, 98

staging 284, 291

snot tape 264

stand-ins, lighting 115–116

Socaplex box 226, 229

Stapleton, Oliver 96, 114–115, 271

sodium vapor lights 183, 184

Storaro, Vittorio 136, 156–157

softboxes 98, 99, 117, 137

Storaro lights 136, 138

soft cookies 72, 100, 100

storytelling with color 193

soft light 46, 46, 58, 62–63, 64, 65, 66, 67–

storytelling with light 144

70, 67, 92–93, 92–93, 158–159

strain relief 280, 287

soft side 255–256

strip lights 50–51

Softsuns 53

strobes 311–313

Softubes 54, 54

studded C-clamps 270–271

soldiering 284

studded chain vise grips 278, 278

solids 97–98, 98

studio Fresnel lights 31

sound proofing 226

sturm und drang 16

Source Four leko 53, 53

Sufa Bullets 31

sourceless light 269

Sully 251 Index

365

sun, using 324

three-point lighting 68

sunlight 84, 85, 86–87, 88

3/4 back 70

Sun Seeker app 324, 324

3/4 front 70

sunset 323

Thundervoltz unit 313, 323

superblack 212

tie-in clamps 237

supersoft reflector materials 256

tie-ins 231–233

superwhite 212

tint 176

Suspicion 145, 145

Tips for Grips 263 Toland, Gregg 145

tabled boards 94 tabled reflectors 257

tone, mood and 61–62, 63, 144, 146, 156– 157

table lamps 132

tones 59–60, 79

T-bone 275–276

top chop 260

technical issues 300–324

topper 64, 260

Technicolor 21–22

Tough Blue filters 182

tenner light 31

“tow plants” 223

tenting 259

track dolly 282

terminology: color 174–175; lighting 63–64

tracking marks 48, 300

Tesla, Nikola 247

Traffic Lights 209–210, 209

texture 58, 61, 62, 72–73, 79, 211, 214

transformers 233–234

textured black 214

Tricos 237

third electric 285–286

T/stop (Transmission stop) 200

Third Man, The 148–149

tungsten Fresnels 31

30 Rock 131

tungsten-halogen 335

32 Fixture Rule 311

tungsten halogen bulb 23

Thread of Destiny, The 19

tungsten lights 18, 19–21, 22, 23, 304, 313–

3-to-2 236, 239

314, 335

threefers 229, 233

Tungsten PAR 41, 42

three-phase supply 222, 223, 225, 245

turtle 274, 275–276

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

366

TV effects 321–322

wall spreaders 99, 273

Tweenie 33, 33, 96, 104, 132, 309

warm colors 175–176, 175, 177

12/3 243

Warrens of Virginia, The 19

twist lock plug/connector 36, 231, 239

Wasp 51, 52

two shot 84

water effects 323 Waterhorse, The 96

U-ground adapter/plug 236, 239

watts 222, 223

UltraBounce 67

waveform monitors 203–204, 206–207, 215,

underexposure 197, 197, 199, 201, 202, 203, 207

216–217, 217 wedges 277

underwater filming 319, 320

Weingartner, Mark 185–186

Unilux strobe light 311, 311

Welles, Orson 145

union connectors 238

well overflow 213

upstage 64, 70, 71, 78–79

Wendy 43 wet down 50, 90

value 174, 176

wet work 249–250

Variac 101, 309

white balance 192

vectorscope 189, 189, 190

white balance function 177

very narrow spot (VNSP) 41, 43, 45

white flame carbon arcs 18

Video Mode (for false colors) 211, 212

white point 178–179

viewing LUT 215

wide-flood light (WFL) 41–42, 43, 45

vise grips 278, 278

wide focus 58

voltage drop 247–248

Willis, Gordon 146, 147

volt-ohm-continuity meter 306

Wilt, Adam 207, 210, 216

volts 223

window light 75, 78, 81–82, 82, 84–85, 85,

von Sydow, Max 84

158–159 window problem 99–100, 101

wall plates 274–276

wire designation codes 241–242

wall plugging 234–235

wire size 236 Index

367

wire types 240–242 Wohl, M.J. 18 Wratten system 181–182 Wyckoff, Alvin 16, 19

X2 285 Xenons 23–24, 38–39, 181 Xenon sungun 39 XLR cabling 310 X-Men 42, 102, 103, 126, 129, 139 XRite Color Checkers 192, 193

yellow 174 yellow flame carbons 23 Yojimbo 322

Zebra Mode 211, 212 zebras 207–208, 208, 219 zip cord 241, 243 zip extensions 243 zip lights 46 zip soft light 46, 46 Zone System 205

Motion Picture and Video Lighting

368