View Full Version : Shooting under black lights


Barry Edmundson
March 31st, 2012, 01:34 PM
Our church as a puppet team that preforms with black lights. The video looks terrible. How can I set up my Canon GL2 where it will video in this enviroment? Shound I buy any extra equipment?

Martin Catt
March 31st, 2012, 04:50 PM
Consider that if they're the old tube-style black lights, they're probably flickering on and off 120 times a second. You're probably locked to shooting at 1/60th of a sec shutter speed -- anything else will give a noticeable flickering or strobing as the camera shutter moves in and out of phase with the flicker.

You said the video "looks terrible." HOW does it look terrible? We need to know the symptoms before we can suggest a cure.

IF it's the shutter-speed issue I suggested, staying at some multiple of 1/30th of a second should take care of the issue. If that isn't possible, then I'd suggest either converting the blacklight fixtures to a solid-state ballast ( which USUALLY runs at a higher frequency "flicker" rate than the old magnetic ballasts), or try converting to the compact florescent blacklight corkscrew bulbs.

Martin

Allan Black
April 1st, 2012, 01:47 AM
Black lighting eh, is it necessary for the show?

Wonder how the audiences like that, maybe suggest a performance for just for you with 'normal' lighting. You could try 'blackening it' in post,
but work on that effect first.

Cheers.