5D mark II for interview

[Laffan Nasser]

Hello all

I'm trying to setup my 5D mark II for an interview , below is my setup with
CL-655PMD Cool lighting and 5 in 1 reflector , I have some issues here :

* Video live view close after few minutes.
* As I'm alone I have to find a way to focus on my face ; I do have remote shutter but it dose not work on video mode.
* White Balance , I set to K3200 .

I presume the interviewee usually set in front of the talent ( face to face ), So I set the monitor at this potion and pretend it as interviewee.
Is there any illustration for such setup.

[Olof Ekbergh]

The first thing I would change is the position of the chairs. If you are allowed to.

I would pull them out from the wall, it seems you have a large room to work in.then I would back the camera away from the talent 3-4 meters (10-12') and use a longer lens setting. This will make the shot less flat.

I would also pull the keylight more to the side. But keep the fill reflector pretty close, this will make for more 3 dimensional light. Keep background out of focus and darker than talent. There are lots of ways to make a more interesting scene. More lights could be used to make the scene more interesting, like a back light on the talent and maybe a spot on an interesting object in the back or a soft lamp or even a candle burning. Try to make the scene look 3D, use light and dark.

It is a static setup so it should not be hard to figure out the f-stop needed to keep talent in focus (from the back of the chair to the front of the chair) you have a monitor so just set it up and leave it there.

If you can repeat the questions a few times wide medium and close framing and move the camera between takes. This way you can do some editing later and make it look like a multi cam shoot.

There are so many things you can do to make an interview more dynamic, I just outlined a few.

Typically just leave the camera running. Use the fact that the 5D can only record a certain time, to reframe. Keep a nice slow pace and you will probably get some good loose moments.

[Laffan Nasser]

Thanks a lot Ekbergh , I'll rearrange as per your recommendations and post the new setup with some footage if any .
I do have two extra lights .

[Charles W. Hull]

Either the Canon RC-1 or RC-5 wireless remote will contol the video which is useful in an interview. Of course you can't focus with this.

[Laffan Nasser]

Hello guys , thanks for all inputs , see below is the new setup and result footage for your comments plesae , the talent looks yellowish a bit . do you feel it has 3D look ?
what about the camera position and framing?

[Jon Fairhurst]

The lighting of your subject is very nice! The only small improvement might be a larger light box for a bigger glint in the eye. Note that a large glint is often used for the hero and a pinpoint glint is often used for the villain. Your medium sized glint is good, but it could be larger. You can also have two glints - a large softbox could be added without changing the overall lighting, but it will still be seen in the eyes.

The background isn't quite ideal. The open wall isn't balanced with the curtain. If the subject moves to the camera's left, the curtain/wall intersection will be behind his head, which would not look good. It's the same concept as not photographing somebody outdoors with a telephone in the distance directly behind them. It can look like it sprouts from their head. :)

The curtain is interesting. You might consider moving things so the curtain covers all or most of the background. You can still give it dimension by lighting the curtain hotter on one side or at and angle.

But these are just constructive nitpicks. The lighting of your subject, the color, and the DOF are VERY nice. You could shoot as is and have a very nice result.

[Laffan Nasser]

Excellent feedback Jon thanks , I'm using the EF 24-105mm lens , I have the -100-400mm/f4.5-5.6L IS USM
-EF 100/2.8 Macro
-EF 50mm/1.4 ,

I wonder which lens will be ideal for this situation.

Those are my coollighs sets :

1. CL-255PMD Cool Lights Portable Dimming 2 x 55 watt Softlight with Eggcrate l
2. CL-655PMD Cool Lights Portable Dimming 6 x 55 watt Softlight with Eggcrate l
3. CL-MF0150 Cool Lights CDM 150 Fresne

[Jon Fairhurst]

I own the same 50 and 100, and I recently used my employer's 24-105. If the DOF is good with the 24-105, you might just stick with that for simplicity. The 100 would be the other good choice for the main medium closeup. The 50 would be nice for a wider, establishing view.

We did a short film with mock interviews and used the 50/1.4 and 85/1.8 to give different views. We didn't move the tripod for the different shots. This gave a dramatic in/out look, which would not be appropriate for your interview.

You might shoot the tight shot at the 85-100 range with the camera in one position, and move the camera to the side a few feet and shoot with the 50mm range for the other view. This will give a more relaxed, natural feel to the project - like two separate cameras, rather than a dramatic push shot.

If f/4 gives you the DOF that you like, and you can keep the ISO to 1250 or lower, I'd use the 24-105 zoom. Unlike most lenses, its performance is excellent wide open. That will make it easy to place your camera in one location, optimize your framing with the zoom, focus and shoot. Move the camera to the second location, zoom, focus, and get your second perspective. Make sure to mark the two locations and the zoom settings, so you can repeat the two looks.

If you want a shallower DOF or want a lower ISO, use the primes, but then you have to frame by moving the tripod.

Best of luck with your project!

[Olof Ekbergh]

I like what you are doing here. A few minor things.

I would move the Key light a little bit lower to get more light in the subjects face. And I would tone down the backlight a little or maybe reposition it a little lower too to eliminate the harsher shadows.

I would also reposition the chair so that the nice almost tent like shape of the curtain is in the background. I really like your DOF and the gold on the chair looks great, possible lower the camera a little to get the interesting curtain detail into the shot.

I agree with John that more eye light would be nice as well, possible use some tuff rolex (opaque plastic transparent sheet) in front of the keylight. I make 4 foot by 4 foot frames of this and just put it in front of your keylight, or you could use a 5 foot round white scrim (transparent fabric) to the same effect.

I think what you have is a very good start, now just fine tune the setup a little. It becomes a question of personal taste at some point. Small differences in the background shapes make a huge difference even when they are out of focus. Play dark against light and visa versa. Just be subtle.

It is fun and rewarding isn't it?

[Jon Fairhurst]

Olof,

I'm interested to learn more about the transparent fabric/plastic approach to a larger eye light. I've always assumed that a softbox is the way to go. I assume that with the large scrim that the light cast by the key light remains hard, but there is enough diffusion in the sheet to cause a larger reflection in the eye.

Does the light in the eye then have a sharp point in the center with a soft larger reflection, or does the large reflection tend to override the smaller key light?

If this works well, it's going directly into my bag of tricks!

[Laffan Nasser]

New footages , I think I'm almost there but lacking the camera position and framing the talent .

[Jon Fairhurst]

Very nice. I would turn the chair slightly and change the framing so your subject faces the center of the frame. It will offer a more natural balance to the overall composition.

One thing that you've really nailed is the exposure of the white clothing. It's nicely exposed without clipping (maybe only the rare highlight clips) and without making the face too dark. Very nicely balanced!

[Jon Fairhurst]

Looking again, I like the framing of the curtains. You could move the chair slightly to the camera's right, and turn the angle of the chair slightly to the camera's left.

One thing I remember from a film studies class I took many, many years ago is that Europeans expect things to go from left to right because of the way we read. One might want a visionary on the left side of the screen looking toward the right, signifying the future. An historian might be on the right of the screen, looking toward the left to signify the past. To Europeans, left to right view can feel more grounded, and a right to left view or motion can feel backwards and unsettling.

As I recall, Arabic is written from right to left. And I don't know if your subject will speak of the future or the past. You might consider these concepts and decide if right or left facing is the best for the overall message and the target audience. You might consider which direction feels the most grounded and natural to you.

[Olof Ekbergh]

Laffan, I would say your lighting is there and just some small adjustments to the framing as you mentioned, curtains look good. Maybe lower the camera a little. And like Jon said move talent to the right (stage left).

I use Tuff Rolex a lot it essentially turns your light into a soft box. If you use a fresnel you can really change how it looks by the distance from light to Rolex, further back very diffuse closer misty but direct sun look. Use the barn doors on the fresnel as well to control the size of the matte.

I often use Gyourey lights (fluorescent) And I will mount 2 or 3 on one stand with a 4'x4' Tuff Rolex on another stand in front of them, very nice and soft and adjustable, and it is all daylight.

Shot of a setup using Tuff Rolex and a Globe light with reflective mylar inside 3/4 of the globe.

[Tito Haggardt]

will cmos heat be an isuue?