Lighting Kit for News Desk

[Scott Aubuchon]

I am setting up a small studio to shoot some tech news against a green screen... I have about a 10' wide x 12' deep nook in my basement I am planning on using.

I am researching some lighting and am seriously considering this kit: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...eator_1_3.html

My question... is a 3 point kit like the one above sufficient? or do I need to add more, either in the way of additional lighting or reflectors..?

Thanks in advance,

Scott

[Bill Mecca]

TV is usually lit pretty flat. and since you are green screen, that will more dictate how you light, versus having an actual "set" to worry about.

In a small area, I would suggest looking at some Flourescent fixtures since they will run cooler. Your talent will thank you for that. ;-)

[Scott Aubuchon]

Any florescent kits or individual pieces come to mind (in the relative price range as the Lowel)? And will 3 lights be sufficient?

I'm trying to replicate results similar to this: http://www.sacreativeservices.com/fo...uff/studio.png

I know, I know... that is probably not a low budget setup, but I'm hopeful I can achieve a close mimic.

[David W. Jones]

Sorry, but a minimal 3 light setup will not be enough.
Don't forget to flat light the green Screen.

[Guy Cochran]

The Lowel DVcreator Kit 55 would work if you added another Reflector and another umbrella for Omni.

Rifa 55 Key on Talent
Reflector Bounce for fill on Talent

Omni with Umbrella Chroma Screen Light Left
Tota with Umbrella Chroma Screen Light Right

Pro light for backlight

Here is a general diagram http://lowel.com/fluotec/setups/chromaset.html

Watch the little video "lighting greenscreen" at http://dvcreators.net/dv-enlightenment

[Scott Aubuchon]

Yikes... a bit more than I anticipated.

One problem I see is I don't think I have the room for all that lighting in a 10x12 area.

[Scott Aubuchon]

What about something like this...http://cgi.ebay.com/CONTINUOUS-LIGHT...QQcmdZViewItem

do you think these are just garbage, or worth further investigation?

[Dave Dodds]

For about the same price as the DVCreator, you could get some of Rich Andrewski's Studio Lights http://www.coollights.biz/softlight-...s-c-25_31.html. This seems like the perfect use for these.

(2) 2 Tube lights for the screen and (1) 4 Tube for the talent. You may need a little more for the talent, perhaps a backlight for separation, but for not much money, you can get a Lowel Pro light or even a photoflood for that. I doubt you need fill if you can get the 4 Tube in the right position. But if you do, a big foam board or two will do fine (and they're cheap).

Mind you, you'll need some stands with all of this, and to deal with the weight of these fixtures this may add up to $200. However, I think this is worth the price. Basically for under $1K you can set yourself up nicely.

Good luck!

~~Dave

[Eric Lagerlof]

I would agree with the coollights idea. For such a small space, fluorescents will be cooler and are softer, especially important for the flat lighting you need for green screen work. For talent, one small light for a backlight, and either a fluorescent or a fresnel with difussion for the keylight. You could use a white foamcore sheet for bounce on the opposite side if you are running low on your budget.

The diagram that was posted could easily work without the side fills, if you adjust the key and fill positions right.

With greenscreen, the light has to be flat to pull an even key, and if you can, seperate the desk and talent as much as possible from the backround to keep the green from 'spilling' onto the talent. That's, in part, where the backlight can be helpful.

Don't forget mounting hardware-you can get stands, or if you can mount to your ceiling, plates with posts. If you are on stands, your backlight might need a boom arm.

[Richard Andrewski]

Hi Scott,

I answered your email request but I'll answer here too. On my site in the gallery I showed what one user did for a budget green screen setup:

http://www.coollights.biz/wordpress/...tegory/gallery

He used shoplights with daylight tubes and this turned out fine for the green screen lighting. Then, he used 2 CL-655s as frontal subject lighting. Fluorescent is fluorescent and green screen lighting isn't that picky as long as its smooth and even with little hotspots. One thing that will help that is the use of fluorescent shop lights that have a cracked ice or prismatic diffusion panel on them. This will not cut light so much as it smooths it out and scatters it better. That's my recommendation for budget green screen work.

[Heiko Saele]

I am using fluorescents for our blue-box studio set and it works great.
The fluos are 6-bank Mistral (dimmable) with additional Leelux 400 white diffusion. The key is very flat, max. 10° to the right (if at all) and very low, just above the camera. The fill is from the left with a much higher angle (80° I guess) and a lot higher. Because the key light is so flat, I added a piece of white foamcore reflector for fill to the right side as well.
I also used a 6-bank fluo with WD for hair/edge light (not the best solution for an edge-light , but very good for eliminating shadows on the bluebox floor).

I installed a flood-light (1000W Tungsten) to light the blue backdrop, but amazingly the keying worked just fine even without that. The background was already lit pretty well from the soft spill... I installed the background-light anyways to be on the safe side in case somebody is wearing very dark clothes.

The setup is very similar to the diagram above, only I'm using just one keylight, almost directly above the camera. You can't do that with a fresnel, it will blind everyone, but it works perfectly with a large soft source like the 6-bank fluo with WD

I think fluorescents are amazing for tv presentations, blue and green screens and small locations - should be perfect for you.

[Scott Aubuchon]

Just thought I would pass along pics of my setup...

http://www.sacreativeservices.com/fo...f/studio_1.jpg
http://www.sacreativeservices.com/fo...f/studio_3.jpg
http://www.sacreativeservices.com/fo...reenscreen.png

I went with two of Richards "Coollights" (very nice lights!) and the rest was home depot stock (T8 - Daylight).

Thanks to everyone that helped in the decision making process. I think the results are good, given this was my first attempt.

Now I have to start tweaking the colors and backgrounds in post to get it even better.

SA

[Jack Walker]

That looks very good!

hose lights look good for a much less expensive price than others available.

[Robert Huber]

Originally Posted by Scott Aubuchon

Just thought I would pass along pics of my setup...

http://www.sacreativeservices.com/fo...f/studio_1.jpg
http://www.sacreativeservices.com/fo...f/studio_3.jpg
http://www.sacreativeservices.com/fo...reenscreen.png

I went with two of Richards "Coollights" (very nice lights!) and the rest was home depot stock (T8 - Daylight).

Thanks to everyone that helped in the decision making process. I think the results are good, given this was my first attempt.

Now I have to start tweaking the colors and backgrounds in post to get it even better.

SA

Hi Scott, that looks great! It's hard to make out in the picture, but is that just two florescent shop-lamps lighting the screen from directly above?

[Scott Aubuchon]

Robert,

Yeah, those are just standard T8 shop lights and I also have 3 of the clamp on style shop lights (the $6 dollar kind), both have "daylight" bulbs in them. I think the guy at Lowe's thought I was starting a "growing" operation, if you know what I mean... :)

See these pictures:

http://www.sacreativeservices.com/fo...f/studio_2.jpg
http://www.sacreativeservices.com/fo...f/studio_4.jpg

The only thing I have done differently is pushed the middle light (small can) back towards the screen to help get it more evenly lit.

Any other opinions on the positions of my lights would be helpful, as I am just a novice at this stuff.

SA