Lighting Rig Advice. at DVinfo.net

August 7th, 2011, 05:29 AM

Hi Guys,

We are shooting green screen video using the Data Video LED light ring system.

I am looking for recommendations for a lighting rig we are looking to put together.

I am thinking 4 soft boxes and a hair light.

2 in front and 2 behind the talent and the hair light above.

Our main requirement is a nice vibrant soft light but the lights must be silent.

We used some soft boxes before and the internal fans we been picked up on the video audio.

We tested some LED lighting yesterday but had problems getting a nice balance with it.

I don't know much about lighting so any thoughts or advice would greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Dave.

Mitchell Lewis · August 8th, 2011, 07:27 PM

Here's a good article on lighting for green screen. (same lights we use for our green screen)

http://provideocoalition.com/index.p...ng_discussion/

Robert Turchick · August 8th, 2011, 08:44 PM

David, the Data video system uses the glass bead BG right? It doesn't require lighting. (I'm sure you know this if it's the system I'm thinking of) which really means you just need to light the talent.

I have become quite fond of my inexpensive CFL lights (85watt curly bulb type) which I use a pair of to light talent. They are in 36" softboxes and are the equivalent of about 1600 tungsten watts each. (they each use 6 of the 85watt bulbs) They aren't the most robust fixtures but since they are mounted to my ceiling grid, they don't get moved a lot. I use a single led spot as my hair light. My studio is built for greenscreening commercial/industrial type vids. I have had up to four actors at once on my screen and the lighting easily covers them all. (pics of the studio are on my website)

The biggest thing with using the CFL's is the need to filter the green spike. Minus green filters are cheap.
They are dead quiet and don't require fans since they generate very little heat. If you wanted to go fancy, some Kino's might be the ticket. I have a pair of 220watt (4 bulb) kino-style fixtures that I put a diffusor filter on and it makes really nice soft light too. Those are much more robust and also smaller and lighter meaning I can easily travel with them. No fans and dead quiet.
I made a decision at the beginning of the year to retire my tungsten fixtures and it's worked out really well with the talent being cooler and happier, my energy bills shrinking and the bulbs lasting a heck of a lot longer!

Unless you spend big bucks on LEDs, you probably won't get the output you need. The cfl/kino are much brighter for the money and with diffusors work really well.

Might be the ticket for ya!

August 12th, 2011, 03:25 PM

Hi Guys,

Thank you for the comments.

Mitchell, the Datavideo system uses an LED light ring to create the green screen so you don't need to light it, it actually works better in the dark with just the talent lit.

Robert, you are correct and the soft box root is where I think we are going to go including a boom mounted spot light for the hair light.

We did try big bucks LED lights last weekend trying to light the talent, but it didn't work out very well.

Thank you both for your comments.

Kind regards,
Dave.

August 7th, 2011, 05:29 AM	#1
Former Member #56430 Posts: n/a	Lighting Rig Advice. Hi Guys, We are shooting green screen video using the Data Video LED light ring system. I am looking for recommendations for a lighting rig we are looking to put together. I am thinking 4 soft boxes and a hair light. 2 in front and 2 behind the talent and the hair light above. Our main requirement is a nice vibrant soft light but the lights must be silent. We used some soft boxes before and the internal fans we been picked up on the video audio. We tested some LED lighting yesterday but had problems getting a nice balance with it. I don't know much about lighting so any thoughts or advice would greatly appreciated. Thank you, Dave.

August 8th, 2011, 07:27 PM	#2
Mitchell Lewis Trustee Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Kennewick, WA Posts: 1,124	Re: Lighting Rig Advice. Here's a good article on lighting for green screen. (same lights we use for our green screen) http://provideocoalition.com/index.p...ng_discussion/ __________________ Sony EX3, Canon 5D MkII, Chrosziel Matte Box, Sachtler tripod, Steadicam Flyer, Mac Pro, Apple/Adobe software - 20 years as a local videographer/editor

August 8th, 2011, 08:44 PM	#3
Robert Turchick Trustee Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 1,389	Re: Lighting Rig Advice. David, the Data video system uses the glass bead BG right? It doesn't require lighting. (I'm sure you know this if it's the system I'm thinking of) which really means you just need to light the talent. I have become quite fond of my inexpensive CFL lights (85watt curly bulb type) which I use a pair of to light talent. They are in 36" softboxes and are the equivalent of about 1600 tungsten watts each. (they each use 6 of the 85watt bulbs) They aren't the most robust fixtures but since they are mounted to my ceiling grid, they don't get moved a lot. I use a single led spot as my hair light. My studio is built for greenscreening commercial/industrial type vids. I have had up to four actors at once on my screen and the lighting easily covers them all. (pics of the studio are on my website) The biggest thing with using the CFL's is the need to filter the green spike. Minus green filters are cheap. They are dead quiet and don't require fans since they generate very little heat. If you wanted to go fancy, some Kino's might be the ticket. I have a pair of 220watt (4 bulb) kino-style fixtures that I put a diffusor filter on and it makes really nice soft light too. Those are much more robust and also smaller and lighter meaning I can easily travel with them. No fans and dead quiet. I made a decision at the beginning of the year to retire my tungsten fixtures and it's worked out really well with the talent being cooler and happier, my energy bills shrinking and the bulbs lasting a heck of a lot longer! Unless you spend big bucks on LEDs, you probably won't get the output you need. The cfl/kino are much brighter for the money and with diffusors work really well. Might be the ticket for ya! __________________ The older I get, the better I was!

August 12th, 2011, 03:25 PM	#4
Former Member #56430 Posts: n/a	Re: Lighting Rig Advice. Hi Guys, Thank you for the comments. Mitchell, the Datavideo system uses an LED light ring to create the green screen so you don't need to light it, it actually works better in the dark with just the talent lit. Robert, you are correct and the soft box root is where I think we are going to go including a boom mounted spot light for the hair light. We did try big bucks LED lights last weekend trying to light the talent, but it didn't work out very well. Thank you both for your comments. Kind regards, Dave.