"Back Lighting" by Walter Graff at DVinfo.net

Jay Gladwell · March 12th, 2003, 06:17 AM

Here's another fine lighting article by NY based videographer Walter Graff:

http://www.film-and-video.com/broadc...backlight.html

Chris Hurd · March 12th, 2003, 08:49 AM

Excellent article. Thanks for the link, Jay!

Jay Gladwell · March 12th, 2003, 09:21 AM

For more articles, go to http://www.film-and-video.com and it will load a frames page. In the left frame, go down to "Articles/Instruction" and click. You're then taken to a page in the right frame. Just scroll down until you reach the list with blinking icons.

He provides some great information and food for thought!

By the way, John Locke was the one who pointed this fella out to begin with. So I can't take any credit for the link.

John Locke · March 12th, 2003, 09:37 AM

No need to pass on the credit, Jay. I'd missed this particular newsletter. I'm glad you told me about it!

This is a really good newsletter to sign up for.

Steven-Marc Couchouron · March 12th, 2003, 09:56 AM

Very interesting. Finally someone who agrees with me ! ;-)

Backlighting for DV has always been my pet peeve. It looks OK and is often useful when shooting talking heads or interviews, but most of the time I think it looks way too artificial for fiction and the fact that DV cameras have a very low dynamic range doesn't help. The highlights which look great on film are too constrasty on DV. Add to that the electronic edge enhancement (assuming your camera doesn't let you turn it down) and you'll have the best "video look" you could hope for ! ;-)

As Walter puts it, it's mostly a matter of taste... Well I know what I prefer (for DV fiction) and this why I strongly disagree with the notion that you should light video like film to get a film look. You can however get some pretty good results with more diffuse backlight and by having it come a bit more from a side angle to the subject.

On our DV film (see link below if you read french) I sometimes had to argue with the DP to have him *not* light the way he was used to. The image looks a bit "flat" on stills but much better in movement. Of course if we had had a mini35 then, shallower DOP would have helped even more...

(Hello Jay, small world ;-) )

Jay Gladwell · March 12th, 2003, 10:21 AM

Hi, Steven-Marc! The world as our father's knew it no longer exists, it's all just one giant Internet connection.

You'll find that this is great forum to get just about any information you may need in regards to DV. Our hat's off to Chris Herd for that!

I went to your Shadow Girl site and watched the large trailer. For those of us who culturally challenged, how about some subtitles? ;o)

The thing I love about the French language, especially in cinema, is you could be telling someone how to gut a fish and it would still sound beautiful.

Most importantly, congratulations on the film's selection at Worldfest Houston! Best of luck to cast and crew!!!

Steven-Marc Couchouron · March 12th, 2003, 11:11 AM

Thanks Jay !

Huh, are you teasing (about the teaser) ? I don't recall there being any dialog in it...?

The screening in Houston will have subtitles of course...

BTW: John Locke kindly opened a new thread about our film, so we might want to continue there:
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=7654

Jay Gladwell · March 12th, 2003, 11:33 AM

It was the "making-of" video I watched.

Steven-Marc Couchouron · March 12th, 2003, 12:08 PM

Oh, OK. Lol !
We'll that's really a very old video. I believe we were on our 2nd or 3rd day of shooting when we did that.
I'd recommend watching the other "demo" trailer, even though that's also fairly old and we were only halfway through shooting, but you get to see real images from the film (although not yet corrected in post).

March 12th, 2003, 06:17 AM	#1
Jay Gladwell Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,244	"Back Lighting" by Walter Graff Here's another fine lighting article by NY based videographer Walter Graff: http://www.film-and-video.com/broadc...backlight.html

March 12th, 2003, 08:49 AM	#2
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Excellent article. Thanks for the link, Jay! __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

March 12th, 2003, 09:37 AM	#4
John Locke Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Austin, TX USA Posts: 2,882	No need to pass on the credit, Jay. I'd missed this particular newsletter. I'm glad you told me about it! This is a really good newsletter to sign up for. __________________ John Locke SursumFilms.com

March 12th, 2003, 09:56 AM	#5
Steven-Marc Couchouron Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Paris, France Posts: 110 Images: 5	Very interesting. Finally someone who agrees with me ! ;-) Backlighting for DV has always been my pet peeve. It looks OK and is often useful when shooting talking heads or interviews, but most of the time I think it looks way too artificial for fiction and the fact that DV cameras have a very low dynamic range doesn't help. The highlights which look great on film are too constrasty on DV. Add to that the electronic edge enhancement (assuming your camera doesn't let you turn it down) and you'll have the best "video look" you could hope for ! ;-) As Walter puts it, it's mostly a matter of taste... Well I know what I prefer (for DV fiction) and this why I strongly disagree with the notion that you should light video like film to get a film look. You can however get some pretty good results with more diffuse backlight and by having it come a bit more from a side angle to the subject. On our DV film (see link below if you read french) I sometimes had to argue with the DP to have him not light the way he was used to. The image looks a bit "flat" on stills but much better in movement. Of course if we had had a mini35 then, shallower DOP would have helped even more... (Hello Jay, small world ;-) ) __________________ SMCproductions.com

March 12th, 2003, 11:11 AM	#7
Steven-Marc Couchouron Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Paris, France Posts: 110 Images: 5	Thanks Jay ! Huh, are you teasing (about the teaser) ? I don't recall there being any dialog in it...? The screening in Houston will have subtitles of course... BTW: John Locke kindly opened a new thread about our film, so we might want to continue there: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=7654 __________________ SMCproductions.com

March 12th, 2003, 09:21 AM	#3
Jay Gladwell Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,244	For more articles, go to http://www.film-and-video.com and it will load a frames page. In the left frame, go down to "Articles/Instruction" and click. You're then taken to a page in the right frame. Just scroll down until you reach the list with blinking icons. He provides some great information and food for thought! By the way, John Locke was the one who pointed this fella out to begin with. So I can't take any credit for the link.

March 12th, 2003, 10:21 AM	#6
Jay Gladwell Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,244	Hi, Steven-Marc! The world as our father's knew it no longer exists, it's all just one giant Internet connection. You'll find that this is great forum to get just about any information you may need in regards to DV. Our hat's off to Chris Herd for that! I went to your Shadow Girl site and watched the large trailer. For those of us who culturally challenged, how about some subtitles? ;o) The thing I love about the French language, especially in cinema, is you could be telling someone how to gut a fish and it would still sound beautiful. Most importantly, congratulations on the film's selection at Worldfest Houston! Best of luck to cast and crew!!!

March 12th, 2003, 11:33 AM	#8
Jay Gladwell Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,244	It was the "making-of" video I watched.

March 12th, 2003, 12:08 PM	#9
Steven-Marc Couchouron Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Paris, France Posts: 110 Images: 5	Oh, OK. Lol ! We'll that's really a very old video. I believe we were on our 2nd or 3rd day of shooting when we did that. I'd recommend watching the other "demo" trailer, even though that's also fairly old and we were only halfway through shooting, but you get to see real images from the film (although not yet corrected in post). __________________ SMCproductions.com