Having proper lighting will take your videos from amateur to professional. We recently produced a video to help understand how lighting works.
The standard lighting setup is called Three Point Lighting and is comprised of three components working together to create the correct lighting situation for filming. Once you become familiar with the three point lighting system you will wonder what you did before! Bad lighting in a video is similar to talking to someone while keeping your sunglasses on, they can’t really see you and unfortunately your message gets lost because it isn’t clearly visible. Taking your lighting set up seriously will help make your videos more professional and appeal to a larger audience.
Key Lighting
The key light is the primary light source used to light your subject, and is usually placed first and the other lights are used to support this main light. The key light is placed to one side of light subject and leaving the other side in a shadow. Key lights are usually placed between the subject and the camera at a 45 degree angle. Placement of the key light can really set the ‘scene’ you want to create because it is the main light source. The light is usually placed to the side and the fill light goes on the other side to create a more ‘normal’ or ‘standard’ light set up, placing the light right in front of the subject creates a less desirable look because it makes the subjects face look more flat and wide. Playing around with different elevations and locations of the key light can create dramatically different looks, such as placing the key light above the subjects head would cast darker face shadows and under eye shadows (not usually desirable, but maybe exactly what you are looking for!). Just know that the key light is called the key light for a reason, it is the main light used in your lighting set up and is key for a lot of the feeling coming from your video.
Fill Lighting
The fill light is to support and soften the look of the key light. The fill light plays off the shadows cast by the key light Fill light is a softer, less intense light on the opposite side of the key light. If you set up your fill light and see shadows it should be toned down to compliment and not compete with the key light. Lights can be toned down many ways, some lights can be dimmed down, others need to be covered with a scrim or a neutral density gel. A scrim is a diffuser that goes over the light to help diffuse and tone done the light saturation. A neutral density gel is a a semitransparent sheet to cover the light and reduce brightness. During the course of filming chances are highly likely you will want to tone down the fill light to better compliment the key light.
Back Lighting
Back lighting is used to highlight the edges of subject and provide separation from background and create a more three dimensional type of look. Backlight is not really a natural look because people don’t naturally have a light highlight surrounding them, but it is needed to distinguish dimension between the background and the subject and make the scene “pop”. Backlight is set up behind the subject and suspended on a horizontal arm and it lights them from behind at around a 45 degree angle. Back lighting often needs to be toned down as well, and this can be done in a variety of ways, one of the simplest being to attach it to a dimmer, that will enable changes to happen quickly. If dimming it isn’t an option you can always attach a scrim to this as well or dimmer paper.
Another and less expensive option for lighting is natural light. Filming outside in the late afternoon can create the same lighting affect if you are positioned correctly and know few simple tricks. By filming in the late afternoon with the sun behind your subject you have a natural backlight, use a large white reflector as the key light, and the natural light will be the fill light. An issue with filming outside is that the light is constantly changing and only lasts a certain amount time which makes a schedule tight for filming. Having total control over lights is easier indoors, but outdoor filming definitely changes the feel of the shoot and the subject.
Making videos for your website can be as complex or as simple as you like, here at Stevenson Advertising we specialize in making videos for our clients that are unique, cost effective, and informative. If you would like more information about creating videos for your website or television commercials please contact us today: brett@stevensonadvertising.com or by calling at 425-787-9686.