Lighting for interviews?

One thing that has not changed much in the 15 years I have been a cameraman is sound and lighting.

You can still use ten year old lighting and sound kit with the modern cameras in video production.

Sound has developed a bit to the capability of recording sound digitally to hard drives but is essentially the same in terms of recording good clean sound and at the correct levels.

Lighting equipment has not change at all except for the introduction of LED lighting. Personally I am a fan for old school lighting. I feel that Led lights are not so kind to the skin tones and produce a lot flatter light. I mainly use fresnel lights and Divalites.

Lights I carry in my interview kit:

• Divalite 400
• 5x Dedo Lights
• 2x Arri 300w
• 3x Arri 650w

Because the quality of cameras is so good now many people think they can cut corners in lighting. It is true that the use of good lenses now means you can use the cameras look film like and soak up more available light. But that does not mean that because you don’t need to flood a subject in 5000w of light to see a picture it does not still have an artistic use. Of course I am talking here about standard interviews in a room not a drama which has it is natural techniques. Lighting that does not look lite is the key.

As a Cameraman I trained on ITVs drama ‘The Bill’ told me that there is no secret to lighting, it is whatever you think looks good. This is true but i am firm believer of knowing the rules and tried and tested methods so you can creatively break them. He also said if I ever get stuck, Backlighting always makes it look good. I agree to an extent but depends on what you are filming, as if I was in a dark room and interviewing the prime minister then one light behind him will not do him any favours.

I have seen to many badly lite interviews on the web. Either no lighting or a flat top light making the interviewee look like a rabbit in headlights.

4 lights can produce a really great lighting setup. Take 3 dedos and a divalite. Divalite asa soft key placed at a 45 degree angle to the side of the camera the interviewee is looking so the side of the face nearest the camera is slightly more in shadow. A dedo backlight diagonally opposite to this soft light hitting the back of the head and shoulders giving a kick.

A dedo giving a slash of light or detail pick up in the background. And a dedo on low power to lift / fill the side of the face nearest the camera from shadow. But not so much as you want the most light to be from the Soft key. This is a classic 3 point lighting setup that is quick to set up and always produces good results in a standard room.

Lighting makes a big difference so dont rely on the camera just because it says it is HD and is brand new on auto.