The difference between something that is well lit and something that isn't can be the difference between a video that's great and one that's totally pants. When I shoot wedding videos in LA, I often have to accept whats given to me in the environment, but this does not mean I should accept bad results.
Lighting A Scene
Guerrilla videographers are very adept at low budget lighting. So how do we light a scene? My advice, keep it simple. DV needs as much light as any other video format if you are lighting an image correctly. The rule of thumb is that you start out with a 1 stop, higher wattage key light source, than you think you need, so that by time it is diffused, you still have enough light to shoot at a decent f-stop with. Every time you add a layer of heavy diffusion to a light, you will lose about a stop of exposure. So you will need to have enough light to begin with before you can diffuse it. The advantage of this light is that the bulbs throw a soft, gentle light .
Reflectors
A reflector is a piece of silvery, gold or white fabric stretched over a frame. Lastolite make some really cool ones that explode open into massive circles. They come in two main varieties : silver/white and gold/white (the gold is good for warming up flesh tones). They are always a good investment, but if you can't afford them there's a cheaper solution around the corner.
If you want to go super cheap, hit up your local supermarket and get some big cardboard boxes and some aluminum foil. Cut the boxes into massive sheets taking advantage of its folds, and stick the foil to the boards to create folding reflectors. Use the shiny side of the foil for a hard reflector or the dull side for a more diffuse reflector. You could also try looking for reflecting sun shades.
Three Point Lighting
Let's discuss the most basic yet useful lighting set-up. In this example, we use a person. Set up your first light and put it in front of the subject at a 45o angle looking down on them a little. This is the key light. Our subject is now lit.
However, the subject is plagued with heavy shadows on the opposite side of their face. Prop up another light and make it more diffuse by reflecting it off a wall or putting a reflector in front of it. This is the fill light and will help soften the shadows. You can also add a light above and behind the subject to add rim lighting (ie. white line). This helps to separate them from the background. This is referred to as backlighting. Remember that the further you move a light away from the object you are lighting the less light falls on it. Think back to your Physics class in high school and you might be able to remember the inverse square law. This states that 'the intensity of light observed from a source of constant intrinsic luminosity falls of as the square of the distance from the object'. Cool, eh? But what does that mean? If I am lighting an actress if I double the distance she is from the light I would decrease the brightness of the light so it was only a quarter of what it was, resulting in a very underlit actress.
Worklights
A good key light for cheap is a 500 watt tungsten work light which can be found at hardware and car parts stores. They come with their own stands, but I do find the stands a little short.
There's some power here, but it's hard to control, so I recommend that you don't aim them directly at your actors. Bounce them off a wall or ceiling to create a nice soft light. If you want, you can put them outside windows and blast them through the openings. These lights can get hot, so be careful moving them around. I've found them as cheap as $10 and can run up to $30. (11/03 I saw an ad for Kragen Auto Parts in LA had them at $10.) They can be found with two heads that makes 1000 watts of lights.
Shower Curtain As Diffusion
One thing you can do is get a frosted shower curtain and hang it from a stand and then place the shower curtain in front of one of these babies to create a wall of soft light. Again, don't get too close otherwise your melt a hole in you.
China Lanterns
China Lanterns are great. I've seen them on the sets of movies costing many millions of dollars. They are paper material which can be expanded into a ball (and now different shapes like squares, rectangles and ovals). They come with a wire support for the bulb. You need to get a socket and cable and they are usually sold in the same place you find the lanterns. I put a regular 200 watt bulb inside and they make a great softlight for close-ups. If the lantern's big enough, I'll put two 200 watt bulbs in and I can light a small room with them. Be careful with them because they're made of paper and can burst into flames. They run between $3 - $7 depending on size. You can find them at Target, Ikea and Pier One Imports, to name a few.
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