spoke digital films

Let me start this post by again saying that I do not purport to be any kind of expert with regard to film and video equipment. I’m simply letting visitors know what equipment I’m using. You can check out some of my videos and decide for yourself how things look and sound.

First of all, if you’re making a verite-type doc, you may not need to worry about lighting at all. You’ll probably just be using available light. If, however, you’ll be shooting interviews or re-enactments, you will likely need some lights. Film lights can get pretty expensive pretty quickly, but the control they offer makes the extra money worthwhile. There are some cheaper alternatives, but you really get what you pay for when it comes to lighting.

The first lights I bought for film fall into the “cheaper alternative” category. I still use them and they serve a purpose, but they are not built nearly as well as more expensive lights. The manufacturer is Britek and many claim they have had nothing but trouble with them - including constantly exploding bulbs. I’ve never had a problem with mine. I bought a kit with two 300W units, two (cheap) light stands, a cheap but very usable softbox, and some (also cheap) carrying cases. They also came with barn doors.

The whole kit cost about as much as one 300W fresnel without barn doors from a manufacturer like Arri. However, that Arri fixture would probably last a lifetime while the Briteks definitely will not. They are “instant gratification lights” for a limited budget rather than “sensible lights” built (and priced) for the long haul. It’s not that I don’t like these lights; I’ve gotten some great results with them. I simply don’t want to ignore their flaws.

Britek kit purchased from Rostronics.com

After using the Briteks for a while, I managed to land a few other used lights. I found a couple of Mole-Richardson 200W Midget fresnels for a great price. It is an immense pleasure to use these as opposed to the cheaper Briteks. They are much easier to control and the soft, diffused quality of the light through a fresnel lens looks great. I typically use these as a hair light or back-light, but they could also serve as key light for one person (if using a 1/3″ ccd video camera).

Mole-Richardson Midget (200W)

While fresnels like the Moles or Arris make for beautiful light and are incredibly rugged, they can also be bulky and heavy. At the same time I bought the Mole fresnels for a song, I also got a couple of Lowel sets. I got several of the Tota lights complete with compact Lowel stands, carrying cases, and diffusion umbrellas. The portability and convenience of these lights can’t be beat. However, they aren’t built nearly as well as fresnels, of course. More important, however, is the fact that it’s next to impossible to control the light (with Tota’s anyway.) The Tota’s work fine to simply brighten a room, but they aren’t the lights to use if you expect to fuss about getting that hair highlight just so. That said, I’ve used a 300W or 500w lamp with the diffusion umbrella as a key with satisfactory results (though umbrellas really feel old-school; softboxes are more widely used because they allow for more controllable light). That’s another advantage of the Tota’s, they can use 300W, 500W, or 750W bulbs. If you’re really in a pinch you can use standard work light halogen bulbs from the hardware store (which are not color corrected bulbs, of course).

Lowel Tota Light

Tota Light with “Tota-brella”

Given that most of my interviews have involved me lugging my equipment to someone’s home or office by myself, I’ve been leaning more heavily on the Lowel equipment lately. I’ve been willing to sacrifice the control and aesthetics of fresnels for the portability of the Lowel’s. I added a 250W Lowel Pro Light and have had success using a Tota with umbrella as a key and a Pro Light as a hair/back light. The fact that those two lights fit in a small plastic tube including the light stands makes it possible for me to actually carry all of my gear on Chicago’s trains and subways (including camera, tripod, lights, and stands) when I’m conducting an interview in a downtown office. That convenience is hard to beat when you’re a crew of one.

Lowel Pro Light

Lowel Carrying “Tube”

So, that’s my current set-up (including lots of gels, diffusion material, and some nice heavy-duty stands). It’s not the ideal set-up, but it is what I could afford and I’ve made it work. I’d like to add a Lowel Rifa Light, which is a cleverly designed collapsible soft box light. I would use that and the Lowel Pro Light for a those quick interview setups when I lugging equipment by myself. I’m basically doing that now except that I’m using a Tota Light with Tota-brella for a key. The Rifa would be a much better alternative.

If I actually had a crew or was doing much studio shooting, I would probably look to Arri or Mole fresnels or think seriously about going totally fluorescent. With respect to fresnels for documentary work, I think one or two 750W (plus softbox), plus a couple 300W, and a 150W kicker would get me through most interview set-ups involving three people or less. As for fluorescents, they are “cool” lights and won’t heat up the room; they use much less energy, which is not only good for the environment but alleviates the worry of overloading an electrical circuit with high-wattage lights; and they naturally produce a soft, even, diffused light. Great for interviews, but they don’t have much reach like halogen fresnels (you need to put them relatively close.) They are not easy to control, either - you can’t use them as spot lights. Lastly, they are also not cheap and are somewhat bulky. Kino-Flo is probably the most popular manufacturer, but all lighting manufacturers are developing new designs daily.

Here are some interview production stills and a description of the lights I used.

Above: 300W Britek in Softbox (key); 200w Mole, heavily diffused (hairlight); 200w Mole with half magenta/half blue gels (backlight); old black bed-sheet as background

Above: 300W Britek in Softbox (key); 300W Britek with diffusion as hairlight; existing room lights on bookcase.

Note that I should have moved the softbox key more to the side of the subject to help model the face (it’s kind of dull, even lighting). More importantly, moving the softbox would have removed the glare in his glasses. (It looked good when I set up, but he was an animated subject and moved in and out of the glare.)

Above: 300W Tota with umbrella (key); 250W Lowel Pro Light (hair light).

Unfortunately, I was stuck here in a small room with white walls. I kind of like how hot the hair light is, but should have moved the key a little more to the center of the subject to spill some fill on the other side of her face. Not so sure about the placement of that plant, either…

Above: 300W Britek with softbox (key); 200w Mole with diffusion (hairlight); 200w Mole with diffusion and blue gel (backlight on bookcase)

To my eye, this was the most successful set up. I would tone down or maybe remove the backlight on the bookshelf if I had it to do over, but I think the lighting on the subject looks good.

As you can see, I’m not a fan of fill lights - even reflectors. If you use a diffused key light in a softbox or umbrella, I don’t think a fill light is necessary. I like a more dramatic, modeled face, even for documentary.