Is this studio lighting?

Deke Ryland · June 13th, 2008, 08:37 AM

I love the background Scott Kelby used for this video, but was wondering if he used a studio background with lighting, or if he just shot this on green screen and made the background in photoshop. Anyone have any guesses?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOpoM...om/blog/page/5

Seth Bloombaum · June 13th, 2008, 09:34 AM

Almost certainly a studio background. There is not a hint of green-screen artifacts.

For this kind of shot green screen is more expensive, time-intensive, and problematic than just shooting it.

This is probably shot against a piece of gray seamless background paper, with a small de-focused fresnel making the nice light effect on the background. A very common technique in still photography - you don't need a painted background to do this one.

Deke Ryland · June 13th, 2008, 10:28 AM

Hey Seth,

Thanks so much for the advice and tips. I have a couple fresnels, but haven't head the term "defocused" used for lighting. Could you explain this a bit? I'm pretty new to lighting and videography and would like to match a similar setup someday as Kelby's. Thanks so much for your help.

Richard Andrewski · June 13th, 2008, 06:50 PM

A fresnel has a focus knob on it that goes between wide and narrow beams. Perhaps he means put the fresnel into wide beam mode for a larger coverage area.

Seth Bloombaum · June 14th, 2008, 10:06 AM

In addition to what Richard mentioned, the edge of the light pattern on the background can be hard or soft with a fresnel. The "wide" end of the focus will tend to be nice and soft, as in the example.

This is an instance in which it will be important to look at a good monitor when setting the lighting, and to have some wire grids and/or some ND gels on hand to help adjust the intensity of the background light. On a medium gray background, too much light will make it look white, too little will make it look black.

The example is a nice subtle balance.

June 13th, 2008, 08:37 AM	#1
Deke Ryland Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Washington, USA Posts: 209	Is this studio lighting? I love the background Scott Kelby used for this video, but was wondering if he used a studio background with lighting, or if he just shot this on green screen and made the background in photoshop. Anyone have any guesses? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOpoM...om/blog/page/5

June 13th, 2008, 06:50 PM	#4
Richard Andrewski Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Shenzhen, China Posts: 514	A fresnel has a focus knob on it that goes between wide and narrow beams. Perhaps he means put the fresnel into wide beam mode for a larger coverage area. __________________ Richard Andrewski - Cool Lights USA - RED #114 http://www.coollights.biz

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June 13th, 2008, 09:34 AM	#2
Seth Bloombaum Trustee Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 1,399	Almost certainly a studio background. There is not a hint of green-screen artifacts. For this kind of shot green screen is more expensive, time-intensive, and problematic than just shooting it. This is probably shot against a piece of gray seamless background paper, with a small de-focused fresnel making the nice light effect on the background. A very common technique in still photography - you don't need a painted background to do this one.

June 13th, 2008, 10:28 AM	#3
Deke Ryland Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Washington, USA Posts: 209	Hey Seth, Thanks so much for the advice and tips. I have a couple fresnels, but haven't head the term "defocused" used for lighting. Could you explain this a bit? I'm pretty new to lighting and videography and would like to match a similar setup someday as Kelby's. Thanks so much for your help.

June 14th, 2008, 10:06 AM	#5
Seth Bloombaum Trustee Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 1,399	In addition to what Richard mentioned, the edge of the light pattern on the background can be hard or soft with a fresnel. The "wide" end of the focus will tend to be nice and soft, as in the example. This is an instance in which it will be important to look at a good monitor when setting the lighting, and to have some wire grids and/or some ND gels on hand to help adjust the intensity of the background light. On a medium gray background, too much light will make it look white, too little will make it look black. The example is a nice subtle balance.