Lighting a hot room
 

I'm going to shoot a scene in a bright red room. Very hot! I have a GL-2 which is hot as well. Any advice on how to light the room? I'm also curious to know what type of light meter to buy. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Yes.

Paint the room a different colour.

:)


Seriously, I'd obviously look at renting a light kit which gave you a very diffused light. Check out the Kinoflo Diva Lights (DivaLite, something like that). They are electronic ballast compact flourescents. They throw a nice light, run cool, and can be dimmed. Not cheap, but they are good.

Light meters are not necessarily required for video work. Using a calibrated monitor and the zebra settings of your camcorder (if available) should alert you to under- or overexposed areas of your shot.

However, having a light meter for learning purposes is a good idea, I think, and from what I understand, a prerequisite for film. I plan on doing the same soon too. I've been looking at the Sekonic line of meters but you will end up paying more for an incident, reflected, and spot lightmeter solution.

In regards to the red room: I think we need a Wrangler to help out on that one...

My suggestion would be to keep the actors/subject as far from the walls as possible i.e. into the center of the room, and while you are renting lighting gear make sure to include flags and nets (and c-stands to mount them on, and sandbags to keep the stands from tipping...) They will help cut light from the walls, which will keep them from popping visually. For instance, if you use a soft light source that is 3/4 to the front, use the solid flags (black) on the far side of the light to keep spill from hitting the wall opposite camera. You may also need a topper (flag positioned above the light) to cut down the ceiling bounce, particularly if you are using a source like a Kino. Backlighting the actors with a cool tone (like a 1/4 or 1/2 CTB) will help separate them from the warm walls.

Your going to get a lot of local color from the reflection of light off the red walls. Use a good monitor that has an accurate calibration. Use the monitor to check not only exposure but the overall warm tones you'll be seeing. You may need to experiment with the lighting as Charles suggests, modify the white balance or both. Search warm cards for some discussions on WB to alternate colors.