Lighting for interviews

Syeed Ali · October 28th, 2009, 08:16 AM

Hi all,

I need to get some lighting equipment for interviews, but not sure which ones to get.

It's for indoor use in workshops and auto garages and needs to be easily transportable

I was thinking of:

1 x 300w

2 x red heads (not sure how many watts though)

Can someone advise please?

Thanks

Perrone Ford · October 28th, 2009, 09:40 AM

My opinion:

Get a nice softbox:

Lowel Rifa eXchange 66

Get a small fresnel:

Mole-Richardson | Betweenie 300W Fresnel Light | 3131 | B&H

And learn to do some flagging, and bouncing. For a basic one person interview, this is a good start. If you find you want to really get into doing more professional work there are many more advanced options.

Oren Arieli · October 28th, 2009, 09:42 AM

I would say don't buy a single piece of equipment until you've done some further research on how to best light for interviews. There are some excellent video tutorials you can buy from Bill Holshevnikoff Chimera | DVD: Lighting Interviews, Volume 2 | 7226 | B&H Photo

Most will tell you the same thing, you need a controllable softlight, and 2 controllable hard lights. By control, I mean limiting the spill. The extra's are usually the reflectors, boom arms, stands, sandbags, cords, scrims, gels, and gobos that allow you to further refine the images.

Don't concern yourself too much over the brand name of the gear, but know that the good stuff costs more than the junk.

Adam Stanislav · October 28th, 2009, 09:22 PM

You may want to get Doug Jensen's DVD on the subject. He tells you exactly what to get (though some of it has been discontinued) and how to use it.

Chris Swanberg · October 29th, 2009, 09:03 PM

I second the suggestion of watching the Vortex Media tape by Doug Jensen. While there are a lot of different ways to skin this cat, he gave one with product suggestions (that you can modify with other similar products) that will have you doing a pretty decent job right out of the chute. You can learn the other ways to skin tha cat, but his tape was, for me, a revelation.

Syeed Ali · October 30th, 2009, 11:32 AM

Thanks everyone.

Have ordered the DVD and should get it early next week.

Chris Swanberg · October 30th, 2009, 06:47 PM

btw...I managed to more or less duplicate Doug's $1,500 kit with a couple of product substitutions for under half that off E-Bay and buying similar products that were unbranded.

Marcus Martell · November 9th, 2009, 03:36 AM

Chris post theese items u cop on ebay!Awesome thread this.....

October 28th, 2009, 08:16 AM	#1
Syeed Ali Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: London Posts: 161	Lighting for interviews - recomendations? Hi all, I need to get some lighting equipment for interviews, but not sure which ones to get. It's for indoor use in workshops and auto garages and needs to be easily transportable I was thinking of: 1 x 300w 2 x red heads (not sure how many watts though) Can someone advise please? Thanks

October 28th, 2009, 09:40 AM	#2
Perrone Ford Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 4,100	My opinion: Get a nice softbox: Lowel Rifa eXchange 66 Get a small fresnel: Mole-Richardson \| Betweenie 300W Fresnel Light \| 3131 \| B&H And learn to do some flagging, and bouncing. For a basic one person interview, this is a good start. If you find you want to really get into doing more professional work there are many more advanced options. __________________ DVX100, PMW-EX1, Canon 550D, FigRig, Dell Octocore, Avid MC4/5, MB Looks, RedCineX, Matrox MX02 mini, GTech RAID, Edirol R-4, Senn. G2 Evo, Countryman, Moles and Lowels.

October 28th, 2009, 09:42 AM	#3
Oren Arieli Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: San Jose, California Posts: 918	I would say don't buy a single piece of equipment until you've done some further research on how to best light for interviews. There are some excellent video tutorials you can buy from Bill Holshevnikoff Chimera \| DVD: Lighting Interviews, Volume 2 \| 7226 \| B&H Photo Most will tell you the same thing, you need a controllable softlight, and 2 controllable hard lights. By control, I mean limiting the spill. The extra's are usually the reflectors, boom arms, stands, sandbags, cords, scrims, gels, and gobos that allow you to further refine the images. Don't concern yourself too much over the brand name of the gear, but know that the good stuff costs more than the junk.

October 28th, 2009, 09:22 PM	#4
Adam Stanislav Trustee Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Rhinelander, WI Posts: 1,258	You may want to get Doug Jensen's DVD on the subject. He tells you exactly what to get (though some of it has been discontinued) and how to use it.

October 29th, 2009, 09:03 PM	#5
Chris Swanberg Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 904	I second the suggestion of watching the Vortex Media tape by Doug Jensen. While there are a lot of different ways to skin this cat, he gave one with product suggestions (that you can modify with other similar products) that will have you doing a pretty decent job right out of the chute. You can learn the other ways to skin tha cat, but his tape was, for me, a revelation.

October 30th, 2009, 11:32 AM	#6
Syeed Ali Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: London Posts: 161	Thanks everyone. Have ordered the DVD and should get it early next week.

October 30th, 2009, 06:47 PM	#7
Chris Swanberg Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 904	btw...I managed to more or less duplicate Doug's $1,500 kit with a couple of product substitutions for under half that off E-Bay and buying similar products that were unbranded.

November 9th, 2009, 03:36 AM	#8
Marcus Martell Trustee Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: spain Posts: 1,202	Chris post theese items u cop on ebay!Awesome thread this.....