TV Technology - January 7, 2009 - (Page 29)

FEATURES Light CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28 tioned to front light one person and spill upon the other person as a backlight. Of course, this “spill” intensity must be controlled and requires some At this point, enter The Ear. One of the early rules of portraiture practice (with apologies to George Hurrell) was that when a person’s face was in a three-quarter position to camera, the side of the head facing the camera should be darker to emphasize the front plane of the face, the eye, mouth would be to move the fill more in line with the axis of this camera. Yes, if the two angles are to be lighted at the same time, you will need two (horrors!) fill lights, both close to the camera lens with no spill on the opposite talent. If softlights are used, egg crates will become the Lighting Man’s best friend. Are we done with the neck? Not really. We must also lower the sense of place. With only the background to tie the two shots together, the two could have been on different planets. I am truly at a loss as to why this occurred. The cure for the solution to these problems is simple. Any standard setup should be considered as a starting point, not fully developed and something to be improved upon. The face-to-face interview can take place on location or in the more controlled environment of a studio. The textbook setup of a face-to-face interview. sort of scrim, gel or wire to knock it down. In actuality, in the crush of the “Let’s go, that’s OK, we’re running late” mode, the intensity correction is never really fixed. It takes too much fussing. The fill light is set in the center position shown in the diagram above, and must be relatively wide angle to fill both principals. Another reason for choosing the main light position on the upstage camera side is that the fill light position, opposite side from the main lights, is out of the shooting area and, as a result, its elevation can be set for the most opportune height—at about lens height. We do not want our fill making any contribution to picture contrast. In other words, it should act as a fill light only, (Principles of Lighting 101). For this discussion, let us consider the main lights in our basic setup and not worry about them serving as backlights. Most time should be spent on these instruments to position them correctly and to set their intensity carefully to ensure that the talent is presented in their best light. Remember, if you are on location, some kind of boom arm will be required to keep the light stand out of the second camera’s shot. If this is the case, “safety and security are the order of the day.” In “Principles of Lighting 102” we will discuss the placement of the backlight and the use of a “kicker” as a substitute as well as lighting the background. and nose. The “downstage” ear should be dark. The main light of our textbook setup can be positioned to do this. HOW TO FIX IT Now, let’s return to last night’s television interview and the Case of the Unflatteringly Lighted Talent. The fix contrast from the main light, and so the “don’t light the ear” rule is out the window. The main light will have to be moved to be more on the camera axis to help the neck problem. Yes, I know, this is a gotcha. The downstage ear is now lighted. But we are not finished! When we went to the host, he was not lighted anywhere near what we expected—a main light from the textbook position. He ended up in two cross lights of equal intensity and no pleasing face light. Not only did he appear cross-eyed, but his picture— being seriously unmatched to the guest’s lighting (notwithstanding the neck problem)—gave a conflicting Unanticipated lighting problems should be expected. The lighting setup as well as the personality of the Lighting Man should have some builtin flexibility to accommodate corrective adjustments as problems are realized. Nothing should be assumed to be fixed in stone or automatic. Accept the fact that most critical moments will be just before you roll or go live. Don’t go for coffee until after the shoot. Bill Klages would like to extend an invitation to all the lighting people out there to give him your thoughts at billklages@roadrunner.com. www.tvtechnology.com • TV Technology • January 7, 2009 29 http://www.k5600.com http://www.k5600.com http://www.tvtechnology.com

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TV Technology - January 7, 2009 NFL Enters a New Dimension Mobile DTV Looms Large in 2009 Contents A ‘Flexible Framework’ Doing More With Less ‘X’tra-Streamlined Finish Line in Sight for BAS Transition Ahead of the Relocation Curve DTV Transition Survival Guide ENG and the Lines of Communication DTV Transition Survival Guide Who Do We Really Work For? Obama to Expand Internet Access The Wizard Takes a Holiday The Solid-State Disk Revival To Light the Ear... or Not Hulu Gets It Right—the First Time User Reports—Video Servers & Recording/Controllers Reference Guide Product Showcase Classifieds Marketplace TV Tech Business

TV Technology - January 7, 2009

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